Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimum decoding and detection of multiplicative watermarks

This work addresses the problem of optimum decoding and detection of a multibit, multiplicative watermark hosted by Weibull-distributed features: a situation which is classically encountered for image watermarking in the magnitude-of-DFT domain. As such, this work can be seen as an extension of the system described in a previous paper, where the same problem is addressed for the case of 1-bit watermarking. The theoretical analysis is validated through Monte Carlo simulations. Although the structure of the optimum decoder/detector is derived in the absence of attacks, some experimental results are also presented, giving a measure of the overall robustness of the watermark when attacks are present.
Hybrid detection of lung nodules on CT scan images.

PURPOSE The diversity of lung nodules poses difficulty for the current computer-aided diagnostic (CAD) schemes for lung nodule detection on computed tomography (CT) scan images, especially in large-scale CT screening studies. We proposed a novel CAD scheme based on a hybrid method to address the challenges of detection in diverse lung nodules. METHODS The hybrid method proposed in this paper integrates several existing and widely used algorithms in the field of nodule detection, including morphological operation, dot-enhancement based on Hessian matrix, fuzzy connectedness segmentation, local density maximum algorithm, geodesic distance map, and regression tree classification. All of the adopted algorithms were organized into tree structures with multi-nodes. Each node in the tree structure aimed to deal with one type of lung nodule. RESULTS The method has been evaluated on 294 CT scans from the Lung Image Database Consortium (LIDC) dataset. The CT scans were randomly divided into two independent subsets: a training set (196 scans) and a test set (98 scans). In total, the 294 CT scans contained 631 lung nodules, which were annotated by at least two radiologists participating in the LIDC project. The sensitivity and false positive per scan for the training set were 87% and 2.61%. The sensitivity and false positive per scan for the testing set were 85.2% and 3.13%. CONCLUSIONS The proposed hybrid method yielded high performance on the evaluation dataset and exhibits advantages over existing CAD schemes. We believe that the present method would be useful for a wide variety of CT imaging protocols used in both routine diagnosis and screening studies.
Expression of cytokeratin 20 indicates invasive histological phenotype in poorly differentiated colorectal adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND/AIM Cytokeratin (CK) 20 expression is an independent prognostic factor of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma (PDA) of the colon and rectum. We aimed to investigate the mechanism of its involvement through a clinicopathological study. PATIENTS AND METHODS We analyzed 156 surgically resected PDAs, which were sub-classified as solid type (Por1) showing expansive growth, or non-solid type (Por2) showing infiltrative growth. Associations of CK20 expression with morphological features and molecular markers were analyzed. RESULTS CK20(+) PDA (n=91) was associated with more advanced disease stage and unfavorable prognosis compared with CK20(-) PDA (n=65). Pathologically, CK20(+) PDA was significantly associated with p53 overexpression, Por2, abundant fibrous stroma, and stepwise de-differentiation, while CK20(-) PDA was significantly associated with mismatch repair deficiency, Por1, sparse fibrous stroma, and de novo histogenesis. CONCLUSION CK20 expression in PDA is closely associated with invasive histological features, providing prognostic significance, and may also point to a specific histogenetic pathway.
Aldosteronoma causing Conn’s syndrome: a case report and literature review

We report a case of primary aldosteronism caused by bilateral solitary aldosteronomas occurring 6 months apart, the diagnosis being confirmed by clinical features. Multiple aldos-terone-producing adenomas can be unilateral or bilateral. If bilateral, most of them are found simultaneously. Bilateral solitary aldosterono-mas occurring at separate times are rarely re-ported and the pathogenesis is still elusive. We believe, from this case, the postoperative fol-low-up in patients with primary aldosteronism is mandatory.
Glottal inverse filtering using stabilised weighted linear prediction

This paper presents and evaluates an inverse filtering technique of the speech signal which is based on the Stabilized Weighted Linear Prediction (SWLP) of speech [1]. SWLP emphasizes the speech samples that fit the underlying speech production model well, by imposing temporal weighting of the square of the residual signal. The performance of SWLP is compared to the conventional Linear Prediction based inverse filtering techniques, such as the Autocorrelation and Closed Phase Covariance method. All the inverse filtering approaches are evaluated on a database of speech signals generated by a physical model of the voice production system. Results show that the estimated glottal flows using SWLP are closer to the original glottal flow than those estimated by the Autocorrelation approach, while its performance is comparable to the Closed Phase Covariance approach.
A Separation Kernel Formal Security Policy

High assurance product evaluation requires precise, unambiguous speci cations. Some high assurance products are relied upon to process information containing military or commercial secrets, and it is important to guarantee that no unauthorized interference or eavesdropping can occur. A formal speci cation of what the system allows and guards against is called a formal security policy. The construction of a formal security policy that describes the needed behavior of a security-critical system under evaluation is now commonly required for a high level certi cation. A computing system that supports multiple independent levels of security (MILS, a.k.a. MSL or multiple security levels) provides protections to guarantee that information that is assigned di erent security levels is handled appropriately. The design of MILS/MSL systems guaranteed to perform correctly with respect to security considerations is a daunting challenge. An innovation rst published in the early 1980's for architecting secure systems involves the application of a separation kernel to reduce the security burden [6]. Interaction between applications is mediated by the separation kernel, which enforces a security policy of information ow and data isolation on those interactions. Architecting a MILS/MSL system using a separation kernel breaks the security challenge into two smaller challenges: (1) building and verifying a dependable separation kernel and (2) building applications that, relying upon protections a orded by the separation kernel,
Relative Edema Volume Is a Predictor of Outcome in Patients With Hyperacute Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Background and Purpose— Little is known about the relationship between perihematomal edema in spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and outcome. The purpose of this study was to determine whether absolute or relative edema volume (edema volume divided by hematoma volume) predicts mortality or functional outcome in patients with hyperacute spontaneous ICH. We hypothesized that increasing baseline relative edema volume is associated with greater probability of poor functional outcome. Methods— This was a secondary analysis of a prospective, population-based study of hematoma growth in 142 patients with spontaneous ICH. Patients were imaged within 3 hours of onset, then 1 and 20 hours later. Our primary analysis excluded patients with anticoagulant use (n=7), underlying aneurysm/vascular malformation (n=9), trauma (n=1), incomplete data (n=20), infratentorial ICH (n=17), intraventricular extension (n=38), and no consent (n=2). We analyzed whether associations existed between baseline edema volumes or other clinical/radiological variables and either 12-week modified Rankin Scale score >2 or 30-day mortality. Secondary analyses used 20-hour CT scan data, all patients with supratentorial ICH, and 12-week Barthel Index score <85. Results— By multivariable logistic regression analysis, baseline relative edema was the strongest independent predictor of functional outcome and was associated with lesser odds of poor 3-month functional outcome (odds ratio, 0.09 per 1.0-unit [100%] increase; 95% CI, 0.01 to 0.64;P =0.016) and 12-week Barthel Index score <85 (odds ratio, 0.12; 95% CI, 0.02 to 0.91;P =0.039) but did not predict mortality. Secondary analyses confirmed this result. Absolute edema volume predicted neither mortality nor functional outcome. Conclusions— Relative edema is strongly predictive of functional outcome in patients with hyperacute supratentorial spontaneous ICH without intraventricular extension.
The Impact of Heterogeneity in a Clinical Trial: Motor Outcomes after Sensory Integration Therapy

The effect of a therapeutic intervention in a clinical trial may be obscured by heterogeneity in the study subjects. This paper examines the results of a randomized clinical trial to evaluate the effects of 6 months of sensory integration therapy, perceptual-motor treatment, and no program (control) on learning disabled children with sensory integrative dysfunction. Contrary to expectations, Polatajko, Law, Miller, Schaffer, and Macnab (1991) found no significant differences between the groups on motor performance. However, overall, the children made motor gains; indeed, some children made very large gains. Others did not make gains or deteriorated. Change scores indicated that approximately half of the children improved more than can be expected by maturation alone while half did not. The heterogeneity of the response of individual children to treatment appeared to have led to an overall non-significant result. The heterogeneity was examined using a backward elimination regression procedure. The importance of this heterogeneity for assigning children to programs and designing outcome studies in occupational therapy is discussed.
'Our languages are equally important': struggles for the revitalisation of the minority languages in Zimbabwe

The revitalisation of endangered minority languages is a subject that has recently caught the attention of a cross-section of people concerned with the sociology of language. This article focuses on the efforts regarding the revitalisation of minority languages in Zimbabwe. The article discusses the initiatives of civil society organisations, which, together with grassroots organisations formed by speakers of the endoglossic minority languages, have established collaborative networks to collectively mobilise for the revitalisation of the minority languages in Zimbabwe. Drawing on the analytic framework for language revitalisation efforts advanced by Fishman (1991, 2001), this article argues that in the prevailing political and economic environment, the minority language revitalisation efforts in Zimbabwe, which targeted the education and media domains, have met with a significant measure of success. This article discusses the strategies for language revitalisation employed by these organisations and suggests that such strategies may be useful for similar efforts in other contexts.
Membrane localization of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase is sufficient to activate multiple signal-transducing kinase pathways

Phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase is a cytoplasmic signaling molecule recruited to the membrane by activated growth factor receptors. The p85 subunit of PI 3-kinase links the catalytic p110 subunit to activated growth factor receptors and is required for enzymatic activity of p110. In this report, we describe the effects of expressing novel forms of p110 that are targeted to the membrane by either N-terminal myristoylation or C-terminal farnesylation. The expression of membrane-localized p110 is sufficient to trigger downstream responses characteristic of growth factor action, including the stimulation of pp70 S6 kinase, Akt/Rac, and Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). These responses can also be triggered by expression of a form of p110 (p110*) that is cytosolic but exhibits a high specific activity. Finally, targeting of pl10* to the membrane results in maximal activation of downstream responses. Our data demonstrate that either membrane-targeted forms of p110 or a form of p110 with high specific activity can act as constitutively active PI 3-kinases and induce PI 3-kinase-dependent responses in the absence of growth factor stimulation. The results also show that PI 3-kinase activation is sufficient to stimulate several kinases that appear to function in different signaling pathways.
A Structural Model of Leisure Constraints Negotiation in Outdoor Recreation

A conceptual model tested the leisure constraints negotiation process of outdoor recreation: motivation and the constraints to participate likely influenced by negotiation efforts. Higher motivation to participate encourages using negotiation strategies and resources to overcome constraints. Experiencing constraints was thought to trigger negotiation efforts. Drawing from social cognitive theory, negotiation-efficacy was proposed to encourage motivation, diminish the perception of constraints and promote negotiation efforts, which indirectly influenced positive participation. The model tested used data collected from a random sample of Arizona residents through hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Results support the conceptual model and suggest the constraints negotiation process is a dynamic interaction of influences promoting outdoor recreation participation.
Development of QoE initiated wireless LAN base station with DPI based QoS control

In this paper, the authors develop a novel wireless LAN base station with DPI(Deep Packet Inspection) based QoS control, which can maintain QoE during congestion. In the QoS control, the base station always monitors the file type which is found in HTTP messages encapsulated in an IP packet and prioritizes the packet. Since the control is light weight, it can be easily implemented a LAN base station. The authors developed a prototype of the wireless LAN base station with WMM; and they evaluate it by QoE assessment with subjects for actual two Web services. From the experimental results, the authors show the effectiveness of the developed wireless LAN station.
Software Tool for Integrating Feed Management into Nutrient Planning

The introduction of ASABE Standard D384.2, Manure Production and Characteristics, has created the opportunity to integrate feed management decisions and animal performance measures into nutrient planning processes. This paper introduces a software tool that integrates estimates of nutrient excretion based on the new standard with estimates of land need, labor and equipment time allocation, and economic cost and benefit for manure application. This tool will be used to evaluate the economic implications for two scenarios using beef cattle examples as a means of illustrating tool application. The first scenario will look at the impact of feeding ethanol co-products on the economics of manure application. Labor and equipment time requirements, land access needs and economic cost all increase significantly with greater inclusion rates of co-product in the diet. However, the value of the additional nutrients is potentially greater than economic cost. The second scenario explores the impact of alternative methods for determining application rate (nitrogen vs. phosphorus based application rate). For the situation evaluated, the increase in land needs was substantial but the increased time and economic costs were modest when transitioning from an N-based to a four year P-based rate. However, applying manure to supply a single year P-based rate substantially increased the equipment and labor requirements as well as the overall manure application costs.
The genetical theory of social behaviour

We survey the population genetic basis of social evolution, using a logically consistent set of arguments to cover a wide range of biological scenarios. We start by reconsidering Hamilton's (Hamilton 1964 J. Theoret. Biol. 7, 1–16 (doi:10.1016/0022-5193(64)90038-4)) results for selection on a social trait under the assumptions of additive gene action, weak selection and constant environment and demography. This yields a prediction for the direction of allele frequency change in terms of phenotypic costs and benefits and genealogical concepts of relatedness, which holds for any frequency of the trait in the population, and provides the foundation for further developments and extensions. We then allow for any type of gene interaction within and between individuals, strong selection and fluctuating environments and demography, which may depend on the evolving trait itself. We reach three conclusions pertaining to selection on social behaviours under broad conditions. (i) Selection can be understood by focusing on a one-generation change in mean allele frequency, a computation which underpins the utility of reproductive value weights; (ii) in large populations under the assumptions of additive gene action and weak selection, this change is of constant sign for any allele frequency and is predicted by a phenotypic selection gradient; (iii) under the assumptions of trait substitution sequences, such phenotypic selection gradients suffice to characterize long-term multi-dimensional stochastic evolution, with almost no knowledge about the genetic details underlying the coevolving traits. Having such simple results about the effect of selection regardless of population structure and type of social interactions can help to delineate the common features of distinct biological processes. Finally, we clarify some persistent divergences within social evolution theory, with respect to exactness, synergies, maximization, dynamic sufficiency and the role of genetic arguments.
Racial Fairness in Sentencing A Case Study of Selected Crimes in Jefferson County

Executive Summary This study reports the results of an examination of racial fairness in sentencing in Jefferson County between 1999 and 2002, focusing on cocaine possession and misdemeanor shoplifting cases. These two crimes are studied separately. For each type of crime, a two-stage modeling approach is used to analyze the incarceration decision first and then, for offenders who are incarcerated, the length of the sentence. A logistic regression model is used to determine whether African American offenders are more likely to serve time than other offenders while controlling for a variety of factors that may affect the likelihood of incarceration. An ordinary least squares regression model is then used to determine whether African American offenders serve longer sentences than others. We control for the possibility of sample selection bias in the latter model. In addition, we apply a technique from the econometric literature to decompose the differences between the incarceration rates and sentences of African Americans and others. This method allows the group differences to be partitioned between endowment effects, on the one hand, and treatment effects, on the other hand. Endowment effects are due to the characteristics and circumstances of offenders, while treatment effects refer to how those characteristics are translated into incarceration decisions. Endowment and treatment effects are further decomposed into effects due to specific characteristics and the treatment of those characteristics. This method gives a more nuanced account of the causes of group differences than is usually provided in sentencing research. With respect to cocaine possession, black offenders were incarcerated in 31.6% of cases, compared to 18.4% for non-black offenders. With respect to shoplifting, black offenders were incarcerated in 10.2% of cases, compared to 4.9% for non-black offenders. Thus one aim of this research is to explain the 13.2 and 5.3 percentage point differences in incarceration rates. Of those who are incarcerated for cocaine possession, the average sentence was 3.3 years (40 months) for blacks and 2.9 years (35 months) for others. In contrast, of offenders incarcerated for shoplifting, blacks received lower average sentences (10 days) than did members of other groups (15 days). Incarceration rates and sentence lengths are adjusted for suspended and conditionally discharged sentences as well as credit for time served prior to sentencing. We seek to explain relative incarceration rates and sentence lengths using a wide range of potentially relevant variables, including: the offender's gender; whether the offender was represented by a public …
Industrial Case Study on Supporting the Comprehension of System Behaviour under Load

Large-scale software systems achieve concurrency on enormous scales using a number of different design patterns. Many of these design patterns are based on pools of pre-existing and reusable threads that facilitate incoming service requests. Thread pools limit thread lifecycle overhead (thread creation and destruction) and resource thrashing (thread proliferation). Despite their potential for scalability, thread pools are hard to configure and test because of concurrency risks like synchronization errors and dead lock, and thread pool-specific risks like resource thrashing and thread leakage. Addressing these challenges requires a thorough understanding of the behaviour of the threads in the thread pool. We argue for a methodology to automatically identify and rank deviations in the behaviour of threads based on resource usage.
Efficient quadtree coding of images and video

The authors describe the theory needed to construct quadtree data structures which optimally allocate rate, given a set of quantizers. A Lagrange multiplier method finds these optimal rate allocations with no monotonicity restrictions. The theory is used to derive a new quadtree construction method which uses a stepwise search to find the overall optimal quadtree structure. The search can be driven with either actual measured quantizer performance or ensemble average predicted performance. This theory is then applied to the design of an interframe hybrid video coding system using a quadtree with vector quantization. <<ETX>>
Disruption of a Rice Pentatricopeptide Repeat Protein Causes a Seedling-Specific Albino Phenotype and Its Utilization to Enhance Seed Purity in Hybrid Rice Production1[W][OA]

The pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) gene family represents one of the largest gene families in higher plants. Accumulating data suggest that PPR proteins play a central and broad role in modulating the expression of organellar genes in plants. Here we report a rice (Oryza sativa) mutant named young seedling albino (ysa) derived from the rice thermo/photoperiod-sensitive genic male-sterile line Pei'ai64S, which is a leading male-sterile line for commercial two-line hybrid rice production. The ysa mutant develops albino leaves before the three-leaf stage, but the mutant gradually turns green and recovers to normal green at the six-leaf stage. Further investigation showed that the change in leaf color in ysa mutant is associated with changes in chlorophyll content and chloroplast development. Map-based cloning revealed that YSA encodes a PPR protein with 16 tandem PPR motifs. YSA is highly expressed in young leaves and stems, and its expression level is regulated by light. We showed that the ysa mutation has no apparent negative effects on several important agronomic traits, such as fertility, stigma extrusion rate, selfed seed-setting rate, hybrid seed-setting rate, and yield heterosis under normal growth conditions. We further demonstrated that ysa can be used as an early marker for efficient identification and elimination of false hybrids in commercial hybrid rice production, resulting in yield increases by up to approximately 537 kg ha−1.