Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Symmetric Replication Scheme for Increased Security and Performance in Structured Overlay Networks

Existing structured peer-to-peer systems heavily rely on replication as a means to provide fault-tolerance. Many systems use the so-called successor- list scheme for replication. We argue that this scheme has grave limitations. First, these systems are vulnerable to, what we call, Mendacity attacks, where a malicious peer can lie about other peers to gain full control over all replicas of an item. Second, the successor-list scheme prevents the peers from doing concurrent-requests to replicas of an item. We present, and provide full algorithmic specification for, a generic replication scheme called symmetric replication. The scheme is applicable to all existing structured peer-to-peer systems. In contrast to the successor-list scheme, our scheme makes replicas independent of each other, preventing Mendacity attacks while enabling concurrent requests. Concurrent requests can be used for increasing the security by using voting or consensus algorithms to ensure the correctness of replicas. Moreover, concurrent requests can be used for load-balancing of requests, and to add locality awareness. Finally, to maintain the replication factor, the successor-list scheme uses a complex algorithm that involves all peers replicating a departing peer. In contrast, our symmetric replication scheme only involves two peers to restore the replication factor and thus avoids such complex algorithms.
The role of psychology in understanding online trust

Across many online contexts, internet users are required to make judgments of trustworthiness in the systems or other users that they are connecting with. But how can a user know that the interactions they engage in are legitimate? In cases where trust is manipulated, there can be severe consequences for the user both economically and psychologically. In this chapter, the authors outline key psychological literature to date that has addressed the question of how trust develops in online environments. Specifically, three use cases in which trust relationships emerge are discussed: crowdfunding, online health forums, and online dating. By including examples of different types of online interaction, the authors aim to demonstrate the need for advanced security measures that ensure valid trust judgments and minimise the risk of fraud victimisation.
Bench-scale biosynthesis of isonicotinic acid from 4-cyanopyridine by Pseudomonas putida

Pseudomonas putida CGMCC3830 harboring nitrilase was used in isonicotinic acid production from 4-cyanopyridine. This nitrilase showed optimum activities towards 4-cyanopyridine at pH 7.5 and 45°C. The half-life of P. putida nitrilase was 93.3 h, 33.9 h, and 9.5 h at 30°C, 38°C, and 45°C, respectively. 4-Cyanopyridine (100 mM) was fully converted into isonicotinic acid within 20 min. The bench-scale production of isonicotinic acid was carried out using 3 mg of resting cells per mL in a 1 L system at 30°C and finally, 123 g L−1 of isonicotinic acid were obtained within 200 min without any by-products. The conversion reaction suffered from the product inhibition effect after the tenth feeding. The volumetric productivity was 36.9 g L−1 h−1. P. putida shows significant potential in nitrile hydrolysis for isonicotinic acid production. This paper is the first report on isonicotinic acid biosynthesis using Pseudomonas putida and it represents the highest isonicotinic acid production reported so far.
The relation between block length and reliability for a cascade of AWGN links

This paper presents a fundamental informationtheoretic scaling law for a heterogeneous cascade of links corrupted by Gaussian noise. For any set of fixed-rate encoding/decoding strategies applied at the links, it is claimed that a scaling of Θ(log n) in block length is both sufficient and necessary for reliable communication. A proof of this claim is provided using tools from the convergence theory for inhomogeneous Markov chains.
Modelling Import Demand Function for a Developing Country: An Empirical Approach

The study focuses on the empirical modelling of aggregate import demand function for developing countries. Both traditionally suggested in existing literature as well as some additional but empirically plausible determinants of import demand are examined in the paper. Various cointegration techniques and the error correction mechanism are employed. In addition to the real income and the relative prices of imports, foreign exchange reserves are also found to be a signifcant determinant of import demand for developing countries, Export demand, which is overlooked by the existing literature, is found to be significant determinant in both the short-run and long-run for developing countries, especially the countries which imports 'capital goods'for their exporting industries.
High Performance, Low-loss Nonlinear Integrated Glass Waveguides

Using a novel high-index glass material platform, integrated low-loss waveguides were fabricated and are shown to have excellent nonlinear properties. Through self-phase modu- lation measurements in a 45cm long spiral waveguide, the Kerr nonlinearity is determined, and is estimated to be more than 200 times larger than that of single mode flbers. The excellent linear transmission together with absence of multi-photon absorption, for peak intensities up to 25GW/cm 2 , ofiers a promising alternative for the fabrication of future nonlinear all-optical devices.
Bioactive 3D-Shaped Wound Dressings Synthesized from Bacterial Cellulose: Effect on Cell Adhesion of Polyvinyl Alcohol Integrated In Situ

We investigated wound dressing composites comprising fibrils of bacterial cellulose (BC) grown by fermentation in the presence of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) followed by physical crosslinking. The reference biointerface, neat BC, favoured adhesion of fibroblasts owing to size exclusion effects. Furthermore, it resisted migration across the biomaterial. Such effects were minimized in the case of PVA/BC membranes. Therefore, the latter are suggested in cases where cell adhesion is to be avoided, for instance, in the design of interactive wound dressings with facile exudate control. The bioactivity and other properties of the membranes were related to their morphology and structure and considered those of collagen fibres. Bioactive materials were produced by simple 3D templating of BC during growth and proposed for burn and skin ulcer treatment.
Effects of a combined pre- and probiotics product on diarrhoea patterns and performance of early weaned calves.

The interest in probiotics, prebiotics and other biological additives has greatly increased following the banning of antibiotic growth promoters by the European Union and consumer awareness of ,,safe and functional foods”. This experiment was designed to provide experimental data on the effects of feeding combined preand probiotics product to early weaned dairy calves. Twenty four Lithuanian Black-and-White calves were weaned at 6 days of age and were randomly assigned to two treatments (12 experimental calves and 12 control calves). The calves were fed either a diet supplemented with a combined preand probiotics product (Enterococcus faecium M74 with a non-digestible oligosaccharide (NDO) or a control diet for 9 weeks. During the entire trial each calf was fed milk replacer twice a day presented in plastic buckets and and the preand probiotics supplement for experimental calves was administered daily from experimental day 1 to 63 (from 6 to 68 days of age). Starting the first week of the experiment, calf starter (compound feed), hay and fresh water were supplied ad libitum. Combined preand probiotics product supplementation markedly lowered occurrence of post weaning diarrhoea and severity of the diarrhoea. In calves on pre-and probiotics diet the percentage of calves with diarrhoea reduced from 65 % to 25 %. Calves given the combined pre-and probiotics product had the forage and total DM intakes that were higher than those fed control diet, without any additive. During the 63 days experimental period, average daily gain and feed conversion rate were improved by 15.3 % (P<0.05) and by 12.8 % (P<0.05) respectively in the preand probiotics treated group.
No we won't! Teachers' resistance to educational reform

Purpose – Teachers' resistance to educational reform has been explored, with special attention given to the reasons driving opposition and the resistance practices employed inside school walls. These studies have not, however, examined the agenda setting strategy employed by teachers opposing new policy on the national level, nor has any extensive study focused on the messages or rhetoric characterizing their opposition. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the rhetoric and images used in web‐based campaigns by teachers to secure public support for their resistance to the “New Horizon” reform in Israel 2007 teachers' strike.Design/methodology/approach – This study employs a descriptive case study methodology to illustrate the bottom‐up political strategy employed by teachers seeking public support for their opposition to reform. Content analysis of entries and manifestos posted on prominent teachers' weblogs and partisan school web sites during Israel's 64‐day teachers' strike in 2007 was conducted.
Heterogeneous N 2 O 5 uptake coefficient and production yield of ClNO 2 in polluted northern China : roles of aerosol water content and chemical composition

Heterogeneous uptake of dinitrogen pentoxide (N2O5) and production of nitryl chloride (ClNO2) are important nocturnal atmospheric processes that have significant implications for the production of secondary pollutants. However, the understanding of N2O5 uptake processes and ClNO2 production remains limited, especially in China. This study presents a field investigation of the N2O5 heterogeneous uptake coefficient (γ (N2O5)) and ClNO2 production yield (φ) in a polluted area of northern China during the summer of 2014. The N2O5 uptake coefficient and ClNO2 yield were estimated by using the simultaneously measured ClNO2 and total nitrate in 10 selected cases, which have concurrent increases in the ClNO2 and nitrate concentrations and relatively stable environmental conditions. The determined γ (N2O5) and φ values varied greatly, with an average of 0.022 for γ (N2O5) (±0.012, standard deviation) and 0.34 for φ (±0.28, standard deviation). The variations in γ (N2O5) could not be fully explained by the previously derived parameterizations of N2O5 uptake that consider nitrate, chloride, and the organic coating. Heterogeneous uptake of N2O5 was found to have a strong positive dependence on the relative humidity and aerosol water content. This result suggests that the heterogeneous uptake of N2O5 in Wangdu is governed mainly by the amount of water in the aerosol, and is strongly water limited, which is different from most of the field observations in the US and Europe. The ClNO2 yield estimated from the parameterization was also overestimated comparing to that derived from the observation. The observation-derived φ showed a decreasing trend with an increasing ratio of acetonitrile to carbon monoxide, an indicator of biomass burning emissions, which suggests a possible suppressive effect on the production yield of ClNO2 in the plumes influenced by biomass burning in this region. The findings of this study illustrate the need to improve our understanding and to parameterize the key factors for γ (N2O5) and φ to accurately assess photochemical and haze pollution.
Functional relationships in the nuclear and extended family: A 16-culture study

This study investigated the relationship between culture, structural aspects of the nuclear and extended family, and functional aspects of the family, that is, emotional distance, social interaction, and communication, as well as geographical proximity. The focus was on the functional aspects of family, defined as members of the nuclear family (mother, father, and their children) and the extended family (grandmother/grandfather, aunt/uncle, cousins). Sixteen cultures participated in this study, with a total number of 2587 participants. The first hypothesis, that the pattern of scores on the psychological measures and the behavioral outcomes are similar across cultures, an indication of cultural universality, was supported. The second hypothesis, that functional relations between members of the nuclear family and their kin are maintained in high-affluent and low-affluent cultures, and that differences in functional relationships in high- and low-affluent cultures are a matter of degree, was also supported .
FRAME REPRESENTATIONS FOR GROUP-LIKE UNITARY OPERATOR SYSTEMS

Communicated by S Str˘atil˘a Abstract. A group-like unitary system U is a set of unitary operators such that the group generated by the system is contained in TU, where T denotes the unit circle. Every frame representation for a group-like unitary system is (unitarily equivalent to) a subrepresentation of its left regular representation and the norm of a normalized tight frame vector determines the redundancy of the representation. In the case that a group-like unitary system admits enough Bessel vectors, the commutant of the system can be characterized in terms of the analysis operators associated with all the Bessel vectors. This allows us to define a natural quantity (the frame redundancy) for the system which will determine when the system admits a cyclic vector. A simple application of this leads to an elementary proof to the well-known time-frequency density theorem in Gabor analysis.
Can wild boar be surveyed using GPS

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is an important new technology for spa- tial behaviour studies of terrestrial vertebrates. Although VHF telemetry has been substan- tially used, our study is the first report, to our knowledge, on GPS technology used to track free-ranging wild boars. Although the need for collars larger than those used for VHF track- ing, the crowded vegetation of habitat and the particular features of social group behaviour of wild boars led to some technical difficulties, three adult sows were successfully fitted with two GPS collars and one dummy GPS. The collars remained on the wild boars for over 283 days without causing any injury to the animals. Forty-one daily cycles (24 hours), as well as daily locations over 142 days, could be recorded for a single animal. Detection efficiency and fixes were better during the night than during the day. In the light of these results, the GPS technique appears to be an efficient tool to study wild boar movements. Progress in the sur- vey of animal movements at a fine scale is of prime interest for animal management programs in order to obtain and maintain a sustainable level of animal population regarding damage problems.
Financial Health and Firm Productivity: Firm-Level Evidence from Viet Nam

Does financial health shore up firm productivity? This paper empirically investigates this question and presents productivity as another driving factor in translating financial development into real economic progress. Our empirical framework employs Levinsohn and Petrinâ€™s (2003) semi-parametric estimation of total factor productivity (TFP) using firm-level panel data during 2002â€“2008, and incorporates financial health variables into conventional determinants of firm productivity. Our findings suggest that liquidity and access to external credit boosts firm productivity, with the latter particularly imperative for exporting and/or importing firms. We also present supplementary results regarding economies of scale, high-tech capital accumulation, human capital investment and foreign ownership.
Dual-Wavelength Pumped Dispersion-Compensating Fibre Raman Amplifiers

Fibre Raman amplifiers (FRAs) use optical pumping to provide low-noise gain in fibre waveguides by means of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS). They can be operated over a range of telecommunications windows, from below 1300 nm to beyond 1650 nm, often with broader spectra than those of erbium doped fibre amplifiers (EDFAs). The gain medium can be transmission fibre or dispersion compensating fibre (DCF). DCF-based Raman amplifiers simultaneously boost the propagating signals and compensate for accumulated chromatic dispersion, thereby fulfilling a dual role (Bromage, 2004, Urquhart et al., 2007). Dispersion compensating Raman amplifiers (DCRAs) normally consist of modules incorporating several kilometres of DCF plus up to around twelve pumps at different wavelengths (Islam, 2004; Namiki et al., 2005), usually launched contra-directionally with respect to the signals, as illustrated in Fig. 1. The Raman gain is often several decibels above the transparency condition of the DCF medium to mitigate the loss of associated passive components. A single pump excites a gain profile with a full width at half height of ~7 GHz but it is far from spectrally uniform, rendering it unsuitable for wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) communications. Gain flattening is thus required and it is normally achieved by the multiple pumps. Complicated optical interactions occur within the fibre, in which power is coupled from the pumps to the signals, from one pump to another and from one signal to another. Additionally, there are the noise processes of amplified spontaneous Raman scattering and amplified distributed Rayleigh backscattering, which can be sufficiently powerful to contribute to the gain saturation. Nevertheless, by carefully optimising the launched powers, the desired spectral equalisation can be achieved. Multi-wavelength pumped DCF modules have been used to provide gain bandwidths that exceed 100 nm with uniformities of better than 0.3 nm but they are complicated sub-systems (Giltrelli and Santagiustina, 2004; Namiki et al., 2004; Neto et al, 2009). Wavelengthstabilised pump lasers are expensive and the resulting gain spectra are sensitive to the precise values of the launched powers. Sophisticated simulation software with advanced
Mode-locking intracavity dynamics:modeling nonlinear power and energy fluctuations

Modern high-power, pulsed lasers are driven by strong intracavity fluctuations. Critical in driving the intracavity dynamics is the nontrivial phase profiles generated and their periodic modification from either nonlinear mode-coupling, spectral filtering or dispersion management. Understanding the theoretical origins of the intracavity fluctuations helps guide the design, optimization and construction of efficient, high-power and high-energy pulsed laser cavities. Three specific mode-locking component are presented for enhancing laser energy: waveguide arrays, spectral filtering and dispersion management. Each component drives a strong intracavity dynamics that is captured through various modeling and analytic techniques.
VEGETATIVE GROWTH AND YIELD RESPONSE OF NIGER (GUIZOTIA ABYSSINICA) TO LEAF-LITTER DUST OF LANTANA CAMARA

Experiments were conducted to identify the allelopathic effects of different concentrations of leaf-litter dust of Lantana camara on the vegetative growth parameters (development of total number of leaves per plant, height of the plant, total leaf area, leaf area index) and components of yield (production of number of heads per plant, production of seeds per head, weight of seeds, seed yield per plant) of niger (Guizotia abyssinica). The results obtained and data presented in the tables showed the concentration dependent poor vegetative growth and decreased trend of yield of the test crop. This study indicates that the allelochemicals released from the leaf-litter dust into the soil had the potential to inhibit physiological processes of niger plant there by suppressed the above parameters of the test crop.
Equatorial deep jets triggered by a large vertical scale variability within the western boundary layer

The response of the deep equatorial ocean to an oscillatory baroclinic western boundary current is investigated in a continuously stratified primitive equation model. The symmetry of the current about the equator is such that mixed Rossby-gravity (MRG) waves are excited in the western part of the equatorial ocean. Depending on the forcing frequency, short to long scale (when compared to equatorial Rossby radius) monochromatic (MRG) waves are selected. The subsequent MRG wave destabilization generally leads to a much higher vertical mode response than the forced MRG wave mode. In a channel, short MRG waves are destabilized by shear instability (Hua et al., 2007). In a basin, the destabilization occurs in the vicinity of the western boundary and leads to the formation of finite amplitude, nonlinear jets in the entire equatorial basin. The space and time pattern of the jets correspond to low-frequency oscillating equatorial basin-modes, the period of which is set by the dominant vertical mode of the response. The vertical scale of the jets is a function mainly of the forcing period and is independent of the forcing vertical mode, as long as the excited MRG waves are in a sufficiently short regime to be unstable. As a result, an oscillatory western boundary current leads to a permanent equatorial zonal circulation, unlike a steady western boundary current. But most importantly, MRG wave destabilization appears to be a plausible formation mechanism for the observed Equatorial Deep Jets. The spatial and dynamical characteristics of the zonal circulation achieved with a 60-day forcing period are indeed compatible with the observations in the Atlantic Ocean.
CHARACTERISTICS AND QUALITY Of SOILS UNDER SELECTED FARMING PRACTICES IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA

This study compared soil properties and quality under five different farm practices in a part of the southwest Nigeria. The study indicated that fewer soil properties accounted for more percentage change in total variance at the fallow and mono-cropping plots than at the forest, crop rotation and alley farming systems. It also showed that soils under fallow and mono-cropping systems exhibited the lowest quality values among the farm practices system studied. The study recommends improved soil management approaches in plots under mono-cropping practices, and extensive soil recovery programmes for fallow lands.
Assessing the Effectiveness of Bridge Resource Management Training

Bridge resource management (BRM) is the maritime equivalent of crew resource management (CRM), and has been used in the civilian maritime industry for over a decade. An evaluation of the effectiveness of the U.S. Navy's BRM training was carried out by assessing the attitudes toward, and knowledge of, the human factors that contribute to accidents in high-risk organizations. A comparison was made between surface warfare officers (SWOs) who had and had not attended BRM training. The responses of the SWOs were also compared to CRM-trained U.S. Naval aviators. It was found that BRM training did not have a significant effect on the attitudes and knowledge of SWOs. Further, naval aviators were significantly more knowledgeable, and generally held attitudes toward the human factors that are causal to accidents in high-risk organizations than did SWOs. It was concluded that the Navy's BRM training is not having the impact on knowledge and attitudes that is typical of the CRM training reported in the literature. It is proposed that the main reason for the lack of effectiveness of the BRM program is that the content of the training was not based on a needs assessment carried out within the surface warfare community.
The uncertainty of debt service payments and economic growth of HIPCs : is there a case for debt relief?

This paper investigates whether, and to what extent, the uncertainty with respect to the annual debt service payments may adversely affect economic growth of the group of highly indebted poor countries (HIPCs). We find supportive evidence for this hypothesis. Based on these results, we conclude that debt relief may contribute to regaining growth by reducing uncertainty with respect to the debt service payments, which in turn may increase the effectiveness of government policies and consequently provide the private sector with positive signals about the future profitability of their investment.