Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genetic algorithm optimization of multiwavelet-based audio watermarking

In this paper, we propose a new approach for optimization in audio watermarking using artificial intelligent technique. The watermarks are embedded into the low frequency coefficients in discrete multiwavelet transform domain. The embedding technique is based on quantization process which does not require the original audio signal in the watermark extraction. We have developed an optimization technique using the genetic algorithm to search for optimal quantization step in order to improve both quality of watermarked audio and robustness of the watermark. The experimental results show that our proposed method can improve the quality of the watermarked audio signal and give more robustness of the watermark as compared to previous works.
Radar backscattering model for multilayer mixed-species forests

A multilayer canopy scattering model is developed for mixed-species forests. The multilayer model provides a significantly enhanced representation of actual complex forest structures compared to the conventional canopy-trunk layer models. Multilayer Michigan Microwave Canopy Scattering model (Multi-MIMICS) allows overlapping layer configuration and a tapered trunk model applicable to forests of mixed species and/or mixed growth stages. The model is the first-order solution to a set of radiative transfer equations and includes layer interactions between overlapping layers. It simulates SAR backscattering coefficients based on input dimensional, geometrical, and dielectric variables of forest canopies. The Multi-MIMICS is an efficient realization of actual forest structures and can be shaped for specific interest of forest parameters. We present the model's application and validation in the paper. The model is parameterized using data collected from a 220,000-ha area of forests in central Queensland, Australia. Fifteen 50/spl times/50 m test sites representing the general forest diversity and growth stages are chosen as ground truth. Polarimetric backscattering airborne SAR (AIRSAR) data of the same area are acquired to validate the model simulations. The model predicts SAR backscattering coefficients of the test areas. Simulation results show a good agreement with AIRSAR data at most frequencies and polarizations. The simulated backscattering coefficient from the multilayer model and the standard MIMICS are also compared and significant improvements are observed.
Dynamics of anticipatory mechanisms during predictive context processing

We employed an electroencephalography paradigm manipulating predictive context to dissociate the neural dynamics of anticipatory mechanisms. Subjects either detected random targets or targets preceded by a predictive sequence of three distinct stimuli. The last stimulus in the three‐stimulus sequence (decisive stimulus) did not require any motor response but 100% predicted a subsequent target event. We showed that predictive context optimises target processing via the deployment of distinct anticipatory mechanisms at different times of the predictive sequence. Prior to the occurrence of the decisive stimulus, enhanced attentional preparation was manifested by reductions in the alpha oscillatory activities over the visual cortices, resulting in facilitation of processing of the decisive stimulus. Conversely, the subsequent 100% predictable target event did not reveal the deployment of attentional preparation in the visual cortices, but elicited enhanced motor preparation mechanisms, indexed by an increased contingent negative variation and reduced mu oscillatory activities over the motor cortices before movement onset. The present results provide evidence that anticipation operates via different attentional and motor preparation mechanisms by selectively pre‐activating task‐dependent brain areas as the predictability gradually increases.
Subunit Organization and Reversal-associated Movements in the Flagellar Switch of Escherichia coli*♦

Bacterial flagella contain a rotor-mounted protein complex termed the switch complex that functions in flagellar assembly, rotation, and clockwise/counterclockwise direction control. In Escherichia coli and Salmonella, the switch complex contains the proteins FliG, FliM, and FliN and corresponds structurally with the C-ring in the flagellar basal body. Certain features of subunit organization in the switch complex have been deduced previously, but details of subunit organization in the lower part of the C-ring and the molecular movements responsible for motor switching remain unclear. In this study, we use cross-linking, binding, and mutational experiments to examine subunit organization in the bottom of the C-ring and to probe movements that occur upon switching. The results show that FliN tetramers alternate with FliM C-terminal domains to form the bottom of the C-ring in an arrangement that closely reproduces the major features observed in electron microscopic reconstructions. When motors were switched to clockwise rotation by a repellent stimulus, cross-link yields were altered in a pattern indicating relative movement of FliN and FliMC. These results are discussed in the framework of a structurally grounded hypothesis for the switching mechanism.
Design Environment of Reinforcement Learning Agents for Intelligent Multiagent System

The agent-oriented computing is a technique for generating the agent who operates autonomously according to the behavior knowledge. Moreover, agent can have the characteristic called "Learningh skill. More efficient operation of agents can be expected by realizing "Learning" skill. In this research, our aim is to support agent designer who designs and develops the intelligent agent system equipped with gLearningh skill. We propose design environment of reinforcement learning agents on repository-based agent framework called DASH framework. Proposed mechanism enables agent designer to design and implement the learning agents without highly expertise, therefore we can reduce the designer's burden. In this paper, we explain the DASH framework, Profit Sharing and proposed design support mechanism. Moreover we show the effectiveness of the proposal method through the some experiments.
Optimal clearance-markdown pricing of retail goods using demand-response functions under variance-sensitive and risk-neutral criteria

This paper considers a dynamic pricing problem encountered during the clearance-markdown period of a retail product. Much of the literature assumes knowledge of reservation prices to solve such a problem. However, practicing retailers are more comfortable with the notion of consumers’ demand-response functions than with reservation prices. Hence we introduce two models that incorporate such functions into the framework of dynamic pricing. In particular, we study in detail the Cobb-Douglas function, but our models are sufficiently general to capture the effects of any other demand-response function. Our first model is a risk-neutral model designed to maximize the expected value of the total revenues earned over a finite time horizon. Our second model is a risk-sensitive model designed to maximize the expected revenues subject to a constraint on the maximum allowable variance in the revenues. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt at risk-sensitive pricing of retailer goods in the clearance-markdown period. Finally, we show with the help of data collected from a major grocery chain in the northeastern USA how our models may be used in practice.
The SCUBA HAlf Degree Extragalactic Survey (SHADES) -- V. Submillimetre properties of near-infrared--selected galaxies in the Subaru/XMM--Newton deep field

We have studied the submillimetre (submm) properties of the following classes of near-infrared-selected (NIR-selected) massive galaxies at high redshifts: BzK-selected star-forming galaxies (BzKs); distant red galaxies (DRGs); and extremely red objects (EROs). We used the SCUBA HAlf Degree Extragalactic Survey (SHADES), the largest uniform submm survey to date. Partial overlap of SIRIUS/NIR images and SHADES in Subaru/XMM–Newton deep field has allowed us to identify four submm-bright NIR-selected galaxies, which are detected in the mid-IR, 24 μm, and the radio, 1.4GHz. We find that all of our submm-bright NIR-selected galaxies satisfy the BzK selection criteria, i.e. BzK≡ (z−K)_(AB)− (B−z)_(AB)≥−0.2 , except for one galaxy whose B−z and z−K colours are however close to the BzK colour boundary. Two of the submm-bright NIR-selected galaxies satisfy all of the selection criteria we considered, i.e. they belong to the BzK–DRG–ERO overlapping population, or 'extremely red'BzKs. Although these extremely red BzKs are rare (0.25 arcmin^(−2)), up to 20 per cent of this population could be submm galaxies. This fraction is significantly higher than that found for other galaxy populations studied here. Via a stacking analysis, we have detected the 850-μm flux of submm-faint BzKs and EROs in our SCUBA maps. While the contribution of z ~ 2 BzKs to the submm background is about 10–15 per cent and similar to that from EROs typically at z ~ 1, BzKs have a higher fraction (~30 per cent) of submm flux in resolved sources compared with EROs and submm sources as a whole. From the spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting analysis for both submm-bright and submm-faint BzKs, we found no clear signature that submm-bright BzKs are experiencing a specifically luminous evolutionary phase, compared with submm-faint BzKs. An alternative explanation might be that submm-bright BzKs are more massive than submm-faint ones.
The Effect of Direct Renin Inhibition Alone and in Combination With ACE Inhibition on Endothelial Function, Arterial Stiffness, and Renal Function in Type 1 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE Diabetes is associated with renin-angiotensin system (RAS) activation, leading to renal and systemic vascular dysfunction that contribute to end-organ injury and significant morbidity. RAS blockade with ACE inhibitors reduces, but does not abolish, RAS effects. Accordingly, our aim was to determine if direct renin inhibition alone, and in combination with an ACE inhibitor, corrects early hemodynamic abnormalities associated with type 1 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Arterial stiffness (augmentation index), flow-mediated vasodilatation (FMD), and renal hemodynamic function (inulin and paraaminohippurate clearance) were measured at baseline under clamped euglycemic and hyperglycemic conditions (n = 21). Measures were repeated after 4 weeks of aliskiren therapy and again after aliskiren plus ramipril. RESULTS Blood pressure–lowering effects of aliskiren were similar during clamped euglycemia and hyperglycemia. Combination therapy augmented this effect under both glycemic conditions (P = 0.0005). Aliskiren reduced arterial stiffness under clamped euglycemic and hyperglycemic conditions, and the effects were augmented by dual RAS blockade (−3.4 ± 11.2 to −8.0 ± 11.5 to −14.3 ± 8.4%, respectively, during euglycemia, P = 0.0001). During clamped euglycemia, aliskiren increased FMD; dual therapy exaggerated this effect (5.1 ± 3.3 to 7.5 ± 3.0 to 10.8 ± 3.5%, repeated-measures ANOVA, P = 0.0001). Aliskiren monotherapy caused renal vasodilatation during clamped hyperglycemia only. In contrast, dual therapy augmented renal vasodilatory effects during clamped euglycemia and hyperglycemia. CONCLUSIONS In patients with uncomplicated type 1 diabetes, aliskiren-based dual RAS blockade is associated with greater arterial compliance, FMD, and renal vasodilatation.
Understanding the Vendors' Needs: A Repertory Grid Study on Client-Vendor Relationship Quality in IT Outsourcing

The outsourcing of information technology (IT) to external vendors promises lower delivery cost while attaining higher delivery quality. Despite these positive prospects, many information technology outsourcing (ITO) projects still fail, often due to an unsuccessful client-vendor relationship. Most research to date has focused on investigating this relationship from the clients’ perspective, even though the vendor is equally important for success. This study empirically identifies 65 vendor-focused factors influencing the development and maintenance of a successful ITO client-vendor relationship by applying Kelly’s personal construct theory and the corresponding repertory grid (RepGrid) method. All factors were thoroughly analyzed and categorized based on an a priori conceptual framework for interorganizational relationships derived from organizational exchange theory. The analysis of the identified factors yielded client organization specifics such as top quality client team members, client involvement as well as client team member’s networks as especially important for ITO relationship success from the perspective of the vendor, while identifying age of relationship and prior experience with similar projects as less essential compared to prior studies on this topic from a client perspective. With our results, we shed light on the as-of-yet under-researched perspective of the vendor’s needs in ITO relationships and we provide indications for gaps in our knowledge on this important topic.
Effects of Matching Cognitive and Perceptual-Motor Training to Task Components on Complex Task Performance by Older and Younger Adults

The present study investigated the type of information that should be presented during training in order to maximize the performance of older and younger adults on complex, realistic tasks. This study compares the effects of emphasizing concepts or actions during training on both immediate performance and performance after a one-month delay. Participants completed one of two tutorials for operating a computer-simulated automatic teller machine. One tutorial presented conceptual information at each system state (Concept Training). The other indicated the target object on-screen and required activation of the correct ATM simulator control (Action Training). Participants performed 20 transactions following training and 20 transactions following a one-month retention interval. Older Action trainees showed higher accuracy on perceptual-motor task components than did older Concept trainees. Older Concept trainees showed higher accuracy on cognitive task components than did older Action trainees. Younger adults showed no training group differences. Results suggest that matching type of training to task components may be especially important for older adults and that qualitatively different recommendations may result from testing older and younger adults.
Design and implementation of a dynamic symbolic execution tool for windows executables

Dynamic symbolic execution, or DSE for short, has become a promising technique in software testing. However, the implementation details of DSE have not been described in depth in existing works. Although some open‐source DSE tools are available nowadays, to design and implement a specific DSE tool from scratch is necessary for some reasons. To this end, we implement a Smart Fuzzing Tool for Windows Native Executables, or SMAFE for short, which utilizes Pin and STP for instrumentation and constraint solving, respectively. Advantages of Pin and STP make SMAFE portable. The major contribution of this paper is our detailed description of the implementation of DSE, including symbolization of inputs, tracking of symbols, synchronization of overlapped symbols, environment modeling, and so on. A practical case study validates the effectiveness of SMAFE. Then, the experiments with two benchmark sets present that the code coverage is above 90% on average. Benefits from this paper are at least twofold: moderating learning curve for scholars and shortening the development circle for practitioners. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Successive Refinement Via Broadcast: Optimizing Expected Distortion of a Gaussian Source Over a Gaussian Fading Channel

We consider the problem of transmitting a Gaussian source on a slowly fading Gaussian channel, subject to the mean-squared error distortion measure. The channel state information is known only at the receiver but not at the transmitter. The source is assumed to be encoded in a successive refinement (SR) manner, and then transmitted over the channel using the broadcast strategy. In order to minimize the expected distortion at the receiver, optimal power allocation is essential. We propose an efficient algorithm to compute the optimal solution in linear time , when the total number of possible discrete fading states. Moreover, we provide a derivation of the optimal power allocation when the fading state is a continuum, using the classical variational method. The proposed algorithm as well as the continuous solution is based on an alternative representation of the capacity region of the Gaussian broadcast channel.
Individual Orientations and Career Satisfaction

This study examines the relationships between two different types of individual orientation (i.e., protean career orientation and employment commitment) and career satisfaction. Drawing on self-determination theory and social cognitive theory, we propose that work engagement and self-efficacy act as mediators in the above relationships. Several hypotheses are developed and tested with a sample of 222 employees in Hong Kong. The results of path analysis and bootstrapping indicated that both protean career orientation and employment commitment are positively related to career satisfaction, and these relationships are fully mediated by work engagement and self-efficacy.
Nonlinear control of a class of underactuated systems

A theoretical framework is established for the dynamics and control of underactuated systems, defined as systems which have fewer inputs than degrees of freedom. Control system formulation of underactuated systems is addressed and the class of second-order nonholonomic systems is identified. Controllability and stabilizability results are derived for this class of underactuated systems. Examples are included to illustrate the results.
Influence of Injection Timing on Performance and Emission Characteristics of Naturally Aspirated Twin Cylinder CIDI Engine Using Bio-diesel Blend as Fuel

Stringent emission norms and environment degradation due to pollutants from the automotive vehicles lead us to find the suitable alternative for the petro-diesel. Among the alternatives the non-edible vegetable oil seems to be most promising one. When the vegetable oil is used as fuel in diesel engine, it does not cause any major problem if used for a short period. However in the long run it causes major problems such as injector coking, deposit build up in the combustion chamber, piston ring sticking and engine oil dilution. Hence vegetable oils are converted as biodiesels to reduce viscosity. The transesterification process has proved as one of the best method to achieve the same. It is evident from the literature that the major problem on utilization of blends of bio-diesel is the increase in NOx emission from diesel engines. To reduce the NOx emission from the diesel engines employing biodiesel blend as fuel, the injection timing of fuel is altered by either addition or removal of shims in the pump. The effect of changing the injection timing on BSEC, Brake Thermal Efficiency, CO, HC and NO emissions are studied at different injection timings such as 18°, 21°, 24°, 27° and 30° CA bTDC. From the experiments it is found that on retarding the injection to 18°CA bTDC from 24° CA bTDC, the original injection timing, the NOx emission reduced to about 35% while advancing to 30°CA bTDC, the NOx increased by 25%. The BSEC, CO, HC have been found to increase by about 3%, 12.65% and 10% respectively on retarding to 18°CA bTDC while decrease by 6.27%, 32%,and 14.44% respectively on advancing the injection to 30° CA bTDC. The brake thermal efficiency is reduced by 3.08% on retarding to 18°CA bTDC whereas it is improved by 5.09% on advancing the injection timing to 30° CA bTDC.
Costs of Managerial Attention and Activity as a Source of Sticky Prices: Structural Estimates from an Online Market

We study price dynamics for computer components sold on a price-comparison website. Our fine-grained data—a year of hourly price data for scores of rival retailers—allow us to estimate a dynamic model of competition, backing out structural estimates of managerial frictions. The estimated frictions are substantial, concentrated in the act of monitoring market conditions rather than entering a new price. We use our model to simulate the counterfactual gains from automated price setting and other managerial changes. Coupled with supporting reduced-form statistical evidence, our analysis provides a window into the process of managerial price setting and the microfoundation of pricing inertia, issues of growing interest in industrial organization and macroeconomics.
On optimum MIMO with antenna selection

Wireless communication systems with transmit and receive antenna arrays are studied when antenna selection is used. A case with very limited feedback of information from the receiver to the transmitter is considered, where the only information fed back is the selected subset of transmit antennas to be employed. It is shown that the optimum signaling, for largest ergodic capacity with antenna selection, is generally different from that which is optimum without antenna selection for some range of signal-to-noise ratios.
Different areas of human non‐primary auditory cortex are activated by sounds with spatial and nonspatial properties

In humans, neuroimaging studies have identified the planum temporale to be particularly responsive to both spatial and nonspatial attributes of sound. However, a functional segregation of the planum temporale along these acoustic dimensions has not been firmly established. We evaluated this scheme in a factorial design using modulated sounds that generated a percept of motion (spatial) or frequency modulation (nonspatial). In addition, these sounds were presented in the context of a motion detection and a frequency‐modulation detection task to investigate the cortical effects of directing attention to different perceptual attributes of the sound. Motion produced stronger activation in the medial part of the planum temporale and frequency‐modulation produced stronger activation in the lateral part of the planum temporale, as well as an additional non‐primary area lateral to Heschl's gyrus. These separate subregions are consistent with the notion of divergent processing streams for spatial and nonspatial auditory information. Activation in the superior parietal cortex, putatively involved in the spatial pathway, was dependent on the task of motion detection and not simply on the presence of acoustic cues for motion. This finding suggests that the listening task is an important determinant of how the processing stream is engaged. Hum. Brain Mapping 21:178–190, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Disease spread in age structured populations with maternal age effects

Abstract Fundamental ecological processes, such as extrinsic mortality, determine population age structure. This influences disease spread when individuals of different ages differ in susceptibility or when maternal age determines offspring susceptibility. We show that Daphnia magna offspring born to young mothers are more susceptible than those born to older mothers, and consider this alongside previous observations that susceptibility declines with age in this system. We used a susceptible‐infected compartmental model to investigate how age‐specific susceptibility and maternal age effects on offspring susceptibility interact with demographic factors affecting disease spread. Our results show a scenario where an increase in extrinsic mortality drives an increase in transmission potential. Thus, we identify a realistic context in which age effects and maternal effects produce conditions favouring disease transmission.
A Brief Introduction to Fourier Analysis on the Boolean Cube

We give a brief introduction to the basic notions of Fourier analysis on the Boolean cube, illustrated and motivated by a number of applications to theoretical computer science. ACM Classification: F.0, F.2 AMS Classification: 42-02, 68-02, 68Q17, 68Q25, 68Q32