Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Testbed for Security and Privacy Analysis of IoT Devices

With the rapid growth of Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, security and privacy issues emerged as apotential roadblock for widespread adoption. Preliminary research indicates that many types of IoTdevices have serious vulnerabilities. It is not easy to investigate security and privacy issuessince each type of device is different and manual experiments need to be conducted on the device. In this paper, we propose a testbed for investigation of security and privacy issues of IoT devices. Fundamental approach used in the testbed is to capture layer 2 and layer 3 packets and to analyze thepackets for various features. Proposed testbed is low cost and is based on off-the-shelf hardware andopen source software. Using the testbed, we can investigate security and privacy issues of many IoTdevices including HDMI sticks, IP cameras, activity trackers, smartwatches and drones. A large set ofexperiments can be conducted on IoT devices using the testbed including vulnerability scans, identifyinginsecure protocol versions, investigation of firmware updates, authentication issues and privacyviolations. Sample experimental results show the promise of the proposed testbed. We believe this testbedwill serve as the foundation for a general framework to investigate securityand privacy issues of most IoT devices.
On the analysis of protein–protein interactions via knowledge‐based potentials for the prediction of protein–protein docking

Development of effective methods to screen binary interactions obtained by rigid‐body protein–protein docking is key for structure prediction of complexes and for elucidating physicochemical principles of protein–protein binding. We have derived empirical knowledge‐based potential functions for selecting rigid‐body docking poses. These potentials include the energetic component that provides the residues with a particular secondary structure and surface accessibility. These scoring functions have been tested on a state‐of‐art benchmark dataset and on a decoy dataset of permanent interactions. Our results were compared with a residue‐pair potential scoring function (RPScore) and an atomic‐detailed scoring function (Zrank). We have combined knowledge‐based potentials to score protein–protein poses of decoys of complexes classified either as transient or as permanent protein–protein interactions. Being defined from residue‐pair statistical potentials and not requiring of an atomic level description, our method surpassed Zrank for scoring rigid‐docking decoys where the unbound partners of an interaction have to endure conformational changes upon binding. However, when only moderate conformational changes are required (in rigid docking) or when the right conformational changes are ensured (in flexible docking), Zrank is the most successful scoring function. Finally, our study suggests that the physicochemical properties necessary for the binding are allocated on the proteins previous to its binding and with independence of the partner. This information is encoded at the residue level and could be easily incorporated in the initial grid scoring for Fast Fourier Transform rigid‐body docking methods.
Influence of prognostic health management on logistic supply chain

In this paper, we discuss the problem of determining performance metrics for preemptive condition-based maintenance, also referred to as prognostic health maintenance (PHM). This performance is tightly coupled to the properties of the logistics supply chain. Further, the optimal supply chain design is, in fact, sensitive to the capabilities of the PHM system. We formulate this joint optimization problem, which can be shown to be equivalent to a shortest path problem (SPP). The properties of the solution elucidate the design tradeoffs in using damage prediction technologies in the overall health management solution
Exacerbation of toxoplasmosis in neutrophil-depleted mice.

Studies were performed to determine whether resistance to Toxoplasma gondii infection in mice depends on a mechanism involving neutrophils. Immunocompetent C57BL/6 and C.B-17 mice infected with T. gondii by gavage had an increased percentage of neutrophils in their peripheral blood. C57BL/6 mice selectively depleted of neutrophils by injections of RB6-8C5 monoclonal antibody died during the acute phase of the disease. Depletion of neutrophils had no effect on interferon gamma production, but had a profound effect on the total numbers of peripheral blood CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Neutrophil-depleted C.B-17 mice survived longer than neutrophil-depleted C57BL/6 mice when infected with T. gondii, however they became much sicker, and were less able to survive long-term than infected, control mAb-treated mice as indicated by severe sustained weight loss. This study shows that neutrophils play an important role in resistance to acute primary T. gondii infection and that depletion of neutrophils reduces the numbers of CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes recoverable from peripheral blood of infected but not uninfected mice. This effect on lymphocytes may contribute to the reduced long-term survival of neutrophil-depleted mice.
Boreal forest coherence-based measures of interferometric pair suitability for operational stem volume retrieval

The performance of interferometric synthetic aperture radar (INSAR)-based boreal forest stem volume retrieval is strongly affected by weather conditions around the time of the SAR image acquisitions. Since weather conditions cannot be controlled, the suitability of a particular interferometric pair for stem volume retrieval can only be assessed afterward. In this letter, four objective measures based on observed forest coherence were compared in assessing the suitability of interferometric pairs for stem volume retrieval. These suitability measures can be used to identify the best and worst pairs, i.e., the ones with the most and least favorable weather conditions. Stem volume retrievals were performed using single European Remote Sensing (ERS-1/2) Tandem interferometric pairs by inverting a backscattering-coherence model for boreal forests. A total of 14 ERS Tandem image pairs acquired in varying weather conditions were studied, and the stem volume retrieval performance was assessed against ground-based stem volume estimates on 134 boreal forest stands. Stem volume retrieval performance as measured by R/sup 2/-values between INSAR-estimated stem volumes and ground truth was found to be directly proportional to boreal forest coherence. The interferometric coherence-contrast (ICC), i.e., the difference in coherence between sparsest and densest boreal forest stands was found to be the best of the four studied suitability measures. The ICC could be used as a suitability parameter in the selection of the best interferometric pairs for operational boreal forest stem volume retrieval.
Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography as an indicator of fluorescein angiography leakage from choroidal neovascularization.

PURPOSE To evaluate spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) findings that predict angiographic leakage in choroidal neovascularization (CNV). METHODS SD-OCT and fluorescein angiography (FA) images of 93 eyes of 93 patients were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were previously treated with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agents for CNV from age-related macular degeneration. FA images were analyzed to assess the presence of leakage. SD-OCT images were analyzed to identify the overall presence of fluid, as well as specific patterns of fluid presentation, including intraretinal cystic spaces (ICS), retinal pigment epithelium detachment (PED), and neurosensory detachment (NSD). The presence of ultrastructural features such as intraretinal hyperreflective flecks and the inherent reflectivity and boundary definition of the subretinal material were evaluated. Both the association and the sensitivity, specificity, and both positive and negative predictive values of SD-OCT findings compared with FA leakage were calculated. RESULTS A statistically significant association between SD-OCT findings and FA leakage was found for eyes that displayed fluid, NSD, intraretinal flecks, and low reflectivity or undefined boundaries from subretinal material, and not for PED or ICS. Sensitivity and specificity for SD-OCT findings were, respectively: 94% and 27% for fluid; 68% and 88% for NSD; 81% and 83% for intraretinal flecks; 63% and 92% for undefined boundaries of subretinal material; and 94% and 87% for low reflectivity from subretinal material. CONCLUSIONS The evidence of fluid on SD-OCT is sensitive but nonspecific in identifying FA leaky CNV. The assessment of neurosensory detachment as well as other ultrastructural elements may increase the specificity of analysis.
An ARQ Scheme with Memory and Integrated Modulation

In this paper, the integration of the modulation operation in an automatic-repeat-request scheme, using error-detecting codes, is analyzed. A new protocol is described, in which the modulation operation facilitates the recovery of the transmitted code word. The results show a net improvement in the throughput of the automatic-repeat-request scheme, particularly for mean and high error-rate conditions. Continuous-phase-frequency shift keying modulations, which present a low bandwidth occupancy, are particularly considered.
CS4VRU: A Centralized Cooperative Safety System for Vulnerable Road Users Using Heterogeneous Networks

Even though the number of accidents in the roads has decreased, the number of Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) that are involved in these accidents are not following the same pattern. Thus, close attention should be paid to this group of road users. With this goal, this papers presents CS4VRU which is a cooperative application to be deployed in the frame of Smart Cities. The architecture of CS4VRU combines short and long range communication technologies in order to provide more time to the drivers and VRUs to take the appropriate maneuver and avoid a possible collision. The information generated by mobile sensors (vehicles and cyclists) is sent over this heterogeneous communication architecture and processed in a central server, which is in charge of generating the messages to aware the vehicles and bike bunch about the others.
Discount Sensitivity – Are We All Equal ?

The high adoption of smart mobile devices among consumers is an opportunity for ecommerce retailers to increase their sales by recommending consumers with real time, personalized coupons which take into account the specific contextual situation of the consumer [5]. While context-aware recommender systems (CARS) have been widely analyzed [1,2] personalized pricing or discount optimization in recommender systems to improve recommendations’ accuracy and commercial KPIs has hardly been researched [7]. This paper studies how to model user-item personalized discount sensitivity and incorporate it into a real time contextual recommender system in a way which can be integrated into a commercial service. We propose a novel approach for modeling user-item personalized discount sensitivity in a sparse data scenario, and present a new CARS algorithm (CBRF) which combines co-clustering [3,4] and random forest [6] to incorporate the personalized discount sensitivity.
idespread exposure to Sarcoptes scabiei in wild European rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus ) in Spain

Sarcoptic mange was recently described in the wild European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in north-eastern Mediterranean Spain, the first such infection reported in this species anywhere in the world. This finding has created concern in conservationists and game managers given that an outbreak of mange after a translocation would have catastrophic consequences for naïve rabbit populations in other parts of Spain. A retrospective serosurvey using an ‘in house’ ELISA test based on the use of a recombinant antigen aimed at determining the rates of contact with Sarcoptes scabiei was carried out on sera from 966 rabbits collected between 1993 and 2010 in Spain. Antibodies were found in 13% of wild rabbits in 60% of the 53 areas surveyed, as well as in 16 of the 17 Spanish provinces and islands studied. Seropositive rabbits were found amongst the oldest samples analyzed and in all studied years. Antibodies were also detected in 36% of rabbits from the protected island of Dragonera, where rabbits have probably not been released since the 1970s. On Mallorca, where 89 rabbits were inspected for both lesions and antibodies, the prevalence of lesions (5.6%) was much lower than the seroprevalence (22.5%), indicating that rabbits often survive infection or that ELISA detects infected rabbits before they develop visible lesions. Seroprevalence was higher in areas with medium levels of rabbit abundance, no restocking and high rainfall. The results show that mange is widespread in rabbits and that the mite is not a recent introduction. Thus, sarcoptic mange could be considered as an enzootic disease in the wild rabbit and so prophylactic measures implemented during rabbit translocations are to be encouraged to avoid local outbreaks in naïve populations.
Cancellation of Linear Intersymbol Interference for Two-Dimensional Storage Systems

In this paper the cancellation of linear Intersymbol Interference (ISI) in two-dimensional systems is discussed. A theory is developed for the error rate of receivers that use tentative decisions to cancel ISI. Furthermore, precise conditions are formulated under which such ISI cancellation can be applied effectively. For many two-dimensional systems these conditions are easily met and therefore the application of ISI cancellation is of significant interest for these systems. The theory and the conditions are validated by simulation results for a two-dimensional channel model. Furthermore, results for an experimental two-dimensional optical storage system show that for a single layer disc with a capacity of 50 GB a substantial performance improvement may be obtained by applying ISI cancellation.
The Economic Effect of Privacy Breach Announcements on Stocks: A Comprehensive Empirical Investigation

The 2009 CSI Computer Crime and Security Survey indicate that the financial fraud costs about $450,000 per victim organization. A comprehensive empirical investigation was conducted on the effect of publicly announced privacy breaches on the market value of breached companies. We use the abnormal returns, risk factors, and volumes to measure the market effect on the breached firms. Our results show that the cumulative abnormal return (CAR) due to a privacy breach is -1.5 percent at the . 05 level. Our results also show that the mean risk factor for the breached firms increases by about 4 percent on the event day compare to the 250 pre-event days Finally, our results show that the volume of the event stocks are higher during the event days relative to the pre-event 60 days. None of the research studies in the information privacy breach area has investigated the abnormal risk and abnormal volume patterns around the privacy breach announcements.
Language-Based Image Editing with Recurrent Attentive Models

We investigate the problem of Language-Based Image Editing (LBIE). Given a source image and a natural language description, we want to generate a target image by editing the source image based on the description. We propose a generic modeling framework for two subtasks of LBIE: language-based image segmentation and image colorization. The framework uses recurrent attentive models to fuse image and language features. Instead of using a fixed step size, we introduce for each region of the image a termination gate to dynamically determine after each inference step whether to continue extrapolating additional information from the textual description. The effectiveness of the framework is validated on three datasets. First, we introduce a synthetic dataset, called CoSaL, to evaluate the end-to-end performance of our LBIE system. Second, we show that the framework leads to state-of-the-art performance on image segmentation on the ReferIt dataset. Third, we present the first language-based colorization result on the Oxford-102 Flowers dataset.
Lone mothers, social exclusion and depression

Background. In this paper, data from the British National Survey of Psychiatric Morbidity are used to assess depressive disorders and markers of social disadvantage in women bringing up children on their own. Method. The household component of the British National Surveys of Psychiatric Morbidity was based on a stratified random sample of >10000 subjects. This paper reports on 5281 women interviewed in person. Psychiatric symptoms and ICD-10 diagnoses were established by lay interviewers using the CIS-R. Results are presented in terms of depressive episode and mixed anxiety/depressive disorder. Housing tenure and access to a car were used as proxy measures of material status. The life event rate in the 6 months before interview was used to indicate overall exposure to stress, and subjects were asked in detail about perceived social support. Information was collected about various other sociodemographic attributes. Lone mothers were compared with supported mothers and with women not involved in care of children under 16. Results. Lone mothers had prevalence rates of depressive episode of 7%, about three times higher than any other group. The milder condition, mixed anxiety/depression, was also increased in frequency. These increased rates of depressive conditions were no longer apparent after controlling for measures of social disadvantage, stress and isolation. Conclusions. Lone mothers are increasing in numbers as marital stability declines. Their high rates of material disadvantage and of depressive disorder may have considerable implications for psychiatric and social policy.
Preliminary evaluation of vessel detectability for Sentinel-1 SAR data

Performance of ship detection is influenced by synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging characteristics and environmental conditions. In this paper, aiming at evaluating vessel detectability for Sentinel-1 SAR data, a model based on a large-scale Sentinel-1A vessel chips database is established. The model sensitivity is analyzed by simulation data. In the experiment, by inputting the parameters of imaging characteristics (incidence angle, polarization, spatial resolution) and environmental conditions (wind speed, wind direction, sea state) of a specific Sentinel-1 image, the minimum detectable vessel length can be estimated. Further validations demonstrate the availability of the estimated minimum detectable vessel length.
An Improved Arabic Handwritten Recognition System using Deep Support Vector Machines

Deep learning algorithms, as a machine learning algorithms developed in recent years, have been successfully applied in various domains of computer vision, such as face recognition, object detection and image classification. These Deep algorithms aim at extracting a high representation of the data via multi-layers in a deep hierarchical structure. However, to the authors' knowledge, these deep learning approaches have not been extensively studied to recognize Arabic Handwritten Script AHS. In this paper, they present a deep learning model based on Support Vector Machine SVM named Deep SVM. This model has an inherent ability to select data points crucial to classify good generalization capabilities. The deep SVM is constructed by a stack of SVMs allowing to extracting/learning automatically features from the raw images and to perform classification as well. The Multi-class SVM with an RBF kernel, as non-linear discriminative features for classification, was chosen and tested on Handwritten Arabic Characters Database HACDB. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed model.
The evolution of visual information retrieval

This paper seeks to provide a brief overview of those developments which have taken the theory and practice of image and video retrieval into the digital age. Drawing on a voluminous literature, the context in which visual information retrieval takes place is followed by a consideration of the conceptual and practical challenges posed by the representation and recovery of visual material on the basis of its semantic content. An historical account of research endeavours in content-based retrieval, directed towards the automation of these operations in digital image scenarios, provides the main thrust of the paper. Finally, a look forwards locates visual information retrieval research within the wider context of content-based multimedia retrieval.
Antidiabetic and Antioxidant Properties of Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus Linn.) Fruit and Their Chemical Composition

Bilberry [Vaccinium myrtillus Linn. (Ericaceae)] fruit (VMF) has been traditionally used for treatment of bladder stones, biliary disorders, scurvy, coughs, and lung tuberculosis. VMF may have some pharmaceutical properties owing to these uses, but in vivo and in vitro studies are limited for clarification of medicinal activity and its antidiabetic and antioxidant properties are not investigated in detail. Anti-amylase, antiglucosidase, and antioxidant activities of methanol (ME), ethanol (EE), acetone (AE), and water (WE) extracts of VMF were investigated. In addition, some chemical compositions were determined by using spectrophotometric methods. Antidiabetic and antioxidant activities of extracts were studied by using different tests such as α-amylase and αglucosidase inhibitory, total antioxidant, DPPH scavenging activities according to in vitro methods at different concentrations (10-250 μg mL). Compared with the standards, ME, WE, and EE showed strong total antioxidant activities with IC50 (μg/mL) values of 24.46±0.34, 25.24±0.78, and 27.48±0.60, respectively. At the same time, ME (IC50 61.38±1.40 μg mL) and EE (IC50 65.52±1.19 μg mL ) demonstrated very effective inhibitory activity against α-amylase and moderate inhibitory activity against αglucosidase. All extracts also showed high reducing power, metal chelating activity, superoxide anion, DPPH radical, and H2O2 scavenging activities. Important relationships were found between biological activity and chemical composition by statistical analyses. The VMF can be used as an antidiabetic and antioxidant source in medicinal and pharmaceutical areas due to its chemical composition. Anthocyanin contents may influence the anti-amylase inhibition activity more than phenolic and flavonoid contents.
[A technic for the determination of ethinyl estradiol and norgestrel].

A spectrophotometric method was developed to determine ethinylestradiol and norgestrel, using the chromogen formation with alcoholic sulphuric acid. The color intensity of the chromogen was used to test the reaction between sulphuric acid and ethanol. The method was used to test tablets with ethinylestradiol and ethinylestradiol plus norgestrel with extraction of the active agents. The method is simple and can also be performed with only 1 tablet.
Evaluation of the use of Simulation with Student Midwives in Zambia

Abstract The largest health discrepancy in the world is maternal mortality with most deaths occurring around the labor, delivery and postpartum period. The presence of skilled birth attendants such as qualified midwives is a leading factor in averting death and disability. This study evaluated the use of simulation with midwifery students in Zambia using a pre and post test quasi experimental design measuring confidence, satisfaction with learning, and knowledge between students who experienced simulation and those who had traditional instruction. A total of 34 students participated in the study. There were no statistical differences between mean scores on knowledge or confidence measures. Students who participated in simulation were more satisfied with learning than those who did not (p = .03). This pilot study provided data on the process of implementing simulation with midwifery students in a low resourced setting and area’s for improvement for it to be an effective teaching method.