Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
"Route Record Distance Vector Protocol for Minimization of Intra-Flow Interference"

The performance of wireless multi-hop networks is negatively affected by interference between neighbouring links on the same channel. Especially intra-flow interference degrades network performance to a high degree. To overcome this problem this thesis presents a routing protocol for wireless multi-hop networks with multiple radio interfaces, which minimizes intra-flow interference with significant performance improvement. We show that our route record based distance vector protocol can exploit channel diversity better than classic distance vector protocols. This protocol reduces the issue of intra-flow interference to a channel combination problem by collecting route records along a path. The challenge of channel selection belongs to classical graph labelling, specifically sequence labelling, which we solve efficiently with a Viterbi and a greedy algorithm. A theoretical and numerical analysis of the problem and solution is given complemented by empirical evidence from extensive simulation. This thesis reports substantial improvement in network performance measured in throughput and packet delivery fraction without additional routing load.
Thermal fluctuations in a charged AdS black hole

In this paper, we will analyze the effects of thermal fluctuations on a charged anti-de Sitter (AdS) black hole. This will be done by analyzing the corrections to black-hole thermodynamics due to these thermal fluctuations. We will demonstrate that the entropy of this black hole gets corrected by a logarithmic term. We will also calculate other corrections to other important thermodynamic quantities for this black hole. Finally, we will use the corrected value of the specific heat to analyze the phase transition in this system.
Administrators Solving the Problems of Practice: Decision-Making Concepts, Cases, and Consequences

1. Introduction. 2. Decision Making: Optimizing and Satisficing. 3. Decision Making: Muddling and Scanning. 4. Decision Making: Garbage and Politics. 5. Using the Best Model: Practice Cases. 6. Shared Decision Making: A Comprehensive Model. 7. Shared Decision Making: A Simplified Model. 8. Decision Making: Final Cases
BIG BANG NUCLEOSYNTHESIS REVISITED VIA TROJAN HORSE METHOD MEASUREMENTS

Nuclear reaction rates are among the most important input for understanding primordial nucleosynthesis and, therefore, for a quantitative description of the early universe. An up-to-date compilation of direct cross-sections of 2H(d, p)3H, 2H(d, n)3He, 7Li(p, α)4He, and 3He(d, p)4He reactions is given. These are among the most uncertain cross-sections used and input for big bang nucleosynthesis calculations. Their measurements through the Trojan Horse method are also reviewed and compared with direct data. The reaction rates and the corresponding recommended errors in this work were used as input for primordial nucleosynthesis calculations to evaluate their impact on the 2H, 3, 4He, and 7Li primordial abundances, which are then compared with observations.
Analisis Kualitas Sistem Informasi Akademik Menggunakan Metode Importance Performance Analysis (ipa) (studi Kasus Pada Website I-gracias Universitas Telkom Bandung)

Sistem informasi akademik merupakan suatu sistem yang dirancang khusus untuk dapat mengelola berbagai data akademik dengan banyak entitas, kepuasan mahasiswa sebagai stakeholder merupakan bagian yang penting bagi Universitas, tata kelola Portal Akademik yang baik perlu dilakukan. Berdasarkan dokumen Laporan Helpdesk Universitas XYZ terdapat 522 keluhan pada Website Portal Akademik. Website terkadang mengalami gangguan misalnya sistem yang down , erorr saat melakukan registrasi, dan kehilangan data. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui harapan dan penilaian pengguna terhadap kualitas Website Portal Akademik, serta idikator yang harus ditingkatkan untuk mendukung peningkatan kualitas Website Portal Akademik. Penelitian ini menggunakan Metode Kuantitatif dengan Teknik Analisa Deskriptif (Analisis Jenjang) dan Metode Importance Performance Analysis (IPA) berdasarkan indikator WebQual 4.0 . Kuesioner disebarkan kepada 439 responden mahasiswa pada tujuh fakultas di Universitas XYZ, serta melakukan wawancara kepada manajer operasional dan pengelola data centre Direktorat Sistem Informasi. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa secara keseluruhan penilaian kinerja Website Portal Akademik memiliki skor rata-rata sebesar 1499.30 atau 68.31% masuk dalam kategori baik, namun terdapat satu sub variabel dimana kinerjanya berada pada kategori sedang yaitu sub variabel Service interaction. Pengguna memiliki tingkat harapan yang tinggi terhadap seluruh sub variabel dengan skor rata-rata sebesar 1787.23 atau 81%. Hasil dari pemetaan diagram IPA, kuadran I diisi oleh indikator website menyampaikan rasa kompetensi (dapat Diperoleh setiap saat), website menyediakan informasi dengan detail, dan pengguna merasa aman terhadap informasi pribadinya (informasi tidak pernah hilang atau berubah), tiga indikator tersebut harus menjadi konsentrasi Bagian Direktorat Sistem Informasi untuk melakukan perbaikan pada Website Portal Akademik
Genes, DNA methylation and exposures underlying COPD in never-smokers

In COPD, of “chronic obstructive pulmonary disease”, zijn de longen beschadigd waardoor het lastig is om adem te halen. Roken is de belangrijkste risicofactor voor het ontwikkelen van COPD, maar opvallend is dat ongeveer 25-45% van alle COPD-patienten wereldwijd nog nooit gerookt heeft. In dit PhD project hebben we onderzocht welke mechanismen een rol spelen in COPD bijniet-rokers. Wat is de rol van genetische varianten, epigenetische veranderingen (DNA-methylatie), en omgevingsblootstellingen zoals luchtvervuiling of beroepsblootstellingen hierin? DNA-methylatie kan de activiteit en functionaliteit van het DNA veranderen en kan beinvloed worden door blootstellingen uit de omgeving. Hierdoor kan DNA-methylatie dus het onderliggende mechanisme zijn waardoor een blootstelling de longfunctie beinvloedt.Het onderzoek beschreven in het proefschrift heeft inderdaad aangetoond dat genen, DNA-methylatie en omgevingsblootstellingen een rol spelen in COPD bij niet-rokers. We hebben verscheidene genen gevonden die in niet-rokers een rol spelen bij obstructie van de grote of kleine luchtwegen. We zagen echter geen significante verschillen in DNA-methylatie niveaus tussen mensen met en zonder COPD. Wel hebben we een verband gevonden tussen luchtvervuiling en beroepsblootstellingen en DNA-methylatie niveaus. Voor de meeste methylatie plaatsen vonden we ook een verband tussen het niveau van DNA-methylatie en de mate van genexpressie, wat betekent dat DNA-methylatie mogelijk de activiteit van de genen reguleert. Afhankelijk van de functie van de betrokken genen, zou dit kunnen leiden tot COPD. Al deze informatie kan uiteindelijk leiden tot nieuwe therapieen voor behandeling of preventie van COPD.Hopelijk zullen ook andere onderzoekers meer aandacht geven aan niet-rokers in hun onderzoek naar COPD.
Risk factors and diagnostic prediction models for papillary thyroid carcinoma

Thyroid nodules (TNs) represent a common scenario. More accurate pre-operative diagnosis of malignancy has become an overriding concern. This study incorporated demographic, serological, ultrasound, and biopsy data and aimed to compare a new diagnostic prediction model based on Back Propagation Neural Network (BPNN) with multivariate logistic regression model, to guide the decision of surgery. Records of 2,090 patients with TNs who underwent thyroid surgery were retrospectively reviewed. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that Bethesda category (OR=1.90, P<0.001), TIRADS (OR=2.55, P<0.001), age (OR=0.97, P=0.002), nodule size (OR=0.53, P<0.001), and serum levels of Tg (OR=0.994, P=0.004) and HDL-C (OR=0.23, P=0.001) were statistically significant independent differentiators for patients with PTC and benign nodules. Both BPNN and regression models showed good accuracy in differentiating PTC from benign nodules (area under the curve [AUC], 0.948 and 0.924, respectively). Notably, the BPNN model showed a higher specificity (88.3% vs. 73.9%) and negative predictive value (83.7% vs. 45.8%) than the regression model, while the sensitivity (93.1% vs. 93.9%) was similar between two models. Stratified analysis based on Bethesda indeterminate cytology categories showed similar findings. Therefore, BPNN and regression models based on a combination of demographic, serological, ultrasound, and biopsy data, all of which were readily available in routine clinical practice, might help guide the decision of surgery for TNs.
Geospatial Search : Building rich features for validation, analysis and search of geospatial data

The main scope of this work is to develop enhanced search features over geospatial data in order to improve the user experience. The problem consists in finding a way to enable the entire geospatial dataset to be searchable. The goal is to add a new search parameter to the pre-existing full-text search query so that geospatial data is taken into consideration and better satisfaction of users needs is achieved. The report gives a clear theoretical overview of spatial data structures, while in the meantime relating their characteristics to various commercial applications, in the hope for the reader to use it as a reference and operate better informed choices with regards to geographical applications.The method followed is principally the comparison between different solutions through the entire course of the work. Any single choice is weighted after thorough comparison of existing options, reading of papers, benchmarking or expert's opinions.Heuristics to assess quality of data and to achieve validation of data are created. The principal chosen solution is selected among a few commercial options and eventually enables the geographical data to be searchable. A Python web-service implementation is described in order for the search features to be accessible to the end users.Experiments run on production code are presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the implemented heuristics. Benchmarking experiments show the validity of the solution for geo-searching.
Cross-linguistic interaction, lexical representation, and cognitive control in second language learners, bilinguals, and trilinguals

This chapter introduces the three central topics of this thesis: cross-language interaction during lexical access and language production, word representation and processing, and cognitive control. First, an overview is given of current approaches to crosslanguage interaction in bilinguals and trilinguals, drawing on research on speech production in bilinguals and models of lexical access. Next, theoretical models of word representation and processing in second language acquisition and the bilingual lexicon are highlighted, focusing above all on the Revised Hierarchical Model (e.g., Kroll & Stewart, 1994) and the Distributed Feature Model (e.g., De Groot,1992; Van Hell & De Groot, 1998) as well as on the dynamics of second language development in learners. This is followed by a discussion of the effects of bilingualism on non-linguistic domains such as cognitive control in second language learners, bilinguals, and trilinguals. Finally, a brief overview will be given on language processing in child second language learners and the language development patterns in child bilinguals. The chapter ends with a brief overview of the empirical chapters reported in this thesis, in which the above-mentioned topics were explored both in children and adults.
Introduction to practice of molecular simulation : molecular dynamics, Monte Carlo, Brownian dynamics, lattice Boltzmann, dissipative particle dynamics

This book presents the most important and main concepts of the molecular and microsimulation techniques. It enables readers to improve their skills in developing simulation programs by providing physical problems and sample simulation programs for them to use. * Provides tools to develop skills in developing simulations programs* Includes sample simulation programs for the reader to use* Appendix explains Fortran and C languages in simple terms to allow the non-expert to use them
Macro Nutrients Determination and Bateriological Status Assessment of Water and Sediment Samples From Ohii Miri River in Abia State, Nigeria

Water is an essential natural resource that sustains life. Its importance can therefore not be underestimated. Drinking water with poor quality has been linked to several diseases of man including diarrhea particularly in developing countries where availability of potable water is a big challenge. This article examined the quality of Ohii Miri River in Abia State, Nigeria which is a major source for drinking water by the people from communities along its coast with emphasis on the macro minerals content and bacteriological index of the water. The macro minerals (Ca, Mg, Na & K) of the water was found to be below the WHO minimum permissible limit whereas sediments from this river contained macro minerals in the WHO permissible limit range. Macro minerals were found to be higher in the dry season than in the rainy season in both water and sediment samples from Ohii Miri River. Bacteriological assessment revealed that Ohii Miri River is highly polluted with microorganisms and very unsafe as drinking water. E. coli has been confirmed to be present in
Analyse morphodynamique de l'ours des cavernes (Carnivora, Ursidae) de cinq sites du pourtour méditerranéen

Les ours speleens, Ursus deningeri et Ursus spelaeus, constituent une lignee evolutive solidement documentee. Leur denture presente une rapide complexification morphologique qui a ete utilisee a des fins biochronologiques, en etablissant une methode nommee «analyse morphodynamique ». Appliquee aux quatriemes premolaires d'ours des cavernes, elle montre une forte correlation entre indices morphodynamiques et datations radiometriques, pour une trentaine de gisements autrichiens, jusqu'a environ 250 Ka (Rabeder, 1999). Nous avons valide son utilisation pour plus de 400 individus d'ours des cavernes, issus de cinq sites Pleistocene superieur du Sud de la France et de Ligurie (Hortus, Tournai, Fate, Badalucco et Basura), etablissant un cadre biochronologique regional fiable et une datation precise des assemblages. En testant l'ensemble des morphotypes du squelette d'ours des cavernes par correlation avec la reference des P4, huit autres caracteres morphologiques sont utilisables en biochronologie, permettant le calcul d'un indice morphodynamique global (ImG). Cet indice, plus fortement correle aux datations radiometriques, augmente la resolution de l'echelle biochronologique obtenue grâce aux P4.
Vote et géographie des inégalités sociales : Paris et sa petite couronne

L'analyse des contextes locaux s'avere particulierement eclairante pour comprendre les processus electoraux, qu'il s'agisse des mobilisations partisanes comme des choix des electeurs. Dans la petite couronne parisienne, le vote est ainsi fortement structure par la geographie des inegalites sociales.
Quadrupedal Locomotion: An Introduction to the Control of Four-legged Robots

Part I Walking Measurements and Algorithms Walking Robots Stability in Walking Robots Generation of Periodic Gaits Generation on Non-periodic Gaits New Approaches to Stability Part II Control Techniques Kinematics and Dynamics Improving Leg Speed by Soft Computing Techniques Virtual Sensors for Walking Robots Human-Machine Interaction The SIL04 Walking Robot Simulation Software for Walking Robots
Implicature as an Interactive Process

In this thesis, we introduce conversational implicatures intuitively using Jerry Hobbs's broad concept of granularity. Then, we study conversational implicatures from an interdisciplinary perspective starting from its Gricean origins and moving into: sociology through politeness theory, inference through abduction and dialogue systems through speech act theory. Finally, we develop the two lines of attack used in this thesis to study conversational implicatures: empirical analysis of a corpus of situated task-oriented conversation, and analysis by synthesis in the setup of a text-adventure game.
Algorithms for Motion Planning and Target Capturing

Algorithms for Motion Planning and Target Capturing Mangal Kothari This thesis addresses the development and implementation of algorithms for unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). With advances in technology, it is relatively easy to manufacture and operate UAVs that are particularly useful for dull, dirty and dangerous operations. The success of such autonomous missions depends heavily on the planning algorithms used. A key consideration in the thesis is the path planning problem for single and multiple UAV systems in obstacle rich environments in the presence of uncertainty. Recently, rapidly-exploring random trees (RRTs) have been applied to find feasible trajectories quickly in complex motion planning problems. We use RRTs to construct trees of kinematically feasible trajectories made of waypaths, and feasibility is evaluated by checking for collisions with the predicted trajectories. When there are uncertainties acting on the system, we can identify probabilistic feasible paths by growing trees of state distributions and ensuring that the probability of constraint violation is below a pre-defined value. In addition to this, a guidance law is designed combining a pursuit law with a line-of-sight law, to track the path generated by the path planner with minimum deviation. In the penultimate chapter, an application is presented where a multi-UAV system captures a more capable target by forming a target centred formation around it. The approach combines a consensus algorithm with a controller to develop a robust distributed control law for formation control. Under certain conditions, it is shown that a set of UAVs can form a target centred formation even when target information is not known. The effectiveness of this algorithm is demonstrated using numerical results. In the appendix, a decentralised scheme is described for target tracking using consensus theory in conjunction with a data fusion algorithm which guarantees perfect fault detection and isolation. This scheme was developed by the Leicester team. As part of this thesis the theoretical algorithm was tested experimentally on a set of real robots
Sparse Image Reconstruction and Artifact Correction of Multi-Dimensional Spectroscopic Imaging Data

This dissertation is concerned with solving two problems in multi-dimensional magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI): the use of non-uniform, under-sampling (NUS) together with non-linear, iterative reconstruction to accelerate the acquisition of 4D (2 spatial+2 spectral) MRSI scans in vivo to clinically acceptable times, and the characterization of spatio-temporal phase errors during 4D MRSI acquisition so they can be decoupled and removed from the appropriate domain in post-processing. In support of these goals, the Cambridge reconstruction algorithm was implemented from partially documented sources in order to solve the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) reconstruction problem for 4D MRSI. It was compared to Compressed Sensing (CS) reconstruction down to NUS rates as low as 4X in vivo in the human breast and was found to produce superior results. Additionally, the Group Sparse (GS) iterative reconstruction problem of 4D MRSI was defined and the solution within the Split-Bregman iterative framework was derived. It was compared to MaxEnt, CS, and Total Variation (TV) reconstructions and demonstrated the best metabolite peak reproduction, lowest mean metabolite peak RMSEs, and best denoising characteristics down to NUS rates as low as 10X in the human brain in vivo. Lastly, the Interleaved Navigator Scan corrected J Resolved Echo Planar Spectroscopic Imaging (INSEP-JRESI) pulse sequence was implemented for this dissertation, which acquires a reference navigator scan at each TR in order to remove phase errors caused by B0 field drift in 4D EP-JRESI data. A spatio-temporal framework of 4D MRSI acquisition phase errors was derived using the INSEP-JRESI sequence. With this framework in place, the various sources of phase errors that are coupled in space and time could be decoupled and removed from the data in post-processing. Gray matter phantom results using the new post-processing technique were compared to Klose's method-based post-processing and resulted in higher metabolite peak amplitudes, improved spectral line-shapes, and a more even distribution of metabolite peak energy throughout the homogeneous phantom. These projects are all original work completed in support of this dissertation by Brian Burns working under Dr Albert Thomas.
Probabilistic Models for Region-based Scene Understanding

One of the long-term goals of computer vision is to be able to understand the world through visual images. This daunting task involves reasoning simultaneously about objects, regions and the 3D geometric relationship between them. Traditionally, computer vision research has tackled this reasoning in isolation: independent detectors for finding objects, image segmentation algorithms for defining regions, and specialized monocular depth perception methods for reconstructing geometry. This method of isolated reasoning, however, can lead to inconsistent interpretations of the scene. For example, one algorithm may reason that a particular bounding box contains an object while another algorithm reasons that those same pixels be labeled something completely different, e.g., sky or grass. In this thesis we present a unified probabilistic model that avoids these inconsistencies. We develop our model in stages: First, we introduce a region-based representation of the scene in which pixels are grouped together into consistent regions, and each region is annotated with a semantic and geometric class label. Our semantic labels consist of a number of background classes (e.g., sky, grass, road) and a single generic foreground object class. Importantly, all pixels are uniquely explained by this representation. Our model defines an energy function, or factored scoring function, over this representation which allows us to evaluate the quality of any given decomposition of the scene. We present an efficient move-making algorithm that allows us to perform approximate maximum a posteriori (MAP) inference in this model given a novel image. Next, we extend our model by introducing the concept of objects. Here, we build
Sanskrit Morphological Analyser: Some Issues

Sanskrit has rich inflectional as well as derivational morphology. At the same time it enjoys the privilege of having a formal (to a large extent) grammar in the form of As.t. ādhyāȳi built over 25 centuries ago. One may think, therefore, it would be a trivial task to build a morphological analyser based on this grammar. But it is not so. Though well defined rules for Sanskrit morphology exist in As.t. ādhyāȳi, for a typical computational linguist without any knowledge of Sanskrit, it is difficult to build a system incorporating these rules. At the same time, it is rare to find a person who understands the As.t. ādhyāȳi well and has also a good knowledge of computers for its implementation. Further there are controversies over the use of meta rules (paribhās.ā) used for application of the rules of As.t. ādhyāȳi. Therefore, incorporating the rules of As.t. ādhyāȳi as they are, is a difficult task. As a result, in spite of the existence of a formally defined and well described grammar, construction of a set of computational tools for the analysis of Sanskrit texts could not take a momentum for a long time.
Contexts of Ageing: Class, Cohort and Community

Preface.Acknowledgements. Chapter 1. Introduction.Chapter 2. Class, Modernity and the Lifecourse.Chapter 3. The Nature of Class in Later Life.Chapter 4. Cohort and Generation and the Study of Social Change.Chapter 5. Later life and the two generational fields of modernity.Chapter 6. Community and the nature of belonging.Chapter 7. Community in Later Life.Chapter 8. Fog-lamps and Leitmotifs.Notes. References.Index