Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modelling and Impact Analysis of Push Back Attack in 3D Bufferless Network on Chip

Tiled Chip Multicore Processors (TCMP), which utilise Network on Chip (NoC) as the underlying interconnection network, are currently the foundation for modern data-intensive parallel systems. Manufacturers are examining the viability of using a range of intermediary Intellectual Property (IP) cores in TCMP designs due to rigorous time-to-market constraints. When IP is outsourced to vendors around the world, System-on-Chip (SoC) architectures are vulnerable to malicious implantations like Hardware Trojan (HT). The presence of malicious HT in NoC routers has a negative impact on the functionality of the entire system. Hardware trojans in 3D bufferless NoC is a less explored area. In this paper, we model an HT creating Push Back Attack that targets a 3D bufferless NoC router’s port allocation unit and redirects all flits going through it. We investigate the effects of such an HT and assess its impact at the network level by considering performance parameters such as average latency, deflection rate, throughput and router link utilization.
Fast Globally Optimal Surface Normal from an Affine Correspondence

We present a new solver for estimating a surface normal from a single affine correspondence in two calibrated views. The proposed approach provides a new globally optimal solution for this over-determined problem and proves that it reduces to a linear system that can be solved extremely efficiently. This allows for performing significantly faster than other recent methods, solving the same problem and obtaining the same globally optimal solution. We demonstrate on 15k image pairs from standard benchmarks that the proposed approach leads to the same results as other optimal algorithms while being, on average, five times faster than the fastest alternative. Besides its theoretical value, we demonstrate that such an approach has clear benefits, e.g., in image-based visual localization, due to not requiring a dense point cloud to recover the surface normal. We show on the Cambridge Landmarks dataset that leveraging the proposed surface normal estimation further improves localization accuracy. Matlab and C++ implementations are also published in the supplementary material.
Recovery of Stressed Escherichia coli Culturability using Selective Media with Penicillin Binding Proteins for Bioburden Testing

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of selective media enriched with Penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) in bioburden testing and the recovery of stressed Escherichia coli. Five distinct E. coli strains were subjected to experimentation utilizing two antibiotics to induce stress, simulating real-world scenarios where bacteria face various stressors, including antibiotics. The deliberate stress induction aimed to observe how stressed bacteria respond and recover in the presence of PBPs, vital cell wall components targeted by antibiotics. Multiple antibiotics ensured a comprehensive evaluation of stress responses. PBP1 tended to have a milder inhibitory effect on bacterial growth compared to both PBP2 and PBP3 across various growth media and strains. PBP2 demonstrated variable effects, displaying a nuanced impact depending on the growth medium and strain. In contrast, PBP3 consistently exerted a stronger inhibitory effect on bacterial growth. The strain of E. coli exhibited a significant influence on growth characteristics, reflecting strain-dependent responses to experimental conditions. Growth media and specific PBPs also displayed notable effects on colony forming units (CFUs) and percentage recovery (PR). Modified media generally supported higher CFUs and PR compared to standard media, showcasing the importance of media composition. Buffer choice also significantly impacted CFUs and PR, underlining the need for careful buffer standardization. Overall, the type of PBP used significantly affected E. coli colony numbers, as indicated by a highly significant p-value (p≈2.04×10-16). This study’s insights into the impact of selective media, PBPs, and bacterial strains on stressed E. coli recovery contribute to optimizing recovery protocols in microbiological studies. Comparisons between penicillin and cefixime treatments revealed higher CFU values in modified media, indicating their efficacy. Different PBPs showcased variations in CFU and PR, emphasizing their role in stressed E. coli recovery. The study sheds light on the multifaceted interactions between antibiotics, PBPs, media, and bacterial strains, vital for understanding antibiotic responses. These findings provide critical insights into designing effective recovery strategies and advancing microbiological studies.
Community-Based Organizations and Their Effect on the Adoption of Agricultural Technologies in Uganda: a Study of Banana (Musa spp.) Pest Management Technology

Local organizations are increasingly proposed as an alternative to the traditional model of agriculture extension in many sub-Saharan African countries. However, information on the characteristics of organizations that are important for technology adoption is limited. We analyze the characteristics of organizations and how each affects the technology adoption among Ugandan farmers. A factor analysis is used to cluster the observed features of organizations into fewer factors that represent major dimensions of organizations. Hypotheses are tested based on a probit regression. Results indicate that different aspects of organizations affect the adoption decisions in unique ways. Household density of participation, ethnic homogeneity and geographical proximity encourage adoption while socio-demographic homogeneity slows it down.
Effects of the Tap Staggering Volt/VAr Control Method on Online and Adaptive Protection System in Grids with Wind Energy Sources

This paper investigates the impact of applying the tap staggering VoltNAr control method on the Online and Adaptive Protection system. The tap staggering method utilizes differences in taps between parallel transformers to create circulating current, enabling the absorption of reactive power from the grid to maintain network reactive power balance and voltage. However, this reactive power absorption at the primary substation through tap staggering poses potential risks for the Directional Overcurrent (DOC) with the Load Blinder protection scheme, which can result in faults or unnecessary alarms under normal load conditions. In this study, simplified part of a real network with the Wind Energy Sources was modeled in PSS®CAPE, and four different operation scenarios were created based on varying generation/demand profiles. The results indicate that the operation of the DOC with Load Blinder scheme is affected in all scenarios due to the changes in tap staggering, altering short-circuit currents and the values of active-reactive power measured by the Load Blinder Relay. A special macro was developed to evaluate the network changes and adapt parameters, including the DOC pickup (I> DOC), Load Blinder maximum resistance (RLB), and Load Blinder maximum angle ($\alpha$), based on the effects of tap staggering. Following the adaptation process, an online adaptive system communicates the adjusted parameters via the IEC61850 protocol and configures the real relay device with the adapted settings. As a result, the protection system operates reliably with the adapted protection scheme, enabling more efficient power delivery from Wind Energy Sources to the transmission system without interference from the protection scheme or tap staggering operations.
Goal Attainment Scaling for Depression: Validation of the Japanese GAS-D Tool in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder

Purpose Goal attainment scaling (GAS) has been proposed as a person-centric, semi-quantitative measure that assimilates achievement of individually set goals into a single standardized “goal attainment score” that can be compared at the population level. We aimed to examine the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the GAS for depression (GAS-D) tool in assessing goal attainment in people living with major depressive disorder (MDD). Patients and Methods This was a prespecified analysis of a prospective, 24-week, multicenter, observational cohort study of employed Japanese outpatients with MDD initiating treatment with vortioxetine according to the Japanese label (JRCT1031210200). Participants were assessed using the Japanese version of the GAS-D and other clinical rating scales at baseline and Weeks 8, 12 and 24. Results Goal attainment was significantly associated with symptom severity as assessed by the Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) scale, confirming convergent validity. In particular, GAS-D scores were significantly related to MADRS total score at Weeks 12 and 24, indicating that improvements in overall symptom severity with vortioxetine treatment were likely to be reflected in the achievement of individualized treatment goals. With an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.67 (95% CI 0.45–0.82), the GAS-D also showed moderate test–retest reliability between Weeks 8 and 12 while proving independent of demographic characteristics. Conclusion The results of this open-label study support the use of the GAS-D as a valid and sensitive outcome measure in the assessment of treatment response in MDD.
Late-Life Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease and its Association With Physical Disability and Dementia

Abstract Background The burden of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is growing rapidly, including among older adults. The number of older adults is also rising with concomitantly increasing rates of age-related physical and cognitive dysfunction. However, data on whether MASLD affects physical and cognitive function in older adults is limited. As such, we aimed to identify whether prevalent MASLD influences the risk of incident physical disability or dementia in initially healthy older adults. Methods A post-hoc analysis of participants from the ASPREE-XT cohort study, which recruited community-dwelling older adults without a history of cardiovascular disease, dementia, or independence-limiting functional impairment. The Fatty Liver Index (to identify MASLD) was calculated in those with complete data. Cox proportional-hazards models were used to investigate the outcomes of dementia and persistent physical disability in participants with MASLD vs those without. Results Of the 9 097 individuals included (mean age 75.1 ± 4.2 years; 45.0% men), 341 (3.7%) developed persistent physical disability and 370 (4.1%) developed dementia over a median follow-up of 6.4 years (IQR 5.3–7.5 years). When adjusting for known contributors including age, gender, education, comorbidity, and functional measures, MASLD was associated with an increased risk of persistent physical disability (HR 1.41 [95% CI: 1.07–1.87]) and reduced risk of incident dementia (HR 0.63 [95% CI: 0.48–0.83]). Conclusions Prevalent MASLD is associated with reduced rates of incident dementia but increased risk of persistent physical disability in initially relatively healthy older adults. Understanding the mechanisms underlying these divergent results to allow appropriate risk stratification and counseling is important.
A comparison of runoff quantity and quality among three cattle stocking treatments

Measurements of runoff quantity and quality from three cattle stocking treatments applied to pastureland in southwestern Virginia indicate the need for further research to determine treatment effects. Three cattle stocking treatments (1) Continuous, 2) Rotational, and 3) Mob) were applied to three pastures at the Virginia Tech Prices Fork Research Farm. Rainfall simulations were performed over replicated plots in each treatment to induce runoff for collection of runoff quantity and quality data during the 2012 grazing season. Additionally, rainfall simulations were performed prior to applying the grazing treatments to establish initial conditions. Monitored runoff quantity and quality response variables included runoff depth, mean nutrient concentrations, and nutrient mass loss. Response variables were compared among the three pastures for initial conditions and among treatments for post-treatment conditions. Additionally, the trends in response variables within the 2012 season were compared among treatments. Plot and rainfall conditions that were expected to influence responses were also collected and analyzed in relation to response variables. Analyses of the response variables suggested that the variability within treatments likely muted any treatment effect on the response variables. Therefore, we concluded that further research is needed to determine treatment effects on runoff quantity and quality.
Effects of levee cover strength on flood mapping in the case of levee breach due to overtopping

ABSTRACT The reliability of a levee system is a crucial factor in flood risk management. In this study we present a probabilistic methodology to assess the effects of levee cover strength on levee failure probability, triggering time, flood propagation and consequent impacts on population and assets. A method for determining fragility curves is used in combination with the results of a one-dimensional hydrodynamic model to estimate the conditional probability of levee failure in each river section. Then, a levee breach model is applied to calculate the possible flood hydrographs, and for each breach scenario a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model is used to estimate flood hazard (flood extent and timing, maximum water depths) and flood impacts (economic damage and affected population) in the areas at risk along the river reach. We show an application for levee overtopping and different flood scenarios for a 98 km reach of the lower Po River in Italy. The results show how different design solutions for the levee cover can influence the probability of levee failure and the consequent flood scenarios. In particular, good grass cover strength can significantly delay levee failure and reduce maximum flood depths in the flood-prone areas, thus helping the implementation of flood risk management actions. EDITOR D. Koutsoyiannis ASSOCIATE EDITOR A. Viglione
Looking into ELF variants: A study of evaluative it-clauses in research articles

Given the high number of non-native English speakers in academia, it becomes necessary to look at the use made of English as a lingua franca (ELF), especially in written communication. It is the aim of this paper to look at ELF in a written academic genre, the research article (RA), in the discipline of business management. A corpus of ELF RAs written by scholars with different linguacultural backgrounds will be compared with a corpus of RAs written by scholars affiliated to Anglo-American institutions. The analysis will focus on a particular genrespecific formulaic sequence (Hüttner, 2007), evaluative it-clauses. Results show differences in their frequency of use, the choice of adjectives, and (lack of) modality. The findings can be interpreted as lexico-grammatical innovations (Dewey, 2007), creative expressions (Seidlhofer, 2011), or emerging patterns (Jenkins, Cogo, & Dewey, 2011) in the process of adaptation, evolution and dynamism of English as used in international written academic communication.
Electrical Performance Analysis of AlGaN/GaN Fin-HEMTs with Different Gate Structures by TCAD Simulation

In this paper, AlGaN/GaN fin-shaped high-electron mobility transistors (Fin-HEMTs) with different gate structures are simulated in 3-D TCAD. By comparing the transfer and transconductance curves and observing the two-dimensional electron gas (2-DEG) distribution underneath the gate, the effect of gate variations on the threshold voltage of AlGaN/GaN Fin-HEMTs is investigated in three dimensions: width, height, and length. The results show that Fin devices have better gate control compared to planar devices and that the threshold voltage of Fin devices is inversely proportional to the width of the gate and, conversely, proportional to the height and length of the gate, which provides a reference for miniaturized device design.
Transient water adsorption on newly formed fault gouge and its relation to frictional heating

Determination of the amount of frictional heating on faults during slips provides insight into the mechanics of faulting. Fault slips cause frictional heating as well as production of gouge materials. Newly formed gouge is mechanochemically stimulated to gain a transient water adsorption ability. We showed that the synthetic gouge from friction tests on rocks at a 1 mm/s slip rate without frictional heating adsorbed a large amount of water, comparable to that adsorbed by clay minerals. The amount of adsorbed water decreased significantly with increasing slip rate to 100 mm/s, where the fault temperature increased above 400°C. We confirmed there was no additional adsorption on the heated gouges after termination of the slip. We conclude that the adsorption state can be considered a new indicator of a temperature rise of < 400°C by frictional heating associated with recent, near‐surface faulting.
C2CD4B Evokes Oxidative Stress and Vascular Dysfunction via a PI3K/Akt/PKCα–Signaling Pathway

High glucose–induced endothelial dysfunction is an important pathological feature of diabetic vasculopathy. While genome-wide studies have identified an association between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and increased expression of a C2 calcium-dependent domain containing 4B (C2CD4B), no study has yet explored the possible direct effect of C2CD4B on vascular function. Vascular reactivity studies were conducted using a pressure myograph, and nitric oxide and oxidative stress were assessed through difluorofluorescein diacetate and dihydroethidium, respectively. We demonstrate that high glucose upregulated both mRNA and protein expression of C2CD4B in mice mesenteric arteries in a time-dependent manner. Notably, the inhibition of C2CD4B expression by genetic knockdown efficiently prevented hyperglycemia–induced oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction, and loss of nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability. Recombinant C2CD4B evoked endothelial dysfunction of mice mesenteric arteries, an effect associated with increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and decreased NO production. In isolated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), C2CD4B increased phosphorylation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) at the inhibitory site Thr495 and reduced eNOS dimerization. Pharmacological inhibitors of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), Akt, and PKCα effectively attenuated oxidative stress, NO reduction, impairment of endothelial function, and eNOS uncoupling induced by C2CD4B. These data demonstrate, for the first time, that C2CD4B exerts a direct effect on vascular endothelium via a phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/PKCα–signaling pathway, providing a new perspective on C2CD4B as a promising therapeutic target for the prevention of oxidative stress in diabetes–induced endothelial dysfunction.
Using Comments for Predicting the Affective Response to Social Media Posts

What people see on social media influences their affective state. Predictions of the affective reaction of an audience to a post could help posters creating content and viewers searching for it. This paper examines the value of both real comments and artificially generated ones in predicting the affective responses of an audience. We built an affect prediction model based on Facebook anonymized public posts to predict affective responses (anger, amusement, and sadness affect) as indicated by three Facebook reaction clicks (Angry, Haha, and Sad). Using the content of the original post can predict reactions well (.71 to.87 F1-scores). Adding the text of real post comments improves F1-score by up to 11%. Surprisingly, generated comments improve predictions as much as real comments. These artificial comments were produced using a pre-trained sequence-to-sequence, BART natural language generation model given a post as input. Using artificial comments means that one can predict affect reactions early in the history of a discussion, before anyone has actually commented on a post.
Comparison of Approaches for Gesture Recognition with MEMS Ultrasonic Transducers

The increasing number of electronic devices in our everyday life demands for convenient input methods. At the same time, for climate protection, low power consumption of the related human machine interfaces (HMI) is a key requirement. This research deals with finding a suitable processing pipeline for a novel, energy-efficient hand gesture recognition (HGR) method based on airborne ultrasound waves. For this purpose, a new dataset was recorded. The data was stored as distance values, raw spectrograms, and pre-processed spectrograms and processed with a variety of classification algorithms. All datasets and classification algorithms turned out to be suitable for successful HGR. Another conclusion is, that preprocessing is not required in case of spectrogram-based classification and basic HGR was possible without machine learning (ML). Considering these outcomes, HGR based on ultrasonic data is promising and worth further investigation.
Efficient Resource Management in IoTs Using Evolutionary and Swarm Intelligence Algorithms

The proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT) has ushered in a transformative era of connected devices, emphasizing the critical need for effective resource management. This study introduces an innovative approach that harnesses Evolutionary and Swarm Intelligence algorithms for IoT Task Scheduling, addressing resource optimization challenges. The approach offers superior resource utilization through advanced optimization techniques, reducing energy consumption and enhancing efficiency. Furthermore, it significantly reduces task scheduling execution time, enabling prompt decision-making in dynamic IoT environments. This results in improved task allocation quality, meeting application-specific requirements, and prioritizing critical tasks. Notably, the approach excels in minimizing completion time, making it particularly advantageous for real-time IoT applications. This research contributes to the advancement of IoT resource management, offering an adaptive, efficient, and intelligent solution with broad applicability. In the evolving landscape of IoT, the findings presented here lay a solid foundation for future research and practical implementations, ultimately promoting more responsive, sustainable, and intelligent IoT ecosystems.
A Research Proposal for Correcting Happiness Misperceptions on Social Media

Social media has seamlessly integrated into people's everyday lives, providing a platform for communication and emotional expression. However, social media often presents a distorted reality, with users showcasing primarily positive experiences and emotions while concealing negative aspects. This phenomenon contributes to misperceptions of happiness, leading to feelings of inadequacy and social comparison. Understanding emotions and their manifestations on social media is crucial for comprehending human communication and interactions. Happiness, as a significant emotion, influences well-being, social connections, and physical health outcomes. This research aims to address misperceptions of happiness on social media through innovative design interventions. By leveraging theories such as Social Comparison Theory and Theory of Mind, the research proposes corrective measures like emotion labelling tools, mindfulness prompts, and social comparison reminders to foster authentic communication. A mixed-methods approach will be employed, including surveys, and user experience experiments to test functionality and usability of these methods implemented, to understand users' perceptions and develop effective correction factors. Ultimately, the research seeks to improve emotional authenticity, social interactions, and mental well-being on social media platforms.