Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Methodologies and metrics for the testing and analysis of distributed denial of service attacks and defenses

In this paper, we describe our ongoing efforts to develop methodologies and metrics for the testing and analysis of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks and defenses as part of the Evaluation Methods for Internet Security Technologies (EMIST) project funded by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). The EMIST project in turn makes use of the Cyber Defense technology Experimental Research (DETER) network. DETER is an experimental network test bed built to support national-scale experimentation of security research and technologies. Our objective is to advance the state of the art in the testing, analysis and assessment of DDoS attacks and defenses. To enable this, we are designing a canonical experimentation methodology to guide an experimenter in systematically defining and conducting evaluations. We are also developing a metrics framework to go hand-in-hand with the canonical experimentation methodology. We also describe the results and lessons learnt from initial DDoS experiments using our floodwatch defense technology.
Evaluation of cardiopulmonary fitness in individuals with hemiparesis after cerebrovascular accident.

BACKGROUND Due to the hemiparesis, the assessment of cardiorespiratory fitness on individuals after cerebrovascular accident (CVA), using exercise tests with conventional protocols, has become a challenge. OBJECTIVE Perform cardiopulmonary test (CPT) in hemiparetic patients to a pre-participation evaluation aimed at a careful prescription of aerobic exercise. METHODS The study included eight individuals with chronic hemiparesis who underwent CPT performed with individualized ramp protocol, developed from information on the gait speed of individuals previously evaluated in the track test. We considered the proposal of inclination ranging from 0 to 10.0%, initial speed corresponding to 70.0% of comfortable walking speed rhythm and 40.0% higher than the maximum speed on the track test, expecting that the CPT with this gradual and steady increase in intensity, lasted from 6 to 8 minutes. RESULTS In 100.0% of the sample, the reason for discontinuation was peripheral fatigue. The peak VO2 achieved was 20.6 ± 5.7 ml/kg.min. The threshold I was identified in all tests, standing at 82.64 ± 4.78% of peak HR and 73.31 ± 4.97% of peak VO2. The respiratory quotient (R) of the group was 0.96 ± 0.09, and three out of eight individuals (37.5%) reached R higher than 1.00, and the Threshold II was identified in these individuals. We found positive relationships between CPT variables and balance scores, performance in the 6-minute walking test and running speed on the ground. CONCLUSION The test proved to be useful for prescribing physical activity in these individuals.
Many-objective test problems with multiple Pareto optimal regions in a decision space

In evolutionary multi-objective optimization (EMO) algorithms, diversity maintenance has been mainly discussed in the objective space in order to search for uniformly distributed non-dominated solutions along the entire Pareto front. In this paper, we propose three types of many-objective test problems with multiple Pareto optimal regions in the decision space. One type has multiple equivalent Pareto optimal regions. Another type has different but somewhat similar Pareto optimal regions. The other type has Pareto and local Pareto optimal regions. Our many-objective test problems are generated by placing multiple polygons of the same or similar shapes in a decision space. The ith objective is the minimization of the distance from a solution to the nearest ith vertex over all polygons. Thus the number of objectives is the same as the number of vertices of the polygons. The number of equivalent or similar Pareto regions in the decision space is the same as the number of the polygons.
A critical review: State of knowledge in seismic behaviour of helical piles

Helical piles are being used in seismic regions of the U.S. and other countries, yet there remains much confusion regarding the state of practice and building codes for this pile type. Nonetheless, it is anticipated that piles with comparatively small cross-section and high anchoring capacity, such as helical piles, could be beneficial for seismic resistance due to their slenderness, higher damping ratios, ductility, and resistance to tip uplift. In addition, helical piles can be easily implemented as a retrofitting solution for foundations that are found to be deficient according to updated seismic codes. This paper is part of three phase investigation on the use of helical piles for earthquake mitigation. The results of an extensive literature and industry search for previous seismic tests performed on helical piles are highlighted as well as the current design standards used in seismic regions. Existing seismic testing results and current design standards are analysed to make recommendations about how to fill the knowledge gaps and provide quantitative data on the behaviour of helical piles under seismic conditions.
MULTIYEAR STUDY OF MULTIVARIATE LINEAR AND NONLINEAR PHENOTYPIC SELECTION ON FLORAL TRAITS OF HUMMINGBIRD‐POLLINATED SILENE VIRGINICA

Pollination syndromes suggest that convergent evolution of floral traits and trait combinations reflects similar selection pressures. Accordingly, a pattern of selection on floral traits is expected to be consistent with increasing the attraction and pollen transfer of the important pollinator. We measured individual variation in six floral traits and yearly and lifetime total plant seed and fruit production of 758 plants across nine years of study in natural populations of Ruby‐Throated Hummingbird‐pollinated Silene virginica. The type, strength, and direction of selection gradients were observed by year, and for two cohorts selection was estimated through lifetime maternal fitness. Positive directional selection was detected on floral display height in all years of study and stigma exsertion in all years but one. Significant quadratic and correlational selection gradients were rare. However, a canonical analysis of the gamma matrix indicated nonlinear selection was common; if significant curvature was detected it was convex with one exception. Our analyses demonstrated selection favored trait combinations and the integration of floral features of attraction and pollen transfer efficiency that were consistent with the hummingbird pollination syndrome.
Optimal design and control of 5kW PWM plus phase-shift (PPS) control bidirectional dc-dc converter

The paper proposed optimal design and control of a 5kW PPS control bidirectional dc-dc converter. In this paper, we will propose the losses model based on different kinds of semiconductor switches: MOSFET or IGBT and different input voltage: 42V or 380V. Based on the loss model, we are able to design the PPS control bidirectional dc-dc converter with minimized switch losses. The dynamic model of the converter will be designed to design the feedback control system. A new control strategy is proposed, which is based on the dynamic model.
ON A COLLISION COURSE: THE VULNERABILITY OF BATS TO ROADKILLS IN BRAZIL

In Brazil, studies on roadkills are recent and usually restricted to lists of species found at some road stretch. Among mammals, mediumand large-sized species have received greater attention. The present study aimed at presenting the first list of bat roadkills in Brazil, including comments on the traits that may cause roadkills. We recorded 415 deaths from 44 species of seven families in all Brazilian biomes. We did not observe a relationship between body size or type of flight with the number of bat-vehicle collisions. Frugivore was the trophic guild most victimized, possibly due to greater natural abundance, foraging in low height airspace, and capacity to make long-distance movements. The elevated number of species recorded indicates that these roads may exert a negative effect on bat fauna. We encourage road ecologists and environmental agencies to include bats in their fauna monitoring of road infrastructure and request to make more accurate estimates of this impact. RESUMO. Em rota de colisão: a vulnerabilidade de morcegos à atropelamentos no Brasil. No Brasil os estudos sobre atropelamentos de fauna são recentes e, na maioria dos casos, restritos a lista de espécies encontradas em alguns trechos de rodovias. Dentre os mamíferos, espécies de médio e grande porte têm recebido maior atenção. O presente estudo apresenta a primeira lista de morcegos atropelados no Brasil, incluindo comentários sobre os fatores que podem causar os atropelamentos. Nós registramos 415 óbitos de 44 espécies e sete famílias em todos os biomas brasileiros. Nós não observação relação entre o tamanho corporal e o tipo de voo com o número de colisões entre veículos e morcegos. Morcegos frugívoros foram os mais vitimados, possivelmente, em virtude de sua maior abundância natural, por forragear em baixas alturas e pela elevada capacidade de movimentação. O alto número de espécies indica que as estradas podem exercer um viés negativo sobre a quiropterofauna. Nós incentivamos que pesquisadores e agências ambientais incluam morcegos no monitoramento de fauna em infraestruturas viárias e solicitem estimativas mais precisas desse impacto.
In vivo chemical exchange saturation transfer imaging allows early detection of a therapeutic response in glioblastoma

Significance The prognosis and management of patients with glioma is vastly different depending on whether one detects tumor progression or treatment effects. Although the gold standard in the evaluation of treatment efficacy involves MRI, the currently available imaging methods often do not suffice to make the final decision. Our study demonstrated that amide proton transfer (APT) imaging, one subset of chemical exchange saturation transfer imaging, can detect molecular signals in glioma induced by short-term chemotherapy with temozolomide. These molecular events precede morphologic changes. The APT signal did not decrease in tumors resistant to chemotherapy. APT imaging may provide a useful prognostic biomarker of treatment response or tumor progression in glioma. Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), which account for more than 50% of all gliomas, is among the deadliest of all human cancers. Given the dismal prognosis of GBM, it would be advantageous to identify early biomarkers of a response to therapy to avoid continuing ineffective treatments and to initiate other therapeutic strategies. The present in vivo longitudinal study in an orthotopic mouse model demonstrates quantitative assessment of early treatment response during short-term chemotherapy with temozolomide (TMZ) by amide proton transfer (APT) imaging. In a GBM line, only one course of TMZ (3 d exposure and 4 d rest) at a dose of 80 mg/kg resulted in substantial reduction in APT signal compared with untreated control animals, in which the APT signal continued to increase. Although there were no detectable differences in tumor volume, cell density, or apoptosis rate between groups, levels of Ki67 (index of cell proliferation) were substantially reduced in treated tumors. In another TMZ-resistant GBM line, the APT signal and levels of Ki67 increased despite the same course of TMZ treatment. As metabolite changes are known to occur early in the time course of chemotherapy and precede morphologic changes, these results suggest that the APT signal in glioma may be a useful functional biomarker of treatment response or degree of tumor progression. Thus, APT imaging may serve as a sensitive biomarker of early treatment response and could potentially replace invasive biopsies to provide a definitive diagnosis. This would have a major impact on the clinical management of patients with glioma.
Columbia University’s Baseline Detectors for 374 LSCOM Semantic Visual Concepts

emantic concept detection represents a key requirement in accessing large collections of digital mages/videos. Automatic detection of presence of a large number of semantic concepts, such as person,” or “waterfront,” or “explosion”, allows intuitive indexing and retrieval of visual content t the semantic level. Development of effective concept detectors and systematic evaluation ethods has become an active research topic in recent years. For example, a major video retrieval enchmarking event, NIST TRECVID[1], has contributed to this emerging area through (1) the rovision of large sets of common data and (2) the organization of common benchmark tasks to erform over this data.
Automatic Localization of Iris Using Region Properties

Summary Iris localization is one of the most important step in iris based recognition systems. Iris localization means locating the inner boundary (pupil localization) and outer boundary of iris. Both boundaries of the iris are nearly circular which are surrounded by pupil, sclera, eyelashes and eyelids. In the proposed algorithm inner boundary (Pupil) is localized by using two region properties Eccentricity and Area without using any iterative method. On the other hand the outer boundary of iris is located using Gaussian derivatives. The proposed algorithm is tested on CASIA-1 Iris database. Experimental results show that the proposed method is quite fast efficient and accurate method.
Heterogeneous Population and Labour Market Outcome in Urban Africa : Migrants ’ Earnings in Ghana and Tanzania

Exploiting data drawn from urban household panel surveys in Ghana and Tanzania, this paper investigates how rural-to-urban migrants are performing in urban labour markets in Africa. Three types of selection issues and a simultaneity problem associated with serially correlated unobserved labour market shocks are carefully considered. While our findings are not entirely free from such econometric concerns for want of decent instruments and are thus tentative, our favourable estimates suggest that conditional on observed characteristics such as schooling, wage employed migrants who arrived at age 20 are initially earning 44% less than natives in Ghana and 41% less in Tanzania and that it takes about 13 to 14 years for them to catch up with natives in Ghana and about 11 to 12 years in Tanzania, showing much similarity across countries. The huge initial cost of earnings and the substantial heterogeneity among migrants that depends upon their arrival years are the words of caution for the standard dichotomous argument between migrants assumed to be homogeneous and natives, and provide additional evidence to explain the distribution of earnings in urban Africa.
Realtime Performance-Based Facial Avatars for Immersive Gameplay

This paper discusses how realtime face tracking and performance-based animation can facilitate new ways of interaction for computer gaming and other online applications. We identify a number of requirements for realtime face capture and animation systems, and show how recent progress in tracking algorithms advances towards satisfying these requirements. Performance-based animation has the potential to significantly enrich the emotional experience of in-game communication through live avatars that are controlled directly by the facial expressions of a recorded user. We briefly outline other potential use scenarios of realtime face tracking systems and conclude with a discussion of future research challenges.
A Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factor in Arabidopsis, MYC2, Acts as a Repressor of Blue Light–Mediated Photomorphogenic Growthw⃞

The crosstalk of light signaling pathways with other signaling cascades has just started to be revealed. Here, we report the identification and functional characterization of a Z-box binding factor (ZBF1) in light signaling pathways. Arabidopsis thaliana ZBF1 encodes AtMYC2/JIN1, a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, which has recently been shown to be involved in abscisic acid (ABA), jasmonic acid (JA), and jasmonate-ethylene signaling pathways. We demonstrate that AtMYC2 interacts with the Z- and G-box light-responsive elements of minimal light–regulated promoters. AtMYC2 is expressed in various light-grown seedlings, including in red, far red, and blue light. Genetic analyses suggest that AtMYC2 acts as a negative regulator of blue light–mediated photomorphogenic growth and blue and far-red-light–regulated gene expression; however, it functions as a positive regulator of lateral root formation. Our results further demonstrate that atmyc2 mutants have compromised sensitivity to ABA- and JA-mediated responses. Taken together, these results demonstrate that AtMYC2 is a common transcription factor of light, ABA, and JA signaling pathways in Arabidopsis.
Phosphorylated cortactin recruits Vav2 guanine nucleotide exchange factor to activate Rac3 and promote invadopodial function in invasive breast cancer cells

Phosphorylation of cortactin downstream of the EGF receptor–Src-Arg kinase cascade triggers maturation of invadopodia, actin-rich protrusions that breast cancer cells use to invade the extracellular matrix. Phosphocortactin recruits Vav2 to invadopodia to activate Rac3 and support actin polymerization, matrix degradation, and invasion.
Multibiometric System Using Level Set, Modified LBP and Random Forest

Multibiometric systems alleviate some of the shortcomings possessed by the unimodal biometrics and provide better recognition performance. This paper presents a multibiometric system that integrates the iris and face features based on the fusion at the feature level. The proposed multibiometric system has three novelties as compared to the previous works. First, distance regularized level-set evolution (DRLSE) technique is utilized to localize the iris and pupil boundary from an iris image. The DRLSE maintains the regularity of the level set function intrinsically during the curve evolution process and increases the numerical accuracy substantially. The proposed iris localization scheme is robust against poor localization and weak iris/sclera boundaries. Second, a modified local binary pattern (MLBP), which combines both the sign and magnitude features for the improvement of recognition performance, is applied. Third, to select the optimal subset of features from the fused feature vector, a feature subset selection scheme based on random forest (RF) is proposed. To evaluate the performance of the proposed scheme, the facial images of Yale Extended B Face database are fused with the iris images of CASIA V4 interval dataset to construct an iris–face multimodal biometric dataset. The experimental results indicate that the proposed multimodal biometrics system is more reliable and robust than the unimodal biometric scheme.
Timed-Model-Based Method for Security Analysis and Testing of Smart Grid Systems

The progressive integration of software-based components into the electricity grid has given raise to what is known as Smart Grids. As long as Smart Grids gain on connectivity and automation, new concerns on their safety and security have arisen. It is agreed that non-negligible risks and enlarged impact due to misbehaviors and intrusions exist. Following a model driven paradigm, a method is proposed to reinforce the security of these complex widely distributed systems. The method guides system re-engineering and is based upon timed models. It encompasses reverse engineering, symbolic, and testing techniques to model, analyze, and deploy attack testing. In early stages of the method, a reference timed model to support security analyses is designed via reverse engineering and symbolic execution. During latter stages, the nominal models are enriched so as to specify attack scenarios which are symbolically executed to prove the ability of the system to detect attacker intrusions. In final stages, the attack scenarios are used to specify test cases which are later deployed to test the system. The method and main outcomes are presented relying upon a Smart Grid subsystem analyzed in the scope of a joint academy-industry project.
Monoclonal antibody therapy of cancer.

Our body produces billions of different kinds of antibodies, which are part of the immune system. They have specific archnemeses in the immune system that they target, such as pathogens like diseased cells or viruses. Monoclonal antibodies used in cancer treatment are designed in a lab to target certain antigens — foreign substances in the body — that live on the surface of cancer cells. By targeting those antigens, the antibodies are able to latch onto the cancer cells and act as a “call to arms” for other disease-fighting warriors in the immune system.
Datalog and emerging applications: an interactive tutorial

We are witnessing an exciting revival of interest in recursive Datalog queries in a variety of emerging application domains such as data integration, information extraction, networking, program analysis, security, and cloud computing. This tutorial briefly reviews the Datalog language and recursive query processing and optimization techniques, then discusses applications of Datalog in three application domains: data integration, declarative networking, and program analysis. Throughout the tutorial, we use LogicBlox, a commercial Datalog engine for enterprise software systems, to allow the audience to walk through code examples presented in the tutorial.
Chromosomes of some argentine angiosperms and their taxonomic significance

Abstract Meiotic or mitotic chromosomes of eleven species of angiosperms native in Argentina, belonging to seven families, were studied in order to be used in cytotaxonomic studies and gain some insights on the evolutive relationships of the different groups. Most of our data were the first cytological information for the species. The genus Alvaradoa Liebm. was investigated cytologically for the first time. The novel karyologically studied species, all diploid, were: Bomarea macrocephala Pax and Bomarea stans Kränz. 2n = 18, Loasa bergii Hieron. 2n = 26, Alvaradoa subovata Cronquist 2n = 16, Schizanthus grahamii Gillies 2n = 20, Viola montagnei Gay and Viola roigii Rossow 2n = 14. The same numbers to the ones previously reported in the literature were found from different populations of Cajophora chuquitensis (Meyen) Urb. & Gilg. 2n = 18, Ramorinoa girolae Speg. 2n = 20, and Schizanthus grahamii Gillies 2n = 20. The presence of supernumerary chromosomes, 0 to 6, in Ligaria cuneifolia (Ruiz & Pav.) Tiegh. , 2n = 20, was recorded. Data are compared with previously published results and chromosome figures of all studied species are provided.