ppxscal/embedding_network huggingface dataset:
The hiding virtues of ambiguity: quantifiably resilient watermarking of natural language text through synonym substitutions
Authors: Umut Topkara, Mercan Topkara, Mikhail J. Atallah
Venue: Proceedings of the 8th workshop on Multimedia and security (2006)

Information-hiding in natural language text has mainly consisted of carrying out approximately meaning-preserving modifications on the given cover text until it encodes the intended mark. A major technique for doing so has been synonym-substitution. In these previous schemes, synonym substitutions were done until the text "confessed", i.e., carried the intended mark message. We propose here a better way to use synonym substitution, one that is no longer entirely guided by the mark-insertion process: It is also guided by a resilience requirement, subject to a maximum allowed distortion constraint. Previous schemes for information hiding in natural language text did not use numeric quantification of the distortions introduced by transformations, they mainly used heuristic measures of quality based on conformity to a language model (and not in reference to the original cover text). When there are many alternatives to carry out a substitution on a word, we prioritize these alternatives according to a quantitative resilience criterion and use them in that order. In a nutshell, we favor the more ambiguous alternatives. In fact not only do we attempt to achieve the maximum ambiguity, but we want to simultaneously be as close as possible to the above-mentioned distortion limit, as that prevents the adversary from doing further transformations without exceeding the damage threshold; that is, we continue to modify the document even after the text has "confessed" to the mark, for the dual purpose of maximizing ambiguity while deliberately getting as close as possible to the distortion limit. The quantification we use makes possible an application of the existing information-theoretic framework, to the natural language domain, which has unique challenges not present in the image or audio domains. The resilience stems from both (i) the fact that the adversary does not know where the changes were made, and (ii) the fact that automated disambiguation is a major difficulty faced by any natural language processing system (what is bad news for the natural language processing area, is good news for our scheme's resilience). In addition to the above mentioned design and analysis, another contribution of this paper is the description of the implementation of the scheme and of the experimental data obtained.
Triangular surface mesh fairing via Gaussian curvature flow
Authors: Huanxi Zhao, Guoliang Xu
Venue: Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics (2006)

Surface mesh fairing by the mean curvature flow and its various modifications have become a popular topic. However, very few researches have been attempted on using the Gaussian curvature flow in surface fairing. The aim of this paper is to investigate such a problem. We find that Gaussian curvature flow can only be used to smooth convex meshes. Hence, it cannot be used to smooth noisy surface meshes because a noisy surface mesh is not convex. To overcome this difficulty, we design a new diffusion equation whose evolution direction depends on the mean curvature normal and the magnitude is a properly defined function of the Gaussian curvature. Experimental results show that the designed fairing scheme can effectively remove the noise and simultaneously preserve the sharp features, such as corners and edges.
Interactive Content Overviews for Lecture Recordings
Authors: Robert Mertens, Markus Ketterl, Oliver Vornberger
Venue: Proceedings of the Eighth IEEE International Symposium on Multimedia (2006)

Lecture recordings can be a powerful addition to traditional lectures and they can even serve as a main content source in a number of didactic scenarios. If users can quickly locate relevant passages in a recording, the recording combines the ease of search that comes with electronic text based media with the authenticity and wealth of information that is delivered in a live lecture. Locating relevant passages in a time based media such as a recorded lecture is, however, not as easy as searching an electronic text document. This paper advocates for interactive content overviews as an efficient navigation aid and presents an implementation that is based on SVG. It also discusses the feasibility of likewise approaches in other media formats.
The role of domain-specific knowledge in promoting generative reasoning in genetics
Authors: Ravit Golan Duncan
Venue: Proceedings of the 7th international conference on Learning sciences (2006)

Promoting the ability to reason generatively about novel phenomena and problems students may encounter in their everyday lives is a major goal of science education. This goal proves to be a formidable challenge in domains, such as molecular genetics, for which the accumulated scientific understandings are daunting in both amount and complexity. To develop effective instruction that fosters generative reasoning we need to have a sound understanding of the types of knowledge in the domain that are critical for such reasoning. In this study I examined the ensemble of knowledge undergraduate students employed in explaining genetic phenomena and solving problems about them. I characterized two key knowledge types: domain-specific heuristics and domain-specific explanatory schemas that are crucial for understanding the dynamics and entities central to molecular genetics phenomena. I then developed a cognitive model that highlights the role of these powerful conceptual understandings in promoting generative reasoning in genetics.
Modulation of the Visual Word Retrieval System in Writing: A Functional MRI Study on the Japanese Orthographies
Authors: Kimihiro Nakamura, Manabu Honda, Shigeru Hirano, Tatsuhide Oga, Nobukatsu Sawamoto, Takashi Hanakawa, Hiroshi Inoue, Jin Ito, Tetsu Matsuda, Hidenao Fukuyama, Hiroshi Shibasaki
Venue: Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience (2002)

We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine whether the act of writing involves different neuropsychological mechanisms between the two script systems of the Japanese language: kanji (ideogram) and kana (phonogram). The main experiments employed a 2 &times; 2 factorial design that comprised writing-to-dictation and visual mental recall for kanji and kana. For both scripts, the actual writing produced a widespread fronto-parietal activation in the left hemisphere. Especially, writing of kanji activated the left posteroinferior temporal cortex (lPITC), whereas that of kana also yielded a trend of activation in the same area. Mental recall for both scripts activated similarly the left parietotemporal regions including the lPITC. The writing versus mental recall comparison revealed greater activations in the left sensorimotor areas and right cerebellum. The kanji versus kana comparison showed increased responses in the left prefrontal and anterior cingulate areas. Especially, the lPITC showed a significant task-by-script interaction. Two additional control tasks, repetition (REP) and semantic judgment (SJ), activated the bilateral perisylvian areas, but enhanced the lPITC response only weakly. These results suggest that writing of the ideographic and phonographic scripts, although using the largely same cortical regions, each modulates the visual word-retrieval system according to their graphic features. Furthermore, comparisons with two additional tasks indicate that the activity of the lPITC increases especially in expressive language operations regardless of sensory modalities of the input stimulus.
A Study on the Electronic Voting System using blind Signature for Anonymity
Authors: Seo-Il Kang, Im-Yeong Lee
Venue: Proceedings of the 2006 International Conference on Hybrid Information Technology - Volume 02 (2006)

Development of IT has accelerated the establishment of electronic government, and convenience and efficiency have been enhanced by providing services of civil affairs and government and public offices to the people thru the internet. The electronic government service has been required to not only the service of civil affairs but also the electronic service of the voting system based on the democratic principle. Electronic voting system creates and manages data, so that it should not influence on the result of voting due to the interruption of third party or system error. Therefore, in order to study safe electronic voting system, the existing scheme of providing anonymity should be studied and anonymous and receipt-free system should be provided by utilizing the method of blind signature . Also, an eligible voter can know the result of voting by providing the paper receipt.
Generic Command Interpretation Algorithms for Conversational Agents
Authors: Laurent Mazuel, Nicolas Sabouret
Venue: Proceedings of the IEEE/WIC/ACM international conference on Intelligent Agent Technology (2006)

This paper focuses on the human-machine communication within the framework of intelligent agents. We propose a generic architecture provided with a natural language (NL) algorithm for command interpretation that can be adapted to different agent's domains. Our NL architecture only depends on the agent's code and its domain ontology. We consider two classical approaches for NL command interpretation: the top-down approach, which relies on the agent's model syntactical constraints, and the bottom-up approach which relies on the set of the agent's possible actions. We propose to combine both approaches in a bottomup based algorithm that makes use of agent's constraints. We propose a comparative evaluation of these three algorithms.
Agent-Based Control Framework for Distributed Energy Resources Microgrids
Authors: Zhenhua Jiang
Venue: Proceedings of the IEEE/WIC/ACM international conference on Intelligent Agent Technology (2006)

Distributed energy resources (DERs) provide many benefits for the electricity users and utilities. However, the electricity distribution system traditionally was not designed to accommodate active power generation and storage at the distribution level. The microgrid provides an effective approach to integrating many small-scale distributed energy resources into the bulk electric grid. This paper presents an agent-based control framework for distributed energy resources microgrids. The features of agent technology are first discussed. An agent-based control framework for DER microgrids is then presented. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed agent-based control framework, simulation studies have been performed on a dc distributed energy system that can be used in a microgrid as a modular power generation unit. Simulation results clearly indicate that the agent-based control framework is effective to coordinate the various distributed energy resources and manage the power and voltage profiles.
A methodological framework for business-oriented modeling of IT infrastructure
Authors: Ariel Landau, Segev Wasserkrug, Dagan Gilat, Natalia Razinkov, Aviad Sela, Sarel Aiber
Venue: Proceedings of the 36th conference on Winter simulation (2004)

The creation of IT simulation models for uses such as capacity planning and optimization is becoming more and more widespread. Traditionally, the creation of such models required deep modeling and/or programming expertise, thus severely limiting their extensive use. Moreover, many modern intelligent tools now require simulation models in order to carry out their function. For these tools to be widely deployable, the derivation of simulation models must be made possible without requiring excessive technical knowledge. Hence we introduce a general methodology that enables an almost automatic deployment of IT simulation models, based on three fundamental principles: Modeling only at the required level of detail; modeling standard components using pre-prepared models; and automatically deriving the application-specific model details. The technical details underlying this approach are presented. In addition, a case study, showing the application of this methodology to an eCommerce site, demonstrates the applicability of this approach.
Crimson: a data management system to support evaluating phylogenetic tree reconstruction algorithms
Authors: Yifeng Zheng, Stephen Fisher, Shirley Cohen, Sheng Guo, Junhyong Kim, Susan B. Davidson
Venue: Proceedings of the 32nd international conference on Very large data bases (2006)

Evolutionary and systems biology increasingly rely on the construction of large phylogenetic trees which represent the relationships between species of interest. As the number and size of such trees increases, so does the need for efficient data storage and query capabilities. Although much attention has been focused on XML as a tree data model, phylogenetic trees differ from document-oriented applications in their size and depth, and their need for structure-based queries rather than path-based queries.This paper focuses on Crimson, a tree storage system for phylogenetic trees used to evaluate phylogenetic tree reconstruction algorithms within the context of the NSF CIPRes project. A goal of the modeling component of the CIPRes project is to construct a huge simulation tree representing a "gold standard" of evolutionary history against which phylogenetic tree reconstruction algorithms can be tested.In this demonstration, we highlight our storage and indexing strategies and show how Crimson is used for benchmarking phylogenetic tree reconstruction algorithms. We also show how our design can be used to support more general queries over phylogenetic trees.
Interactive multimedia development and cognitive tools
Authors: Barry Harper, John Hedberg, Robert Wright, Robert Corderoy
Venue: Proceedings of the 1996 international conference on Learning sciences (1996)

Learning is a complex process and one that has a variety of theoretical views to explain and predict the outcomes. Cognitive scientists seek to develop these theoretical views so that instructional processes can be enhanced and fully understood. This is a relatively new field of study and there is a great deal of argument about the fine details of many of the theoretical views. However, there is a consensus on the general lessons learnt and there is now a large body of knowledge about learning, with constant research helping to refine and clarify that knowledge. The research has shown us that children's natural learning processes are very much in the realm of experimentation and reflection, not instructionalist modes so prevalent in classrooms and yet the schooling process is very much based on an economic imperative rather than an educational imperative. Pilot studies of a great variety of instructional modes and forms have proved them to be highly successful, and yet they have not been introduced into the broader schooling system. Much of the evidence about the lack of success of such programs in large scale schooling not only relates to economics, but also to teacher attitudes and beliefs about education and learning and to teachers perceived workload and opportunities, i.e. the type of individual learning support that cognitive scientists are telling us can improve the learning process is beyond the physical capability of most classroom teachers, at least for sustained periods of time.
Relief occlusion-adaptive meshes for 3D imaging
Authors: A. M. K. Siu, R. W. H. Lau
Venue: Proceedings of the 2003 International Conference on Multimedia and Expo - Volume 1 (2003)

Image morphing, which is a 2D imaging technique, allows smooth transition between images. However, a limitation of existing image morphing techniques is the lack of user interaction. Another limitation is that shape warping often causes distortion due to barycentric mapping. In this paper, we present a novel 3D morphological technique to address these problems. A new concept of relief occlusion-adaptive meshes is introduced, allowing a user to change the viewpoint of the output images in the morphing process. By making use of the intrinsic geometric relationship among the reference images for projective transformation, the distortion due to barycentric mapping is prevented. Unlike other warping-based view transferring techniques, our morphological technique provides very smooth transition between reference images and supports both rigid and non-rigid scenes.
A spatio temporal simulation model for evaluating delinquency and crime policies
Authors: Sergio E. Quijada, Juan F. Arcas, Cristian Renner, Luis Rabelo
Venue: Proceedings of the 37th conference on Winter simulation (2005)

System Dynamics, has been useful for a variety of disciplines; however, it has limitations in showing a geographical representation of the models under study. This paper proposes a methodology based on layered vectors which allows the use a city's census information to feed a Geographic Information System (GIS). The GIS objects implemented into System Dynamics and located at coordinates X.Y.Z become the entry parameters for the simulation.The simulation outputs close an analysis cycle, by means of adding new layers which are represented in the GIS. Consequently, the simulation provides feedback for vectorial representation which we successfully used to simulate strategies that can be used to reduce criminality rates in the city under study.
Segmenting molecular surfaces
Authors: Vijay Natarajan, Yusu Wang, Peer-Timo Bremer, Valerio Pascucci, Bernd Hamann
Venue: Computer Aided Geometric Design (2006)

This paper presents a new method for segmentation of molecular surfaces. Topological analysis of a scalar function defined on the surface and its associated gradient field reveals the relationship between the features of interest and critical points of the scalar function. The segmentation is obtained by associating segments with local minima/maxima. Controlled simplification of the function merges segments resulting in a hierarchical segmentation of the molecular surface. This segmentation is used to identify rigid components of protein molecules and to study the role of cavities and protrusions in protein-protein interactions.
Dynamic Workflow Implementation Based on Synchronizers
Authors: J. Borkowski, D. Kopanski, M. Tudruj
Venue: Proceedings of the 32nd EUROMICRO Conference on Software Engineering and Advanced Applications (2006)

The paper presents how parallel program execution control based on monitoring of global application states can be used to co-ordinate workflow execution. Special control processes called synchronizers construct consistent application states based on state messages coming from constituent workflow activities. The synchronizers compute control predicates on consistent activities states and work out control decisions concerning workflow behavior. The decisions are dispatched as control signals to workflow elements. The reactions to the signals correspond to workflow tasks activations or modifications by a mechanism similar to distributed interrupts. This mechanism provides for dynamic character of workflow elements and control, which can be applied in arranging groupware applications. Such workflow control can be implemented inside the PS-GRADE graphical parallel program design system, which is described in the paper. PS-GRADE enables designing programs for both computer clusters and Grids. An overview of workflow control patterns implemented with the use of the proposed new control mechanisms is shown and discussed in the paper.
Back to the Future: A Framework for Automatic Malware Removal and System Repair
Authors: Francis Hsu, Hao Chen, Thomas Ristenpart, Jason Li, Zhendong Su
Venue: Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Computer Security Applications Conference (2006)

Malware, software with malicious intent, has emerged as a widely-spread threat to system security. It is difficult to detect malware reliably because new and polymorphic malware programs appear frequently. It is also difficult to remove malware and repair its damage to the system because it can extensively modify a system. We propose a novel framework for automatically removing malware from and repairing its damage to a system. The primary goal of our framework is to preserve system integrity. Our framework monitors and logs untrusted programs' operations. Using the logs, it can completely remove malware programs and their effects on the system. Our framework does not require signatures or other prior knowledge of malware behavior. We implemented this framework on Windows and evaluated it with seven spyware, trojan horses, and email worms. Comparing our tool with two popular commercial anti-malware tools, we found that our tool detected all the malware's modifications to the system detected by the commercial tools, but the commercial tools overlooked up to 97% of the modifications detected by our tool. The runtime and space overhead of our prototype tool is acceptable. Our experience suggests that this framework offers an effective new defense against malware.
A Dynamic Fault-Tolerant Model for Open Distributed Computing
Authors: Rodrigo Lanka, Kentaro Oda, Horoki Najima, Takaichi Yoshida
Venue: Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Database and Expert Systems Applications (2006)

Open distributed computer systems are some of the most successful structures ever designed for the computer community together with their undisputed benefits for users. However, their complexity has also introduced a few sideeffects, most notably the unpredictable nature of the underlying environments and reconfiguration burdens imposed by environmental changes. Thus, to gain high level of system performance, a required level of reliability has to be maintained. In this paper, we propose a mechanism to analyze the underlying environmental faults and failures. This model provides an adaptable fault-tolerant approache in order to address unanticipated events and unpredictable hazards in distributed systems. Therefore, this model maintains the required reliability by analyzing the environment and selects the optimal replication strategy for existing conditions. This pragmatic and theoretically appealing approach is a part of the Juice system which supports adaptation properties for open distributed environments.
Ontology driven definition of a usability model for second generation portals
Authors: M. Ángeles Moraga, Coral Calero, Mario Piattini
Venue: Workshop proceedings of the sixth international conference on Web engineering (2006)

Second generation portals tend to be constructed by means of portlets, i.e. a multi-step, user-facing application to be delivered through a Web application. For this reason, the portal developers have to face up to the problem of choosing the best portlet among a set with the same functionality in order to construct portals with a good level of quality. This requires the existence of appropriate models to assess portlet's diverse quality characteristics. One of these quality characteristics is usability. In this paper we present deeply this portlet quality characteristic by means of a software measurement ontology. The use of the ontology avoids misunderstanding the concepts since it provides a consistent (i.e. both generally agreed, with consensus, and coherent (without conflicts and contradictions)) terminology. In such a manner, the usability model presented can be easily understood and applicable by any person because each element of the model is correctly and precisely defined.