Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improving Spread Spectrum Based Image Watermarking Through Non-binary Channel Coding

In this paper, we investigated on how to combine M-ary modulation with shortened Reed-Solomon (RS) codes, in the context of spatial spread spectrum based watermarking schemes. Analytical expressions and bounds for the bit error rate are derived and compared with empirical results for several types of images. It is shown that, for low output error rates, there exists an improvement in performance using both concepts simultaneously. It will be also demonstrated that, in general, the resulting efficiency in watermarking detection outperforms binary BCH codes used in conjunction with binary signaling. The effectiveness of concatenating M-ary modulation with RS codes is also assessed under JPEG compression for still images and MPEG-2 compression for video sequences.
Kitsune: efficient, general-purpose dynamic software updating for C

Dynamic software updating (DSU) systems allow programs to be updated while running, thereby permitting developers to add features and fix bugs without downtime. This paper introduces Kitsune, a new DSU system for C whose design has three notable features. First, Kitsune's updating mechanism updates the whole program, not individual functions. This mechanism is more flexible than most prior approaches and places no restrictions on data representations or allowed compiler optimizations. Second, Kitsune makes the important aspects of updating explicit in the program text, making the program's semantics easy to understand while minimizing programmer effort. Finally, the programmer can write simple specifications to direct Kitsune to generate code that traverses and transforms old-version state for use by new code; such state transformation is often necessary, and is significantly more difficult in prior DSU systems. We have used Kitsune to update five popular, open-source, single- and multi-threaded programs, and find that few program changes are required to use Kitsune, and that it incurs essentially no performance overhead.
False Positives in Scienti c Research

is paper develops a model of costly information acquisition, focusing on an application to scientic research. When research protocols are not fully transparent, scientists are incentivized to make their experiments more susceptible to false positives, despite their preference for beer information. On the other hand, non-transparency can induce a scientist to undertake a costlier but more informative experiment if it also enables her to commit to acting scrupulously. Our analysis suggests, counterintuitively, that policies establishing greater transparency in scientic methodology might therefore ultimately lead to some scientists undertaking research that is worse for those interested in the results.
Differential evolution with dynamic strategy and parameter selection by detecting landscape modality

Differential Evolution (DE) is an evolutionary algorithm. DE has been successfully applied to optimization problems including non-linear, non-differentiable, non-convex and multimodal functions. There are several mutation strategies such as the best and the rand strategy in DE. It is known that the best strategy is suitable for unimodal problems and the rand strategy is suitable for multimodal problems. However, the landscape of a problem to be optimized is often unknown and the landscape is changing dynamically while the search process proceeds. In this study, we propose a new and simple method that detects the modality of landscape being searched: unimodal or not unimodal. In the method, some points on the line connecting the centroid of search points and the best search point are sampled. When the objective values of the sampled points are changed decreasingly and then increasingly, it is thought that one valley exists. If there exists only one valley, the landscape is unimodal and a greedy strategy like the best strategy is adopted. Otherwise, the rand strategy is adopted. Also, the sampled points realize global search in the region spanned by all search points and realize local search near the best search point. The effect of the proposed method is shown by solving some benchmark problems.
Supporting range queries in XML keyword search

XML data is normally queried by rigorous structured query languages, e.g., XPath, XQuery, etc. In recent years keyword search has become more and more popular because it provides a more user-friendly way to explore data. Keyword search on XML data has also been a hot research issue recently. So far none of the existing XML keyword search methods has considered range queries. In this paper we point out that supporting range queries in XML keyword search is beneficial and non-trivial to the user, especially in the case of querying business semi-structured data, where numerals (like stock price, product quantity, market share percentage, etc.) could be the main part of the data. Actually existing XML keyword search methods do not support range queries at two levels: keyword query syntax level and keyword search method level. To support range queries in XML keyword search: (1) we enrich the current XML keyword query syntax to let the user make range specification; (2) we then extend existing XML keyword search methods by proposing a new index to support both range match and point match. The new index is transparent to existing XML keyword search methods. It can seamlessly work with them and well support range queries in XML keyword search.
Small Business and Entrepreneurial Research

Small business and entrepreneurship has emerged as an important area of research over the past 40 years. Much of this development has been achieved by drawing on and adapting the theoretical frameworks of disciplines from outside. However, such diversity of disciplinary foundation does not necessarily result in a diversity of underlying meta-theoretical assumptions within an area. Other areas of the social sciences have benefited from the consideration of the meta-theoretical foundations of their research and as a consequence they have been able to extend their research into new agendas. There has been some meta-theoretic discussion of small business and entrepreneurial research, yet the review conducted for this project found no recent articles that provided a systematic analysis of contemporary research. This article will address this gap by employing Burrell and Morgan's (I1979) paradigmatic taxonomy to conduct a systematic meta-theoretical analysis of articles published in the year 2000 by leading authors in key small business and entrepreneurial journals. The analysis shows a dominance of the functionalist paradigm that pervades the elite discourse of research in leading journals and acts as a potential barrier to other perspectives. Whether a Hegelian or Kuhnian perspective on knowledge production is taken, it is clear that the health and future development of research in this area requires a broadening of perspectives to enable debate, friction, creativity and ultimately new theories and understandings.
Mixed Group of 738 Consecutive Primary Hip Arthroscopies Performed at a High-Volume Referral Does Primary Hip Arthroscopy Result in Improved Clinical Outcomes ? : 2-Year Clinical Follow-up on a

http://ajs.sagepub. com/content/early/2015/01/28/0363546514562563 The online version of this article can be found at: DOI: 10.1177/0363546514562563 published online January 28, 2015 Am J Sports Med Asheesh Gupta, John M. Redmond, Christine E. Stake, Kevin F. Dunne and Benjamin G. Domb Center Mixed Group of 738 Consecutive Primary Hip Arthroscopies Performed at a High-Volume Referral Does Primary Hip Arthroscopy Result in Improved Clinical Outcomes? : 2-Year Clinical Follow-up on a
Abnormal Degree Centrality of Bilateral Putamen and Left Superior Frontal Gyrus in Schizophrenia with Auditory Hallucinations: A Resting-state Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Background:Dysconnectivity hypothesis of schizophrenia has been increasingly emphasized. Recent researches showed that this dysconnectivity might be related to occurrence of auditory hallucination (AH). However, there is still no consistent conclusion. This study aimed to explore intrinsic dysconnectivity pattern of whole-brain functional networks at voxel level in schizophrenic with AH. Methods:Auditory hallucinated patients group (n = 42 APG), no hallucinated patients group (n = 42 NPG) and normal controls (n = 84 NCs) were analyzed by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. The functional connectivity metrics index (degree centrality [DC]) across the entire brain networks was calculated and evaluated among three groups. Results:DC decreased in the bilateral putamen and increased in the left superior frontal gyrus in all the patients. However, in APG, the changes of DC were more obvious compared with NPG. Symptomology scores were negatively correlated with the DC of bilateral putamen in all patients. AH score of APG positively correlated with the DC in left superior frontal gyrus but negatively correlated with the DC in bilateral putamen. Conclusion:Our findings corroborated that schizophrenia was characterized by functional dysconnectivity, and the abnormal DC in bilateral putamen and left superior frontal gyrus might be crucial in the occurrence of AH.
Congestion control using FEC for conversational multimedia communication

In this paper, we propose a new rate control algorithm for conversational multimedia flows. In our approach, along with Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) media packets, we propose sending redundant packets to probe for available bandwidth. These redundant packets are Forward Error Correction (FEC) encoded RTP packets. A straightforward interpretation is that if no losses occur, the sender can increase the sending rate to include the FEC bit rate, and in the case of losses due to congestion the redundant packets help in recovering the lost packets. We also show that by varying the FEC bit rate, the sender is able to conservatively or aggressively probe for available bandwidth. We evaluate our FEC-based Rate Adaptation (FBRA) algorithm in a network simulator and in the real-world and compare it to other congestion control algorithms.
Keyword-based Approach for Lyrics Emotion Variation Detection

This research addresses the role of the lyrics in the context of music emotion variation detection. To accomplish this task we create a system to detect the predominant emotion expressed by each sentence (verse) of the lyrics. The system employs Russellâs emotion model and contains 4 sets of emotions associated to each quadrant. To detect the predominant emotion in each verse, we propose a novel keyword-based approach, which receives a sentence (verse) and classifies it in the appropriate quadrant. To tune the system parameters, we created a 129-sentence training dataset from 68 songs. To validate our system, we created a separate ground-truth containing 239 sentences (verses) from 44 songs annotated manually with an average of 7 annotations per sentence. The system attains 67.4% F-Measure score.
PID control with gravity compensation for hydraulic 6-DOF parallel manipulator

A novel model-based controller for 6 degree-of-freedom (DOF) hydraulic driven parallel manipulator considering the nonlinear characteristic of hydraulic systems-proportional plus derivative with dynamic gravity compensation controller is presented, in order to improve control performance and eliminate steady state errors. In this paper, 6-DOF parallel manipulator is described as multi-rigid-body systems, the dynamic models including mechanical system and hydraulic driven system are built using Kane method and hydromechanics methodology, the numerical forward kinematics and inverse kinematics is solved with Newton-Raphson method and close-form solutions. The model-based controller is developed with feedback of actuator length, desired trajectories and system states acquired by forward kinematics solution as the input and servovalve current as its output. The hydraulic system is decoupled by local velocity compensation in inner control loop prerequisite for the controller. The performance revolving stability, accuracy and robustness of the proposed control scheme for 6-DOF parallel manipulator is analyzed in theory and simulation. The theoretical analysis and simulation results indicate the controller can improve the control performance and eliminate the steady state errors of 6-DOF hydraulic driven parallel manipulator.
Using Storytelling to Promote Language and Literacy Development.

The art of storytelling is currently en joying a renaissance, as evidenced by the growing number of professional tellers, associations, and sourcebooks availa ble. It is also being recognized by educators as a viable classroom technique. In addition to promoting development of language and literacy, storytelling provides a forum for chil dren and adults to interact within the rich cul tural context of folktales and other stories (Bettelheim, 1976; Yolen, 1981). Storytelling is the oral interpretation of a traditional, literary, or personal experience story. It is not the presentation of a memorized script; rather, it is a story told in a natural manner with all the flavor and language of the particular tradition from which it comes. Sto rytelling is an interaction between teller and listener; at its ultimate it becomes a mutual creation (Baker & Green, 1977). Storytelling offers natural opportunities for children to grow as language users. In this article, I will first describe the benefits that storytelling can have on the de velopment of listening and reading compre hension and the enhancement of oral and written expression. I will then present an ex ample of how storytelling was used to realize these benefits in a third-grade classroom.
Impact of Antenna Placement on the Radiation Pattern of Frequency Domain Adaptive Antenna Array

Frequency domain adaptive antenna array (FDAAA) was proposed in our previous study and was proved to be an effective method to suppress interference caused by frequency selective fading and multiple access interference (MAI) in single-carrier (SC) transmission. The performance of FDAAA receiver will be affected by the antenna placement parameters such as antenna separation and spread of angle-of-arrival (AOA) of resolvable paths. In this paper, we analyze the impact of antenna separation and AOA spread on the radiation pattern of FDAAA receiver and shows the effects of two important parameters: antenna separation and AOA spread.
Coronary heart disease Predictors of stroke within 30 days in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes

Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Department of Cardiology, Erasmus MC, Dr Molewaterplein 50, PO Box 2040, Rotterdam 3000 CA, The Netherlands; Department of Cardiology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada; Center for Medical Decision Making, Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Cardiology, Hospital Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain; Department of Cardiology, Green Lane Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand; Montreal Heart Institute, Montreal, Canada; University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA; Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, NC, USA; and University Hospital Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden
Wireless image transmission using turbo codes and optimal unequal error protection

A novel image transmission scheme is proposed for the communication of set partitioning in hierarchical trees image streams over wireless channels. The proposed scheme employs turbo codes and Reed-Solomon codes in order to deal effectively with burst errors. An algorithm for the optimal unequal error protection of the compressed bitstream is also proposed and applied in conjunction with an inherently more efficient technique for product code decoding. The resulting scheme is tested for the transmission of images over wireless channels. Experimental evaluation clearly demonstrates the superiority of the proposed transmission system in comparison to well-known robust coding schemes.
Optimizing substitution matrices by separating score distributions

MOTIVATION Homology search is one of the most fundamental tools in Bioinformatics. Typical alignment algorithms use substitution matrices and gap costs. Thus, the improvement of substitution matrices increases accuracy of homology searches. Generally, substitution matrices are derived from aligned sequences whose relationships are known, and gap costs are determined by trial and error. To discriminate relationships more clearly, we are encouraged to optimize the substitution matrices from statistical viewpoints using both positive and negative examples utilizing Bayesian decision theory. RESULTS Using Cluster of Orthologous Group (COG) database, we optimized substitution matrices. The classification accuracy of the obtained matrix is better than that of conventional substitution matrices to COG database. It also achieves good performance in classifying with other databases.
Is FTO gene variant related to cancer risk independently of adiposity? An updated meta-analysis of 129,467 cases and 290,633 controls

Previous studies have examined the association between the fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene variant and risk of cancer in diverse populations. However, the results have been inconsistent. PubMed and Embase databases were searched for the eligible publications in English language by July, 2016. The associations of FTO variants with cancer risk were estimated by calculating the pooled odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals by meta-analyses. A total of 27 publications (129,467 cancer cases and 290,633 normal controls) were included in our meta-analysis. Overall, FTO rs9939609 variant (or its proxy) was not associated with cancer risk without adjustment for body mass index, as well as additional adjustment for body mss index. However, FTO rs9939609 variant was associated with some types of cancer in the subgroup analysis. In addition, overall, there was no significant association between FTO rs1477196 variant and cancer risk regardless of adjustment for body mass index. However, FTO rs11075995 variant risk allele was associated with breast cancer risk without adjustment for body mass index, but the association disappeared with further adjustment for body mass index. This study overall does not support that the FTO variant is associated with cancer risk independently of the adiposity.
On the distribution of sums of residues

We generalize and solve the mod q analogue of a problem of Littlewood and Offord, raised by Vaughan and Wooley, concerning the distribution of the 2 n sums of the form ∑ i=1 n e i a i , where each e i is 0 or 1. For all q, n, k we determine the maximum, over all reduced residues a i and all sets P consisting of k arbitrary residues, of the number of these sums that belong to P
Thalis : A Flexible Trading Agent

With the advent of the Internet, trading in electronic market places has become common practice for an increasing number of businesses and individuals. The Trading Agent Competition (TAC) is an open-invitation forum designed to encourage research into electronic markets and trading agents. The emphasis of TAC-02 and previous competitions has been on developing a successful strategy for maximizing pro.t in a constrained environment. In this paper we discuss the challenges of TAC which features a complex benchmark e-market problem and we present the strategy of the trading agent Thalis that participated in the competition successfully obtaining the third place among the . nalists.
Application of joint channel and data estimation algorithms for short block detection

This paper presents studies of the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm and its modifications for joint channel estimation and short block detection in frequency selective channels. To facilitate the EM convergence in case of short blocks, we introduce a penalized update for channel re-estimates in semi-blind detection. For channels with intersymbol interference, we suggest a simple method to improve accuracy of channel re-estimates (channel model inverse) that may be embedded into EM-based detectors. Application of the EM-based detectors for schemes with transmitting diversity in EDGE (enhanced data rates for GSM evolution) provides more than 1dB gain.
Summary cache: a scalable wide-area Web cache sharing protocol

The sharing of caches among Web proxies is an important technique to reduce Web traffic and alleviate network bottlenecks. Nevertheless it is not widely deployed due to the overhead of existing protocols. In this paper we propose a new protocol called "Summary Cache"; each proxy keeps a summary of the URLs of cached documents of each participating proxy and checks these summaries for potential hits before sending any queries. Two factors contribute to the low overhead: the summaries are updated only periodically, and the summary representations are economical --- as low as 8 bits per entry. Using trace-driven simulations and a prototype implementation, we show that compared to the existing Internet Cache Protocol (ICP), Summary Cache reduces the number of inter-cache messages by a factor of 25 to 60, reduces the bandwidth consumption by over 50%, and eliminates between 30% to 95% of the CPU overhead, while at the same time maintaining almost the same hit ratio as ICP. Hence Summary Cache enables cache sharing among a large number of proxies.
The complexity of conservative valued CSPs

We study the complexity of valued constraint satisfaction problems (VCSPs) parametrized by a constraint language, a fixed set of cost functions over a finite domain. An instance of the problem is specified by a sum of cost functions from the language and the goal is to minimize the sum. Under the unique games conjecture, the approximability of finite-valued VCSPs is well understood, see Raghavendra [2008]. However, there is no characterization of finite-valued VCSPs, let alone general-valued VCSPs, that can be solved exactly in polynomial time, thus giving insights from a combinatorial optimization perspective. We consider the case of languages containing all possible unary cost functions. In the case of languages consisting of only {0,∞}-valued cost functions (i.e., relations), such languages have been called conservative and studied by Bulatov [2003, 2011] and recently by Barto [2011]. Since we study valued languages, we call a language conservative if it contains all finite-valued unary cost functions. The computational complexity of conservative valued languages has been studied by Cohen et al. [2006] for languages over Boolean domains, by Deineko et al. [2008] for {0,1}-valued languages (a.k.a Max-CSP), and by Takhanov [2010a] for {0,∞}-valued languages containing all finite-valued unary cost functions (a.k.a. Min-Cost-Hom). We prove a Schaefer-like dichotomy theorem for conservative valued languages: if all cost functions in the language satisfy a certain condition (specified by a complementary combination of STP and MJN multimorphisms), then any instance can be solved in polynomial time (via a new algorithm developed in this article), otherwise the language is NP-hard. This is the first complete complexity classification of general-valued constraint languages over non-Boolean domains. It is a common phenomenon that complexity classifications of problems over non-Boolean domains are significantly harder than the Boolean cases. The polynomial-time algorithm we present for the tractable cases is a generalization of the submodular minimization problem and a result of Cohen et al. [2008]. Our results generalize previous results by Takhanov [2010a] and (a subset of results) by Cohen et al. [2006] and Deineko et al. [2008]. Moreover, our results do not rely on any computer-assisted search as in Deineko et al. [2008], and provide a powerful tool for proving hardness of finite-valued and general-valued languages.