Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
FIVE KEPLER TARGET STARS THAT SHOW MULTIPLE TRANSITING EXOPLANET CANDIDATES

We present and discuss five candidate exoplanetary systems identified with the Kepler spacecraft. These five systems show transits from multiple exoplanet candidates. Should these objects prove to be planetary in nature, then these five systems open new opportunities for the field of exoplanets and provide new insights into the formation and dynamical evolution of planetary systems. We discuss the methods used to identify multiple transiting objects from the Kepler photometry as well as the false-positive rejection methods that have been applied to these data. One system shows transits from three distinct objects while the remaining four systems show transits from two objects. Three systems have planet candidates that are near mean motion commensurabilities—two near 2:1 and one just outside 5:2. We discuss the implications that multi-transiting systems have on the distribution of orbital inclinations in planetary systems, and hence their dynamical histories, as well as their likely masses and chemical compositions. A Monte Carlo study indicates that, with additional data, most of these systems should exhibit detectable transit timing variations (TTVs) due to gravitational interactions, though none are apparent in these data. We also discuss new challenges that arise in TTV analyses due to the presence of more than two planets in a system.
Large-Scale Bandit Problems and KWIK Learning

We show that parametric multi-armed bandit (MAB) problems with large state and action spaces can be algorithmically reduced to the supervised learning model known as "Knows What It Knows" or KWIK learning. We give matching impossibility results showing that the KWIK-learnability requirement cannot be replaced by weaker supervised learning assumptions. We provide such results in both the standard parametric MAB setting, as well as for a new model in which the action space is finite but growing with time.
Automatic Construction of Correspondences for Tubular Surfaces

Statistical shape modeling is an established technique and is used for a variety of tasks in medical image processing, such as image segmentation and analysis. A challenging task in the construction of a shape model is establishing a good correspondence across the set of training shapes. Especially for shapes of cylindrical topology, very little work has been done. This paper describes an automatic method to obtain a correspondence for a set of cylindrical shapes. The method starts from an initial correspondence which is provided by cylindrical parameterization. The quality of the obtained correspondence, measured in terms of the description length, is then improved by deforming the parameterizations using cylindrical b-spline deformations and by optimization of the spatial alignment of the shapes. In order to allow efficient gradient-guided optimization, an analytic expression is provided for the gradient of this quality measure with respect to the parameters of the parameterization deformation and the spatial alignment. A comparison is made between models obtained from the correspondences before and after the optimization. The results show that, in comparison with parameterization-based correspondences, this new method establishes correspondences that generate models with significantly increased performance in terms of reconstruction error, generalization ability, and specificity.
Optic Disc Vascularization in Glaucoma: Value of Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography

Purpose. To detect changes in optic nerve head (ONH) vascularization in glaucoma patients using spectral-domain OCT angiography (OCT-A). Material and Method. Fifty glaucoma patients and 30 normal subjects were evaluated with OCT-A (AngioVue®, Optovue). The total ONH vessel density and temporal disc vessel density were measured. Clinical data, visual field (VF) parameters, and spectral-domain OCT evaluation (RNFL: retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, GCC: ganglion cell complex thickness, and rim area) were recorded for glaucoma patients. Correlations among total and temporal ONH vessel density and structural and VF parameters were analyzed. Results. In the glaucoma group, total and temporal ONH vessel density were reduced by 24.7% (0.412 versus 0.547; p < 0.0001) and 22.88% (0.364 versus 0.472; p = 0.001), respectively, as compared with the control group. Univariate analysis showed significant correlation between rim area (mm2) and temporal ONH vessel density (r = 0.623; p < 0.0001) and total ONH vessel density (r = 0.609; p < 0.0001). Significant correlations were found between temporal and total ONH vessel density and RNFL, GCC, VF mean deviation, and visual field index. Conclusion. In glaucoma patients OCT-A might detect reduced ONH blood vessel density that is associated with structural and functional glaucomatous damage. OCT-A might become a useful tool for the evaluation of ONH microcirculation changes in glaucoma.
Towards a new approach in supporting drivers function: specifications of the SASPENCE system

This paper describes the functional specifications of the SASPENCE system, developed inside the homonymous sub-project in the European co-funded Integrated Project PReVENT. SASPENCE (Safe Speed and safe Distance) concept aims at studying, implementing and assessing a new assisting function, which is able to co-operate with the driver in most critical situations, by means of an optimal HMI, suggesting the most appropriate speed and distance to keep, depending on the external and internal scenarios. In this paper the main functions, the operative scenarios and the main system features are described and detailed.
RankCompete: simultaneous ranking and clustering of web photos

With the explosive growth of digital cameras and online media, it has become crucial to design efficient methods that help users browse and search large image collections. The recent VisualRank algorithm [4] employs visual similarity to represent the link structure in a graph so that the classic PageRank algorithm can be applied to select the most relevant images. However, measuring visual similarity is difficult when there exist diversified semantics in the image collection, and the results from VisualRank cannot supply good visual summarization with diversity. This paper proposes to rank the images in a structural fashion, which aims to discover the diverse structure embedded in photo collections, and rank the images according to their similarity among local neighborhoods instead of across the entire photo collection. We design a novel algorithm named RankCompete, which generalizes the PageRank algorithm for the task of simultaneous ranking and clustering. The experimental results show that RankCompete outperforms VisualRank and provides an efficient but effective tool for organizing web photos.
Mining Contextual Information for Ephemeral Digital Video Preservation

Normal 0 For centuries the archival community has understood and practiced the art of adding contextual information while preserving an artifact. The question now is how these practices can be transferred to the digital domain. With the growing expansion of production and consumption of digital objects (documents, audio, video, etc.) it has become essential to identify and study issues related to their representation. A cura­tor in the digital realm may be said to have the same responsibilities as one in a traditional archival domain. However, with the mass production and spread of digital objects, it may be difficult to do all the work manually. In the present article this problem is considered in the area of digital video preservation. We show how this problem can be formulated and propose a framework for capturing contextual infor­mation for ephemeral digital video preservation. This proposal is realized in a system called ContextMiner, which allows us to cater to a digital curator's needs with its four components: digital video curation, collection visualization, browsing interfaces, and video harvesting and monitoring. While the issues and systems described here are geared toward digital videos, they can easily be applied to other kinds of digital objects.
THE COMPENSATING IMPACT OF STRATEGIC COST DRIVERS : EVIDENCE FROM THE U . S . BANKING INDUSTRY

Based on case studies of several firms, accounting researchers have argued that traditional costing systems constructed using volume-related drivers understate the true costs of variety and other non-volume drivers. As a result, managers do not have appropriate information to make optimal tradeoffs between the costs and benefits of such strategic cost drivers. This supposed distortion in optimally equating managerial cost and revenue impacts when selecting the cost driver level makes the economic case for activity-based costing. However, there is little formal empirical evidence to support that claim. This paper examines the cost and benefit impacts of non-volume drivers using data from the banking industry. Empirical results document that scale, scope and complexity drivers impact both revenues and costs in predictable ways. More importantly, the revenue and cost impacts are found to be, in fact, compensating for most cost drivers
Hybrid Zones, Genetic Isolation, and Systematics of Pocket Gophers (Genus Geomys) in Nebraska

Abstract Pocket gophers of the genus Geomys are common inhabitants of many habitats throughout most of the state of Nebraska. Because the taxonomic history of Geomys has undergone numerous changes through the years, these pocket gophers have been the subjects of ongoing taxonomic and distributional studies and in more recent years genetic studies to understand relationships among populations. In order to gain deeper insight into the relationships among these taxa of Geomys, we intensively collected specimens from areas where chromosomal races were thought to form contact zones. Results from examination of genetic (chromosomes, mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene sequences, and nuclear interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein gene sequences), morphometric, and pelage coloration data revealed 2 areas of hybridization between taxa of Geomys in Nebraska. The 1st of these corresponded to the Oakdale vicinity in Antelope and Madison counties in northeastern Nebraska and the 2nd corresponded to Lincoln County in southwestern Nebraska. The taxonomic implications of our study support the recommendations from earlier studies performed in other areas of the geographic range of Geomys. Specifically, in Nebraska we recognize 3 species: G. bursarius majusculus in eastern Nebraska, G. lutescens in the Sand Hills and adjacent areas of central and western Nebraska, and G. jugossicularis halli in southwestern Nebraska. The exact geographic distributions and relationships of these species within Nebraska and the surrounding states remain to be determined in detail.
Widespread Collaboration of Isw2 and Sin3-Rpd3 Chromatin Remodeling Complexes in Transcriptional Repression

ABSTRACT The yeast Isw2 chromatin remodeling complex functions in parallel with the Sin3-Rpd3 histone deacetylase complex to repress early meiotic genes upon recruitment by Ume6p. For many of these genes, the effect of an isw2 mutation is partially masked by a functional Sin3-Rpd3 complex. To identify the full range of genes repressed or activated by these factors and uncover hidden targets of Isw2-dependent regulation, we performed full genome expression analyses using cDNA microarrays. We find that the Isw2 complex functions mainly in repression of transcription in a parallel pathway with the Sin3-Rpd3 complex. In addition to Ume6 target genes, we find that many Ume6-independent genes are derepressed in mutants lacking functional Isw2 and Sin3-Rpd3 complexes. Conversely, we find thatume6 mutants, but not isw2 sin3 or isw2 rpd3 double mutants, have reduced fidelity of mitotic chromosome segregation, suggesting that one or more functions of Ume6p are independent of Sin3-Rpd3 and Isw2 complexes. Chromatin structure analyses of two nonmeiotic genes reveals increased DNase I sensitivity within their regulatory regions in an isw2 mutant, as seen previously for one meiotic locus. These data suggest that the Isw2 complex functions at Ume6-dependent and -independent loci to create DNase I-inaccessible chromatin structure by regulating the positioning or placement of nucleosomes.
Improving speed and accuracy of brain-computer interfaces using readiness potential features

To enhance human interaction with machines, research interest is growing to develop a 'brain-computer interface', which allows communication of a human with a machine only by use of brain signals. So far, the applicability of such an interface is strongly limited by low bit-transfer rates, slow response times and long training sessions for the subject. The Berlin Brain-Computer Interface (BBCI) project is guided by the idea to train a computer by advanced machine learning techniques both to improve classification performance and to reduce the need of subject training. In this paper we present two directions in which brain-computer interfacing can be enhanced by exploiting the lateralized readiness potential: (1) for establishing a rapid response BCI system that can predict the laterality of upcoming finger movements before EMG onset even in time critical contexts, and (2) to improve information transfer rates in the common BCI approach relying on imagined limb movements.
Energy and system size dependence of chemical freeze-out in relativistic nuclear collisions

We present a detailed study of chemical freeze-out in p-p, C-C, Si-Si, and Pb-Pb collisions at beam momenta of 158A GeV as well as Pb-Pb collisions at beam momenta of 20A, 30A, 40A, and 80A GeV. By analyzing hadronic multiplicities within the statistical hadronization model, we studied the parameters of the source as a function of the number of participating nucleons and the beam energy. We observe a nice smooth behavior of temperature, baryon chemical potential, and strangeness under-saturation parameter as a function of energy and nucleus size. Interpolating formulas are provided which allow us to predict the chemical freeze-out parameters in central collisions at center-of-mass energies {radical}(s){sub NN} > or approx. 4.5 GeV and for any colliding ions. Specific discrepancies between data and the model emerge in particle ratios in Pb-Pb collisions at beam energies between 20A and 40A GeV which cannot be accounted for in the considered model schemes.
Trusted Email protocol: Dealing with privacy concerns from malicious email intermediaries

It is well-known that intermediate mediums that route emails between senders and recipients can be a real threat to privacy as these intermediaries can easily intercept and tamper with email messages. Many software-based solutions have been proposed to solve such privacy concerns by means of end-to-end data encryption such as PGP, OpenPGP, and S/MIME. These solutions pose yet another challenging issue for the secure and trusted management of cryptographic keys they utilize. To address this issue, we propose a new protocol for a Trusted Email System using hardware-based cryptographic functionality of Trusted Platform Module (TPM) and the Ephemerizer concept. By leveraging the advantages of these two technologies, our protocol provides a safeguard to cryptographic keys so that only designated email senders and recipients can read email messages. Furthermore, our protocol guarantees that nobody can read email messages that have expired or have been securely deleted. In this paper, we first describe the protocol of our Trusted Email System and then verify the security aspects of the protocol using a popular cryptographic verification tool, ProVerif.
Automatic Composition of Web Services with Nondeterministic Behavior

The promise of Web Service Computing is to utilize Web services as fundamental elements for realizing distributed applications/solutions. In particular, when no available service can satisfy client request, (parts of) available services can be composed and orchestrated in order to satisfy such a request. In this paper, we address the automatic composition when the behavior of the available services is nondeterministic, and hence it is not fully controllable by an orchestrator. The service behavior is modeled by the possible conversations the service can have with its clients. The presence of nondeterministic conversations stems naturally when modeling services in which the result of each interaction with its client can not be foreseen. The behavior of the component services is thus only partially controllable, and an orchestrator needs to cope with such partial controllability. We propose an automatic composition synthesis technique, based on reduction to satisfiability in Propositional Dynamic Logic, that is sound, complete and decidable. Moreover, we will characterize the computational complexity of the problem and show that the proposed technique is optimal wrt computational complexity.
A participative approach to teaching programming

In this paper, we describe an approach to the teaching of introductory programming to students with no previous experience of programming. The approach is based on the key idea of making students active participants in classes rather than passive recipients as might be the case when they are exposed to more traditional lecture-based teaching. In these classes the students are called upon to adopt the r&ocirc;les of various components in a program and to "act out" relevant processes and procedures.We consider why such an approach might be effective and why it might be expected to be particularly effective in the area of introductory programming.The techniques described were developed and tested during the 1997/98 academic session in the School of Computer Studies at the University of Leeds. At the end of the presentation a brief evaluation was carried out.In conclusion we consider the effectiveness of the approach after a semester's experience and describe planned future developments.
The Web Attacker Perspective - A Field Study

Web applications are a fundamental pillar of today’s globalized world. Society depends and relies on them for business and daily life. However, web applications are under constant attack by hackers that exploit their vulnerabilities to access valuable assets and disrupt business. Many studies and reports on web application security problems analyze the victim’s perspective by detailing the vulnerabilities publicly disclosed. In this paper we present a field study on the attacker’s perspective by looking at over 300 real exploits used by hackers to attack web applications. Results show that SQL injection and Remote File Inclusion are the two most frequently used exploits and that hackers prefer easier rather than complicated attack techniques. Exploit and vulnerability data are also correlated to show that, although there are many types of vulnerabilities out there, only few are interesting enough for attackers to obtain what they want the most: root shell access and admin passwords.
Discovering Communities with Self-Adaptive k Clustering in Microblog Data

Nowadays, microblogging has been a popular social network service whose population has incredibly increased in past few years. Many business companies regard microblogging service as an indispensable medium to directly obtain timely opinions from customers and potential customers. A community in social network refers to a crowd of people having similar interests or paying their attention on same things. User community recognition in microblogging social network service is very important for identifying hot topics or users' interests which are very helpful for companies to improve their marketing strategies. However, the massive non-structural tweet data brings tremendous challenge for efficiently mining the valuable communities hidden in it. Tweet data is characterized as containing massive information, being involved in large fields, short-length and non-structure. This makes tweets quite different from the conventional text documents. In order to analyze the data more effectively, in this paper, we propose a set of techniques to preprocess tweets, such as word identification, categories matching and data standardization. An unsupervised learning method has been presented to automatically cluster microblog users into different communities. In the method, an optimized CLARANS algorithm has been developed according to the characteristics of microblog data. During the process of clustering, the interactive relationship between tweets is also exploited to improve the clustering quality. In addition, a self-adaptive k strategy is employed to make the proposed approach more applicable. In order to investigate the performance of our approach from different aspects, we conducted a series of experiments with the microblog data collected from SINA Weibo.
Reliable Crowdsourcing under the Generalized Dawid-Skene Model

Crowdsourcing systems provide scalable and cost-effective human-powered solutions at marginal cost, for classification tasks where humans are significantly better than the machines. Although traditional approaches in aggregating crowdsourced labels have relied on the Dawid-Skene model, this fails to capture how some tasks are inherently more difficult than the others. Several generalizations have been proposed, but inference becomes intractable and typical solutions resort to heuristics. To bridge this gap, we study a recently proposed generalize Dawid-Skene model, and propose a linear-time algorithm based on spectral methods. We show near-optimality of the proposed approach, by providing an upper bound on the error and comparing it to a fundamental limit. We provide numerical experiments on synthetic data matching our analyses, and also on real datasets demonstrating that the spectral method significantly improves over simple majority voting and is comparable to other methods.
The relationship between scan path direction and cognitive processing

Researchers have tracked eye movement in order to determine focal attention for the last hundred years. As technology has advanced the tools and equipment utilized has led to greater insights into the psychology and physiology associated with scanning patterns which are not solely limited to attention processes. This research expands upon this by incorporating neurophysiological techniques to assess cognitive processing associated with directional scan paths and the potential associations of task dependent neural networks when interacting with the interface. It is hypothesized that the scan path direction reflects a user's cognitive processing. The results of this study indicate that the cognitive processing involved with the direction of the scan path differ with increased activity in networks involved with encoding, spatial attention, short term memory and error processing when eye scanning is towards the right. These results may be utilized to understand perceptual limitations within an interface which may be utilized for design purposes.