Intelligent pressure-based typing biometrics system

The design and development of a real-time enhanced password security system, based on the analysis of habitual typing rhythms of individuals, is discussed in this paper. The paper examines the use of force exerted on the keyboard and time latency between keystrokes to create typing patterns for individual users. Pressure signals which are taken from the sensors underneath the keypad are extracted accordingly. These are then used to recognize authentic users and reject imposters. An experimental setup has been developed to capture the pressure signal information of the users’ typing rhythm. Neuro-fuzzy system is employed as the classifier to measure the user’s typing pattern using the Adaptive Neural Fuzzy Inference System toolbox (ANFIS) in MATLAB

Sequential soil washing techniques using hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide for remediating arsenic-contaminated soils in abandoned iron-ore mines

Sequential washing techniques using single or dual agents sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and hydrochloric acid (HCl) solutions were applied to arsenic-contaminated soils in an abandoned iron-ore mine area. We investigated the best remediation strategies to maximize arsenic removal efficiency for both soils and arsenic-containing washing solution through conducting a series of batch experiments. Based on the results of a sequential extraction procedure, most arsenic prevails in Fe-As precipitates or coprecipitates, and iron exists mostly in the crystalline forms of iron oxide. Soil washing by use of a single agent was not effective in remediating arsenic-contaminated soils because arsenic extractions determined by the Korean standard test (KST) methods for washed soils were not lower than 6 mg kg-1 in all experimental conditions. The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated that iron-ore fines produced mobile colloids through coagulation and flocculation in water contacting the soils, containing dissolved arsenic and fine particles of ferric arsenate-coprecipitated silicate. The first washing step using 0.2 M HCl was mostly effective in increasing the cationic hydrolysis of amorphous ferrihydrite, inducing high removal of arsenic. Thus, the removal step of arsenic-containing flocs can lower arsenic extractions (KST methods) of washed soils. Among several washing trials, alternative sequential washing using 0.2 M HCl followed by 1 M HCl (second step) and 1 M NaOH solution (third step) showed reliable and lower values of arsenic extractions (KST methods) of washed soils. This washing method can satisfy the arsenic regulation of washed soil for reuse or safe disposal application. The kinetic data of washing tests revealed that dissolved arsenic was easily readsorbed into remaining soils at a low pH. This result might have occurred due to dominant species of positively charged crystalline iron oxides characterized through the sequential extraction procedure. However, alkaline extraction using NaOH was effective in removing arsenic readsorbed onto the surface of crystalline minerals. This is because of the ligand displacement reaction of hydroxyl ions with arsenic species and high pH conditions that can prevent readsorption of arsenic. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Gramaticalización inducida por contacto en español en contacto con la lengua maya tzutujil: el sistema pronominal átono de tercera persona

The goal of this study is to analyse both the use of lo and null object to refer to third person direct objects in an oral corpus of Tzutujil-Spanish bilinguals from the village of Chicacao, Guatemala. The corpus’s direct object marking system is characterized by two variants: a) the use of lo as the only third person direct object pronoun, i.e. as an invariable morph; b) its omission, i.e., the production of a zero morph. We put forward that these changes belong to a pronominal system reorganization process caused by the bilingual situation of the region, and an intense contact with Tzutujil, that has caused an acceleration of the grammaticalization process of the Spanish pronominal system of direct object to an object concordance.El objetivo del presente estudio es analizar la tendencia al empleo de lo o un cero fonético para la marcación del objeto directo de tercera persona en un corpus oral de bilingües tzutujil-español recogido en Chicacao, Guatemala. El sistema de marcación del objeto analizado se caracterizaría básicamente por dos fenómenos: a) el empleo de una única forma lo invariable que ha perdido la morfología de género y número; b) la omisión de esta, esto es, un cero fonético. A través de su análisis, mostraremos que estos cambios se enmarcan dentro de un proceso de reorganización del sistema pronominal que se ha producido debido a la situación de bilingüismo y contacto intenso con el tzutujil, y que se manifiesta en una aceleración del proceso de gramaticalización del sistema pronominal de objeto directo del español hacia una concordancia de objeto

Time and Amplitude of Afterpulse Measured with a Large Size Photomultiplier Tube

We have studied the afterpulse of a hemispherical photomultiplier tube for an upcoming reactor neutrino experiment. The timing, the amplitude, and the rate of the afterpulse for a 10 inch photomultiplier tube were measured with a 400 MHz FADC up to 16 \ms time window after the initial signal generated by an LED light pulse. The time and amplitude correlation of the afterpulse shows several distinctive groups. We describe the dependencies of the afterpulse on the applied high voltage and the amplitude of the main light pulse. The present data could shed light upon the general mechanism of the afterpulse.Comment: 11 figure

Absence of First-order Transition and Tri-critical Point in the Dynamic Phase Diagram of a Spatially Extended Bistable System in an Oscillating Field

It has been well established that spatially extended, bistable systems that are driven by an oscillating field exhibit a nonequilibrium dynamic phase transition (DPT). The DPT occurs when the field frequency is on the order of the inverse of an intrinsic lifetime associated with the transitions between the two stable states in a static field of the same magnitude as the amplitude of the oscillating field. The DPT is continuous and belongs to the same universality class as the equilibrium phase transition of the Ising model in zero field [G. Korniss et al., Phys. Rev. E 63, 016120 (2001); H. Fujisaka et al., Phys. Rev. E 63, 036109 (2001)]. However, it has previously been claimed that the DPT becomes discontinuous at temperatures below a tricritical point [M. Acharyya, Phys. Rev. E 59, 218 (1999)]. This claim was based on observations in dynamic Monte Carlo simulations of a multipeaked probability density for the dynamic order parameter and negative values of the fourth-order cumulant ratio. Both phenomena can be characteristic of discontinuous phase transitions. Here we use classical nucleation theory for the decay of metastable phases, together with data from large-scale dynamic Monte Carlo simulations of a two-dimensional kinetic Ising ferromagnet, to show that these observations in this case are merely finite-size effects. For sufficiently small systems and low temperatures, the continuous DPT is replaced, not by a discontinuous phase transition, but by a crossover to stochastic resonance. In the infinite-system limit the stochastic-resonance regime vanishes, and the continuous DPT should persist for all nonzero temperatures

Fully supersymmetric CP violations in the kaon system

We show that, on the contrary to the usual claims, fully supersymmetric CP violations in the kaon system are possible through the gluino mediated flavor changing interactions. Both $\epsilon_K$ and ${\rm Re} (\epsilon' / \epsilon_K)$ can be accommodated for relatively large $\tan\beta$ without any fine tunings or contradictions to the FCNC and EDM constraints.Comment: Contribution to the Proceedings of ICHEP2000, Osaka, 200

New Mechanism of Hepatic Fibrogenesis: Hepatitis C Virus Infection Induces Transforming Growth Factor β1 Production through Glucose-Regulated Protein 94

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is one of the leading causes of chronic liver inflammatory disease (hepatitis), which often leads to more severe diseases, such as liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Liver fibrosis, in particular, is a major pathogenic consequence of HCV infection, and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) plays a key role in its pathogenesis. Several HCV proteins have been suggested to either augment or suppress the expression of TGF-beta 1 by HCV-infected cells. Here, we report that TGF-beta 1 levels are elevated in HCV-infected hepatocytes cultured in vitro and in liver tissue of HCV patients. Notably, the level of TGF-beta 1 in media from in vitro-cultured HCV-infected hepatocytes was high enough to activate primary hepatic stellate cells isolated from rats. This indicates that TGF-beta 1 secreted by HCV-infected hepatocytes is likely to play a key role in the liver fibrosis observed in HCV patients. Moreover, we showed that HCV E2 protein triggers the production of TGF-beta 1 by HCV-infected cells through overproduction of glucose-regulated protein 94 (GRP94).open1177sciescopu

Search for sterile neutrino oscillation using RENO and NEOS data

We present a reactor model independent search for sterile neutrino oscillation using 2\,509\,days of RENO near detector data and 180 days of NEOS data. The reactor related systematic uncertainties are significantly suppressed as both detectors are located at the same reactor complex of Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant. The search is performed by electron antineutrino\,($\overline{\nu}_e$) disappearance between six reactors and two detectors with baselines of 294\,m\,(RENO) and 24\,m\,(NEOS). A spectral comparison of the NEOS prompt-energy spectrum with a no-oscillation prediction from the RENO measurement can explore reactor $\overline{\nu}_e$ oscillations to sterile neutrino. Based on the comparison, we obtain a 95\% C.L. excluded region of $0.1<|\Delta m_{41}^2|<7$\,eV$^2$. We also obtain a 68\% C.L. allowed region with the best fit of $|\Delta m_{41}^2|=2.41\,\pm\,0.03\,$\,eV$^2$ and $\sin^2 2\theta_{14}$=0.08$\,\pm\,$0.03 with a p-value of 8.2\%. Comparisons of obtained reactor antineutrino spectra at reactor sources are made among RENO, NEOS, and Daya Bay to find a possible spectral variation.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures: This manuscript has been significantly revised by the joint reanalysis by RENO and NEOS Collaborations. (In the previous edition, the RENO collaboration used publicly available NEOS data to evaluate the expected neutrino spectrum at NEOS.

A gene expression signature distinguishes innate response and resistance to proteasome inhibitors in multiple myeloma

Extensive interindividual variation in response to chemotherapy is a major stumbling block in achieving desirable efficacy in the treatment of cancers, including multiple myeloma (MM). In this study, our goal was to develop a gene expression signature that predicts response specific to proteasome inhibitor (PI) treatment in MM. Using a well-characterized panel of human myeloma cell lines (HMCLs) representing the biological and genetic heterogeneity of MM, we created an in vitro chemosensitivity profile in response to treatment with the four PIs bortezomib, carfilzomib, ixazomib and oprozomib as single agents. Gene expression profiling was performed using next-generation high-throughput RNA-sequencing. Applying machine learning-based computational approaches including the supervised ensemble learning methods Random forest and Random survival forest, we identified a 42-gene expression signature that could not only distinguish good and poor PI response in the HMCL panel, but could also be successfully applied to four different clinical data sets on MM patients undergoing PI-based chemotherapy to distinguish between extraordinary (good and poor) outcomes. Our results demonstrate the use of in vitro modeling and machine learning-based approaches to establish predictive biomarkers of response and resistance to drugs that may serve to better direct myeloma patient treatment options