Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interpretation of geometric shapes: an eye movement study

This paper describes a study that seeks to explore the correlation between eye movements and the interpretation of geometric shapes. This study is intended to inform the development of an eye tracking interface for computational tools to support and enhance the natural interaction required in creative design. A common criticism of computational design tools is that they do not enable manipulation of designed shapes according to all perceived features. Instead the manipulations afforded are limited by formal structures of shapes. This research examines the potential for eye movement data to be used to recognise and make available for manipulation the perceived features in shapes. The objective of this study was to analyse eye movement data with the intention of recognising moments in which an interpretation of shape is made. Results suggest that fixation duration and saccade amplitude prove to be consistent indicators of shape interpretation.
Modularization of the UML Metamodel Using Model Slicing

The UML metamodel has been increased in its size and complexity due to many needs for supporting various platforms and domains. The large size of the metamodel can prevent tool developers from understanding the UML metamodel and thus from developing UML-based tools. In this paper, we propose an approach to managing the complexity of the UML metamodel by modularizing the metamodel into a set of small metamodels for each UML diagram type. To that goal, we propose a slicing algorithm for extracting diagram-specific metamodels from the UML metamodel.
Automated and Accurate Detection of Soma Location and Surface Morphology in Large-Scale 3D Neuron Images

Automated and accurate localization and morphometry of somas in 3D neuron images is essential for quantitative studies of neural networks in the brain. However, previous methods are limited in obtaining the location and surface morphology of somas with variable size and uneven staining in large-scale 3D neuron images. In this work, we proposed a method for automated soma locating in large-scale 3D neuron images that contain relatively sparse soma distributions. This method involves three steps: (i) deblocking the image with overlap between adjacent sub-stacks; (ii) locating the somas in each small sub-stack using multi-scale morphological close and adaptive thresholds; and (iii) fusion of the repeatedly located somas in all sub-stacks. We also describe a new method for the accurate detection of the surface morphology of somas containing hollowness; this was achieved by improving the classical Rayburst Sampling with a new gradient-based criteria. Three 3D neuron image stacks of different sizes were used to quantitatively validate our methods. For the soma localization algorithm, the average recall and precision were greater than 93% and 96%, respectively. For the soma surface detection algorithm, the overlap of the volumes created by automatic detection of soma surfaces and manually segmenting soma volumes was more than 84% for 89% of all correctly detected somas. Our method for locating somas can reveal the soma distributions in large-scale neural networks more efficiently. The method for soma surface detection will serve as a valuable tool for systematic studies of neuron types based on neuron structure.
Improving System Security and User Privacy in Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) with X.509 v3 Certificate

With the advancement of internets, user’s transaction is at ease, timely manner and effective wise through online payment method, so also cybercriminals become increasingly more prompt in areas like e-commerce sites, financial institutions, payment processes and other online transactions. Therefore the need for the system security and privacy became the central issues for the acceptance of online payment methods in particular and growth of the Internet market in general. Using SET as an open encryption and security specification designed to protect credit card transaction on the internet. This paper proposes a new approach for increasing security by avoiding privacy violation using Public Key Infrastructure, X.509 certificate and Format Preservation encryption method, the credit card number is encrypted using public key algorithm and re-encrypted using Format preservation Encryption algorithm and finally stored in the X.509 version 3 certificate private extensions. This technique can be used to improve the security of the user credit card information against card fraud or the compromise of data associated with the account.
Tauroursodeoxycholic acid prevents retinal degeneration in transgenic P23H rats.

PURPOSE To evaluate the preventive effect of tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) on photoreceptor degeneration, synaptic connectivity and functional activity of the retina in the transgenic P23H rat, an animal model of autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (RP). METHODS P23H line-3 rats were injected with TUDCA once a week from postnatal day (P)21 to P120, in parallel with vehicle-administered controls. At P120, functional activity of the retina was evaluated by electroretinographic (ERG) recording. The effects of TUDCA on the number, morphology, integrity, and synaptic connectivity of retinal cells were characterized by immunofluorescence confocal microscopy. RESULTS The amplitude of ERG a- and b-waves was significantly higher in TUDCA-treated animals under both scotopic and photopic conditions than in control animals. In the central area of the retina, TUDCA-treated P23H rats showed threefold more photoreceptors than control animals. The number of TUNEL-positive cells was significantly smaller in TUDCA-treated rats, in which photoreceptor morphology was preserved. Presynaptic and postsynaptic elements, as well as the synaptic contacts between photoreceptors and bipolar or horizontal cells, were preserved in TUDCA-treated P23H rats. Furthermore, in TUDCA-treated rat retinas, the number of both rod bipolar and horizontal cell bodies, as well as the density of their synaptic terminals in the outer plexiform layer, was greater than in control rats. CONCLUSIONS TUDCA treatment was capable of preserving cone and rod structure and function, together with their contacts with their postsynaptic neurons. The neuroprotective effects of TUDCA make this compound potentially useful for delaying retinal degeneration in RP.
Social Media Advertising/Marketing: A Study of Awareness, Attitude and Responsiveness by Nigerian Youths

The growing popularity of the social media has without question brought about a paradigmatic shift in the way advertisers and marketers seek to promote their goods and services and affect the purchasing decisions of their customers and targets. However, research on advertisements positioned on these social networks and the level of awareness, attitude and responsiveness of its users are relatively still developing, especially within the Nigerian context. Because Facebook has, among the various social media, grown exponentially to become the biggest and most popular today, this study thus investigates the level of awareness, attitude and responsiveness to Facebook advertising on the part of Nigerian youths who are believed to be active social media users. Drawing a sample size of 400 from some select universities in South East Nigeria, the survey finds high awareness of Facebook advertising among the youths. However, it was found that in their vicarious experiences with Facebook, these youths experience some “attention challenges” in noticing and observing the ads. Their attitude to the Ads also indicate a cause for worry: even though they fancy and see Facebook Ads as useful, majority of them would not buy the product or visit the website for more or even “Like” products or services liked by their friends. Debunking the Uses-and-gratification theory to some extent, the study supports the social cognitive theory of communication and recommends that social media advertisers make their Ads more assertive, eye-catchy, detailed, brief and concise, more visible and more properly positioned, among others.
PSR: A Novel High-Efficiency and Easy-to-Implement Parallel Algorithm for Anticollision in RFID Systems

Tag anticollision is critical to the performance of many radio frequency identification systems in industrial applications. Tree-based schemes are popular arbitration algorithms for tag collision, as they are scalable and easy to implement. In these schemes, collided tags are recursively divided into two groups until each group contains only one tag. However, we have determined that previous pure tree-based schemes do not fully utilize the information that can be collected; they allow only the responding tags to be involved in the splitting process. In this paper, we propose a novel pure tree-based method that we named parallel splitting with retrieve (PSR), which allows both the nonresponding and unidentified tags to also be involved in the splitting process. PSR consists of two mechanisms: parallel splitting (PS) and retrieve. The PS mechanism can reduce the total number of tag collisions and the retrieve mechanism can reduce the extra idle slots caused by PS. In comparison with conventional pure tree-based schemes, the proposed PSR algorithm achieves higher efficiency without the need to estimate the number of tags; simulation results indicate an efficiency level of 0.41. The PSR algorithm also has similar performance to state-of-the-art algorithms that do not need to estimate the number of tags, but it is simpler to implement and is thus preferred for resource constrained systems.
KCNQ/M Channels Control Spike Afterdepolarization and Burst Generation in Hippocampal Neurons

KCNQ channel subunits are widely expressed in peripheral and central neurons, where they give rise to a muscarinic-sensitive, subthreshold, and noninactivating K+ current (M-current). It is generally agreed that activation of KCNQ/M channels contributes to spike frequency adaptation during sustained depolarizations but is too slow to influence the repolarization of solitary spikes. This concept, however, is based mainly on experiments with muscarinic agonists, the multiple effects on membrane conductances of which may overshadow the distinctive effects of KCNQ/M channel block. Here, we have used selective modulators of KCNQ/M channels to investigate their role in spike electrogenesis in CA1 pyramidal cells. Solitary spikes were evoked by brief depolarizing current pulses injected into the neurons. The KCNQ/M channel blockers linopirdine and XE991 markedly enhanced the spike afterdepolarization (ADP) and, in most neurons, converted solitary (“simple”) spikes to high-frequency bursts of three to seven spikes (“complex” spikes). Conversely, the KCNQ/M channel opener retigabine reduced the spike ADP and induced regular firing in bursting neurons. Selective block of BK or SK channels had no effect on the spike ADP or firing mode in these neurons. We conclude that KCNQ/M channels activate during the spike ADP and limit its duration, thereby precluding its escalation to a burst. Consequently, down-modulation of KCNQ/M channels converts the neuronal firing pattern from simple to complex spiking, whereas up-modulation of these channels exerts the opposite effect.
Compilation of Nonprocedural Specifications into Computer Programs

The paper describes the compilation of a program specification, written in the very high level nonprocedural MODEL language, into an object, PL/1 or Cobol, procedural language program. Nonprocedural programming languages are descriptive and devoid of procedural controls. They are therefore easier to use and require less programming skills than procedural languages. The MODEL language is briefly presented and illustrated followed by a description of the compilation process. An important early phase in the compilation is the representation of the specification by a dependency graph, denoted as array graph, which expresses the data flow interdependencies between statements. Two classes of algorithms which utilize this graph are next described. The first class checks various completeness, nonambiguity, and consistency aspects of the specification. Upon detecting any problems, the system attempts some automatic correcting measures which are reported to the user, or alternately, when no corrections appear as reasonable, it reports the error and solicits a modification from the user. The second class of algorithms produces an intermediate design of an object program in a language independent form. Finally, PL/1 or Cobol code is generated.
Maintenance of hemopoietic stem cells and production of differentiated progeny in allogeneic and semiallogeneic bone marrow chimeras in vitro

A culture system is described in which bone marrow-derived adherent cells can support prolonged proliferation and differentiation of genetically incompatible stem cells and precursor cells. The results suggest that the reactive cells responsible in vivo for host transplantation resistance and for graft-versus-host disease are selectively lost or inhibited in such cultures, which may provide a vehicle for studying some of the cellular mechanisms involved in transplantation resistance.
The Wrapper Induction Environment

There is much interest in systems that automatically interact with Internet information sites. Such systems are hard to build, partly because they use hand-crafted wrappers to extract a site’s content. We advocate wrapper induction, a technique for automatically learning wrappers. Our wrapper induction e_~nvironment (WIEN) enables users quickly capture a set of example page; our wrapper learning algorithm then handles the low-level details of constructing the wrapper.
STUDIES ON THE RELATIONSHIP OF PTEROYLGLUTAMIC ACID TO THE GROWTH OF PSITTACOSIS VIRUS (STRAIN 6BC)

p-Aminobenzoic and pteroic acids antagonize the inhibition of the growth of psittacosis virus (strain 6BC) by sulfadiazine in a competitive manner. Pteroylglutamic acid exerts a non-competitive type sulfonamide antagonism. The effects of certain analogues of pteroylglutamic acid and of pteroic acid on the growth of psittacosis virus and its inhibition by sulfadiazine are reported. The implications of these findings with regard to the possible synthesis of pteroylglutamic acid by psittacosis virus and its suggested rôle as an essential factor for growth of this virus are discussed.
Contributions to the study of bi-lingual Roman Urdu SMS spam filtering

With the increased usage of internet and mobile phones, number of spams has also increased in both these areas. The Spam in both these areas is an increasing threat and sometimes cause huge financial as well as data/confidentiality loss. Therefore, actions need to be taken to stop these spams on both media. This paper analyses various techniques that are currently being used in Spam filtering in the context of mobile text messages. The contents of SMS are unique in nature so some techniques might be effective while some might not be. Some of mostly used algorithms and techniques are discussed in this paper. Furthermore, we have performed automatic spam filtering using machine learning algorithms on Roman Urdu text messages and achieved an accuracy of 92.2% on a manually curated corpus of 8449 messages. The SMS corpus has also been made available for future research works.
Exploring the Reasons behind the Low ISO 27001 Adoption in Public Organizations in Saudi Arabia

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the reason behind the low adoption of the ISO 27001 standard in the public organizations in Saudi Arabia. Human resource management issues such as shortage of information security expertise, lack of training, education, and awareness programs, and high salary demand for security professionals were found to be the most significant barriers to the successful implementation of ISO 27001 in public organizations in Saudi Arabia. Implications for public organizations management and future research are discussed at the end of this paper.
Epigenetics of Renal Development and Disease

An understanding of epigenetics is indispensable to our understanding of gene regulation under normal and pathological states. This knowledge will help with designing better therapeutic approaches in regenerative tissue medicine. Epigenetics allows us to parse out the mechanisms by which transcriptional regulators gain access to specific gene loci thereby imprinting epigenetic information affecting chromatin function. This epigenetic memory forms the basis of cell lineage specification in multicellular organisms. Post-translational modifications to DNA and histones in the nucleosome core form characteristic epigenetic codes which are distinct for self-renewing and primed progenitor cell populations. Studies of chromatin modifiers and modifications in renal development and disease have been gaining momentum. Both congenital and adult renal diseases have a gene-environment component, which involves alterations to the epigenetic information imprinted during development. This epigenetic memory must be characterized to establish optimal treatment of both acute and chronic renal diseases.
Let the Games Begin: Civic Playing on High-Tech Consoles

The author presents an overview of an emerging field that looks at the impact of video games on civic engagement. Some video games have explicit civics-related content and engage players in simulations of civically related projects, but most others do not. However, research has shown that video game playing engages players in civically oriented experiences that previous research has found to promote civic outcomes in classroom-based programs. These include helping and guiding others; learning about problems in society; exploring social, moral, or ethical issues; organizing groups; and making decisions about how a community, city, or nation should be run.
Essays on Inequality and Poverty

This thesis is composed of three essays on inequality and poverty in the United States and Canada. Despite their nominal wage disadvantage, immigrants in the United States tend to settle in the most expensive locations in the country. I show that incorporating spatial price variation into the price index dramatically worsens estimates of immigrant integration. In comparison with nominal measures, real measures show twice as much immigrant wage disparity, much slower assimilation over time, and a more pronounced decline in entry wages of more recent cohorts. To rationalize these location patterns, I use a spatial equilibrium model. The model allows us to distinguish between quality of life and productivity differences as competing explanations for the concentration of immigrants. Parameterizing the model and using housing cost and wage differentials each year, the productivity channel seems to be the more plausible explanation. It also appears to have become more important over time. Like the United States, several studies document the tendency for immigrants in Canada to live in areas with high costs of living: approximately 90% live in metropolitan areas. In the second chapter, I re-examine immigrant wage disparity and poverty estimates in Canada after adjusting immigrant incomes for their relatively high costs of living. In the third chapter, I outline an Oaxaca-Blinder detailed decomposition method based on the Shapley Value. It is path-independent and adds up intuitively to the aggregate decomposition components. It is also simple to implement in practice for various limited dependent variable regression models. I show how this decomposition method can be used in tandem with the recentered influence function regression framework (Firpo et al., 2009). Together, this constitutes a flexible framework to decompose differences of a wide variety of poverty measures over time or between groups. The empirical application examines the decline in U.S. poverty during the 1990s, in particular the importance of technological change and offshoring. I find these are important determinants of poverty in a given year but cannot explain any of the change in the poverty rate over time. Changes in the return to family size explain the entire change in the poverty rate. I also find that the methods we use to examine poverty can easily change the conclusions we draw.
Title : the Performance of the Hb-pi Tree the Performance of the Hb-pi Tree

The hB-pi tree is a multi-attribute index method which combines the hB tree, a multi-attribute access structure and the II-tree, an abstract index with efficient concurrency and recovery methods. The hB-pi tree is a balanced tree and adapts well to different data distributions. Furthermore, the hB-pi tree inherits the efficient concurrency and recovery methods from the II tree. This paper provides the implementation details of the hB-pi tree and explores the performance of different hB-pi tree variants. The paper begins by illustrating the experimental results on real and synthetic point data sets. The hB-pi tree cannot directly index the non-point objects and different conversion methods are applied to the hB-pi tree to index the non-point data. The experimental results on real and synthetic non-point data sets are also provided. The experimental results are analyzed in order to proposal the future research direction.
Coded light projection techniques for 3D reconstruction

Coded structured light is a computer vision technique which aims to reconstruct objects. This kind of technique belongs to the group of active triangulation methods. The setup usually consists of a LCD projector and a camera. The LCD device projects a pattern or a set of patterns so that finding correspondences between the projected and the viewed images becomes easier. The coding strategy used to generate the patterns determines the performance of the system in terms of resolution (number of encoded points) and accuracy. This paper presents a classification of the existing techniques as well as a new coding strategy which aims to optimise classic one-shot patterns based on De Bruijn codification.
Wavelet analysis of the timing of individual components of the ECG signal

ECG recordings were obtained from 21 healthy subjects aged between 13 and 65 years, over a range of heart rate extending from 46 to 184 beats/min (bpm). A wavelet transform method, based on the Mexican Hat wavelet was then used to precisely locate the positions of the onset, peak and termination of individual components in the ECG signal. These times were then classified according to the heart rate associated with the cardiac cycle to which the component belonged. Second order equations in the square root of the cardiac cycle time, T/sub R-R/ of the form A. /spl radic/T/sub R-R/+B.T/sub R-R/+C were fitted to the data obtained for each component to characterize its timing variation.