Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Motion-embedded residual error for packet loss recovery of video transmission and encryption

Media encryption technologies actively play the first line of defense in securing the access of multimedia data. Traditional cryptographic encryption can achieve provable security but is unfortunately sensitive to a single bit error, which will cause an unreliable packet to be dropped to create packet loss. In order to achieve robust media encryption, error resilience in media encryption can be treated to be equivalent to error resilience in media transmission. This study proposes an embedded block hash searching scheme at the decoder side to achieve motion estimation and recover the lost packets, while maintaining format compliance and cryptographic provable security. It is important to note that the proposed framework is a kind of joint error-resilient video transmission/encryption and copyright protection.
Improved unit selection speech synthesis method utilizing subjective evaluation results on synthetic speech

This paper presents an improved unit selection and waveform concatenation speech synthesis method by gathering and utilizing human feedbacks on synthetic speech. Firstly, a set of texts are synthesized by the baseline unit selection synthesis system. Each prosodic word within the synthetic speech is then evaluated as a natural one or an unnatural one by listeners. In our proposed method, these natural synthetic segments are treated as virtual candidate units to extend the original speech corpus for unit selection. A new speech synthesis system is constructed using this extended speech corpus. A synthetic error detector based on SVM classifier is also built using the natural and unnatural synthetic speech. At synthesis time, the input text is synthesized using the baseline system and the extended system simultaneously. The two unit selection results are evaluated by the trained synthetic error detector to determine the optimal one. Experimental results prove the effectiveness of our proposed method in improving the naturalness of synthetic speech on a task of synthesizing place names.
The role of the line manager in promoting well-being and capability in specialist unit ambulance personnel

The impact of line manager (supervisor) behaviour on employee well-being, work attitudes, performance and perceptions of organizational culture are assessed using a sample of specialist unit (S-Unit) ambulance personnel. Underpinning line manager behaviour was a 10 item, two-factor structure: supportive (six items) and unsupportive (four items) manager behaviour (see chapter 3). Analysis of manager behaviour on outcome variables was performed using cross-sectional (n = 473) and longitudinal, matched-cases, analysis (n = 242). Cross-sectional analysis (see chapter 5) revealed that supportive manager behaviour was significantly related to increased proximal and distal collective capability, individual capability (efficacy; see chapter 4), work engagement, attitudes towards patient care, organizational commitment, perceived organizational support and job satisfaction; and negatively related to symptoms of ill-health, burnout and intentions to quit. Unsupportive manager behaviour was observed to be significantly related to increased symptoms of ill-health and burnout. It was also found to be marginally related to symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Longitudinal analysis (see chapter 6) revealed that supportive manger behaviour was linked to greater proximal collective capability and reduced intentions to quit. Unsupportive manager behaviour was found to be significantly related to increased reporting of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and ill-health. Reverse causality testing was employed on the longitudinal data and results showed that symptoms of ill-health may influence perceptions of unsupportive manager behaviour. The factor structure of manager behaviour is discussed and relationships (significant and non significant) are assessed against other research.
Underestimating the frequency, strength and cost of antipredator responses with data from GPS collars: an example with wolves and elk

Field studies that rely on fixes from GPS-collared predators to identify encounters with prey will often underestimate the frequency and strength of antipredator responses. These underestimation biases have several mechanistic causes. (1) Step bias: The distance between successive GPS fixes can be large, and encounters that occur during these intervals go undetected. This bias will generally be strongest for cursorial hunters that can rapidly cover large distances (e.g., wolves and African wild dogs) and when the interval between GPS fixes is long relative to the duration of a hunt. Step bias is amplified as the path travelled between successive GPS fixes deviates from a straight line. (2) Scatter bias: Only a small fraction of the predators in a population typically carry GPS collars, and prey encounters with uncollared predators go undetected unless a collared group-mate is present. This bias will generally be stronger for fission–fusion hunters (e.g., spotted hyenas, wolves, and lions) than for highly cohesive hunters (e.g., African wild dogs), particularly when their group sizes are large. Step bias and scatter bias both cause underestimation of the frequency of antipredator responses. (3) Strength bias: Observations of prey in the absence of GPS fix from a collared predator will generally include a mixture of cases in which predators were truly absent and cases in which predators were present but not detected, which causes underestimation of the strength of antipredator responses. We quantified these biases with data from wolves and African wild dogs and found that fixes from GPS collars at 3-h intervals underestimated the frequency and strength of antipredator responses by a factor >10. We reexamined the results of a recent study of the nonconsumptive effects of wolves on elk in light of these results and confirmed that predation risk has strong effects on elk dynamics by reducing the pregnancy rate.
A probabilistic dynamic logic

A logic, <bold>Pr<italic>(DL)</italic></bold>, is presented, which enables reasoning about probabilistic programs or, alternatively, reasoning probabilistically about conventional programs. The syntax of <bold>Pr<italic>(DL)</italic></bold> derives from Pratt's first-order dynamic logic and the semantics extends Kozen's semantics of probabilistic programs. An axiom system for <bold>Pr<italic>(DL)</italic></bold> is presented and shown to be complete relative to an extension of first-order analysis. For discrete probabilities it is shown that first-order analysis actually suffices. Examples are presented, both of the expressive power of <bold>Pr<italic>(DL)</italic></bold>, and of a proof in the axiom system.
New method of image retrieval using fractal code on the compression domain

Image retrieval and indexing techniques are important for efficient management of visual database. Many techniques are generally developed based on the associated compression domain. In the fractal domain, a fractal code is a contractive affine mapping that represents a similarity relation between the range block and the domain block in an image. A new algorithm of IFS fractal code for image retrieval on the compression domain is presented in this paper. First, the inquired image and each image in the database are encoded by Jacquin fractal coding. Second, the image fractal feature vector and the distance of fractal code between two images are defined, and the distance between the inquired image and current image in the database are computed one by one. Finally, the preceding n frame images which are the smallest distance sum of fractal code are taken as the retrieval result. Experimental results show that compared with the direct image pixels similar matching strategy, our scheme shortens the retrieval time of compression domain greatly and guarantees the retrieval accuracy. Our proposed method is effective and feasible.
An L-Banded Approximation to the Inverse of Symmetric Toeplitz Matrices

We apply the banded matrix inversion theorem given by Kavcic and Moura [IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory 46: 1495–1509, 2000] to symmetric Toeplitz matrices. If the inverse is banded with bandwidth smaller than its size, there is a gain in arithmetic complexity compared to the current methods for Toeplitz matrix inversion. Our algorithm can also be used to find an approximation of the inverse matrix even though it is not exactly banded, but only well localized around its diagonal.
NetFPGA: A Tool for Network Research and Education

NetFPGA is a platform that allows students to build real networking hardware, using industry-standard design tools (e.g. Verilog), then deploy and debug their hardware in an operational network. In the canonical classroom design exercise, a student builds an Ethernet switch, or an Internet router and makes it interoperate with other students’ solutions. NetFPGA-v1 has been used in classes at Stanford for several years, and is just being replaced by NetFPGA-v2, which has four Gigabit Ethernet interfaces. NetFPGA-v2 is designed for teaching and research; it is open, easy to use, and simple enough to give away for free.
Virtual Reality and Education : evaluating the Learning Experience

L’article presenta l’avaluacio de dos estudis de cas diferents que fan referencia a experiencies educatives per adults i nens utilitzant la realitat virtual. Els estudis de cas consisteixen en aplicacions a dos continguts diferents, l’ensenyament de l’arqueologia i de les matematiques, desenvolupades ambdues per sistemes de realitat virtual projectada d’alta definicio com CAVE®. En el primer cas que es refereix a l’ensenyament de l’arqueologia, es va dur a terme un estudi in situ amb adults i nens que van utilitzar l’entorn virtual durant una visita a un museu. En el segon cas, el de l’ensenyament de matematiques abstractes, l’estudi avaluatiu es va dur a terme en un context controlat de laboratori. Els metodes avaluatius utilitzats abastaren des de questionaris quantificables (per abans i despres de l’experiencia) fins a metodes mes cualitatius d’observacio directa i entrevistes semi-estructurades. S’enfasitza tant els aspectes relacionats amb les possibilitats d’us, com l’avaluacio de l’efectivitat en termes d’aprenentatge, aixi com en l’eficacia del desplegament a llarg termini de la Realitat Virtual en condicions realistes d’us, especialment quan la tecnologia es pugui convertir en habitual i el contingut prevalgui sobre el metode expositiu.
Navigating the family business: A gendered analysis of identity construction of daughters

Previous research has explored the difficulties daughters experience entering family business management, but few studies have focused on their experiences of succession. Previously, a gender-as-a-variable perspective has been widely adopted such that the gendering of succession remains understudied. This article addresses this gap by conducting a gendered analysis of how daughters navigate family businesses and construct identities as family business leaders. Using narrative analysis and case study research, our findings suggest that daughters construct and negotiate their gender and leadership identities in their interactions with others by opposing, expanding and making use of the gendered scripts available to them. They move between concealing their leader identity and producing a masculinised identity as a strong owner. This necessitates tempered disruption and switching between different identities in different contexts. We conclude by discussing the theoretical aspects of a gendered perspective as they relate to identity construction in family businesses.
Importância E Contribuição Do Ativo Intangível: Percepção Dos Empreendedores De Micro E Pequenas Empresas Sobre O Capital Intelectual

O objetivo desta pesquisa foi verificar a percepcao dos micro e pequenos empreendedores sobre a importância e a contribuicao dos ativos intangiveis, em particular do capital intelectual, para a gestao de seus negocios. Os dados foram coletados atraves de aplicacao de questionario. A populacao compreendeu os participantes da Feira do Empreendedor organizada pelo SEBRAE em Recife/PE em Outubro de 2012. A amostra compreendeu 84 empreendedores de micro e pequenas empresas. Quase 90% dos respondentes se identificaram com uma posicao global dentro da empresa. A pesquisa evidenciou que metade dos entrevistados nunca ouviu falar no termo “capital intelectual”. Para a maioria dos respondentes que ja ouviram falar, os elementos do capital intelectual sao essenciais, muito importantes ou importantes. Os resultados tambem apontaram que os empreendedores que possuem familiaridade com os termos capital intelectual e/ou ativo intangivel tendem a atribuir maior nivel de importância aos elementos do capital intelectual. Na analise de conteudo ficou evidenciado que 47,79% dos empreendedores acreditam que “produtos/servicos” e “funcionarios” sao determinantes para adicionar valor a empresa e que estes elementos contribuem para aumento da vantagem competitiva.
Restoration of Innate and Adaptive Immune Responses by HCV Viral Inhibition with an Induction Approach Using Natural Interferon-Beta in Chronic Hepatitis C

Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is a serious medical problem necessitating more effective treatment. This study investigated the hypothesis that an induction approach with nIFN-beta for 24 weeks followed by PEG-IFN-alpha+ribavirin (standard of care: SOC) for 48 weeks (novel combination treatment: NCT) would increase the initial virologic response rate and restore innate and adaptive immune responses in CHC. Seven CHC patients with a high viral load and genotype 1b were treated with NCT. Serum cytokine and chemokine levels were evaluated during NCT. NCT prevented viral escape and breakthrough resulting in persistent viral clearance of HCVRNA. IL-15 was increased at the end of induction therapy in both early virologic responders (EAVRs) and late virologic responders (LAVRs); CXCL-8, CXCL-10, and CCL-4 levels were significantly decreased (P < 0.05) in EAVR but not in LAVR during NCT, and IL-12 increased significantly (P < 0.05) and CXCL-8 decreased significantly (P < 0.05) after the end of NCT in EAVR but not in LAVR. NCT prevented viral breakthrough with viral clearance leading to improvement of innate and adaptive immunity resulting in a sustained virologic response (SVR). NCT (n = 8) achieved a higher SVR rate than SOC (n = 8) in difficult-to-treat CHC patients with genotype 1 and high viral loads.
Nonylphenol Toxicity Evaluation and Discovery of Biomarkers in Rat Urine by a Metabolomics Strategy through HPLC-QTOF-MS

Nonylphenol (NP) was quantified using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in the urine and plasma of rats treated with 0, 50, and 250 mg/kg/day of NP for four consecutive days. A urinary metabolomic strategy was originally implemented by high performance liquid chromatography time of flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-QTOF-MS) to explore the toxicological effects of NP and determine the overall alterations in the metabolite profiles so as to find potential biomarkers. It is essential to point out that from the observation, the metabolic data were clearly clustered and separated for the three groups. To further identify differentiated metabolites, multivariate analysis, including principal component analysis (PCA), orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), high-resolution MS/MS analysis, as well as searches of Metlin and Massbank databases, were conducted on a series of metabolites between the control and dose groups. Finally, five metabolites, including glycine, glycerophosphocholine, 5-hydroxytryptamine, malonaldehyde (showing an upward trend), and tryptophan (showing a downward trend), were identified as the potential urinary biomarkers of NP-induced toxicity. In order to validate the reliability of these potential biomarkers, an independent validation was performed by using the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM)-based targeted approach. The oxidative stress reflected by urinary 8-oxo-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) levels was elevated in individuals highly exposed to NP, supporting the hypothesis that mitochondrial dysfunction was a result of xenoestrogen accumulation. This study reveals a promising approach to find biomarkers to assist researchers in monitoring NP.
A Learning Method for Non-fixed Speed Gait Classification

This paper presented a new human gait classification based on the notion that gait types can be analyzed into a series of consecutive postures types. Silhouettes are extracted using the background subtraction method and then human posture silhouettes features are represented by moment. In the learning stage, we propose a method for the establishment of the standard gait base matrix by the method of recursion. The incoming silhouettes and the database silhouettes are estimated comparison using the Moment Invariants Distance (MID) method. And the comparison result leads to a matrix. In the classification stage, the Minimal Standard Deviation (MSD) algorithm for vector of each motion type is proposed to deduce behavior classification of walker at flexible speed. Finally the method was validated in the outdoor environment an evaluation of eight kinds of gaits involving standing, bending, sitting, walking, jumping, crouching, uphill and downhill is given, followed by a comparison with other methods. The results show that the identification method presented in this paper has higher rate.
Patient Enrolment into HIV Care and Treatment within 90 Days of HIV Diagnosis in Eight Rwandan Health Facilities: A Review of Facility-Based Registers

Introduction Access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) has increased greatly in sub-Saharan Africa. However many patients do not enrol timely into HIV care and treatment after HIV diagnosis. We studied enrolment into care and treatment and determinants of non-enrolment in Rwanda. Methods Data were obtained from routine clinic registers from eight health facilities in Rwanda on patients who were diagnosed with HIV at the antenatal care, voluntary counselling-and-testing, outpatient or tuberculosis departments between March and May 2009. The proportion of patients enrolled into HIV care and treatment was calculated as the number of HIV infected patients registered in ART clinics for follow-up care and treatment within 90 days of HIV diagnosis divided by the total number of persons diagnosed with HIV in the study period. Results Out of 482 patients diagnosed with HIV in the study period, 339 (70%) were females, and the median age was 29 years (interquartile range [IQR] 24–37). 201 (42%) enrolled into care and treatment within 90 days of HIV diagnosis. The median time between testing and enrolment was six days (IQR 2–14). Enrolment in care and treatment was not significantly associated with age, sex, or department of testing, but was associated with study site. None of those enrolled were in WHO stage 4. The median CD4 cell count among adult patients was 387 cells/mm3 (IQR: 242–533 cells/mm3); 81 of 170 adult patients (48%) were eligible to start ART (CD4 count<350 cells/mm3 or WHO stage 4). Among those eligible, 45 (56%) started treatment within 90 days of HIV diagnosis. Conclusion Less than 50% of diagnosed HIV patients from eight Rwandan health facilities had enrolled into care and treatment within 90 days of diagnosis. Improving linkage to care and treatment after HIV diagnosis is needed to harness the full potential of ART.
B Lymphocytes Regulate Dendritic Cell (Dc) Function in Vivo

Increasing evidence indicates that dendritic cells (DCs) are the antigen-presenting cells of the primary immune response. However, several reports suggest that B lymphocytes could be required for optimal T cell sensitization. We compared the immune responses of wild-type and B cell-deficient (μMT) mice, induced by antigen emulsified in adjuvant or pulsed on splenic dendritic cells. Our data show that lymph node cells from both control and μMT animals were primed, but each released distinct cytokine profiles. Lymph node T cells from control animals secreted interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-2, and IL-4, whereas those from μMT mice produced IFN-γ and IL-2 but no IL-4. To test whether B cells may influence the T helper cell type 1 (Th1)/Th2 balance by affecting the function of DCs, we immunized mice by transferring antigen-pulsed DCs from wild-type or mutant mice. Injection of control DCs induced the secretion of IL-4, IFN-γ, and IL-2, whereas administration of DCs from μMT animals failed to sensitize cells to produce IL-4. Analysis of IL-12 production revealed that DCs from μMT mice produce higher levels of IL-12p70 than do DCs from wild-type animals. These data suggest that B lymphocytes regulate the capacity of DCs to promote IL-4 secretion, possibly by downregulating their secretion of IL-12, thereby favoring the induction of a nonpolarized immune response.
Working memory deficits in children with low achievements in the national curriculum at 7 years of age.

BACKGROUND Close links between children's capacities to store and manipulate information over brief periods have been found with achievements on standardised measures of vocabulary, language comprehension, reading, and mathematics. AIM The study aimed to investigate whether working memory abilities are also associated with attainment levels in the national curriculum assessments at 7 years of age. SAMPLE Eighty-three children aged 6 and 7 years attending local education authority schools participated in the study. METHODS Working memory skills were assessed by a test battery designed to tap individual components of Baddeley and Hitch's (1974) working memory model. Children were assigned to normal and low achievement groups on the basis of their performance on national curriculum tasks and tests in the areas of English and mathematics. RESULTS Children with low levels of curriculum attainment showed marked impairments on measures of central executive function and of visuo-spatial memory in particular. A single cut-off score derived from the test battery successfully identified the majority of the children failing to reach nationally expected levels of attainment. CONCLUSIONS Complex working memory skills are closely linked with children's academic progress within the early years of school. The assessment of working memory skills may offer a valuable method for screening children likely to be at risk of poor scholastic progress.
Towards Higher-Order DL-Lite

A multiple-beam optical sensing system for an article vendor having a delivery station to which an article to be vended is delivered during the vend which system includes first and second optoelectronic emitters, first and second optoelectronic detectors, a circuit for energizing the emitters, and a logic circuit. The emitters emit electromagnetic radiation across the delivery station to the detectors, each detector being disposed across the delivery station from its respective emitter. When no article is present at the delivery station, the radiation from the emitters is unobstructed in its passage across the delivery station from the emitters to their respective detectors. When an article is present, however, the radiation is at least partially obstructed. The detectors detect the presence of an article at the delivery station by the obstruction of the radiation from their respective emitters. The energizing circuit enables the emitters alternately so that when one emitter is enabled the other is disabled. The logic circuit determines that an article is present at the delivery station by examining the detectors in turn, a detector being examined only when its corresponding emitter is enabled.