Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Secure Dating with Four or Fewer Cards ( A short note on teaching cryptography )

In Cornell’s “CS4830: Introduction to Cryptography” offered Fall 2015, students are asked to devise a physical secure two-party protocol for computing AND, using 4 cards or fewer. An elegant 5-card scheme was first proposed by Boer et al. [6] in EUROCRYPT’89. After over two decades of time, in a recent ASIACRYPT’12 paper, Mizuki et al. were the first to improve the scheme to 4 cards [9]. Although they mention that 4 cards is the minimum – the minimum only holds when users must encode their input each with two cards. Given the collective wisdom of our Cornell CS4830 students, we demonstrate an array of creative schemes using from 1 to 4 cards. Our students documented these solutions in a homework assignment, many of which are unanticipated by the instructor and the TAs. We had fun with students’ solutions and therefore would like to share them. Several of the students solutions are simpler than the standard textbook version by Boer et al. [6], and we imagine that they could be useful for pedagogical purposes.
Novel Gabor filter-based patch descriptor

One of the most important tasks of component-based object detection is locating the characteristic object parts and describing them in order to be easily localizable. This paper presents a local image descriptor based on Gabor wavelets. Due to the high dimensionality of the parameter space, these functions can be defined only laboriously, and it is very difficult to integrate them into the desirable application. At first, in order to reduce the number of parameters, some theoretical relations are taken into account. Secondly, in the experiment phase, the most adequate filters for a given image patch are determined with the GentleBoost learning algorithm. Using this descriptor, a responses-map is created, which can be easily combined with the well-known deformable object model in order to detect the desired parts of the target object. The advantage of our descriptor compared to those found in the state of the art is that the selected filter set is not always the same, but after fine-tuning parameters, it selects the most appropriate filters for the target patch so that the descriptor becomes general, and at the same time, discriminative as well.
Improving the Network Energy Efficiency in MapReduce Systems

Apart from servers, the energy consumed by enormous amount of network devices in data centers also emerges as a big problem. Existing work on energy- efficient data center networking primarily focuses on traffic engineering to consolidate flows and shut down unused devices, not considering another important factor, virtual machine assignment, which has been shown to have a big influence on traffic engineering. Moreover, the lack of information about upper layer applications leads to misunderstand the traffic patterns of the network. This may result in poor effectiveness in the traffic-based optimization in practice. In this paper, we aim to achieve better network energy efficiency in MapReduce systems by combining virtual machine assignment and traffic engineering. By exploiting the characteristics of MapReduce applications, we provide a unified model to describe this problem. Due to its NP-hardness, a general framework is proposed to solve it, where virtual machines are first clustered and then different virtual machine assignments are generated greedily and a local search procedure is used to improve them. The local search procedure depends on the results of an energy-efficient routing provided by GEERA. GEERA is an approximate algorithm designed to select routing paths for flows. Experimental results confirm the efficiency of GEERA, as well as the overall framework. By using this framework, up to 20% more energy savings can be achieved compared with sole traffic engineering solutions.
Effectiveness of Cognitive Tutor Algebra I at Scale

This article examines the effectiveness of a technology-based algebra curriculum in a wide variety of middle schools and high schools in seven states. Participating schools were matched into similar pairs and randomly assigned to either continue with the current algebra curriculum for 2 years or to adopt Cognitive Tutor Algebra I (CTAI), which uses a personalized, mastery-learning, blended-learning approach. Schools assigned to implement CTAI did so under conditions similar to schools that independently adopt it. Analysis of posttest outcomes on an algebra proficiency exam finds no effects in the first year of implementation, but finds evidence in support of positive effects in the second year. The estimated effect is statistically significant for high schools but not for middle schools; in both cases, the magnitude is sufficient to improve the median student’s performance by approximately eight percentile points.
DSCA: a data stream caching algorithm

The deployment of caches in the Internet has grown significantly in the last decade, thus enabling the vision of Content-Centric Networks (CCNs). The caching policy employed at these routers has significant impact on the potential gains in network performance. Policies that adapt to changes in content popularities are of special interest. In this paper, we propose a novel caching policy called Data Stream Caching Algorithm (DSCA) with the goal of maximizing cache hit rate of CCN routers by incorporating content popularity in caching decisions. In contrast to existing popularity-based caching policies, DSCA copes with dynamics in content popularity while operating under the memory and high processing rate constraints of CCN network routers. DSCA achieves the above objectives using a data streaming algorithm that identifies the most popular contents adapted to work in a windowed manner. We analyze the performance and robustness of the proposed caching policy through simulations. Evaluations on synthetic data and real-world traces show that DSCA outperforms LRU and other caching policies evaluated in this work.
Dynamic Multi-relational Chinese Restaurant Process for Analyzing Influences on Users in Social Media

We study the problem of analyzing influence of various factors affecting individual messages posted in social media. The problem is challenging because of various types of influences propagating through the social media network that act simultaneously on any user. Additionally, the topic composition of the influencing factors and the susceptibility of users to these influences evolve over time. This problem has not been studied before, and off-the-shelf models are unsuitable for this purpose. To capture the complex interplay of these various factors, we propose a new non-parametric model called the Dynamic Multi-Relational Chinese Restaurant Process. This accounts for the user network for data generation and also allows the parameters to evolve over time. Designing inference algorithms for this model suited for large scale social-media data is another challenge. To this end, we propose a scalable and multi-threaded inference algorithm based on online Gibbs Sampling. Extensive evaluations on large-scale Twitter and Face book data show that the extracted topics when applied to authorship and commenting prediction outperform state-of-the-art baselines. More importantly, our model produces valuable insights on topic trends and user personality trends beyond the capability of existing approaches.
'Without the Spelling Errors I Would Have Shortlisted Her…': The Impact of Spelling Errors on Recruiters’ Choice During the Personnel Selection Process

Despite the time spent on writing at work and employers’ dissatisfaction with their employees’ spelling skills, little is known about recruiters’ attribution, and decision making when they read application forms with spelling errors. This study examines the impact of spelling and typographic errors on recruiters’ attributions about applicants, and on their shortlisting decision. Based on a sample of 20 French recruiters, we conducted an experiment to collect both qualitative data through the verbal protocol method and quantitative data. Specific verbal reports are associated with different types of errors. Recruiters also form attributions about candidates. We demonstrate that spelling errors affect recruiters’ behavior more negatively than typographic ones. We discuss the implications of these findings for researchers and practitioners.
THE LYMPHOID TISSUES AND IMMUNE RESPONSES OF NEONATALLY THYMECTOMIZED MICE BEARING THYMUS TISSUE IN MILLIPORE DIFFUSION CHAMBERS

Neonatally thymectomized mice were implanted intraperitoneally at 7 days of age with Millipore diffusion chambers containing either embryonic or neonatal thymus tissue. Mice which received either empty diffusion chambers or no further treatment following neonatal thymectomy served as controls. In contrast to these controls, most of the mice implanted with thymus-filled chambers gained weight satisfactorily, did not develop a wasting syndrome, and had the capacity to produce serum antibodies in response to sheep erythrocytes and to reject allogeneic skin grafts. Lymphoid follicles were present in the lymph nodes, spleen, and intestinal tract of the implanted mice but most still showed some diminution in the population of lymphocytes in both blood and tissues. Control thymectomized mice had markedly depleted lymphoid tissues and low peripheral blood lymphocyte levels. The tissue recovered after 1 to 2 months from the diffusion chambers showed only epithelial-reticular cells but no lymphoid cells. It is suggested that a humoral factor produced by the thymus epithelial-reticular complex may be responsible for endowing lymphoid cells with immunological competence.
Toward Understanding Human-Computer Interaction In Composing The Instrument

A weekly seminar consisting of seven composers and one computer scientist was convened for the purpose of exploring questions surrounding how technology can support aspects of the computer music composition process. The composers were introduced to an existing interactive software system for creating new musical interfaces and compositions, which they used throughout the seminar. The group engaged in a user-centered design process to critically evaluate and improve this software. Through documentation of the experience and analysis of composers’ responses to a questionnaire following the seminar, we achieved a richer understanding of how technology can support composers’ modes of working and goals in the process of computer music interface design and composition. This work also resulted in an improved compositional software system and progress toward several new musical compositions and instruments.
Zinc oxide nanoparticles exhibit cytotoxicity and genotoxicity through oxidative stress responses in human lung fibroblasts and Drosophila melanogaster

Background Although zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) have been widely used, there has been an increasing number of reports on the toxicity of ZnO NPs. However, study on the underlying mechanisms under in vivo conditions is insufficient. Methods In this study, we investigated the toxicological profiles of ZnO NPs in MRC5 human lung fibroblasts in vitro and in an in vivo model using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. A comprehensive study was conducted to evaluate the uptake, cytotoxicity, reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, gene expression profiling and genotoxicity induced by ZnO NPs. Results For in vitro toxicity, the results showed that there was a significant release of extracellular lactate dehydrogenase and decreased cell viability in ZnO NP-treated MRC5 lung cells, indicating cellular damage and cytotoxicity. Generation of ROS was observed to be related to significant expression of DNA Damage Inducible Transcript (DDIT3) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to nucleus signaling 1 (ERN1) genes, which are ER stress-related genes. Oxidative stress induced DNA damage was further verified by a significant release of DNA oxidation product, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), as well as by the Comet assay. For the in vivo study using the fruit fly D. melanogaster as a model, significant toxicity was observed in F1 progenies upon ingestion of ZnO NPs. ZnO NPs induced significant decrease in the egg-to-adult viability of the flies. We further showed that the decreased viability is closely associated with ROS induction by ZnO NPs. Removal of one copy of the D. melanogaster Nrf2 alleles further decreased the ZnO NPs-induced lethality due to increased production of ROS, indicating that nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) plays important role in ZnO NPs-mediated ROS production. Conclusion The present study suggests that ZnO NPs induced significant oxidative stress-related cytotoxicity and genotoxicity in human lung fibroblasts in vitro and in D. melanogaster in vivo. More extensive studies would be needed to verify the safety issues related to increased usage of ZnO NPs by consumers.
Phase Resetting Light Pulses Induce Per1 and Persistent Spike Activity in a Subpopulation of Biological Clock Neurons

The endogenous circadian clock of the mammalian suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) can be reset by light to synchronize the biological clock of the brain with the external environment. This process involves induction of immediate-early genes such as the circadian clock gene Period1 (Per1) and results in a stable shift in the timing of behavioral and physiological rhythms on subsequent days. The mechanisms by which gene activation permanently alters the phase of clock neuron activity are unknown. To study the relationship between acute gene activation and persistent changes in the neurophysiology of SCN neurons, we recorded from SCN neurons marked with a dynamic green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter ofPer1 gene activity. Phase-resetting light pulses resulted in Per1 induction in a distinct subset of SCN neurons that also exhibited a persistent increase in action potential frequency 3–5 hr after a light pulse. By simultaneously quantifyingPer1 gene activation and spike frequency in individual neurons, we found that the degree of Per1 induction was highly correlated with neuronal spike frequency on a cell-by-cell basis. Increased neuronal activity was mediated by membrane potential depolarization as a result of a reduction in outward potassium current. Double-label immunocytochemistry revealed that vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)-expressing cells, but not arginine vasopressin (AVP)-expressing cells, exhibited significant Per1induction by light pulses. Rhythmic GFP expression occurred in both VIP and AVP neurons. Our results indicate that the steps that link acute molecular events to permanent changes in clock phase involve persistent suppression of potassium current, downstream of Per1gene induction, in a specific subset of Per1-expressing neurons enriched for VIP.
Teach industrial robots peg-hole-insertion by human demonstration

Programming robotic assembly tasks usually requires delicate force tuning. In contrast, human may accomplish assembly tasks with much less time and fewer trials. It will be a great benefit if robots can learn the human inherent skill of force control and apply it autonomously. Recent works on Learning from Demonstration (LfD) have shown the possibility to teach robots by human demonstration. The basic idea is to collect the force and corrective velocity that human applies during assembly, and then use them to regress a proper gain for the robot admittance controller. However, many of the LfD methods are tested on collaborative robots with compliant joints and relatively large assembly clearance. For industrial robots, the non-backdrivable mechanism and strict tolerance requirement make the assembly tasks more challenging. This paper modifies the original LfD to be suitable for industrial robots. A new demonstration tool is designed to acquire the human demonstration data. The force control gains are learned by Gaussian Mixture Regression (GMR) and the closed-loop stability is analysed. A series of peg-hole-insertion experiments with H7h7 tolerance on a FANUC manipulator validate the performance of the proposed learning method.
Multichannel Wiener filter estimation using source location knowledge for speech enhancement

In this paper a technique for estimating the single channel Wiener filter post-processor using two complementary adaptive near-field beamformers is presented as an alternative to voice activity detection for speech enhancement applications. Two near-field beamformers, the MVDR beamformer and an adaptive nullformer based on noise to signal maximisation, are used to generate estimates of signal and noise statistics which can be used to compute an estimate of the single channel Wiener filter for noise reduction. It is demonstrated that the performance of the estimated filter compares well with the perfect Wiener filtering case, and shows good improvement in speech intelligibility.
The Wadi Mubarak belt , Eastern Desert of Egypt : a Neoproterozoic conjugate shear system in the Arabian – Nubian Shield

The Wadi Mubarak belt in Egypt strikes west–east (and even northeast–southwest) and crosscuts the principal northwest–southeast trend of the Najd Fault System in the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt. The belt therefore appears to be a structural feature that formed postdate to the Najd Fault System. In contrast, it is shown here that the deformation in the Wadi Mubarak belt can be correlated with the accepted scheme of deformation events in the Eastern Desert of Egypt and that its geometry and apparently cross-cutting orientation is controlled by a large granite complex that intruded prior to the structural le other younger transport Desert, l Umra east and ajd Fault nger phase est. The El s conform d early c evolution. Structural correlation is facilitated by a series of intrusions that intrude the Wadi Mubarak belt and resemb intrusions in the Eastern Desert. These intrusions include: (1) an older gabbro generation, (2) an older granite, (3) a gabbro and (4) a younger granite. The structural evolution is interpreted to be characterized by early northwest directed that formed several major thrusts in the belt. This event is correlated with the main deformation event in the Eastern elsewhere known as D2. During this event the regional fabric of the Wadi Mubarak belt was wrapped around the E granite complex in a west–east orientation. The Wadi Mubarak belt was subsequently affected during D3 by west– northwest–southeast trending sinistral conjugate strike–slip shear zones. This event is related to the formation of the N System. Detailed resolution of superimposed shear sense indicators suggest that D3 consisted of an older and a you that reflect the change of transpression direction from east-southeast–west-northwest to eastnortheast–westouthw Umra granite complex is dated here with single zircon ages to consist of intrusion pulses at 654 and 690 my. These age with the interpretation that it intruded prior to D2 and that the structural pattern of the Wadi Mubarak belt was initiate during D2. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Signaling Pathway Regulated by a Mitochondrion-Mediated Spontaneous Thymocyte Apoptosis Is

Most thymocytes that have not successfully rearranged their TCR genes or that express a receptor with subthreshold avidity for self-Ag/MHC enter a default apoptosis pathway, death by neglect. Spontaneous thymocyte apoptosis (STA), at least in part, may mimic this process in vitro. However, the molecular mechanism(s) by which thymocytes undergo this spontaneous apoptosis remains unknown. Here, we report that caspsase-1 and caspase-3 are activated during STA, but these caspases are dispensable for this apoptotic process. The inhibition of STA by a pan-caspase inhibitor, zVAD, suggests that multiple caspase pathways exist. Importantly, the early release of cytochrome c from mitochondria closely correlates with the degradation of Bcl-2 and Bcl-x L and a decrease in the ratios of Bcl-2 and Bcl-x L to Bax during STA. These ﬁndings suggest that the degradation of Bcl-2 and Bcl-x L may favor Bax to induce cytochrome c release from mitochondria, which subsequently activates downstream caspases in STA. Our data provide the ﬁrst biochemical insight into the molecular mechanism of STA. The Journal of Immunology, 2000, 165: 2970–2974.
Utilizing Text Mining Techniques to Analyze Medical Diagnoses

Due to the increasing amount of medical patient data collected in hospitals, technology-based methods are of increasing interest for processing and analyzing such materials. Therefore, computer supported techniques have to be evaluated by means of their efficiency for this application area. In this paper, we introduce an approach for analyzing expert comments on magnetic resonance images (MRI) diagnoses by applying a text mining method in order to scan them for regional correlations. Consequently, we propose a calculation of significant co-occurrences of diseases and defined regions of the human body, in order to identify possible risks for health, and we present a special tool, which we have implemented in order to test this approach.
Oh Dear, We Bought Our Competitor: Integrating Similar Software Systems

A look at 10 case studies addresses the technological, personnel, and organizational challenges. The 10 cases involved seven organizations in different business sectors. Our data collection methods included our participation in projects, several rounds of interviews with project leaders and software architects, and several rounds of questionnaires with software architects and project managers, as well as project and product documentation. 2 Companies we studied included ABB, Bombardier, Ericsson, Saab, and Westinghouse. However, we can't disclose detailed information or relate case descriptions to specific companies or systems. Our observations regarding cultural influences might be skewed because all the organizations involved Sweden and other European or North American countries.
Low temperature measurement using fluorescence thermometry

A possibility of low temperature measurement using fluorescence thermometry was examined. Temperature dependence of fluorescence lifetime applied to low temperature measurement. Chromium ion doped sapphire crystal (ruby) is known as a suitable sensor material for temperature measurement. Fluorescence thermometer using the ruby which is modified for temperature measurement has been fabricated. From this research, ruby crystal is found to be useful as the sensor head for fluorescence thermometer. In addition, the ruby crystal is potentially useful material for the sensor head crystals to measure low temperature below 273 K.
COVERING AND AUTOMORPHISM GROUPS OF U6(2)

We describe the construction of explicit representations of all the covering groups of U6(2), and then show how to adjoin the outer automorphisms to these groups. The full envelope of the group is (22 × 3)U6(2):S3, which can be represented in 720 dimensions over the field of order 7.
Depth image based gait tracking and analysis via robotic walker

In this paper, we propose a gait tracking and analysis method using a depth image sensor installed on robotic walker. Nowadays, robotic walker not only can assist elders who have suffered deteriorating mobility but also help to provide rehabilitating function to people who have crippled walking ability. This approach is meant to be sufficiently accurate, non-intrusive, and low-cost. The goal of this research is to enable the robotic walker to become more active in terms of walker control and comfortable user experiences thorough gait analysis. In experiment, the accuracy of the proposed 3D leg pose tracking method was evaluated by a motion capture system and the result is quite promising. After actual trials, the proposed method has the potential to be used in a safer and more reliable application such as those assisting elders and specific group of patient subjects.