Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Querying encrypted character data in DAS model

There has been increasing concern about Databaseas-a-Service(DAS) architectures. In the DAS model, the conventional scheme for query over encrypted data in database is to construct efficient index in database. This can ensure query efficiency. However, the fuzzy search is often used in the query of character data. It will be very tough owing to data encryption. Even the tiny changes of plaintext, the ciphtext will be quite distinct. Therefore, it is crucial to construct efficient index of encrypted character strings. To address these problems, a cryptographic scheme of character data in relational database is proposed in this paper. In this scheme, the char or varchar data type and clob data type will be considered respectively. For the data of char or varchar type, an index based double filtration is established. The index includes two parts: the first part of index is used to determine the set of existed characters in original string, and the second part stores the characteristic value of the characters' positions. The first part of index implements the first filtration, which will filter all the records include inaccurate characters. The second part of index is used to verify the positions of character strings. It's the second filtration. For the data of clob type, instead of the original character data, the positions of all the character strings will be stored. This scheme avoids needless decryption and data transfer. Consequently, better query efficiency is achieved and fuzzy search is well supported.
Progesterone in the ventromedial hypothalamus facilitates estrous behavior in ovariectomized, estrogen-primed rats.

The putative neural target sites of progesterone (P) action for the facilitation of estrous behavior in female rats were reexamined using the hormone implant technique. Subjects were ovariectomized, estrogen-primed Long-Evans females. All were outfitted with bilateral double barreled cannulae assemblies consisting of 23-gauge guide cannulae and 28-gauge inserts. Subjects in Exp 1 received sc injections of individually determined threshold priming doses of estradiol benzoate. Estrogenic priming for subjects in Exp 2 was provided by sc placed Silastic capsules (5 mm) filled with 17 beta-estradiol-cholesterol (1:20). Each subject was tested for estrous behavior with a male after P-filled cannulae and after blank inserts were lowered into the brain. Behavioral tests were conducted 1 and 4.5 h postcannulae placement. Thirty-five of 40 females with P in the ventromedial hypothalamus exhibited high levels of lordosis behavior during the 4.5-h test. Moreover, 29 of the 35 exhibited solicitation behavior as well. Estrous behavior was not exhibited by these animals during the 1-h test. Implants in other regions of the brain (i.e. mesencephalic reticular formation, preoptic area, central grey, caudate putamen, and hippocampus; n = 80) did not consistently facilitate estrous responsiveness. In Exp 3, levels of estrous responsiveness were similar before and after adrenalectomy (n = 10); thus, facilitation of estrous behavior by P-filled implants in the ventromedial hypothalamus was not dependent upon activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.
New Approach for Detection of IRC and P2P Botnets

Botnet is most widespread and occurs commonly in today's cyber attacks, resulting in serious threats to our network assets and organization's properties. Botnets are collections of compromised computers (Bots) which are remotely controlled by its originator (BotMaster) under a common Commond-and-Control (CC Botnet; Bot; IRC; P2P
The MetaCyc database of metabolic pathways and enzymes and the BioCyc collection of pathway/genome databases

The MetaCyc database (MetaCyc.org) is a comprehensive and freely accessible resource for metabolic pathways and enzymes from all domains of life. The pathways in MetaCyc are experimentally determined, small-molecule metabolic pathways and are curated from the primary scientific literature. With more than 1400 pathways, MetaCyc is the largest collection of metabolic pathways currently available. Pathways reactions are linked to one or more well-characterized enzymes, and both pathways and enzymes are annotated with reviews, evidence codes, and literature citations. BioCyc (BioCyc.org) is a collection of more than 500 organism-specific Pathway/Genome Databases (PGDBs). Each BioCyc PGDB contains the full genome and predicted metabolic network of one organism. The network, which is predicted by the Pathway Tools software using MetaCyc as a reference, consists of metabolites, enzymes, reactions and metabolic pathways. BioCyc PGDBs also contain additional features, such as predicted operons, transport systems, and pathway hole-fillers. The BioCyc Web site offers several tools for the analysis of the PGDBs, including Omics Viewers that enable visualization of omics datasets on two different genome-scale diagrams and tools for comparative analysis. The BioCyc PGDBs generated by SRI are offered for adoption by any party interested in curation of metabolic, regulatory, and genome-related information about an organism.
Troponin T and NT–Pro B-Type Natriuretic Peptide: A Biomarker Approach to Predict Heart Failure Risk—the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study

Background— Among the various cardiovascular diseases, heart failure (HF) is projected to have the largest increases in incidence over the coming decades; therefore, improving HF prediction is of significant value. We evaluated whether cardiac troponin T (cTnT) measured with a high-sensitivity assay and N-terminal-pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), biomarkers strongly associated with incident HF, improve HF risk prediction in the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) study. Methods— Using gender-specific models, cTnT and NT-proBNP were added to age and race (“laboratory report” model), and to the ARIC HF model (includes age, race, systolic blood pressure, antihypertensive-medication use, current/former smoking, diabetes, body mass index, prevalent coronary heart disease and heart rate) in 9868 subjects without prevalent HF; area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), integrated discrimination improvement, net reclassification improvement (NRI) and model fit were described. Results— Over a mean follow-up of 10.4 years, 970 subjects developed incident HF. Adding cTnT and NT-proBNP to the ARIC HF model significantly improved all statistical parameters (AUCs increased by 0.040 and 0.057; the continuous NRI was 50.7% and 54.7% in women and men, respectively). Interestingly, the simpler laboratory report model was statistically no different than the ARIC HF model. Conclusion— cTnT and NT-proBNP have significant value in HF risk prediction. A simple gender-specific model that includes age, race, cTnT and NT-proBNP (which can be incorporated in a laboratory report) provides a good model, whereas adding cTnT and NT-proBNP to clinical characteristics results in an excellent HF prediction model.
Robust low-complexity multichannel equalization for dereverberation

Multichannel equalization of acoustic impulse responses (AIRs) is an important approach for dereverberation. Since AIRs are inevitably estimated with system identification error (SIE), it is necessary to develop equalization designs that are robust to such SIE, in order for dereverberation processing to be beneficial. We present here a novel subband equalizer employing the relaxed multichannel least squares (RMCLS) algorithm in each subband. We show that this new structure brings improved performance in dereverberation as well as a reduction in computational load by up to a factor of more than 90 in our experiments. We then develop a novel controller for the dereverberation processing in subbands that guarantees robustness to even very severe SIEs by backing off dereverberation in any subband with excessively high levels of SIEs.
Subpixel image registration by estimating the polyphase decomposition of cross power spectrum

A method of registering images at subpixel accuracy has been proposed, which does not resort to interpolation. The method is based on the phase correlation method and is remarkably robust to correlated noise and uniform variations of luminance. We have shown that the cross power spectrum of two images, containing subpixel shifts, is a polyphase decomposition of a Dirac delta function. By estimating the sum of polyphase components one can then determine sub-pixel shifts along each axis.
The Process of Designing and Analysing a Qualitative Study into Multiple Work Integrated Learning Experiences

Universities are forever looking for the perfect Work Integrated Learning (WIL) model: the one that gives students the best chance of a graduate job, fits in the ever changing needs of a diverse student population and can be delivered with minimum administrative overheads to the institution. Researchers at the University of Huddersfield have been exploring psychological factors related to WIL as part in a worldwide study led by Drysdale (Drysdale et al., 2010). The initial analysis of our UK quantitative data set indicated that the number of different WIL experiences a student undertook significantly increased self-reported measures of hope, agency and goal-orientation. The aim of this qualitative study is to explore a variety of student placement experiences in more depth to tease apart experiential aspects of their placements and how these relate to the constructs identified as significant in the previous study. This obviously has strategic implications for the way we deliver WIL both at our institution and across the sector. The use of qualitative techniques aims to move the focus on to the experiential aspects of students’ work placements through focus groups and individual semi-structured interviews. The interviews will potentially use a reflective tool to facilitate dialogue about the abstract concepts measured in the survey. This study will investigate how students relate their work placement experiences to softer skill development identified by our survey research, and how these skills are built up across multiple placements. Was it a case of ‘The more, the merrier’? This paper will describe the methodological challenges faced in the design and analysis of our research, including how to facilitate in-depth reflection on work placements, and how to anchor broad concepts such as ‘hope’ and ‘agency’ to specific experiences encountered in the working environment. The identification of an effective method of reflection and analysis of the experiential details of work placements will allow the student voice to be heard, and illuminate important aspects of their experiences. This could then be used to facilitate teaching and learning in this area.
A quadratic programming relaxation approach to compute-and-forward network coding design

In wireless networks, the compute-and-forward strategy is a promising physical layer network coding scheme that can achieve high rates by effectively exploiting the interference between users. However, the design of the optimal integer-valued equation coefficient vectors in a compute-and-forward scheme turns out to be a shortest vector problem, which is known to be NP hard. In this work, we consider the problem of designing the equation coefficient vector for each relay with the objective being maximizing the computation rate at that relay. By taking advantage of some useful properties, we show that the problem can be relaxed to a series of equality-constrained quadratic programmings and their closed-form solutions are derived by use of the Lagrange multiplier method, which is the key to the efficiency of our method. A quantization algorithm is then proposed to transform the real-valued approximations to the set of required integer-valued vectors, from which a suboptimal equation coefficient vector is obtained. Numerical results demonstrate that relative to existing methods, our method can offer comparable performance at an impressively low complexity.
The Taxonomy of Cognitive Objectives and the Theory of Structural Cognitive Modifiability

There is disclosed a motorcycle sidecar which has a single wheel on a king post, a load supporting tray which may optionally form a mudguard for the wheel, and a framework. The framework supports at least each end of the tray and consists of two vertically disposed parallelogram linkages between the motorcycle and the wheel. The top member of the front parallelogram linkage is connected to the top member of the rear one, as are the lower members and the king post is attached to these connecting members. When the motorcycle is leaned into a corner, the king post leans at a similar angle while the wheel remains on the ground and the tray remains substantially horizontal.
Sector bounds in control design and analysis

The Sector Stability Theorem is an intuitive condition for the stability of feedback loops that unifies many lines of research including robust control, passivity theory, dissipativity theory, and integral quadratic constraints (IQC) theory. This theorem plays a central role in deriving a frequency-domain test for general sector bounds and is used to develop efficient numerical algorithms for checking and enforcing sector bounds on linear time-invariant (LTI) systems. The notion of relative and directional indices are also developed. Two application examples illustrate the potential of the tool and techniques discussed in the paper.
The Anti-Fibrotic Effect of Bone Morphogenic Protein-7(BMP-7) on Liver Fibrosis

Background/Aims: Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. Recombinant human bone morphogenic protein-7 (rhBMP-7) alleviates renal fibrosis and improves kidney function. However, the beneficial effect of BMP-7 on hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prophylactic and therapeutic effects of rhBMP-7 on liver fibrosis and the underlying mechanisms. Methods: Liver fibrosis in the rat model was induced by peritoneal injection of porcine-serum (0.5ml/kg body weight) twice a week over 8 weeks. The effect of rhBMP-7 on hepatic fibrosis was monitored in rhBMP-7 pre-treated and non-treated rats. Pathologic changes were determined by immunohistolocial staining. TGF-β1 expression was investigated by immunohistolocial staining, western blotting, and real-time PCR. Collagen secretion was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: Liver fibrosis was significantly reduced by rhBMP-7. The secretion of collagen type-I and -III was decreased by rhBMP-7 in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) but not in hepatocytes. The anti-fibrotic effect of rhBMP-7 on liver fibrosis was resulted by blocking the nuclear accumulation of Smad2/3 or by inhibiting TGF-β1 expression in HSCs or hepatocytes. Conclusions: The anti-fibrogenic mechanism of rhBMP-7 in the rat liver fibrosis was depended on the reduction of TGF-β1 overexpression and the inhibition of TGF-β1 triggered intracellular signalling in hepatic cells.
IMS service enhancement layer: A quantitative value proposition

A key advantage of the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is that it promotes the development of innovative multimedia services. Alcatel-Lucent's service enhancement layer is an improvement to the standard IMS core implementation, having functional elements for service coordination, data integration, and policy enablement. This layer is instrumental in enhancing the IMS core capabilities through mediation of service interactions, data consolidation and federation, and knowledge of user state and preferences, and thus personalization of services offered over diverse network elements. Elements in this layer are key differentiators for Alcatel-Lucent against the competition. Several papers have been written to describe the elements in this layer from a feature and functionality viewpoint. In this paper, we capture the quantitative value of this layer, from the perspective of an operator. We present a technoeconomic analysis for an IMS-enabled “blended lifestyle” implementation of selected services, comparing the results for implementation with and without the service enhancement layer. © 2007 Alcatel-Lucent.
Deploying AL-FEC with Online Algorithms

Application Layer Forward Error Correction (ALFEC) schemes are the most suitable mechanism for error control in mobile multicast services. AL-FEC introduces redundant information in advance with the source data to provide reliability control in the multicast transmission. Due to this fact the introduced redundancy must be carefully selected with respect to the current network conditions to avoid channel bandwidth wastage and achieve an efficient and reliable multicast delivery. However, the efficient selection of the introduced redundancy is not a trivial issue for the multicast source, due to the individual constraints of a multicast environment. In this work, we present a novel way to face the AL-FEC deployment utilizing online algorithms for selecting the appropriate amount of redundancy introduced in the multicast transmission. We provide an efficient way to apply AL-FEC protection on mobile multicast environments with randomized online algorithms eliminating the need for prior knowledge of the network conditions. To this direction, we present a competitive framework under which, we state the problem of the efficient deployment of AL-FEC protection and provide a randomized online algorithm for the AL-FEC application over mobile multicast environments.
Economic evaluation of a community-based intervention : measuring the value to society

Community-based participatory interventions such as those promoting health-related behaviour change present many challenges to the measurement of benefits in economic evaluation. Such interventions can influence social as well as physical well-being, and entail a multitude of outcomes both directly for intervention participants as well as indirectly for other members of the community. Furthermore, they may not achieve immediate changes in health status but their interactive and participatory nature could mean that non-health benefits are significant. The aim of this thesis is to measure the benefits of a community-based participatory intervention in rural Nepal and draw lessons more broadly for how such interventions can be valued within economic evaluation. A contingent valuation survey of a women's group intervention designed to improve maternal and newborn health was carried out in rural Nepal. Members of eleven women's groups were interviewed along with a sample of female non-members and males from the same communities. Monetary and non-monetary measures were used to elicit preferences and respondents were asked which aspects ofthe intervention they were willing to pay for: health outcomes, non-health outcomes or both. Focus group discussions were used to both inform the design of a locally relevant survey tool, to maximise content validity, and as a means of supplementing survey data with group-based discourse. Construct validity was assessed by testing for the association between willingness-to-pay and indicators of demographic and socio-economic status. Willingness-to-pay values were aggregated and combined with costs as a cost-benefit analysis. These results were compared to those of a cost-effectiveness analysis. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the impact of different assumptions on total aggregate willingness-to-pay and the net benefit of the intervention. The response rate was high in all stakeholder groups indicating that the survey was well understood and acceptable to respondents. The study found that non-health benefits were valued by over 80% of respondents and thus their omission would lead to the undervaluation of such programmes. There was no significant difference between the willingness-to-pay of women's group members and non-members, suggesting that the programme generates positive externalities. Focus groups helped to improve the content validity of the survey and to achieve high response rates by enabling questions in the survey to be framed in a manner more relevant to the community. They also gave insight into the valuation context, helped to interpret values derived from the survey and highlighted the importance of trust in the payment vehicle. This thesis also shed light on some of the empirical challenges that are faced when attempting to extrapolate sample values to a larger population and deciding whose values to include.
New Cassane Diterpenoids from Caesalpinia sappan and Their Antiplasmodial Activity

One new cassane diterpene possessing an unusual N bridge between C-19 and C-20 named caesalsappanin R (1), as well as another new diterpene caesalsappanin S (2), were isolated from the seeds of Caesalpinia sappan with methanol extract. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic analysis and examined alongside existing data from prior studies. Their biological activities were profiled by their antiplasmodial activity.
Perceptual coding at the threshold level for the Digital Cinema System Specification

An approach to perceptual coding at the threshold level, for supporting the Digital Cinema System Specification (DCSS) standard, is presented. The proposed Perceptual DCSS Coder (PDC) follows the approach of the Visually Lossless Grey scale Image Coder (VLGIC) of adapting Human Visual System (HVS) modelling to the JPEG2000 coder, but extends it to multi-frame application for DCSS. This PDC first applies pixel-domain temporal filtering to video frames. This is followed by the encoding of each colour component of individual frame with the VLGIC. The VLGIC is a JPEG2000 compliant coder that utilises a HVS based vision model to identify and remove imperceptible information in images/frames prior to coding operations. Experimental results show that the PDC provides improvement, in bitrate, over JPEG2000 reversible (lossless) mode. Furthermore, subjective assessments with 16 observers reveal no perceptible differences between PDC coded frames and their respective originals.
A conditional random field approach for audio-visual people diarization

We investigate the problem of audio-visual (AV) person diarization in broadcast data. That is, automatically associate the faces and voices of people and determine when they appear or speak in the video. The contributions are twofolds. First, we formulate the problem within a novel CRF framework that simultaneously performs the AV association of voices and face clusters to build AV person models, and the joint segmentation of the audio and visual streams using a set of AV cues and their association strength. Secondly, we use for this AV association strength a score that does not only rely on lips activity, but also on contextual visual information (face size, position, number of detected faces,.) that leads to more reliable association measures. Experiments on 6 hours of broadcast data show that our framework is able to improve the AV-person diarization especially for speaker segments erroneously labeled in the mono-modal case.