Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Finding Collisions in Interactive Protocols - A Tight Lower Bound on the Round Complexity of Statistically-Hiding Commitments

We study the round complexity of various cryptographic protocols. Our main result is a tight lower bound on the round complexity of any fully-black-box construction of a statistically-hiding commitment scheme from oneway permutations, and even front trapdoor permutations. This lower bound matches the round complexity of the statistically-hiding commitment scheme due to Naor, Ostrovsky, Venkatesan and Yung (CRYPTO '92). As a corollary, we derive similar tight lower bounds for several other ctyptographicprotocols, such as single-server private information retrieval, interactive hashing, and oblivious transfer that guarantees statistical security for one of the parties. Our techniques extend the collision-finding oracle due to Simon (EUROCRYPT '98) to the setting of interactive protocols (our extension also implies an alternative proof for the main property of the original oracle). In addition, we substantially extend the reconstruction paradigm of Gennaro and Trevisan (FOCS '00). In both cases, our extensions are quite delicate and may be found useful in proving additional black-box separation results.
Acute Hyperglycemia Does Not Impair Microvascular Reactivity and Endothelial Function during Hyperinsulinemic Isoglycemic and Hyperglycemic Clamp in Type 1 Diabetic Patients

Aims. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of acute glycemia increase on microvasculature and endothelium in Type 1 diabetes during hyperinsulinemic clamp. Patients and Methods. Sixteen patients (51 ± 7 yrs) without complications were examined during iso- and hyperglycemic clamp (glucose increase 5.5 mmol·L−1). Insulin, lipid parameters, cell adhesion molecules and fibrinogen were analyzed. Microvascular reactivity (MVR) was measured by laser Doppler flowmetry. Results. Maximum perfusion and the velocity of perfusion increase during PORH were higher in hyperglycemia compared to baseline (47 ± 16 versus 40 ± 16 PU, P < 0.01, and 10.4 ± 16.5 versus 2.6 ± 1.5 PU·s−1, P < 0.05, resp.). Time to the maximum perfusion during TH was shorter and velocity of perfusion increase during TH higher at hyperglycemia compared to isoglycemic phase (69 ± 15 versus 77 ± 16 s, P < 0.05, and 1.4 ± 0.8 versus 1.2 ± 0.7 PU·s−1, P < 0.05, resp.). An inverse relationship was found between insulinemia and the time to maximum perfusion during PORH (r = −0.70, P = 0.007). Conclusion. Acute glycemia did not impair microvascular reactivity in this clamp study in Type 1 diabetic patients. Our results suggest that insulin may play a significant role in the regulation of microvascular perfusion in patients with Type 1 diabetes through its vasodilation effect and can counteract the effect of acute glucose fluctuations.
Stream Bench: Towards Benchmarking Modern Distributed Stream Computing Frameworks

While big data is becoming ubiquitous, interest in handling data stream at scale is also gaining popularity, which leads to the sprout of many distributed stream computing systems. However, complexity of stream computing and diversity of workloads expose great challenges to benchmark these systems. Due to lack of standard criteria, evaluations and comparisons of these systems tend to be difficult. This paper takes an early step towards benchmarking modern distributed stream computing frameworks. After identifying the challenges and requirements in the field, we raise our benchmark definition Stream Bench regarding the requirements. Stream Bench proposes a message system functioning as a mediator between stream data generation and consumption. It also covers 7 benchmark programs that intend to address typical stream computing scenarios and core operations. Not only does it care about performance of systems under different data scales, but also takes fault tolerance ability and durability into account, which drives to incorporate four workload suites targeting at these various aspects of systems. Finally, we illustrate the feasibility of Stream Bench by applying it to two popular frameworks, Apache Storm and Apache Spark Streaming. We draw comparisons from various perspectives between the two platforms with workload suites of Stream Bench. In addition, we also demonstrate performance improvement of Storm's latest version with the benchmark.
Requirements for IT Security Metrics - an Argumentation Theory Based Approach

The demand for measuring IT security performance is driven by regulatory, financial, and organizational factors. While several best practice metrics have been suggested, we observe a lack of consistent requirements against which IT security metrics can be evaluated. We address this research gap by adopting a methodological approach that is based on argumentation theory and an accompanying literature review. As a result, we derive five key requirements: IT security metrics should be (a) bounded, (b) metrically scaled, (c) reliable, valid and objective, (d) context-specific and (e) computed automatically. We illustrate and discuss the context-specific instantiation of requirements by using the practically used “vulnerability scanning coverage” and “mean-time-to-incident discovery” metrics as examples. Finally we summarize further implications of each requirement.
Emotion Detection Using Kinect 3D Facial Points

With the development of pattern recognition and artificial intelligence, emotion recognition based on facial expression has attracted a great deal of research interest. Facial emotion recognition are mainly based on facial images. The commonly used datasets are created artificially, with obvious facial expression on each facial images. Actually, emotion is a complicated and dynamic process. If a person is happy, probably he/she may not keep obvious happy facial expression all the time. Practically, it is important to recognize emotion correctly even if the facial expression is not clear. In this paper, we propose a new method of emotion recognition, i.e., to identify three kinds of emotion: sad, happy and neutral. We acquire 1347 3D facial points by Kinect V2.0. Key facial points are selected and feature extraction is conducted. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is employed for feature dimensionality reduction. Several classical classifiers are used to construct emotion recognition models. The best performance of classification on all, male and female data are 70%, 77% and 80% respectively.
A new approach to the integration of rotational motion in systems with interacting rigid bodies

A new approach is developed to integrate numerically the equations of motion for systems of interacting rigid polyatomic molecules. With the aid of a leapfrog framework, we directly involve principal angular velocities into the integration, whereas orientational positions are expressed in terms of either principal axes or quaternions. As a result, the rigidness of molecules appears to be an integral of motion, despite the atom trajectories are evaluated approximately. The algorithm derived is free of any iterative procedures and it allows to perform both energy- and temperature-conserving simulations. The corresponding integrators are time reversible but the symplectic behaviour is only achieved in mean. Symplectic versions are also described. The provide the conservation of volume in phase space precisely at each time step and, moreover, lead to exact solutions for angular velocities in the inertial-motion regime. It is shown that the algorithm exhibits excellent stability properties and conserves the energy even somewhat better than the atomic-constraint technique.
On neighborhood tree search

We consider the neighborhood tree induced by alternating the use of different neighborhood structures within a local search descent. We investigate the issue of designing a search strategy operating at the neighborhood tree level by exploring different paths of the tree in a heuristic way. We show that allowing the search to 'backtrack' to a previously visited solution and resuming the iterative variable neighborhood descent by 'pruning' the already explored neighborhood branches leads to the design of effective and efficient search heuristics. We describe this idea by discussing its basic design components within a generic algorithmic scheme and we propose some simple and intuitive strategies to guide the search when traversing the neighborhood tree. We conduct a throughout experimental analysis of this approach by considering two different problem domains, namely, the Total Weighted Tardiness Problem (SMTWTP), and the more sophisticated Location Routing Problem (LRP). We show that independently of the considered domain, the approach is highly competitive. In particular, we show that using different branching and backtracking strategies when exploring the neighborhood tree allows us to achieve different trade-offs in terms of solution quality and computing cost.
Environmental Factors Influencing Human Viral Pathogens and Their Potential Indicator Organisms in the Blue Mussel, Mytilus edulis: the First Scandinavian Report

ABSTRACT This study was carried out in order to investigate human enteric virus contaminants in mussels from three sites on the west coast of Sweden, representing a gradient of anthropogenic influence. Mussels were sampled monthly during the period from February 2000 to July 2001 and analyzed for adeno-, entero-, Norwalk-like, and hepatitis A viruses as well as the potential viral indicator organisms somatic coliphages, F-specific RNA bacteriophages, bacteriophages infecting Bacteroides fragilis, and Escherichia coli. The influence of environmental factors such as water temperature, salinity, and land runoff on the occurrence of these microbes was also included in this study. Enteric viruses were found in 50 to 60% of the mussel samples, and there were no pronounced differences between the samples from the three sites. E. coli counts exceeded the limit for category A for shellfish sanitary safety in 40% of the samples from the sites situated in fjords. However, at the site in the outer archipelago, this limit was exceeded only once, in March 2001, when extremely high levels of atypical indole-negative strains of E. coli were registered at all three sites. The environmental factors influenced the occurrence of viruses and phages differently, and therefore, it was hard to find a coexistence between them. This study shows that, for risk assessment, separate modeling should be done for every specific area, with special emphasis on environmental factors such as temperature and land runoff. The present standard for human fecal contamination, E. coli, seems to be an acceptable indicator of only local sanitary contamination; it is not a reliable indicator of viral contaminants in mussels. To protect consumers and get verification of “clean” mussels, it seems necessary to analyze for viruses as well. The use of a molecular index of the human contamination of Swedish shellfish underscores the need for reference laboratories with high-technology facilities.
Mikhael Subotzky: Picturing Prisons and Interrogating Freedom

Abstract The prison photography of South African Mikhael Subotzky (b. 1981) offers remarkable insight into the complexities of incarceration and inequality in South Africa. His work documents both the physical and social environment of the prison and the ways in which this specific structure is embedded in the larger South African landscape. In several linked series, Subotzky has undertaken a systematic analysis of the ways in which the prison system interfaces with society, beginning within the prison walls, then following released prisoners on their often difficult journeys to the “outside,” and finally looking at a particular prison as an element integrated within the civil society and the social fabric of one small South African municipality. Through his photographs, viewers are able to see both the prison as a microcosm of South African society and prisoners as marginal figures within the macrocosm of postapartheid life. Taken as a whole, Subotzky's work addresses an issue of global concern by depicting the intersection of an important human rights question (the rights of the imprisoned) with the distinctive history of racial inequality and violence in South Africa.
Waiting for a hand: saccadic reaction time increases in proportion to hand reaction time when reaching under a visuomotor reversal

Although eye movement onset typically precedes hand movement onset when reaching to targets presented in peripheral vision, arm motor commands appear to be issued at around the same time, and possibly in advance, of eye motor commands. A fundamental question, therefore, is whether eye movement initiation is linked or yoked to hand movement. We addressed this issue by having participants reach to targets after adapting to a visuomotor reversal (or 180° rotation) between the position of the unseen hand and the position of a cursor controlled by the hand. We asked whether this reversal, which we expected to increase hand reaction time (HRT), would also increase saccadic reaction time (SRT). As predicted, when moving the cursor to targets under the reversal, HRT increased in all participants. SRT also increased in all but one participant, even though the task for the eyes—shifting gaze to the target—was unaltered by the reversal of hand position feedback. Moreover, the effects of the reversal on SRT and HRT were positively correlated across participants; those who exhibited the greatest increases in HRT also showed the greatest increases in SRT. These results indicate that the mechanisms underlying the initiation of eye and hand movements are linked. In particular, the results suggest that the initiation of an eye movement to a manual target depends, at least in part, on the specification of hand movement.
Comparing Iranian English Learners with other Asian background EFL Learners on their strategy use pattern

As part of a larger study, with this regard, this study using a strategy inventory reports Iranian mail college level EFL learners’ pattern of strategy use and compares it with other Asian EFL learners’ strategy use pattern as the authors in this study felt a thorough comparison between Iranian learners and other Asian background students on their strategy use pattern might enhance scholars’ understanding about the role of nationality/ethnicity in learners’ choice and use of strategies and would also add to the literature in the field. The results of the study revealed that the participants perceived themselves as medium strategy users (M = 3.31) and resembled many other Asian background EFL learners. The results of descriptive statistics, and multivariate analysis of the variances (MANOVA) along with follow-up post-hoc comparison tests indicate that the participants reportedly use metacognitive (M = 3.79) and social (M = 3.82) categories of strategies at a high level and significantly (p < .05) higher than other categories of the SILL. Memory (M = 2.89) and affective (M = 2.75) categories of strategies turned out to be least favored by them and were applied significantly (p < .05) less than other categories listed in SILL. The above results are also in conformity with the results gained by individual strategy item analysis. The results of this study, on the whole, show striking similarities with the results gained in many similar studies with English learners of Asian background, though some noticeable differences could be observed specially regarding the use of social category of strategies.
Multiple branch and block prediction

Accurate branch prediction and instruction fetch prediction of a microprocessor are critical to achieve high performance. For a processor which fetches and executes multiple instructions per cycle, an accurate and high bandwidth instruction fetching mechanism becomes increasingly important to performance. Unfortunately, the relatively small basic block size exhibited in many general-purpose applications severely limits instruction fetching. In order to achieve a high fetching rate for wide-issue superscalars, a scalable method to predict multiple branches per block of sequential instructions is presented. Its accuracy is equivalent to a scalar two-level adaptive prediction. Also, to overcome the limitation imposed by control transfers, a scalable method to predict multiple blocks is presented. As a result, a two black, multiple branch prediction mechanism for a block width of 8 instructions achieves an effective fetching rate of 8 instructions per cycle on the SPEC95 benchmark suite.
Thrombocytopenia Is Associated with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Mortality: An International Study

Background Early detection of the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) has the potential to improvethe prognosis of critically ill patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). However, no reliable biomarkers are currently available for accurate early detection of ARDS in patients with predisposing conditions. Objectives This study examined risk factors and biomarkers for ARDS development and mortality in two prospective cohort studies. Methods We examined clinical risk factors for ARDS in a cohort of 178 patients in Beijing, China who were admitted to the ICU and were at high risk for ARDS. Identified biomarkers were then replicated in a second cohort of1,878 patients in Boston, USA. Results Of 178 patients recruited from participating hospitals in Beijing, 75 developed ARDS. After multivariate adjustment, sepsis (odds ratio [OR]:5.58, 95% CI: 1.70–18.3), pulmonary injury (OR: 3.22; 95% CI: 1.60–6.47), and thrombocytopenia, defined as platelet count <80×103/µL, (OR: 2.67; 95% CI: 1.27–5.62)were significantly associated with increased risk of developing ARDS. Thrombocytopenia was also associated with increased mortality in patients who developed ARDS (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR]: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.07–1.57) but not in those who did not develop ARDS(AHR: 1.25, 95% CI: 0.96–1.62). The presence of both thrombocytopenia and ARDS substantially increased 60-daymortality. Sensitivity analyses showed that a platelet count of <100×103/µLin combination with ARDS provide the highest prognostic value for mortality. These associations were replicated in the cohort of US patients. Conclusions This study of ICU patients in both China and US showed that thrombocytopenia is associated with an increased risk of ARDS and platelet count in combination with ARDS had a high predictive value for patient mortality.
Cross‐ and mono‐linguistic text processing in bilingual children

Bilingual German fourth‐graders are expected to develop greater linguistic awareness than monolingual children and therefore should habitually apply different text‐processing strategies compared with German monolingual fourth‐graders when comprehending and recalling a text. Bilingual children are expected to process texts from the bottom up, from the text base to the gist, whereas monolingual children should engage in top‐down processing, which is indicated, for example, by more text intrusions and inferences. This research attempts to clarify whether bilinguals show this shift in direction of processing when they process cross‐linguistic versus mono‐linguistic texts. The results of Experiment 1 supported our main hypothesis. Monolingual German fourth‐graders had more intrusions than same‐aged German–English (L1–L2) bilingual children. In Experiment 2, nearly balanced German–English and German‐dominant children were tested separately in within‐language free recall in both languages and in across‐language text recall. For nearly balanced bilingual children, within‐ and cross‐language recall was equally efficient in both languages but not for German‐dominant bilingual children – in their recall, more intrusions appeared in their L2 recall. Top‐down processing seems to increase when it is in the weaker language. Engaging in bottom‐up processing apparently is associated with cognitive functioning in L1.
An Exploration of Adjustment Needs and Efforts of Persons with Dementia After Relocation to a Residential Care Facility

This study examined the adjustment needs and efforts of individuals with dementia after relocation to a residential care facility. This was a qualitative prospective study that involved in-depth face-to-face interviews with 16 individuals with dementia and their family caregivers at 2 and 6 months post-relocation. In their efforts to recreate a sense of home, individuals with dementia had to meet three major highly interrelated and overlapping categories of needs to settle in, fit in, and find meaning in this transition. The satisfactory fulfillment of these adjustment needs resulted in a sense of comfort, connection, and continuity associated with feeling at home. Participants’ efforts to place themselves in their new living environments created a simultaneous need to integrate relocation into their overall sense of self. The results support earlier research indicating that place making is a critical process in the overall psychosocial adjustment to old age. The findings inform supportive interventions to assist individuals with dementia to reconstruct home in a residential care environment.
VAIC™ - an accounting tool for IC management

The existing accounting system cannot meet the requirements of modern companies any more because not costs but value creation is the core of modern business. If a company aims to achieve a maximum result with its given resources management must know how successfully they create value in the company. Information provided by a basic economic function - measuring the efficiency of value creation - is therefore decisive for successful management of intellectual assets. The VAIC™ method measures and monitors the value creation efficiency in the company using accounting based figures. The better a company's resources (capital employed and intellectual capital) have been utilised, the higher the company's value creation efficiency will be (whereby human capital, as the decisive value creation factor of modern business). This results in an increase of value added on the one hand and determines the market value on the other hand, as our research has shown.
Self-deception, impression management, and consumer satisfaction with mental health treatment.

The strength of the relationship between two major components of social desirability (self-deception and impression management) and consumer satisfaction with mental health treatment was determined in a study of 81 former outpatients of a university psychology clinic. Ss completed the Self-Deception Questionnaire, the Other-Deception Questionnaire, and the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire. These findings are discussed in terms of the validity of client satisfaction measures