Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Program analyses of web applications for detecting application-specific vulnerabilities

Web applications are prevalent in the modern era, regulating access to sensitive information, functionality and resources. Due to the difficulty in designing and implementing proper security checks for untrusted user inputs and actions, web applications often fall victim to various online attacks. In particular, application-specific vulnerabilities are easy to exploit and often have severe consequences. While the detection of application-independent injection vulnerabilities, such as Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) and SQL injection vulnerabilities, examines individual web pages in isolation, the detection of application-specific vulnerabilities necessitates the examination of both logic flows among web pages and user inputs of each page. The detection of application-specific vulnerabilities is more challenging because such vulnerabilities vary across different applications and designing general detection rules for them is difficult. Since manual code review is error-prone and time-consuming, it is important to develop automated detection techniques. This dissertation presents novel, practical program analyses to detect web application vulnerabilities, especially application-specific ones. It begins by providing the first pure client-side solution to detect XSS worms which exploit XSS vulnerabilities. Unlike XSS worms, logic vulnerabilities are application-specific. Two important types of logic vulnerabilities are access control vulnerabilities in web applications and logic vulnerabilities in e-commerce applications. This dissertation formulates their respective core characteristics and introduces corresponding server-side techniques to detect them. Specifically, for access control vulnerabilities, it describes the first static analysis that infers and enforces implicit access control assumptions, and for logic vulnerabilities in e-commerce applications, it presents the first static detection of logic attacks that cause incorrect payment status. In addition, this dissertation presents practical algorithms and tools which are shown to be scalable and capable of finding unknown vulnerabilities in real-world web applications.
One-Bit MMSE Equalization for All-Digital Massive MU-MIMO Communication Systems

This article considers using a 1-b spatial equalization matrix to enable low-power and high-throughput hardware processing in massive multiuser multiple-input--multiple-output (MIMO) uplink systems with all-digital base station architectures. We aim to design 1-b spatial equalization matrix coefficients that minimize the postequalization mean squared error that leads to a nonconvex problem. Known solutions based on semidefinite relaxation (SDR) and forward–backward splitting (FBS) are proposed to solve the 1-b spatial equalization matrix design problem. The SDR-based algorithm can achieve excellent bit error rate (BER) performance. However, its high complexity limits its use in large-scale system configurations. The FBS-based algorithm contains several predetermined tuning parameters that are scenario-dependent and nontrivial to obtain. Moreover, the performance of the FBS-based algorithm still requires improvement. On the basis of these considerations, we propose two algorithms for solving the 1-b spatial equalization matrix design problem. The first algorithm reduces the performance gap between the unquantized linear minimum mean squared error equalizer and the 1-b SDR-assisted equalizer while maintaining a reasonable complexity; the second algorithm balances the tradeoff between complexity and performance. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithms can achieve excellent BER performance compared with state-of-the-art methods.
Switching-behavior improvement of insulated gate-controlled devices

MOSFETs and insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) devices are increasingly used in electronic circuits due to both their easy driving and ability to handle high currents and voltages at high-switching frequencies. This paper deals with a new driver technique that allows optimization of the switching speed, reduction of the energy losses during the switching time, and limitation of the electromagnetic interference (EMI). First, an analysis of voltage- and current-switching waveforms of gate-insulated devices is performed. Then, a method of controlling voltage and current slopes independently is shown using the "one-cycle" method or a suitable adaptive-driving technique based on a phase-locked loop (PLL) approach. These techniques were adopted in order to allow correct generation of the gate signals regardless of the operating conditions. Finally, practical results of the proposed driving circuit obtained using a single IGBT switch chopper are presented.
Do It Yourself! – Experiences with Self-Synthesized CsTFA for RNA-SIP Analyses

Cesiumtrifluoroacetate (CsTFA) is a key chemical for RNA-based stable isotope analyses to link the structure and function of microbial communities. We report a protocol to easily synthesize CsTFA from Cesiumcarbonate (Cs2CO3) and Trifluoroacetate (TFA) and show that self-synthesized CsTFA behaves similar to commercial CsTFA in the separation of isotopically labelled and unlabelled E. coli RNA.
Moral Judgements of Junior Sports Sponsorships: An Emerging Mediator of Sponsor Goodwill

The sponsorship of junior sport is a contentious issue with community concerns raised about the appropriateness of some marketing targetted at children. Parents and coaches are guardians of junior sports players and often faced with a moral dilemma. On the one hand they know sponsors, who are trying to generate goodwill through providing financial or in-kind support, are crucial to the affordability of junior sports when competition for securing sponsorships is intense. On the other hand, they hold concerns that some sponsors may exploit their access to these young, vulnerable players. Guardians are caught at a crossroads with equally undesirable alternatives—financially unviable junior sports without sponsors or junior sports with potentially exploitative sponsors. Our study fills a gap in the literature where the tensions of commercial sponsorship agendas and moral concerns in sponsorship has not been well explored with our study being the first to apply the construct of moral judgements in a sponsorship model. Mixed methodology is used to examine the role that moral judgements play in determining sponsor goodwill. A qualitative study (n = 18) informed an online survey (n = 306) of Australian junior sports guardians. Structural equation modelling revealed that guardians’ moral judgements mediated the relationships between sponsor fit, perceived sponsor altruism and the outcome variable, sponsorship goodwill. The findings of this study extend scholarly understanding of consumers’ appraisal of sponsorships and provide useful insights to guide practitioners in sponsorship decision making, particularly in contexts that stimulate community interest or concerns.
Stress prevention in the offshore oil and gas exploration and production industry

This working paper is directed towards the prevention of stress in the offshore exploration and production industries. Many recommendations are given to reduce work stress, but it must be acknowledged that on any mobile drilling rig or fixed production platform there exists a great diversity of occupations and skill levels. This means that a step-by step-guide for stress prevention for each specific occupational offshore group is beyond the scope of this paper. It is suggested that the "Triple A" approach to stress management be adopted in the offshore environment. It incorporates: AWARENESS, ANALYSIS, ACTION. The authors believe that awareness about stress arises from a reliable, systematic analysis of the problem, and on the basis of an accurate diagnosis, action can be taken with confidence. This approach has the added advantage of ensuring commitment to a subsequent stress prevention initiative, and resistance to change is minimized. Three essential components are necessary to the success of stress management and stress prevention initiatives: — It is essential that the costs of mismanaged stress are recognized. — It should be acknowledged that stress can only be successfully dealt with if it is considered from both a preventive and a curative perspective. It is the responsibility of the organization and the individual to prevent stress whenever possible. However, since not all stress can be eliminated, it is also necessary to find effective ways of coping with stress when it occurs. — The prevention of stress demands that the source or cause of stress be accurately identified. These three issues are presented first in this working paper before the options available for stress prevention and stress control are presented.
Development of a PC-Based Object-Oriented Real-Time Robotics Controller

ii I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. iii Abstract The industrial world of robotics requires leading-edge controllers to match the speed of new manipulators. At the University of Waterloo, a three degree-of-freedom ultra high-speed cable-based robot was created called Deltabot. In order to improve the performance of the Deltabot, a new controller called the QNX Multi-Axis Robotic Controller (QMARC) was developed. QMARC is a PC-based controller built for the replacement of the existing commercial controller called PMAC, manufactured by Delta Tau Data Systems. Although the PMAC has its own real-time processor, the rigid and complex internal structure of the PMAC makes it difficult to apply advanced control algorithms and interpolation methods. Adding unconventional hardware to PMAC, such as a camera and vision system is also quite challenging. With the development of QMARC, the flexibility issue of the controller is resolved. QMARC's open-sourced object-oriented software structure allows the addition of new control and interpolation techniques as required. In addition, the software structure of the main Controller process is decoupled for the hardware, so that any hardware change does not affect the main controller, just the hardware drivers. QMARC is also equipped with a user-friendly graphical user interface, and many safety protocols to make it a safe and easy-to-use system. Experimental real-time test has proven QMARC to be a reliable real-time system. Despite minor fluctuations in the servo loop periods, the controller can still achieve close path tracking running at 2.5 kHz. In comparing the PMAC and QMARC controller performance on two pick-and-place paths, it was found that for both paths QMARC yielded better results than PMAC on all three arms of the Deltabot. This difference in performance was largely attributed to the different tuning gains applied to the controllers; however QMARC can be more easily tuned than PMAC. Using the accumulated position following error and the least squares position error, the QMARC was found to have comparable controller performance to PMAC. QMARC also proved to be reliable and safe controller with consistent results. The stable software foundation created by the QMARC will allow for future development of the controller as research on the Deltabot progresses. Its open source structure will ease the way for …
Analyzing the Effect of Resolution of Network Nodes on the Resting State Functional Connectivity Maps of Schizophrenic Human Brains

Functional connectivity (FC) mapping from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) data is a widely used technique to characterize the brain abnormalities in mental health disorders. Using atlases for brain parcellation is an important intermediate step in calculation of FC maps. Atlases with varying resolution (number of nodes in an atlas) have been deployed by researchers to study the abnormal brain functions in Schizophrenia. In this work, we compared the variations in FC maps of Schizophrenic brains obtained from three different atlases: AAL atlas (2002), Dosenbach atlas (2010), and the Brainnetome atlas (2016). To evaluate the atlas-dependent variations in FC maps, we relied on the capability of the features of FC maps in accurately classifying a given data into healthy or Schizophrenia group. Our results indicate that the high-resolution Dosenbach and Brainnetome atlases perform better than AAL atlas in terms of the accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of the SVM classifier.
Real-Time Limb Motion Tracking with a Single IMU Sensor for Physical Therapy Exercises

Limb exercises are common in physical therapy to improve range of motion (RoM), strength, and flexibility of the arm/leg. To improve therapy outcomes and reduce cost, motion tracking systems have been used to monitor the user’s movements when performing the exercises and provide guidance. Traditional motion tracking systems are based on either cameras or inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors. Camera-based systems face problems caused by occlusion and lighting. Traditional IMU-based systems require at least two IMU sensors to track the motion of the entire limb, which is not convenient for use. In this paper, we propose a novel limb motion tracking system that uses a single 9-axis IMU sensor that is worn on the distal end joint of the limb (i.e., wrist for the arm or ankle for the leg). Limb motion tracking using a single IMU sensor is a challenging problem because 1) the noisy IMU data will cause drift problem when estimating position from the acceleration data, 2) the single IMU sensor measures the motion of only one joint but the limb motion consists of motion from multiple joints. To solve these problems, we propose a recurrent neural network (RNN) model to estimate the 3D positions of the distal end joint as well as the other joints of the limb (e.g., elbow or knee) from the noisy IMU data in real time. Our proposed approach achieves high accuracy with a median error of 7.2/7.1 cm for the wrist/elbow joint in leave-one-subject-out cross validation when tracking the arm motion, outperforming the state-of-the-art approach by more than 10%. In addition, the proposed model is lightweight, enabling real-time applications on mobile devices.Clinical relevance— This work has great potential to improve limb exercises monitoring and RoM measurement in home-based physical therapy. It is also cost effective and can be made available widely for immediate application.
Yellow (Lens) Better: Bioelectrical and Biometrical Measures to Assess Arousing and Focusing Effects

Colours can induce several psychological effects, conditioning perceptions, cognitive/emotional states and human performances. In this exploratory study we investigated the effect of a yellow light exposure, obtained filtering the ambient light with coloured glasses, on the human’s psychological functioning. In particular we wanted to assess if people are more able to focus when exposed to a yellow light. We recorded EEG, SC, HR and gaze-related data from 16 subjects (50% split in experimental and control group) during the execution of a reactivity test (the Hazard Perception Test, HPT). Compared with the control group, the experimental group showed increases in concentration, focus, visual attention and arousal, as measured by increases of first fixation duration and Beta over-Alpha ratio (BAR) as well as by decreases of distraction, workload, and number of gaze revisits.
Geospatial predictive model for estimating soil thermal conductivity and diffusivity of Owaza gas flaring site , Southeastern Nigeria

In this study, predictive model for estimating the soil thermal conductivity and diffusivity from fourteen different sample points around a horizontal gas flaring site was employed in two depths (0 – 15 cm and 15 – 30 cm). Seven of these points were within the gas flare bond wall. In contrast, other points were located outside the bond wall at varying distances in the direction of the flaring. Soil temperature was determined in situ using a mercury-in-glass thermometer from these points. Core-samplers were driven into these points for dry bulk density and moisture determination. Simple descriptive statistics of mean, standard deviation and detailed geostatistics were employed to describe the variability and spatial distribution patterns of the soil thermal properties using ArcGIS 10.1. Results showed soil temperature increasing significantly (23.5 – 45 C) as distance decreased towards the flare point. The predicted soil thermal conductivity and diffusivity values varied from 1.65 4.89 WmK and 0.772. 05 ms within the flare bond wall and 1.58 – 1.72 WmK and 0.56 – 0.71 ms outside the wall at 0 – 15 cm and 15 30 cm depths respectively. The spatial distribution maps for both soil depths showed significant variations. From the predictive soil thermal conductivity and diffusivity values, arable soil within the flare site is not suitable for agricultural activities. Therefore, for good soil health and physical characteristics, a distance of 4 km away from the flare site is recommended as soil temperature decreases with increasing distance from the site.
A Hardanger Fiddle Dataset with Performances Spanning Emotional Expressions and Annotations Aligned using Image Registration

This paper presents a Hardanger fiddle dataset “HF1” with polyphonic performances spanning five different emotional expressions: normal, angry, sad, happy, and tender. The performances thus cover the four quadrants of the activity/valence-space. The onsets and offsets, together with an associated pitch, were human-annotated for each note in each performance by the fiddle players themselves. First, they annotated the normal version. These annotations were then transferred to the expressive performances using music alignment and finally human-verified. Two separate music alignment methods based on image registration were developed for this purpose; a B-spline implementation that produces a continuous temporal transformation curve and a Demons algorithm that produces displacement matrices for time and pitch that also account for local timing variations across the pitch range. Both meth-ods start from an “Onsetgram” of onset salience across pitch and time and perform the alignment task accurately. Various settings of the Demons algorithm were further evaluated in an ablation study. The final dataset is around 43 minutes long and consists of 19 734 notes of Hardanger fiddle music, recorded in stereo. The dataset and source code are available online. The dataset will be used in MIR research for tasks involving polyphonic transcription, score alignment, beat tracking, downbeat tracking, tempo estimation, and classification of emotional expressions.
The correlation between LncRNA-17A expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and cognitive function in patients with Alzheimer disease

Objective: This study investigated the correlation between LncRNA-17A expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and cognitive function in patients sufferer from Alzheimer disease (AD). Methods: 90 cases of AD patients hospitalized during March 2019 to July 2020 were selected into the AD-group, and another 90 healthy volunteers who underwent physical examination during the same period were randomly enrolled as the control-group. The Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE) was applied to measure the cognitive function of the two groups of subjects, and the qRT-PCR was to detect the expressions of LncRNA-17A, Wnt mRNA, Tcf-4 mRNA and β-catenin mRNA in PBMC, and the correlation between LncRNA-17A expression and cognitive function and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway was analyzed. Results: MMSE score in AD-group was remarkably lower than that in control-group (P<0.05). The relative LncRNA-17A expression in PBMC of AD patients was evidently higher than that of the control-group (P>0.05). LncRNA-17A expression in PBMC of AD patients with different severity degree had statistical significance (P<0.05); and the relative expression level of LncRNA-17A increased notably with the disease progression (P<0.05). The relative expression of Wnt mRNA, Tcf-4 mRNA and β-catenin mRNA in AD-group were apparently superior to those in control-group (P<0.05). LncRNA-17A expression in PBMC of AD patients was negatively correlated with MSME score (P<0.05), and was positively correlated with Wnt mRNA, Tcf-4 mRNA and β-catenin mRNA (P<0.05). Conclusion: LncRNA-17A expression is abnormally reduced in PBMC of AD patients, and is associated with patient’s disease progression which is regulated by the activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. LncRNA-17A might be the potential molecular markers of AD with diagnostic and prognostic value.
SOFTWARE COST ESTIMATION IN THE INCREMENTAL COMMITMENT MODEL

Complex, software intensive systems — especially those with multiple software component developers — and Directed System of Systems (DSOS) or Acknowledged Systems of Systems (ASOS) need approaches to control the development and estimate the software development costs and schedules. This paper will introduce a next-generation synthesis of the spiral model and other leading process models into the Incremental Commitment Model (ICM). The ICM emphasizes architecting systems (or DSOSs) to encapsulate subsystems (or systems) undergoing the most rapid change, and having agile systems engineers handle longer-range change traffic to rebaseline the plans for future increments. Systems engineers do this, while largely plan-driven teams develop and continuously verify and validate (V&V) the current increment, as is usually required for safe or secure software. Our approach for estimating software development cost of systems is the Constructive Incremental Commitment Cost Model (COINCOMO) and its tool, which currently implements together in one tool the Constructive Cost Model (COCOMO II), and the Constructive Phased Schedule and Effort Model (COPSEMO).
Effect of Intermittent Haptic Disturbance in Motor Skill Training

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of haptic disturbance where the intermittent force field will applied in training motor skill. A test group (4 subjects) was trained using intermittent divergent force field while a control group (4 subjects) was trained in null force field. The parameter such as error trajectories, motion smoothness and the trial time were measured and a statistical analysis was done in order to identify motion improvement when using the proposed training method. Both groups showed motion improvement in reducing mean error, mean number of zero crossing (indicate the motion smoothness) and mean trial time after training. Only the motion smoothness in the test group improved significantly after training, in contrast to the control group, which showed no significant difference.
Overview of Industrial Inverters for Photovoltaic Applications

As the growth of India is goes on increases rapidly power demand is also increases. To meet this power demand it is not good to only depend on the available power sources such as dam cola power plant etc. On the other hand there is huge development in renewable energy sources has been done. So one solution to fulfill power demand is to interconnect renewable energy sources with grid. To interconnect renewable sources with grid power converter plays an important role. This paper presents the overview of industrial inverters for photovoltaic application. What are the conventional topologies are present that introduce in section II and advance inverter topologies such as ac-dc and dc-dc are introduced in section III. KeywordsString Inverter, Multistring Inverter, Central Topology, AC modular Topology, PV system