Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of thresholding on correlation-based image similarity metrics

The computation of image similarity is important for a wide range of analyses in neuroimaging, from decoding to meta-analysis. In many cases the images being compared have empty voxels, but the effects of such empty voxels on image similarity metrics are poorly understood. We present a detailed investigation of the influence of different degrees of image thresholding on the outcome of pairwise image comparison. Given a pair of brain maps for which one of the maps is thresholded, we show that an analysis using the intersection of non-zero voxels across images at a threshold of Z = ±1.0 maximizes accuracy for retrieval of a list of maps of the same contrast, and thresholding up to Z = ±2.0 can increase accuracy as compared to comparison using unthresholded maps. Finally, maps can be thresholded up to to Z = ±3.0 (corresponding to 25% of voxels non-empty within a standard brain mask) and still maintain a lower bound of 90% accuracy. Our results suggest that a small degree of thresholding may improve the accuracy of image similarity computations, and that robust meta-analytic image similarity comparisons can be obtained using thresholded images.
An implementation of tracing attacks on advanced persistent threats by using actors model

Actors model, a general model of concurrent computation, is often used for specified applications. The attacks tracer on advanced persistent threats, APTs, is one of such applications. It investigates the act of information system consists of several elements, like routers, servers, terminals and networked applications. The authors describe an implementation of the attacks tracer by using actors model. The authors also show the actors model is more suitable to implement this application than other previous models.
Enabling Cross Constraint Satisfaction in RDF-Based Heterogeneous Database Integration

The problem of database integration has been widely tackled through different approaches. While data transformation based systems, such as Data Warehouses, reached the acceptation of the industry during the 80's, in the last decade query translation based approaches have gained popularity given their adequacy to dynamic domains. While the former are based on gathering actual data in central repositories, the latter allow data to remain in the original databases. There still exist several issues to be tackled in query translation, mainly if no ad-hoc schema is described, such as problems with scalability and query processing. In this paper we describe a complete database integration and semantic mediation approach, borrowing techniques from both data transformation and local as view data translation methods, and addressing the cross referencing problem. This work has been carried out in the framework of ACGT (Advancing Clinico-Genomic Trials on Cancer) project, supported by the European Commission.
A novel low supply voltage VCO for IEEE 802.11a W-LAN

In this paper we present a 1-V low supply voltage CMOS VCO; it not only can increase the turning range of the VCO but also can decrease the phase noise. The proposed VCO achieves a phase noise of -116.73 dBc/Hz at the offset frequency of 1 MHz, respectively. The tuning range of 1 GHz is achieved with the control voltage from 0.25 V to 0.85 V. It can also be used in the receiver for the IEEE 802.11a
Periodic Sequences with Optimal Properties for Channel Estimation and Fast Start-Up Equalization

The problems of fast channel estimation and fast start-up equalization in synchronous digital communication systems are considered from the viewpoint of the optimization of the training sequence to be transmitted. Various types of periodic sequences having uniform discrete power spectra are studied. Some of them are new and may be generated with data sets commonly used in phase modulation systems. As a consequence of their power spectra being flat, these sequences ensure maximum protection against noise when initial equalizer settings are computed via channel estimates and noniterative techniques.
CLARAty: Challenges and Steps toward Reusable Robotic Software

We present in detail some of the challenges in developing reusable robotic software. We base that on our experience in developing the CLARAty robotics software, which is a generic object-oriented framework used for the integration of new algorithms in the areas of motion control, vision, manipulation, locomotion, navigation, localization, planning and execution. CLARAty was adapted to a number of heterogeneous robots with different mechanisms and hardware control architectures. In this paper, we also describe how we addressed some of these challenges in the development of the CLARAty software.
Markov Logic Sets: Towards Lifted Information Retrieval Using PageRank and Label Propagation

Inspired by “GoogleTM Sets” and Bayesian sets, we consider the problem of retrieving complex objects and relations among them, i.e., ground atoms from a logical concept, given a query consisting of a few atoms from that concept. We formulate this as a within-network relational learning problem using few labels only and describe an algorithm that ranks atoms using a score based on random walks with restart (RWR): the probability that a random surfer hits an atom starting from the query atoms. Specifically, we compute an initial ranking using personalized PageRank. Then, we find paths of atoms that are connected via their arguments, variablize the ground atoms in each path, in order to create features for the query. These features are used to re-personalize the original RWR and to finally compute the set completion, based on Label Propagation. Moreover, we exploit that RWR techniques can naturally be lifted and show that lifted inference for label propagation is possible. We evaluate our algorithm on a realworld relational dataset by finding completions of sets of objects describing the Roman city of Pompeii. We compare to Bayesian sets and show that our approach gives very reasonable set completions.
The Collaboration Platform: A Cooperative Work Course Case-Study

Nowadays, individuals are increasingly brought together to work in communities and groups towards a common goal. We developed the Collaboration Platform, a set of modules and libraries which aims at facilitating and offering support to a set of procedures commonly found within collaborative environments. In this particular paper we present employment of this platform as the main development base for a Cooperative Work course at a university – a collaborative text editor and a collaborative game were developed within the context of this work along with a set of corrections to the platform itself.
Divergence dates for Malagasy lemurs estimated from multiple gene loci: geological and evolutionary context

The lemurs of Madagascar are a unique radiation of primates that show an extraordinary diversity of lifestyles, morphologies and behaviours. However, very little is known about the relative antiquity of lemuriform clades due to the lack of terrestrial fossils for the Tertiary of Madagascar. Here, we employ a Bayesian method to estimate divergence dates within the lemuriform radiation using several unlinked gene loci and multiple fossil calibrations outside the lemuriform clade. Two mitochondrial genes (cytochrome oxidase II and cytochrome b), two nuclear introns (transthyretin intron 1 and von Willebrand factor gene intron 11) and one nuclear exon (interphotoreceptor retinoid binding protein, exon 1) are used in separate and combined analyses. The genes differ in taxon sampling and evolutionary characteristics but produce congruent date estimates. Credibility intervals narrow considerably in combined analyses relative to separate analyses due to the increased amount of data. We also test the relative effects of multiple vs. single calibration points, finding that, when only single calibration points are employed, divergence dates are systematically underestimated. For the mitochondrial DNA data set, we investigate the effects of sampling density within the mouse lemur radiation (genus Microcebus). When only two representative species are included, estimated dates throughout the phylogeny are more recent than with the complete‐species sample, with basal nodes less affected than recent nodes. The difference appears to be due to the manner in which priors on node ages are constructed in the two analyses. In nearly all analyses, the age of the lemuriform clade is estimated to be approximately 62–65 Ma, with initial radiation of mouse lemurs and true lemurs (genus Eulemur) occurring approximately 8–12 Ma. The antiquity of the mouse lemur radiation is surprising given the near uniform morphology among species. Moreover, the observation that mouse lemurs and true lemurs are of similar ages suggests discrepancies in rates of morphological, behavioural and physiological evolution in the two clades, particularly with regard to characteristics of sexual signalling. These differences appear to correlate with the nocturnal vs. diurnal lifestyles, respectively, of these two primate groups.
Optimal design of PIDA controller using firefly algorithm for AVR power system

In this article, a new proportional, integral, derivative and acceleration (PIDA) controller is presented and designed for an automatic voltage regulator power system. The controller parameters are designed by considering as an optimization with minimization of square error using firefly algorithm. The response of the firefly algorithm optimized PIDA (PIDA-FFA) controller are observed and compared to the controllers in literature. The superiority is validated in terms of performance indices (ITAE, IAE and ISE).
Structural mechanism of muscle contraction.

X-ray crystallography shows the myosin cross-bridge to exist in two conformations, the beginning and end of the "power stroke. " A long lever-arm undergoes a 60 degrees to 70 degrees rotation between the two states. This rotation is coupled with changes in the active site (OPEN to CLOSED) and phosphate release. Actin binding mediates the transition from CLOSED to OPEN. Kinetics shows that the binding of myosin to actin is a two-step process which affects ATP and ADP affinity. The structural basis of these effects is not explained by the presently known conformers of myosin. Therefore, other states of the myosin cross-bridge must exist. Moreover, cryoelectronmicroscopy has revealed other angles of the cross-bridge lever arm induced by ADP binding. These structural states are presently being characterized by site-directed mutagenesis coupled with kinetic analysis.
Efficiently bypassing SNI-based HTTPS filtering

Encrypted Internet traffic is an essential element to enable security and privacy in the Internet. Surveys show that websites are more and more being served over HTTPS. They highlight an increase of 48% of sites using TLS over the past year, justifying the tendency that the Web is going to be encrypted. This motivates the development of new tools and methods to monitor and filter HTTPS traffic. This paper handles the latest technique for HTTPS traffic filtering that is based on the Server Name Indication (SNI) field of TLS and which has been recently implemented in many firewall solutions. Our main contribution is an evaluation of the reliability of this SNI extension for properly identifying and filtering HTTPS traffic. We show that SNI has two weaknesses, regarding (1) backward compatibility and (2) multiple services using a single certificate. We demonstrate thanks to a web browser plug-in called “Escape” that we designed and implemented, how these weaknesses can be practically used to bypass firewalls and monitoring systems relying on SNI. The results show positive evaluation (firewall's rules successfully bypassed) for all tested websites.
Die Erklärungskraft spiel- und tauschtheoretischer Verhandlungsmodelle bei gegebenem Institutionalisierungsgrad : Ein empirischer Vergleich am Beispiel des Endgames der Regierungskonferenz 1996

Negotiation theory offers numerous solution concepts for conflicts. Rarely, these concepts have been empirically applied. Relying on preferences of the EU member states during the endgame of the Intergovernmental Conference 1996 we compare different solution concepts: the win set, the Nash bargaining solution, the so-called mean voter theorem, a version of an exchange model as proposed by Henning, and the median. We calculate individual as well as collective spatial utilities as determined by the different solutions and the Amsterdam Treaty, respectively. Second, we assess the different degree of predictability of each of the solutions. As to be expected by the rather high institutional embeddedness of the negotiations, cooperative solution concepts (Nash bargaining solution and the exchange model), both fit the real outcome best. Given the real preference constellation they also provide for the highest collective spatial utility. Last but not least we show empirical evidence that bigger countries are not more successful in getting through their negotiation positions. Stichworte: Verhandlungen, Spieltheorie, Internationale Beziehungen keywords negotiation, game theory, international relations
A Bmi1-miRNAs Cross-Talk Modulates Chemotherapy Response to 5-Fluorouracil in Breast Cancer Cells

The polycomb group transcriptional modifier Bmi1 is often upregulated in numerous cancers and is intensely involved in normal and cancer stem cells, and importantly is as a prognostic indicator for some cancers, but its role in breast cancer remains unclear. Here, we found Bmi1 overexpression in 5-Fu (5-fluorouracil)-resistant MCF-7 cells (MCF-7/5-Fu) derived from MCF-7 breast cancer cells, MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-453 breast cancer cells compared to MCF-7 cells, was related with 5-Fu resistance and enrichment of CD44+/CD24- stem cell subpopulation. Bmi1 knockdown enhanced the sensitivity of breast cancer cells to 5-Fu and 5-Fu induced apoptosis via mitochondrial apoptotic pathway, and decreased the fraction of CD44+/CD24- subpopulation. In addition, our analysis showed inverse expression pattern between Bmi1 and miR-200c and miR-203 in selected breast cancer cell lines, and miR-200c and miR-203 directly repressed Bmi1 expression in protein level confirmed by luciferase reporter assay. MiR-200c and miR-203 overexpression in breast cancer cells downregulated Bmi1 expression accompanied with reversion of resistance to 5-Fu mediated by Bmi1. Inversely, Bmi1 overexpression inhibited miR-200c expression in MCF-7 cells, but not miR-203, however ectopic wild-type p53 expression reversed Bmi1 mediated miR-200c downregulation, suggesting the repressive effect of Bmi1 on miR-200c maybe depend on p53. Thus, our study suggests a cross-talk between Bmi1 and miR-200c mediated by p53, and Bmi1 interference would improve chemotherapy efficiency in breast cancer via susceptive apoptosis induction and cancer stem cell enrichment inhibition.
Can Facial Uniqueness be Inferred from Impostor Scores?

In Biometrics, facial uniqueness is commonly inferred from impostor similarity scores. In this paper, we show that such uniqueness measures are highly unstable in the presence of image quality variations like pose, noise and blur. We also experimentally demonstrate the instability of a recently introduced impostor-based uniqueness measure of [Klare and Jain 2013] when subject to poor quality facial images.
Using Relations to Interpret Anaphora

In this paper we present a novel framework for resolving bridging anaphora. The new framework is based on the core set of relations that have been used to describe an entirely different linguistic process, the process of generating a compound noun from two different nouns. We argue that the linguistic processes of compound noun generation and the use of NP anaphora are alike hence have to use the same relational framework. We validated this hypothesis by using human annotators to interpret indirect anaphora from naturally occurring discourses. The annotators were asked to classify the relations between anaphor-antecedent pairs into relation types that have been previously used to describe the relations between a modifier and the head noun of a compound noun. We obtained very encouraging results with a Fleiss’s κ value of 0.66 for inter-annotation
Sensitivity and Stigmergy in Agent-Based Systems

A computational metaheuristic combining stigmergic behavior and gradual pheromone sensitivity of agents is proposed. Resulting multi-agent models can potentially address complex real-world problems particularly combinatorial optimization NP-hard problems. The new model employs agents able to communicate both directly and in a stigmergic manner. Stigmergic communication is based on different reactions to virtual pheromone trails produced by agents. Each stigmergic agent is endowed with a certain level of sensitivity to the pheromone allowing various types of reactions to the environment. The introduced model can be viewed as a multi-agent system composed of several sensitive stigmergic agents that can cooperate to solve complex problems. The proposed system is tested for solving the NP-hard Generalized Traveling Salesman Problem. Numerical experiments indicate the robustness and potential of the new metaheuristic.
Platform based on an embedded system to evaluate the intrusion detection system

The evaluation of an IDS (Intrusion Detection System) is a difficult task. We can distinguish between the fact to test the effectiveness of the entire system and therefore all the characteristics of an IDS [2] and to test a component of an IDS. In this paper, we present an evaluation approach for IDS based on measuring the performance of its various components to evaluate its characteristics. For this we made a detailed design, then we have implemented hardware platforms based on embedded systems. And to measure the performance of the components of an IDS, we have integrated the SNORT IDS to these platforms. The obtained results show that the performance characteristics of an IDS depends on the performance of its components.
Luteolin Ameliorates Hypertensive Vascular Remodeling through Inhibiting the Proliferation and Migration of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Objectives. Preliminary researches showed that luteolin was used to treat hypertension. However, it is still unclear whether luteolin has effect on the hypertensive complication such as vascular remodeling. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of luteolin on the hypertensive vascular remodeling and its molecular mechanism. Method and Results. We evaluated the effect of luteolin on aorta thickening of hypertension in spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHRs) and found that luteolin could significantly decrease the blood pressure and media thickness of aorta in vivo. Luteolin could inhibit angiotensin II- (Ang II-) induced proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) staining result showed that luteolin reduced Ang II-stimulated ROS production in VSMCs. Furthermore, western blot and gelatin zymography results showed that luteolin treatment leaded to a decrease in ERK1/2, p-ERK1/2, p-p38, MMP2, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) protein level. Conclusion. These data support that luteolin can ameliorate hypertensive vascular remodeling by inhibiting the proliferation and migration of Ang II-induced VSMCs. Its mechanism is mediated by the regulation of MAPK signaling pathway and the production of ROS.
DAMTP-2006-99 EMPG-0610 ITFA-06-41 MCTP-0628 hep-th / 0611080 07 / 11 / 06 Open G 2 Strings

We consider an open string version of the topological twist previously proposed for sigmamodels with G2 target spaces. We determine the cohomology of open strings states and relate these to geometric deformations of calibrated submanifolds and to flat or anti-selfdual connections on such submanifolds. On associative three-cycles we show that the worldvolume theory is a gauge-fixed Chern-Simons theory coupled to normal deformations of the cycle. For coassociative four-cycles we find a functional that extremizes on anti-self-dual gauge fields. A brane wrapping the whole G2 induces a seven-dimensional associative Chern-Simons theory on the manifold. This theory has already been proposed by Donaldson and Thomas as the higher-dimensional generalization of real Chern-Simons theory. When the G2 manifold has the structure of a Calabi-Yau times a circle, these theories reduce to a combination of the open A-model on special Lagrangians and the open B+B̄-model on holomorphic submanifolds. We also comment on possible applications of our results.
Body composition: the fat-free mass index (FFMI) and the body fat mass index (BFMI) distribution among the adult Austrian population - results of a cross-sectional pilot study

Objective: It has been proven that low and high body mass index (BMI) values increase health risks and mortality, and are associated with variations in fat-free mass (FFM) and body fat mass (BF). Fat-free mass index (FFMI; kg/m2) and body fat mass index (BFMI; kg/m2) however are better measures of body composition. FFMI and BFMI being age-, sex- and population-specific, are more exact and informative measures. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine FFMI and BFMI values in subjects with normal, overweight, and obese BMI in Austria. Methods: We measured the levels of FFM and BF in 153 healthy Caucasian men and 451 healthy Caucasian women between the ages of 18 to 80 years, using multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis. FFMI, BFMI, and %BF were then calculated for each subject. Results: Predicted FFMI values were 18.1 to 21.7 kg/m2 for men and 15.1 to 17 kg/m2 for women within the normal BMI ranges (18.5-24.9 kg/m2). Predicted BFMI values were 1.5 to 5.0 kg/m2 for men and 3.4 to 8.0 kg/m2 for women within the normal BMI ranges. BFMI values were above 8.0 and 11.7 kg/m2 in men and women, respectively, for obese BMI (>30 kg/m2). Normal ranges for %BF were 11.9 to 22.7 and 20.8 to 31.0 for men and women, respectively. Conclusion: A major finding of this study was that a significant number of individuals had a lower FFMI and a higher FMI than predicted for their weight indicating the necessity of body composition measurements in the clinical practice to optimize diagnosis and treatment.
The emergence of generalization in networks with constrained representations

The authors introduce a constraint on intermediate representations which reduces the number of allowable solutions and leads to generalization for certain classes of problems. Specifically, they constrain the number of intermediate representations to be minimized during training. This representational constraint also defines a training algorithm for multilayered networks. They describe the class of problems for which the algorithm is well suited and discuss the performance of the algorithm with regard to several problems on two-layer networks. <<ETX>>
Metric Functional Dependencies

When merging data from various sources, it is often the case that small variations in data format and interpretation cause traditional functional dependencies (FDs) to be violated, without there being an intrinsic violation of semantics. Examples include differing address formats, or different reported latitude/longitudes for a given address. In this paper, we define metric functional dependencies, which strictly generalize traditional FDs by allowing small differences (controlled by a metric) in values of the consequent attribute of an FD. We present efficient algorithms for the verification problem: determining whether a given metric FD holds for a given relation. We experimentally demonstrate the validity and efficiency of our approach on various data sets that lie in multidimensional spaces.