Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Improvement on LSB Matching and LSB Matching Revisited Steganography Methods

The aim of the steganography methods is to communicate securely in a completely undetectable manner. LSB Matching and LSB Matching Revisited steganography methods are two general and esiest methods to achieve this aim. Being secured against first order steganalysis methods is the most important feature of these methods. On the other hand, these methods don't consider inter pixel dependency. Therefore, recently, several steganalysis methods are proposed that by using co-occurrence matrix detect stego images that are hidden by these steganography methods. Therefore, if incremental and decremental operations are done adaptively as causes to less distortion on co-occurrence matrix, these steganography methods will secure against steganalysis methods that use this matrix. In this paper we are going to improve these two steganography methods base on mentioned manner. On the other word, we hide the message in the cover image based on LSB Matching and LSB Matching Revisited method by using adaptive feature. Experimental results show that proposed improvement causes to reduce distortions in co-occurrence matrix and these methods being secure against some steganalysis methods that use this matrix to detect stego images
Wandering and fecal smearing in people with dementia

ABSTRACT Background: Wandering and fecal smearing (scatolia) are among the problematic behaviors in dementia, and many caregivers are troubled by these behaviors. The purpose of this study was to clarify the clinical characteristics of patients with these symptoms. Methods: We performed a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire items were the age, sex, living environment, diagnosis, cognitive function, and activities of daily living. Other clinical characteristics were evaluated using the quality of life (QOL) questionnaire for dementia. Results: A total of 246 patients with dementia were rated. Wandering was observed frequently in 23%, sometimes in 12%, rarely in 14%, and never in 51% of the patients; scatolia was observed frequently in 2%, sometimes in 8%, rarely in 15%, and never in 75%. Wanderers were more frequent among those with severe dementia. They displayed more restlessness, positive affect and attachment to others with respect to QOL. The patients with scatolia tended to get lower scores in tests of cognitive function and displayed more negative affect/actions with respect to QOL. Both wanderers and patients with scatolia suffered from insomnia more frequently. Conclusions: These results suggest that both wandering and scatolia are behavioral symptoms intimately associated with cognitive dysfunction and insomnia.
Smart Meter Data Analytics Based on Modified Streaming k-Means

k-Means clustering is one of the central problems in data analysis and remains as one of the most popular data processing algorithms. There are streaming variant of k-Means clustering algorithms to address the continuous and evolving data. Stream Computing allows users to capture and analyze all events and data, all the time and just in time. Streaming models have advantages over batch models due to the real time, dynamic and incremental features. However, streaming k-Means is sensitive to initial assignment of cluster centers, and the results are not accurate in the case that cluster centers drift significantly. This paper presents a Modified Streaming k-Means algorithm which is dynamic and incremental, as well as being able to take into consideration of long term patterns of data. Compared with streaming k-means clustering, the Modified Streaming k-Means clustering has better convergence ability and more stable results. We explore the application of our Modified Streaming k-Means algorithm in consumer segmentation problem, and demonstrate the effectiveness of our method using real-world smart meter data.
Diffusion Barriers in Venous Ulceration

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Benefit of an extract of Tripterygium Wilfordii Hook F in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

OBJECTIVE To examine the safety and efficacy of an extract of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F (TWHF) in the treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS An ethanol/ethyl acetate extract from the roots of TWHF was prepared and used in a prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in patients with longstanding RA in whom conventional therapy had failed. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either placebo or low-dose (180 mg/day) or high-dose (360 mg/day) extract for 20 weeks, followed by an open-label extension period. Clinical responses were defined as 20% improvement in disease activity according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria. Side effects were actively queried and recorded at each visit. RESULTS A total of 35 patients were enrolled in the trial; 21 patients completed the 20-week study. One patient from each group withdrew because of side effects. Twelve, 10, and 10 patients in the placebo, low-dose, and high-dose groups, respectively, completed at least 4 weeks of treatment. Of these patients, 8 and 4 in the high-dose and low-dose groups, but none in the placebo group, met criteria for clinical response. Four, 4, and 7 patients in the placebo, low-dose, and high-dose groups, respectively, were enrolled in the open-label extension; of these, 2, 4, and 5 patients, respectively, met criteria for clinical response. The most common side effect was diarrhea, which caused 1 patient in the high-dose group to withdraw from the trial. No patients withdrew because of adverse events during the open-label extension. CONCLUSION The ethanol/ethyl acetate extract of TWHF shows therapeutic benefit in patients with treatment-refractory RA. At therapeutic dosages, the TWHF extract was well tolerated by most patients in this study.
Committee-Based Active Learning for Speech Recognition

We propose a committee-based method of active learning for large vocabulary continuous speech recognition. Multiple recognizers are trained in this approach, and the recognition results obtained from these are used for selecting utterances. Those utterances whose recognition results differ the most among recognizers are selected and transcribed. Progressive alignment and voting entropy are used to measure the degree of disagreement among recognizers on the recognition result. Our method was evaluated by using 191-hour speech data in the Corpus of Spontaneous Japanese. It proved to be significantly better than random selection. It only required 63h of data to achieve a word accuracy of 74%, while standard training (i.e., random selection) required 103h of data. It also proved to be significantly better than conventional uncertainty sampling using word posterior probabilities.
Semantic Identification: Balancing between Complexity and Validity

An efficient scheme for identifying semantic entities within data sets such as multimedia documents, scenes, signals, and so forth, is proposed in this work. Expression of semantic entities in terms of syntactic properties is modelled with appropriately defined finite automata, which also model the identification procedure. Based on the structure and properties of these automata, formal definitions of attained validity and certainty and also required complexity are defined as metrics of identification efficiency. The main contribution of the paper relies on organizing the identification and search procedure in a way that maximizes its validity for bounded complexity budgets and reversely minimizes computational complexity for a given required validity threshold. The associated optimization problem is solved by using dynamic programming. Finally, a set of experiments provides insight to the introduced theoretical framework.
A SYNDROME CHARACTERIZED BY PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS, RECURRENT MUCOSAL INFECTIONS AND NATURAL IMMUNITY DEFICITS: CLINICAL APPROACH

The authors summarize their own previous work on the identification of a subset of patients characterized by psychiatric disorders, recurrency of mucosal infections and impaired natural immunity. The diagnostic approach to these patients based on the close collaboration between infectivologists, immunologists and psychiatrists is described with the aim to find out combined treatments for the amelioration of clinical manifestations.
Applications of Machine Learning in Environmental Engineering

Environmental engineering is the study of interactions between humans and the surrounding environment. In recent times this endeavor has become increasingly data intensive, a challenge that has been met by rapid progress in the development of computational techniques for handling large data sets. Such techniques are collectively known as machine learning. In this report, a survey of recent applications of machine learning in environmental engineering is presented. In particular, the focus is on the topics of water resources management, flood prediction, rainfall-runoff modeling, wastewater treatment and environmental assessment. Approaches covered include support vector machines (SVM), neural networks, the genetic algorithm and k-means. The relative novelty of machine learning in this field means that many additional applications can be developed in the future, making this a rich and exciting area of research.
Measurement of endogenous synthesis of plasma cholesterol in rats and humans using MIDA.

We used the mass isotopomer distribution analysis (MIDA) technique to measure endogenous synthesis of plasma cholesterol in vivo in rats and normal human subjects. Sodium [1-13C]- or [2-13C]acetate was infused, and plasma free cholesterol was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Frequencies of mass isotopomers M0-M4 (mass-to-charge ratio 368-372) were quantified. The enrichment of the true precursor for cholesterol synthesis (acetyl-coenzyme A in contributing tissues) was determined using the MIDA method. This technique remains mathematically valid even if more than one tissue contributes to circulating free cholesterol. The fractional contribution (f) from endogenous synthesis to free cholesterol in normal women (n = 5) was 2.48 +/- 0.39% after 7 h in the postabsorptive state and 1.27 +/- 0.41% after 8 h of refeeding. In ad libitum-fed rats (n = 12), f was 2.89 +/- 0.44% after 12 h, whereas administration of recombinant tumor necrosis factor increased this value fourfold. Next, the rate constant (k) for removal of labeled free cholesterol from plasma was calculated. Higher masses (M2-M4) were followed to avoid the problem of persistent label incorporation. During the 60 h after cessation of [13C]acetate infusions, k was 0.02490 +/- 0.00298/h in humans. Using these values of k and f, absolute cholesterogenesis was 568 +/- 55 mg/day in normal women (follicular menstrual phase), similar to prior estimates based on whole body sterol balances. Women also exhibited a diurnal variation for endogenous cholesterol synthesis (34.6 +/- 5.4 mg/h nighttime vs. 15.9 +/- 5.2 mg/h daytime) consistent with current knowledge about rhythms in cholesterogenesis. Checks on the model were internally consistent (e.g., comparisons among different isotopomers for calculating precursor enrichment). We conclude that fractional and absolute endogenous cholesterol synthesis can be measured using stable isotopes in vivo by the MIDA technique.
Designing web-based instruction: A human-computer interaction perspective

The general interest in the World Wide Web (WWW) as a medium for sharing and distributing textual and graphic information has brought about an increasing number of instruction-oriented web sites and web-based instructional pages. These range from offering supplemental (or even duplicate) instructional materials to students on campus to providing opportunities for off-campus individuals to complete courses via WWW. This chapter briefly discusses the design of web-based instruction from an HCI perspective, raising issues which instructors and designers need to consider in the design of web-based instruction, and suggesting ways in which instructors and designers can build optimal web instructional sites and pages.
Energy Efficiency-Spectral Efficiency Tradeoff in Interference-Limited Wireless Networks with Shadowing

This paper deals with the energy-efficiency spectralefficiency (EE-SE) tradeoff in regular hexagonal interference-limited networks. We aim to characterize the EE-SE region when non negligible static circuitry power consumption is assumed and when several frequency reuse factors as well as shadowing are taken into account. Our contribution is three-fold: a parametric expression of the interference to signal ratio, a.k. a. fparameter, obtained with a curve fitting approach is proposed, the EE-SE tradeoff is then studied when several frequency reuse factors are considered and a new characterization, called the c-EE-SE tradeoff, is proposed when shadowing is considered. This definition relies on the outage capacity achievable and its corresponding EE and remains particularly useful when longterm fading is present.
Evaluation of an LSTM-RNN System in Different NIST Language Recognition Frameworks

Long Short-Term Memory recurrent neural networks (LSTM RNNs) provide an outstanding performance in language identification (LID) due to its ability to model speech sequences. So far, previously published LSTM RNNs solutions for LID deal with highly controlled scenarios, balanced datasets and limited channel variability. In this paper we evaluate an endto-end LSTM LID system, comparing it against a classical ivector system, on different environments based on data from Language Recognition Evaluations (LRE) organized by NIST. In order to analyze the behavior we train and test our system on a balanced and controlled subset of LRE09, on the develompent data of LRE15 and, finally, on the evaluation set of LRE15. Our results show that an end-to-end recurrent system clearly outperforms the reference i-vector system in a controlled environment, specially when dealing with short utterances. However, our deep learning approach is more sensitive to unbalanced datasets, channel variability and, specially, to the mismatch between development and test datasets.
Genomic Complexity among Strains of the Facultative Photoheterotrophic Bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides

ABSTRACT Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis following the use of rare cutting restriction endonucleases together with Southern hybridization, using markers distributed on chromosomes I and II of Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4. 1, has been used to examine approximately 25 strains of R. sphaeroides in an effort to assess the occurrence of genome complexity in these strains. The results suggest that genome complexity is widespread and is accompanied by substantial genomic heterogeneity.
Dementia and Cognitive Impairment in the Oldest Old in the Community Prevalence and Comorbidity

Background The study focuses on the prevalence of dementia in the oldest old. Method A community sample (n = 402) of the oldest old in Munich (≥ 85 years) was assessed with different methods. Four instruments and a clinical examination were used for case identification: (a) the Geriatric Mental State Interview (GMS-A); (b) the Structured Interview for the Diagnosis of Dementia (SIDAM); (c) the Global Deterioration Scale (GDS); and (d) the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). The clinical examination was performed by the interviewing physicians, who made their diagnoses according to ICD–10 and DSM–III–R. Results The structured interviews (GMS-A: 25.4%; SIDAM/SISCO: 28.0%; SIDAM/DSM–III–R: 27.8%; SIDAM/ICD–10: 16.1 %) gave lower point prevalence rates of dementia than physicians' clinical diagnoses (43.1 %). The rates were 21.2% based on the MMSE. Depressive syndromes and anxiety syndromes were the most frequent psychiatric disturbances associated with dementia in the very old. Conclusion Dementia rates were high in the oldest old, showed an increase with age but no sex differences. Interview methodology has a major impact on results.
Affinity Precipitation of Active Rho-GEFs Using a GST-tagged Mutant Rho Protein (GST-RhoA(G17A)) from Epithelial Cell Lysates

Proteins of the Rho family of small GTPases are central regulators of the cytoskeleton, and control a large variety of cellular processes, including cell migration, gene expression, cell cycle progression and cell adhesion 1. Rho proteins are molecular switches that are active in GTP-bound and inactive in GDP-bound state. Their activation is mediated by a family of Guanine-nucleotide Exchange Factor (GEF) proteins. Rho-GEFs constitute a large family, with overlapping specificities 2. Although a lot of progress has been made in identifying the GEFs activated by specific signals, there are still many questions remaining regarding the pathway-specific regulation of these proteins. The number of Rho-GEFs exceeds 70, and each cell expresses more than one GEF protein. In addition, many of these proteins activate not only Rho, but other members of the family, contributing further to the complexity of the regulatory networks. Importantly, exploring how GEFs are regulated requires a method to follow the active pool of individual GEFs in cells activated by different stimuli. Here we provide a step-by-step protocol for a method used to assess and quantify the available active Rho-specific GEFs using an affinity precipitation assay. This assay was developed a few years ago in the Burridge lab 3,4 and we have used it in kidney tubular cell lines 5,6,7. The assay takes advantage of a "nucleotide free" mutant RhoA, with a high affinity for active GEFs. The mutation (G17A) renders the protein unable to bind GDP or GTP and this state mimics the intermediate state that is bound to the GEF. A GST-tagged version of this mutant protein is expressed and purified from E. coli, bound to glutathione sepharose beads and used to precipitate active GEFs from lysates of untreated and stimulated cells. As most GEFs are activated via posttranslational modifications or release from inhibitory bindings, their active state is preserved in cell lysates, and they can be detected by this assay8. Captured proteins can be probed for known GEFs by detection with specific antibodies using Western blotting, or analyzed by Mass Spectrometry to identify unknown GEFs activated by certain stimuli.
Nasal allergy to avian antigens

This study describes the case of a patient who developed symptoms of rhinoconjunctivitis on exposure to budgerigars and parrots. An IgE‐mediated allergy to budgerigar, parrot and pigeon antigens was demonstrated using both in‐vivo challenge tests (skin and nasal provocation tests) and in‐vitro investigations (radio‐allergo‐sorbent test, histamine release test). The study shows that the development of nasal disease can be associated with allergy to avian antigens.
Functional analysis of yeast essential genes using a promoter‐substitution cassette and the tetracycline‐regulatable dual expression system

A promoter‐substitution cassette has been constructed that allows one‐step substitution of chromosomal gene promoters for the tetracycline‐regulatable tetO promoter in yeast cells, which uses kanMX4 as selective marker for geneticin resistance. Oligonucleotides for PCR amplification of the cassette are designed to allow homologous recombination through short flanking regions of homology with the upstream sequences of the chromosomal gene, upon transformation of target cells. By testing three essential genes of chromosome XV (YOL135c, YOL142w and YOL144w), the system causes tetracycline‐dependent conditional growth of the cells, being modulatable by intermediate concentrations of the effector. Analysis of terminal phenotypes of the promoter‐substituted cells in the presence of the antibiotic may facilitate functional analysis of essential orphan genes. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Antisocial Behavior 1 Emotional Self-Regulation, Peer Rejection, and Antisocial Behavior: Developmental Associations from Early Childhood to Early Adolescence Abstract This study examined relations among emotional self-regulation, peer rejection, and antisocial behavior in a sample of 145 boys from 

This study examined relations among emotional self-regulation, peer rejection, and antisocial behavior in a sample of 145 boys from low-income families who participated in a summer camp and were followed longitudinally from early childhood to early adolescence. Emotional selfregulation strategies were coded in early childhood from a waiting task, measures of peer rejection were collected during middle childhood at the summer camp, and reports of antisocial behavior were obtained during early adolescence. Structural equation modeling was utilized to examine longitudinal relations among these constructs, with results supporting associations between use of active distraction and peer rejection and between peer rejection and antisocial behavior. Furthermore, an indirect effect of active distraction on antisocial behavior was found through peer rejection. Thus, adaptive self-regulation strategy use in early childhood demonstrated direct longitudinal relations with peer rejection and an indirect association with antisocial behavior in early adolescence. Results have implications for early prevention and intervention efforts to foster adaptive self-regulation of emotion and reduce risk for later social problems and delinquency.
Study of pulse waveforms for testing in mode stirred reverberating chamber

This paper studies the eventual interest of broad-band impulse signals for ElectroMagnetic Compatibility (EMC) testing in Mode Stirred Reverberating Chamber (MSRC). The current capabilities of the arbitrary waveform generators and of the high resolution oscilloscopes can be exploited to improve the frequency resolution of the tests in MSRC, in decreasing the test duration. In this paper, different waveforms are tested and results are compared with results given by the conventional frequency sweep approach. The paper highlights the impacts of the characteristics of the pulse signal and the parameters involved in the signal processing on the agreement with conventional results. Finally, an optimized waveform is suggested to benefit of a very high resolution frequency and being suitable with amplification, in order to reach a required dynamic range for shielding effectiveness measurements.