Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cheap Practical BFT using Virtualization

Despite numerous efforts to improve their performance and scalability, Byzantine fault-tolerance (BFT) techniques remain expensive, and few commercial systems use BFT today. We present ZZ, a novel approach to construct general BFT services with a replication cost of practically f + 1, halving the 2f + 1 or higher cost incurred by state-of-the-art approaches. The key insight in ZZ is to use f + 1 execution replicas in the normal case and to activate additional replicas only upon failures. ZZ uses virtual machines for fast replica activation and several novel mechanisms for rapid recovery of these replicas such as using filesystem snapshots to reduce checkpointing overhead, replaying state updates instead of full requests, and an amortized state transfer mechanism that fetches state on-demand. We have implemented ZZ using the BASE library, Xen virtual machines and the ZFS file system. Our experimental evaluation shows that the recovery time of ZZ replicas is independent of the application disk state, taking less than 4s for 400MB of disk state, at the expense of a small increase in request latency in the fault-mode.
DEVELOPMENTS: Advancing Geriatrics Education: Evaluation of a New Curricular Initiative

Background: This study describes the development of a required 1-week curricular program in geriatric medicine for 3rd-year medical students and presents 3 years of evaluation data. Description: Successful aging, heterogeneity of the aging population, and comprehensive geriatric assessment were emphasized. In addition to didactic sessions, students participated in panel discussions and small group case conferences, and performed history and physical examinations on older patients. Evaluation: Students' acquisition of knowledge about geriatric medicine was assessed with pre-and posttests; posttest scores showed statistically significant improvement. Because attitudes toward older patients can impact the care provided, students' completed pre- and postattitude assessment scales. Attitude measures were repeated for 2 student cohorts, 1 and 2 years after completion of the program. Independent t tests comparing mean pretest and posttest scores revealed significant improvement in students' attitudes, which were maintained when attitudes were retested. Standardized mean difference scores were computed to measure the relationship between the educational intervention and students' attitude measures. Conclusions: Time in the medical school curriculum is scarce, but these results indicate that significant improvements can be made in medical students' attitudes toward and knowledge of older patients in 1 week.
Stock Returns Following Profit Warnings: A Test of Models of Behavioural Finance

Models in behavioural finance have been developed to explain apparent anomalies in stock returns. A property common to a number of these models is that agents under react in the short run to public signals about future earnings. This contrasts sharply with the popular informal belief that stock prices overreact to news. A behavioural model also predicts returns reversals over longer horizons. We examine stock returns following profit warnings to test which, if any, of these hypotheses stands up to scrutiny on a new data set which was generated by a process which corresponds closely to that assumed in the behavioural models.
A high performance neural network for solving quadratic programming with hybrid constraints

A high performance neural network is proposed in this paper for solving quadratic programming problems with hybrid constraints. Comparing with the existing neural networks for solving such problems, the proposed neural network has fewer neurons and an one-layer architecture. The proposed neural network is proven to be global convergence. Furthermore, illustrative examples are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed neural network.
Evolution of uranium isotopic compositions of the groundwater and rock in a Sandy-Clayey aquifer

Uranium isotopes have been used as mechanistic or time scale tracers of natural processes. This paper describes the occurrence and redistribution of U in the Vendian aquifer of a paleo-valley in NW Russia. Forty-four rock samples were collected from nine boreholes with depths up to 160 m, and 25 groundwater samples were collected from 23 boreholes with depths up to 300 m. The U, Fe concentration, and 234U/238U activity ratio were determined in the samples. Estimations were made of the 14C and 234U-238U residence time of groundwater in the aquifer. It has been established that the processes of chemical weathering of Vendian deposits led to the formation of a strong oxidation zone, developed above 250 m.b.s.l. The inverse correlation between the concentrations of uranium and iron is a result of removal of U from paleo-valley slopes in oxidizing conditions, accumulation of U at the bottom of the paleo-valley in reducing conditions, and accumulation of Fe on the slopes and removal from the bottom of the paleo-valley. Almost all U on the slopes has been replaced by a newly formed hydrogenic U with a higher 234U/238U activity ratio. After, dissolution and desorption of hydrogenic U occurred from the slopes during periods with no glaciations and marine transgressions. Elevated concentrations of U are preserved in reduced lenses at the paleo-valley bottom. In these areas, the most dangerous aspect is the flow of groundwater from the underlying horizons, since during the operation of water supply wells it can lead to the creation of local zones of oxidizing conditions in the perforated screens zone and the transition of uranium into solution. For groundwater under oxidizing conditions, an increase in the concentration of uranium is characteristic of an increase in the residence time (age) of water in the aquifer. Also, the 234U/238U activity ratio increases with increasing radioactivity of groundwater. Therefore, the most rational approach is to use groundwater for drinking water supply from the slopes of the Northern Dvina basin.
An interventional study on knowledge and attitude regarding organ donation among medical students

Background: Organ donation to date remains a sensitive issue among the general public and medical community. In both group’s lack of awareness persists despite the significance of organ shortage faced by the health care system. The constant demand for organs must be dealt by increasing the donor pool by generating a positive attitude of public towards donation while curbing illegal activities by stricter laws. This can be brought about by Medical professionals whose opinion makes a significant impact on the prospective belief of public.
Market Discipline Under Systemic Risk: Evidence from Bank Runs in Emerging Economies

The authors show that systemic risk exerts a significant impact on the behavior of depositors, sometimes overshadowing their responses to standard bank fundamentals. Systemic risk can affect market discipline both regardless of and through bank fundamentals. First, worsening systemic conditions can directly threaten the value of deposits by way of dual agency problems. Second, to the extent that banks are exposed to systemic risk, systemic shocks lead to a future deterioration of fundamentals not captured by their current values. Using data from the recent banking crises in Argentina and Uruguay, the authors show that market discipline is indeed quite robust once systemic risk is factored in. As systemic risk increases, the informational content of past fundamentals declines. These episodes also show how few systemic shocks can trigger a run irrespective of ex-ante fundamentals. Overall, the evidence suggests that in emerging economies, the notion of market discipline needs to account for systemic risk.
Forecast Evaluation Tests-a New Approach

Out-of-sample tests are widely used for evaluating and selecting between models’ forecasts in economics and finance. Underlying these tests is often the assumption of constant relative performance between competing models, however this is invalid for many practical applications. In a world of changing relative performance, previous methodologies give rise to spurious and potentially misleading results, an example of which is the well-known “splitting point problem”. We propose a new two-step methodology designed specifically for forecast evaluation in a world of changing relative performance. In the first step we estimate the time-varying mean and variance of the series for forecast loss differences, and in the second step we use these estimates to compare and rank models in a changing world. We show that our tests have high power against a variety of fixed and local alternatives.
Ultra wideband off-body radio channel characterisation and modelling for healthcare applications

In this paper, the impact of different subject sleeping positions on the ultra wideband (UWB) off-body radio channel is experimentally investigated. Maximum of 15 dB path loss variation is noticed of a channel for different sleeping positions of the subject on the bed at the same location. Results and analysis show that the path loss value is dependent on the different sleeping modes and positions of the subject on the bed, body shadowing, multipath environment and also whether transmit antennas and receive antenna are in relative line of sight or non line of sight conditions.
Boundary Element Method for Internal Axisymmetric Flow

We present an accurate fast method for the computation of potential internal axisymmetric flow based on the boundary element technique. We prove that the computed velocity field asymptotically satisfies reasonable boundary conditions at infinity for various types of inlet/exit. Computation of internal axisymmetric potential flow is an essential ingredient in the three-dimensional problem of computation of velocity fields in turbomachines. We include the results of a practical application of the method to the computation of flow in turbomachines of Kaplan and Francis types.
Simultaneous identifications of the minimum effective dose in each of several groups

One primary goal in dose-response studies for drug development is to identify the minimum effective dose (MED) which is the lowest dose level with an effect that exceeds that of the zero dose control. In this paper, we consider step-down closed testing procedures on the basis of pairwise and Helmert contrasts suggested by Tamhane et al. [Tamhane, A.C. , Hochberg, Y. , and Dunnett, C.W. , 1996, Multiple test procedures for dose finding. Biometrics, 52, 21–37. ] for the situation where one wishes to make all such MED identifications simultaneously in each of several groups. An example is given to illustrate the proposed tests. The Monte Carlo studies are further implemented to compare the relative error rate and power performances of the proposed tests.
A Field Study of Infection with Human T‐Cell Leukemia Virus among Asian Primates

Asian nonhuman primates were surveyed seroepidemiologically for natural infection with human T‐cell leukemia virus (ATLV/HTLV) or a closely related agent. Materials from various primates (three genera [Macaca, Presbytis, and Hylobates], 17 species, totalling 1,079 animals) under natural conditions were obtained in the field study. Virus infection was determined by the indirect immunofluorescence test using HTLV‐specific antigens. Animals seropositive for HTLV were found only among macaques originating from various localities, toque monkeys in Sri Lanka (17.5%), crab‐eating macaques in Thailand (1.3%), stumptailed macaques in Thailand (1.5%), rhesus monkeys in Thailand (3.3%), and Celebes macaques in Indonesia (16.9%). Langurs and gibbons were seronegative. Thus the wide distribution of HTLV in nature among various macaques suggests that the introduction of this virus into primates occurred in ancient times.
11.2 A 0.85fJ/conversion-step 10b 200kS/s subranging SAR ADC in 40nm CMOS

Analog-to-digital converters (ADC) are extensively used in wireless sensor networks and healthcare electronic devices to monitor long-term signal conditions. It is essential to prolong battery life in these applications by using an energy-efficient ADC. A successive-approximation register (SAR) architecture, mostly composed of digital circuits, can achieve low power under low supply voltages [1,2]. Power consumption can be decreased by using either an energy-efficient capacitive-DAC switching method [1] or a low-power comparator with a majority voting technique [2]. In this work, a small coarse ADC resolves the MSB bits. Then, a detect-and-skip algorithm and an aligned switching technique are used to reduce the big fine DAC switching energy. The comparator power is also decreased by utilizing a low-power comparator during coarse conversion and a low-noise comparator during fine conversion. As a result, its FoM performance is as low as 0.85fJ/conversion-step, which is about 3 times better than that of the state-of-the-art work [2].
A new implementation methodology for a secure distance bounding protocol

In this paper, the RFID distance bounding protocol proposed by Hancke and Kuhn has been implemented on an FPGA. In this protocol, round/trip delay of the electromagnetic wave is calculated by the reader in order to determine the distance between the tag and the reader. The reader authenticates the tag that is located not more than a specified distance from it. The protocol has been implemented on a Digilent Spartan 3E FPGA kit. Verilog HDL is used to describe the protocol.
Economic Growth and Its Determinants in Pakistan

This paper aims to investigate the impact of macroeconomic variables on economic growth after Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in Pakistan. In doing so, study utilises the quarterly time series data from 1991Q1 to 2007Q4. Advanced Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model (ARDL) approach has been employed for cointegration and error correction model (ECM) for short-run results in the case of Pakistan. Empirical investigations indicate that credit to private sector (financial development), foreign direct investment and inflow of remittances correlate positively with economic growth in the long run. High inflation rate and trade-openness slow down the speed of growth rate in short as well as long run.
MIMO systems: optimizing the use of eigenmodes

Multiple parallel orthogonal transmission links may be found from a MIMO system using the eigenvectors derived from the SVD of the channel matrix. These transmission links are called eigenmodes. For (M/sub t/, N/sub r/) = (8, 4) and (M/sub t/, N/sub r/) = (4, 2) MIMO systems, the SER performance of all the available eigenmodes have been determined for Rayleigh and Ricean fading channels. Adaptive modulation has been performed on eigenmodes to extract the highest possible throughput (capacity) and at the same time all the functional modes satisfying a required SER. By spatially multiplexing on selected eigenmodes, there will he flexibilities in fulfilling the spectral efficiency and SER system requirements.
A characteristic impedance estimator to be used on Active Resonance Dampers

This work presents a control algorithm for an active resonance damper. This kind of equipment must act as a harmonic impedance in order to damp harmonic propagation throughout a distribution feeder. This harmonic resistance must be equal to the characteristic impedance of the distribution feeder in order to achieve optimized compensating currents. As the analytical calculation of this impedance is a non-trivial (and maybe, impossible) task, it is proposed an ARIMAX Least-Squares based parameters estimator to determine, on line, the optimal value for the harmonic resistance. The proposed estimator is able to calculate the feederpsilas characteristic impedance based only on the installation site voltage (i.e., no voltage/current sensors are required on other parts of the feeder) independently on the number of buses or non-linear loads attached to them.
HOT-VELM: A Comprehensive and Efficient Code for Fully Vectorial and 3-D Hot-Cavity VCSEL Simulation

A model to simulate vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) operation above threshold is presented. The power-current (PI) curves are computed while accounting for mode competition arising from spatial hole-burning and temperature profiles. The latter affect many laser parameters, such as the gain spectra and the optical modes, which change their shapes and wavelengths during operation. The aim of this comprehensive model is to describe the details of VCSEL operation above threshold in non circularly symmetric geometries by preserving at the same time computational efficiency. The optical treatment is vectorial, using the in-house developed three dimensional (3-D) code. The model is based on a solution of the rate equations for field-carrier interactions. Similarly to the mature vectorial optical treatment, the numerical efficiency is achieved by expanding all the involved 3-D variables (current profiles, carrier densities, temperature and optical fields) in basis of simple analytical functions. The model is tested on a structure which has an epitaxial design based on a real device and a transverse geometry suitable to put in evidence all its 3-D features. In particular, the carrier expansion technique is validated by comparison with the commonly used carrier meshing procedure. The heating mechanisms are illustrated in detail and the effects which rule the power rollover and laser turn-off are compared and discussed within an improved injection model.
Efficient volterra series based sensitivity analysis of mildly nonlinear circuits

Sensitivity analysis is useful in comparing the quality of two different designs. It is also used to evaluate the gradient, Jacobian or Hessian matrices in analog computer aided design. In (Zhu and Opal, 2006) the authors presented a Volterra series based sensitivity analysis of mildly nonlinear circuits in the frequency domain. This sensitivity calculation can be expensive in certain circumstances because of multiple mixing effects (Zhu, 2007). In this paper, we propose the concept of nonlinear transfer matrix (NTM) to improve computational efficiency. Examples show that NTM improves the efficiency of sensitivity analysis of mildly nonlinear circuits, e.g. two orders of magnitude speedup for large circuits.
The impact of emerging market context and global mindset on training programmes in multinational companies

This study was designed to establish whether emerging market context and global mindset have impact on the effectiveness of such management training programmes in MNCs. The effectiveness of the training programme was measured by how the programme was perceived and valued by participants. The research employed a non-experimental survey design focused on identifying the relationships between the various identified variables (i.e. global mindset, emerging market context and value placed on the training programme) The study was conducted through an anonymous web-based survey in the selected MNC. Data were gathered from 179 managers of the organisation from 51 different countries in both emerging and developed markets. A particular training programme was chosen as the reference point for the survey participants’ evaluations. To enable respondents to easily recall their experiences and impressions of this particular training programme, only managers who had participated in this training between 2007 and 2009 were included in the survey. The study showed that emerging market context and global mindset impact the effectiveness of training programmes in MNCs. Emerging market context however, had no significant impact on the global mindset of training participants. These findings were interpreted and discussed in the context of existing literature and a number of implications and recommendations were drawn.
Cyber attack and defense on industry control systems

Industry control systems (ICSs) are widely used in various critical infrastructure production facilities of the oil, water, and electricity industries. In the past, most of these ICSs lacked both authentication and encryption mechanisms, leaving them vulnerable to attack by hackers. By establishing an industry control system test bed, this paper examines two operational cases, viz. water level control and air pollution control, and develops for them a Modbus/TCP network attack program, and an associated intrusion detection system (IDS). Through in-depth analysis of the Modbus ICS protocol, an automatic-learning based method of malicious intrusion detection is proposed, with which a variety of tests are conducted on the developed testbed. The results show that this method can effectively detect various kinds of network attacks.
Arteriovenous shunting in patients with multiple myeloma and high-output failure.

UNLABELLED High-output cardiac failure is one of the cardiovascular problems associated with multiple myeloma and frequently seen in patients with extensive bone lesions. The purpose of this study was to search arteriovenous shunting in patients with multiple myeloma and cardiac failure. METHODS After the exclusion of other causes of congestive heart failure, 11 patients whose cardiac indices were higher than or equal to 4 liter/min/m2 were selected for the study (7 women, 4 men; mean age 59.64 +/- 8.92 yr). All patients had Stage II-III disease and femoral involvement in radiological examination. Arteriovenous shunting was determined by means of intra-arterial injection technique of 99mTc-macroaggregated albumin (MAA) particles. A quantitative analysis of all scans was performed, and the results were correlated with cardiac index. RESULTS Mean cardiac index was 4.33 +/- 0.36 liter/min/m2 in the study group. In all cases, arteriovenous shunting was detected (18.70% +/- 17.29%), and inhomogenous, increased radioactivity accumulation was revealed in the femoral region (lesion-to-background ratio 2.71 +/- 2.08). This zone corresponded to the area of infiltration in a radiograph. A significant correlation was found between shunting values and cardiac indices (r = 0.7899, p = 0.004, Spearman). Although all patients had varying degrees of anemia, we did not find such a relationship between the degree of anemia and cardiac index. CONCLUSION Arteriovenous shunting within involved skeleton contributes significantly to the development of high-output cardiac failure in multiple myeloma.
Determination of Moisture Content and Liquid Limit of Foundations Soils, using Microwave Radiation, in the Different Locations of Sulaimani Governorate, Kurdistan Region-Iraq

— Soils are normally dried in either a convection oven or stove. Laboratory moisture content testing indicated that the typical drying durations for a convection oven were, 24 hours. The purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy and soil drying duration of both, moisture content and liquid limit using microwave radiation. The soils were tested with both, convection and microwave ovens. The convection oven was considered to produce the true values for both, natural moisture content and liquid limit of soils; it was, therefore, used as a basis for comparison for the results of the microwave ovens. The samples used in this study were obtained from different projects of Consulting Engineering Bureau of College of Engineering of Sulaimani University. These samples were collected from different locations and at the different depths and consist mostly of brown and light brown clay and silty clay. A total of 102 samples were prepared. 26 of them were tested for natural moisture determination, while the other 76 were used for liquid limits determination.