Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measurement and Analysis of Spyware in a University Environment

Over the past few years, a relatively new computing phenomenon has gained momentum: the spread of “spyware. ” Though most people are aware of spyware, the research community has spent little effort to understand its nature, how widespread it is, and the risks it presents. This paper is a first attempt to do so. We first discuss background material on spyware, including the various types of spyware programs, their methods of transmission, and their run-time behavior. By examining four widespread programs (Gator, Cydoor, SaveNow, and eZula), we present a detailed analysis of their behavior, from which we derive signatures that can be used to detect their presence on remote computers through passive network monitoring. Using these signatures, we quantify the spread of these programs among hosts within the University of Washington by analyzing a week-long trace of network activity. This trace was gathered from August 26th to September 1st, 2003. From this trace, we show that: (1) these four programs affect approximately 5.1% of active hosts on campus, (2) many computers that contain spyware have more than one spyware program running on them concurrently, and (3) 69% of organizations within the university contain at least one host running spyware. We conclude by discussing security implications of spyware and specific vulnerabilities we found within versions of two of these spyware programs.
Low rank matrix-valued chernoff bounds and approximate matrix multiplication

In this paper we develop algorithms for approximating matrix multiplication with respect to the spectral norm. Let <i>A</i> ∈ R<sup><i>n</i>x<i>m</i></sup> and <i>B</i> ∈ R<sup><i>n</i>x<i>p</i></sup> be two matrices and ε > 0. We approximate the product <i>A</i><sup>T</sup> <i>B</i> using two sketches <i>Ã</i> ∈ R<sup><i>t</i>x<i>m</i></sup> and B ∈ R<sup><i>t</i>x<i>p</i></sup>, where <i>t</i> << <i>n</i>, such that [EQUATION] with high probability. We analyze two different sampling procedures for constructing <i>Ã</i> and B; one of them is done by i.i. d. non-uniform sampling rows from <i>A</i> and <i>B</i> and the other by taking random linear combinations of their rows. We prove bounds on <i>t</i> that depend only on the intrinsic dimensionality of <i>A</i> and <i>B</i>, that is their rank and their stable rank. For achieving bounds that depend on rank when taking random linear combinations we employ standard tools from high-dimensional geometry such as concentration of measure arguments combined with elaborate ε-net constructions. For bounds that depend on the smaller parameter of stable rank this technology itself seems weak. However, we show that in combination with a simple truncation argument it is amenable to provide such bounds. To handle similar bounds for row sampling, we develop a novel matrix-valued Chernoff bound inequality which we call low rank matrix-valued Chernoff bound. Thanks to this inequality, we are able to give bounds that depend only on the stable rank of the input matrices. We highlight the usefulness of our approximate matrix multiplication bounds by supplying two applications. First we give an approximation algorithm for the <i>l</i><sub>2</sub>-regression problem that returns an approximate solution by randomly projecting the initial problem to dimensions linear on the rank of the constraint matrix. Second we give improved approximation algorithms for the low rank matrix approximation problem with respect to the spectral norm.
Teachers as risk and resource factors in minority students’ school adjustment: an integrative review of qualitative research on acculturation

ABSTRACT The present study is embedded in the contextual approach of acculturation research. It examines teachers’ attitudes and behaviors, teachers’ expectations as well as their teaching practices as risk and resource factors in minority students’ school adjustment. The study applies the method of content analysis and uses a deductively developed and inductively enriched system of categories. The results of the study provide an integrative review of qualitative research on the role teachers play in the acculturation process of minority youth and their adjustment outcomes in the school context.
Approximator: Predicting Interruptibility in Software Development with Commodity Computers

Assessing the presence and availability of a remote colleague is key in coordination in global software development but is not easily done using existing computer-mediated channels. Previous research has shown that automated estimation of interruptibility is feasible and can achieve a precision closer to, or even better than, human judgment. However, existing approaches to assess interruptibility have been designed to rely on external sensors. In this paper, we present Approximator, a system that estimates the interruptibility of a user based exclusively on the sensing ability of commodity laptops. Experimental results show that the information aggregated from several activity monitors (i.e., Key-logger, mouse-logger, and face-detection) provide useful data, which, once combined with machine learning techniques, can automatically estimate the interruptibility of users with a 78% accuracy. These early but promising results represent a starting point for designing tools with support for interruptibility capable of improving distributed awareness and cooperation to be used in global software development.
On finiteness conjectures for modular quaternion algebras

It is conjectured that there exist only finitely many isomorphism classes of endomorphism algebras of abelian varieties of bounded dimension over a number field of bounded degree. We explore this conjecture when restricted to quaternion endomorphism algebras of abelian surfaces of GL$_2$-type over Q by giving a moduli interpretation which translates the question into the diophantine arithmetic of Shimura curves embedded in Hilbert surfaces. We address the resulting problems on these curves by local and global methods, including Chabauty techniques on explicit equations of Shimura curves.
A Narrative Inquiry of Experiences of Validation of Graduate Students in Economics

The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of students in a graduate Economics program located at a predominantly Hispanic-serving institution using narrative research design, a methodology that is not used in economics literature. The research question that guided the study was: How are graduate students validated throughout the process of their graduate education at a Master’s in Economics program at a predominantly Hispanic-serving institution? The researcher interviewed 3 graduate women economics students, and 3 graduate men economics students to ensure triangulation of data. After conducting the study it became apparent that graduate women economics students and graduate men economics students were validated when their professors used creative learning, showed a caring demeanor, fostered cultural diversity and community engagement, as well as encouraged their professional development. Graduate women economics students and graduate men economics students suffered several invalidating experiences in their graduate program that made them question their ability to succeed. The main difference in the experiences of graduate women economics students and graduate men economics students resided in stereotypes of women students in their graduate program where men were the majority.
Estimating alphanumeric selectivity in the presence of wildcards

Success of commercial query optimizers and database management systems (object-oriented or relational) depend on accurate cost estimation of various query reordering [BGI]. Estimating predicate selectivity, or the fraction of rows in a database that satisfy a selection predicate, is key to determining the optimal join order. Previous work has concentrated on estimating selectivity for numeric fields [ASW, HaSa, IoP, LNS, SAC, WVT]. With the popularity of textual data being stored in databases, it has become important to estimate selectivity accurately for alphanumeric fields. A particularly problematic predicate used against alphanumeric fields is the SQL like predicate [Dat]. Techniques used for estimating numeric selectivity are not suited for estimating alphanumeric selectivity.In this paper, we study for the first time the problem of estimating alphanumeric selectivity in the presence of wildcards. Based on the intuition that the model built by a data compressor on an input text encapsulates information about common substrings in the text, we develop a technique based on the suffix tree data structure to estimate alphanumeric selectivity. In a statistics generation pass over the database, we construct a compact suffix tree-based structure from the columns of the database. We then look at three families of methods that utilize this structure to estimate selectivity during query plan costing, when a query with predicates on alphanumeric attributes contains wildcards in the predicate.We evaluate our methods empirically in the context of the TPC-D benchmark. We study our methods experimentally against a variety of query patterns and identify five techniques that hold promise.
Contrasting responses to drought of forest floor CO 2 efflux in a Loblolly pine plantation and a nearby Oak-Hickory forest

Forest floor CO2 efflux (Fff) depends on vegetation type, climate, and soil physical properties. We assessed the effects of biological factors on Fff by comparing a maturing pine plantation (PP) and a nearby mature Oak-Hickory-type hardwood forest (HW). Fff was measured continuously with soil chambers connected to an IRGA during 2001–2002. At both sites, Fff depended on soil temperature at 5 cm (T5) when soil was moist (soil moisture, h40.20mm ), and on both T5 and h when soil was drier. A model (Fff (T5, h)) explained X92% of the variation in the daily mean Fff at both sites. Higher radiation reaching the ground during the leafless period, and a thinner litter layer because of faster decomposition, probably caused higher soil temperature at HW compared with PP. The annual Fff was estimated at 1330 and 1464gCm 2 yr 1 for a year with mild drought (2001) at PP and HW, respectively, and 1231 and 1557gCm 2 yr 1 for a year with severe drought (2002). In the wetter year, higher soil temperature and moisture at HW compared with PP compensated for the negative effect on Fff of the response to these variables resulting in similar annual Fff at both stands. In the drier year, however, the response to soil temperature and moisture was more similar at the two stands causing the difference in the state variables to impel a higher Fff at HW. A simple mass balance indicated that in the wetter year, C in the litter–soil system was at steady state at HW, and was accruing at PP. However, HWwas probably losing C from the mineral soil during the severe drought year of 2002, while PP was accumulating C at a lower rate because of a loss of C from the litter layer. Such contrasting behavior of two forest types in close proximity might frustrate attempts to estimate regional carbon (C) fluxes and net C exchange.
LOUD COMPUTING : A NEW VISION OF THE DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM

Cloud computing is a new emerging system which offers information technologies via Internet. Clients use services they need when they need and at the place they want and pay only for what they have consumed. So, cloud computing offers many advantages especially for business. A deep study and understanding of this emerging system and the inherent components help a lot in identifying what should we do in order to improve its performance. In this work, we present first cloud computing and its components then we describe an idea which attempts to optimize the management of cloud computing system that are composed of many data centers.
Pre-Attentive, Context-Specific Representation of Fear Memory in the Auditory Cortex of Rat

Neural representation in the auditory cortex is rapidly modulated by both top-down attention and bottom-up stimulus properties, in order to improve perception in a given context. Learning-induced, pre-attentive, map plasticity has been also studied in the anesthetized cortex; however, little attention has been paid to rapid, context-dependent modulation. We hypothesize that context-specific learning leads to pre-attentively modulated, multiplex representation in the auditory cortex. Here, we investigate map plasticity in the auditory cortices of anesthetized rats conditioned in a context-dependent manner, such that a conditioned stimulus (CS) of a 20-kHz tone and an unconditioned stimulus (US) of a mild electrical shock were associated only under a noisy auditory context, but not in silence. After the conditioning, although no distinct plasticity was found in the tonotopic map, tone-evoked responses were more noise-resistive than pre-conditioning. Yet, the conditioned group showed a reduced spread of activation to each tone with noise, but not with silence, associated with a sharpening of frequency tuning. The encoding accuracy index of neurons showed that conditioning deteriorated the accuracy of tone-frequency representations in noisy condition at off-CS regions, but not at CS regions, suggesting that arbitrary tones around the frequency of the CS were more likely perceived as the CS in a specific context, where CS was associated with US. These results together demonstrate that learning-induced plasticity in the auditory cortex occurs in a context-dependent manner.
Transitions, capabilities and wellbeing: how Afghan unaccompanied young people experience becoming ‘adult’ in the UK and beyond

ABSTRACT While much has been written about the rights and best interests of unaccompanied children arriving in the UK and Europe, there has been very little focus on what happens when ‘children’ make the transition to institutional ‘adulthood’ at 18. This critical time for young people can variously mark being granted legal status, facing indefinite periods of waiting and insecurity, becoming ‘illegal’, or being detained and subsequently deported, commonly followed by re-migration. Drawing on in-depth and longitudinal ethnographic work with unaccompanied asylum-seeking young men from Afghanistan, the paper adopts a capabilities approach to explore what young people are able to ‘do’ and ‘be’ according to what they most value, and the intrinsic link between fulfilling these capabilities and a sense of wellbeing. It demonstrates a constant process of compromise and trade-off between what young people need to forego in the present in order to secure the viable futures they strive for.
Effects of the integrated Community Case Management of Childhood Illness Strategy on Child Mortality in Ethiopia: A Cluster Randomized Trial

We conducted a cluster randomized trial of the effects of the integrated community case management of childhood illness (iCCM) strategy on careseeking for and coverage of correct treatment of suspected pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria, and mortality among children aged 2–59 months in 31 districts of the Oromia region of Ethiopia. We conducted baseline and endline coverage and mortality surveys approximately 2 years apart, and assessed program strength after about 1 year of implementation. Results showed strong iCCM implementation, with iCCM-trained workers providing generally good quality of care. However, few sick children were taken to iCCM providers (average 16 per month). Difference in differences analyses revealed that careseeking for childhood illness was low and similar in both study arms at baseline and endline, and increased only marginally in intervention (22.9–25.7%) and comparison (23.3–29.3%) areas over the study period (P = 0.77). Mortality declined at similar rates in both study arms. Ethiopia's iCCM program did not generate levels of demand and utilization sufficient to achieve significant increases in intervention coverage and a resulting acceleration in reductions in child mortality. This evaluation has allowed Ethiopia to strengthen its strategic approaches to increasing population demand and use of iCCM services.
Efficiency of the Albanian Banking System: Traditional Approach and Stochastic Frontier Analysis

Efficiency issues become even more sensitive for post-communist European countries and for Albania as well, as their economies have created relatively new financial systems being currently of little experience, moreover when they become part of EU. Their survival requires them among others, to be as efficient as possible. The paper focuses on the dynamics of bank efficiency banking system as a whole and for each of the banks in particular. Firstly, the analysis is done through traditional indicators. These indicators clearly show a poor performance and decreased efficiency of Albanian banking system after year 2007. Then, is estimated the cost efficiency through Stochastic Frontier Approach (SFA). This efficiency estimation captures essentially the deviation that a bank has from the theoretical best-practice bank. Results show that in particular, the largest banks (which have the largest market share G3 group) seem to be more efficient than the smaller banks. However, the differences that they have on each other are much smaller than in the case of traditional indicators. Moreover, it is not clear the relationship between ROA or size of the bank with the cost efficiency.
DISASTER DAMAGE DETECTION AND ITS RECOVERY SUPPORT SYSTEM OF ROAD AND RAILROAD USING SATELLITE IMAGES

This paper describes a decision support system based on GIS and satellite remote sensing analysis. Damage triggered by the 2004 Niigata-ken Chuetsu Earthquake was detected using NDVI from SPOT images and texture analysis. Then the emergency transportation route was selected by a cost-based GIS analysis. As the result of the analysis, large-scale damage could be detected with high accuracy. From this information, two types of emergency transportation routes, roads and railways, were identified and evaluated. These results also contribute knowledge for reference in decision making for both recovery support and prevention of secondary disaster.
IL-22-Producing RORγt-Dependent Innate Lymphoid Cells Play a Novel Protective Role in Murine Acute Hepatitis

Retinoid-related orphan receptor (ROR) γt is known to be related to the development and function of various immunological compartments in the liver, such as Th17 cells, natural killer T (NKT) cells, and innate lymphoid cells (ILCs). We evaluated the roles of RORγt-expressing cells in mouse acute hepatitis model using RORγt deficient (RORγt−/−) mice and RAG-2 and RORγt double deficient (RAG-2−/− × RORγt−/−) mice. Acute hepatitis was induced in mice by injection with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), to investigate the regulation of liver inflammation by RORγt-expressing cells. We detected RORC expression in three compartments, CD4+ T cells, NKT cells, and lineage marker-negative SCA-1+Thy1high ILCs, of the liver of wild type (WT) mice. CCl4-treated RORγt−/− mice developed liver damage in spite of lack of RORγt-dependent cells, but with reduced infiltration of macrophages compared with WT mice. In this regard, ILCs were significantly decreased in RAG-2−/− × RORγt−/− mice that lacked T and NKT cells. Surprisingly, RAG-2−/− × RORγt−/− mice developed significantly severer CCl4-induced hepatitis compared with RAG-2−/− mice, in accordance with the fact that hepatic ILCs failed to produce IL-22. Lastly, anti-Thy1 monoclonal antibody (mAb), but not anti-NK1.1 mAb or anti-asialo GM1 Ab administration exacerbated liver damage in RAG-2−/− mice with the depletion of liver ILCs. Collectively, hepatic RORγt-dependent ILCs play a part of protective roles in hepatic immune response in mice.
Prediction of Soil Organic Carbon at the European Scale by Visible and Near InfraRed Reflectance Spectroscopy

Soil organic carbon is a key soil property related to soil fertility, aggregate stability and the exchange of CO2 with the atmosphere. Existing soil maps and inventories can rarely be used to monitor the state and evolution in soil organic carbon content due to their poor spatial resolution, lack of consistency and high updating costs. Visible and Near Infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy is an alternative method to provide cheap and high-density soil data. However, there are still some uncertainties on its capacity to produce reliable predictions for areas characterized by large soil diversity. Using a large-scale EU soil survey of about 20,000 samples and covering 23 countries, we assessed the performance of reflectance spectroscopy for the prediction of soil organic carbon content. The best calibrations achieved a root mean square error ranging from 4 to 15 g C kg−1 for mineral soils and a root mean square error of 50 g C kg−1 for organic soil materials. Model errors are shown to be related to the levels of soil organic carbon and variations in other soil properties such as sand and clay content. Although errors are ∼5 times larger than the reproducibility error of the laboratory method, reflectance spectroscopy provides unbiased predictions of the soil organic carbon content. Such estimates could be used for assessing the mean soil organic carbon content of large geographical entities or countries. This study is a first step towards providing uniform continental-scale spectroscopic estimations of soil organic carbon, meeting an increasing demand for information on the state of the soil that can be used in biogeochemical models and the monitoring of soil degradation.
Stock and Bond Prices with Disagreement and Habit Formation Preferences

We solve analytically a pure exchange general equilibrium model of heterogeneous beliefs with habit forming preferences. Equilibrium prices depend on three factors: (i) the habit formation parameter; ii) the degree of disagreement; iii) the dynamics of disagreement. We show that in the absence of time-varying disagreement, it is possible to construct an observational equivalent economy with homogeneous beliefs, despite the fact that investors update their beliefs in a Bayesian way. We assume time-varying disagreement as a reduced-form model for an economy in which behavioral biases, asymmetric information or cultural differences might explain why information coming to the market is processed differently by different individuals. When the factor of disagreement is time-varying, its time varying properties have significant effects on the interest rate and its volatility. An increase in disagreement increases the interest rate when risk aversion is higher than logarithmic (myopic investor); negative correlation between disagreement and risk aversion (lower disagreement implies higher aggregate risk-aversion), results in lower volatility of interest rates. There is evidence that disagreement and risk aversion are negatively correlated: in recessions risk-aversion goes up while disagreement tends to go down (investors become pessimistic and markets dry up). In addition, time-varying disagreement affects the correlation between stock prices and the discount factor and, therefore, the equity premium.
Minimization of Fuzzy Finite Tree Automata

Fuzzy Finite Tree Automata (FFTA) are natural generalizations of fuzzy automata on words. FFTA accept fuzzy tree languages and are used in many areas of mathematics, computer science and engineering. Therefore, it is important to design algorithms that reduce the size (number of states) of automata, and find the minimal FFTA that recognizes the same language as a given FFTA. We present two minimization algorithms for FFTA. Both proposed algorithms are based on partitioning the states to subsets of equivalent states, and proper propagation of fuzzy degrees on transition rules.
Determination of Aldehyde Dehydrogenase (ALDH) Isozymes in Human Cancer Samples - Comparison of Kinetic and Immunochemical Assays

A fluorimetric assay of aldehyde dehydrogenase isozymes, based on naphthaldehyde oxidation, is compared with Western Blotting analysis on several clinical samples obtained from surgery. The comparison reveals qualitatively good correlation of ALDH1A1 isozyme detection with two methods and somewhat worse on ALDH3A1 assay.