Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dynamic Permission Re-enforcement Technique for Protecting Application from Others with Over-privileged Permission at Run Time

Recently users want to have more powerful devices and capabilities to satisfy their demands ever than before. However, there are many vulnerabilities caused by uncontrolled and over-privileged permission at run time. Without this concern to correctly control the permission at execution time, we propose dynamically enforce permission technique in the paper. For this purpose, we classify applications as secure or non-secure and validate their permissions at run time. If the secure one is already running, the other which has the same permission will be suspended until the former finishes his execution. Providing dynamic control of permission, we implement our technique on Android with slightly modifying a few Java classes in it. With the help of our proposed method, users can easily execute their secure application in separated from others and find over-privileged permission a run time. Through this technique we can efficiently prohibit unintended application's behavior to attain higher privilege without theirs acknowledgement.
Robot companion for domestic health assistance: Implementation, test and case study under everyday conditions in private apartments

This paper presents the implementation and evaluation results of the German research project SERROGA (2012 till mid 2015), which aimed at developing a robot companion for domestic health assistance for older people that helps keeping them physically and mentally fit to remain living independently in their own homes for as long as possible. The paper gives an overview of the developed companion robot, its system architecture, and essential skills, behaviors, and services required for a robotic health assistant. Moreover, it presents a new approach allowing a quantitative description and assessment of the navigation complexity of apartments to make them objectively comparable for function tests under real-life conditions. Based on this approach, the results of function tests executed in 12 apartments of project staff and seniors are described. Furthermore, the paper presents findings of a case study conducted with nine seniors (aged 68-92) in their own homes, investigating both instrumental and social-emotional functions of a robotic health assistant. The robot accompanied the seniors in their homes for up to three days assisting with tasks of their daily schedule and health care, without any supervising person being present on-site. Results revealed that the seniors appreciated the robot's health-related instrumental functions and even built emotional bonds with it.
Distributed Classification on Peers with Variable Data Spaces and Distributions

The promise of distributed classification is to improve the classification accuracy of peers on their respective local data, using the knowledge of other peers in the distributed network. Though in reality, data across peers may be drastically different from each other (in the distribution of observations and/or the labels), current explorations implicitly assume that all learning agents receive data from the same distribution. We remove this simplifying assumption by allowing peers to draw from arbitrary data distributions and be based on arbitrary spaces, thus formalizing the general problem of distributed classification. We find that this problem is difficult because it does not admit state-of-the-art solutions in distributed classification. We also discuss the relation between the general problem and transfer learning, and show that transfer learning approaches cannot be trivially fitted to solve the problem. Finally, we present a list of open research problems in this challenging field.
Hypoxia-dependent reduction of 1-(2-nitro-1-imidazolyl)-3-methoxy-2-propanol by Chinese hamster ovary cells and KHT tumor cells in vitro and in vivo.

Incubation of Chinese hamster ovary cells and KHT murine fibrosarcoma tumor cells in the absence of oxygen with 1-[2-14C]nitro-1-imidazolyl)-3-methoxy-2-propanol, one of the most effective radiation sensitizers of hypoxic cells, results in the preferential reduction of 1-[2-14C]nitro-1-imidazolyl)-3-methoxy-2-propanol. The radioactivity associated with the acid-insoluble precipitate from cells incubated in nitrogen is about four times higher than that of cells incubated in air. When aqueous extracts of tissues of a C3H mouse bearing the KHT tumor, after i.p. injection with 1-[2-14C]nitro-1-imidazolyl)-3-methoxy-2-propanol, are analyzed, a reduction product is found in relatively higher yields in the tumor than in normal tissues. The relative radioactivity in the pellet from the tumor homogenate is also high in comparison with those of most normal tissues. These results provide suggestive evidence for a higher degree of hypoxic in the tumor than in most normal tissues. The formation of reduction products and their subsequent binding to macromolecules may explain the preferential toxicity of nitro compounds to mammalian cells under hypoxia conditions. These results suggest that some nitro compounds may be useful for the treatment of tumors having a high fraction of hypoxic cells even in the absence of radiation.
Multipath Routing metrics and QoS in Wireless Sensor Networks: Survey and Research Challenges

Multipath routing is an efficient technique to route data in wireless sensor networks because it provides reliability, security, load balancing, which are critical in resource constrained systems such as WSNs. A wireless sensor network is a large collection of sensor nodes with limited power supply and constrained computational capability. Nowadays, multipath routing approach is widely used in wireless sensor networks to improve network performance through efficient utilization of available network resources. Accordingly, the main aim of this survey is to present the concept of the multipath routing approach and its fundamental challenges, as well as the basic motivations for utilizing this technique in wireless sensor networks. This paper compares and summarizes the state- of-the-art multipath routing techniques from the network application point of view. Finally, we identify open issues for further research in the development of multipath routing protocols for wireless sensor networks. In addition a summary of design goals, challenges and evaluation metrics for multipath routing protocols in resource constrained systems is also provided.
A Market Approach to Multirobot Coordination

Abstract : The problem of efficient multirobot coordination has risen to the forefront of robotics research in recent years. Interest in this problem is motivated by the wide range of application domains demanding multirobot solutions. In general, multirobot coordination strategies assume either a centralized approach where a single robot/agent plans for the group, or a distributed approach, where each robot is responsible for its own planning. Inherent to many centralized approaches are difficulties such as intractable solutions for large groups, sluggish response to changes in the local environment, heavy communication requirements, and brittle systems with single points of failure. The key advantage of centralized approaches is that they can produce globally optimal plans. While most distributed approaches can overcome the obstacles inherent to centralized approaches, they can only produce suboptimal plans. This work explores the development of a market-based architecture that will be inherently distributed, but will also opportunistically form centralized sub-groups to improve efficiency, and thus approach optimality. Robots will be self-interested agents, with the primary goal of maximizing individual profits. The revenue/cost models and rules of engagement will be designed so that maximizing individual profit has the benevolent effect of moving the team toward the globally optimal solution. This architecture will inherit the flexibility of market-based approaches in allowing cooperation and competition to emerge opportunistically. The outlined approach will address the multirobot control problem for autonomous robotic colonies carrying out complex tasks in dynamic environments where it is highly desirable to optimize to whatever extent possible. Future work will develop the core components of a market-based multirobot control-architecture, investigate the use of a negotiation protocol for task distribution, design and implement resource and role management schemes, and a
Run-time adaptation for grid environments

In this paper, we study a general mapping problem where a set of independent tasks compete for the shared resources of a Grid environment. Tasks have resource co-allocationrequirements. Each task requires multiple and different resources to be allocated simultaneously. At run-time, a task may release its allocated resources during its execution and before its completion time. Our objective is to minimize the overall schedule length of all submitted tasks while satisfying all resource sharing constraints among them. We develop a two-phase mapping approach for solving this problem. The first phase of our approach is off-line planning phase where a schedule plan, which gives a scheduling order and resource assignments of tasks, is generated at compile-time. The second phase is run-time adaptationphase. The goal of the second phase is to improve the performance of the schedule plan by adapting to run-time changes such as the early release of resources and the variationin computation and communication costs. Adaptation may involve changing the scheduling order and resource assignments of the original schedule plan. Our experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach compared to a baseline algorithm that performs no adaptation at run-time and to a dynamic algorithm that performs no planning at compile-time. Our two-phase mapping approach outperforms both algorithms by up to 20% with respect to the overall schedule length.
Effectiveness of cinnamon chewing gum on memory and anxiety among adolescents at selected seventh day adventist high schools, Andhra Pradesh

Teenage years are the “best years of one’s life”. For many college and high school students today, nothing is more agonizing than their poor academic performance and anxiety. Our sense of smell plays a major role in solving these problems. Objectives: To assess the level of memory and anxiety among adolescents before and after cinnamon chewing gum. Design: True Experimental design where one group pre test and post test with control group design. Setting: Seventh Day Adventist High School, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. Participants: Adolescents who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Selection criteria: Adolescents who were both male and female and studying 8th – 10th standard were selected Methods: out of 30, 15 adolescents in control group and 15 adolescents in experimental group were selected by using stratified random sampling technique. Pre and post test assessment was done by using modified P.G. I memory assessment scale to assess memory and modified Max Hamilton’s anxiety rating scale to assess anxiety. Results: Most of them were in the age group of 13 and 14 years studying 9th standard. From the findings, in memory the mean difference was 31% and in anxiety 22% in experimental group whereas in control group memory 1% and anxiety 7%. Paired ‘t’test score in control group was 0.54 in memory and 1.86 in anxiety. In experimental group, paired ‘t’test score was 23.7 in memory and 17.2 in anxiety when compared to the level of significant (p<0.05) it was high. Unpaired ‘t’ test score for memory was 18.6 and anxiety was 24.1. It seems that cinnamon chewing gum on memory and anxiety among adolescents was effective. There was a moderately negative co-relation between memory and anxiety which revealed that when the level of memory increased, level of anxiety was decreased. There was no significant association between post test scores on memory and anxiety in control and experimental group and their demographic variables. Conclusion: Olfaction in human beings plays a major role in recollecting memories and relaxation. The scent of cinnamon acts on the cerebral cortex, boosting the brain function and as a tranquilizing agent in stress. Clinical practice: To prove this study they need supportive research to be warranted. Cinnamon can be used for type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis. This study can be applied for Alzheimer’s patients in improving memory and stress in elderly people.
OPTIMAL ANNUITIZATION POLICIES : ANALYSIS OF THE OPTIONS

At, or about, the age of retirement, most individuals must decide what additional fraction of their marketable wealth, if any, should be annuitized. Annuitization means purchasing a nonrefundable life annuity from an insurance company, which then guarantees a lifelong consumption stream that cannot be outlived. The decision of whether or not to annuitize additional liquid assets is a difficult one, since it is clearly irreversible and can prove costly in hindsight. Obviously, for a large group of people, the bulk of financial wealth is forcefully annuitized, for example, company pensions and social security. For others, especially as it pertains to personal pension plans, such as 401(k), 403(b), and IRA plans as well as variable annuity contracts, there is much discretion in the matter. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the question of when and if to annuitize. Specifically, my objective is to provide practical advice aimed at individual retirees and their advisors. My main conclusions are as follows: ● Annuitization of assets provides unique and valuable longevity insurance and should be actively encouraged at higher ages. Standard microeconomic utility-based arguments indicate that consumers would be willing to pay a substantial “loading” in order to gain access to a life annuity. ● The large adverse selection costs associated with life annuities, which range from 10% to 20%, might serve as a strong deterrent to full annuitization. ● Retirees with a (strong) bequest motive might be inclined to self-annuitize during the early stages of retirement. Indeed, it appears that most individuals—faced with expensive annuity products— can effectively “beat” the rate of return from a fixed immediate annuity until age 75–80. I call this strategy consume term and invest the difference. ● Variable immediate annuities (VIAs) combine equity market participation together with longevity insurance. This financial product is currently underutilized (and not available in certain jurisdictions) and can only grow in popularity. “I advise you to go on living solely to enrage those who are paying your annuities. It is the only pleasure I have left. ” — Voltaire
Power Control Technique Using Error Distribution Analysis for Ultrasound Imaging Displays

In this paper, a new power control technique based on clipped error distribution is proposed for portable ultrasound imaging displays. To reduce the display power consumption, the backlight dimming is used to select the optimal point between the power reduction of a backlight and the high image quality. In this case, the clipped error, i.e., the saturation error for pixels exceeding the maximum expressible gray level, should be considered. Conventional algorithms do not consider the clipped error distribution, which is the spatial distribution of pixels with the clipped error in a frame image when the power consumption is reduced. Therefore, it degrades the image quality in the medical display. On the other hand, the proposed algorithm calculates statistical values for clipped error distribution by analyzing the image characteristics. Hence, it can avoid degradation of the image quality by concentrating the pixels with clipped errors in a small region. In addition, the proposed algorithm uses a sampling technique, which only uses selected pixels based on the pre-defined sampling pattern, to reduce the computation time. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can improve the image quality in terms of peak signal-to-noise ratio by up to 7.063 dB (23.49%) while reducing the computation time by up to 0.451 μs (17.18%) using a sampling technique.
Advances in Network-adaptive Video Streaming

Internet transmission is characterized by variations in throughput, delay, and packet loss, which can severely affect the quality of multimedia presentations delivered over the network. Still, Internet video streaming has experienced phenomenal growth in the last few years, owing to the extensive research in video coding and transmission. In this paper, we review several recent advances for network-adaptive video streaming that, we believe, will benefit the design of video streaming systems in the future. Employed in different system components, these techniques have the common objective of providing efficient, robust, scalable and low-latency streaming video. They range from purely server or source encoder-based techniques, through transmission schemes that could be implemented either at the sender or at the receiver, to purely client-based techniques. We discuss each of them in detail, presenting also related work and experimental results. We end the paper with a summary of the reviewed techniques and a brief discussion of future research directions.
The Theory of Tetris

Any algorithm requires a theoretical analysis. Such an analysis may address issues like complexity (e.g., NP-completeness [9]), decidability and practical properties concerning special cases. In this paper we would like to discuss the Tetris game in this light. We will first describe the game and some of its variants, show NP-completeness of a certain decision problem naturally attached to the game and then prove (un)decidability in some other cases. We conclude with some practical topics that arise from the NP-completeness proof. This paper is based on a series of articles that begins with the original NP-completeness proof of Demaine, Hohenberger and Liben-Nowell from MIT [7], that was well-noticed in the popular press. The proof was simplified in [3], leading to a joint journal paper [2]. In [13] and [14] the other issues mentioned above were dealt with. For full proofs we refer to these papers. Tetris is a one-person game where random pieces consisting of four blocks fall down, one at a time, in an originally empty rectangular game board. The player is allowed to rotate and horizontally move the falling piece. If an entire row of the board is filled with blocks, it is removed (“cleared”). The main purpose of the game is to keep on playing as long as possible. The decision problem under consideration is essentially the following. Given a partially filled game board (referred to as a Tetris configuration), and an ordered finite known series of pieces, is it possible to play in such a way that the whole board is cleared? The NP-completeness proof is by reduction. It is shown that instances of the so-called 3-Partition problem can be translated into rather involved Tetris configurations, where solutions correspond with boards that can be cleared. The configurations used suggest the question of constructibility: which configurations can be reached during game play? The rather surprising answer appears to be that almost any configuration can be reached, given suitable pieces. Another issue has to do with decidability: if the user interaction is somewhat bounded, is it then decidable whether certain natural sets of piece sequences contain “clearing” sequences? All these topics will be addressed in the sequel.
Complementary and Alternative Drugs Use among Preoperative Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study in Italy

Complementary and alternative drugs (CADs) are widely used in preoperative patients and may lead to potential interactions and adverse reactions. The aim of our study is to evaluate the prevalence and the predictors of CADs use among preoperative patients using data from an Italian survey. This cross-sectional study, which enrolled 478 patients (response rate: 83.5%), was carried out in three Tuscany hospitals (Italy). The prevalence of CADs use was 49.8%: 233 out of 238 participants used herbal products and/or dietary supplements. Valeriana officinalis was the most reported product (19.4%). According to univariate analysis, users were commonly identified among middle-aged or older patients; unadjusted ORs were 2.1 (95% CI: 1.3–3.3) for patients aged 48–69 years, and 3.0 (95% CI: 1.9–4.7) for those of 70–95 years, when compared with individuals aged 18–47 years. Except for education and gender, adjusted estimates showed consistent results with univariate analyses: direct association was observed with higher education, and—although not significantly—with female gender. The high prevalence of CAD use in preoperative period could be suggestive of a certain risk of adverse effects due to CADs interactions. A careful medical history of CADs consumption should be ascertained before surgery.
Happiness in Relation to Altruistic Intentionality and Equity Theory

INTRO WHAT IS HAPPINESS . 1 LITERARY REVIEW . 8 IRB AND APPLICATION . 9 o PROPOSAL FOR RESEARCH . 21 o INFORMED CONSENT FORM . 36 o LETTER TO PARTICIPANTS . 38 o HAPPINESS MEASURE . 40 STASTISTICAL ANAYLSIS . 42 METHODS . 45 DISSCUSSION . 50 CONCLUSION . 52 REFERENCES . 53
VISUALIZATION WITH NURBS USING SIMULATED ANNEALING OPTIMIZATION TECHNIQUE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful All praise and glory to Almighty Allah (Subhanahu Wa Taalaa) who gave me courage and patience to carry out this work. Peace and blessing of Allah be upon last Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). Acknowledgment is due to King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals for supporting this research. My unrestrained appreciation goes to my advisor, Dr. Muhammad Sarfraz, for all the help and support he has given me throughout the course of this work and on several other occasions. I simply cannot begin to imagine how things would have proceeded without his help, his support, and his patience. I also wish to thank my thesis committee members Dr. Wasfi Ghassan Al-Khatib and Dr. Onur Toker for their help, support, and contributions. I also acknowledge my colleagues and friends as I had a pleasant, enjoyable and fruitful company with them. Finally, I wish to express my gratitude to my family members for being patient with me and offering words of encouragements to spur my spirits, at moments of depression. Figure (3.8b) A quadratic curve using the basis functions of figure 3.8a. (Youssef [35]) 30 Figure (3.9) The strong convex hull property for a quadratic B-Spline curve; for) , [ 1 + ∈ i i u u u ,) (u C is in the triangle i i i P P P 1 2 − −. Figure (3.10) The strong convex hull property for a cubic B-Spline curve; for) , [ 1 + ∈ i i u u u ,) (u C is in the quadrilateral i i i i P P P P 1 2 3 − − −. Figure (3.11) A quadratic B-Spline curve on } 1 , 1 , 1 , 5 / 4 , 5 / 3 , 5 / 2 , 5 / 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 { = U. The curve is a straight line between) / (5 2 C and) / (5 3 C. Figure (3.12) A cubic curve on } 1 , 1 , 1 , 1 , 4 / 3 , 2 / 1 , 4 / 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 { = U ; moving 4 P (to / 4 P) changes the curve in the interval) 1 , 4 / 1 [. x Figure (3.13) B-Spline curves (b) A quadratic curve using …
Symmetry Compensation using a H-Bridge Multilevel STATCOM with Zero Sequence Injection

This paper examines the use of a H-bridge cascade multilevel STATCOM for symmetry compensation. One of the particular problems H-bridge based STATCOMs have when used in these applications is maintaining correct voltages on the H-bridge capacitors for each of the individual phases of the STATCOM. This difficulty is the result of average real power flowing in or out of the individual phase legs. A solution has already been published for the delta connected STATCOM, but has not, until this paper, been solved for the wye connected topology. This paper uses a new approach to solve the phase leg power balance problem using zero sequence current and voltage injection. It allows the individual phase voltages for both the delta and wye connected cascaded H-bridge STATCOM to be controlled. Furthermore, when implemented for the delta connected STATCOM it leads to a more elegant and parameter independent control system architecture