Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Formalising Human Recognition: a Fundamental Building Block for Security Proofs

A fundamental part of many authentication protocols which authenticate a party to a human involves the human recognizing or otherwise processing a message received from the party. Examples include typical implementations of Verified by Visa in which a message, previously stored by the human at a bank, is sent by the bank to the human to authenticate the bank to the human; or the expectation that humans will recognize or verify an extended validation certificate in a HTTPS context. This paper presents general definitions and building blocks for the modelling and analysis of human recognition in authentication protocols, allowing the creation of proofs for protocols which include humans. We cover both generalized trawling and human-specific targeted attacks. As examples of the range of uses of our construction, we use the model presented in this paper to prove the security of a mutual authentication login protocol and a human-assisted device pairing protocol.
Illumination from curved reflectors

A technique is presented to compute the refkted illumination from curved mirror surfaces onto other surfaces. In accordance with Fermat’s principle, this is equivalent to fiiding extremal paths from the light source to the visible surface via the mirrors. Once pathways of illumination are found, h-radiance is computed from the Gaussian curvature of the geometrical wavefront. Techniques from optics, differential geometry and interval analysis are applied to this problem in global illumination. CR Categories and Subject Descriptions: 1.3. 3 [ Computer Graphics ]: Picture/Image Generation; 1.3. 7 [ Computer Graphics ]: Three-Dimensional Graphics and Realism
Localized search in sorted lists

It is well known that every one of the set operations <underline>insert, delete</underline> and <underline>member</underline> can be performed in O(log n) steps, where n is the number of elements currently in the set. Here we implement these operations and a <underline>move</underline> operation for a sorted list with f fingers (points of reference) established on the list. It is shown that these operations can be performed in O(log d) steps, where d is the distance between the corresponding finger and the key involved.
Translational genomics for plant breeding with the genome sequence explosion

Summary The use of next‐generation sequencers and advanced genotyping technologies has propelled the field of plant genomics in model crops and plants and enhanced the discovery of hidden bridges between genotypes and phenotypes. The newly generated reference sequences of unstudied minor plants can be annotated by the knowledge of model plants via translational genomics approaches. Here, we reviewed the strategies of translational genomics and suggested perspectives on the current databases of genomic resources and the database structures of translated information on the new genome. As a draft picture of phenotypic annotation, translational genomics on newly sequenced plants will provide valuable assistance for breeders and researchers who are interested in genetic studies.
Least Absolute Deviation Estimation of Linear Econometric Models: A Literature Review

Econometricians generally take for granted that the error terms in the econometric models are generated by distributions having a finite variance. However, since the time of Pareto the existence of error distributions with infinite variance is known. Works of many econometricians, namely, Meyer & Glauber (1964), Fama (1965) and Mandlebroth (1967), on economic data series like prices in financial and commodity markets confirm that infinite variance distributions exist abundantly. The distribution of firms by size, behaviour of speculative prices and various other recent economic phenomena also display similar trends. Further, econometricians generally assume that the disturbance term, which is an influence of innumerably many factors not accounted for in the model, approaches normality according to the Central Limit Theorem. But Bartels (1977) is of the opinion that there are limit theorems, which are just likely to be relevant when considering the sum of number of components in a regression disturbance that leads to non-normal stable distribution characterized by infinite variance. Thus, the possibility of the error term following a non-normal distribution exists. The Least Squares method of estimation of parameters of linear (regression) models performs well provided that the residuals (disturbances or errors) are well behaved (preferably normally or near-normally distributed and not infested with large size outliers) and follow Gauss-Markov assumptions. However, models with the disturbances that are prominently non-normally distributed and contain sizeable outliers fail estimation by the Least Squares method. An intensive research has established that in such cases estimation by the Least Absolute Deviation (LAD) method performs well. This paper is an attempt to survey the literature on LAD estimation of single as well as multi-equation linear econometric models.
Practical Opportunistic Data Collection in Wireless Sensor Networks with Mobile Sinks

Wireless Sensor Networks with Mobile Sinks (WSN-MSs) are considered a viable alternative to the heavy cost of deployment of traditional wireless sensing infrastructures at scale. However, current state-of-the-art approaches perform poorly in practice due to their requirement of mobility prediction and specific assumptions on network topology. In this paper, we focus on low-delay and high-throughput opportunistic data collection in WSN-MSs with general network topologies and arbitrary numbers of mobile sinks. We first propose a novel routing metric, Contact-Aware ETX (CA-ETX), to estimate the packet transmission delay caused by both packet retransmissions and intermittent connectivity. By implementing CA-ETX in the defacto TinyOS routing standard CTP and the IETF IPv6 routing protocol RPL, we demonstrate that CA-ETX can work seamlessly with ETX. This means that current ETX-based routing protocols for static WSNs can be easily extended to WSN-MSs with minimal modification by using CA-ETX. Further, by combing CA-ETX with the dynamic backpressure routing, we present a throughput-optimal scheme Opportunistic Backpressure Collection (OBC). Both CA-ETX and OBC are lightweight, easy to implement, and require no mobility prediction. Through test-bed experiments and extensive simulations, we show that the proposed schemes significantly outperform current approaches in terms of packet transmission delay, communication overhead, storage overheads, reliability, and scalability.
Maternal Nutrition Induces Pervasive Gene Expression Changes but No Detectable DNA Methylation Differences in the Liver of Adult Offspring

Aims Epidemiological and animal studies have shown that maternal diet can influence metabolism in adult offspring. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these changes remain poorly understood. Here, we characterize the phenotypes induced by maternal obesity in a mouse model and examine gene expression and epigenetic changes induced by maternal diet in adult offspring. Methods We analyzed genetically identical male mice born from dams fed a high- or low-fat diet throughout pregnancy and until day 21 postpartum. After weaning, half of the males of each group were fed a high-fat diet, the other half a low-fat diet. We first characterized the genome-wide gene expression patterns of six tissues of adult offspring - liver, pancreas, white adipose, brain, muscle and heart. We then measured DNA methylation patterns in liver at selected loci and throughout the genome. Results Maternal diet had a significant effect on the body weight of the offspring when they were fed an obesogenic diet after weaning. Our analyses showed that maternal diet had a pervasive effect on gene expression, with a pronounced effect in liver where it affected many genes involved in inflammation, cholesterol synthesis and RXR activation. We did not detect any effect of the maternal diet on DNA methylation in the liver. Conclusions Overall, our findings highlighted the persistent influence of maternal diet on adult tissue regulation and suggested that the transcriptional changes were unlikely to be caused by DNA methylation differences in adult liver.
A background music detection method based on robust feature extraction

We propose a music segment detection method for audio signals. Unlike many existing methods, ours specifically focuses on a background-music detection task, that is, detecting music used in background of main sounds. This task is important because music is almost always overlapped by speech or other environmental sounds in visual materials such as TV programs. Our method consists of feature extraction, dimension reduction, and statistical discrimination steps. For each step, we analyzed a set of methods to maximize the detection accuracy. With a simple post processing step, we achieved a framewise error rate as low as 8 % even when the mixed speech was louder than the target music by 10dB.
Modeling the Series Impedance of a Quad Cable for Common-Mode DSL Applications

New digital subscriber line (DSL) technologies are being developed to meet the ever-increasing bandwidth demand of the user. One very promising approach injects ¿common-mode¿ signals that superimpose a signal on two regular differential pairs. This technique requires new reliable multiconductor models for the telephony cables. Therefore, good approximations of the series impedance of the line are indispensable. In this paper, a model for this series impedance is theoretically derived and validated with measurements.
EmoViz: Mining the world's interest through emotion analysis

Today, most personalized and recommendation services are built around interest extraction models but the outputs of these algorithms are ambiguous in nature. This makes it difficult to understand what users are personally interested in and more importantly what they are feeling towards these interests and how their interests transition through time. By studying both users' interests and emotions, simultaneously, one can further investigate the motivation behind these interests. Such findings can be useful to build better interest extraction models and algorithms that leverage personalized and recommendation services (e.g., ads. targeting, e-commerce and dating sites). In this paper, we propose the demonstration of a web visualization tool - EmoViz - which facilitates the further exploration of users' interests and their emotions at a global scale. Such tool, through the use of various visual components, aims to alleviate the problem of understanding what users of the world are interested in and the motivations behind their interests and feelings.
Extent of cardiovascular risk reduction associated with treatment of isolated systolic hypertension.

BACKGROUND The Systolic Hypertension in the Elderly Program (SHEP) demonstrated the benefit of treating isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) in older adults. However, nearly 20% of older adults remain at high risk of heart disease and stroke from untreated ISH. METHODS For the Pittsburgh SHEP cohort, 11- to 14-year death or cardiovascular event rates were compared for active (n = 135) and placebo (n = 133) arms plus normotensive controls (n = 187). Carotid ultrasound and ankle blood pressures were used to identify subclinical atherosclerosis at baseline. RESULTS Fourteen-year Kaplan-Meier event rate estimates were 58% vs 79% for the active vs placebo groups (P =.001). Eleven-year event rates for the control, active, and placebo groups were 35%, 47%, and 65%, respectively. Compared with controls, the relative risk of an event was 1.6 (95% confidence interval, 1.1-2.4) for the active treatment group and 3.0 (95% confidence interval, 2.1-4.4) for the placebo group. Baseline history of cardiovascular disease was present in 19% of SHEP participants vs 15% of controls (P =.32), and subclinical disease (carotid stenosis or low ankle blood pressure) was detected in 33% of SHEP participants vs 10% of controls (P<.001). Among those with no clinical or subclinical disease at baseline, the ISH group assigned to active treatment had 10-year event rates similar to those of the control group (29% vs 27%), whereas the placebo rates were much higher (69%). CONCLUSIONS Treatment of ISH in older adults results in reduced event rates in 14 years. Treatment before advanced atherosclerosis develops will likely produce the best long-term outcome.
Encephalitis Hospitalization Rates and Inpatient Mortality in the United States, 2000-2010

Background Encephalitis rates by etiology and acute-phase outcomes for encephalitis in the 21st century are largely unknown. We sought to evaluate cause-specific rates of encephalitis hospitalizations and predictors of inpatient mortality in the United States. Methods Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) from 2000 to 2010, a retrospective observational study of 238,567 patients (mean [SD] age, 44.8 [24.0] years) hospitalized within non-federal, acute care hospitals in the U.S. with a diagnosis of encephalitis was conducted. Hospitalization rates were calculated using population-level estimates of disease from the NIS and population estimates from the United States Census Bureau. Adjusted odds of mortality were calculated for patients included in the study. Results In the U.S. from 2000–2010, there were 7.3±0.2 encephalitis hospitalizations per 100,000 population (95% CI: 7.1–7.6). Encephalitis hospitalization rates were highest among females (7.6±0.2 per 100,000) and those <1 year and >65 years of age with rates of 13.5±0.9 and 14.1±0.4 per 100,000, respectively. Etiology was unknown for approximately 50% of cases. Among patients with identified etiology, viral causes were most common (48.2%), followed by Other Specified causes (32.5%), which included predominantly autoimmune conditions. The most common infectious agents were herpes simplex virus, toxoplasma, and West Nile virus. Comorbid HIV infection was present in 7.7% of hospitalizations. Average length of stay was 11.2 days with mortality of 5.6%. In regression analysis, patients with comorbid HIV/AIDS or cancer had increased odds of mortality (odds ratio [OR] = 1.70; 95% CI: 1.30–2.22 and OR = 2.26; 95% CI: 1.88–2.71, respectively). Enteroviral, postinfectious, toxic, and Other Specified causes were associated with lower odds vs. herpes simplex encephalitis. Conclusions While encephalitis and encephalitis-related mortality impose a considerable burden in the U.S. in the 21st Century, the reported demographics of hospitalized encephalitis patients may be changing.
Populations of supersoft X-ray sources: Novae, tidal disruption, Type Ia supernovae, accretion-induced collapse, ionization, and intermediatemass black holes?

Observations of hundreds of supersoft X-ray sources (SSSs) in external galaxies have shed light on the diversity of the class and on the natures of the sources. SSSs are linked to the physics of Type Ia supernovae and accretion-induced collapse, ultraluminous X-ray sources and black holes, the ionization of the interstellar medium, and tidal disruption by supermassive black holes. The class of SSSs has an extension to higher luminosities: ultraluminous SSSs have luminosities above 1039 erg s–1. There is also an extension to higher energies: quasisoft X-ray sources (QSSs) emit photons with energies above 1 keV, but few or none with energies above 2 keV. Finally, a significant fraction of the SSSs found in external galaxies switch states between observations, becoming either quasisoft or hard. For many systems “supersoft” refers to a temporary state; SSSs are sources, possibly including a variety of fundamentally different system types, that pass through such a state. We review those results derived from extragalactic data and related theoretical work that are most surprising and that suggest directions for future research (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Using the Market to Address Climate Change: Insights from Theory & Experience

Abstract Emissions of greenhouse gases linked with global climate change are affected by diverse aspects of economic activity, including individual consumption, business investment, and government spending. An effective climate policy will have to modify the decision calculus for these activities in the direction of more efficient generation and use of energy, lower carbon-intensity of energy, and a more carbon-lean economy. The only technically feasible and cost-effective approach to achieving this goal on a meaningful scale is carbon pricing: that is, market-based climate policies that place a shadow-price on carbon dioxide emissions. We examine alternative designs of three such instruments: carbon taxes, cap and trade, and clean energy standards. We note that the U.S. political response to possible market-based approaches to climate policy has been, and will continue to be, largely a function of issues and structural factors that transcend the scope of environmental and climate policy.
Data Selection by Sequence Summarizing Neural Network in Mismatch Condition Training

Data augmentation is a simple and efficient technique to improve the robustness of a speech recognizer when deployed in mismatched training-test conditions. Our paper proposes a new approach for selecting data with respect to similarity of acoustic conditions. The similarity is computed based on a sequence summarizing neural network which extracts vectors containing acoustic summary (e.g. noise and reverberation characteristics) of an utterance. Several configurations of this network and different methods of selecting data using these “summary-vectors” were explored. The results are reported on a mismatched condition using AMI training set with the proposed data selection and CHiME3 test set.
Performance of Asynchronous MC-CDMA Systems with Maximal Ratio Combining in Frequency-Selective Fading Channels

The bit error rate (BER) performance of the asynchronous uplink channel of multicarrier code division multiple access (MC-CDMA) systems with maximal ratio combining (MRC) is analyzed. The study takes into account the effects of channel path correlations in generalized frequency-selective fading channels. Closed-form BER expressions are developed for correlated Nakagami fading channels with arbitrary fading parameters. For channels with correlated Rician fading paths, the BER formula developed is in one-dimensional integration form with finite integration limits, which is also easy to evaluate. The accuracy of the derived BER formulas are verified by computer simulations. The derived BER formulas are also useful in terms of computing other system performance measures such as error floor and user capacity.
On logic synthesis of conventionally hard to synthesize circuits using genetic programming

Recently, it has been shown that synthesis of some circuits is quite difficult for conventional methods. In this paper we present a method of minimization of multi-level logic networks which can solve these difficult circuit instances. The synthesis problem is transformed on the search problem. A search algorithm called Cartesian genetic programming (CGP) is applied to synthesize various difficult circuits. Conventional circuit synthesis usually fails for these difficult circuits; specific synthesis processes must be employed to obtain satisfactory results. We have found that CGP is able to implicitly discover new efficient circuit structures. Thus, it is able to optimize circuits universally, regardless their structure. The circuit optimization by CGP has been found especially efficient when applied to circuits already optimized by a conventional synthesis. The total runtime is reduced, while the result quality is improved further more.
Speech Overlap and Interplay with Disfluencies in Political Interviews

The reported study focuses on overlapping speech, transcription, annotation and disfluency analysis in an 8-hour audio corpus of French political interviews. Overlaps are frequent (on average 3-4 overlaps per minute) and of short duration (5% of data), non-intrusive overlaps being significantly shorter than intrusive ones. Disfluencies include repetitions, revisions and filled pauses. Manual annotation achieved a higher inter-annotator agreement when based on the four overlap types: back-channel, turn request, anticipated turn taking and complementary. Discourse markers are also considered in this study. The disfluency rate in overlaps is almost double of the one in non-overlapping speech. Repetitions are the most involved disfluency type, especially for intrusive overlaps (turn requests and complementary). The study highlights interesting differences between active (incoming) and passive (floor holding) overlap speakers, as well as between journalists and interviewees.
Managing from the Inside Out: Drawing on ‘Receptivity’ to Explain Variation in Strategy Implementation

With the rise of 'New Public Management' (NPM), government policy has encouraged public-sector organizations to downsize and outsource their services. There is, however, local variation in the use of outsourcing - this is 'managing from the inside out'. This paper draws on the notion of receptivity for organizational change to explain variation in strategy implementation. Four receptivity factors are identified which seem to explain the success of two contrasting English local government outsourcing strategies: ideological vision, leading change, institutional politics and implementation capacity. The organization level of change is interconnected with two other levels of change (the public service and environment levels) to illustrate the dynamic nature of change.
SAXO: An optimized data-driven symbolic representation of time series

In France, the currently emerging “smart grid” and more particularly the 35 millions of “smart meters” will produce a large amount of daily updated metering data. The main french provider of electricity (EDF) is interested by compact and generic representations of time series which allow to accelerate the processing of data. This article proposes a new data-driven symbolic representation of time series named SAXO, where each symbol represents a typical distribution of data points. Furthermore, the time dimension is optimally discretized into intervals by using a parameter free Bayesian coclustering approach (MODL). SAXO is favorably compared with the SAX representation by evaluating a classifier trained from recoded datasets. Our experiments highlight a significant gap in performance between both approaches.
Modified Price and Green's rake receiver for ultra-wideband system

Ultra-Wideband (UWB) system mostly works in a dense multipath environment. It has been proved that good diversity gain can be obtained by a rake receiver over this kind of channel to resist multipath fading. In this paper, the Price and Green's rake receiver which is well known in CDMA system is used for UWB system with some necessary modifications. The channel information can be estimated by this receiver without a pilot when M-ary orthogonal modulation is used. So Ms orthogonal short impulse waveforms is used as the transmitted waveforms to implement the M-ary orthogonal modulation. This method has low complexity and processing delay. In particular, it is much fit for fast time-varying channel.