Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Convolutional Neural Network-Based Cryptography Ransomware Detection for Low-End Embedded Processors

A crypto-ransomware has the process to encrypt victim’s files. Afterward, the crypto-ransomware requests a ransom for the password of encrypted files to victims. In this paper, we present a novel approach to prevent crypto-ransomware by detecting block cipher algorithms for Internet of Things (IoT) platforms. We extract the sequence and frequency characteristics from the opcode of binary files for the 8-bit Alf and Vegard’s RISC (AVR) processor microcontroller. In other words, the late fusion method is used to extract two features from one source data, learn through each network, and integrate them. We classify the crypto-ransomware virus or harmless software through the proposed method. The general software from AVR packages and block cipher implementations written in C language from lightweight block cipher library (i.e., Fair Evaluation of Lightweight Cryptographic Systems (FELICS)) are trained through the deep learning network and evaluated. The general software and block cipher algorithms are successfully classified by training functions in binary files. Furthermore, we detect binary codes that encrypt a file using block ciphers. The detection rate is evaluated in terms of F-measure, which is the harmonic mean of precision and recall. The proposed method not only achieved 97% detection success rate for crypto-ransomware but also achieved 80% success rate in classification for each lightweight cryptographic algorithm and benign firmware. In addition, the success rate in classification for Substitution-Permutation-Network (SPN) structure, Addition-Rotation-eXclusive-or structures (ARX) structure, and benign firmware is 95%.
Fitting Rating Curves to Selected Streams in Southeast Nigeria

Lack of funds and political will has made continuous gauging of rivers in Nigeria impossible, thus stalling the development of surface water resources. In order to address this anomaly; this study is focused on developing discharge rating curve, for selected streams in Imo-Anambra river basin of southeast Nigeria, which is capable of predicting discharge from stage. Ten years monthly stage and discharge records, measured with stream gauges, for Rivers Adada in Enugu state, Ajali in Anambra state, Ivo in Ebonyi State, Otamiri in Imo state, and Imo (Umuopara) in Abia state, were used in estimating the rating curve models using simple linear regression as: , and . All the rating curve equations were validated using coefficient of determination which yielded values of 98.54%, 97.38%, 17.31%, 89.98% and 99.43%, but the empirical discharge-stage model of River Ivo was discarded as the model produced poor performance and lacked the features of a rating curve. The rating curve of Imo River predicted the highest discharge for equivalent input values of stage because of its large cross-section at the gauging station. The developed rating curve models are therefore recommended for discharge prediction in these catchment areas with limited streamflow records. Keywords — fitting, rating curve, southeast Nigeria, stream discharge
Sustainable Tourism and Natural Protected Areas: Exploring Local Population Perceptions in a Post-Conflict Scenario

The expansion of urban areas around the world and the application of the sustainability paradigm to tourism discourses has favored an increase in the number of people visiting natural protected areas (NPAs) in their leisure time. While tourism is desired to boost the economy of destinations, mismanagement can bring negative consequences for social–ecological systems, particularly in post-conflict rural scenarios. In the context of a broader ethnographic research, we analyzed the perceptions of the local population about tourism development in the NPA Jaltepeque Estuary (El Salvador, Central America) and the establishment of a Biosphere Reserve in the area, using structured questionnaires and Multiple Correspondence Analysis for the typification of social actors. We found that overall, the population regards positively the development of tourism in the area. Fishermen are the only ones who highlight the negative economic consequences of tourism development, claiming disparity in the distribution of benefits and an increase in the cost of living. We conclude that although tourism development is an activity desired by local people, there is a need in the community to discuss how this process of socio-economic transformation should be approached and an evident conflict between two different models: the one desired and offered by the population and the one that is currently being developed in the nearby Costa del Sol corridor.
Hybrid Error Control and Security Framework for Reliable Cornea and Infrared Video Communication in IoT Applications

In this paper, we present hybrid watermarking and error control techniques for reliable cornea and infrared frame communication through wireless networks in Internet of Things (IoT) applications. In the proposed watermarking technique, two stages of Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) watermarking are used. In the embedding stage, two watermark images are embedded in either the cornea or infrared frames using Block-based SVD (B-SVD) and SVD schemes, respectively. Then, the resulting watermarked cornea or infrared frames are transmitted through an erroneous wireless channel. At the receiver, the received corrupted cornea or infrared frames are recovered using a proposed hybrid post-processing error control technique. This technique comprises a Circular Spatial-scan Order Interpolation Algorithm (CSOIA) and a temporal Partitioning Motion Compensation Algorithm (PMCA) to reconstruct the erroneous cornea or infrared frames. Then, the Bayesian Kalman Filter (BKF) is utilized in the amelioration process due to its efficiency to smooth the remanent inherent corruptions in the formerly reconstructed frames to obtain high cornea or infrared video quality. After that, the watermark extraction stage is implemented to extract the watermark images from the watermarked frames. Simulation results on several cornea and infrared frames show that the suggested hybrid watermarking, and error control techniques reveal adequate subjective and objective video quality compared to those obtained with the traditional methods. In addition, the watermark detectability, robustness, and security are enhanced. Moreover, the experimental results show that the proposed watermarking technique is superior and more secure than the other previous techniques for embedding and extraction of watermarks, efficiently, in the presence of attacks.
Synthesis and In Vitro Antimycobacterial Activity Determination of Phthalimide Derivatives

Phthalimide derivatives were synthesized using the concept of molecular hybridization or combination of two pharmacophores in one drug. In this paper, the concept was utilized to synthesize new antimycobacterial compounds to combat emerging resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains. Four new phthalimides were successfully prepared using a single-step condensation reaction between phthalic anhydride and four different sulfonamides: sulfadimethoxine, sulfathiazole, sulfamethizole, and sulfamethoxypyridazine. IR and 1H NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric data verified the identity and structure of the synthesized compounds. The antimycobacterial activity of the synthesized phthalimides and their starting materials was evaluated according to CLSI standard procedures using the agar proportion method. The calculated LogP of both starting materials and phthalimides were also compared. Sulfathiazole, sulfadimethoxine, and sulfamethizole showed significant activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv strain at 0.01 mg/ml, the lowest concentration at which they were tested. One of the four new compounds, 4-(1,3-dioxo-1,3-dihydro-2H-isoindol-2-yl)-N(1,3-thiazol-2-yl)benzenesulfonamide, which was synthesized from sulfathiazole also exhibited the same activity. The derivatives from sulfadimethoxine and sulfamethizole, however, showed a decrease in activity. The phthalimides overall gave higher LogP values. The active new compound demonstrates that molecular hybridization may be used to design antimycobacterial compounds with improved activity and pharmacokinetic properties.
Effect of strength and direction of external magnetic field on dynamics of vortices in a square lid-driven cavity flow

In this study, the effect of magnetic field strength and its direction are considered on square lid-driven cavity flow. The whole range of applicable magnetic field strength which is used in practice up to now (0 to 10 Tesla) is accomplished in this research. The governing equations, including non-linear conservative equations of continuity, momentum and magnetic field equations are solved numerically. Continuity and momentum equations are solved by the finite volume method using SIMPLE algorithm, where the finite difference method is used in the magnetic field equation solving. In this research the effect of magnetic field on the velocity distribution, streamlines and vortex flow show that the vortices of the cavity shrink (decreases) up to 0.01 T where the uniform and vertical magnetic field applied from the bottom surface of the square cavity. For the magnetic field of 0.01 T, vortices in the cavity flow disappear. Higher values of the magnetic field create larger vortices. It was also concluded that the magnetic field has a strong effect on vortex formation, its size and location; therefore it can be used to control the vortex dynamics in a contactless way.
Compost applications increase bacterial community diversity in the apple rhizosphere

1 Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program in Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univ., Blacksburg, VA 24601, USA 2 School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univ., Blacksburg, VA 24601, USA 3 Dep. of Horticulture, Alson H. Smith, Jr. Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univ., 595 Laurel Grove Rd., Winchester, VA 22602, USA 4 Present address: Dep. of Horticulture, Oregon State Univ., 400 E. Scenic Dr., The Dalles, OR 97058, USA 5 School of Integrative Plant Science, Horticulture Section, Cornell Univ., 121 Plant Science Building, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Death and Grief in Love Letters

Abstract In the love letters of 14 couples every couple communicated about issues of death and grief, which suggests that death and grief may often have a place in the development of couple relationships. For some, writing about the possible death of self or other seemed connected to the emotional intensity and importance of their mutual love. For some the shared intimacy made the lover a key person with whom to share information, feelings and thought about recent deaths. For some, communications about death and grief seemed steps toward shared approaches to meaning making and expressing feelings regarding death and grief.
Forest Area Changes in Cinque Terre National Park in the Last 80 Years. Consequences on Landslides and Forest Fire Risks

Cinque Terre, one of the most important Italian cultural landscapes, has not been spared from depopulation and agricultural abandonment processes, that involved many rural areas in Europe, as a consequence of socio-economic transformations that occurred after WWII. Depopulation of rural areas, especially in mountains or in terraced areas, caused significant environmental consequences, such as the decrease of biodiversity, the landscape homogenization, the increase of hydrogeological and forest fires risks. Cinque Terre National Park (5TNP) was established in 1999, and, differently from other Italian National Parks, not just for protecting natural habitats, but mainly to preserve, restore and valorize the historical terraced landscape. Moreover, the area is a UNESCO cultural landscape site and it is partly protected by three Sites of Community Importance. The research intended to investigate the transformations that have affected forested areas inside the 5TNP in the period 1936–2018, also highlighting the connections with hydrogeological and forest fires risks, as a support for the Park planning strategies and the conservation of the UNESCO site. Results highlighted that 37% of the current forests are the consequence of dry stones terraces abandonment that occurred in the twentieth century, with negative effects on the stability of steep slopes, hydrogeological risk, forest fires and on the conservation of a unique cultural landscape. This confirms the current national trend showing no deforestation occurring, but rather a continuous increase of forests on abandoned land. While 5TNP policies and actions are effectively aimed at pursuing an equilibrium between cultivated areas and forests, the Sites of Community Importance located inside the Park mainly focuses on the conservation of “natural habitats”, even if the current vegetation is also the result of secondary successions on former cultivated land. The research highlighted the need to valorize “cultural values” in forest planning as well as the importance of forest history for an accurate planning of forest resources in protected areas.
Microsatellite markers for Gingidia enysii and G. baxterae (Apiaceae) and their taxonomic utility

ABSTRACT Gingidia comprises nine species of perennial herbaceous plants from New Zealand and three species from Australia. Microsatellite markers were developed for Gingidia enysii sens. lat. and G. baxterae for genetic and systematic studies of the two species in New Zealand. From sequencing a total genomic DNA library (using Roche 454), we developed nine polymorphic microsatellite markers. We tested these markers on 142 individuals from 19 populations of G. enysii sens. lat. and 10 individuals from two populations of G. baxterae. All loci amplified in both species, and exhibited species-specific alleles. In populations of G. enysii sens. lat. and G. baxterae the observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.04–0.34 and from 0.31–0.80, respectively, with alleles per locus ranging from 7 to 25. Analyses of population genetic data show G. enysii sens. lat. to be naturally variable throughout its distributional range, and the suggested taxonomic novelties within G. enysii are mostly not distinct. However, populations from Banks Peninsula (Canterbury), previously referred to as Gingidium enysii var. peninsulare, are genetically discrete, and re-examination of their morphological characters is warranted. The developed markers will be valuable for future studies of taxonomy, phylogenetics, population structure, and mating system.
Efficient, Sustainable, and Multifunctional Carbon Offsetting to Boost Forest Management: A Comparative Case Study

Research highlights: Funding forest management with subsidies from carbon offsetters is a well-documented mechanism in tropical regions. This article provides complementary insights into the use of voluntary offset contracts in temperate forests. Background and objectives: The mitigation of greenhouse emissions has become a major global issue, leading to changes in forest management to increase the capacity of forests to store carbon. This can lead to conflicts of use with other forest ecosystem services such as timber production or biodiversity conservation. Our main goal is to describe collective actions to fund carbon-oriented forestry with subsidies from carbon offsetters and to analyze how their governance and functioning prevent conflicts pertaining to multi-functionality. Materials and methods: We assembled an interdisciplinary research team comprising two ecologists, a social scientist, and an economist. Drawing on a conceptual framework of ecosystem services, social interdependencies, and collective action, we based our qualitative analysis on semi-structured interviews from two French case studies. Results: Carbon-oriented intermediary forest organizations offer offset contracts to private firms and public bodies. Communication is geared toward the mitigation outcomes of the contracts as well as their beneficial side effects in providing the ecosystem services of interest to the offsetters. Subsidies then act as a financial lever to fund carbon-oriented forestry operations. Scientific committees and reporting methodologies serve as environmental, social, and economic safeguards. Conclusions: These new intermediary forest organizations use efficient forest operations and evaluation methodologies to improve forest carbon storage. Their main innovation lies in their collective governance rooted in regional forest social-ecological systems. Their consideration of multi-functionality and socioeconomic issues can be seen as an obstacle to rapid development, but they ensure sustainability and avoid conflicts between producers and beneficiaries of forest ecosystem services. Attention must be paid to interactions with broader spatial and temporal carbon policies.
The Effect of Initial Pressure on Explosions of Hydrogen-enriched Methane/air Mixtures

Hydrogen-enrichment has been proposed as a useful method to overcome drawbacks (local flame extinction, combustion instabilities, lower power output, etc.) associated to turbulent premixed combustion of natural gas in both stationary and mobile systems. For the safe use of hydrogen-enriched hydrocarbon fuels, explosion data are needed. In this work, experimental tests were performed to evaluate the explosion parameters for stoichiometric hydrogen-methane blends in air, with the hydrogen molar content in the fuel varying from 30 % up to 70 %, at different initial pressures (1, 3 and 6 bar). Results allow quantifying the combined effects of hydrogen presence and initial pressure on maximum pressure, maximum rate of pressure rise and burning velocity.
Number Expression in Apurinã (Arawák)

Apurinã (Arawak), spoken along several tributaries of Purus River (Southwest of Amazonas State, Brazil), presents a plural morphological system that marks pronouns and nouns. The language has some free pronominal forms that distinguish singular from plural; additionally, it has bound pronominal forms, with singular/plural distinction made only in the first person for the enclitic forms. In the case of nouns, there are two suffixes that mark plural, -waku (that occurs only with [+human] nouns, as kyky-waku-ry (man-pl-m) ‘men’), and -ny (that can occurs both, with [+human] nouns, as in pupỹka-ry-ny-ry (indigenous person-m-pl-m) ‘indigenous people’; or [-human] nouns, as in aiku-ny-ry (house-pl-m) ‘houses’). The language also presents some quantifiers and numerals that encode number syntactically. The quantifiers are ithu, kaiãu and kuna kamuny to encode the notion of ‘much’, puiãu, referring to ‘some/few/little’, and ykyny to mean ‘all/every’. Additionally, there are the following numerals: (h)ãty(tu) ‘one’ and epi ‘two’, which combine to derive higher numbers, and the word for ‘hand’, waku/ piu, indicating the numeral five. Thus, the plural marking in the language can be marked in different ways, none of which is, however, required by the grammar. With that in mind, we discuss the extent to which plural marking is, to a great extent, constructed by the speakers in daily language use, according to whether it is contextually important to do so, and raise the question of the relevance of this problem to a computationally implementable grammar of the language
Evaluating the Quality of Curing Applications on Concrete Pavements with Ground-Penetrating Radar

The management of concrete pavement curing must take several factors into account, such as the type of curing compound, the rate of the curing application, the uniformity of the curing application, the timing of the application, and the ambient weather conditions. This paper aims to elucidate a new curing application protocol for new concrete pavement construction and introduce a technique to address curing viability. Data for the development of the protocol were obtained from field investigations involving a series of test sections associated with concrete paving projects in: Victoria, TX; Itasca, IL; and Jacksonville, FL. For this undertaking, ground-penetrating radar technology was used to evaluate the efficacy of curing in relation to repeatability and uniformity. Statistical analysis was used to validate the utility of using dielectric measurements to qualify the curing quality. The rate of decrease in the dielectric constant was the critical parameter for evaluating a curing practice. Also, based on the coefficient of variation of data collection, the repeatability of data was acceptable. Finally, as a new method for checking the uniformity of curing applications, percent within limits (PWL) was implemented. Based on the PWL results, the hand-spraying led to a higher degree of non-uniformity in the spraying patterns compared with the spraying machine.
Fractional System of Korteweg-De Vries Equations via Elzaki Transform

In this article, a hybrid technique, called the Iteration transform method, has been implemented to solve the fractional-order coupled Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation. In this method, the Elzaki transform and New Iteration method are combined. The iteration transform method solutions are obtained in series form to analyze the analytical results of fractional-order coupled Korteweg-de Vries equations. To understand the analytical procedure of Iteration transform method, some numerical problems are presented for the analytical result of fractional-order coupled Korteweg-de Vries equations. It is also demonstrated that the current technique’s solutions are in good agreement with the exact results. The numerical solutions show that only a few terms are sufficient for obtaining an approximate result, which is efficient, accurate, and reliable.
The use of un-composted spent mushroom residue as a replacement of peat in substrates for Gossypium herbaceum and Talinum paniculatum

In order to evaluate the effect of growing media with peat and spent mushroom residue (SMR) on medicinal plants, we cultured Gossypium herbaceum and Talinum paniculatum seedlings in the substrates with SMR in proportions of 0% (control), 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%. Results showed that G. herbaceum seedlings can survive in all treatments, but T. paniculatum seedlings died out in 75% and 100% SMR substrates where higher electrical conductance was found (2.3-2.7 dS m). Both growth and biomass mostly declined with the increase of SMR proportion in the growing media for the two species except for root biomass in T. paniculatum seedlings between the control and the 25% SMR treatment. Shoot nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations and contents tended to be higher in lowand high-SMR-proportional substrates, respectively. N and P statuses were both diagnosed to be excessive than needed for the two species. Overall, it was not recommended to culture G. herbaceum seedlings in the substrates with SMR; instead T. paniculatum seedlings can be cultured in the growing media with SMR in volumetric proportion of 25%.
Unstructured Level-Set Method For Saturated Liquid-Vapor Phase Change

A novel conservative level-set method for saturated liquid-vapor phase change on unstructured meshes is introduced. Transport equations are discretized by the finite-volume method on collocated unstructured grids. Mass transfer promoted by thermal phase change is computed using the energy jump condition at the interface, as a function of the temperature gradient. The fractional-step projection method is used for solving the pressure-velocity coupling, convective terms are discretized by unstructured flux-limiter schemes, central difference scheme is used for discretization of diffusive terms. Verification and validation cases have been undertaken to prove the accuracy and robustness of the numerical methods, including simulation of the Stefan problem, and film boiling on a cylindrical surface. Excellent agreement between numerical solutions against analytical solution and empirical correlations from the literature is reported.