Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Implementation of a Generic Unpacking Method on BochsEmulator

In these days, it is very prevalent to discover many packed malwares caught in any malware collecting systems including honeypots. Thus, the initial step for usual malware analysis involves unpacking binary samples. In this paper, we present a yet another method of generic binary unpacking. A typical packed binary includes stub code that takes charge of unrolling packed data at the early stage of program execution thereby realizing original execution context. Our approach is basically to measure code revelation/concealment based on byte state model that reflects the behavior of such stub code. We also describe a proof-of-concept implementation based on Bochs x86 system emulator.
Generalized Cutaneous Lesions Due to Mycobacterium abscessus: A Case Report

Introduction: Generalized cutaneous lesions caused by Mycobacterium abscessus have not been reported in immuno competent individuals. Case presentation: We describe here a case of 13-year old male child who developed a non-healing sternal wound after being operated upon for atrial septal defect surgery. Routine pyogenic and fungal cultures were negative. The wound did not clear with repeated courses of antibiotics. The continued serosanguinous discharge from the wound site ultimately progressed to generalized pustular non-healing lesions possibly through secondary bacteremia. Pustular pus showed acid-fast bacilli in Ziehl-Neelsen staining and grew Nontuberculous Mycobacteria on conventional LJ Medium and rapid MGIT medium. The NTM isolated was identified as M. abscessus through culture characters, biochemical testing, PCR and DNA fingerprinting technique. Treatment with multiple drugs helped in clearing of the skin pustular lesions. Conclusion: This case of generalized lesions by abscessus infection appears to be the first ever reported finding.
Modelling of bread dough aeration during mixing: Experimental investigations using scale-up mixers

Aeration of bread dough during mixing in thr ee scales of Tweedy-type mixers was studied using a model, which defines the entrainment and disentrainment coefficients. The model describes dough aeration as a dynamic balance between the rates of entrainment and disentrainment of air during mixing. Experimental investigations wer e performed by measuring the change in density of dough in accounting its air content following a step change in headspace pr essure in the mixer halfway through mixing. Doughs made from premium grade quality flour wer e mixed for two minutes in the high speed mixers; the pr essure was then changed and mixing continued for a fur ther two minutes. The density of dough samples taken following the pr essure change was measured using a double-cup buoyancy technique. The effects of both a step incr ease and a step decrease in the headspace pressure were investigated. The value of the disentrainment coefficient was gr eater following a step decrease in pressure compared with a step increase for all the three mixer scales, although there was not any clear trend observed in the three mixers scales. This confirmed the earlier r of disentrainmen t enhancement when pr essure is reduced midway through mixing despite the different mixer scales. The slight increase of entrainment ratio with mixer scale seems to agr ee with the excessive aeration problems in scale-up mixers used in the industr y.
Influence of Calcium Hydroxide Chemical, Multi-enzyme and Lactobacillus Biologic Processing on Nutritional Value and Digestibility of Rice Straw by Using Nylon-Bags

This research has been conducted to survey the influence of chemical (Calcium Hydroxide), enzyme (Multi-enzyme) and bacterial (lactobacillus) processing on nutritional value and digestibility of rice straw by using nylon-bags and chemical methods. Processing performed for 60 days in anaerobic condition in 3-kg tanks by spraying method in 3 replications. The experiment conducted in complete block design and obtained data were analyzed through SAS and Neway software. After processing period, samples were dried and chemical compounds Crude Protein (CP), Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF), Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF), Ether Extract (EE), Ash, Crude Fiber (CF), NFC (Non Fiber Carbohydrate), Nitrogen Free Extract (NFE) and Organic Material (OM)) and in situ (at times 0, 4, 8, 16, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h) techniques were conducted using 3 fistulated sheep weighted similar to incubation. All three processing methods decreased cellulose and hemicellulose materials in straw and straw in bacterial processing has the least ADF (51.2%) and it has the most amount of ADF in enzyme processing (53.8%), chemical processing (57.9%) and control group (58.2%). The same results obtained about NDF in straw so that straw has the least amount NDF in bacterial processing and it has the most amounts respectively in enzyme, chemical and control group processing. Amount of degradability and disappearance of dry matter in in situ technique was more in chemical processing than other processing and it is on an uptrend over passing time of incubation.
Laplacian Eigenfunctions in NMR

A geometrical confinement considerably affects the diffusive motion of the nuclei and the consequent signal attenuation under inhomogeneous magnetic fields. In this article, we illustrate the use of Laplacian eigenfunctions to describe this effect. Starting from the classical Bloch-Torrey equation, we obtain the free induction decay (FID) and the spin-echo or gradient-echo signal in a compact matrix form. Each attenuation mechanism (restricted diffusion, gradient dephasing, surface or bulk relaxation) is represented by a matrix which is constructed from the Laplace operator eigenbasis and thus depending only on the geometry of the confinement. In turn, the physical parameters (free diffusion coefficient, gradient intensity, surface or bulk relaxivity) characterize the ‘strengths’ of the underlying attenuation mechanisms and naturally appear as coefficients in front of these matrices. Once the Laplacian eigenfunctions for a given confinement are found (analytically or numerically), further computation of the macroscopic signal is more accurate and much faster than by using conventional simulation methods. The matrix technique is actually a simple numerical tool to deal with arbitrary gradient waveforms, including simple or stimulated, single or multiple spin echoes. We illustrate its efficiency by considering restricted diffusion in simple domains: a slab, a cylinder, and a sphere. In a companion paper, we shall focus on theoretical advances achieved by using Laplacian eigenfunctions. 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Concepts Magn Reson Part A
Antioxidant defence profile of hepatopancreas, gill and muscle tissue of Fenneropenaeus indicus subjected to acute salinity change and WSSV challenge

The present study describes the tissue antioxidant profile of adult Fenneropenaeus indicus subjected to acute salinity alteration followed by challenge with white spot syndrome virus. Shrimps were initially reared in 25 ‰ sea water and after seven days, the hepatopancreas, gills and muscle samples were tested for antioxidant profile and oxidation stress viz., Super oxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, glutathione –S- transferase, total reduced glutathione, hydroperoxides, conjugated dienes and malondialdehyde. Then the salinity of rearing water (25‰) was adjusted to two different salinities i.e., 5‰ and 35‰ followed by WSSV challenge. The antioxidant enzyme level was significantly (p<0.05) high in the hepatopancreas of WSSV challenged F. indicus compared to gills and muscle tissues. Hydroperoxides, conjugated dienes and malondialdehyde contents increased significantly (p<0.05) after WSSV challenge. Lipid peroxidation was also found higher in the hepatopancreas of shrimps compared to gills and muscle tissues. The study revealed the antioxidant stress and the elevated antioxidant defence profile of shrimps at lower salinity (5 ‰) followed by 35 ‰ compared to the animals maintained at 25 ‰ on WSSV challenge.
VIDEOGRAMMETRIC RECONSTRUCTION APPLIED TO VOLCANOLOGY : PERSPECTIVES FOR A NEW MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUE IN VOLCANO MONITORING

This article dealswith videogrammetricreconstructionof volcanicstructures.As a first step,the methodis testedin laboratory. The objective is to reconstructsmall sandandplastercones,analogousto volcanoes, thatdeformwith time. Theinitial stageconsistsin modellingthesensor(internalparameters) andcalculating its orientationandposition in space,usinga multi-view calibrationmethod. In practicetwo setsof views aretaken: a first onearounda calibrationtarget anda secondonearoundthe studiedobject. Both setsare combinedin thecalibrationsoftwareto simultaneouslycomputetheinternalparametersmodellingthesensor , and the external parametersgiving the spatial location of eachview aroundthe cone. Following this first stage,a N-view reconstructionprocessis carriedout. Theprinciple is asfollows: an initial 3D modelof the coneis createdand then iteratively deformedto fit the real object. The deformationof the meshedmodel is basedon a texturecoherencecriterion. At present,this reconstructionmethodandits precisionarebeing validatedat laboratoryscale.Theobjectivewill bethento follow analoguemodeldeformationwith timeusing successi vereconstructions. In thefuture,themethodwill beappliedto realvolcanicstructures.Modifications of the initial codewill certainlybe required,however excellentreconstructionaccuracy, valuablesimplicity andflexibility of the techniqueareexpected,comparedto classicstereophotogrammetric techniquesusedin volcanology.
Carbon cycle extremes during the 21st century in CMIP5 models: Future evolution and attribution to climatic drivers

Climate extremes such as droughts and heat waves affect terrestrial ecosystems and may alter local carbon budgets. However, it still remains uncertain to what degree extreme impacts in the carbon cycle influence the carbon cycle‐climate feedback both today and the near future. Here we analyze spatiotemporally contiguous negative extreme anomalies in gross primary production (GPP) and net ecosystem production (NEP) in model output of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) ensemble and investigate their future development and attribution to climatic drivers. We find that relative to the overall increase in global carbon uptake, negative extremes in GPP and NEP lose importance toward the end of the 21st century. This effect can be related to elevated CO2 concentrations and higher amounts of available water at the global scale, partially mitigating the impacts of droughts and heat waves, respectively. Overall, based on CMIP5 models, we hypothesize that terrestrial ecosystems might be more resilient against future climate extremes than previously thought. Future work will have to further scrutinize these results considering that various biological and biogeochemical feedbacks are not yet integrated within Earth system models.
Testing the equivalence principle in space after the MICROSCOPE mission

Tests of the Weak Equivalence Principle can reveal a new, composition dependent, force of nature or disprove many models of new physics. For the first time such a test is successfully carried out in space by the MICROSCOPE satellite. Early results show no violation sourced by the Earth for Pt and Ti test masses with random errors (after 8.26d of integration time) of about 1 part in 1e14, and similar systematic errors.It improves by 10 times over the best ground tests with rotating torsion balances despite 70 times less sensitivity to differential accelerations, thanks to the much stronger driving signal in orbit. The test is limited by thermal noise from internal damping in the gold wires used for electrical grounding. This noise was shown to decrease when the s/c was set to rotate faster than planned. The result will improve by the end of the mission, as thermal noise decreases with more data. Not so systematic errors. We investigate major non-gravitational effects and find that the Pt-Pt sensor does not allow their separation from the signal. The early test reports an upper limit of systematic errors in the Pt-Ti sensor which are not detected in the Pt-Pt one, hence would not be distinguished from a violation. Once all the integration time is used to reduce random noise there will be no time left to check systematics. MICROSCOPE demonstrates the huge potential of space for WEP tests of very high precision and indicates how to reach it. To realize the potential, a new experiment needs the spacecraft to be in rapid, stable rotation around the symmetry axis, needs high quality state-of-the-art mechanical suspensions, and must allow systematic checks. The design of the "Galileo Galilei" (GG) experiment, aiming to test the WEP to 1 part in 1e17 unites all the needed features, indicating that a quantum leap in space is possible provided the new experiment heeds the lessons of MICROSCOPE.
Concept of Factographic SQL-Based Database

We describe new concept of object-oriented factographic database. The goal is to collect data of different types, to store and to analyze them by means of SQLcompatible database management system (DBMS). Such DBMS should not require any changes in the database structure in order to add a new object class and, consequently, make structure hidden (encapsulated) for end user.
Distributed Task Allocation and Task Sequencing for Robots with Motion Constraints

This thesis considers two routing and scheduling problems. The first problem is task allocation and sequencing for multiple robots with differential motion constraints. Each task is defined as visiting a point in a subset of the robot configuration space – this definition captures a variety of tasks including inspection and servicing, as well as onein-a-set tasks. Our approach is to transform the problem into a multi-vehicle generalized traveling salesman problem (GTSP). We analyze the GTSP insertion methods presented in [1] and we provide bounds on the performance of the three insertion mechanisms. We then develop a combinatorial-auction-based distributed implementation of the allocation and sequencing algorithm. The number of the bids in a combinatorial auction, a crucial factor in the runtime, is shown to be linear in the size of the tasks. Finally, we present extensive benchmarking results to demonstrate the improvement over existing distributed task allocation methods. In the second part of this thesis, we address the problem of computing optimal paths through three consecutive points for the curvature-constrained forward moving Dubins vehicle. Given initial and final configurations of the Dubins vehicle, and a midpoint with an unconstrained heading, the objective is to compute the midpoint heading that minimizes the total Dubins path length. We provide a novel geometrical analysis of the optimal path, and establish new properties of the optimal Dubins’ path through three points. We then show how our method can be used to quickly refine Dubins TSP tours produced using state-of-the-art techniques. We also provide extensive simulation results showing the improvement of the proposed approach in both runtime and solution quality over the conventional method of uniform discretization of the heading at the mid-point, followed by solving the minimum Dubins path for each discrete heading.
Automated credit decision process – an insight into developing a credit-scoring model within the Nepalese banking sector

There has been significant growth post-2000 in consumer credit within transition economies. Credit scoring, established within Western institutions, has the potential to be used to assess consumer creditworthiness here. This paper presents challenges and complexities relating to credit-scoring model development within the Nepalese banking sector. The research incorporates a mixed methods approach, involving model development using secondary data, supported by five in-depth interviews involving lending managers. A model was developed deploying binary logistic regression comprising six customer characteristics. Its overall ability to predict known outcome was high, particularly repayment success, although challenges remain in terms of predicting failure, pointing to a relative absence of current data on such customers. Implementation challenges also exist, reliance on traditional judgement prevails, together with ignorance of possible approaches to modelling. Decision overrides occur due to conflict between restricting defaulting customers and growth targets, traditional practice retention and desire to demonstrate expertise amongst lending managers.
Double continuation regions for American and Swing options with negative discount rate in Lévy models

In this paper, we study perpetual American call and put options in an exponential Lévy model. We consider a negative effective discount rate that arises in a number of financial applications including stock loans and real options, where the strike price can potentially grow at a higher rate than the original discount factor. We show that in this case a double continuation region arises and we identify the two critical prices. We also generalize this result to multiple stopping problems of Swing type, that is, when successive exercise opportunities are separated by i.i. d. random refraction times. We conduct an extensive numerical analysis for the Black–Scholes model and the jump‐diffusion model with exponentially distributed jumps.
Wintertime secondary organic aerosol formation in Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH): contributions of HONO sources and heterogeneous reactions

Abstract. Organic aerosol (OA) concentrations are simulated over the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region from 9 to 26 January 2014 using the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with chemistry (WRF-CHEM), with the goal of examining the impact of heterogeneous HONO sources on SOA formation and SOA formation from different pathways during wintertime haze days. The model generally shows good performance with respect to simulating air pollutants and organic aerosols against measurements in BTH. Model results show that heterogeneous HONO sources substantially enhance near-surface SOA formation, increasing the regional average near-surface SOA concentration by about 46.3 % during the episode. Oxidation and partitioning of primary organic aerosols treated as semi-volatile dominate SOA formation, contributing 58.9 % of the near-surface SOA mass in BTH. Irreversible uptake of glyoxal and methylglyoxal on aerosol surfaces constitutes the second most important SOA formation pathway during the episode, with the SOA contribution increasing from 8.5 % under non-haze conditions to 30.2 % under haze conditions. Additionally, direct emissions of glyoxal and methylglyoxal from residential sources contribute about 25.5 % of the total SOA mass on average in BTH. Our study highlights the importance of heterogeneous HONO sources and primary residential emissions of glyoxal and methylglyoxal to SOA formation over the BTH region in winter.
Inspecting rice seed species purity on a large dataset using geometrical and morphological features

Although there is a great interest in developing automatical machines for classifying rice seed varieties, it is still unclear if differences in performance of existing techniques come from better feature descriptors or if this is due to varying inter-class or intra-class among the examined species. In this paper, we present a novel method for inspecting purity of rice seed species from the largest number of rice species dataset. The proposed method is conducted utilizing both morphological and geometrical features extracted from high resolution RGB images. Particularly, we take into account relevant pre-processing techniques so that the collected seeds are normalized by their biological structure. As a consequent, the geometrical features at local part of a seed can measured precisely. In addition, whereas existing methods include a limitation number (or a few) of examined species, we construct a dataset a much larger number of species. Because of a sufficient number of species, we can analyze the dependence of a classification performance on similarities of species (or their distinguishable), or types of the extracted features. In the evaluations, we confirm that both morphological features and geometrical features are informative. Combinations of them achieve the highest performances. Extensive evaluations on several schemes of different classifiers as well as several sub-datasets which consist of varying similarity of species are taken into account. These evaluations confirm stability and feasibility of the proposed method.
Divorce Mixed Crop-Livestock Farming to Increase Dietary Diversity? Evidence from Smallholders in Lao PDR

Under-nutrition and lack of micro-nutrients continues to remain a challenge in developing countries. As the undernourished are largely smallholder farmers, it is predominantly perceived that farm diversification and mixed crop-livestock agricultural systems can help alleviate this problem. But empirical evidence in this context is limited. Hence, this work examines whether farm production diversity as well as mixed crop-livestock farming lead to dietary diversity among smallholder farmers in Laos, using a two year panel data. Results from the fixed effects regression indicate that although farm production diversity does lead to a higher dietary diversity; the effect diminishes with continued diversification. The counterfactual analysis from the endogenous switching regression shows that following mixed crop-livestock farming system reduces household dietary diversity. We further find that markets play a significant role in enhancing the dietary diversity of the specialized farmers.
Synthetic Method in Interdisciplinary Terminological Landscape Research of Digital Economy

The science in the digital age focuses on interdisciplinary research as the main driver of the development. Modern studies of semantic and thematic contexts taken from the digital scientific resources are important for tasks of information technology use in science, education, management and business. As a rule, interdisciplinary research emerges in response to the trends in social and economic development. Socio-political and cultural environment has also a great influence on the introduction of new terminology into the scientific discourse. The delay of scientific discourse regarding the public discourse generates problems of both scientific and philosophical nature. Furthermore, those challenges influence the education system, making demands for new curricula and courses, which, among other things, reflect the categorical and conceptual basis of the new subject areas. The actual objective is to reveal the trends in the terminological landscape of developing interdisciplinary research directions. The present study offers the Synthetic Method, which combines various approaches and tools of Digital Humanities. This Method allows using context query for the search for information resources; the context knowledge explication and clarification of the terminological landscape of interdisciplinary scientific direction “Digital Economy: e-governance and smart technology”.