Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Video Watermarking Based on 3-D Complex Wavelet

A video watermarking embedding and detection algorithm is proposed in complex wavelet transform (CWT) domain. The host video sequence is firstly segmented into shots. Then each shot is projected onto 3D CWT domain. To achieve robustness while keeping imperceptibility, a perceptual mask derived from 3D complex wavelet coefficients is introduced to weight the watermarks and the results is added back to the complex wavelet coefficients. Finally the inverse 3D CWT is applied to obtain the watermarked video shots. The experimental results illustrate that the proposed algorithm has more advantages in remaining video qualities while keeping the same resistance to attacks over that in discrete wavelet transform (DWT) domain.
Efeito da preensão manual sobre o equilíbrio de judocas

The purpose of this study was to verify if there is an effect of maximum hand grip (the act of performing or not the hand grip) on the balance control of judokas in a restrict posture, and also to verify if there is a correlation between the hand grip strength (HGS) and the balance control. Seven judokas were evaluated with a dynamometer and a stabilometric force platform, being measured, at the same time, the HGS and the center of pressure (COP). It was found that up to 80% of the COP variability was related to the hand grip demonstrating that it generates perturbations to the balance control. However, It was found correlations (r = 0,348 to 0,816) between de HGS and de COP displacement. With that, it can be concluded that, despite the hand grip generating perturbation on the balance, its behavior appears to be related to the body movements performed to sustain balance, indicating a possible correlation between this phenomenons.
Electronic structure, bonding and phonon modes in the negative thermal expansion materials of Cd(CN)2 and Zn(CN)2

The disordered configuration, band structures, density of states, Mulliken population, elastic constants, zone center optic phonon modes and their Grüneisen parameters of M(CN)2 (M = Cd, Zn) have been studied for possible cyanide-ordering patterns by the first-principles plane-wave pseudopotential method based on density functional theory. Total energy calculations predict that MC2N2–MC2N2 is the most favorable configuration for Cd(CN)2 whereas all three possible configurations are near equally favorable for Zn(CN)2. Effective charges and bond order analyses reveal that the M(CN)2 (M = Cd, Zn) frameworks include much stiffer and weaker M–C/N bonds, which account for the flexing of the M–CN–M linkage during the transverse motion of the cyanide-bridge. The transverse translational and the librational modes give rise to negative Grüneisen parameters and therefore contribute to the negative thermal expansion. Transverse vibrations of the C and N atoms in the same (transverse translational modes) or opposite (librational modes) directions have the same effect of drawing the anchoring metal atoms closer. Among all the optical phonon modes, the lowest-energy transverse translational optical modes which are neither Raman nor infrared active in Cd(CN)2 and Zn(CN)2 give rise to the largest contribution to the negative thermal expansion.
Liver Transplant Outcomes for Patients With Hepatorenal Syndrome Treated With Pretransplant Vasoconstrictors and Albumin

Background. The combination of octreotide, midodrine, and albumin (triple therapy) is used to treat hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) often as a bridge to liver transplantation (LT). We examined post-LT outcomes in recipients with HRS, including the effect of pre-LT triple therapy. Methods. Patients with HRS treated with triple therapy (cases) pre-LT were compared with a cohort that underwent LT in the immediate era before triple therapy was used (controls). Results. Forty-three patients with HRS underwent LT (27 cases and 16 controls). Twenty-one patients (49%) required hemodialysis (HD) pre-LT (48% of cases vs. 50% of controls, P=1.00). After LT, mean glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was similar between cases and controls at 1 month (56.9 vs. 52.6 mL/min/1.73 m2, P=0.61) and at 1 year (P=0.13). Of the 27 cases, 11 responded to triple therapy pre-LT. Compared with nonresponders, there was no difference in GFR at 1 month (57.2 vs. 56.6 mL/min/1.73 m2, P=0.96) or 1 year (P=0.48) post-LT. Long-term HD after LT was required in 7.7% of cases and 12.5% of controls (P=0.61). Conclusions. LT alone improved renal function in most patients with HRS, including those requiring short-term HD. Pre-LT treatment of HRS with triple therapy was not associated with additional benefit in GFR after LT.
Alexithymia, memory of emotion, emotional awareness, and perfectionism.

The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20; R. M. Bagby, J. D. A. Parker, & G. J. Taylor, 1994) is a self-assessment instrument designed to measure deficits in meta-emotional functioning (e.g., difficulties in identifying and describing emotions). Four studies were carried out to examine the association between the TAS-20 and (a) performance measures of meta-emotional functioning (memory of emotion and emotional awareness; Studies 1-2) and (b) measures of perfectionistic standards that may possibly be involved in the self-assessment of abilities-difficulties (Studies 3-4). The TAS-20 failed to correlate in the predicted direction with the performance measures but showed sizable correlations with measures of perfectionism. Moreover, perfectionism was found to predict TAS-20 scores independent of depression, anxiety, and somatic complaints. The results are discussed in terms of the TAS-20 measuring primarily certain aspects of meta-emotional self-efficacy.
Hemagglutination Inhibition Antibody Titers as a Correlate of Protection Against Seasonal A/H3N2 Influenza Disease

Background. To investigate the relationship between hemagglutinin-inhibition (HI) antibody levels to the risk of influenza disease, we conducted a correlate of protection analysis using pooled data from previously published randomized trials. Methods. Data on the occurrence of laboratory-confirmed influenza and HI levels pre- and postvaccination were analyzed from 4 datasets: 3 datasets included subjects aged <65 years who received inactivated trivalent influenza vaccine (TIV) or placebo, and 1 dataset included subjects aged ≥65 years who received AS03-adjuvanted TIV (AS03-TIV) or TIV. A logistic model was used to evaluate the relationship between the postvaccination titer of A/H3N2 HI antibodies and occurrence of A/H3N2 disease. We then built a receiver-operating characteristic curve to identify a potential cutoff titer between protection and no protection. Results. The baseline odds ratio of A/H3N2 disease was higher for subjects aged ≥65 years than <65 years and higher in seasons of strong epidemic intensity than moderate or low intensity. Including age and epidemic intensity as covariates, a 4-fold increase in titer was associated with a 2-fold decrease in the risk of A/H3N2 disease. Conclusions. The modeling exercise confirmed a relationship between A/H3N2 disease and HI responses, but it did not allow an evaluation of the predictive power of the HI response.
Boundary Points Detection Using Adjacent Grid Block Selection (AGBS) kNN-Join Method

Interpretability, usability, and boundary points detection of the clustering results are of fundamental importance. The cluster boundary detection is important for many real world applications, such as geo-spatial data analysis and point-based computer graphics. In this paper, we have proposed an efficient solution for finding boundary points in multi-dimensional datasets that uses the BORDER [1] method as a foundation which is based on Gorder knearest neighbors (kNN) join [10]. We have proposed an Adjacent Grid Block Selection (AGBS) method to compute the kNN-join of two datasets. Further, the AGBS method has been used for the boundary points detection method named as AGBS-BORDER. It executes AGBS join for each element in the dataset to get the paired (qi, pi) kNN values. The kNN-graphs are generated at the same time while computing the kNN-join of the underlying datasets. The nodes maintain a list of kNN which indicate the outgoing edges of the graph; however the incoming edges denote the Reverse kNN (RkNN) for the corresponding nodes. Finally, threshold filter is applied the node whose number of RkNN is less than the threshold values are marked as the border nodes. We have implemented both the BORDER [1] and AGBS-BORDER methods and tested the same using randomly generated geographical points. The AGBS based boundary computation over performs the existing BORDER method.
Review: Study of the Blood Coagulation by Ultrasound

This paper provides a detailed review of the in vitro, in vivo, and clinical applications of ultrasound to understand blood coagulation. The paper focuses on the effect of blood rheology on clotting mechanisms, especially on the use of ultrasound to detect the viscoelastic properties of blood clots. After a short introduction, the paper describes how quantitative ultrasound parameters can be used to study the process of blood coagulation. Ultrasound parameters can be used for tissue characterization, and so the process of blood coagulation can be monitored continuously by measuring the ultrasound backscatter, attenuation coefficient, and velocity Furthermore, several ultrasound elastography methods including quasi-static strain imaging, shear wave, and acoustic-radiation-force imaging are introduced for measuring the viscoelastie properties of blood clots. The advantages and drawbacks of these ultrasound-based approaches for detecting blond coagulation are discussed. Finally, new areas of research, the clinical application of ultrasound, and areas of potential future developments are presented.
Presentation: Did the Housing Price Bubble Clobber Local Labor Market Job and Worker Flows When It Burst?

We integrate local labor market data on worker flows, job flows, employment levels, and earnings with MSAlevel data on housing prices and local area unemployment, to study the local labor market dynamics associated with the U.S. housing price bubble of the late 2000s. We proceed to study the magnitude and timing of the relation between the changes in local housing prices and local worker and job flows, and local labor market earnings.In addition to the unique contribution of using both local labor and housing market data, the paper also considers the contributions of the aggregate movements in the worker and job flows to the heterogeneous local labor market outcomes.
DeepIntell at the NTCIR-13 STC-2 Task

This paper provides an overview of DeepIntell’s system participated in the Short Text Conversation (STC2) task of Chinese at NTCIR-13. Previous STC of NTCIR-12 is a conversation task which can be defined as an IR problem, i.e.,retrieval based a repository of post-comment pairs. STC2 of NTCIR-13 provided a transparent platform to compare the generation-based method and IR method via comprehensive evaluations. In this paper, we adopt the IR method and propose a SVM based ranking method with the deep matching features to score the post-comment pairs. Our framework is based on the following four steps: 1) preprocessing, 2) building search index, 3) comment candidates generation, 4) comment candidates ranking. Our best run achieves 0.5564 for mean P+,0.4323 for mean nDCG@1 and 0.5594 for mean nERR@10. The evaluation of submitted results empirically shows our framework is effective in all these terms.
Exploiting semantic clustering in the eDonkey P2P network

Peer-to-peer file sharing now represents a significant portion of the Internet traffic and has generated a lot of interest from the research community. Some recent measurements studies of peer-to-peer workloads have demonstrated the presence of semantic proximity between peers. One way to improve performance of peer-to-peer file sharing systems is to exploit this locality of interest in order to connect semantically related peers so as to improve the search both in flooding- and server-based systems. Creating these additional connections raises interesting challenges and in particular (i) how to capture the semantic relationship between peers (ii) how to exploit these relationships and (iii) how to evaluate these improvements. In this paper, we evaluate several strategies to exploit the semantic proximity between peers against a real trace collected in November 2003 in the eDonkey 2000 peer-to-peer network. We present the results of this evaluation which confirm the presence of clustering in such networks and the interest to exploit it.
Optimal top-down join enumeration

Most contemporary database systems perform cost-based join enumeration using some variant of System-R's bottom-up dynamic programming method. The notable exceptions are systems based on the top-down transformational search of Volcano/Cascades. As recent work has demonstrated, bottom-up dynamic programming can attain optimality with respect to the shape of the join graph; no comparable results have been published for transformational search. However, transformational systems leverage benefits of top-down search not available to bottom-up methods. In this paper we describe a top-down join enumeration algorithm that is optimal with respect to the join graph. We present performance results demonstrating that a combination of optimal enumeration with search strategies such as branch-and-bound yields an algorithm significantly faster than those previously described in the literature. Although our algorithm enumerates the search space top-down, it does not rely on transformations and thus retains much of the architecture of traditional dynamic programming. As such, this work provides a migration path for existing bottom-up optimizers to exploit top-down search without drastically changing to the transformational paradigm.
Numerical Methods for Simulation of Guitar Distortion Circuits

Electric guitarists prefer analog distortion effects over many digital implementations. This article suggests reasons for this and proposes that detailed study of the electrical physics of guitar distortion circuits provides insight to design more accurate emulations. This work introduces real- time emula- tion applied to guitar audio amplifi ers in the form of a tutorial about relevant numerical methods and a case study. The results here make a compelling case for simulating musical electronics using numerical methods in real time. Analog guitar distortion effect devices known as solid- state distortion boxes commonly include a diode clipper circuit with an embedded low- pass fi lter. These distortion- effect devices can be mod- eled and accurately simulated as Ordinary Differen- tial Equations (ODEs). A survey and a comparison of the basic numerical integration methods are presented as they apply to simulating circuits for audio processing, with the widely used diode clipper presented as an example. A dedicated simulator for the diode clipper has been developed to compare several numerical integration methods and their real- time feasibility. We found that implicit or semi- implicit solvers are preferred, although the prefi lter / static nonlinearity approximation comes surprisingly close to the actual solution.
Residential Property Values, the CBD, and Multiple Nodes: Further Analysis

In this paper, a hedonic regression model of house prices in Los Angeles County is tested with use of 1970 and 1980 data on dwelling characteristics, neighborhood variables, and measures of accessibility to the central business district and subcenter nodes. Many of the coefficient estimates on the dwelling traits and neighborhood variables are robust, and where coefficients change there are obvious explanations. The most dramatic finding is that the distance to the CBD, with a weak but statistically significant influence in 1970, had no influence by 1980, and its declining role was paralleled by a rise in the spatial pull of several of the subcenters in the region. The tests reveal how the polycentricity of the Los Angeles region evolved during the 1970s.
An investigation of risk factors for cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy born after the introduction of the 'feed ban'

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) occurred in cattle in Great Britain after the inclusion of protein derived from infected tissues in their feed, and the incidence of the disease has been reduced by the introduction of legislation to prevent the inclusion of such protein in ruminant feed. This paper describes a case-control study designed to investigate whether there is any evidence for direct transmission of infection to cattle born after the introduction of this legislation. The offspring of animals that were subsequently affected with BSE were not found significantly more often among the cases. There was a statistically significant risk for animals born up to three days after a subsequently affected animal calved, but it may not indicate a causal association. Even after adjusting for an animal's exposure to infected animals that calved but would have been culled from the herd before developing clinical signs of BSE these routes of transmission could not account for the majority of cases born after the introduction of the legislation. A between herd comparison is suggested as a method of investigating alternative sources of infection.
Live-cell imaging of dendritic spines by STED microscopy

Time lapse fluorescence imaging has become one of the most important approaches in neurobiological research. In particular, both confocal and two-photon microscopy have been used to study activity-dependent changes in synaptic morphology. However, the diffraction-limited resolution of light microscopy is often inadequate, forcing researchers to complement the live cell imaging strategy by EM. Here, we report on the first use of a far-field optical technique with subdiffraction resolution to noninvasively image activity-dependent morphological plasticity of dendritic spines. Specifically we show that time lapse stimulated emission depletion imaging of dendritic spines of YFP-positive hippocampal neurons in organotypic slices outperforms confocal microscopy in revealing important structural details. The technique substantially improves the quantification of morphological parameters, such as the neck width and the curvature of the heads of spines, which are thought to play critical roles for the function and plasticity of synaptic connections.
Quantitative characterization of hemodynamic properties and vasculature dysfunction of high‐grade gliomas

Aberrations in tumor and peritumoral vasculature may not be distinguishable by cerebral blood flow (CBF) or cerebral blood volume (CBV) alone. The relationships between CBF and CBV were examined to estimate vasculature‐specific hemodynamic characteristics. Twenty glioma patients were studied with dynamic susceptibility T2*‐weighted MRI [(dynamic contrast‐enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DSC‐MRI)] before and during week 1 and 3 of radiotherapy (RT). CBF and CBV were calculated from DSC‐MRI, and relationships between the two were evaluated: the physiological measure of mean transit time (MTT) = CBV/CBF; empirical fitting using the power law CBV = constant × (CBF)β. Three different tissue types were assessed: the Gd‐enhancing tumor volume (GEV); non‐enhanced abnormal tissue located beyond GEV but within the abnormal hyperintense region on FLAIR images (NEV); normal tissue in the hemisphere contralateral to the tumor (CNT). The effects of tissue types, CBV magnitudes (low, medium and high), before and during RT, on MTT and β were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA). The MTT and β for the three tissue types were significantly different (p < 0.009). MTT increased from CNT (1.60 s) to NEV (1.93 s) to GEV (2.28 s) (p < 0.0005). β was significantly greater in GEV (1.079) and NEV (1.070) than in CNT (1.025). β increased with increasing CBV magnitude while MTT was independent of CBV magnitude. There was a significant decrease in MTT of NEV and GEV during week 3 of RT compared with pre‐RT values for all CBV magnitudes. There was a significant increase in β during RT in the tumor and peritumor. Progressive abnormalities in vasculature and hemodynamic characteristics of the vascular bed were delineated, with significant disorder in the tumor but mild abnormality in peritumoral tissue. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Structuring Design Activities in Open Programmable Networks

Apparatus for producing hollow plastic articles in a hollow die with a relatively smaller reciprocating punch therein. Plastic material is fed from a nozzle aligned with the die, into the die about the punch, the punch being initially advanced into the opening of the die and retracting as the plastic is introduced from the nozzle. When the plastic introduction is completed, then the nozzle is slid laterally on the die until the duct of the nozzle is out of registry with the die and the nozzle thus closes the die. Then the punch is advanced within the closed die to compress the plastic material into the space between the die and the punch.
Dimensions of Meaning and Attitude Change

In a pretest-posttest control group design (Campbell & Stanley, 1963) with 2 experimental samples and a treated control sample, 132 Ss responded twice to a Sherif-Hovland instrument (Sherif & Hovland, 1961). The intervening treatments written by E appeared to be Xeroxed copies of newspaper articles: 1 represented primarily the evaluative (E) dimension of meaning (Osgood, Suci, & Tannenbaum, 1957); 1 was a fusion of potency (P) and activity (A), i.e., dynamism (D). A control (C) article was irrelevant to the experimental issue, viz., censorship of movies. Posttest-pretest change scores were compared for the 3 samples by 15 t tests for independent samples (Walker & Lev, 1953). E and D were not significantly different because both changed on the 5 Sherif-Hovland measures in the same directions. Compared with C, however, E was quite effective; 4 of the 5 measures changed significantly; comparisons of D and C indicated that 2 of the 5 measures changed significantly. For this issue E was more effective than D, although more research is needed to clarify the effects of dimensions of meaning of communications on attitude change.
STANDARDS‐MAKING ORGANIZATIONS AND THE RATIONALIZATION OF AMERICAN LIFE

Standards for products and procedures shape every facet of contemporary American life. Yet despite their pervasiveness and their centrality to the process of rationalization, standards have been virtually ignored by sociologists. This paper argues that the evolution of standards promulgating organizations and their struggle for control of the standards-making process is a neglected feature of societal rationalization. Specifically, the history of ANSI and other standards-making organizations illustrates how a shift in the engine of organizational rationalization may have taken place and how, as part of that shift, the “power to set premises” was successfully claimed by the private sector.
Enhancing Validity of a Qualitative Dissertation Research Study by Using NVIVO

As qualitative researchers struggle to come to grips with the technological revolution, they are faced with the necessity of learning and teaching qualitative data analysis software in higher education research courses. This change has significant implications for their practice as researchers and teachers. In this article we provide experienced‐based recommendations for individual practice (research instructors, dissertation advisers, and doctoral students) and for institutional practice (scaling up for deep integration of qualitative data analysis software). Our recommendations are grounded in hard‐earned experience gleaned from many years of working with individuals and institutional contexts to improve the use of qualitative research in higher education.