Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Dependability-Focused Requirements Engineering Process

Systems are developed to satisfy a set of requirements that meet a need. A requirement that is important in missionand safety-critical systems is that they be highly dependable. Dependability [4] is that property of a computer system such that reliance can justifiably be placed on the service it delivers. Dependability involves satisfying several requirements: availability, reliability, safety, maintainability, confidentiality, and integrity. The dependability requirement varies with the target application, since a constraint can be essential for one environment and not so much for others. In this paper, we focus on the reliability and safety attributes of dependability. Reliability. The reliability of a system measures its aptitude to provide service and remain operating as long as required [3]. Reliability of a service is typically measured in probability of success of the service, once requested, or else in mean time to failure. If the average time to complete a service is known, it might be possible to convert between the two values. Safety. The safety of a system is determined by the lack of catastrophic failures it undergoes [3]. The seriousness of the consequences of the failure on the environment can range from benign to catastrophic. Seriousness of consequences can be measured with a safety index. For instance, the DO-178B standard for civil aeronautics defines safety index values from 0 to 4 with the following meaning: 0. Without effects; 1. Minor effects lead to upsetting the stakeholders or increasing the system workload; 2. Major effects lead to minor injuries of users, or minor physical damage or monetary loss; 3. Dangerous effects lead to serious injuries of users, or serious physical damage or monetary loss; 4. Catastrophic effects lead to loss of human lives, or destruction of the system. Each application has different safety requirements. It is now up to the developer in consultation with all the stakeholders to define the number of safety levels to consider, and their exact definitions.
Deubiquitinating enzymes as oncotargets

Carcinogenesis is a complex process tightly regulated at multiple levels by post-translational modifications. Epigenetics plays a major role in cancer development, all stable changes to the gene expression process that are not a result of a direct change in the DNA code are described as epigenetics. Epigenetic processes are regulated by post-translational modifications including ubiquitination which can directly affect either histones or transcription factors or may target their co-factors and interacting partners exerting an indirect effect. Deubiquitination of these target proteins is equally important and alterations in this pathway can also lead to cancer development, progression and metastasis. Only the correct, unaltered balance between ubiquitination and deubiquitination ensures healthy cellular homeostasis. In this review we focus on the role of deubiquitinating (DUB) enzymes in various aspects of epigenetics including the regulation of transcription factors, histone modifications, DNA damage repair pathways and cell cycle regulation. We discuss the impact of those processes on tumourigenesis and potential therapeutic applications of DUBs for cancer treatment.
The Potential for Engineering Enhanced Functional-Feed Soybeans for Sustainable Aquaculture Feed

Aquaculture is the most rapidly growing segment of global animal production that now surpasses wild-capture fisheries production and is continuing to grow 10% annually. Sustainable aquaculture needs to diminish, and progressively eliminate, its dependence on fishmeal-sourced feed from over-harvested fisheries. Sustainable aquafeed sources will need to be primarily of plant-origin. Soybean is currently the primary global vegetable-origin protein source for aquaculture. Direct exchange of soybean meal for fishmeal in aquafeed has resulted in reduced growth rates due in part to soybean’s anti-nutritional proteins. To produce soybeans for use in aquaculture feeds a new conventional line has been bred termed Triple Null by stacking null alleles for the feed-relevant proteins Kunitz Trypsin Inhibitor, lectin, and P34 allergen. Triple Null is now being further enhanced as a platform to build additional transgene traits for vaccines, altered protein composition, and to produce high levels of β-carotene an intrinsic orange-colored aquafeed marker to distinguish the seeds from commodity beans and as the metabolic feedstock precursor of highly valued astaxanthin.
Tool Support for Incorporating Trust Models into Decentralized Applications

The role of decentralized trust and reputation management in the establishment of trust relationships between peers in decentralized applications has been well-recognized. Several reputation-based trust models exist in the literature. PACE is an architectural style for decentralized trust management. PACE provides specific principles that guide the incorporation of trust and reputation models within the architecture of each decentralized peer. However, a software architect using PACE to build a trust-enabled decentralized application must study the trust model being incorporated, then design and build the relevant trust components corresponding to the trust model, and finally integrate them within the PACE architecture. This design process is long and tedious but essential. In order to address this, in this paper, we present an approach that facilitates the automation of several parts of this design process in order to ease the burden on the architect. Specifically, we first use the 4C reputation framework to generate an XML-based description of a reputation model. This description is used by a tool called the PACE Support Generator to automatically generate and modify relevant trust components and utilities as well as to modify the existing architectural description that can be instantiated to build a trust-enabled decentralized application. In this paper, we also present an in depth evaluation of the PACE Support Generator in the context of the Distributed Trust model. Tool Support for Incorporating Trust Models into Decentralized Applications Institute for Software Research University of California, Irvine Irvine, CA 92697-3425 {mdiallo,sgirish,taylor}@ics.uci. edu ISR Technical Report # UCI-ISR-06-04 April 2006 Mamadou H. Diallo, Girish Suryanarayana, Richard N. Taylor
Crowd Simulations and Evolutionary Algorithms in Floor Plan Design

This paper describes a system for testing floor plan designs with a simulation of pedestrian movements, and automatically implementing modifications with an evolutionary algorithm. Floor plans of airport terminals are modeled as simple collections of walls and directional signs. Each floor plan is tested with a simulation of pedestrian behavior according to a schedule of departures. Measured results of this simulation are combined into a performance rating. This fitness metric is used to drive selection in an evolutionary algorithm, iteratively generating new floor plans for increased performance under simulation. The procedure yields functional architectural plans, but, due to several limitations, is more successful suggesting adjustments than generating novel designs.
Bayesian Learning and the Fokker-planck Machine 1 Bayesian Learning and the Fokker-planck Machine

In this paper we discuss the links between simulated annealing, Langevin optimisation, Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods and ensemble learning on the one hand and the Fokker-Planck machine on the other hand. The FP Machine was introduced as an alternative method for global optimization. Where most optimisation methods follow point-trajectories through search space (either deterministic or stochas-tic), the FP Machine explicitly describes the density evolution of Markov processes. We will show that if the cost function that is inserted in to FP Machine, is derived from the Bayesian posterior distribution, the FP Machine can be seen as an alternative and extended method for ensemble learning, with its use in Bayesian marginalisation and global optimisation.
Securitas: user identification through RGB-NIR camera pair on mobile devices

Today mobile devices are equipped with numerous sensors and new ones are being added. In this paper, we propose a method to utilize a new sensor to provide a more secure identification system named Securitas for mobile device users. Securitas is a user identification system through the use of RGB-NIR camera pairs. The system extracts and analyzes geometrical features from a human hand to identify the user for unlocking devices and accessing personal data. Utilizing both RGB and the NIR cameras for real skin detection, it can effectively prevent an impostor from gaining access by using a fake hand photograph of a valid registered user without limitations of contrast, color, and background. Comparing to existing techniques, Securitas demonstrates that by leveraging the sensors on the mobile devices, a user can have a more secure identification mechanism by simply taking a photograph of his hand. Through proof of concept of implementation, our system demonstrates the ability to distinguish users with more than 94% accuracy.
Measuring the Function Points for Migration Project: A Case Study

In this study, we extend the study of Function Point Analysis (FPA) for the measurement of source code based migration project using the migration tooling options. FPA is an objective and structured technique to measure software size by quantifying its functionality provided to the user, based on the requirements and logical design. It is noticed that the procedure for the above measurement is not fully described in FPA method. Hence, the same estimation concept has been applied to an in-house project on an experimental basis at a leading software development organization. The yielded results are compared with FPA for the re-engineering project.
Saliency-Aware Image Completion

In this paper, we present a saliency-aware image completion method which takes full advantage of a saliency detection result. On one hand, the saliency map is incorporated into the completion order computation procedure to take human visual attention into account. On the other hand, the saliency map used in patch matching makes the searched result more accurate and smooth. Furthermore, we employ an adaptive patch size determination algorithm which considers the color, structure, and saliency information simultaneously. Experiment results demonstrate the effectiveness of our system in preserving the structural information and robustness in various image content. We also show that the proposed system synthesizes more photo-realistic images than other image completion approaches.
Extracting a unified directory tree to compare similar software products

Source code is often reused in software development. Although developers can avoid re-implementing features in existing products, doing so may result in a large number of similar software products. To understand the commonalities and variabilities of similar products, comparing their source code is critical. However, a product may change its own directory structure, even if the products share the same source code with other products. Hence, comparing source code among products in a systematic manner is difficult. In this paper, we propose a technique to extract and visualize a unified directory tree to compare the source code of similar products. This tree includes all directories of given products and merges corresponding directories into a single node. Since a node in a tree corresponds to multiple directories in products, developers can easily compare the contents of products. In our study, we implemented the visualization as a GUI tool. In addition, we conducted a case study using four Android products to demonstrate the tool's ability to assist developers in accessing the source code of multiple products.
POLITICAL POSSIBILITIES OF "PLACE-ING" PEOPLE ONTO THE LAND: RE-IMAGINING COMMUNITY, COMMONS, AND NATURE IN MAINE'S NORTH WOODS

A radio communication apparatus includes first and second storage sections, a receiving section, a speech recognizing section and a control section. The receiving section receives a speech data transmitted from a counter apparatus, and the speech data includes a telephone number. The control section stores at least a part of the received speech data in a location of the first storage section, extracts the telephone number from the received speech data using the speech recognizing section, and stores the extracted telephone number in the second storage section in association with the predetermined location.
Demographics and Halal food consumption: a quantitative analysis

The objective of this paper is to examine the demographic differences in halal food consumption. Data collected from 730 respondents in Peninsular Malaysia. All respondents were required to answer survey questionnaires related to their demographics and attitude towards halal food. The result of this study shows that the majority of Muslims in Malaysia have high-level awareness in consuming halal food. For demographic characteristics focusing on the gender, a significant difference was found (p < 0.05). This research also identified that there was no significant difference in respondents’ attitude towards halal food consumption based on age and origin region (p > 0.05). The practical implication is specifically for the halal food industry as they would be able to promote the halal culture referring to the findings of this particular study.
Digital phase-shift modulation for an isolation buffer in silicon-on-sapphire CMOS

We designed and fabricated a 4-channel digital isolation amplifier in a 0.5mum silicon-on-sapphire technology. The isolation device was fabricated on a single die, taking advantage of the isolative properties of the sapphire substrate. The individual isolation channels can operate in excess of 40Mbps using digital phase-shift-keying modulation. Modulation of the input signal is used to increase immunity to errors at low input data rates. The device can tolerate ground bounces of 1V/mus and isolate more than 800V. The device uses N+1 capacitors for TV channels as opposed to 2N of previous implementations, thus minimizing the coupling silicon area and increasing reliability. Typical applications are in harsh industrial environments, transportation, medical and life-critical systems
Regulated Production of Mineralization-competent Matrix Vesicles in Hypertrophic Chondrocytes

Matrix vesicles have a critical role in the initiation of mineral deposition in skeletal tissues, but the ways in which they exert this key function remain poorly understood. This issue is made even more intriguing by the fact that matrix vesicles are also present in nonmineralizing tissues. Thus, we tested the novel hypothesis that matrix vesicles produced and released by mineralizing cells are structurally and functionally different from those released by nonmineralizing cells. To test this hypothesis, we made use of cultures of chick embryonic hypertrophic chondrocytes in which mineralization was triggered by treatment with vitamin C and phosphate. Ultrastructural analysis revealed that both control nonmineralizing and vitamin C/phosphatetreated mineralizing chondrocytes produced and released matrix vesicles that exhibited similar round shape, smooth contour, and average size. However, unlike control vesicles, those produced by mineralizing chondrocytes had very strong alkaline phosphatase activity and contained annexin V, a membrane-associated protein known to mediate Ca2+ influx into matrix vesicles. Strikingly, these vesicles also formed numerous apatite-like crystals upon incubation with synthetic cartilage lymph, while control vesicles failed to do so. Northern blot and immunohistochemical analyses showed that the production and release of annexin V-rich matrix vesicles by mineralizing chondrocytes were accompanied by a marked increase in annexin V expression and, interestingly, were followed by increased expression of type I collagen. Studies on embryonic cartilages demonstrated a similar sequence of phenotypic changes during the mineralization process in vivo. Thus, chondrocytes located in the hypertrophic zone of chick embryo tibial growth plate were characterized by strong annexin V expression, and those located at the chondro–osseous mineralizing border exhibited expression of both annexin V and type I collagen. These findings reveal that hypertrophic chondrocytes can qualitatively modulate their production of matrix vesicles and only when induced to initiate mineralization, will release mineralization-competent matrix vesicles rich in annexin V and alkaline phosphatase. The occurrence of type I collagen in concert with cartilage matrix calcification suggests that the protein may facilitate crystal growth after rupture of the matrix vesicle membrane; it may also offer a smooth transition from mineralized type II/type X collagen-rich cartilage matrix to type I collagen-rich bone matrix.
Ultrasonic Signal Processing in the Detection of Defect in Composite

Because of their good mechanical strength and light weight, fibre-reinforced composites are increasingly used in industrial fields. However, during the fabrication of polymer materials, various flaws may occur which have negative impact on polymer composite quality. Usually in this type of materials, the received signals consist of components and additive () ( )) (
RTP/AVPF compliant feedback for error resilient video coding in conversational applications

Feedback-based error-resilient video coding relies on efficient transmission of feedback messages. The Audio-Visual Profile with Feedback (AVPF) for Real-time Transport Control Protocol (RTCP), i.e. RTP/AVPF, supports low-latency feedbacks. In this paper, a reference picture selection (RPS) method using RTP/AVPF-compliant feedback is proposed. A restriction period is first derived in the codec layer based on the previously transmitted back-channel message, the RTCP reporting interval, the round-trip time, and the processing delay of the encoder. Then, a feedback message is transmitted when the restriction period is passed and an incorrectly reconstructed picture is detected. At the encoder, the decoded picture buffer (DPB) is adaptively controlled to combat feedback delay fluctuation in RTP/AVPF. Simulation results show that the proposed entire solution outperforms traditional RPS, wherein a back-channel message is transmitted for every lost picture and the DPB is managed by sliding window.
Distributed Diagnosis of Place-Bordered Petri Nets

This paper studies online fault detection and isolation of modular dynamic systems modeled as sets of place-bordered Petri nets. The common places among the set of Petri nets modeling a system capture coupling of various system components. The transitions are labeled by events, some of which are unobservable (i.e., not directly recorded by the sensors attached to the system). The events whose occurrence must be diagnosed have unobservable transition labels. These events model faults or other significant changes in the system state. The existing theory of diagnosis of discrete-event systems is extended in the context of the above model. The modular structure of the system is exploited by a distributed algorithm for fault diagnosis. A Petri net diagnoser is associated with every Petri net and the diagnosers communicate in real time during the diagnostic process when the token count of common places changes. A merge function is defined to combine the individual diagnoser states and recover the complete diagnoser state that would be obtained under a monolithic approach. Strategies that reduce the communication overhead are presented. The software implementation of the distributed algorithm is discussed. Note to Practitioners-In the last decade, monitoring, fault detection, and diagnosis methodologies based on the use of discrete-event models have been successfully used in a variety of technological systems ranging from document processing systems to intelligent transportation systems. This paper was motivated by the problem of fault diagnosis for modular (distributed) dynamic discrete-event systems (DES). As a DES modeling formalism, Petri nets offer potential advantages in terms of the distributed representation of the system and the ability to represent coupling of the system components. The systems studied in this paper are sets of modules coupled with each other through various system components and modeled using Petri nets. We present a distributed fault diagnosis algorithm which allows each module in the distributed system to diagnose its faults independently unless completion of a task requires the use of coupled components. In the case of coupling, modules communicate with each other to accurately diagnose the fault. The distributed fault diagnosis algorithm recovers the monolithic diagnosis information at the cost of communication and growing communication overhead. To mitigate that problem, we present an improved version of the algorithm that significantly reduces the communication overhead. Finally, we introduce the software toolbox (written in Matlab and integrated with AT&T Graphviz) and we present a case study of an example of a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system where we use the software tool for modeling and analyzing the system
Medicaid Spend Down, Estate Recovery and Divorce: Doctrine, Planning and Policy

Medicaid is the need based government program that pays for much of the health care for the poor in the United States. Medicaid often ends up paying the costs of nursing home care for middle class seniors who have descended into poverty as a result of the high costs of such care. For married couples Medicaid requires “spend down” of both spouses’ assets before one spouse can qualify for Medicaid support. This article posits that, unless the law is changed, divorce may well become standard Medicaid planning practice in many circumstances. This will be especially true for middle and upper middle class married couples because they have the most to gain from divorce in this context. It argues that Medicaid’s approach toward married couples is based on a narrow and outmoded image of marriage. It assumes a marriage where the spouses have enjoyed a long life together, have common intended beneficiaries, have no other person to whom they have an equal or greater commitment, and it assumes a high level of commitment to the institution of marriage itself. This view of marriage tends to not fit the modern landscape where the marriage one inhabits in old age may be of newer vintage and may not include children of the marriage. Added to this is the trend toward “de-institutionalization” of marriage. The article contends that as marriage becomes less sacred in our society the utility of divorce as a Medicaid planning strategy will outweigh its moral repugnance. This is especially true because in this context divorce does not require ending or even substantially changing the day to day relationship of the parties. It simply becomes a rational asset protection plan. The alternative recommended to this developing trend is the disaggregation of marital property for most Medicaid purposes. Thus, instead of requiring the healthy spouse to spend down her or his assets before the unhealthy spouse can qualify for Medicaid assistance as present law does, the article recommends that only the assets properly allocable under state law to the unhealthy spouse should be required to be spent down. Similarly, estate recovery should only apply to the assets properly allocable to the deceased person who received the Medicaid assistance during life. This last point is particularly important in light of the apparent trend toward more aggressive estate recovery in some states.