Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MOMA - A Mapping-based Object Matching System

Object matching or object consolidation is a crucial task for data integration and data cleaning. It addresses the problem of identifying object instances in data sources referring to the same real world entity. We propose a flexible framework called MOMA for mapping-based object matching. It allows the construction of match workflows combining the results of several matcher algorithms on both attribute values and contextual information. The output of a match task is an instance-level mapping that supports information fusion in P2P data integration systems and can be re-used for other match tasks. MOMA utilizes further semantic mappings of different cardinalities and provides merge and compose operators for mapping combination. We propose and evaluate several strategies for both object matching between different sources as well as for duplicate identification within a single data source. 1. MOTIVATION Object matching (also known as object consolidation, duplicate identification, record linkage, entity resolution or reference reconciliation) is a crucial task for data integration and data cleaning [9, 18, 27] and its history goes back over 20 years [3, 19] . It addresses the problem of identifying object instances referring to the same real world entity. The instances may reside in different, typically heterogeneous data sources or may already be stored in a single data source, e.g., in a structured database or a search engine store. The instances to be consolidated may be physically materialized or dynamically be requested from sources, e.g. by database queries or keyword searches. The high importance and difficulty of the object matching problem has triggered a huge amount of research on different variations of the problem. Most previously proposed approaches focus on matching relational records and apply what we call attribute matching, i.e., they use the values of selected attributes to determine the similarity between instances. These approaches have also been called “fuzzy join“ or “fuzzy match“ [6, 7] and considered different similarity functions (e.g., different types of string similarity) [10] and their efficient implementation. More recently, authors have recog
Agriculture, Population, Land and Water Scarcity in a Changing World – The Role of Irrigation

Fertile land and fresh water constitute two of the most fundamental resources for food production. These resources are affected by environmental, political, economic, and technical developments. Regional impacts may transmit to the world through increased trade. With a global forest and agricultural sector model, we quantify the impacts of increased demand for food due to population growth and economic development on potential land and water use. In particular, we investigate producer adaptation regarding crop and irrigation choice, agricultural market adjustments, and changes in the values of land and water.
Analysis of a Digital Clock for Molecular Computing

The control of synthetic genetic regulatory networks is an emerging engineering challenge. In this study, we propose a new synthetic genetic network that behaves as a digital clock, producing square waveform oscillations. We analyze two models of the network: a deterministic model based on Michaelis-Menten kinetics, as well as a stochastic model based on the Gillespie algorithm. Both models predict regions of oscillatory behavior; the deterministic model provides insight into the conditions required to produce the oscillating clock-like behavior, while the stochastic model is truer to natural dynamics. Intracellular stochasticity is seen to contribute phase noise to the oscillator, and we propose improvements for the network and discuss the conceptual foundations of these improvements.
Contribution of colour in guiding visual attention and in a computational model of visual saliency

The studies conducted in this thesis focus on the role of colour in visual attention. We tried to understand the influence of colour information on the eye movements while observing videos, to incorporate colour information into a model of visual saliency. For this, we analysed different characteristics of eye movements of observers while freely watching videos in two conditions: colour and grayscale videos. We also have compared the main regions of regard of colour videos with those of grayscale. We observed that colour information influences only moderately, the eye movement characteristics such as the position of gaze and duration of fixations. However, we found that colour increases the number of the regions of interest in video stimuli. Moreover, this varies across time. Based on these observations, we proposed a method to compute colour saliency maps for videos. We have incorporated colour saliency maps in an existing model of saliency.
University of Essex at the TREC 2011 Session Track

This paper provides an overview of the experiments we carried out at the TREC 2011 Session Track. We propose two dierent approaches to tackle the task introduced this year. The rst one relies on a biologically inspired adaptive model for information ltering to build a user prole of multiple topics of interests throughout the session. The learnt prole is then exploited in the retrieval process. The second approach is an extension of our anchor log technique we proposed in the previous year. We use the anchor logs to simulate queries in order to derive query expansions that are relevant to user information needs throughout the session.
Prying Open Pandora's Box: KCI Attacks against TLS

Protection of Internet communication is becoming more common in many products, as the demand for privacy in an age of state-level adversaries and crime syndicates is steadily increasing. The industry standard for doing this is TLS. The TLS protocol supports a multitude of key agreement and authentication options which provide various different security guarantees. Recent attacks showed that this plethora of cryptographic options in TLS (including long forgotten government backdoors, which have been cunningly inserted via export restriction laws) is a Pandora's box, waiting to be pried open by heinous computer whizzes. Novel attacks lay hidden in plain sight. Parts of TLS are so old that their foul smell of rot cannot be easily distinguished from the flowery smell of 'strong' cryptography and water-tight security mechanisms. With an arcane (but well-known among some theoretical cryptographers) tool, we put new cracks into Pandora's box, achieving a full break of TLS security. This time, the tool of choice is KCI, or Key Compromise Impersonation. The TLS protocol includes a class of key agreement and authentication methods that are vulnerable to KCI attacks: non-ephemeral Diffie-Hellman key exchange with fixed Diffie-Hellman client authentication - both on elliptic curve groups, as well as on classical integer groups modulo a prime. We show that TLS clients that support these weak handshakes pose serious security concerns in modern systems, opening the supposedly securely encrypted communication to full-blown Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attacks. This paper discusses and analyzes KCI attacks in regard to the TLS protocol. We present an evaluation of the TLS software landscape regarding this threat, including a successful MitM attack against the Safari Web Browser on Mac OS X. We conclude that the insecure TLS options that enable KCI attacks should be immediately disabled in TLS clients and removed from future versions and implementations of the protocol: their utility is extremely limited, their raison d'etre is practically nil, and the existence of these insecure key agreement options only adds to the arsenal of attack vectors against cryptographically secured communication on the Internet.
Semantic similarity framework for Thai conversational agents

Conversational Agents integrate computational linguistics techniques and natural language to support human-like communication with complex computer systems. There are a number of applications in business, education and entertainment, including unmanned call centres, or as personal shopping or navigation assistants. Initial research has been performed on Conversational Agents in languages other than English. There has been no significant publication on Thai Conversational Agents. Moreover, no research has been conducted on supporting algorithms for Thai word similarity measures and Thai sentence similarity measures. Consequently, this thesis details the development of a novel Thai sentence semantic similarity measure that can be used to create a Thai Conversational Agent. This measure, Thai Sentence Semantic Similarity measure (TSTS) is inspired by the seminal English measure, Sentence Similarity based on Semantic Nets and Corpus Statistics (STASIS). A Thai sentence benchmark dataset, called 65 Thai Sentence pairs benchmark dataset (TSS-65), is also presented in this thesis for the evaluation of TSTS. The research starts with the development a simple Thai word similarity measure called TWSS. Additionally, a novel word measure called a Semantic Similarity Measure, based on a Lexical Chain Created from a Search Engine (LCSS), is also proposed using a search engine to create the knowledge base instead of WordNet. LCSS overcomes the problem that a prototype version of Thai Word semantic similarity measure (TWSS) has with the word pairs that are related to Thai culture. Thai word benchmark datasets are also presented for the evaluation of TWSS and LCSS called the 30 Thai Word Pair benchmark dataset (TWS-30) and 65 Thai Word Pair benchmark dataset (TWS-65), respectively. The result of TSTS is considered a starting point for a Thai sentence measure which can be illustrated to create semantic-based Conversational Agents in future. This is illustrated using a small sample of real English Conversational Agent human dialogue utterances translated into Thai.
A Stochastic Service Network Model with Application to Hospital Facilities

This paper presents a methodology for estimating expected utilization and service level for a class of capacity constrained service network facilities operating in a stochastic environment. A semi-Markov process describes the flows of customers (patients) through a network of service units. We model the case where one of the units has finite capacity and no queues are allowed to form. We show that the expected level of utilization and service can be computed from a simple linear relationship based on (a) the equilibrium arrival rates at each unit which are associated with the case of infinite capacity, (b) mean holding times for each unit, and (c) the probability that the finite capacity unit is at full capacity. We use Erlang's loss formula to calculate the probability of full capacity, show this calculation to be exact for two cases, and recommend its use as an approximation in the general case. We test the accuracy of the approximation on a set of published data. In the discussion, we present a technique for analyzing collected patient flow data using the results of this methodology.
Calcium action in synaptic transmitter release.

In this review we are concerned with the mechanisms by which the electrical potential across the membrane of presynaptic nerve terminals regulates the release of neurotransmitter substances into the synaptic cleft . Ca ions play a central role in this process: Release occurs when a voltage-depen­ dent Ca channel in the presynaptic membrane opens, thus permitting an influx of Ca ions and diffusion of Ca in cytoplasm, followed by binding of Ca at some cytoplasmic site that triggers the exocytotic release of quanta of neurotransmitter. These concepts, introduced mainly by the work of Katz and associates (Katz 1 969), comprise the "Ca hypothesis" of trans­ mitter release, a hypothesis now widely accepted. Although the general role of Ca as a presynaptic messenger is well supported, many important specifics of its action remain to be resolved. We review progress with these details in three parts, corresponding to
Ultrastructural organization of human corneal nerves.

PURPOSE Although the human cornea is densely innervated, observations of the nerve fiber distribution and ultrastructure are scarce. This study aimed to provide a detailed electron microscopic analysis of nerve fibers in the central and peripheral human cornea. METHODS Samples from seven fresh corneas, obtained from the eyes of persons with melanoma, were processed for light and electron microscopic examinations. Both frontal and cross-sections were studied. Furthermore, serial ultrathin sections from the mid-epithelium to the anterior stroma were used. RESULTS Unmyelinated nerve fiber bundles (as many as 30 nerve fibers and cross-section as large as 20 micrometers) run parallel to the stromal collagen fibers. Nerve fibers contain clear, dense cored and dense vesicles and are ensheathed by thin rims of Schwann cell protrusions and amorphic matrix. Some nerve fibers invaginate the cytoplasm of keratocytes. After passing through Bowman's membrane, bundles of straight fibers (cross-section 0.1 to 0.5 micrometers) and single-beaded nerve fibers, which both lack Schwann cell ensheathment, run parallel in an alternating manner. Beaded nerve fibers, containing many mitochondria and glycogen (cross-section as large as 2 micrometers), turn upward and invaginate both basal and wing cells. Except for the presence of myelinated nerve fibers in the peripheral stroma, no differences in the central cornea were observed. CONCLUSIONS Nerve fibers invaginating epithelial cells and keratocytes suggest that both cell types are directly innervated. The presence of vesicles, mitochondria, and glycogen in stromal and epithelial nerve fibers suggest that classical and peptidergic transmitters, probably of sensory origin, innervate the human cornea. Peptidergic transmitters in nerve fibers may be involved in neuroimmunomodulation of the cornea.
Extractors and pseudo-random generators with optimal seed length

We give the rst onstru tion of a pseudo-random generator with optimal seed length that uses (essentially) arbitrary hardness. It builds on the novel re ursive use of the NWgenerator in [8℄, whi h produ ed many optimal generators one of whi h was pseudo-random. This is a hieved in two stages rst signi antly redu ing the number of andidate generators, and then eAE iently ombining them into one. We also give the rst onstru tion of an extra tor with optimal seed length, that an handle sub-polynomial entropy levels. It builds on the fundamental onne tion between extra tors and pseudo-random generators dis overed by Trevisan [21℄, ombined with onstru tion above. Moreover, using Kolmogorov Complexity rather than ir uit size in the analysis gives super-polynomial savings for our onstru tion, and renders our extra tors better than known for all entropy levels.
Electrifying love: electric fish use species-specific discharge for mate recognition

Mate choice is mediated by a range of sensory cues, and assortative mating based on these cues can drive reproductive isolation among diverging populations. A specific feature of mormyrid fish, the electric organ discharge (EOD), is used for electrolocation and intraspecific communication. We hypothesized that the EOD also facilitates assortative mating and ultimately promotes prezygotic reproductive isolation in African weakly electric fishes. Our behavioural experiments using live males as well as EOD playback demonstrated that female mate recognition is influenced by EOD signals and that females are attracted to EOD characteristics of conspecific males. The dual function of the EOD for both foraging and social communication (including mate recognition leading to assortative mating) underlines the importance of electric signal differentiation for the divergence of African weakly electric fishes. Thus, the EOD provides an intriguing mechanism promoting trophic divergence and reproductive isolation between two closely related Campylomormyrus species occurring in sympatry in the lower Congo rapids.
EURECOM@MediaEval 2017: Media Genre Inference for Predicting Media Interestingness

In this paper, we present EURECOM’s approach to address the MediaEval 2017 Predicting Media Interestingness Task. We developed models for both the image and video subtasks. In particular, we investigate the usage of media genre information (i.e., drama, horror, etc.) to predict interestingness. Our approach is related to the affective impact of media content and is shown to be effective in predicting interestingness for both video shots and key-frames.
Impact of Cache Architecture and Interface on Performance and Area of FPGA-Based Processor/Parallel-Accelerator Systems

We describe new multi-ported cache designs suitable for use in FPGA-based processor/parallel-accelerator systems, and evaluate their impact on application performance and area. The baseline system comprises a MIPS soft processor and custom hardware accelerators with a shared memory architecture: on-FPGA L1 cache backed by off-chip DDR2 SDRAM. Within this general system model, we evaluate traditional cache design parameters (cache size, line size, associativity). In the parallel accelerator context, we examine the impact of the cache design and its interface. Specifically, we look at how the number of cache ports affects performance when multiple hardware accelerators operate (and access memory) in parallel, and evaluate two different hardware implementations of multi-ported caches using: 1) multi-pumping, and 2) a recently-published approach based on the concept of a live-value table. Results show that application performance depends strongly on the cache interface and architecture: for a system with 6 accelerators, depending on the cache design, speed up swings from 0.73× to 6.14×, on average, relative to a baseline sequential system (with a single accelerator and a direct-mapped, 2KB cache with 32B lines). Considering both performance and area, the best architecture is found to be a 4-port multi-pump direct-mapped cache with a 16KB cache size and a 128B line size.
WLAN-Based Real Time Vehicle Locating System

This paper presents a wireless local area network (WLAN)-based real time system for indoors and outdoors ve- hicle localization. The proposed solution uses a neural network trained with a map of received power fingerprints from WLAN Access Points (APs) surrounding the vehicle. The practical implementation of the system is described and results from an outdoor experimental testbed are analyzed to address system performance in terms of calibration, estimation complexity, and location accuracy. Pre- and post-processing approaches aimed at improving system accuracy are also discussed. Index Terms—positioning, neural network, fingerprint, real time locating system, wireless local area network ∗
Institutional and Policy Analysis of River Basin Management: The Murray Darling River Basin, Australia

The authors describe and analyze management in the Murray-Darling basin of Australia, long regarded as a model for integrated river basin management. This interior basin of over 1 million km2 in semi-arid southeastern Australia is defined by the catchment areas of the Murray and Darling Rivers and their tributaries. Water management issues include allocation, quality, and dryland salinity. Because of Australia's federal governmental structure, institutional development has been more a matter of integrating state and local endeavors than decentralization of national authority. The Australian national government has little constitutional power over water resources. The five states in the basin make policy regarding water rights, discharge permits, fees, and the construction and operation of physical structures. River management began on the Murray River in the 1920s under the terms of a tri-state agreement. As the scope of management widened to the entire basin, more states were added and the national government supported the creation of new arrangements for integrated water resource management, with some provision for stakeholder participation. The dynamics of state-national authority over water policy, and the emergence in recent years of numerous local-level catchment organization, contribute to some uncertainty about the future course of basin management in this internationally renowned site.
Adaptive Staircase Measurement of Hand Proprioception

Clinicians and researchers often need to measure proprioception (position sense), for example to monitor the progress of disease, to identify the cause of movement or balance problems, or to ascertain the effects of an intervention. While researchers can use sophisticated equipment to estimate proprioceptive acuity with good precision, clinicians lack this option and must rely on the subjective and imprecise methods currently available in the clinic. Here we describe a novel technique that applies psychometric adaptive staircase procedures to hand proprioception with a simple tablet-style apparatus that could easily be adapted for the clinic. We report test-retest reliability, inter-rater reliability, and construct validity of the adaptive staircase method vs. two other methods that are commonly used in clinical settings: passive motion direction discrimination (PMDD) and matching. As a first step, we focus on healthy adults. Subjects ages 18–82 had their proprioception measured with each of the three techniques, at the metacarpophalangeal joint in the second finger of the right hand. A subset completed a second session in which the measures were repeated, to assess test-retest reliability. Another subset had the measurements done by two different testers to assess inter-rater reliability. Construct validity was assessed using stepwise regression on age and activity level, and correlations calculated across the three methods. Results suggest that of the three methods, the adaptive staircase method yields the best test-retest reliability, inter-rater reliability, and construct validity. The adaptive staircase method may prove to be a valuable clinical tool where more accurate assessment of proprioception is needed.
Tests of the interface between sand and steel in the simple shear apparatus

The simple shear apparatus is used for tests on the interface between soil and other construction materials. A comparison was made of its advantages and disadvantages, as well as of the test results for sand-steel interfaces, with respect to three other types of interface testing apparatuses: the direct shear, the annular shear and the ring torsion types. A simple shear apparatus is less sophisticated than a ring torsion apparatus mainly in the non-uniformity of the stress distributions, but it can be used with much less technical difficulty. Good agreement was observed between the results from the three types on the correlations between the coefficient of friction and the roughness of the steel surface. The sliding displacement measured in simple shear tests showed good agreement with the observation in the ring torsion type of apparatus, but the tangential displacement in the direct shear test was larger, possibly because it included the displacement due to the strain in the sand mass inside the shear b.