Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Capability-based Cryptographic Data Access Control in Cloud Computing

------------------------------------------------------------------- ABSTRACT ------------------------------------------------------------------ Cloud computing has emerged as a popular model in computing world to support processing large volumetric data using clusters of commodity computers. It is the latest effort in delivering computing resources as a service. It is used to describe both a platform and a type of application. A cloud computing platform dynamically provisions, configures, and deprovisions servers as needed. Cloud computing also describes applications that are extended to be accessible through the Internet. Data security and access control is one of the most challenging ongoing research work in cloud computing, because of users outsourcing their sensitive data to cloud providers. Existing solutions that use pure cryptographic techniques to mitigate these security and access control problems suffer from heavy computational overhead on the data owner as well as the cloud service provider for key distribution and management. This paper addresses this challenging open problem using capability based access control technique that ensures only valid users will access the outsourced data. This work also proposes a modified Diffie-Hellman key exchange protocol between cloud service provider and the user for secretly sharing a symmetric key for secure data access that alleviates the problem of key distribution and management at cloud service provider. The simulation run and analysis shows that the proposed approach is highly efficient and secure under existing security models.
An approach to simultaneous realization of neutral steer and sideslip reduction for four-wheeled electric vehicles

This paper proposes an approach to achieving both neutral steer and sideslip reduction for four-wheeled electric vehicles. The control problem is reduced to constructing a servo system tracking appropriate reference input, where the tracking is realized in the framework of H∞ control. To deal with time-varying vehicle velocity for practical purpose, a gain scheduling strategy is developed to obtain the controller, where the lower and upper bounds of the velocity are used to obtain a polytopic range for the parameters in the system coefficient matrices. A numerical example is given to show validity of the proposed approach.
Low-power backscatter relay network

This paper proposes a full duplex relay scheme for ambient backscatter devices which require little or no power for operation. The ambient backscatter devices reflect radio signals from ambient sources such as TV tower, FM radio station, etc. Because of the backscattering of radio signals, such devices have small coverage range. To extend the network coverage of such devices, relaying is the most conventional way, which is previously used for extending the coverage range of radio networks such as LTE, WiFi and so on. In this paper, the backscatter devices assist other backscatter devices to relay the information to their destination nodes. Because of the full duplex characteristics at the relaying node, they can send their own information while receiving signals from the source node. We propose the relaying procedure for full duplex backscatter nodes and investigate the its performance in terms of throughput by performing simulations.
Allogeneic compared with autologous stem cell transplantation in the treatment of patients younger than 46 years with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in first complete remission (CR1): an intention-to-treat analysis of the EORTC/GIMEMAAML-10 trial.

In the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Leukemia Group and Gruppo Italiano Malattie Ematologiche dell' Adulto (EORTC-LG/GIMEMA) acute myeloid leukemia (AML)-10 trial, patients in first complete remission (CR1) received a single intensive consolidation (IC) course. Subsequently, those patients younger than 46 years with an HLA-identical sibling donor were assigned to undergo allogeneic (allo) stem cell transplantation (SCT), and patients without such a donor were planned for autologous (auto) SCT. Between November 1993 and December 1999, of 1198 patients aged younger than 46 years, 822 achieved CR. The study group constituted 734 patients who received IC: 293 had a sibling donor and 441 did not. Allo-SCT and auto-SCT were performed in 68.9% and 55.8%, respectively. Cytogenetic determination was successfully performed in 446 patients. Risk groups were good (t(8;21), inv16), intermediate (NN or -Y only), and bad/very bad (all others). Median follow-up was 4 years; 289 patients relapsed, 66 died in CR1, and 293 died. Intention-to-treat analysis revealed that the 4-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate of patients with a donor versus those without a donor was 52.2% versus 42.2%, P =. 044; hazard ratio = 0.80, 95% confidence interval (0.64, 0.995), the relapse incidence was 30.4% versus 52.5%, death in CR1 was 17.4% versus 5.3%, and the survival rate was 58.3% versus 50.8% (P =.18). The DFS rates in patients with and without a sibling donor were similar in patients with good/intermediate risk but were 43.4% and 18.4%, respectively, in patients with bad/very bad risk cytogenetics. In younger patients (15-35 years), the difference was more pronounced. The strategy to perform early allo-SCT led to better overall results than auto-SCT, especially for younger patients or those with bad/very bad risk cytogenetics.
Accessible aerial autonomy

This work presents a combination of software and hardware that makes aerial autonomy substantially more accessible both in terms of programmatic complexity and in terms of cost. We use the ARDrone quadrotor helicopter and Willow Garage's Robot Operating System software infrastructure to demonstrate several autonomous tasks. Using vision as the sole aerial sensor, we demonstrate point-to-point navigation, aerial support of a ground robots, and robot localization within image-based maps. In contrasting several variations of SURFfeature matching, we demonstrate that low-cost aerial platforms can support robust, landmark-free visual spatial reasoning. This evaluation shows that aerial platforms can be practical, cost- and time-effective components of task-performing systems. We argue that aerial autonomy should be considered a broadly accessible resource, within reach of any investigator or educator of AI robotics.
Questing Amblyomma mixtum and Haemaphysalis juxtakochi (Acari: Ixodidae) Infected with Candidatus “Rickettsia amblyommii” from the Natural Environment in Panama Canal Basin, Panama

This work emphasizes the detection of Candidatus “Rickettsia amblyommii” in questing Haemaphysalis juxtakochi and Amblyomma mixtum. From February 2009 to December 2012, questing ticks were collected from the vegetation and leaf-litter of four protected forests and two grassy areas around the Panama Canal basin. DNA was extracted from Amblyomma mixtum, Amblyomma naponense, Amblyomma oblongoguttatum, Amblyomma pecarium, Amblyomma tapirellum, Haemaphysalis juxtakochi, and unidentified immature Amblyomma. Specific primers of citrate synthase gene gltA were used to detect and identify the rickettsiae. Amplicons with the expected band size were purified and sequenced. DNA of C. “R. amblyommii” was found in A. mixtum, H. juxtakochi and Amblyomma immatures. To our knowledge, these finding represent the first report of C. “R. amblyommii” in free-living ticks in the wilderness of Central America.
Field education in crisis: experiences of field education coordinators in Canada

Abstract Significant multi-layered challenges with delivering quality practicum experiences to social work students have led field education coordinators to release a joint statement that social work field education in Canada is in a state of crisis. This article presents the results of a two-year mixed methods study that sought to investigate and describe the challenges in order to enhance understanding of the crisis from the perspective of Canadian social work field education coordinators. The results indicate that social work education programs in Canada face four key challenges in regard to field education that can be further divided into two sections: (a) the social work practice field and (b) social work field education administration. The two key challenges associated with the social work practice field are: (a) social work practice contexts and realities and (b) practicum shortages and saturation. The two key challenges associated with social work field education administration are: (a) practicum procurement and field instructor recruitment and retention; and (b) expectations and workloads of field education coordinators. To address these challenges, collaborative development of a multi-level strategy aimed at moving beyond the current state of crisis toward a sustainable model of social work field education in Canada is recommended.
Amoeba : A Methodology for Modeling and Evolution of Cross-Organizational Business Processes

Business service engagements involve processes that extend across two or more autonomous organizations. Because of regulatory and competitive reasons, requirements for cross-organizational business processes often evolve in subtle ways. The changes may concern the business transactions supported by a process, the organizational structure of parties participating in the process, or the contextual policies that apply to the process. Current business process modeling approaches handle such changes in an ad hoc manner, and lack a principled means of determining what needs to be changed and where. Cross-organizational settings exacerbate the shortcomings of traditional approaches because changes in one organization can affect the workings of another. This paper describes Amoeba, a methodology for business processes that is based on business protocols. Protocols capture the business meaning of interactions among autonomous parties via commitments. Amoeba includes guidelines for (1) specifying cross-organizational processes using business protocols, and (2) handling evolution of requirements via a novel application of protocol composition. This paper evaluates Amoeba using enhancements of a real-life business scenario of auto-insurance claim processing.
Effects of candidate position on ballot papers: Exploratory visualization of voter choice in the London local council elections 2010

The relationship between candidates’ position on a ballot paper and vote rank is explored in the case of London local council elections. A design study uses information visualization techniques to identify patterns and generate hypotheses. Using clustered bar-charts and spatial treemaps, the effects of ballot ordering are shown. Visual evidence is presented to suggest that the order of placement of the names of candidates acts to bias voters towards those whose names are towards the top of the ballot paper. The findings of this research have significant implications for the design of ballot papers and the conduct of fair elections.
Role of TI-VAMP and CD82 in EGFR cell-surface dynamics and signaling

The v-SNARE TI-VAMP (VAMP7) mediates exocytosis during neuritogenesis, phagocytosis and lysosomal secretion. It localizes to endosomes and lysosomes but also to the trans-Golgi network. Here we show that depletion of TI-VAMP enhances the endocytosis of activated EGF receptor (EGFR) without affecting constitutive endocytosis of EGFR, or transferrin uptake. This increased EGFR internalization is mainly clathrin dependent. Searching for defects in EGFR regulators, we found that TI-VAMP depletion reduces the cell surface amount of CD82, a tetraspanin known to control EGFR localization in microdomains. We further show that TI-VAMP is required for secretion from the Golgi apparatus to the cell surface, and that TI-VAMP-positive vesicles transport CD82. Quantum dots video-microscopy indicates that depletion of TI-VAMP, or its cargo CD82, restrains EGFR diffusion and the area explored by EGFR at the cell surface. Both depletions also impair MAPK signaling and enhance endocytosis of activated EGFR by increased recruitment of AP-2. These results highlight the role of TI-VAMP in the secretory pathway of a tetraspanin, and support a model in which CD82 allows EGFR entry in microdomains that control its clathrin-dependent endocytosis and signaling.
RNA in situ hybridization of dissected gonads.

Copyright: © 2006 Min-Ho Lee and Tim Schedl. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: mhlee@albany.edu or ts@genetics.wustl. edu Current address: Department of Biological Sciences, University at Albany, SUNY, Albany, NY 12222 RNA in situ hybridization of dissected gonads* Min-Ho Lee, Tim Schedl, Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110 USA
Fast Sampling for Time-Varying Determinantal Point Processes

Determinantal Point Processes (DPPs) are stochastic models which assign each subset of a base dataset with a probability proportional to the subset’s degree of diversity. It has been shown that DPPs are particularly appropriate in data subset selection and summarization (e.g., news display, video summarizations). DPPs prefer diverse subsets while other conventional models cannot offer. However, DPPs inference algorithms have a polynomial time complexity which makes it difficult to handle large and time-varying datasets, especially when real-time processing is required. To address this limitation, we developed a fast sampling algorithm for DPPs which takes advantage of the nature of some time-varying data (e.g., news corpora updating, communication network evolving), where the data changes between time stamps are relatively small. The proposed algorithm is built upon the simplification of marginal density functions over successive time stamps and the sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) sampling technique. Evaluations on both a real-world news dataset and the Enron Corpus confirm the efficiency of the proposed algorithm.
Immunomodulatory Effects of Fosfomycin in Experimental Human Endotoxemia

ABSTRACT To evaluate the effect of fosfomycin on proinflammatory cytokines, a bolus of 2 ng of bacterial lipopolysaccharide/kg of body weight was injected intravenously into healthy volunteers. After 2 h, subjects received 8 g of fosfomycin or placebo in a randomized crossover study design. The resulting concentrations of tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and IL-6 expressed as protein and mRNA levels were almost identical with and without fosfomycin.
Leveraging Small-Scale Sport Events: Challenges of Organising, Delivering and Managing Sustainable Outcomes in Rural Communities, the Case of Gorski kotar, Croatia

Sports and events play an important role in local identity building and creating a sense of community that encourages participation and increases social capital. Rural communities are specific areas with special needs and can face challenges and restraints when it comes to event organisation. The purpose of this paper is to identify organisational challenges and analyse the potential to achieving long-term sustainable social and economic outcomes linked to small-scale sports events in rural communities. Organisational challenges of rural communities in terms of organising sport events are examined and discussed using the framework of event leveraging developed by O’Brien and Chalip. This methodology is applied and discussed to a case study focusing on small-scale winter sport events in rural Croatia. Semi-structured interviews with local organisers were conducted in order to collect data on the overall event organisation and management, local coordination, role of community stakeholders and challenges facing strategic planning, with the intent to identify objectives for future events. Results were discussed independently and in the context of the leverage framework, with reflection on its applicability to rural communities as the event organisers. Recommendations are provided based on critical insight from the literature and are oriented on how to streamline the process of organising, delivering and managing of events in remote rural communities. Finally, the idea of inter-community organisation is proposed to ensure long-term social and economic benefits and to address the existing issues of overlapping of stakeholder categories, mixed objectives, distrust among stakeholders and inefficiently used local resources.
What drives hiring discrimination against transgenders?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the mechanisms underlying hiring discrimination against transgender women. Design/methodology/approach The authors conduct a scenario experiment in which fictitious hiring decisions are made about transgender or cisgender female job candidates. In addition, these candidates are scored on statements related to theoretical reasons for hiring discrimination given in the literature. The resulting data are analysed by means of a multiple mediation model. Findings The results suggest that prejudices with respect to the health of transgender individuals mediate unfavourable treatment of them. However, this mechanism is compensated by a beneficial perception concerning transgender women’s autonomy and assertiveness. Social implications Targeted policy measures are needed given the substantial labour market discrimination against transgender individuals measured in former studies. However, to combat this discrimination effectively, one needs to understand its underlying mechanisms. This study provides a first exploration of these mechanisms. Originality/value This study innovates in being the first to explore the relative empirical importance of dominant (theoretical) explanations for hiring discrimination against transgender women. Thereby, the authors take the logical next step in the literature on labour market discrimination against transgender individuals.
Neural network and optical correlators for infrared imaging based face recognition

This paper deals with the problem of thermovision application for biometric people recognition. The main goal of research was the automatization of recognition process and proving, whether the infrared imaging can be exploited for realization of the biometric system. First, the data base composed of 270 images made in different conditions, was built. Next, the multilayer perception and two optical correlators such as joint transform correlator and 4f correlator, were applied. Each system was designed for realizing two various tasks: verification and identification. Finally, the systems were tested and evaluated according to the Face Recognition Vendor Tests (FRVT). Achieved results proved that temperature distribution on the human face is a biometric trait and people can be efficiently recognized with usage of infrared imagery.
Towards a Performance Model for Special Purpose ORB Middleware

General purpose middleware has been shown effective in meeting diverse functional requirements for a wide range of distributed systems. Advanced middleware projects have also supported single quality-of-service dimensions such as real-time, fault tolerance, or small memory footprint. However, there is limited experience supporting multiple quality-of-service dimensions in middleware to meet the needs of special purpose applications. Even though general purpose middleware can cover an entire spectrum of functionality by supporting the union of all features required by each application, this approach breaks down for distributed real-time and embedded systems. For example, the breadth of features supported may interfere with small memory footprint requirements. In this paper, we describe experiments comparing application-level and mechanism-level real-time performance of a representative sensor-network application running on three middleware alternatives: (1) a realtime object request broker (ORB) for small-footprint networked embedded sensor nodes, that we have named nORB, (2) TAO, a robust and widely-used generalpurpose Real-Time CORBA ORB, and (3) ACE, the lowlevel middleware framework upon which both nORB and TAO are based. This paper makes two main contributions to the state of the art in customized middleware for distributed real-time and embedded applications. First, we present mechanism-level timing measurements for each of the alternative middleware layers and compare them to the observed performance of the sensor-network application. Second, we provide a preliminary performance model for the observed application timing behavior based on the mechanism-level measurements in each case, and suggest further potential performance optimizations that we plan to study as future work.
Sparse Learning of Markovian Population Models in Random Environments

Markovian population models are suitable abstractions to describe well-mixed interacting particle systems in situation where stochastic fluctuations are significant due to the involvement of low copy particles. In molecular biology, measurements on the single-cell level attest to this stochasticity and one is tempted to interpret such measurements across an isogenic cell population as different sample paths of one and the same Markov model. Over recent years evidence built up against this interpretation due to the presence of cell-to-cell variability stemming from factors other than intrinsic fluctuations. To account for this extrinsic variability, Markovian models in random environments need to be considered and a key emerging question is how to perform inference for such models. We model extrinsic variability by a random parametrization of all propensity functions. To detect which of those propensities have significant variability, we lay out a sparse learning procedure captured by a hierarchical Bayesian model whose evidence function is iteratively maximized using a variational Bayesian expectation-maximization algorithm.
Graphical method for the phase noise optimization applied to a 6-GHz fully integrated NMOS differential LC VCO

This paper describes the design and the optimization in terms of phase noise of a fully integrated NMOS Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO) using a 0.25 μm BICMOS SiGe process. A three-dimensional phase noise analysis diagram and a graphical optimization approach is presented to optimize the phase noise of the VCO while satisfying design constraints such as tank amplitude, power dissipation, tuning range and start up conditions. At 2.5 V power supply voltage, the optimized VCO features a simulated phase noise of −118 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz frequency offset from a 6.12 GHz carrier. The VCO is tuned from 6.1 GHz to 7.9 GHz with a tuning voltage varying from 0 to 2.5 V, and a power dissipation of only 7.4 mW.
Early Phenotypical Changes Induced By Transfer of Human Fecal Microbiotafrom Colorectal Cancer Patients to Germ-Free Mice

Feces from patients with colorectal cancer (HK) and healthy individuals (HN) were inoculated orally into germ-free mice under azoxymethane (AOM) or vehicle. The fecal microbiota remained stable in germ-free (GF) mice up to 42 days after fecal transplantation. Numbers of aberrant crypt foci, levels of MATH1, and HES1 mRNAs in the colonic mucosa, were higher in HK-GF than in HN-GF mice with highest levels observed in HK-GF mice treated with AOM and significantly associated with higher Bacteroides and lower Coprococcus bacteria in stools. Thus, CRC patients’ fecal microbiota can induce early precancerous changes in the colonic mucosa in germ-free mice.