Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Whistleblowing in a Wikileaks World: A Model for Responsible Disclosure in Homeland Security

Abstract : Research Question: What policy model and associated technological process could the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) implement that will encourage whistleblowers to submit information through authorized channels as opposed to leaking information to unauthorized parties? Whistleblowing serves as a check/balance system to the government bureaucracy, helping to bypass administrative roadblocks and to provide a mechanism through which homeland security can monitor and increase efficiency in its operations. However, homeland security also deals with information that can be of a sensitive or secret nature, the unauthorized disclosure of which can cause damage to both homeland security efforts and national security. The current process for the authorized submission of whistleblowing information fails to provide whistleblowers the protections they require, and instead encourages whistleblowers to disclose information to the media or through stateless news organizations like Wikileaks to prevent reprisals. The technological capability to provide whistleblowers protections through anonymity currently exists, and has been demonstrated to be effective. Leveraging these technologies and setting up an authorized process for responsible disclosure through which homeland security employees can submit whistleblowing information without fear of reprisals may increase the likelihood of whistleblowers reporting issues in the first place, and reduce the number of leaks to unauthorized recipients (media/stateless news organizations).
Optimized tone mapping with flickering constraint for backward-compatible high dynamic range video coding

Backward compatibility to low dynamic range (LDR) displays is an important requirement for high dynamic range (HDR) image and video coding in order to enable a successful transition to HDR technology. In a recent work [1], an optimized solution for tone mapping and inverse tone mapping of HDR images and video frames is achieved in terms of the mean square error (MSE) of the logarithm of luminance values of HDR pixels for backward-compatible compression. Although this pioneer optimization approach provides a well settled mathematical framework for tone mapping, one of its important shortcomings is the flickering distortions that can occur on the resulting video due to the individual tone mapping applied to each frame. In this paper, we include the flickering distortion level as a constraint to optimization problem and develop a methodology to compromise the trade-off between the rate-distortion performance and flickering effect. The developed methodology is validated on HDR video sequences by showing the changes in rate-distortion performances with respect to the different flickering levels.
POSTER: Identifying Dynamic Data Structures in Malware

As the complexity of malware grows, so does the necessity of employing program structuring mechanisms during development. While control flow structuring is often obfuscated, the dynamic data structures employed by the program are typically untouched. We report on work in progress that exploits this weakness to identify dynamic data structures present in malware samples for the purposes of aiding reverse engineering and constructing malware signatures, which may be employed for malware classification. Using a prototype implementation, which combines the type recovery tool Howard and the identification tool Data Structure Investigator (DSI), we analyze data structures in Carberp and AgoBot malware. Identifying their data structures illustrates a challenging problem. To tackle this, we propose a new type recovery for binaries based on machine learning, which uses Howard's types to guide the search and DSI's memory abstraction for hypothesis evaluation.
The stochastic gravitational-wave background from massive black hole binary systems: implications for observations with Pulsar Timing Arrays

Massive black hole binary systems, with masses in the range � 10 4 10 10 M⊙, are among the primary sources of gravitational waves in the frequency window � 10 −9 Hz 0.1Hz. Pulsar Timing Arrays (PTAs) and the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) are the observational means by which we will be able to observe gravitational radiation from these systems. We carry out a systematic study of the generation of the stochastic gravitational-wave background from the cosmic population of massive black hole binaries. We consider a wide variety of assembly scenarios and we estimate the range of signal strength in the frequency band accessible to PTAs. We show that regardless of the specific model of massive black hole binaries formation and evolution, the characteristic amplitude hc of the gravitational wave stochastic background at 10 −8 Hz varies by less than a factor of 2. However, taking into account the uncertainties surrounding the actual key model parameters, the amplitude lies in the interval hc(f = 10 −8 Hz) � 5×10 −16 8×10 −15 . The most optimistic predictions place the signal level at a factor of � 3 below the current sensitivity of Pulsar Timing Arrays, but within the detection range of the complete Parkes PTA for a wide variety of models, and of the future Square-Kilometer-Array PTA for all the models considered here. We also show that at frequencies > 10 −8 Hz the frequency dependency of the generated background follows a power-law significantly steeper than hc / f −2/3 , that has been considered so far; the value of the spectral index depends on the actual assembly scenario and provides therefore an additional opportunity to extract astrophysical information about the cosmic population of massive black holes. Finally we show that LISA observations of individual resolvable massive black hole binaries are complementary and orthogonal to PTA observations of a stochastic background from the whole population in the Universe. In fact, the detection of gravitational radiation in both frequency windows will enable us to fully characterise the cosmic history of massive black holes.
Fluorescent phospholipids preferentially accumulate in sub-tegumental cells of schistosomula of Schistosoma mansoni.

Schistosomes do not make sterols or fatty acids de novo and thus require host lipids for survival. The acquisition of host lipids may also be an important factor in the schistosome's defense from host immunity; however, little is known about the regulation of this process. Here we have examined binding of radiolabeled and fluorescently labeled liposomes to schistosomula, and followed incorporation of fluorescent phospholipids into the worm by both morphological and biochemical methods. Saturable binding of radiolabeled phosphatidylcholine containing liposomes was observed and epifluorescence microscopy showed binding of C6-NBD-phosphatidylcholine (C6-NBD-PC), C12-NBD-phosphatidylcholine (C12-NBD-PC) and C6-NBD-phosphatidyl-ethanolamine (C6-NBD-PE) containing liposomes on the surface of the parasite. Following back-exchange with unlabeled liposomes, NBD-PC and NBD-PE were observed to be preferentially incorporated into specific cell types within the worm. Furthermore, cells which had accumulated the fluorescent lipid formed an interconnecting cellular network immediately below the tegument, identified as cytons. By contrast, fluorescein-PE was found only on the surface of the parasite and in the gut but not in the cytons. Biochemical analysis demonstrated that > 90% of the C6-NBD-PC and C12-NBD-PC remained as the intact molecule after a one hour incubation with the parasite, but that greater than 70% of the NBD-PE was converted to other lipids. These studies demonstrate that incorporation of phospholipid analogs into schistosomula can be followed morphologically and biochemically. As there was little localization of NBD-PE or NBD-PC in the gut, these analogs must be assimilated by crossing the tegument. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Noise and Nonlinearity in Epidemics: combining statistical and mechanistic modeling to characterize and forecast population dynamics.

Childhood disease epidemics in large cities, notably measles, have been proposed as a well-supported example of deterministic chaos underlying complex population dynamics, but this remains controversial. Methods based on nonlinear time series modeling identify these epidemics as nonlinear with substantial random noise, clustering near the transition between stability and chaos. This conclusion has been challenged on the ground that the time series models have lower forecasting accuracy than mechanistic models with chaotic dynamics. However, the time series models in this comparison were all linear. Here we broaden the comparison to include nonlinear time series models for the "noisy nonlinearity" hypothesis, introducing an intermediate class of "semi-mechanistic" models which incorporate some mechanistic structure while retaining statistical flexibility. All of the nonlinear time series models exhibited higher prediction accuracy than deterministic chaotic models, but the semi-mechanistic model was by far the most accurate. This comparsion suggests that for forecasting, control, and other practical applications on populations other than measles, semi-mechanistic modeling may be the most effective approach for characterizing and predicting population dynamics from limited data. Characterization of measles dynamics based on the semi-mechanistic models indicates that the dynamics have an appreciable random component, are near the border between stability and chaos, and vary between local (in state space) stability and chaos.
The Challenge of Youth Unemployment

This paper presents an overview of the youth unemployment problem and youth employment policy principally from the European perspective although it is hoped that much of the coment and analysis is relevant for a much broader range of countries. Its intention is to raise issues rather than provide a blueprint for policy. In the first part, which considers the nature and caiuses of youth unemployment, it is shown thatbthe basic cause of youth unemployment is insufficient aggregate demand rather than high youth wages or the size of the youth cohort, and suggests that a successful strategy for dealing with this problem must take this into account. In the second section, dealing principally with the examples of the UK and Germany, a number of factors are identified which influence the effectiveness of youth employment policy. IN particular, it is found that precise targetting of programmes and the involvement of employers' and workers' organisations as well as government in the design and implementation of policy are both important determinants of an effective policy.
Establishing Classroom Management for Cooperative Learning: Three Cases.

The purpose of this study was to identify how effective teachers manage productive groups in elementary grade classrooms. Multiple instrumental case study methods were used to document the managerial actions of selected teachers who made extensive use of cooperative learning (CL) activities. Four teachers in three elementary grade classrooms (two teachers team taught a combined 2 and 3 grade class) were selected for further study from a larger sample of 13 teachers. Criteria for teacher selection were based on observations of student engagement and group productivity in the spring of the preceding year. Observations were conducted on 5 to 7 occasions in each chosen teacher’s classroom, commencing on the first day of school, except in one class in which group activities were not begun until the second week. Most observations were an hour to an hour and a half in length, and included one or more group activities. After several observations were completed, each teacher was interviewed in order to obtain the teacher’s perspective about the use of cooperative learning groups. Additional observations were made later in the school year. Analyses revealed several important features of implementing CL, including room arrangement to accommodate group work, organizing activities, teaching students procedures and routines for working in groups, and monitoring group activities. The case studies illustrate how effective teachers established their productive CL settings, and the findings could be helpful to teachers and teacher educators interested in the management of CL activities.
Model Predictive Control of Linear Induction Motor Drive

Abstract This paper investigates the application of the Model Predictive Control (MPC) technique in order to control the speed and/or position of the Linear Induction Motor (LIM) drive. The main goal of this controller is to provide the optimal 3-phase primary voltages necessary for tracking a certain speed reference trajectory. Moreover, constraints over the flux and current could be imposed to keep them within permissible values. The main idea is to tighten the future output error to zero, with minimum input effort. The MPC controller produces its optimal output derived from a quadratic cost function minimization based on the linearized machine model. A PI controller may be used in order to eliminate the steady state error completely. Simulation results show that the MPC controller succeeded in well tracking all given speed reference trajectories at high speed as well as at low speed with almost no current and force ripples. It has been proved that the proposed controller has faster response than any traditional controller. Moreover, it shows more robustness against parameter uncertainty and load disturbance.
2 Guidelines : the current position

The setting of guidelines is a key normative function of the World Health Organization. This chapter examines the development of the current water-related WHO guidelines. Within the area of water, microbiology and guideline setting there are three distinct but related areas, namely: x drinking water; x wastewater reuse; and x recreational water. The following explores the background to the current guidelines, highlighting the different pathways to their formation.
Public Health Genomics : translation of genomic research on smoking behaviour into evidence synthesis and guidelines for public health

• A submitted manuscript is the version of the article upon submission and before peer-review. There can be important differences between the submitted version and the official published version of record. People interested in the research are advised to contact the author for the final version of the publication, or visit the DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review. • The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers.
The XMM-Newton view of IRAS 09104+4109: evidence for a changing-look Type 2 quasar?

Aims. We report on a 14 ks XMM-Newton observation of the hyperluminous infrared galaxy IRAS 09104+4109, which harbors a type 2 quasar in its nucleus. Our analysis was aimed at studying the properties of the absorbing matter and the Fe K complex at 6–7 keV in this source. Methods. We analyzed the spectroscopic data from the PN and the MOS cameras in the 0.4–10 keV band. We also used an archival BeppoSAX 1–50 keV observation of IRAS 09104+4109 to investigate possible variations of the quasar emission. Results. The X-ray emission in the EPIC band is dominated by the intra-cluster medium thermal emission. We found that the quasar contributes ∼35% of the total flux in the 2–10 keV band. Both a transmission- (through a Compton-thin absorber with a Compton optical depth of τC ∼ 0.3, i.e. NH ∼ 5 × 10 23 cm −2 ) and a reflection-dominated (τC > 1) model provide an excellent fit to the quasar continuum emission. However, the value measured for the EW of Fe Kα emission line is only marginally consistent with the presence of a Compton-thick absorber in a reflection-dominated scenario, which had been suggested by a previous, marginal (i.e. 2.5σ) detection with the hard X-ray (15–50 keV), non-imaging BeppoSAX/PDS instrument. Moreover, the value of luminosity in the 2–10 keV band measured by the transmission-dominated model is fully consistent with that expected on the basis of the bolometric luminosity of IRAS 09104+4109. From the analysis of the XMM-Newton data we therefore suggest the possibility that the absorber along the line of sight to the nucleus of IRAS 09104+4109 is Compton-thin. Alternatively, the absorber column density could have changed from Compton-thick to -thin in the five years elapsed between the observations. If this is the case, then IRAS 09104+4109 is the first “changing-look” quasar ever detected.
Do hospitals behave like consumers? An analysis of expenditures and revenues

Hospitals adjust expenditures to be a constant proportion of their revenues. An unexpected 10-percent change in hospital revenue generates a 3.5 - 4.8 percent expenditure change (in the same direction) the year it occurs, with declining changes thereafter (10 percent in total). Non-profit and government hospitals adjust expenditures about 80 percent of the way toward their longrun change near the end of the third year of the revenue change; for-profit hospitals do this at the end of the fourth year. Hospitals with revenue increases make an 80-percent adjustment toward the end of the third year; those with revenue declines do so near the end of the fourth year.
The Social Position of Young Women in Present-day Ukraine

The social status of women in the transitional societies has been, and continues to be, very controversial and contested. This article examines the similarities and differences in social situations of young women in three regions of present-day Ukraine. It discusses their roles in the economy, family, education, and politics. It argues that the socio-economic situation during the transition from a command system to a market economy has affected their lives via the feminisation of poverty, discrimination in the labour market, and declining political representation. A so-called ‘discourse of surviving’ is a response to and, equally, an accurate portrayal of this situation.
Biological and biochemical characterization of HIV-1 Gag/dgp41 virus-like particles expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana

The transmembrane HIV-1 envelope protein gp41 has been shown to play critical roles in the viral mucosal transmission and infection of CD4+ cells. Gag is a structural protein configuring the enveloped viral particles and has been suggested to constitute a target of the cellular immunity that may control viral load. We hypothesized that HIV enveloped virus-like particles (VLPs) consisting of Gag and a deconstructed form of gp41 comprising the membrane proximal external, transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains (dgp41) could be expressed in plants. To this end, plant-optimized HIV-1 genes were constructed and expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana by stable transformation, or transiently using a Tobamovirus-based expression system or a combination of both. Our results of biophysical, biochemical and electron microscopy characterization demonstrates that plant cells could support not only the formation of enveloped HIV-1 Gag VLPs, but also the accumulation of VLPs that incorporated dgp41. These findings provide further impetus for the journey towards a broadly efficacious and inexpensive subunit vaccine against HIV-1.
The Foreign Fighters' Threat : What History Can(not) Tell Us

Methodological questions around the determination how many of the foreign fighters going to Syria are likely to engage in terrorism upon their return are discussed. Two approaches are used in this Research Note to assess the threat posed by Western foreign fighters in the past. These serve to answer two questions: how many of the former foreign fighters became involved in terrorist activity (approach 1) and how many of jihadist-inspired terrorists were former foreign fighters (approach 2)? The research is based on three studies (Afghanistan, Bosnia and Somalia) and the data are presented in an Appendix. A typology of foreign fighters is presented in the text itself.
Effects of Orientation on Survival and Growth of Small Fragments of the Invasive, Clonal Plant Alternanthera philoxeroides

Background The ability of small clonal fragments to establish and grow after disturbance is an important ecological advantage of clonal growth in plants and a major factor in the invasiveness of some introduced, clonal species. We hypothesized that orientation in the horizontal position (typical for stoloniferous plants) can increase the survival and growth of dispersed clonal fragments, and that this effect of orientation can be stronger when fragments are smaller and thus have fewer reserves to support initial growth. Methodology/Principal Findings To test these hypotheses, we compared performance of single-node pieces of stolon fragments of Alternanthera philoxeroides planted at angles of 0, 45 or 90° away from the horizontal position, with either the distal or the proximal end of the fragment up and with either 1 or 3 cm of stolon left attached both distal and proximal to the ramet. As expected, survival and growth were greatest when fragments were positioned horizontally. Contrary to expectations, some of these effects of orientation were stronger when attached stolons were longer. Orientation had smaller effects than stolon length on the performance of fragments; survival of fragments was about 60% with shorter stolons and 90% with longer stolons. Conclusions/Significance Results supported the hypothesis that orientation can affect establishment of small clonal fragments, suggested that effects of orientation can be stronger in larger rather than smaller fragments, and indicated that orientation may have less effect on establishment than amount of stored resources.
Environmental scanning in business organisations

Purpose - – This study aims to analyse the environmental scanning and information sources used by Jordanian firms. Furthermore, the relationship between environmental scanning and organisational characteristics (firm size and industry type), as well as organisational performance, is explored. Design/methodology/approach - – The empirical research was coordinated via a survey of 190 Jordanian publicly quoted firms. The results of the survey provided a rich source of data in relation to a variety of practices associated with environmental scanning in these firms. Findings - – The findings of this study show that scanning focus was higher for the general environmental sectors than the task environmental sectors. The results also demonstrate that these firms rely more on internal sources of information. Larger firms have more scanning activities, while smaller firms tend to focus on different sources of information. Additionally, some differences in the industry sector in terms of scanning behaviour were identified. This study also supports the literature regarding the positive relationship between environment scanning and organisational performance by providing new empirical evidence from the context of Middle East countries. Originality/value - – This paper provides empirical evidence on the nature and the practice of environmental scanning and its value for organisational performance in business firms in a Middle East context. From a theoretical perspective, this study engages in the “convergence versus divergence” debate regarding managers’ scanning behaviour around the world.