Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Counterexample Guided Abstraction Refinement Framework for Verifying Concurrent C Programs

ion Refinement Even with progress in automated model extraction techniques, verifying large software systems remains an extremely tedious task. A major obstacle is created by the abstraction that happens during model extraction. Abstraction usually introduces additional behavior that is absent in the concrete system. Suppose that the model check fails and the model checker returns a counterexample CE. This does not automatically indicate a bug in the system because it is entirely possible that CE is an additional behavior introduced by abstraction (such a CE is often called a spurious counterexample). Thus we need to verify whether CE is spurious, and if so we need to refine our model so that it no longer allows CE as an admissible behavior. This process is called abstraction refinement. Since the extracted models and counterexamples generated are quite large, abstraction refinement must be automated (or at least semi-automated) to be practically effective. The above requirements lead naturally to the paradigm called counterexample guided abstraction refinement (CEGAR). In this approach, the entire verification process is captured by a three step abstract-verify-refine loop. The actual details of each step depend on the kind of abstraction and refinement methods being used. The steps are described below in the context of predicate abstraction, where Pred denotes the set of predicates being used for the abstraction. 1. Step 1 : Model Creation. Extract a finite model from the code using predicate abstraction with Pred and go to step 2. 2. Step 2 : Verification. Check whether the model satisfies the desired property. If this is the case, the verification successfully terminates; otherwise, extract a counterexample CE and go to step 3.
Proxy re-encryption conjunctive keyword search against keyword guessing attack

Public key encryption with keyword search enables users to retrieve keywords from encrypted data, which can protect data confidentiality without losing the search operability. However, it is also vulnerable to keyword guessing attacks. In this paper, we propose a conjunctive keywords searchable encryption with designated tester (dPECK) to prevent the keyword guessing attacks. It can support multiple-keywords query at one time, i.e. conjunctive keywords search. We formulate the security notions for the conjunctive keyword search with the designated tester and present an efficient scheme which is proven secure in the standard model. Moreover, we extend the dPECK to proxy re-encryption dPECK (Re-dPECK) in order to enable the search proxy function. At last, the comparison and efficiency simulation demonstrates that this scheme has the lower computation and storage overhead.
Some High-Rate Near Capacity Codecs for the Gaussian Channel

We present a construction of high-rate linear error-correcting codes based on random bipartite graphs. In contrast to other researchers, our approach uses these graphs to produce generator matrices. A distributive parallel decoding algorithm based on the principle of belief propagation is presented. These new codes are then shown to be linear-time encodable and decodable. Experimental results further show the performances of these new systems to be approach the channel capacities of the Gaussian channels with binary or multilevel signal constellations.
Simple probabilistic population based optimization for combinatorial optimization

A new scheme is proposed for the design of probabilistic population based optimization algorithms for solving combinatorial optimization problems. The new scheme, Simple Probabilistic Population Based Optimization scheme (SPPBO), is used also to classify existing metaheuristics, e.g., the Population-based Ant Colony Optimization algorithm (PACO) and the Simplified Swarm Optimization algorithm (SSO). The classification shows the close relationship between PACO and SSO. This fact has not been recognized in the literature so far. SPPBO is also used to identify new metaheuristics that come up naturally as variants and combinations of PACO and SSO. An experimental study is done to evaluate and compare the different algorithms when applied to the Traveling Salesperson Problem. The results show which parts of the algorithms are helpful for obtaining a good optimization behaviour. In addition to the original PACO and SSO algorithms also some of the new combinations perform very well.
Arterial Spin Labeling Imaging for the Parotid Glands of Patients with Sjögren’s Syndrome

Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) is characterized by hypofunction of the salivary and lacrimal glands. The salivary function is largely dependent upon the blood supply in the glands. However, the diseased states of the gland perfusion are not well understood. The arterial spin labeling (ASL) technique allows noninvasive quantitative assessment of tissue perfusion without the need for contrast agent. Here, we prospectively compared the perfusion properties of the parotid glands between patients with SS and those with healthy glands using ASL MR imaging. We analyzed salivary blood flow (SBF) kinetics of 22 healthy parotid glands from 11 volunteers and 28 parotid glands from 14 SS patients using 3T pseudo-continuous ASL imaging. SBF was determined in resting state (base SBF) and at 3 sequential segments after gustatory stimulation. SBF kinetic profiles were characterized by base SBF level, increment ratio at the SBF peak, and the differences in segments where the peak appeared (SBF types). Base SBFs of the SS glands were significantly higher than those of healthy glands (59.2 ± 22.8 vs. 46.3 ± 9.0 mL/min/100 g, p = 0.01). SBF kinetic profiles of the SS glands also exhibited significantly later SBF peaks (p < 0.001) and higher SBF increment ratios (74 ± 49% vs. 47 ± 39%, p = 0.04) than the healthy glands. The best SBF criterion (= 51.2 mL/min/100 mg) differentiated between control subjects and SS patients with 71% sensitivity and 82% specificity. Taken together, these results showed that the SS parotid glands were mostly hyperemic and the SS gland responses to gustatory stimulation were stronger and more prolonged than those of the healthy glands. The ASL may be a promising technique for assessing the diseased salivary gland vascularization of SS patients.
Alignment-Free Comparison of Metabolic Pathways

Classification of species is a fundamental problem in evolutionary studies. Most contributions to this field have been mainly based on the so-called “molecular approach”, that exploits polymorphism information in DNA or proteins to assess the phylogenetic relationship among species [9]. But it is widely agreed that, in this approach, the choice of sequences for comparison greatly affects the final result, since non-local mutations like gene tranfers, gene duplications, gene deletions and functional replacements of genes can prevent the obtention of significant information through the analysis of the evolution of short sequences. This has led to an increasing interest in phylogenetic reconstruction based on nongenomic information, as for instance information on global biological processes in the organisms. In the last years, the analysis of phylogenetic relationships has been expanded to include the study of the evolution of complete biological processes, as for instance metabolic pathways. A metabolic pathway is a series of individual biochemical reactions, connected via their substrate and product metabolites, that produces a set of metabolites from a set of precursor metabolites and cofactors. Current knowledge about these sets of connected biochemical reactions are organized into databases that contain information about the substrates and products of the reactions, the enzymes that activate them, the substrate specificity of these enzymes, etc. One of the most commonly used database is KEGG [5], where biochemical reactions are organized into a map based on information drawn from the literature. For example, the glycolysis pathway is defined therein as the set of reactions that have been identified experimentally as the most important steps in the conversion of glucose into pyruvate. As large pieces of the metabolic networks of a wide variety of organisms are being reconstructed and compiled in databases, the use of metabolic pathways is emerging as a new source of phylogenetic information. And with experimental techniques in metabolomics improving constantly, one should expect that most metabolic network data will be soon independent from genomic information, and then metabolic pathways will become a true alternative to biomolecular sequences in phylogeny reconstruction [3]. This has driven research on techniques to measure the similarity of metabolic pathways and to extend these similarity values into phylogenies for different organisms.
Price Index Convergence in China

This paper applies panel unit root tests and nonlinear mean-reversion model to study price convergence in China. We found strong evidence in support of price convergence in the Chinese domestic market based on a balanced panel data of monthly price indexes across 36 major Chinese cities and over seven year period. Since price liberalization is the necessary mean to establish a full market system, this result provides direct empirical evidence on how successful the market economic reform is in China. Moreover, we find that the half-life of price index convergence in China is only about 3 to 4 months, which is substantially lower than those found in the received literature. We believe such a result is largely due to the fact that we use high frequency time series data that fits better with the time needed for price convergence in domestic market, a point raised and proved theoretically by Taylor (2001). Hence, the paper also sheds light on the recent debate over PPP and law of price.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF B2B ADOPTERS IN THE CANADIAN MANUFACTURING SECTOR

This paper presents selected preliminary results from a study of B2B ecommerce adoption by Canadian manufacturing firms. The goal of the broad research project is to describe the behaviour of Canadian manufacturers with respect to adoption of B2B technologies and to identify factors which distinguish adopters from non-adopters of B2B. The study focuses on an analysis of organizational characteristics of adopters of B2B e-commerce technologies and attempts to outline the features which differentiate adopters from non-adopters. Preliminary analysis shows the existence of three distinct B2B adopter types: nonadopters, partial-adopters and full-adopters. Leadership related variables appear to be the most important determinants of adoption.
Model-based testing of multiple GUI variants using the GUI test generator

Many modern application development frameworks separate presentation logic and business logic into layers. However, current model-based GUI testing tools do not model and test presentation logic and business logic separately. This paper proposes to separate business logic from the GUI behaviour model. The business logic is modelled using traditional modelbased testing tools like Spec Explorer while the presentation logic is recorded by a capture/replay tool. The two parts are connected via a mapping model. This paper proposes a new approach to test multiple GUI variants of an application in a reusable manner and introduces the GUI Test Generator (GTG). GTG is a tool which allows testers to define a mapping from business logic to presentation logic. Based on the mapping, GTG converts business logic test cases into presentation logic test cases. GTG is particularly useful for testing applications with a single business logic core and multiple variants of the user interface. This paper introduces the architecture of GTG and presents a case study for testing two different front-ends of an email client.
A new hybrid data compression algorithm for weather radar

The existent problem of the weather radar data lies in its too large data which is not conducive to its storage and transmission. This paper put forward a hybrid compression algorithm of the weather radar data that consists of three steps including pre-compression, lossy compression and lossless compression. Firstly, the paper introduced the radar data's types and characteristics, analyzing the pre-compression algorithm; Secondly, according to the practical requirements of the diverse users, it proposed the adoption of lossless compression and lossy compression algorithm for the data; Finally, the flow chart of mixed compression algorithm was presented and verified based on the actual data.
Little Evidence for Demasculinization of the Drosophila X Chromosome among Genes Expressed in the Male Germline

Male-biased genes—those expressed at higher levels in males than in females—are underrepresented on the X chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster. Several evolutionary models have been posited to explain this so-called demasculinization of the X. Here, we show that the apparent paucity of male-biased genes on the X chromosome is attributable to global X-autosome differences in expression in Drosophila testes, owing to a lack of sex chromosome dosage compensation in the male germline, but not to any difference in the density of testis-specific or testis-biased genes on the X chromosome. First, using genome-wide gene expression data from 20 tissues, we find no evidence that genes with testis-specific expression are underrepresented on the X chromosome. Second, using contrasts in gene expression profiles among pairs of tissues, we recover a statistical underrepresentation of testis-biased genes on the X but find that the pattern largely disappears once we account for the lack of dosage compensation in the Drosophila male germline. Third, we find that computationally “demasculinizing” the autosomes is not sufficient to produce an expression profile similar to that of the X chromosome in the testes. Our findings thus show that the lack of sex chromosome dosage compensation in Drosophila testes can explain the apparent signal of demasculinization on the X, whereas evolutionary demasculinization of the X cannot explain its overall reduced expression in the testes.
Indigenous nationhood and herring governance: strategies for the reassertion of Indigenous authority and inter-Indigenous solidarity regarding marine resources

The modern-day reinvigoration of individual Indigenous nations around the world is connected to broader simultaneous movements of Indigenous nationhood worldwide. The origins, implications, philosophies, and diversities of Indigenous resurgences and resistances continue to be discussed in the growing body of literature on Indigenous governance. This article builds on these discussions by focusing on the applied tools and strategies of Indigenous resurgence. In the context of the Pacific herring fishery in British Columbia, Canada, this research explores the strategies and tools used by three Indigenous coastal nations to apply pressure on the colonial government to abdicate its asserted authority over herring governance. Motivated by a time-honored relationship to herring, we discuss how these Indigenous nations have strategized to try to regain authority over herring governance to protect species and Indigenous access to the fishery. We then discuss this ocean-based resurgence in the context of global Indigenous movements for the reassertion of self-determining authority.
Characterizing L-Band Scattering of Paddy Rice in Southeast China With Radiative Transfer Model and Multitemporal ALOS/PALSAR Imagery

Rice is a major food supply in southeast China. With increased population and urbanization, reliable rice mapping is critical in this region. Because of frequent cloud cover and precipitation during the rice-growing season, it is difficult to conduct large-area rice monitoring with optical remote sensing techniques. L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR), with its all-weather day and night imaging and canopy penetration capabilities, provides a unique alternative. In this study, a first-order radiative transfer model was developed to simulate L-band scattering properties of paddy rice. Three Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS)/Phased-Array-Type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) images in dual-polarization mode (HH and HV) acquired in early tillering (June 28, 2007), tillering (August 13, 2007), and heading (September 28, 2007) stages were processed to test the temporal variation of rice backscatter. It was found that plant height and leaf mass amount were the two major structural parameters that contributed to rice backscatter in PALSAR images. The variation of the simulated HH backscatter matched with PALSAR observations in sample fields, although the simulated backscatter coefficients were around 3 dB lower than image-extracted values. Leaf volume scattering and leaf-ground double bounce were found as the two major scattering components in L-band HH polarization and increased with leaf layer height and density. This paper demonstrated that L-band HH backscatter was more sensitive to rice's structural variation than the VV backscatter and may therefore be more useful in rice mapping and modeling studies.
CogALex-V Shared Task: LOPE

Automatic discovery of semantically-related words is one of the most important NLP tasks, and has great impact on the theoretical psycholinguistic modeling of the mental lexicon. In this shared task, we employ the word embeddings model to testify two thoughts explicitly or implicitly assumed by the NLP community: (1). Word embedding models can reflect syntagmatic similarities in usage between words to distances in projected vector space. (2). Word embedding models can reflect paradigmatic relationships between words.
Synthesis of Pyruvate Dehydrogenase in Staphylococcus aureus Is Stimulated by Osmotic Stress

ABSTRACT The pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex (PDHC) was found to be upregulated by osmotic stress in the osmotolerant pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. Upregulation was detectable in the levels of both activity and protein and was judged to be about fourfold when sodium chloride was used to adjust the water activity (aw) of the growth medium to 0.94. The upregulation of the PDHC was also found to be humectant dependent and was greatest when impermeant, nonmetabolizable humectants were used to adjust aw. Further experiments provided evidence that in addition to osmotic upregulation, the PDHC complex is also subject to catabolite repression, thus providing a possible explanation for the observation that high concentrations of carbohydrates are generally more inhibitory to the growth of this bacterial pathogen than are high concentrations of salts.
Fast multi-frame motion estimation algorithm with adaptive search strategies in H.264

In the new H.264/AVC video coding standard, motion estimation takes up a significant encoding time, especially when using the straightforward full search algorithm (FS). A fast flexible multi-frame motion estimation algorithm with adaptive search strategies (FMASS) is presented. With special considerations on the multiple reference frames and block modes, several techniques, i.e., adaptive search strategies for single frame and flexible multi-frame selection, have been utilized to improve significantly the speed-up performance in H.264. Extensive simulations show that it can minimize the matching points by more than 1190 times compared with FS. In addition, the output quality of the encoded sequences loses only 0.053 dB in terms of PSNR on average. Fast speed-up performance and unnoticeable quality losses make the proposed algorithm outperform most of the other well-known algorithms proposed recently, such as ARPS3, MVFAST and UMHexagonS, of which the latter two have been already accepted by MPEG-4 and JVT respectively.
An adaptive striping architecture for flash memory storage systems of embedded systems

Flash memory is now a critical component in building embedded or portable devices because of its nonvolatile, shock-resistant, and power-economic nature. With the very different characteristics of flash memory, mechanisms proposed for many block-oriented storage media cannot be directly applied to flash memory. Distinct from the past work, we propose an adaptive striping architecture to significantly boost the system performance. The capability of the proposed mechanisms and architecture is demonstrated over realistic prototypes and workloads.
Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Relationship between EPHX1 Polymorphisms and Colorectal Cancer Risk

Background Microsomal epoxide hydrolase (EPHX1) plays an important role in both the activation and detoxification of PAHs, which are carcinogens found in cooked meat and tobacco smoking. Polymorphisms at exons 3 and 4 of the EPHX1 gene have been reported to be associated with variations in EPHX1 activity. The aim of this study is to quantitatively summarize the relationship between EPHX1 polymorphisms and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. Methods Two investigators independently searched the Medline, Embase, CNKI, and Chinese Biomedicine Databases for studies published before June 2012. Summary odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for EPHX1 Tyr113His (rs1051740) and His139Arg (rs2234922) polymorphisms and CRC were calculated in a fixed-effects model and a random-effects model when appropriate. Results This meta-analysis yielded 14 case-control studies, which included 13 studies for Tyr113His (6395 cases and 7893 controls) and 13 studies for His139Arg polymorphisms (5375 cases and 6962 controls). Overall, the pooled results indicated that EPHX1 Tyr113His polymorphism was not associated with CRC risk; while the His139Arg polymorphism was significantly associated with decreased CRC risk (Arg/His vs. His/His, OR = 0.90, 95%CI = 0.83–0.98; dominant model, OR = 0.92, 95%CI = 0.85–0.99). The statistically significant association between EPHX1 His139Arg polymorphism and CRC was observed among Caucasians and population-based case-control studies. This association showed little heterogeneity and remained consistently strong when analyses were limited to studies in which genotype frequencies were in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, or limited to studies with matched controls. When cumulative meta-analyses of the two associations were conducted by studies’ publication time, the results were persistent and robust. Conclusion This meta-analysis suggests that EPHX1 Tyr113His polymorphism may be not associated with CRC development; while the EPHX1 His139Arg polymorphism may have a potential protective effect on CRC.
Modeling of allocation control system of multifunctional resources for manufacturing systems

The Manufacturing System (MS) for the fourth industrial revolution, as known as industry 4.0, will be highly flexible in volume production and customization of products. The control system might be able to regenerate the MS in the occurrence of an unexpected event, such as the breakage of a machine. With the evolution of mechatronics systems, machines that have two or more functions in one and the same resource, such as drilling, turning and milling have been developed. These machines are the Multifunctional Machine Tools (MMT). But after the planning step, the MMT are seen as just as one more conventional machine with a single function and the multiple functions contained within it are not exploited, i.e. the functional flexibility of MMT are currently only considered during the production planning phase and encapsulated in that decision-making level. In this work, we proposed a methodology of control system modeling the resource allocation control system that has the capacity to regenerate the MS based on the concept of functional flexibility on the occurrence of an unexpected event such as breaking of a machine by use of the Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) system. The architecture to regenerate the MS was modeled using a Petri Net (PN).