Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance optimizations for LTE User-Plane L2 software

Nowadays modern mobile communication networks are expected to be able to compete with wired connections in both latency and speed. This places a lot of pressure on the mobile communication protocols, which are very complex, and much of their implementation depends on the software. The performance of the software directly affects the capacity of the network, which in turn affects the throughput and latency of the network’s users and the number of users the network can support. This thesis concentrates on identifying software components of LTE UserPlane radio interface protocols for improvements, and exploring the solutions for better performance. This study leans on system component tests and the performance profiler tool perf, which enables tracking the effects of software optimizations from function-level to the whole system-level accuracy. In addition to perf, performance counters provided by the processor are manually observed and they provide the verification on why specific optimizations affect the performance. Slow memory accesses or cache misses are identified as the most constraining factor in the software’s performance. Also many good practices are found during the optimization work, such as arranging code common path first. Surprisingly, separating hardly executed code from hotspots also has a positive impact on performance, in addition to shrinking the active binary. The optimization work results in the whole software’s load decreasing from 60% to 50% and in some individual functions load decreases of over 70% are achieved.
Explaining Regional and Local Government: An Empirical Test of the Decentralization Theorem

Decentralization of policy provision is omnipresent yet we are not able to sufficiently account for the extent of this phenomenon. The decentralization theorem explains the decentralization of policy provision as a trade–off between heterogeneous preferences, inter–jurisdictional spillovers (externalities) and economies of scale. Empirical tests of the theorem have been hampered by a measurement problem on the independent as well as on the dependent variable. This article tackles these problems by using a new dataset which combines a measure of externalities and scale effects of policies obtained from an expert survey with the actual provision of policies across governmental tiers in 40 countries. The analyses show that decentralization of policy provision is not solely determined by functional characteristics of policies but that heterogeneous preferences and other country specific variables such as democracy, economic development and European subsidies, also play a significant role. Hence, this article provides an empirical test of the decentralization theorem.
Phenolic compound composition of herb of pulsatilla pratensis (L.) mill

The manuscript presents the results of the determination of phenolic compounds in the herb of meadow pasqueflower. Determination of phenolic compounds has been performed by the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Identification of separated substances was performed by the comparison of the retention time of main peaks in the chromatogram of meadow pasqueflower herb with the retention time of standard substances and by reference of UV-spectra with spectra of standard substances like quercetin, hyperoside, luteolin, rutin, apigenin-7-glucoside, caffeic and ferulic acid, umbelliferone and scopoletin. 9 phenolic compounds were identified in the meadow pasqueflower herb using HPLC. Such flavanoids as rutin, hyperoside, apigenin-7-glucoside, luteolin and quercetin were identified and quantified in the herb of meadow pasqueflower. Hyperoside (0.02437 %) and luteolin (0.01568 %) are found in higher quantity. Content of hydroxycinnamic acids, such as caffeic and ferulic acids, is 0.00257 % and 0.00228 %, respectively. Coumarins like umbelliferone (0.00770 %) and scopoletin (0.00037 %) were also found.
Lack of Effective Communication among Couples in Ekiti State, Nigeria

The study investigated the effects of lack of effective communication among couples in Ekiti State. The sample consisted of 240 married persons (120 couples) from four (4) randomly selected local government areas of the 16 LGAs in the state. Simple random sample techniques were used to select the participants for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using t-test analysis. The two hypotheses generated were tested at 0.05level of significance. The instrument for the study was titled “communication among couples” had a reliability coefficient of 0.69. The results showed that lack of effective communication affects relationship of couples. It was therefore recommended that appropriate communication patterns should be encouraged among couples so as to avoid problems in their marriages.
Effects of Financial Crisis on Capital Structure of Listed Firms in Vietnam

This paper investigates effects of financial crisis on capital structure of listed firms in Vietnam. Regression models on the relation between the leverage and firm size, growth, profitability, tangibility, together with crisis dummies is built based on a sample of 265 firms listed on HNX and HOSE for the period of 2006-2013. The empirical result indicates that firm size, profitability, and tangibility have statistically significant impacts on capital structure. The growth is not statistically significant in explaining the variance of the leverage. The study result also reveals that capital structure of Vietnamese listed firms has not changed significantly under the financial crisis.
Marriage in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism

Marriage holds a special position in different cultures and religions. Despite differences in the limits and conditions of marriage, religions have many similarities in regard to the issue of marriage. This research paper is a comparative study of marriage in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. The findings reveal that all three traditions recognize marriage to have a sacred nature, and they all stress that all sexual needs must be satisfied through marriage. Islam and Judaism encourage marriage, while Christianity has some differences in this respect.
Diurnal variation of the global electric circuit from clustered thunderstorms

The diurnal variation of the global electric circuit is investigated using the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN), which has been shown to identify nearly all thunderstorms (using WWLLN data from 2005). To create an estimate of global electric circuit activity, a clustering algorithm is applied to the WWLLN data set to identify global thunderstorms from 2010 to 2013. Annual, seasonal, and regional thunderstorm activity is investigated in this new WWLLN thunderstorm data set in order to estimate the source behavior of the global electric circuit. Through the clustering algorithm, the total number of active thunderstorms are counted every 30 min creating a measure of the global electric circuit source function. The thunderstorm clusters are compared to precipitation radar data from the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission satellite and with case studies of thunderstorm evolution. The clustering algorithm reveals an average of 660±70 thunderstorms active at any given time with a peak‐to‐peak variation of 36%. The highest number of thunderstorms occurs in November (720±90), and the lowest number occurs in January (610±80). Thunderstorm cluster and electrified storm cloud activity are combined with thunderstorm overflight current measurements to estimate the global electric circuit thunderstorm contribution current to be 1090±70 A with a variation of 24%. By utilizing the global coverage and high time resolution of WWLLN, the total active thunderstorm count and current is shown to be less than previous estimates based on compiled climatologies.
International Capital Mobility and Aggregate Volatility: the Case of Credit-Rationed Open Economies ∗

This paper studies how international capital mobility affects aggregate volatility by considering the case of imperfect financial markets such that only physical capital serves as collateral for international borrowing, whereas human capital cannot. We find that credit-rationed, small open economies may be destabilized by expectation-driven fluctuations, even in the presence of small externalities, provided that the share of human capital is low enough. It follows that economies that highly borrow on international credit markets are more susceptible, through a financial accelerator effect, to expectation-driven fluctuations. Moreover, opening the capital account may push a saddle-point stable economy on a volatile path. On the contrary, tighter constraints on external borrowing may protect the economy against expectation-driven volatility. In contrast with existing results relying on the assumption of perfect financial markets, both the elasticity of labor supply and the elasticity of intertemporal substitution in consumption, though less traditionally, condition the set of parameter values associated with expectation-driven fluctuations. Finally, we extend the basic model and show, first, that tax progressivity (resp. regressivity) may protect (resp. expose) the economy against (resp. to) expectation-driven volatility and, second, that our main results do not specifically depend on the presence of externalities.
The Effect of Core Stability and Functional Exercises on Selected Speed and Strength Parameters in Expert Female Footballers

Designed to strengthen the deep (stabilizer) muscles which stabilize joints and ligaments, core stability exercises are important for the development of motor skills in athletes. In this research, we aimed to determine how a two-year program of core stability and functional exercises influenced the strength and speed of female football players. The tested athletes (n = 17) were members of Olimpia Szczecin MKS, a first division football club from Poland. Their mean age was 19.8 ±1.4 years, while the mean duration of sport experience was 6 years. We analyzed their running speed, as well as the maximal strength of eight major muscle groups: rectus abdominals, abdominal oblique, shoulder girdle, chest, upper limbs, quadriceps, biceps and gastronomies. The effects of training on motor speed and strength were measured twice, prior to each of the two seasons. The functional training resulted in significant changes in the strength of various muscle groups: quadriceps (Δ17.1 kg; p < 0.05), abdominal oblique muscle (Δ9.1 kg; p < 0.05), shoulder girdle (Δ3.6 kg; p < 0.05) and chest (Δ3.5 kg; p < 0.05). There was also a significant reduction in the time of the 30 meter sprint (p < 0.05) (Δ0.1 s; p < 0.05). In summary, functional training had a positive effect on the strength and running speed of the tested female footballers.
FDI, Social Ties and Technological Learning in New Silicon Valley Clones. Evidence from the Costa Rican ICT Cluster

Abstract This study, based on qualitative evidence collected through 150 interviews with local entrepreneurs, multinational corporations (MNC) directors, and other actors, contributes to the understanding of the effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) by showing that the social ties of local entrepreneurs and MNC directors affect technological learning in the Costa Rican information and communication technologies (ICT) cluster in ways that are often overlooked by the literature on technological capabilities. It illustrates that the social disembeddedness of MNC directors and the low endowment of transnational social ties of local entrepreneurs contribute to explain the limited effect of FDI on technological learning in the Costa Rican Silicon Valley clone.
Second Dimension Risk â€“ A Reduced Form Analysis of European Sovereignsâ€™ Credit Spreads

This article analyzes a possible risk premium for uncertainties regarding the current and future default probabilities in the context of the European fiscal crisis. It is argued that this risk premium was an important driver of credit spreads on a singly country level and that it has catalyzed sovereign credit contagion effects in the past. The relevance of this risk premium in the context of the fiscal crisis is then empirically analyzed based on a doubly stochastic reduced form credit risk model.
How do Non-clinical Paranoid Vs. Socially Anxious Individuals React to Failure Vs. Success? An Experimental Investigation

We did a quasi experimental study with 223 co llege students divided into three groups according to the presence of non-clinical paranoid ideation vs. social an xiety: the paranoia group (PG) vs. the social an xiety group (SA G) vs. the control group (CG). We measured participants' trait anger, paranoid ideation, external shame, state an xiety, state anger and depressive symptomatology using self-reports at time 1. Afterwards, we randomly assigned participants to a success vs. a failure condition using a computer game task. We then assessed their emotional and paranoid reactions (time 2). Independent sample t tests showed that the PG was more temperamentally aggressive than the SAG. Wilco xon Sign tests showed that during failure, the paranoia group significantly increased their paranoid ideation, negative emotional reactions to performance, state anger and state social paranoia from t ime s 1 to 2. In contrast, the SAG increased their state anxiety and external shame fro m t imes 1 to 2. The PG d idn't significantly decrease in paranoid ideation but they showed a significant increase in positive emot ional reactions while significantly decreasing in state anger during success. The SA G increased significantly in their positive emotional react ions during success but they also significantly increased in paranoid ideation. The negative impact of failure for PG and of success for the SA G alerts us to key indiv idual differences and the importance of managing anger, an xiety and paranoid feelings during evaluation.
Syngas Generation from Methane Using a Chemical-Looping Concept: A Review of Oxygen Carriers

Conversion of methane to syngas using a chemical-looping concept is a novel method for syngas generation. This process is based on the transfer of gaseous oxygen source to fuel (e.g., methane) by means of a cycling process using solid oxides as oxygen carriers to avoid direct contact between fuel and gaseous oxygen. Syngas is produced through the gas-solid reaction between methane and solid oxides (oxygen carriers), and then the reduced oxygen carriers can be regenerated by a gaseous oxidant, such as air or water. The oxygen carrier is recycled between the two steps, and the syngas with a ratio of H2/CO = 2.0 can be obtained successively. Air is used instead of pure oxygen allowing considerable cost savings, and the separation of fuel from the gaseous oxidant avoids the risk of explosion and the dilution of product gas with nitrogen. The design and elaboration of suitable oxygen carriers is a key issue to optimize this method. As one of the most interesting oxygen storage materials, ceria-based and perovskite oxides were paid much attention for this process. This paper briefly introduced the recent research progresses on the oxygen carriers used in the chemical-looping selective oxidation of methane (CLSOM) to syngas.
Tracking Construction Material over Space and Time: Prospective and Geo‐referenced Modeling of Building Stocks and Construction Material Flows

Construction material plays an increasingly important role in the environmental impacts of buildings. In order to investigate impacts of materials on a building level, we present a bottom‐up building stock model that uses three‐dimensional and geo‐referenced building data to determine volumetric information of material stocks in Swiss residential buildings. We used a probabilistic modeling approach to calculate future material flows for the individual buildings. We investigated six scenarios with different assumptions concerning per‐capita floor area, building stock turnover, and construction material. The Swiss building stock will undergo important structural changes by 2035. While this will lead to a reduced number in new constructions, material flows will increase. Total material inflow decreases by almost half while outflows double. In 2055, the total amount of material in‐ and outflows are almost equal, which represents an important opportunity to close construction material cycles. Total environmental impacts due to production and disposal of construction material remain relatively stable over time. The cumulated impact is slightly reduced for the wood‐based scenario. The scenario with more insulation material leads to slightly higher material‐related emissions. An increase in per‐capita floor area or material turnover will lead to a considerable increase in impacts. The new modeling approach overcomes the limitations of previous bottom‐up building models and allows for investigating building material flows and stocks in space and time. This supports the development of tailored strategies to reduce the material footprint and environmental impacts of buildings and settlements.
Conceptual knowledge of vesico-vagina fistula among parents, teachers and counsellors of senior secondary students in Warri South local government area of Delta State, Nigeria

Background : VVF is leakages of urine and faeces through the vagina. It is rampant in the North and the Eastern parts of Nigeria due to the forced marriage of girls at about the age of eleven. This may be attributed to their small pelvises which have resulted in harmful reproductive health practice. The disability and suffering from obstetric fistula remains a neglected issue in global health. Aim : This study seeks to explore the conceptual knowledge of vesico-vagina fistula (VVF) among parents, teachers and counselors of senior secondary school students in Warri South local government area of Delta state. Methods : A survey design was used. Random sampling method was used to select a total number of six hundred respondents including parents, teachers and counselors that participated in the study, but only five hundred and eleven questionnaires were retrieved. The questionnaire was divided into two sections containing information on demography and selected variables for the study. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics of Anova and t-tests. Result : the study revealed that there is no significant difference in the conceptual knowledge of VVF among parents, teachers and counselors of senior secondary school students either by educational status or location. Conclusion : It can be concluded that parents, teachers and counselors of senior secondary school have very little knowledge about VVF. There is need for educational programmes on VVF to enlighten them about VVF and the danger it poses. Key words : Conceptual knowledge, reproductive health, vesico-vagina fistula (VVF), parents, teachers, counselor
Construction Industry in the Czech Republic: the Level of Involvement in Corporate Social Responsibility

This article introduces results of inquiry in corporate social responsibility conducted among construction companies in the Czech Republic in 2017. Its main themes include specifics of application of the CSR concept in the practice of the construction industry and effects of selected factors on the level of involvement of Czech construction companies in CSR activities. The results of the inquiry clearly indicate that despite the high level of knowledge of the CSR concept among the construction companies reaching 65 % the overall activities across the CSR pillars are scarce. The statistical test results show that large companies working with the concept of business ethics are more engaged in CSR activities. Growing size of the construction company is connected with activity increase in the social pillar. On the other hand, strategic planning hardly affects the company involvement in the CSR concept. Also the length of activity of the construction company on the market only affects CSR activity level within the environmental pillar.
Gas-phase composition and secondary organic aerosol formation from standard and particle filter-retrofitted gasoline direct injection vehicles investigated in a batch and flow reactor

Abstract. Gasoline direct injection (GDI) vehicles have recently been identified as a significant source of carbonaceous aerosol, of both primary and secondary origin. Here we investigated primary emissions and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) from four GDI vehicles, two of which were also retrofitted with a prototype gasoline particulate filter (GPF). We studied two driving test cycles under cold- and hot-engine conditions. Emissions were characterized by proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (gaseous non-methane organic compounds, NMOCs), aerosol mass spectrometry (sub-micron non-refractory particles) and light attenuation measurements (equivalent black carbon (eBC) determination using Aethalometers) together with supporting instrumentation. Atmospheric processing was simulated using the PSI mobile smog chamber (SC) and the potential aerosol mass oxidation flow reactor (OFR). Overall, primary and secondary particulate matter (PM) and NMOC emissions were dominated by the engine cold start, i.e., before thermal activation of the catalytic after-treatment system. Trends in the SOA oxygen to carbon ratio (O : C) for OFR and SC were related to different OH exposures, but divergences in the H : C remained unexplained. SOA yields agreed within experimental variability between the two systems, with a tendency for higher values in the OFR than in the SC (or, vice versa, lower values in the SC). A few aromatic compounds dominated the NMOC emissions, primarily benzene, toluene, xylene isomers/ethylbenzene and C3-benzene. A significant fraction of the SOA was explained by those compounds, based on comparison of effective SOA yield curves with those of toluene, o-xylene and 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene determined in our OFR, as well as others from literature. Remaining discrepancies, which were smaller in the SC and larger in the OFR, were up to a factor of 2 and may have resulted from diverse reasons including unaccounted precursors and matrix effects. GPF retrofitting significantly reduced primary PM through removal of refractory eBC and partially removed the minor POA fraction. At cold-started conditions it did not affect hydrocarbon emission factors, relative chemical composition of NMOCs or SOA formation, and likewise SOA yields and bulk composition remained unaffected. GPF-induced effects at hot-engine conditions deserve attention in further studies.