Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
This paper is included in the Proceedings of the 16th USENIX Symposium on Operating Systems Design and Implementation.

Many applications that benefit from data offload to cloud services operate on private data. A now-long line of work has shown that, even when data is offloaded in an encrypted form, an adversary can learn sensitive information by analyzing data access patterns. Existing techniques for oblivious data access—that protect against access pattern attacks—require a centralized and stateful trusted proxy to orchestrate data accesses from applications to cloud services. We show that, in failure-prone deployments, such a centralized and stateful proxy results in violation of oblivious data access security guarantees and/or in system unavailability. We thus initiate the study of distributed, fault-tolerant, oblivious data access. We present S HORTSTACK , a distributed proxy architecture for oblivious data access in failure-prone deployments. S HORTSTACK achieves the classical obliviousness guarantee— access patterns observed by the adversary being independent of the input—even under a powerful passive persistent adversary that can force failure of arbitrary (bounded-sized) subset of proxy servers at arbitrary times. We also introduce a security model that enables studying oblivious data access with distributed, failure-prone, servers. We provide a formal proof that S HORTSTACK enables oblivious data access under this model, and show empirically that S HORTSTACK performance scales near-linearly with number of distributed proxy servers.
image(cid:19)based deformation measurement for geotechnical

This paper describes and benchmarks a new implementation of image(cid:19)based deformation 5 measurement for geotechnical applications. The updated approach combines a range of 6 advances in image analysis algorithms and techniques best suited to geotechnical applications. Performance benchmarking of the new approach has used a series of artificial 8 images subjected to prescribed spatially(cid:19)varying displacement fields. An improvement by at 9 least a factor of ten in measurement precision is achieved relative to the most commonly used 10 particle image velocimetry (PIV) approach for all deformation modes, including rigid body 11 displacements, rotations and strains (compressive and shear). Lastly, an example analysis of a 12 centrifuge model test is used to demonstrate the capabilities of the new approach. The strain 13 field generated by penetration of a flat footing and an entrapped sand plug into an underlying 14 clay layer is computed and compared for both the current and updated algorithms. This 15 analysis demonstrates that the enhanced measurement precision improves the clarity of the 16 interpretation. (cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:7)(cid:8) : An example analysis illustrates the value of the new approach by showing improved measurement of deformations during of a flat footing on a sand(cid:19)over(cid:19)clay stratigraphy. These results demonstrate the benefits of the enhanced measurement by this software, which is freely available to the geotechnical research community.
Limits on the power-law mass and luminosity density profiles of elliptical galaxies from gravitational lensing systems

We use 118 strong gravitational lenses observed by the SLACS, BELLS, LSD and SL2S surveys to constrain the total mass profile and the profile of luminosity density of stars (light-tracers) in elliptical galaxies up to redshift $z \sim 1$. Assuming power-law density profiles for the total mass density, $\rho=\rho_0(r/r_0)^{-\alpha}$, and luminosity density, $\nu=\nu_0(r/r_0)^{-\delta}$, we investigate the power law index and its first derivative with respect to the redshift. Using Monte Carlo simulations of the posterior likelihood taking the Planck's best-fitted cosmology as a prior, we find $\gamma= 2.132\pm0.055$ with a mild trend $\partial \gamma/\partial z_l= -0.067\pm0.119$ when $\alpha=\delta=\gamma$, suggesting that the total density profile of massive galaxies could have become slightly steeper over cosmic time. Furthermore, similar analyses performed on sub-samples defined by different lens redshifts and velocity dispersions, indicate the need of treating low, intermediate and high-mass galaxies separately. Allowing $\delta$ to be a free parameter, we obtain $\alpha=2.070\pm0.031$, $\partial \alpha/\partial z_l= -0.121\pm0.078$, and $\delta= 2.710\pm0.143$. The model in which mass traces light is rejected at $>95\%$ confidence and our analysis robustly indicates the presence of dark matter in the form of a mass component that is differently spatially extended than the light. In this case, intermediate-mass elliptical galaxies ($200$ km/s $ < \sigma_{ap} \leq 300$ km/s) show the best consistency with the singular isothermal sphere as an effective model of galactic lenses.
Discovery of two Galactic Wolf–Rayet stars in Circinus

I report the discovery of two new Galactic Wolf-Rayet stars in Circinus via detection of their C, N and He near-infrared emission lines, using ESO-NTT-SOFI archival data. The H- and K-band spectra of WR 67a and WR 67b indicate that these are Wolf-Rayet stars of WN 6h and WC 8 subtypes, respectively. WR 67a presents a weak-lined spectrum probably reminiscent of young hydrogen-rich main-sequence stars, such as WR 25 in Car OB1 and HD 97950 in NGC 3603. Indeed, this conclusion is reinforced by the close morphological match of the WR 67a H- and K-band spectra with that for WR 21a, a known extremely massive binary system. WR 67b is probably a non-dusty WC 8 Wolf-Rayet star that has an estimated heliocentric distance of 2.7 ± 0.9 kpc, which for its Galactic coordinates puts the star probably in the near portion of the Scutum-Centaurus arm.
Trapping solids at the inner edge of the dead zone: 3-D global MHD simulations

Context. The poorly-ionized interior of the protoplanetary disk or "dead zone" is the location where dust coagulation processes may be most efficient. However even here, planetesimal formation may be limited by the loss of solid material through radial drift, and by collisional fragmentation of the particles. Both depend on the turbulent properties of the gas. Aims. Our aim here is to investigate the possibility that solid particles are trapped at local pressure maxima in the dynamically evolving disk. We perform the first 3-D global non-ideal magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) calculations of a section of the disk treating the turbulence driven by the magneto-rotational instability (MRI). Methods. We use the ZeusMP code with a fixed Ohmic resistivity distribution. The domain contains an inner MRI-active region near the young star and an outer midplane dead zone, with the transition between the two modeled by a sharp increase in the magnetic diffusivity. Results. The azimuthal magnetic fields generated in the active zone oscillate over time, changing sign about every 150 years. We thus observe the radial structure of the "butterfly pattern" seen previously in local shearing-box simulations. The mean magnetic field diffuses from the active zone into the dead zone, where the Reynolds stress nevertheless dominates, giving a residual a between 10- 4 and 10 ―3 . The greater total accretion stress in the active zone leads to a net reduction in the surface density, so that after 800 years an approximate steady state is reached in which a local radial maximum in the midplane pressure lies near the transition radius. We also observe the formation of density ridges within the active zone. Conclusions. The dead zone in our models possesses a mean magnetic field, significant Reynolds stresses and a steady local pressure maximum at the inner edge, where the outward migration of planetary embryos and the efficient trapping of solid material are possible.
Additivity predicts the efficacy of most approved combination therapies for advanced cancer

Most advanced cancers are treated with drug combinations. Rational design aims to identify synergistic drug interactions to produce superior treatments. However, metrics of drug interaction (i.e. synergy, additivity, antagonism) are applicable to pre-clinical experiments, and there has been no established method to quantify synergy versus additivity in clinical settings. Here, we propose and apply a model of drug additivity for progression-free survival data to assess if the clinical efficacies of approved drug combinations are more than, or equal to, the sum of their parts. Among FDA-approvals for advanced cancers between 1995-2020, we identified 37 combinations across 13 cancer types where monotherapies and combination therapy could be compared. 95% of combination therapies exhibited progression-free survival times that were additive, or less than additive. The predictable efficacy of many of the best drug combinations established over the past 25 years suggests that additivity can be used as a design principle for novel drug combinations and clinical trials.
$U(3)$ gauge theory on fuzzy extra dimensions

In this article, we explore the low energy structure of a $U(3)$ gauge theory over spaces with fuzzy sphere(s) as extra dimensions. In particular, we determine the equivariant parametrization of the gauge fields, which transform either invariantly or as vectors under the combined action of $SU(2)$ rotations of the fuzzy spheres and those $U(3)$ gauge transformations generated by $SU(2) \subset U(3)$ carrying the spin $1$ irreducible representation of $SU(2)$. The cases of a single fuzzy sphere $S_F^2$ and a particular direct sum of concentric fuzzy spheres, $S_F^{2 \, Int}$, covering the monopole bundle sectors with windings $\pm 1$ are treated in full and the low energy degrees of freedom for the gauge fields are obtained. Employing the parametrizations of the fields in the former case, we determine a low energy action by tracing over the fuzzy sphere and show that the emerging model is abelian Higgs type with $U(1) \times U(1)$ gauge symmetry and possess vortex solutions on ${\mathbb R}^2$, which we discuss in some detail. Generalization of our formulation to the equivariant parametrization of gauge fields in $U(n)$ theories is also briefly addressed.
A Novel CNN pooling layer for breast cancer segmentation and classification from thermograms

Breast cancer is the second most frequent cancer worldwide, following lung cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer death and a major cause of cancer death among women. In recent years, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been successfully applied for the diagnosis of breast cancer using different imaging modalities. Pooling is a main data processing step in CNN that decreases the feature maps’ dimensionality without losing major patterns. However, the effect of pooling layer was not studied efficiently in literature. In this paper, we propose a novel design for the pooling layer called vector pooling block (VPB) for the CCN algorithm. The proposed VPB consists of two data pathways, which focus on extracting features along horizontal and vertical orientations. The VPB makes the CNNs able to collect both global and local features by including long and narrow pooling kernels, which is different from the traditional pooling layer, that gathers features from a fixed square kernel. Based on the novel VPB, we proposed a new pooling module called AVG-MAX VPB. It can collect informative features by using two types of pooling techniques, maximum and average pooling. The VPB and the AVG-MAX VPB are plugged into the backbone CNNs networks, such as U-Net, AlexNet, ResNet18 and GoogleNet, to show the advantages in segmentation and classification tasks associated with breast cancer diagnosis from thermograms. The proposed pooling layer was evaluated using a benchmark thermogram database (DMR-IR) and its results compared with U-Net results which was used as base results. The U-Net results were as follows: global accuracy = 96.6%, mean accuracy = 96.5%, mean IoU = 92.07%, and mean BF score = 78.34%. The VBP-based results were as follows: global accuracy = 98.3%, mean accuracy = 97.9%, mean IoU = 95.87%, and mean BF score = 88.68% while the AVG-MAX VPB-based results were as follows: global accuracy = 99.2%, mean accuracy = 98.97%, mean IoU = 98.03%, and mean BF score = 94.29%. Other network architectures also demonstrate superior improvement considering the use of VPB and AVG-MAX VPB.
Prevalence, probability, and characteristics of malaria and filariasis co-infections: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Malaria and filariasis are significant vector-borne diseases that are co-endemic in the same human populations. This study aims to collate the evidence, probability, and characteristics of malaria and filariasis co-infections in participants among studies reporting the co-occurrence of both diseases. Methods We searched for potentially relevant articles reporting the co-occurrence of malaria and filariasis in five electronic databases (Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Medline, and CENTRAL) from inception to May 22, 2022. We estimated the pooled prevalence and probability of malaria and filariasis co-infections among study participants using random-effects meta-analyses and synthesized the characteristics of patients with co-infections narratively. Results We identified 951 articles, 24 of which (96,838 participants) met eligibility criteria and were included in the systematic review. Results of the meta-analysis showed a pooled prevalence of malaria and filariasis co-infections among participants of 11%. The prevalence of co-infections was 2.3% in Africa, 0.2% in Asia, and 1.6% in South America. The pooled prevalences of malaria and Wuchereria bancrofti, malaria and Loa loa, malaria and Mansonella perstans co-infections were 0.7%, 1.2%, and 1.0%, respectively. The meta-analysis results showed that the co-infections between two parasites occurred by probability (P = 0.001). Patients with co-infections were at increased risk of having an enlarged spleen, a lower rate of severe anemia, lower parasite density, and more asymptomatic clinical status. Patients with co-infections had decreased levels of C-X-C motif chemokine 5, tumor necrosis factor–α, interleukin-4, c4 complement, and interleukin-10. In addition, patients with co-infections had a lower interleukin-10/tumor necrosis factor–α ratio and higher interleukin-10/interleukin-6 ratio. Conclusion The present study showed that the prevalence of malaria and filariasis co-infections was low and varied between geographical areas in the selected articles. Co-infections tended to occur with a low probability. Further studies investigating the outcomes and characteristics of co-infections are needed.
Vacuum stability constraints and LHC searches for a model with a universal extra dimension

If the new boson lying in the narrow mass range between 122 and 127 GeV is confirmed to be a Higgs boson, then stability of the electroweak vacuum in a minimal model with a universal extra dimension (mUED) will require a much lower cutoff for the theory than has been envisaged earlier. We show that this low cutoff leads to important changes in much of the minimal model with a universal extra dimension phenomenology studied till now. In particular, prospects for LHC searches for $n=1$ states are rather limited, while resonant $n=2$ states may go completely undetected. Prospects for detection at high energy ${e}^{+}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ colliders are less affected.
MicroBooNE light collection system

MicroBooNE is a neutrino experiment located on axis in the Booster Neutrino Beamline, at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, scheduled to begin data collection in 2014. The MicroBooNE detector consists of two main components: a large liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC), and a light collection system. Thirty two 8-inch diameter cryogenic photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) will detect the scintillation light generated in the liquid argon. In this article, we describe the basic features of the system and current status of MicroBooNE light collection system.
Non-gaussianities and the Stimulated creation of quanta in the inflationary universe

Cosmological inflation generates a spectrum of density perturbations that can seed the cosmic structures we observe today. These perturbations are usually computed as the result of the gravitationally-induced spontaneous creation of perturbations from an initial vacuum state. In this paper, we compute the perturbations arising from gravitationally-induced stimulated creation when perturbations are already present in the initial state. The effect of these initial perturbations is not diluted by inflation and survives to its end, and beyond. We consider a generic statistical density operator ρ describing an initial mixed state that includes probabilities for nonzero numbers of scalar perturbations to be present at early times during inflation. We analyze the primordial bispectrum for general configurations of the three different momentum vectors in its arguments. We find that the initial presence of quanta can significantly enhance non-gaussianities in the so-called squeezed limit. Our results show that an observation of non-gaussianities in the squeezed limit can occur for single-field inflation when the state in the very early inflationary universe is not the vacuum, but instead contains early-time perturbations. Valuable information about the initial state can then be obtained from observations of those non-gaussianities.
X-RAY AND RADIO FOLLOW-UP OBSERVATIONS OF HIGH-REDSHIFT BLAZAR CANDIDATES IN THE FERMI-LAT UNASSOCIATED SOURCE POPULATION

We report on the results of X-ray and radio follow-up observations of two GeV gamma-ray sources 2FGL J0923.5+1508 and 2FGL J1502.1+5548, selected as candidates for high-redshift blazars from unassociated sources in the Fermi Large Area Telescope Second Source Catalog. We utilize the Suzaku satellite and the VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry (VERA) telescopes for X-ray and radio observations, respectively. For 2FGL J0923.5+1508, a possible radio counterpart NVSS J092357+150518 is found at 1.4 GHz from an existing catalog, but we do not detect any X-ray emission from it and derive a flux upper limit F2–8 keV < 1.37 × 10−14 erg cm−2 s−1. Radio observations at 6.7 GHz also result in an upper limit of S6.7 GHz < 19 mJy, implying a steep radio spectrum that is not expected for a blazar. On the other hand, we detect X-rays from NVSS J150229+555204, the potential 1.4 GHz radio counterpart of 2FGL J1502.1+5548. The X-ray spectrum can be fitted with an absorbed power-law model with a photon index γ = 1.8 and the unabsorbed flux is F2–8 keV = 4.3 × 10−14 erg cm−2 s−1. Moreover, we detect unresolved radio emission at 6.7 GHz with flux S6.7 GHz = 30.1 mJy, indicating a compact, flat-spectrum radio source. If NVSS J150229+555204 is indeed associated with 2FGL J1502.1+5548, then we find that its multiwavelength spectrum is consistent with a blazar at redshift z ∼ 3–4.
Enhancement of phonon effects in photoexcited states of one-dimensional Mott insulators

We examine how the electron correlation affects the electron-phonon (EP) interaction in the linear optical absorption spectrum of the one-dimensional (1D) extended Hubbard-Holstein model. A density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) calculation shows that the effect of the EP interaction on an exciton is enhanced by increasing the on-site Coulomb repulsion. This enhancement is in contrast to the effect of the EP interaction on the ground state, wherein the Peierls instability is suppressed by the on-site Coulomb repulsion. The DMRG data with the EP interaction fit with absorption experiments in 1D cuprates better than those for the extended Hubbard model.
Safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and preliminary antitumour activity of an antisense oligonucleotide targeting STAT3 (danvatirsen) as monotherapy and in combination with durvalumab in Japanese patients with advanced solid malignancies: a phase 1 study

Objectives We assessed the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, preliminary antitumour activity and pharmacodynamics of danvatirsen, an antisense oligonucleotide targeting signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), monotherapy and danvatirsen plus durvalumab, an antiprogrammed cell death ligand 1 monoclonal antibody, in patients with advanced solid malignancies. Design Phase 1, open-label study with two cohorts. Setting Two centres in Japan. Participants Japanese individuals aged ≥20 years, with histologically confirmed solid malignancies, except for hepatocellular carcinoma, refractory to standard therapy. Interventions In cohort 1, patients received danvatirsen monotherapy; in cohort 2, patients received danvatirsen plus durvalumab combination therapy. Primary and secondary outcome measures The primary endpoint was safety and tolerability based on adverse events (AEs). Secondary endpoints were pharmacokinetics, immunogenicity, antitumour activity and pharmacodynamics. Results Eleven patients were assigned to treatment and included in the analysis. Danvatirsen dose reductions were only required in cohort 2 for hepatic function abnormal (alanine aminotransferase (ALT)/ aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/gamma-glutamyl transferase (γGT) increased), neutrophil count decreased and platelet count decreased. One patient experienced grade 3 ALT/AST increased and new appearance of eosinophilia as a dose-limiting toxicity. AEs were reported in 90.9% (10/11) patients. Commonly reported AEs causally related to the danvatirsen were platelet count decreased (60% (3/5)) and ALT/AST/γGT increased (50% (3/6)) in cohorts 1 and 2, respectively; none was causally related to durvalumab. One serious AE occurred in cohort 1 (pancreatitis; unrelated to study treatment). One case of ALT/AST/γGT increased occurred in cohort 2, leading to discontinuation. No AEs led to death. Danvatirsen did not accumulate in plasma after multiple dosing. In cohort 2, three patients had disease control at 12 weeks and one had unconfirmed partial response. STAT3 expression tended to decrease regardless of monotherapy or combination therapy. Conclusions Danvatirsen was well tolerated by Japanese patients with advanced solid tumours as monotherapy and combined with durvalumab. No new safety signals arose. Trial registration number NCT03394144; ClinicalTrials.gov.