Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Privacy in e-commerce: stated preferences vs. actual behavior

In times of ubiquitous electronic communication and increasing industry pressure for standard electronic authentication, the maintenance of privacy, or "the right to be left alone" becomes a subject of increasing concern. The possibility of a "transparent human," whose vital information is up for grabs, can most easily be envisioned in the realm of e-commerce, due in part to the large amounts of data available, and in part to the high payoffs expected from using this data for marketing purposes.
Mast cell amines and inosineinduced vasoconstriction in the rat hind limb

Under certain circumstances injected inosine causes a net vasoconstrictive effect on the arterioles, which has been attributed to 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT) released in response to adenosine type 3 (A3) receptor stimulation of mast cells residing in the adventitia. We have sought further evidence for this hypothesis using blood vessels of the rat hind limb perfused in vitro at constant rate with a gelatin-containing physiological salt solution. Injection of inosine (2.7 mg) caused a rise in perfusion pressure, which was only slightly increased by inclusion of N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (100 μM) in the perfusate. Inclusion in the perfusate of cyproheptadine (1 μM), compound 48 80 (1 μg ml), 8-phenyltheophylline (1 μM) or 8-cyclopentyl-1,3 dipropylxanthine (0.1 μM) greatly reduced the pressor response to inosine. The pressor effect of injected 5HT (400 μg) was abolished by pre-treatment with cyproheptadine, but not by pre-treatment with compound 48 80. These results suggest that the net pressor response to injected inosine was mainly the result of an A1 receptor-mediated release of 5HT, most probably from mast cells. No evidence was found for an involvement of A3 receptor stimulation.
Regression and Linear Models

Students are responsible for being familiar with this syllabus, and with the contents of both the above and the Owl Space website, and follow the postings as the course proceeds. A survey of regression, linear models, and experimental design. Topics include simple and multiple linear regression, single-and multi-factor studies, analysis of variance, analysis of covariance, model selection, diagnostics. Data analysis using statistical software is emphasized. STAT 615 is the graduate level version of STAT 410. Software: We will work with R: www.r-project.org The information contained in the course syllabus, other than the absence policies, may be subject to change with reasonable advance notice as deemed appropriate by the instructor.
Gene Regulatory Variation Mediates Flowering Responses to Vernalization along an Altitudinal Gradient in Arabidopsis1[W][OPEN]

Flowering time after vernalization and gene expression in flowering time pathways correlate with altitude, suggesting phenological adaptation. Steep environmental gradients provide ideal settings for studies of potentially adaptive phenotypic and genetic variation in plants. The accurate timing of flowering is crucial for reproductive success and is regulated by several pathways, including the vernalization pathway. Among the numerous genes known to enable flowering in response to vernalization, the most prominent is FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC). FLC and other genes of the vernalization pathway vary extensively among natural populations and are thus candidates for the adaptation of flowering time to environmental gradients such as altitude. We used 15 natural Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) genotypes originating from an altitudinal gradient (800–2,700 m above sea level) in the Swiss Alps to test whether flowering time correlated with altitude under different vernalization scenarios. Additionally, we measured the expression of 12 genes of the vernalization pathway and its downstream targets. Flowering time correlated with altitude in a nonlinear manner for vernalized plants. Flowering time could be explained by the expression and regulation of the vernalization pathway, most notably by AGAMOUS LIKE19 (AGL19), FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), and FLC. The expression of AGL19, FT, and VERNALIZATION INSENSITIVE3 was associated with altitude, and the regulation of MADS AFFECTING FLOWERING2 (MAF2) and MAF3 differed between low- and high-altitude genotypes. In conclusion, we found clinal variation across an altitudinal gradient both in flowering time and the expression and regulation of genes in the flowering time control network, often independent of FLC, suggesting that the timing of flowering may contribute to altitudinal adaptation.
Magnetosome-like ferrimagnetic iron oxide nanocubes for highly sensitive MRI of single cells and transplanted pancreatic islets

For ultrasensitive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic nanoparticles with extremely high r2 relaxivity are strongly desired. Magnetosome-like nanoparticles were prepared by coating polyethylene glycol-phospholipid (PEG-phospholipid) onto ferrimagnetic iron oxide nanocubes (FIONs). FIONs exhibited a very high relaxivity (r2) of 324 mM-1 s-1, allowing efficient labeling of various kinds of cells. The magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of single cells labeled with FIONs is demonstrated not only in vitro but also in vivo. Pancreatic islet grafts and their rejection could be imaged using FIONs on a 1.5 T clinical MRI scanner. The strong contrast effect of FIONs enabled MR imaging of transplanted islets in small rodents as well as in large animals. Therefore, we expect that MR imaging of pancreatic islet grafts using FIONs has the potentials for clinical applications. Furthermore, FIONs will enable highly sensitive noninvasive assessment after cell transplantation.
Incidental sonographic detection of mucosa‐associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma of the urinary bladder found in a very young woman: Report of a case

We report a rare case of a mucosa‐associated lymphoid tissue (MALT)‐type lymphoma of the bladder, incidentally found on sonography in a 17‐year‐old girl during the workup of arterial hypertension. The diagnosis was established by a transurethral biopsy. Treatment consisted of transurethral resection of the bladder tumor and subsequent chemotherapy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the youngest patient with asymptomatic MALT‐type lymphoma of the urinary bladder. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound, 2011
Optimized global-in-time Schwarz algorithm for diffusion equations with discontinuous and spatially variable coefficients

In this report we present a global-in-time non-overlapping Schwarz method applied to the one dimensional unsteady diffusion equation. We address specifically the problem with discontinuous diffusion coefficients, our approach is therefore especially designed for subdomains with heterogeneous properties. We derive efficient interface conditions by solving analytically the minmax problem associated to the search of optimized conditions in a Robin-Neumann case and in a two-sided Robin-Robin case with constant coefficients. We study the impact of the finiteness of the subdomains on the optimized conditions. Then we address the problem with spatially variable coefficients. We derive a new approach to determine the convergence factor of the algorithm, which enables to optimize the convergence speed. The theoretical results are illustrated by numerical experiments in the case of Robin-Robin and Dirichlet-Neumann interface conditions.
Design and implementation of 1 MHz active-clamped resonant flyback converter

This paper aims to study an active-clamped resonant flyback converter. The proposed resonant technique can increase the zero-voltage switching (ZVS) range. Gallium Nitride high electron mobility transistor (GaN HEMT) devices are also applied in this study to reduce the switching losses at high-frequency operation. Synchronous rectifier is designed on secondary side to minimize the conduction losses resulted from the high output current. A planar transformer is designed to achieve low profile and high power density. A 65 W/1 MHz prototype converter is implemented and tested under 90 VAC∼264 VAC input and 19.5 V output condition. The experimental results are shown to verify the feasibility of the studied scheme. The measured efficiency can be up to 90 %.
Compression Performance of the Xremote Protocol

The Xremote protocol is a compressed transformation of the XWindow System protocol, designed to e ciently implement X connections across relatively slow serial lines. Using an Xremote simulator and 11 traces of X sessions, we found that Xremote's overall compression ratio is 2.4:1. This gure varies widely depending on the trace. A study of compression ratio as a function of message type shows text based messages commonly achieving 3:1 compression, while geometric messages usually achieve only 1.6:1 compression. By examining bandwidth requirements and compression performance as a function of time, we see that Xremote performs adequately for some applications which are text based or which use small geometric datasets, except at application startup where more bandwidth is required. Further work is required to adequately support the initialization stage of X applications and medium to large geometric databases.
Eliminating Human Visual Judgment from Testing of Financial Charting Software

Financial charting software is widely used in share, commodity and foreign currency exchange markets to visualize and analyze price movements. Its quality is critical because incorrect outputs may lead to wrong analysis and trading decisions, and consequently substantial financial losses. Human visual judgment is often required to test financial charting software because of the graphical complexity of software outputs and limited knowledge of expected outputs. Such approach is labour intensive and error-prone. In this paper, we propose an automated testing technique combining metamorphic testing, assertion checking and a novel data label extraction method to eliminate human visual judgment from testing financial charting software. We used this technique to test pre-release builds of a commercial Point and Figure charting software component, and demonstrated that the proposed technique can effectively detect actual faults in the software component. Further, we discuss how the technique can be extended to test other charting software components.
A 5.2-GHz CMOS receiver with 62-dB image rejection

A 5.2-GHz CMOS receiver employs a double downconversion heterodyne architecture with a local oscillator frequency of 2.6 GHz and applies offset cancellation to the baseband amplifiers. Placing the image around the zero frequency, the receiver achieves an image rejection of 62 dB with no external components while minimizing the flicker noise upconversion in the first mixing operation. Realized in a 0.25-/spl mu/m digital CMOS technology, the circuit exhibits a noise figure of 6.4 dB, an IP/sub 3/ of -15 dBm, and a voltage conversion gain of 43 dB while draining 24 mW from a 2.5-V supply.
Response: Commentary: The effects of acute stress on core executive functions: A meta-analysis and comparison with cortisol

Dang (2017) commented on our recent meta-analysis (Shields et al., 2016) that reviewed the effects of acute stress on executive functions. A conclusion of our review was that stress impaired “cognitive inhibition” (i.e., selectively attending to or ignoring information) but enhanced “response inhibition” (i.e., inhibiting a prepotent response). Dang argued that many specific tasks1should have been classified differently than they were in the meta-analysis and, thus, the effects of stress on inhibition are still pending. However, our task classification in the meta-analysis was not arbitrary; rather, it was based on previous research. Moreover, although the new classification proposed by Dang may appear reasonable in some ways, it is not strongly supported by the existing literature. One classification with which Dang takes issue is the forward span task, arguing that it should be classified as working memory rather than inhibition. Performance on forward span tasks is indeed underpinned in part by cognitive processes associated with performance on workingmemory tasks, such as storage processes (Baddeley, 2000). However, storage processes are not executive functions, and performance on forward span tasks is not a measure of the executive component in working memory (Baddeley, 2000, 2012;Miyake et al., 2000; Conway et al., 2002; Repovš and Baddeley, 2006; Diamond, 2013). Indeed, neuropsychological research has established that performance on forward span tasks is underpinned not by workingmemory, but cognitive inhibition (i.e., selective/sustained attention): “What Digits Forwardmeasures is more closely related to the efficiency of attention (i.e., freedom from distractibility) than to what is commonly thought of as memory” (Lezak, 2004, p. 353; see also Gold et al., 1997; Gómez-Pérez and Ostrosky-Solís, 2006; Tian et al., 2015). The same is true for tasks measuring simple or choice reaction time: the only executive function required for performance on them is cognitive inhibition in the form of selective and sustained attention (Stuss et al., 1989; Bonnelle et al., 2011). Thus, performance on these tasks is underpinned primarily by cognitive inhibition, justifying our classification of them as cognitive inhibition tasks. Classifying the above tasks as cognitive inhibition might lead one to argue that theoretically all tasks could be classified as cognitive inhibition, as performance on any given cognitive task is
Autonomic policy-based HAN traffic classification using augmented meta model for policy translation

Translating between network management policies is desirable if a system needs to map downwards from a high-level objective to low-level configurations or to feed information back upwards from a network event to a matching policy. Techniques for policy translation require elements of semantic mapping between levels of management policy within a continuum. The policy translation is difficult due to the inherent complexity of transforming abstract policy concepts into the concrete policies. Formal semantic models can harness this translation process but existing policy languages do not provide semantic models that capture concepts embodied in policy languages. In this article, we attempt to explain how to refine user-level policies using SWRL rules into network-level policies using IPTables with the help of a simplified policy framework in the domain of home area network. We also present the testbed architecture used for experiments in home area network environment for traffic classification. The main contribution of this article is the extension of semantic translation algorithm, which is used to map policy concepts in policy languages to meta-model concepts. Finally, we compare different semantic mapping techniques with our proposed technique.
Neo-planning: Location-based social media to engage Australia’s new digital locals

Community engagement with time poor and seemingly apathetic citizens continues to challenge local governments. Capturing the attention of a digitally literate community who are technology and socially savvy adds a new quality to this challenge. Community engagement is resource and time intensive, yet local governments have to manage on continually tightened budgets. The benefits of assisting citizens in taking ownership in making their community and city a better place to live in collaboration with planners and local governments are well established. This study investigates a new collaborative form of civic participation and engagement for urban planning that employs in-place digital augmentation. It enhances people’s experience of physical spaces with digital technologies that are directly accessible within that space, in particular through interaction with mobile phones and public displays. The study developed and deployed a system called Discussions in Space (DIS) in conjunction with a major urban planning project in Brisbane. Planners used the system to ask local residents planning-related questions via a public screen, and passers-by sent responses via SMS or Twitter onto the screen for others to read and reflect, hence encouraging in-situ, real-time, civic discourse. The low barrier of entry proved to be successful in engaging a wide range of residents who are generally not heard due to their lack of time or interest. The system also reflected positively on the local government for reaching out in this way. Challenges and implications of the short-texted and ephemeral nature of this medium were evaluated in two focus groups with urban planners. The paper concludes with an analysis of the planners’ feedback evaluating the merits of the data generated by the system to better engage with Australia’s new digital locals.
Comparing pedophile activity in different P2P systems

Peer-to-peer (P2P) systems are widely used to exchange content over the Internet. Knowledge of pedophile activity in such networks remains limited, despite having important social consequences. Moreover, though there are different P2P systems in use, previous academic works on this topic focused on one system at a time and their results are not directly comparable. We design a methodology for comparing KAD and eDonkey, two P2P systems among the most prominent ones and with different anonymity levels. We monitor two eDonkey servers and the KAD network during several days and record hundreds of thousands of keyword-based queries. We detect pedophile-related queries with a previously validated tool and we propose, for the first time, a large-scale comparison of pedophile activity in two different P2P systems. We conclude that there are significantly fewer pedophile queries in KAD than in eDonkey (approximately 0.09% vs. 0.25%).
Revisiting Negative Selection Algorithms

This paper reviews the progress of negative selection algorithms, an anomaly/change detection approach in Artificial Immune Systems (AIS). Following its initial model, we try to identify the fundamental characteristics of this family of algorithms and summarize their diversities. There exist various elements in this method, including data representation, coverage estimate, affinity measure, and matching rules, which are discussed for different variations. The various negative selection algorithms are categorized by different criteria as well. The relationship and possible combinations with other AIS or other machine learning methods are discussed. Prospective development and applicability of negative selection algorithms and their influence on related areas are then speculated based on the discussion.
Stochastic Domination for the Ising and Fuzzy Potts Models

We discuss various aspects concerning stochastic domination for the Ising model and the fuzzy Potts model. We begin by considering the Ising model on the homogeneous tree of degree $d$, $\mathbb{T}^d$. For given interaction parameters $J_1$, $J_2>0$ and external field $h_1\in\mathbb{R}$, we compute the smallest external field $\tilde{h}$ such that the plus measure with parameters $J_2$ and $h$ dominates the plus measure with parameters $J_1$ and $h_1$ for all $h\geq\tilde{h}$. Moreover, we discuss continuity of $\tilde{h}$ with respect to the three parameters $J_1$, $J_2$, $h_1$ and also how the plus measures are stochastically ordered in the interaction parameter for a fixed external field. Next, we consider the fuzzy Potts model and prove that on $\mathbb{Z}^d$ the fuzzy Potts measures dominate the same set of product measures while on $\mathbb{T}^d$, for certain parameter values, the free and minus fuzzy Potts measures dominate different product measures
Evaluation of dog-appeasing pheromone as a potential treatment for dogs fearful of fireworks

Thirty dogs that showed signs of fear in response to fireworks participated in an open clinical trial to assess the potential value of dog-appeasing pheromone for the alleviation of their behavioural signs. The treatment was delivered continuously into the atmosphere of each dog's home with an electrically heated diffuser. At the baseline assessments, the owners identified the behavioural signs of fear that their dogs normally displayed in response to fireworks, rated their frequency and assessed the overall severity of their responses. These measures were repeated at the final assessment and the owners also rated the change in their dogs' responses. There were significant improvements in the owners' rating of nine of the 14 behavioural signs of fear that were examined, and in their ratings of the overall severity of the responses. The treatment was generally associated with a reduction in the intensity of fear but there were variations in the responses of individual dogs.
EEG Classification of Covert Speech Using Regularized Neural Networks

Communication using brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) can be non-intuitive, often requiring the performance of a conversation-irrelevant task such as hand motor imagery. In this paper, the reliability of electroencephalography (EEG) signals in discriminating between different covert speech tasks is investigated. Twelve participants, across two sessions each, were asked to perform multiple iterations of three differing mental tasks for 10 s each: unconstrained rest or the mental repetition of the words “yes” or “no.” A multilayer perceptron (MLP) artificial neural network (ANN) was used to classify all three pairwise combinations of “yes,” “no,” and rest trials and also for ternary classification. An average accuracy of 75.7% ± 9.6 was reached in the classification of covert speech trials versus rest, with all participants exceeding chance level (57.8%). The classification of “yes” versus “no” yielded an average accuracy of 63.2 ± 6.4 with ten participants surpassing chance level (57.8%). Finally, the ternary classification yielded an average accuracy of 54.1% ± 9.7 with all participants exceeding chance level (39.1%). The proposed MLP network provided significantly higher accuracies compared to some of the most common classification techniques in BCI. To our knowledge, this is the first report of using ANN for the classification of EEG covert speech across multiple sessions. Our findings support further study of covert speech as a BCI activation task, potentially leading to the development of more intuitive BCIs for communication.
Walking gestures recognition based on a novel symbolic representation

This study presents a new method for walking gesture representation and recognition based on a symbolic representation. The symbolic representation is used to represent images which can be decomposed into a number of time series and the distance between time series can be characterized based on the distances between symbols. In this work, the distances between symbols are defined according to the average value of each segment rather than the distance calculated based on Gaussian distribution as used in traditional symbolic representations. The proposed method is applied to a short template video containing a number of walking steps (gestures). In the case studies we consider a database containing 104 test videos, taken from 101 people, and our objective is to identify whether a person in the testing video is the same person as in the template video (i.e. the training video), and the identification accuracy of the method is around 98%.