Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Even-length biorthogonal wavelets for digital watermarking

In wavelet based digital watermarking, when the particular wavelet filter used forms part of a secret key, the diversity and size of a family of filters contributes to the level of security. Diversity has been shown to improve the security of watermarking systems from hostile attacks. This paper presents a family of even length biorthogonal wavelet filters for use in digital watermarking. The filters are explicitly parameterized by two free parameters and can provide further diversity in watermarking. The filters have a prescribed number of vanishing moments ensuring some degree of smoothness in the resulting wavelet function. The study is conducted in the context of a blind watermarking scheme and the robustness of the filters to range of attacks is evaluated.
Critical Pedagogy in the Community Music Education Programmes of Brazil.

To further my studies of Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy, and to explore the implications and applications of his teachings, I spent three months in Brazil to observe Freirian methods evident in the music education programs there. My objective was to meet music teachers and other educators who were applying Freirian principles in their classrooms, and to see if what I observed might be applicable to music education in the United States – particularly to music education in urban settings.
An evaluation of identity in online social networking : distinguishing fact from fiction

Online social networks are understood to replicate the real life connections between people. As the technology matures, more people are joining social networking communities such as MySpace (www.myspace.com) and Facebook (www.facebook.com). These online communities provide the opportunity for individuals to present themselves and maintain social interactions through their profiles. Such traces in profiles can be used as evidence in deciding the level of trust with which to imbue individuals in making access control decisions. However, online profiles have serious implications over the reality of identity disclosure. There are many reasons why someone may choose not to reveal their true self, which sometimes leads to misidentification or deception. On one hand, the structure of online profiles allows anonymity, which gives users the opportunity to create a persona that may not represent their true identity. On the other hand, we often play multiple identities in different contexts where such behaviour is acceptable. However, realizing the context for each identity representation depends on the individual. As a result, some represented identities will be essentially real, if edited for public view, some will be disguised, and others will be fictitious or humorous. The millions of social network profiles, and billions of connections between them, make it difficult to formalize an automated approach to differentiate fact from fiction in online self-described identities. How can we be sure with whom we are interacting, and whether these individuals or groups are being truthful with the online identities they present to the rest of the community? What tools and techniques can be used to gather, organize, and explore the available data for informing the level of honesty that should be entrusted to an individual? Can we verify the validity of the identity automatically, based on the available information online? We aim to evaluate identity representation online and examine how identity can be verified in a less trusted online community. We propose a personality classifier model to identify a user‟s personality (such as expressive, valid, active, positive, popular, sociable and traceable) using traces of 2.2 million profile features collected from MySpace. We use data mining techniques and social network analysis to extract significant patterns in the data and network structure, and improve the classifier during the cycle of development. We evaluate our classifier model on profiles with known identities such as „real‟ and „fake‟. Our results indicate that by utilizing people‟s online, self-reported information, personality, and their network of friends and interactions, we are able to provide evidence for validating the type of identity in a manner that is both accurate and scalable.
A Wide band Miniaturized Square Patch Antenna with Kite-shape fractals for WLAN / Wi-Fi Applications

This paper presents line fed miniaturized square fractal antenna containing small Kite-shape fractals. The proposed patch antenna is designed with a resonating frequency of 2.4 GHz and FR4 dielectric substrate and the fractals are introduced step by step. The Fractal antenna is developed through the iterative process for bandwidth enhancement without scarifying the gain much. The antenna design is simulated and optimized using Zealand IE3D EM simulation software to regulate the geometry for better performance. The improved antenna characteristics like frequency response, return loss, radiation pattern and efficiency make it suitable for Wireless Local Area Network WLAN and Wi-Fi applications. Keywords—Kite shape Fractal; Bandwidth; ZelandIE3D; Gain; Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN); Return loss; radiation pattern .
Direct Control Strategy for a Four-Level Three-Phase Flying-Capacitor Inverter

A direct predictive control strategy is proposed for a three-phase four-level flying-capacitor (FC) inverter in this paper. The balancing of the FC voltages, a challenge in applications with small capacitors and low switching frequencies, is done without any modulation, simply using tables calculated offline. These allow the realization of fast-dynamics output currents with reduced dv/dt in the output voltages and reduced switching frequencies. Moreover, no interharmonics are created when operating at low switching frequencies and with reference currents containing multiple harmonic components, which is a key feature for active power filters. Simulations and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the excellent performance of the direct control strategy in comparison with a conventional pulsewidth-modulation control technique, mostly for operation at low switching frequencies.
The Contributions of Personality to Organizational Behavior and Psychology: Findings, Criticisms, and Future Research Directions

Skepticism regarding the importance of personality traits as predictors of organizational behavior criteria has given way to an appreciation of the broad array of work outcomes predicted by personality. This article considers the effects of the five-factor model (‘Big Five’) personality traits on the following work outcomes: (1) job performance; (2) work motivation; (3) job attitudes; (4) leadership; (5) power, politics, and influence; (6) stress, adaptability, and coping; (7) team effectiveness; (8) counterproductive/deviant workplace behaviors; (9) workplace accidents; and (10) conflict and negotiation. Two contemporary criticisms of personality research in organizational behavior – that the validities are small and that faking undermines the usefulness of personality inventories in employment contexts – are then evaluated. Finally, a brief agenda for future research is provided which highlights needed areas of advancement.
The Interaction Between Victim Race and Gender on Sentencing Outcomes in Capital Murder Trials

This study extends previous research on the interactive effects of victim race and gender on death sentence outcomes reported by Williams and Holcomb (2004). They report an interactive effect between victim race and victim gender on Ohio death sentencing outcomes, such that killers of White women are especially at risk of receiving death sentences. The study here seeks to determine if the Williams and Holcomb finding holds for a sample of murder cases in North Carolina for which the state sought the death penalty. Initial results of a descriptive analysis suggest a White female victim effect, but the introduction of control variables via logistic regression equations yields no gender or race interactions as predictors of sentencing outcomes. Reasons for the different outcomes are explored, and topics requiring further exploration are discussed.
On Pressure Approximation via Projection Methods for Nonstationary Incompressible Navier-Stokes Equations

Projection methods are an efficient tool to approximate strong solutions of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. As a major deficiency, these methods often suffer from reduced accuracy for pressure iterates caused by nonphysical boundary data, going along with suboptimal error estimates for pressure iterates. We verify a rigorous bound for arising boundary layers in Chorin's scheme under realistic regularity assumptions. In a second step, the new Chorin-Penalty method is proposed, where optimal rate of convergence for pressure iterates is shown.
LOP: a novel SRAM-based architecture for low power and high throughput packet classification

Packet classification has become an important problem to solve in modern network processors used in networking embedded systems such as routers. Algorithms for matching incoming packets from the network to pre-defined rules, have been proposed by a number of researchers. Current software-based packet classification techniques have low performance, prompting many researchers to move their focus to new architectures encompassing both software and hardware components. Some of the newer hardware architectures exclusively utilize Ternary Content Addressable Memory (TCAM) to improve the performance of rule matching. However, this results in systems with high power consumption. TCAM consumes a high amount of power due to the fact that it reads the entire memory array during every access, much of which is unnecessary. In this paper, we propose LOP, a novel SRAM-based architecture where incoming packets are compared against parts of all rules simultaneously until a single matching rule is found for the compared bits in the packets. This method LOP significantly reduces power consumption as only a segment of the memory is compared against the incoming packet. Despite the additional time penalty to match a single packet, parallel comparison of multiple packets can improve throughput beyond that of the TCAMapproaches, while consuming significantly low power. Nine different benchmarks were tested in two classification systems, with results showing that LOP architectures provide high lookup rates and high throughput, and low power consumption. Compared with a state-of-the-art TCAM implementation (throughput of 495 Million Search per Second (Msps)) in 65nm CMOS technology, on average, LOP saves 43% of energy consumption with a throughput of 590Msps.
A DPLL-based per core variable frequency clock generator for an eight-core POWER7™ microprocessor

A per-core clock generator for the eight-core POWER7™ processor is implemented with a digital PLL. This frequency generator is capable of smooth, controlled frequency slewing, minimizing the impact of di/dt. Frequency can be dynamically adjusted while the clock is running, and without skipping any cycles, thus enabling aggressive power management techniques.
FICA: A New Data Clustering Technique Based on Partitional Approach for Data Mining

This paper adopts the idea of nearest neighbor and proposes a new approach called fast intuitive clustering approach (FICA). Besides, FICA also adds the concept of data compression to lower the operating times and coordinates with parameters to reach global search. A series of experiments have been conducted on FICA and other clustering algorithms, like K-means and DBSCAN. According to the simulation results, it is observed that the proposed FICA clustering algorithm outperforms K-means and DBSCAN. FICA can not only to perform good efficiency and correctness but also be applied in large number of data sets. Finally, the proposed FICA is applied in face recognition problem.
Effective Public Involvement in Public Decisions

Historically, decisions affecting the general public have been made with input from selected people—those with responsibility for the decisions or with applicable technical expertise. Increasingly, the broader public is demanding more direct involvement in decisions that will affect their lives. Articulating the public's position on a given issue can be difficult as the “public” represents a broad spectrum of needs and desires that can conflict or change on any given issue. This article presents an analysis of the evolving role of the public in public decisions and offers a rigorous approach for eliciting usable information from the public.
Diagnostic Accuracy of Two Food Insecurity Screeners Recommended for Use in Health Care Settings

Objectives To test the diagnostic accuracy of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended food insecurity screener. Methods We conducted prospective diagnostic accuracy studies between July and November 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. We recruited convenience samples of adults from adult and pediatric emergency departments (12-month recall study: n = 188; 30-day recall study: n = 154). A self-administered survey included the 6-item Household Food Security Screen (gold standard), the validated 2-item Hunger Vital Sign (HVS; often, sometimes, never response categories), and the 2-item AAP tool (yes-or-no response categories). Results Food insecurity was prevalent (12-month recall group: 46%; 30-day group: 39%). Sensitivity of the AAP tool using 12-month and 30-day recall was, respectively, 76% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 65%, 85%) and 72% (95% CI = 57%, 84%). The HVS sensitivity was significantly higher than the AAP tool (12-month: 94% [95% CI = 86%, 98%; P = .002]; 30-day: 92% [95% CI = 79%, 98%; P = .02]). Conclusions The AAP tool missed nearly a quarter of food-insecure adults screened in the hospital; the HVS screening tool was more sensitive. Public health implications Health care systems adopting food insecurity screening should optimize ease of administration and sensitivity of the screening tool.
The Decline of Political Trust in Spain and Portugal

This article deals with the problem of the increasing distrust in institutions in European democracies, paying special attention to countries such as Spain and Portugal, which are being severely harmed by the current economic crisis and the austerity measures imposed by supranational organizations such as the European Union and implemented by their respective national governments. Contrary to the purely political-economic paradigm, the present article, based on panel survey data gathered during the years 2011 and 2012 in Spain and Portugal, shows that this deterioration is due principally to the negative perception of the political responsiveness of representative institutions and aggravated by the increasing perception of political corruption. Multilevel governance and the present economic crisis are challenging representative institutions, but their functioning and elite misbehavior during the crisis are the main explanations of increasing citizen distrust in such institutions.
Reconstituting Organ-Level Lung Functions on a Chip

Just Breathe Design of artificial systems that mimic in vivo organs could provide a better alternative for understanding mechanisms underlying physiological responses than current cell-based models or animal tests. Huh et al. (p. 1662) have created a tissue-tissue interface of human-cultured epithelial cells and endothelial cells together, with extracellular matrix in a device that models the alveolar-capillary interface of the human lung. The device mimicked physiological organ-level functions, including pathogen-induced inflammatory responses and responses to cytokine exposure. Breathing-type movements affected acute pulmonary cell toxicity and proinflammatory activity of widely used nanoparticulates. Endothelial and epithelial cells grown in a microfluidics apparatus mimic the alveolar-capillary interface of the lung. Here, we describe a biomimetic microsystem that reconstitutes the critical functional alveolar-capillary interface of the human lung. This bioinspired microdevice reproduces complex integrated organ-level responses to bacteria and inflammatory cytokines introduced into the alveolar space. In nanotoxicology studies, this lung mimic revealed that cyclic mechanical strain accentuates toxic and inflammatory responses of the lung to silica nanoparticles. Mechanical strain also enhances epithelial and endothelial uptake of nanoparticulates and stimulates their transport into the underlying microvascular channel. Similar effects of physiological breathing on nanoparticle absorption are observed in whole mouse lung. Mechanically active “organ-on-a-chip” microdevices that reconstitute tissue-tissue interfaces critical to organ function may therefore expand the capabilities of cell culture models and provide low-cost alternatives to animal and clinical studies for drug screening and toxicology applications.
Dynamic resizing of superscalar datapath components for energy efficiency

The "one-size-fits-all" philosophy used for permanently allocating datapath resources in today's superscalar CPUs to maximize performance across a wide range of applications results in the overcommitment of resources in general. To reduce power dissipation in the datapath, the resource allocations can be dynamically adjusted based on the demands of applications. We propose a mechanism to dynamically, simultaneously, and independently adjust the sizes of the issue queue (IQ), the reorder buffer (ROB), and the load/store queue (LSQ) based on the periodic sampling of their occupancies to achieve significant power savings with minimal impact on performance. Resource upsizing is done more aggressively (compared to downsizing), using the relative rate of blocked dispatches to limit the performance penalty. Our results are validated by the execution of the SPEC 2000 benchmark suite on a substantially modified version of the Simplescalar simulator, where the IQ, the ROB, the LSQ, and the register files are implemented as separate structures, as is the case with most practical implementations. We also use actual VLSI layouts of the datapath components in a 0.18 micron process to accurately measure the energy dissipations for each type of access. For a 4-way superscalar CPU, an average power savings of about 42 percent within the IQ, 74 percent within the ROB (integrating the register file), and 41 percent within the LSQ can be achieved with an average performance penalty of about 5 percent.
Deutschsprachige Testkurzversion der Hertz Perceived Enactment of Autonomy Scale (HPEASKD) für ältere Menschen in Pflegeheimen

Studien zum subjektiven Autonomieerleben aus Sicht der Heimpopulation sind unterreprasentiert. Es besteht eine Forschungslucke hinsichtlich der Selbsteinschatzung von Autonomie von Bewohnern und Bewohnerinnen mit unterschiedlichen kognitiven Fahigkeiten. Bereits bestehende Instrumente sind sehr umfangreich oder noch nicht fur diese Zielgruppe getestet. Die Darstellung der Entwicklung einer Testversion der Kurzform der deutschen Version der Hertz Perceived Enactment of Autonomy Scale (HPEASD) fur die Erfassung und Analyse subjektiv wahrgenommener Autonomie ist Ziel dieses Beitrages. Im Rahmen der Studie „Pain and Autonomy in the Nursing Home (PAIN)” wurden quantitative Daten in einer Zufallsstichprobe von 560 Heimbewohnern und -bewohnerinnen in 40 Einrichtungen in Berlin/Brandenburg durch mundliche Befragung und Analyse der Pflegedokumentation von Marz 2009 bis April 2010 generiert. Die Studienteilnehmenden der Teilstichprobe (n = 179), welche fur die Entwicklung der Testkurzversion zur Verfugung standen, .
Induction of Lysosomal Biogenesis in Atherosclerotic Macrophages Can Rescue Lipid-Induced Lysosomal Dysfunction and Downstream Sequelae

Objective— Recent reports of a proatherogenic phenotype in mice with macrophage-specific autophagy deficiency have renewed interest in the role of the autophagy-lysosomal system in atherosclerosis. Lysosomes have the unique ability to process both exogenous material, including lipids and autophagy-derived cargo such as dysfunctional proteins/organelles. We aimed to understand the effects of an atherogenic lipid environment on macrophage lysosomes and to evaluate novel ways to modulate this system. Approach and Results— Using a variety of complementary techniques, we show that oxidized low-density lipoproteins and cholesterol crystals, commonly encountered lipid species in atherosclerosis, lead to profound lysosomal dysfunction in cultured macrophages. Disruptions in lysosomal pH, proteolytic capacity, membrane integrity, and morphology are readily seen. Using flow cytometry, we find that macrophages isolated from atherosclerotic plaques also display features of lysosome dysfunction. We then investigated whether enhancing lysosomal function can be beneficial. Transcription factor EB (TFEB) is the only known transcription factor that is a master regulator of lysosomal biogenesis although its role in macrophages has not been studied. Lysosomal stress induced by chloroquine or atherogenic lipids leads to TFEB nuclear translocation and activation of lysosomal and autophagy genes. TFEB overexpression in macrophages further augments this prodegradative response and rescues several deleterious effects seen with atherogenic lipid loading as evidenced by blunted lysosomal dysfunction, reduced secretion of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-1&bgr;, enhanced cholesterol efflux, and decreased polyubiquitinated protein aggregation. Conclusions— Taken together, these data demonstrate that lysosomal function is markedly impaired in atherosclerosis and suggest that induction of a lysosomal biogenesis program in macrophages has antiatherogenic effects.
Can we beat the mouse with MAGIC?

MAGIC pointing techniques combine eye tracking with manual input. Since the mouse performs exceptionally well in a desktop setting, previous research on MAGIC pointing either resulted in minor improvements, or the techniques were applied to alternative devices or environments. We design Animated MAGIC, a novel, target-agnostic MAGIC pointing technique, for the specific goal of beating the mouse in a desktop setting. To improve the eye-tracking accuracy, we develop a dynamic local calibration method that uses each selection as a local calibration point. We compare Animated MAGIC to mouse-only and Conservative MAGIC, one of the two original MAGIC pointing methods, in a Fitts' Law experiment. We conduct a user questionnaire to evaluate the usability of the interaction methods. Results suggest that Dynamic Local Calibration improves eye-tracking accuracy and, consequently, MAGIC pointing performance. Powered with Dynamic Local Calibration, Animated MAGIC outperformed mouse-only by 8% in terms of throughput. Both MAGIC pointing methods reduced the amount of hand movement by more than half.