Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The imaginative mind

The astounding capacity for the human imagination to be engaged across a wide range of contexts is limitless and fundamental to our day‐to‐day experiences. Although processes of imagination are central to human psychological function, they rarely occupy center stage in academic discourse or empirical study within psychological and neuroscientific realms. The aim of this paper is to tackle this imbalance by drawing together the multitudinous facets of imagination within a common framework. The processes fall into one of five categories depending on whether they are characterized as involving perceptual/motor related mental imagery, intentionality or recollective processing, novel combinatorial or generative processing, exceptional phenomenology in the aesthetic response, or altered psychological states which range from commonplace to dysfunctional. These proposed categories are defined on the basis of theoretical ideas from philosophy as well as empirical evidence from neuroscience. By synthesizing the findings across these domains of imagination, this novel five‐part or quinquepartite classification of the human imagination aids in systematizing, and thereby abets, our understanding of the workings and neural foundations of the human imagination. It would serve as a blueprint to direct further advances in the field of imagination while also promoting crosstalk with reference to stimulus‐oriented facets of information processing. A biologically and ecologically valid psychology is one that seeks to explain fundamental aspects of human nature. Given the ubiquitous nature of the imaginative operations in our daily lives, there can be little doubt that these quintessential aspects of the mind should be central to the discussion. Hum Brain Mapp 37:4197–4211, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
YAASE: Yet Another Android Security Extension

Three hundred and fifty thousand Android phones are activated each day. The open philosophy adopted by Google makes it easy for third-parties to develop and distribute applications. Unfortunately, the same applies to malicious applications that pose a real threat to users' privacy. The limited security model implemented on the Android Platform has failed in thwarting these attacks. In this paper, we present Yet Another Android Security Extension (YAASE) that provides a fine-grained security mechanism while protecting the user from malicious applications that attempt to leak sensitive information via network access or by privilege spreading through collusion. We have implemented YAASE and evaluated its performance overhead. Preliminary results show the approach is indeed feasible.
A statistical overview and perspectives on data assimilation for marine biogeochemical models

Marine biogeochemistry refers to the processes associated with the planktonic ecosystem of the ocean. These are central to nutrient, carbon, and energy cycling, as well as providing the basis of the marine food chain. The field is being revolutionized by new data types and observing platforms, as well as by improvements in ocean modelling brought about by increasing computer power. To further our understanding of these systems, statistical estimation and inference are needed to combine the information in these data with dynamic models to provide improved estimates for the ocean's biogeochemical (BGC) state and its parameters. Such methodologies are termed data assimilation (DA). This paper seeks to provide an overview of DA for the emerging area of marine BGC modelling. A statistical framework is offered, and DA methods that are applicable to the spatio‐temporal dynamic models and data that define the BGC problem are reviewed. In addition to this primer on current BGC DA approaches, we offer our perspectives on the challenges and future work necessary to advance this field. This work emerged from a symposium on marine BGC DA that took place in Hobart, Australia, on 28–30 May 2013. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
IMPLEMENTATION OF GENETIC ALGORITHM FOR A DWT BASED IMAGE WATERMARKING SCHEME

This paper proposes a new optimization method for digital images in the Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) domain. Digital image watermarking has proved its efficiency in protecting illegal authentication of data. The amplification factor of the watermark is the significant parameter that helps in improving the perceptual transparency and robustness against attacks. The tradeoff between the transparency and robustness is considered as an optimization problem and is solved by applying Genetic Algorithm. The experimental results of this approach prove to be secure and robust to filtering attacks, additive noise, rotation, scaling, cropping and JPEG compression. The Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR), Mean Square Error (MSE), and computational time are evaluated for a set of images obtained from the Tampere University of Technology, Finland using the MATLAB R2008b software.
Fast speaker change detection for broadcast news transcription and indexing

In this paper, we describe a new speaker change detection algorithm designed for fast transcription and audio indexing of spoken broadcast news. We have designed a two-stage algorithm that begins with a gender-independent phone-class recognition pass. We collapse the phoneme inventory to only 4 broad classes and include 4 different models for non-speech, resulting in a small fast decoder that runs in less than 0.1 times real-time. The second stage of the SCD algorithm hypothesizes a speaker change boundary between every phone in the labeled input. The phone level time resolution in our approach permits the algorithm to run quickly while maintaining the same accuracy as a frame level approach. Applying the new algorithms to a large sample of broadcast news programs resulted in improvements in speaker change detection accuracy, speech recognition accuracy, and speed.
El Sistema de Responsabilidad Social Corporativa como fundamento de la Innovación en PYME turísticas

Este artículo tiene el objetivo de repensar sistémicamente las prácticas en la responsabilidad social corporativa en las pequeñas y medianas empresas turísticas. El enfoque es de orientación sistémica utilizando el modelo del sistema viable, para identificar los factores vinculados a la responsabilidad social corporativa. Con la aplicación del modelo del sistema viable y de los criterios internacionales, las pequeñas y medianas empresas pueden establecer sus propios principios para ejercer la responsabilidad social corporativa en su entorno. La literatura revisada aporta solo una orientación para gestionar la responsabilidad social corporativa, pero es conveniente aplicarlo en un estudio de caso. La metodología puede apoyar a establecer estrategias para empezar a incorporar la responsabilidad social corporativa en los modelos de negocio de las pequeñas y medianas empresas turísticas. La industria del turismo necesita trascender de la filantropía pasiva a la responsabilidad social activa con el uso de modelos sistémicos en las pequeñas y medianas empresas.
A Universal UHF RFID Reader Antenna

A broadband circularly polarized patch antenna is proposed for universal ultra-high-frequency (UHF) RF identification (RFID) applications. The antenna is composed of two corner-truncated patches and a suspended microstrip line with open-circuited termination. The main patch is fed by four probes which are sequentially connected to the suspended microstrip feed line. The measurement shows that the antenna achieves a return loss of -15 dB, gain of 8.3 dBic, axial ratio (AR) of 3 dB, and 3-dB AR beamwidth of 75deg over the UHF band of 818-964 MHz or 16.4%. Therefore, the proposed antenna is universal for UHF RFID applications worldwide at the UHF band of 840-960 MHz. In addition, a parametric study is conducted to facilitate the design and optimization processes for engineers.
The neural site of binocular rivalry relative to the analysis of motion in the human visual system

Neural processing is disrupted during suppression phases of binocular rivalry, as evidenced by the temporary invisibility of an otherwise complex, high-contrast visual stimulus. This paper investigates the locus of this disruption relative to the processing of information about image motion. In one experiment, observers tracked binocular rivalry between a stationary textured field and a plaid composed of 2 drifting cosine gratings, with the angle between components varied to produce different pattern speeds. (Plaid speed is given by the ratio of the component speed to the cosine of the angle between the 2 directions of motion.) Predominance of the moving plaid increased with pattern speed, even though the speed of the individual components remained constant. Control measures verified that this influence of plaid speed was not attributable to specific component orientations. Information about coherent motion influences the rivalry process, implying that the site of coherent motion analysis, presumably the middle temporal area (MT), received input during dominance phases of rivalry. A second experiment investigated the effect of suppression on the processing of complex, nonlinear motion. Observers tracked rivalry phases for a rotating spiral, then indicated the duration of the subsequently perceived spiral aftereffect (SAE) for both rivalry and nonrivalry conditions. The SAE was reduced when adaptation occurred under the rivalry condition, with aftereffect duration proportional to the total duration of spiral visibility during adaptation. Earlier work places rivalry after the site of the linear motion aftereffect, and the present results show that rivalry suppression occurs prior to the site of spiral motion processing. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Protection Effect of Endomorphins on Advanced Glycation End Products Induced Injury in Endothelial Cells

Endomorphins (EMs) have a very important bridge-function in cardiovascular, endocrinological, and neurological systems. This study is to investigate the effects of EMs on the synthesis and secretion of vasoactive substances induced by advanced glycation end products in primary cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Firstly, HUVECs were stimulated with AGEs-bovine serum albumin (AGEs-BSA), bovine serum albumin (BSA), or both AGEs-BSA and EMs together, respectively. Then, HUVEC survival rate was calculated by MTT assay, the levels of NO, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were detected by colorimetric analysis, and the contents of endothelin-1 (ET-1) were detected by ELISA. The mRNA levels of eNOS and ET-1 were measured by RT-PCR. The expression of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) was detected by immunofluorescence assay. The results showed that the mRNA expression and secretion of eNOS were significantly enhanced after incubation with EMs compared to those with AGEs-BSA, while the secretion of NO and iNOS, mRNA expression, and secretion of ET-1 had opposite changes. The fluorescence intensity of p38MAPK in nuclear was decreased after pretreatment with EMs compared to incubation with AGEs-BSA. Conclusion. The present study suggests that EMs have certain protection effect on AGEs-BSA-induced injury in HUVEC.
Research on Evaluation Model of Customer Trust for B2C E-commerce Enterprises

As a new commerce business activity, e-commerce is the key to the future economic growth. Customer trust is the survival and development issue for enterprises of electronic commerce, so evaluating customer trust rationally will be the key research. But the customer trust evaluation focus mainly on theoretical study, but less on the empirical analysis and quantitative research. This article finds out the key indicators which influences customer trust based on analysis of survey data that comes from China Internet Information Centre, and makes quantitative the comprehensive evaluation of customer trust for B2C e-commerce enterprise by using factor analysis method.
On the Security of End-to-End Network Measurements; ; Technical Reports;

End-to-end network measurement tools are gaining increased importance in many Internet services. These tools were designed, however, without prior security consideration which, given the current adversarial Internet, renders their extracted network estimates questionable. In this paper, we highlight the major security vulnerabilities of existing end-to-end measurement tools and we sketch possible research directions to counter these threats. We further argue that finding “fullfledged” solutions for these challenges might require a serious re-design of the current Internet.
A Seat at the Top? A Historical Appraisal of Brazil’s Case for the UN Security Council

Emerging powers have increasingly been vocal about reforming the structures of global governance. Brazil has asserted itself both as a player to be reckoned with in multilateral organizations and as a candidate for permanent membership at the United Nations Security Council. This article aims at investigating the circumstances surrounding Brazil’s efforts at three historical moments: the failed attempt to gain a permanent seat on the Council of the League of Nations, the short-lived campaign to become the “sixth permanent member” of the Security Council in 1945, and the candidacy in the 1990s and after. Although some studies focus on each candidature separately, there is not a comprehensive comparison to put them into perspective. By comparing how foreign policy was conducted by different administrations, the article sheds light on the future behavior that could be expected from Brazil on this issue, regardless of the government in charge.
Impact of social structure on forwarding algorithms in opportunistic networks

Opportunistic networks are formed among mobile wireless devices based on spontaneous connectivity such as mobile phone networks using short range radio. Different setting of social structure in such networks gives significant impact on the feasibility and performance. In this paper we aim at understanding how social structure affects forwarding algorithm in various opportunistic network configurations. Having human mobility traces from the real world, we focus on the social structure in terms of centrality and community. We exploit different community detection and centrality calculation from the trace to present the features of such networks. We study a collection of Social-based Forwarding algorithms, such as LABEL, RANK, and BUBBLE [10]. Furthermore, we implement those forwarding algorithms over a Xen-based Haggle testbed [9]. We investigate the impact of community structure and centrality on performance and demonstrate that social structure influences the performance of the social-based Forwarding algorithms. Our result demonstrates that it is important to find appropriate centrality and communities for social networks with complex structure in the design of the social-based data dissemination algorithms.
Total polyphenolic contents and in vitro antioxidant properties of eight Sida species from Western Ghats, India

Background: Sida L. , is a medicinally important genus, the species of which are widely used in traditional systems of medicine in India. Pharmacologically, roots are known for anti-tumor, anti-HIV, hepatoprotective, and many other properties. Phenolic antioxidants help in reducing oxidative stress occurring during treatment of such diseases. Objective: The study aimed to evaluate and compare polyphenol contents and antioxidant properties of eight selected species of Sida from Western Ghats, India. Materials and Methods: Methanolic root extracts (10% w/v) of Sida species, viz., S. acuta, S. cordata, S. cordifolia, S. indica, S. mysorensis, S. retusa, S. rhombifolia, and S. spinosa were analyzed. Results: Sida cordifolia possessed highest total phenolic content (TPC: 1.92 ± 0.10 mg Caffeic Acid Equivalent/g and 2.13 ± 0.11 mg Tannic Acid Equivalant/g), total flavonoid content (TF: 2.60 ± 0.13 mg Quercetin Equivalent/g) and also possessed highest antioxidant activities in 2,2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging (51.31 ± 2.57% Radical Scavenging Activity, (RSA); Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity: 566.25 ± 28. 31μM; Ascorbic acid Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity: 477.80 ± 23.89 μM) and Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power assays (TEAC: 590.67 ± 29.53 μM; AEAC: 600.67 ± 30.03 μM). Unlike DPPH and Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) activity, 2, 2Ͳ-Azinobis (3-ethyl Benzo Thiazoline-6-Sulfonic acid) ABTS + antioxidant activity was highest in S. indica (TEAC: 878.44 ± 43.92 μM; AEAC 968.44 ± 48.42 μM). It was significant to note that values of AEAC (μM) for all the antioxidant activities analyzed were higher than that of TEAC. Conclusion: The high contents of phenolic compounds in the root extracts of selected Sida species have direct correlation with their antioxidant properties. Conclusively, roots of S. cordifolia can be considered as the potential source of polyphenols and antioxidants.
Efficient Image transmission in Wireless Sensor Networks using Wavelet coded Preprocessing technique

In the recent years, the wireless technology would have known an exponential growth, which has an impact on developing and improving the field of telecommunications beyond the means of transmission wire to the radio frequency communication. The Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is enrolled in this context. It’s a collection of component (nodes) organized into a cooperative network. Image transfer in WSNs presents major challenge which raises issues related to its representation, its storage and its transmission. Image transmission challenges including limited bandwidth of cellular networks, restricted computational power, limited storage capability, and battery constraints of the appliances. In this paper we proposed a new scheme that has two stages in first stage we perform preprocessing using Bayesian technique next wavelet based compression . An efficient Wavelet based compression scheme that can significantly minimize the energy required for wireless image communication while meeting bandwidth constraints of wireless and network image quality. Based on Discrete Wavelet Transform, we propose an efficient image compression scheme, enabling significant reduction in computation energy needed with minimal degradation of image quality. The Proposed system better compression ratio and reduced transmission delay.
A Study on the Market Reaction Ability of the Manufacturing Supply Chain

Supplier coordination and market reaction ability have become topical subjects in recent years. The goal of the coordination and cooperation of the firms in a supply chain is to be able to rapidly respond to market changes. The subjects of this study were Taiwanese manufacturing firms with complete experience of the supply chain activities of being the upstream supplier and the downstream customer. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to establish the supply chain strategy model, and validate the causality and interaction effect weights of the state of environment, coordination and reaction ability between firms. The empirical results suggested that market resource environment competition has a positive impact on supply chain coordination and product development integration, while supply chain coordination has a positive impact on product development integration and market reaction ability. Finally, product development integration was found to have a positive impact on market reaction ability. The empirical results could provide a reference to firms in reviewing the impact of market resource uncertainties on individual firms before developing the supply chain strategic directions.
An Efficient Semantic Model For Concept Based Clustering And Classification

Usually in text mining techniques the basic measures like term frequency of a term (word or phrase) is computed to compute the importance of the term in the document. But with statistical analysis, the original semantics of the term may not carry the exact meaning of the term. To overcome this problem, a new framework has been introduced which relies on concept based model and synonym based approach. The proposed model can efficiently find significant matching and related concepts between documents according to concept based and synonym based approaches. Large sets of experiments using the proposed model on different set in clustering and classification are conducted. Experimental results demonstrate the substantial enhancement of the clustering quality using sentence based, document based, corpus based and combined approach concept analysis. A new similarity measure has been proposed to find the similarity between a document and the existing clusters, which can be used in classification of the document with existing clusters.
Performance Optimization of Network Coding Based Communication and Reliable Storage in Internet of Things

Internet or things (IoT) is changing our daily life rapidly. Although new technologies are emerging everyday and expanding their influence in this rapidly growing area, many classic theories can still find their places. In this paper, we study the important applications of the classic network coding theory in two important components of Internet of things, including the IoT core network, where data is sensed and transmitted, and the distributed cloud storage, where the data generated by the IoT core network is stored. First we propose an adaptive network coding (ANC) scheme in the IoT core network to improve the transmission efficiency. We demonstrate the efficacy of the scheme and the performance advantage over existing schemes through simulations. %Next we study the application of network coding in the distributed cloud storage. Next we introduce the optimal storage allocation problem in the network coding based distributed cloud storage, which aims at searching for the most reliable allocation that distributes the $n$ data components into $N$ data centers, given the failure probability $p$ of each data center. Then we propose a polynomial-time optimal storage allocation (OSA) scheme to solve the problem. Both the theoretical analysis and the simulation results show that the storage reliability could be greatly improved by the OSA scheme.
PhylOTU: A High-Throughput Procedure Quantifies Microbial Community Diversity and Resolves Novel Taxa from Metagenomic Data

Microbial diversity is typically characterized by clustering ribosomal RNA (SSU-rRNA) sequences into operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Targeted sequencing of environmental SSU-rRNA markers via PCR may fail to detect OTUs due to biases in priming and amplification. Analysis of shotgun sequenced environmental DNA, known as metagenomics, avoids amplification bias but generates fragmentary, non-overlapping sequence reads that cannot be clustered by existing OTU-finding methods. To circumvent these limitations, we developed PhylOTU, a computational workflow that identifies OTUs from metagenomic SSU-rRNA sequence data through the use of phylogenetic principles and probabilistic sequence profiles. Using simulated metagenomic data, we quantified the accuracy with which PhylOTU clusters reads into OTUs. Comparisons of PCR and shotgun sequenced SSU-rRNA markers derived from the global open ocean revealed that while PCR libraries identify more OTUs per sequenced residue, metagenomic libraries recover a greater taxonomic diversity of OTUs. In addition, we discover novel species, genera and families in the metagenomic libraries, including OTUs from phyla missed by analysis of PCR sequences. Taken together, these results suggest that PhylOTU enables characterization of part of the biosphere currently hidden from PCR-based surveys of diversity?