Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bidirectional Anycast/Unicast Probing (BAUP): Optimizing CDN Anycast

—IP anycast is widely used today in Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) and for Domain Name System (DNS) to provide efﬁcient service to clients from multiple physical points-of-presence (PoPs). Anycast depends on BGP routing to map users to PoPs, so anycast efﬁciency depends on both the CDN operator and the routing policies of other ISPs. Detecting and diagnosing inefﬁciency is challenging in this distributed environment. We propose Bidirectional Anycast/Unicast Probing (BAUP) , a new approach that detects anycast routing problems by comparing anycast and unicast latencies. BAUP measures latency to help us identify problems experienced by clients, triggering traceroutes to localize the cause and suggest opportunities for improvement. Evaluating BAUP on a large, commercial CDN, we show that problems happens to 1.59% of observers, and we ﬁnd multiple opportunities to improve service. Prompted by our work, the CDN changed peering policy and was able to signiﬁcantly reduce latency, cutting median latency in half (40ms to 16ms) for regions with more than 100k users.
PRELIMINARY STUDY FOR EXPLORING THE MAJOR PROBLEMS AND ACTIVITIES OF MOBILE LEARNING SYSTEM: A CASE STUDY OF JORDAN

Acceptance of new system or technology has been become a prior step for a successful implementation of any system. Previous studies revealed that the acceptance of mobile learning system among students in Jordan is still very low. Few studies have investigated what the actual challenges influencing acceptance of mobile learning system in Jordanian universities. The current study investigates the main challenges that impede acceptance of mobile learning in Jordanian universities. This study also determines the activities and services of mobile learning system based on potential needs of students. In this study, we employed the questionnaire and interview approaches, targeting students from five universities across Jordan. This paper presents two portions of the findings; qualitative findings identified four main challenges that include the quality of services, availability of learning content, design and technical issues and students' requirements. In contrast, quantitative findings presented the most important services that students would like to perform on mobile learning system.
Effect of soil water management and different sowing dates on maize yield and water use efficiency under drip irrigation system

A 2-year field experiment (2012–2013) was conducted to evaluate the yield and water use efficiency (WUE) response of maize (Zea mays L.) to different soil water managements at different sowing dates. The experiment included three sowing dates (22 June, 6 July and 21 July) and four irrigation regimes based on maximum allowable depletion (MAD) of the total available soil water (TAW). The irrigation treatments were marked by I1 to I3 as 40%, 60% and 80% MAD of TAW, respectively, and with no irrigation. The results showed that grain yield reduced when planting was delayed in both years, ranging from 6105 to 4577 kg ha−1 in 2012 and from 7079 to 5380 kg ha−1 in 2013. However, WUE increased when planting was delayed from 22 June until 21 July. Also the highest grain yield was observed in the first irrigation treatment (MAD = 40%) in both years, and the highest WUE was obtained in the second irrigation treatment (MAD = 60%) with 1.64 and 1.61 (kg m−3) in 2012 and 2013, respectively. These findings suggest that delay in planting date and the use of MAD = 60% treatment in Mediterranean-type region such as Golestan, Iran, can be useful in saving water that is highly important in such regions.
THE BINARY BITS AND THE SENTIMENT LEXICONS BASED ON AN YULE’S SIGMA COEFFICIENT USED FOR SENTIMENT CLASSIFICATION IN ENGLISH

We have already surveyed many different approaches for sentiment classification to get higher accuracies, to shorten execution times, and to save a lot of storage spaces for many years because many significant contributions of the sentiment classification have widely been applied to everyday life, political activities, commodity production, and commercial activities. As known, many binary bits can help us save a lot of storage spaces. Therefore, we have proposed a novel model in this survey using the binary bits and many sentiment lexicons according to an Yule’s Sigma coefficient (YSC) to classify 9,000,000 documents of our teting data set comprising the 4,500,000 positive and the 4,500,000 negative into either the positive polarity or the negative polarity based on 5,000,000 sentences of our training data set including the 2,500,000 positive and the 2,500,000 negative in English. We do not use any vector space modeling (VSM). In addition, we do not use any one-dimensional vectors. We also do not use any multi-dimensional vectors. We only use the binary bits and the sentiment values of the lexicons for the proposed model. We use many similarity measures of the YSC. One sentence is transferred into the binary bits (the binary bits string) according to the sentiment scores of the lexicons. All the positive sentences of training data set are transferred into all the positive binary bits strings of training data set, called the positive group and all the negative sentences of training data set are also transferred into all the negative binary bits strings of training data set, called the negative group. Based on many similarity measures by using the YSC, one sentence is clustered into either the positive group or the negative group. The sentiment classification of one document of the testing data set is identified according to the sentiment classification results of all the sentences of this document. The novel model has firstly been implemented in a sequential environment. Next, we have performed the proposed model in a parallel network environment secondly. The execution time of the distributed network system is faster than that of the sequential environment. There has been an accuracy 89.01% of the testing data set in this survey. The sentiment classification of many millions of the documents can be identified by using this novel model successfully. Many advantage results of our novel model can widely be applied to many different fields in many commercial applications and surveys of the sentiment classification.
LiDARsim: Realistic LiDAR Simulation by Leveraging the Real World

We tackle the problem of producing realistic simulations of LiDAR point clouds, the sensor of preference for most self-driving vehicles. We argue that, by leveraging real data, we can simulate the complex world more realistically compared to employing virtual worlds built from CAD/procedural models. Towards this goal, we first build a large catalog of 3D static maps and 3D dynamic objects by driving around several cities with our self-driving fleet. We can then generate scenarios by selecting a scene from our catalog and "virtually" placing the self-driving vehicle (SDV) and a set of dynamic objects from the catalog in plausible locations in the scene. To produce realistic simulations, we develop a novel simulator that captures both the power of physics-based and learning-based simulation. We first utilize raycasting over the 3D scene and then use a deep neural network to produce deviations from the physics-based simulation, producing realistic LiDAR point clouds. We showcase LiDARsim's usefulness for perception algorithms-testing on long-tail events and end-to-end closed-loop evaluation on safety-critical scenarios.
THE STRUCTURAL ORGANISATION OF THE S1 CELL WALL LAYER OF NORWAY SPRUCE TRACHEIDS

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the ultrastructure of the outer layer of the secondary cell wall (S1) of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst. ) tracheids with emphasis on microfibril orientation. Several methods were used to obtain complementary results. Macerated tracheids and wood blocks were exposed to degradation by soft rot fungi, different chemicals and mechanical forces. Observations were made using scanning and transmission electron microscopy and light microscopy. It was concluded that the S1 layer is rather homogeneous with respect to microfibril orientation. The major part of the S1 is composed of microfibrils oriented approximately perpendicular to the tracheid axis. Evidence for a crossed fibrillar structure with microfibrils in alternate S- and Z-helices was not obtained. The transition of microfibril orientation from the S1 to the S2 layer appeared abrupt. The transitional/intermediate lamella, where a gradual change in microfibril orientation occurs, should be considered to belong to the outer part of S2.
Design, Fabrication and Evaluation of Electrically-operated Groundnut Roasting Machine

Groundnut is a valuable crop with an excellent source of protein that can be used to fight hunger and malnutrition especially in underdeveloped and developing countries. Products such as oil, peanut butter, soups, roasted groundnuts among others can be obtained from groundnuts However, in developing nations especially Nigeria, roasting of groundnut, a means of moisture removal and food processing, has been associated with drudgery and bad hygiene (that is, use of sand, ashes as means of heat transfer). This can be a source of physical and microbial contamination to the product. Hence, the need for development and evaluation of a peanut processor that alleviate the problems associated with the process. Design, fabrication and performance evaluation of groundnut roasting machine were carried out at the AGE Workshop, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria. The factors considered for the design were; the volume of product to be roasted, reduction of heat loss, inclusion of stirrer and stable roasting temperature. Raw groundnuts were roasted with the fabricated machine and parameters such as weight of raw groundnuts, weight of roasted groundnuts, weight of seeds damaged were used to evaluate the efficiency of the machine. The effect of sand on the roasted groundnuts was also determined through microbial analysis, free fatty acids, peroxide value, tannin, flavonoid, phytate and phenol. The average percentage losses were 16.15% and 5.89% for traditional and mechanical methods, respectively. The traditional and mechanical methods recorded an average roasting efficiency of 83.85% and 94.11%, respectively. Both processing methods produced a product with considerable low moisture content. Processing time was reduced by 18 minutes when processed mechanically with significantly (p < 0.05) lower antinutrients and reduced microbial load. Mechanical processing of groundnuts is more efficient than traditional roasting in terms of time and overall quality of the roasted groundnut.
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE LIFE CYCLES OF ALEXANDRIUM TAMUTUM AND ALEXANDRIUM MINUTUM (GONYAULACALES, DINOPHYCEAE) IN CULTURE

The microalgal genus Alexandrium includes species known to produce paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). Due to the importance of discriminating between HAB-forming species, we compared the undescribed life-cycle pattern of Alexandrium tamutum Montresor, Beran et U. John and of its toxic relative Alexandrium minutum Halim. Sexual stages, asexual and sexual division, mating type, and nuclear morphology were studied in both species. Sexual cysts are known to be morphologically identical. However, the relative size of the U-shaped nucleus may be used to differentiate between the cysts of these species since DNA packaging in the resting cysts was lower in A. tamutum than in A. minutum, species in which the planozygote nucleus was reduced to half its volume prior to encystment. The dormancy period of the cysts was <20 d for A. tamutum, but longer than 1 month for A. minutum. In both species, cyst appearance needed to be explained by the existence of more than two sexual types (+ ⁄ –), which indicates a complex heterothallic mating type. However, planozygotes of both species may divide instead of encysting. This characteristic was used for nutritional and heritage studies. Isolated planozygotes of both species encysted in larger percentages in medium deficient in both nitrates and phosphates (L ⁄ 15) than in medium without phosphates added (L-P), a medium in which most planozygotes neither divide nor encyst. Parental strains of A. minutum with and without the ventral pore formed planozygotes and, later, offspring with the ventral pore, although apparently smaller than usual. A synchronization–flow cytometry method for discriminating diploids formed by sexual fusion (planozygotes) from cells with 2C DNA content resulting from self-duplication of DNA (dividing cells) was described. The results indicated that the maximum percentage of A. minutum planozygotes (20%) was achieved only 3 to 5 d after crossing the parental strains, and that light might not be needed for the sexual fusion and formation of planozygotes.
Can Residential Build to Rent provide a profitable low risk investment option

Purpose : Recently there has been a refocusing on the yields of investment assets. Accordingly, as risks to income yields rise, this research investigates how residential Build to Rent (BtR) may provide an effectively diversified portfolio. Emergence of this new investment sector requires a comparison between the rate of return of (BtR) and other asset classes. We seek to ascertain how BtR can be used by investors to reduce risk and provide diversification benefits within a mixedasset portfolio. Methodology:The research methodology adopted utilised secondary data produced by a reputable research organisation, coupled with personal interviews with major participants within the BtR sector. Findings: Diversification of assets within an investment portfolio reduces the total risk and volatility of an investment portfolio based upon the Markowitz (1952) Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) model. Analysis of BtR performance against other traditional asset classes including traditional investment property, proved BtR a valuable inclusion, reducing risk and providing valuable returns. Discussion:Limited UK based research material on BtR as an investment option for institutions (and individuals), indicates its relatively short history as an investment option. Accordingly, some reliance was placed upon traditional private residential rental data. Despite this, the BtR investment asset in a mixed asset portfolio proved a source of lo
The effect of biological microreserves in a highly anthropized environment on the biology of Natrix maura (Linnaeus, 1758)

—Human disturbance in highly anthropized areas is known to have many negative effects on biodiversity. Due to their close relation to the environment (e.g., thermoregulation) and their limited movement capacities, reptiles (and snakes in particular) are excellent bioindicators of environmental quality. In addition, they carry out essential ecological functions, acting as prey and predator simultaneously. However, studies focusing on the effects that conservation efforts have on their populations after implementation are scarce. Hence, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of small protected areas on one of the most common snake species in the Iberian Peninsula, Natrix maura. During 2015 and 2018, samplings were conducted at eight different points in the Albufera de Valencia Natural Park in Spain, three of them being biological reserves. The results show that such protected areas have positive effects on the N. maura populations at different levels. In protected areas, population structures are more complex and the body condition of large individuals is better. The study also examined predatory pressure, but did not find a significant correlation between the abundance of predatory birds (herons) and injured or “scared” individuals of N. maura. In conclusion, such areas can be essential for allowing snakes to maintain their biological cycles, and in some cases even to prevent their disappearance from highly anthropized environments. Therefore, we strongly recommend the creation of more protected areas in order to promote the conservation of biodiversity in these areas.
Habitat use and longitudinal distribution patterns of native fish from a near pristine Stewart Island, New Zealand, stream

Abstract Distribution, abundance, and habitat preferences of native fish were investigated down the length of a relatively pristine, medium‐sized, fourth‐order stream on Stewart Island, New Zealand. A limited fish fauna was recorded (six species), including three threatened large galaxiid species (Galaxias argenteus, Galaxias fasciatus, and Galaxias brevipinnis), which have restricted distributions on mainland New Zealand. Results indicated that these large galaxiids occupy diverse habitats including pools and backwaters within the mainstems of this stream. Their extensive distributions and wide habitat usage were attributed to factors such as the intact catchment vegetation, unmodified stream channel, and the absence of introduced fishes, particularly salmonids. Results suggest that some native species have been excluded from mainstem habitats elsewhere in New Zealand. It was also evident that interactions among the native species influenced habitat use; G. brevipinnis avoided backwaters, runs, and pools in reaches occupied by G. fasciatus and Anguilla dieffenbachii; whereas G. fasciatus appeared to avoid habitats occupied by G. argenteus and A dieffenbachii. Maximum densities and biomass of galaxiids and eels occurred in deepwater habitats (>0.75 m). Furthermore the fish inhabiting these deeper waters were larger and more likely to be female. These findings have significant implications for the design and application of sampling protocols for native New Zealand fishes and for the protection of their habitats. If deeper waters are not sampled then species, sex, and size biased data may result.
Caracterização física de uma classe de solo do ecossistema do tabuleiro costeiro

In spite of the great potential of the "tabuleiros costeiros" of the Brazilian northeast for agricultural production in terms of favourable relief for mechanization and proximity of the big consumer centres, the bad rainfall distribution together with hardened soil horizons near the soil surface in many soil classes of this ecosystem, often promote serious problems of water supply to the plants. This work was carried out in an Aquic Kandiustalf with the objective of evaluating the influence of some soil physical characteristics, mainly those of the hardened layers, on the growth of citrus, in order to generate new technologies, appropriate for this ecosystem and that could be able to garantee an adequate water supply to plants for a greater period. For this, soil physical and chemical characteristics, with emphasis on those responsible for the changes of the physical growth parameters (soil water potential, soil aeration, soil resistence to penetration), were evaluated; the climate conditions were also characterized. According to the results it could be concluded that the presence of extensive hardened layers near the soil surface, together with the region's climate regime, are evidences that great changes will occur in the physical factors of growth, with reflections on soil water redistribution and citrus rooting system, which under these circunstances will remain limited to a small volume of soil near the soil surface.
Grazing as an Optimization Process: Grass-Ungulate Relationships in the Serengeti

A substantial literature is reviewed which indicates that compensatory growth upon tissue damage by herbivory is a major component of plant adaptation to herbivores. Experiments in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park showed that net above-ground primary productivity of grasslands was strongly regulated by grazing intensity in wet-season concentration areas of the large ungulate fauna. Moderate grazing stimulated productivity up to twice the levels in ungrazed control plots, depending upon soil moisture availability. Productivity was maintained at control values even under very intense grazing, suggesting that conventional definitions of overgrazing may be inapplicable to these native plant-herbivore systems. A laboratory clipping experiment with a sedge abundant in one of the most intensely utilized regions resulted in a maximum net above-ground productivity of 11.6 g/m2 · day when clipped daily at a height of 4 cm. Few plant species have been reported with the ability to maintain a significant level of productivity under such intense clipping. This suggests that the high grazing load of the Serengeti ecosystem has constituted strong selection on the plants for compensatory growth upon defoliation.
Effect of Tax Audit on Revenue Collection in Rwanda

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of tax audit on revenue collection in Rwanda. The study is limited to the 110 respondent of Headquarter of the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) in Kigali. The study adopted a descriptive approach. Both Primary and secondary data was used and then analyzed through SPSS version 21. Data analysis involved statistical computations for averages, percentages, and correlation and regression analysis. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression method of analysis was adopted to determine the inferential statistics. From the findings, tax administration, tax revenue performance, revenue protection system, tax automation to a constant zero, revenue collection would be at 0.347. A unit increase on Tax administration would lead to increase in revenue collection by a factor of 0.162, a unit increase in tax revenue performance would lead to increase in revenue collection by a factor of 0.282, a unit increase in revenue protection system would lead to increase in revenue collection by a factor of 0.194 and unit increase in tax automation would lead to increase in revenue collection by a factor of 0.211. Therefore Tax audit actually has an effect to revenue collection as according to the t–tests there is significance in the correlation between tax collected before the audit and after the audit. This clearly indicates that tax audit increases revenue collection. That in essence means that the more the tax audit conducted the more revenue is collected. There is a need for a study on how the size of a company influences the auditing as there is variation for various organizations based on the size.