Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficient implementation of EC based key management scheme on FPGA for WSN

Communication driven era demands the use of new cryptographic protocols and hardware with reduced computational and structural complexity for resource constrained applications. This paper presents the hardware implementation of a key management scheme based on Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) for applications in wireless sensor networks. Security-critical applications in WSNs rely on ECC for the key management since it offers increased security per bit of the key. This paper proposes efficient hardware architecture for the implementation of EC based key exchange in such a way that number of pre-stored values for key exchange and overall hardware complexity of the system are optimised without affecting security level. Algorithms for pseudo random sequence generation and message authentication code based on cryptographic one way function of elliptic curve point multiplication are developed. A single point multiplication unit based on Lopez-Dahab algorithm is time shared for pseudo random sequence generation and authentication to reduce the overall hardware complexity. Thus the proposed implementation scheme supports increased number of node addition phases. Evaluation of the design is done in terms of storage and hardware complexity. Proposed system gives 23.76% hardware efficiency over the existing EC based system. The design for GF(2163) has been simulated in ModelSim PE 10.4, synthesized in Xilinx ISE 14.7 and successfully implemented on Kintex-7 KC705 Evaluation Board.
Identification of a GTPase-activating protein homolog in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Loss of function of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe gap1 gene results in the same phenotypes as those caused by an activated ras1 mutation, i.e., hypersensitivity to the mating factor and inability to perform efficient mating. Sequence analysis of gap1 indicates that it encodes a homolog of the mammalian Ras GTPase-activating protein (GAP). The predicted gap1 gene product has 766 amino acids with relatively short N- and C-terminal regions flanking the conserved core sequence of GAP. Genetic analysis suggests that S. pombe Gap1 functions primarily as a negative regulator of Ras1, like S. cerevisiae GAP homologs encoded by IRA1 and IRA2, but is unlikely to be a downstream effector of the Ras protein, a role proposed for mammalian GAP. Thus, Gap1 and Ste6, a putative GDP-GTP-exchanging protein for Ras1 previously identified, appear to play antagonistic roles in the Ras-GTPase cycle in S. pombe. Furthermore, we suggest that this Ras-GTPase cycle involves the ra12 gene product, another positive regulator of Ras1 whose homologs have not been identified in other organisms, which could function either as a second GDP-GTP-exchanging protein or as a factor that negatively regulates Gap1 activity.
Suivi de l'état de dispersion des nanoparticules d'argile dans un polymère par rhéo-spectroscopie

An experimental study is conducted in the present research work. This study is structured on two main phases. The first one deals with the design of the nanocomposite system which elements were chosen in order to improve polymer-clay interactions. That nanocomposite system consists of a polymer matrix reinforced with clay elements. The clay chosen for this purpose is the Cloisite C30B. An experimental study has led to an optimal choice of the nature of polymer. In fact, it has been demonstrated that, the compatibility with the Cloisite C30B becomes better when PDMS chains are grafted with epoxy groups. Another experimental study, in this first phase, has been performed in order to prove that the necessary optimal volume fraction of the clay elements to reinforce the matrix structure is about 2%. Finally, the nomenclature of the designed new product is PDMSEpoxy/2%C30B. The second phase of the present work tackles the study of the effect of required experimental factors to achieve exfoliation-distribution of C30B particles in PDMSEpoxy/2%C30B system. Three factors have been studied. The first one is the effect of shear rate on the exfoliation process efficiency. The obtained results show that a proper shear rate promotes the exfoliation process in nanocomposite blend, but with a limited degree. However, under a moderate shear strain effect, it has been proved that the state of dispersion /distribution of lamellae in the matrix is better than the one obtained under shear rate. The last studied factor is the effect of the diffusion of, both polymer chains in the organoclay particles and also the diffusion of lamellae in the polymer chains. A comparative analysis has shown that under diffusion effect, the structure of the blend reaches it maximal development stage with maximum degree of exfoliation. The obtained structure of the nanocomposite is probably the so called percolation structure. A proposed mechanism of clay lamellae dispersion/distribution and their interaction with polymer chains is also described. The state of dispersion/distribution of clay particles was associated to the rheological signature of the blends and confirmed by in situ rheo-XR diffraction characterisations. For this purpose, a novel technology, named rheospectroscopy has been used. It is important to
The GUDMAP database – an online resource for genitourinary research

The GenitoUrinary Development Molecular Anatomy Project (GUDMAP) is an international consortium working to generate gene expression data and transgenic mice. GUDMAP includes data from large-scale in situ hybridisation screens (wholemount and section) and microarray gene expression data of microdissected, laser-captured and FACS-sorted components of the developing mouse genitourinary (GU) system. These expression data are annotated using a high-resolution anatomy ontology specific to the developing murine GU system. GUDMAP data are freely accessible at www.gudmap. org via easy-to-use interfaces. This curated, high-resolution dataset serves as a powerful resource for biologists, clinicians and bioinformaticians interested in the developing urogenital system. This paper gives examples of how the data have been used to address problems in developmental biology and provides a primer for those wishing to use the database in their own research.
Face recognition for remote database backup system

Face recognition is one of the most interesting applications in the image processing field. To build a model to recognize the face of different people, we need to do several processes on the image to obtain the most efficient features. In this research a face recognition model is developed. The dataset used is of different face images. Neural Networks technique, specifically Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) model with Back-Propagation learning algorithm and Template Matching approach are implemented in model developed. The face recognition model developed is then applied on a remote database backup system. Template matching approach is found to give a higher percentage of matching accuracy and a faster result can be obtained compared to MLP as no learning process is required.
Le programme socio-pragmatique des grammaires de constructions : bilan et perspectives

En vertu d’un postulat herite de la linguistique cognitive, les grammaires de constructions n’operent pas de distinction de principe entre semantique et pragmatique. En theorie, cette non-separation est justifiee. En effet, dans les grammaires de constructions, le sens ne derive pas de principes abstraits et n’a pas vraiment de pertinence lorsqu’il est apprehende hors-contexte. Il s’inscrit en fait dans un reseau de representations culturellement situees et structurees par l’experience. La semantique constructionnelle est en cela tres proche de la pragmatique traditionnelle. Mais dans les faits, la non-distinction entre semantique et pragmatique s’est faite au detriment de la seconde. En regard du sens, l’information pragmatique a ceci de plus qu’elle est en prise avec des facteurs contextuels, lies notamment a l’interaction des locuteurs au sein de communautes de pratiques. Trop rapidement recouverte par des considerations semantiques, la pragmatique depasse du cadre finalement etroit que les grammaires de constructions lui ont trop rapidement assigne.
University ’ s repository of research publications and other research outputs Two-fold Semantic Web service matchmaking – applying ontology mapping for service discovery Conference Item

Semantic Web Services (SWS) aim at the automated discovery and orchestration of Web services on the basis of comprehensive, machine-interpretable semantic descriptions. Since SWS annotations usually are created by distinct SWS providers, semantic-level mediation, i.e. mediation between concurrent semantic representations, is a key requirement for SWS discovery. Since semantic-level mediation aims at enabling interoperability across heterogeneous semantic representations, it can be perceived as a particular instantiation of the ontology mapping problem. While recent SWS matchmakers usually rely on manual alignments or subscription to a common ontology, we propose a two-fold SWS matchmaking approach, consisting of (a) a general-purpose semantic-level mediator and (b) comparison and matchmaking of SWS capabilities. Our semantic-level mediation approach enables the implicit representation of similarities across distinct SWS by grounding service descriptions in so-called Mediation Spaces (MS). Given a set of SWS and their respective grounding, a SWS matchmaker automatically computes instance similarities across distinct SWS ontologies and matches the request to the most suitable SWS. A prototypical application illustrates our approach.
Cafébabel and ‘Génération Bataclan’: Cosmopolitan identities and/as constructive European news

The attack on the Bataclan Theatre in Paris in November 2015 arguably targeted a transnational community of youths able to move and convene freely; as such, it was an attack on the liberal and cosmopolitan core of the European project. Cafébabel (cafebabel.com), a multilingual current affairs online magazine co-funded by the European Union, is intricately linked to this project. This article consequently investigates how Cafébabel, in the aftermath of the attack, appropriated the notion of ‘Génération Bataclan’ from a front page of Libération and how this may be seen as a constructive intervention in the relations between terrorism and journalism in Europe. Cafëbabel’s coverage was, it will be argued, linked to efforts to reflect and/or construct a generational and transnational ‘cosmopolitan identity’ within journalistic practices that largely can be called participatory. Following this, the article consequently argues for seeing Cafébabel’s coverage as instances of constructive news as participation in the European project, which is related to how the outlet perceives the news by national legacy media as un-constructive (conflict, scepticism, nationalism, sensationalism, etc.). In analysing a sample of articles from Cafébabel following the Paris attacks, the article consequently employs a theoretical foundation that merges elements from writings applying three distinct concepts, namely, constructive journalism, journalism as practice and cosmopolitanism.
Genetics of parentally reported asthma, eczema and rhinitis in 5-yr-old twins

The aim of the present study was to examine the genetic and environmental contributions to the individual differences in susceptibility to asthma, eczema and rhinitis in childhood and their role in the association among these conditions. Information on asthma, eczema and rhinitis was obtained by parental report. Parents were asked whether a physician had ever diagnosed the condition. Complete data were available for 8,633 5-yr-old twin pairs born between 1986 and 1998. The frequency of parentally reported asthma, eczema and rhinitis was 8.7, 16.8 and 4.4%, respectively, and was higher in males than females. Genetic factors accounted for ∼90% of the variance in the susceptibility to asthma, eczema and rhinitis. The magnitude of genetic factors did not differ between males and females. The remaining part of the variance was explained by environmental factors not shared by family members. The phenotypic correlations between parentally reported asthma, eczema and rhinitis were moderate and mainly mediated by the same genetic factors. The high heritability and the limited influence of shared environmental factors may point to gene x environment interactions. Future research should focus on this type of interaction processes.
Pan Correction through Overlap Estimation in a Multi-Camera Environment

Problem statement: Multiple cameras are employed for surveillance of larger environment. In such a case there is a need to maintain overlap in the adjacent cameras for correct object registration. Overlap may get disturbed by natural or manual factors. This study proposed an automatic camera pan correction by determining the area of overlap from multi-view images. Approach: A closed loop system which used feature extraction using SIFT, feature matching using descriptor ratio method and Mean Absolute Error (MAE) over Gaussian scale space, followed by overlap estimation is implemented for restoring the camera position. Results: The proposed method was experimented with the datasets acquired in the environment where surveillance involves two cameras. The matched points of the two images were used to calculate the overlap percentage. The overlap percentage estimated by the surveillance server was communicated to the pan controller to re-orient the camera to its original position. Conclusion: The proposed algorithm identified the robust and distinctive features that are invariant to translation, rotation and scaling. These features help in the accurate estimation of overlap percentage, which is further used to automatically correct the pan of the camera.
SMOOTHNESS AND HIGH ENERGY ASYMPTOTICS OF THE SPECTRAL SHIFT FUNCTION IN MANY-BODY SCATTERING

ABSTRACT Let be a 3-body Hamiltonian, H a the subsystem Hamiltonians, the Laplacian of the Euclidean metric g on real-valued. Buslaev and Merkurev3-5 have shown that, if the pair potentials decay sufficiently fast, for , the operator is trace class. Hence, one can define a modified spectral shift function σ, as a distribution on , by taking its trace. In this paper we show that if V a are Schwartz, then σ is in fact away from the thresholds, and obtain its high energy asymptotics. In addition, we generalize this result to N-body scattering, N arbitrary.
Combined activation of innate and T cell immunity for recognizing immunomodulatory properties of therapeutic agents

Complex syndromes such as atherosclerosis and type 2 diabetes are disorders that are associated with inflammatory processes involving innate and adaptive immunity. Emerging knowledge about the pathological consequences of immune imbalances in a wide range of disease settings is expected to help to identify novel therapeutic targets. However, current test systems for immunomodulatory drugs tend to be too simplistic, as they rely only on cells of the innate‐ or the adaptive‐immune system, or they are complex, in vivo models, which are not suitable for screening purposes. Using a modified mixed lymphocyte culture (MMLC) assay for combined analysis of innate and adaptive immunity, we show that this assay is very sensitive for the presence of low concentrations of immunomodulatory agents. Low‐dose lipopolysaccharide stimulation of cells from two unrelated donors yields a strong cytokine response including interleukin (IL)‐12 and IL‐18, which induce interferon‐γ as a potential analysis parameter. As the MMLC assay is based on the mutual interaction of cells of the innate and adaptive immunity, it enables the monitoring of cytokine release under almost physiological conditions and might be of interest for the characterization of known and novel drugs concerning their immunomodulatory potency.
Sign language perception research for improving automatic sign language recognition

Current automatic sign language recognition (ASLR) seldom uses perceptual knowledge about the recognition of sign language. Using such knowledge can improve ASLR because it can give an indication which elements or phases of a sign are important for its meaning. Also, the current generation of data-driven ASLR methods has shortcomings which may not be solvable without the use of knowledge on human sign language processing. Handling variation in the precise execution of signs is an example of such shortcomings: data-driven methods (which include almost all current methods) have difficulty recognizing signs that deviate too much from the examples that were used to train the method. Insight into human sign processing is needed to solve these problems. Perceptual research on sign language can provide such insights. This paper discusses knowledge derived from a set of sign perception experiments, and the application of such knowledge in ASLR. Among the findings are the facts that not all phases and elements of a sign are equally informative, that defining the 'correct' form for a sign is not trivial, and that statistical ASLR methods do not necessarily arrive at sign representations that resemble those of human beings. Apparently, current ASLR methods are quite different from human observers: their method of learning gives them different sign definitions, they regard each moment and element of a sign as equally important and they employ a single definition of 'correct' for all circumstances. If the object is for an ASLR method to handle natural sign language, then the insights from sign perception research must be integrated into ASLR.
Directional control of a streamlined underwater vehicle by feedback passivation

This paper describes a model-based technique for stabilizing the directional motion of a streamlined underwater vehicle controlled in surge, roll, pitch, and yaw. The six degree of freedom vehicle model allows for a broad range of viscous force and moment representations. The control law, which is derived using feedback passivation, makes steady, streamlined translation in a desired inertial direction globally asymptotically stable.
From Simulation to Operation: Using Design Time Artifacts to Ensure the Safety of Advanced Driving Assistance Systems at Runtime

Advanced driver assistance systems and (semi-)autonomous mobility systems will arguably be the biggest disruption of our everyday life in the next couple of years. The development of such systems comes with legal and technical challenges: Product liability regulations impose high standards on manufacturers regarding the safe operation of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). In the Automotive domain, sufficient safety has yet to be proven through extensive and expensive testing. As a consequence, car manufacturers try to move testing effort from the road to simulation. It is not clear, however, how results obtained from simulations transfer to the road. In this paper, we present an approach for leveraging simulation results during road tests. Our approach utilizes runtime monitors that are generated from specifications, test scenarios, and simulated components. These monitors can be used during road tests and during operation for identifying untested situations and for checking functional correctness of an ADAS.
Cholesterol modification is necessary for controlled planar long-range activity of Hedgehog in Drosophila epithelia

The Hedgehog morphogen is a major developmental regulator that acts at short and long range to direct cell fate decisions in invertebrate and vertebrate tissues. Hedgehog is the only known metazoan protein to possess a covalently linked cholesterol moiety. Although the role of the cholesterol group of Hedgehog remains unclear, it has been suggested to be dispensable for the its long-range activity in Drosophila. Here, we provide data in three different epithelia - ventral and dorsal embryonic ectoderm, and larval imaginal disc tissue - showing that cholesterol modification is in fact necessary for the controlled long-range activity of Drosophila Hedgehog. We provide an explanation for the discrepancy between our results and previous reports by showing that unmodified Hh can act at long range, albeit in an uncontrolled manner, only when expressed in squamous cells. Our data show that cholesterol modification controls long-range Hh activity at multiple levels. First, cholesterol increases the affinity of Hh for the plasma membrane, and consequently enhances its apparent intrinsic activity, both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, multimerisation of active Hh requires the presence of cholesterol. These multimers are correlated with the assembly of Hh into apically located, large punctate structures present in active Hh gradients in vivo. By comparing the activity of cholesterol-modified Hh in columnar epithelial cells and peripodial squamous cells, we show that epithelial cells provide the machinery necessary for the controlled planar movement of Hh, thereby preventing the unrestricted spreading of the protein within the three-dimensional space of the epithelium. We conclude that, as in vertebrates, cholesterol modification is essential for controlled long-range Hh signalling in Drosophila.
Generalised Media of Interaction and Abstract Resources : Two Concepts on Social Control derived from Sociology and Computer Science

In this paper, we present a two-fold view on how software agents cooperate and thereby produce some sort of social structure. First, we compare sociological and Computer Sciencebased models of actors and agents. Then, we introduce two distinct approaches, one from Computer Science and one from Sociology, namely Abstract Resources and Generalised Media of Interaction. Both consider how local interactions between agents can be described and installed in order to interact in an efficient and stable way. The former concept considers the problem of survival in a physical environment while the latter focuses on social interactions. To exemplify these approaches we instanciate them to a common scenario: the Settlers’ World.
Prognostic value of an early soluble L-selectin (sCD62L) assay for risk assessment in blunt multiple trauma: a metaanalysis.

BACKGROUND After severe trauma, decreased plasma concentrations of the soluble adhesion molecule L-selectin (sCD62L) have been linked to an increased incidence of lung failure and multiorgan dysfunction syndrome (MODS). Individual studies have had conflicting results, however. We examined multiple studies in an attempt to determine whether early sCD62L concentrations are predictive of major complications after severe trauma. METHODS We performed a systematic review of six electronic databases and a manual search for clinical studies comparing outcomes of multiply injured patients (Injury Severity Score > or =16) depending on their early sCD62L blood concentrations. Because of various outcome definitions, acute lung injury (ALI) and adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) were studied as a composite endpoint. Weighted mean differences (WMDs) in sCD62L concentrations were calculated between individuals with and without complications by fixed- and random-effects models. RESULTS Altogether, 3370 citations were identified. Seven prospective studies including 350 patients were eligible for data synthesis. Published data showed the discriminatory features of sCD62L but did not allow for calculation of measures of test accuracy. Three of four studies showed lower early sCD62L concentrations among individuals progressing to ALI and ARDS (WMD = -229 microg/L; 95% confidence interval, -476 to 18 microg/L). No differences in sCD62L concentrations were noted among patients with or without later MODS. Nonsurvivors had significantly lower early sCD62L plasma concentrations (WMD = 121 microg/L; 95% confidence interval, 63-179 microg/L), but little information was available on potential confounders in this group. CONCLUSIONS Early decreased soluble L-selectin concentrations after multiple trauma may signal an increased likelihood of lung injury and ARDS. The findings of this metaanalysis warrant a large cohort study to develop selectin-based models targeting the risk of inflammatory complications.