Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Abstraction and Refinement in Static Model-Checking

interpretation is a general methodology for building static analyses of programs. It was introduced by P. and R. Cousot in \cite{cc}. We present, in this paper, an application of a generic abstract interpretation to domain of model-checking. Dynamic checking are usually easier to use, because the concept are establishe d and wide well know. But they are usually limited to systems whose states space is finite. In an other part, certain faults cannot be detected dynamically, even by keeping track of the history of the states space.Indeed, the classical problem of finding the right test cases is far from trivial and limit the abilities of dynamic checkers further. Static checking have the advantage that they work on a more abstract level than dynamic checker and can verify system properties for all inputs. Problem, it is hard to guarantee that a violation of a modeled property corresponds to a fault in the concrete system. We propose an approach, in which we generate counter-examples dynamically using the abstract interpretation techniques.
Prospects of multiuser MIMO in 4G and beyond

The paper gives an overview of the potentials of Multiuser MIMO technique for the future telecommunications systems. MU-MIMO has been recognized as one of the most promising techniques for the 4th generation of telecommunications networks (and beyond) because it enables full spatial exploitation of the available radio channel, hence the maximum achievable capacity. The paper describes basic characteristics of MU-MIMO, focusing on the main advantages and practical implementation challenges.
Improving Quality in Misuse Case Models: A Risk-Based Approach

Security is a crucial requirement for many software systems. Misuse case modeling is a technique that allows system designers to inject security considerations within their designs early in the development cycle. This is potentially a much more effective approach to ensuring security than patching an end system with security mechanisms after it was developed. While the notation and syntactical rules of misuse case models are relatively simple, developing high quality misuse case models is not a straightforward task. Modeling practitioners are highly vulnerable to modeling mistakes, creating defective misuse case models that can lead to the development of insecure systems. In this paper, an approach based on antipatterns that attempts to repair defective misuse case models is presented. The misuse case model of an Online Phone Accessories Store subsystem is presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach. The results show that applying the technique has improved the overall quality of the misuse case model.
Observation Bias: The Impact of Demand Censoring on Newsvendor Level and Adjustment Behavior

In an experimental newsvendor setting, we investigate three phenomena: level behavior---the decision maker's average ordering tendency; adjustment behavior---the tendency to adjust period-to-period order quantities; and observation bias---the tendency to let the degree of demand feedback influence order quantities. We find that, in three of four conditions, the portion of mismatch cost that results from adjustment behavior exceeds the portion of mismatch cost caused by level behavior. Observation bias is studied through censored demand feedback, a situation that arguably represents most newsvendor settings. When demands are uncensored, subjects tend to order below the normative quantity when they face high margin and above the normative quantity when they face low margin, but in neither case do they order beyond mean demand the pull-to-center effect. Censoring in general leads to lower quantities, magnifying the below-normative-level behavior when they face high margin but partially counterbalancing the above-normative-level behavior when they face low margin, violating the pull-to-center effect in both cases. Data, as supplemental material, are available at http://dx.doi. org/10.1287/mnsc.2013. 1825 . This paper was accepted by Christian Terwiesch, operations management.
otion Esti n Fro e m tion

-Motion smear is an important visual cue for motion perception by the human vision system (HVS). However, in image analysis research, exploiting motion smear has been largely ignored. Rather, motion smear is usually considered as a degradation of images that needs to be removed. In this paper, we establish a computational model that estimates image motion from motion smear information--"motion from smear. " In many real situations, the shutter of the sensing camera must be kept open long enough to produce images of adequate signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), resulting in significant motion smear in images. We present a new motion blur model and an algorithm that enables unique estimation of image motion. A prototype sensor system that exploits the new motion blur model has been built to acquire data for "motion-from-smear. " Experimental results on images with both simulated smear and real smear, using our "motion-from-smear" algorithm as well as a conventional motion estimation technique, are provided. We also show that temporal aliasing does not affect "motion-from-smear" to the same degree as it does algorithms that use displacement as a cue. "Motion-from-smeai' provides an additional tool for motion estimation and effectively complements the existing techniques when apparent motion smear is present.
Testing the Validity and Reliability of the Shame Questionnaire among Sexually Abused Girls in Zambia

Purpose The aim of the current study is to test the validity and reliability of the Shame Questionnaire among traumatized girls in Lusaka, Zambia. Methods The Shame Questionnaire was validated through both classical test and item response theory methods. Internal reliability, criterion validity and construct validity were examined among a sample of 325 female children living in Zambia. Sub-analyses were conducted to examine differences in construct validity among girls who reported sexual abuse and girls who did not. Results All girls in the sample were sexually abused, but only 61.5% endorsed or reported that sexual abuse had occurred. Internal consistency was very good among the sample with alpha = . 87. Criterion validity was demonstrated through a significant difference of mean Shame Questionnaire scores between girls who experienced 0–1 trauma events and more than one traumatic event, with higher mean Shame Questionnaire scores among girls who had more than one traumatic event (p = .004 for 0–1 compared to 2 and 3 events and p = .016 for 0–1 compared to 4+ events). Girls who reported a history of witnessing or experiencing physical abuse had a significantly higher mean Shame Questionnaire score than girls who did not report a history of witnessing or experiencing physical abuse (p<.0001). There was no significant difference in mean Shame Questionnaire score between girls who reported a sexual abuse history and girls who did not. Exploratory factor analysis indicated a two-factor model of the Shame Questionnaire, with an experience of shame dimension and an active outcomes of shame dimension. Item response theory analysis indicated adequate overall item fit. Results also indicate potential differences in construct validity between girls who did and did not endorse sexual abuse. Conclusions This study suggests the general utility of the Shame Questionnaire among Zambian girls and demonstrates the need for more psychometric studies in low and middle income countries.
Finding Repeating Stanzas in Folk Songs

Folk songs are typically composed of repeating parts - stanzas. To find such parts in audio recordings of folk songs, segmentation methods can be used that split a recording into separate parts according to different criteria. Most audio segmentation methods were developed for popular and classical music, however these do not perform well on folk music recordings. This is mainly because folk song recordings contain a number of specific issues that are not considered by these methods, such as inaccurate singing of performers, variable tempo throughout the song and the presence of noise. In recent years several methods for segmentation of folk songs were developed. In this paper we present a novel method for segmentation of folk songs into repeating stanzas that does not rely on additional information about an individual stanza. The method consists of several steps. In the first step breathing (vocal) pauses are detected, which represent the candidate beginnings of individual stanzas. Next, a similarity measure is calculated between the first and all other candidate stanzas, which takes into account pitch changes between stanzas and tempo variations. To evaluate which candidate beginnings represent the actual boundaries between stanzas, a scoring function is defined based on the calculated similarities between stanzas. A peak picking method is used in combination with global thresholding for the final selection of stanza boundaries. The presented method was tested and evaluated on a collection of Slovenian folk songs from EthnoMuse archive.
Anterior cingulate cortical thickness is a stable predictor of recovery from post-traumatic stress disorder

Background Decreased cortical thickness in frontal and temporal regions has been observed in individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), compared to healthy controls and trauma-exposed participants without PTSD. In addition, individual differences, both functional and structural, in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) have been shown to predict symptom severity reduction. Although there is some evidence suggesting that activity in this region changes as a function of recovery, it remains unknown whether there are any structural correlates of recovery from PTSD. Method Thirty participants suffering from moderate to severe PTSD underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan following an initial clinical assessment. A second assessment took place 6–9 months later. In addition, a subgroup of 25 participants completed a second MRI scan at that time. PTSD symptom severity changes over time were regressed against vertex-based cortical thickness. Results We found that cortical thickness in the right subgenual ACC (sgACC) predicted symptom improvement. Moreover, cortical thickness within this region of the ACC, measured 6–9 months later (n = 25), was also correlated with the same measure of symptom improvement. By contrast, no relationship was found between change in cortical thickness in this area and current PTSD symptom levels or degree of recovery. Conclusions Our results suggest that sgACC thickness may be a stable marker of recovery potential in PTSD.
The Use of Cohesive Devices in News Language: Overuse, Underuse or Misuse?

Many studies have found EFL/ESL learners over/under/misuse linking adverbials. Because their use is specific to genre and register (Biber et al., 1999), and news writing is a compulsory course for EFL journalism majors at many Chinese universities, this study investigates their usage patterns in news and suggests teaching material design for the ESP classroom. By qualitatively coding data from the Wellington Corpora of Spoken and Written New Zealand English and analyzing the results statistically, this study gives a detailed account of the usage patterns of the form, meaning and position of linking adverbials in news, which informs ESP English syllabus and teaching materials design. Suggestions for journalism teachers, as well as students and learners of English for general purposes in an EFL context, were made. An example of teaching materials design based on the corpus findings is also given.
Cloning and sequencing of the beta-lactam hydroxylase gene (cefF) from Streptomyces clavuligerus: gene duplication may have led to separate hydroxylase and expandase activities in the actinomycetes

The deacetylcephalosporin C synthetase (hydroxylase) gene from Streptomyces clavuligerus has been cloned and sequenced. The open reading frame codes for a protein with an Mr of 34,584. The hydroxylase gene (cefF) is closely linked to the epimerase gene (cefD) and the expandase gene (cefE) and is transcribed in the opposite orientation. The hydroxylase and expandase genes are 59 and 71% identical at the amino acid and DNA levels, respectively. cefE and cefF may have arisen from a gene duplication in the actinomycetes.
Visual-Interactive k-NDN Method (VIK): A Novel Approach to Visualize and Interact with Content-Based Image Retrieval Systems Regarding Similarity and Diversity

Digital imaging plays an important role in many human activities, such as agriculture and forest management, earth sciences, urban planning, weather forecasting, medical imaging and so on. Processing, exploring and visualizing the inconceivable volumes of such images has turned out to be progressively troublesome. The Content-Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) remains an important issue that finds potential applications, given the place that retrieving digital images similar to a user-defined specification or pattern in huge databases now occupies in the day-to-day. CBIR systems use visual information like color, shape and texture to represent images in feature vectors. In general, there is an inconsistency in the evaluation of similarity between images according to human perception and the results computed by CBIR systems, which is called Semantic Gap. One way to improve CBIR systems is by the addition of techniques to visualize and interact with CBIR regarding similarity and diversity criteria, where the user can participate more actively in the process and steer the results according to its needs. In this paper we present the Visual-Interactive k-NDN Method (ViK): a novel approach to visualize and interact with Content-Based Image Retrieval systems. This paper aims at making use of Visual Data Mining techniques applied to queries in CBIR systems, improving the interpretability of the measure of diversity, applied using fractal analysis, as well as the relevance of results according to the prior knowledge of the user. Therefore, the user takes an active role in the content-based image retrieval, guiding its result and, consequently, reducing the Semantic Gap. Additionally, a better understanding of the diversity and similarity factors involved in the query is supported by visualization and interaction techniques.
Evaluation of offspring sex ratio, sex hormones and antioxidant enzymes following exposure to methyl tertiary butyl ether in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats

Methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) is an oxygenated fuel additive which has been used widely in many parts of the world. This experiment was performed to determine the effect of MTBE on offspring sex ratio, sex hormones and antioxidant enzymes. A total of 20 adult Sprague-Dawley male rats were divided into four groups and received 0, 400, 800 and 1600 mg/kg/day MTBE by gavages for 30 consecutive days. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were taken for determination of sex hormones and antioxidant enzymes. Then, male rats were mated with healthy unexposed female rats and sex of offspring was determined after birth. Sex ratio was 0.48, 0.50, 0.43 and 0.50 in 0, 400, 800 and 1600 mg/kg/day MTBE groups, respectively (P = 0.91). There was significant decreasing trend for luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone in experimental groups (rs = -0.50, P = 0.030 and rs = -0.67, P = 0.002, respectively). No changes were observed for superoxide dismutase. However, decrease in glutathione peroxidase (GPX) was observed in all treatment groups compared with control which was significant in 400 mg/kg/day MTBE group (P = 0.016). The present study showed that paternal exposure to oral MTBE has no effect on offspring sex ratio; while, MTBE exposure could exert dose-dependent changes in serum testosterone and LH in treatment groups. The results of the present study, need to be clarified in the future studies.
Simulation of weathering fur

Till now, the weathering effect on fur has rarely been investigated and the topic is challenging in computer graphics. In the paper, a novel approach is proposed for simulating the weathering fur represented in texel structure. By the approach, on the one hand, dusty effect is simulated by volumetric γ-ton tracing method, as an extension to the traditional γ-ton method. On the other hand, time-varying geometry deformation is achieved on volumetric structure through an intermediate representation of dynamic point based structure. Additionally, Perlin noise function is employed for generating more natural result. The approach proposed can be efficiently employed to simulate multiform weathering effects on fur with changing viewpoints and dynamic lighting effects.
Changes in insulin resistance indicators, IGFs, and adipokines in a year-long trial of aerobic exercise in postmenopausal women

Physical activity is a known modifiable lifestyle means for reducing postmenopausal breast cancer risk, but the biologic mechanisms are not well understood. Metabolic factors may be involved. In this study, we aimed to determine the effects of exercise on insulin resistance (IR) indicators, IGF1, and adipokines in postmenopausal women. The Alberta Physical Activity and Breast Cancer Prevention Trial was a two-armed randomized controlled trial in postmenopausal, inactive, cancer-free women. A year-long aerobic exercise intervention of 225 min/week (n=160) was compared with a control group asked to maintain usual activity levels (n=160). Baseline, 6- and 12-month serum levels of insulin, glucose, IGF1, IGF-binding protein 3 (IGFBP3), adiponectin, and leptin were assayed, and after data collection, homeostasis model assessment of IR (HOMA-IR) scores were calculated. Intention-to-treat analyses were performed using linear mixed models. The treatment effect ratio (TER) of exercisers to controls was calculated. Data were available on 308 (96.3%) women at 6 months and 310 (96.9%) women at 12 months. Across the study period, statistically significant reductions in insulin (TER=0.87, 95% confidence interval (95% CI)=0.81–0.93), HOMA-IR (TER=0.86, 95% CI=0.80–0.93), and leptin (TER=0.82, 95% CI=0.78–0.87), and an increase in the adiponectin/leptin ratio (TER=1.21, 95% CI=1.13–1.28) were observed in the exercise group compared with the control group. No significant differences were observed for glucose, IGF1, IGFBP3, adiponectin or the IGF1/IGFBP3 ratio. Previously inactive postmenopausal women who engaged in a moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise program experienced changes in insulin, HOMA-IR, leptin, and adiponectin/leptin that might decrease the risk for postmenopausal breast cancer.
Recombinant human acid α-glucosidase: Major clinical benefits in infantile-onset Pompe disease

Background:Pompe disease is a progressive metabolic neuromuscular disorder resulting from deficiency of lysosomal acid α-glucosidase (GAA). Infantile-onset Pompe disease is characterized by cardiomyopathy, respiratory and skeletal muscle weakness, and early death. The safety and efficacy of recombinant human (rh) GAA were evaluated in 18 patients with rapidly progressing infantile-onset Pompe disease. Methods:Patients were diagnosed at 6 months of age and younger and exhibited severe GAA deficiency and cardiomyopathy. Patients received IV infusions of rhGAA at 20 mg/kg (n = 9) or 40 mg/kg (n = 9) every other week. Analyses were performed 52 weeks after the last patient was randomized to treatment. Results:All patients (100%) survived to 18 months of age. A Cox proportional hazards analysis demonstrated that treatment reduced the risk of death by 99%, reduced the risk of death or invasive ventilation by 92%, and reduced the risk of death or any type of ventilation by 88%, as compared to an untreated historical control group. There was no clear advantage of the 40-mg/kg dose with regard to efficacy. Eleven of the 18 patients experienced 164 infusion-associated reactions; all were mild or moderate in intensity. Conclusions:Recombinant human acid α-glucosidase is safe and effective for treatment of infantile-onset Pompe disease. Eleven patients experienced adverse events related to treatment, but none discontinued. The young age at which these patients initiated therapy may have contributed to their improved response compared to previous trials with recombinant human acid α-glucosidase in which patients were older.
Practice Prize Paper - PIN Optimal Distribution of Auction Vehicles System: Applying Price Forecasting, Elasticity Estimation, and Genetic Algorithms to Used-Vehicle Distribution

In addition to retailing new vehicles, automotive manufacturers in the United States sell millions of vehicles through leasing and to fleet customers every year. The majority of these vehicles are returned to the automotive manufacturers at the end of the contracted term and must be “remarketed. ” In 2007, about 10 million used vehicles were sold at more than 400 auctions in the United States. Large consigners face decisions every day about when, where, and at what price to offer these vehicles, which has significant financial implications for their profitability. To address the challenges of the distribution process, Power Information Network (PIN), a division of J.D. Power and Associates, developed the PIN Optimal Distribution of Auction Vehicles System (ODAV), an automated decision optimization system that helps remarketers maximize profits through the most advantageous distribution of their auction vehicles. At the core of the system is a combination of three models that determine the distribution of the vehicles on a daily basis: a nearest neighbor linear regression model for short-term auction price forecasting; an autoregressive integrated moving average time-series analysis model for volume-price elasticity; and a genetic algorithm optimizer for vehicle distribution. Since its launch in 2003, PIN has been providing ODAV services on a daily basis, and to date, more than two million vehicles have been distributed through this system. In this paper, we will describe the PIN ODAV System, its implementation, and the business impact by using as an example the experience with our largest client, Chrysler Group LLC.
Secured backscatter communication between smart cars in a vehicular ad-hoc network

In this paper, a secured backscatter communication between two smart cars in a Vehicular Ad-hoc Network (VANETs), powered by the energy harvested from the ambient RF signals is proposed. Backscatter communication is the method of reflecting the existing (ambient) signal to the receiver instead of transmitting a generated signal. This is to be achieved between two SMART cars i.e., cars that use sensors to provide comfort and ease of driving for the users. The communication is to be achieved when the cars are in a Vehicular Ad-hoc network i.e., a network that is formed between cars on the spot for exchange of information. The controllers and sensors used in this process are to be powered by RF energy harvesting from ambient RF signals. Ambient RF refers to the RF signals that are present in the environment around us, for example RF signals from mobile towers and TV towers.
Perturbation method for magnetic field calculations of nonconductive objects

Inhomogeneous magnetic fields produce artifacts in MR images including signal dropout and spatial distortion. A novel perturbative method for calculating the magnetic field to first order (error is second order) within and around nonconducting objects is presented. The perturbation parameter is the susceptibility difference between the object and its surroundings (for example, ∼10 ppm in the case of brain tissue and air). This method is advantageous as it is sufficiently accurate for most purposes, can be implemented as a simple convolution with a voxel‐based object model, and is linear. Furthermore, the method is simple to use and can quickly calculate the field for any orientation of an object using a set of precalculated basis images. Magn Reson Med 52:471–477, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.