Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimizing packet scheduling decisions with network coding

Network coding techniques are usually applied upon network layer protocols to improve throughput in wireless networks. However, the packet scheduling algorithm has long been neglected. With proper scheduling, bottleneck nodes can clear their packet queue faster than a vanilla round-robin scheduling algorithm. Therefore, a higher Coding+MAC gain can be achieved. In this paper, we formulate the scheduling problem and propose a search algorithm to find the optimal solution. A pruning rule and an approximation scheme are proposed to reduce the amount of search branches, and hence to improve the time performance. Results show that the algorithm can improve the throughput gain as compared to round-robin scheduling. The throughput gain is most conspicuous when the network is almost but not saturated.
1,1′-(Butane-1,4-diyl)diimidazole-3,3′-diium tetrachloridozincate(II) dihydrate

In the title compound, (C10H16N4)[ZnCl4]·2H2O, the cation lies abouton a center of inversion and the anion about a twofold rotation axis. The ZnII atom is four-coordinate in a tetrahedral environment. The cations, anions and water molecules are linked by N—H⋯O, N—H⋯Cl and O—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds into a two-dimensional network.
Chapter 1 Surgery : Moving People , Improving Outcomes

Surgery aims to improve a patient’s medical condition. However, surgery is a major life event with the risk of negative consequences, like periand postoperative complications, prolonged hospitalization and delayed recovery of physical functioning. One of the major common side effects, functional decline, before (in the “waiting” period), during and after hospitalization is impressive, especially in frail people.
Down-regulation of microRNA-133 b protects human esophageal squamous cells Het-1 A from hydrochloric acid-induced apoptosis

Reflux esophagitis (RE) is an esophageal mucosal injury, the directly main cause of RE is excessive exposure of gastric contents. This study was aimed to investigate whether miR-133b was involved in hydrochloric acid (Hcl) induced RE. Human esophageal squamous cells Het-1A were employed and were exposed to Hcl, subsequently the expression of miR-133b was detected by quantitative PCR (qPCR). Cells were transfected with miR-133b mimic or inhibitor, and then cell viability, apoptosis and the expression levels of apoptosis related factors were respectively determined by 3-(4, 5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), flow cytometry and Western blot. Further, cells were treated with Hcl or transfected with miR-133b mimic or/and inhibitor, Western blot was performed to explore the expression of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/ serine/threonine kinase (PI3K/AKT) pathway proteins. Results showed that Hcl exposure significantly inhibited cell viability (P < 0.05) and up-regulated miR-133b (P < 0.001). Overexpression of miR-133b decreased cell viability (P < 0.01), induced apoptosis (P < 0.001), and up-regulated the levels of caspase-3, Fas and p53 (P < 0.01 or P < 0.001). Besides, Hcl exposure and miR-133b overexpression inhibited the phosphorylations of ERK1/2, AKT and PI3K (P < 0.05, P < 0.01 or P < 0.001), However, miR-133b suppression abolished the regulatory effects of miR133b overexpression on these factors (P < 0.01 or P < 0.001). In conclusion, the expression of miR-133b might be involved in Hcl induced Het-1A cells injury via regulating ERK and PI3K/AKT pathways.
ADT fast losses MD

The fast beam losses in the order of 1 ms are expected to be a potential major luminosity limitation for higher beam energies after the LHC long shutdown (LS1). Therefore a Quench Test is planned in the winter 2013 to estimate the quench limit in this timescale and revise the current models. This experiment was devoted to determination the LHC Transverse Damper (ADT) as a system for fast losses induction. A non-standard operation of the ADT was used to develop the beam oscillation instead of suppressing them. The sign flip method had allowed us to create the fast losses within several LHC turns at 450 GeV during the previous test (26th March 2012). Thus, the ADT could be potentially used for the studies of the UFO (”Unidentified Falling Object”) impact on the cold magnets. Verification of the system capability and investigations of the disturbed beam properties were the main objectives of this MD. During the experiment, the pilot bunches of proton beam were excited independently in the horizontal and vertical planes to induce beam losses on the primary collimators (TCPs). An asymmetrical configuration of collimator jaws provided losses on only one side of an aperture. This created the conditions of a 3-corrector orbital bump Quench Test which is planned for winter 2013. The temporal loss distribution and the loss duration at 4 TeV were determined. The impact of the phase advance between the ADTs and TCPs was investigated at 450 GeV.
PCR-Tree: A Compression-Based Index Structure for Similarity Searching in High-Dimensional Image Databases

The vector approximation file (VA-file) approach is an efficient high-dimensional indexing method using compression technique to overcome the difficulty of 'curse of dimensionality'. The VA-file method combined with tree-based index structure can improve the querying efficiency, but it still succumbs to the 'curse of dimensionality'. In this paper, a new high-dimensional indexing structure called PCR-tree for non-uniform distributed data sets was presented, which employs R-tree to manage the approximate vectors in the reduced-dimensionality space. The approximate vectors can be built in the KL transform domain, and low dimensional MBRs (minimum bounding rectangles) can be used to manage the approximations on the first few principal components. When performing k-nearest neighbor search, a lower-bound filtering algorithm is used to reject the improper nodes of PCR-tree, which can reduce the computational complexity and I/O cost without any dismissals. The experiment results on large image databases show that the new approach provides a faster search speed than other tree-structured vector approximation approaches.
Distributed network control for optical networks

This paper describes an architecture for controlling a wavelength-routed optical network. The optical network provides reconfigurable connections that can be used to carry different types of data, at possibly different bit rates. A connection consists of a path in the network and a wavelength on each link in that path. This work focuses on the mechanisms for controlling the optical connections. Distributed control protocols are provided for setting up and taking down connections reliably. These protocols allow connection originators to obtain resources with high probability by minimizing reservation conflicts, allow connections to stay up even if controllers along the path in the network fail, ensure that controllers in the network have a consistent view of the state of each connection, and ensure that all resources taken up by a connection are released once the connection is taken down. Fast protocols are also proposed for handling link failures and wavelength failures on a link. These protocols are general in that they can be used in networks with: (1) different kinds of node architectures (electrical/optical switching, with or without wavelength conversion, etc.), (2) different route-computation algorithms that reflect the underlying constraints imposed by the nodes and the physical layer, and (3) any kind of underlying mechanism using which the network controllers can communicate with each other.
Elastic and optical properties of Ge

The present study deals with the effect of composition on the elastic and optical properties of GexSe2Sb1-x (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 1.0) glasses. The various elastic moduli of these glasses such as Young’s modulus (Y) and the bulk modulus (B) along with the micro-hardness (H), Poisson’s ratio (σ) and Debye temperature ( D) were obtained from the values of the longitudinal (vl) and shear (vs) ultrasonic velocities. Based on the measurements of the transmittance and reflectance spectra in the wavelength range 0.4 to 2.5 μm the optical constants like as film thickness (t), the refractive index (n) and the optical band gap (Eg) had been investigated with high accuracy. The optically determined bulk modulus of these glasses was in good agreement with that elastically investigated. The obtained results were discussed in terms of the changes in the glass density, electronegativity and electronic polarizability with the variation in antimony content.
Self-Selection Models in Determination of Target Dividend Payout Ratio of Real Estate Domestic Companies Quoted on the Warsaw Stock Exchange

Real estate companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in recent years have changed their policy to pro-dividend and more and more often make decisions to pay increasing dividends. Hence a question arises about the target dividend payout ratio of these companies. In the article the Heckman model was proposed for estimating the target dividend payout ratio. It derives from the self-selection concept, which consists of two equations: probit equation of propensity to pay dividend and Lintner’s partial adjustment equation. The conducted research has shown that Heckman’s self-selection model proved to be a very good tool for analyzing dividend decisions not only because of formal properties ensuring the consistency of the parameters estimator but also because of an accurate description of the decision process, which is of a two-step nature (decision on payment — determining the payout level). This led to the conclusion that more willing to pay dividends for a given year were real estate domestic companies, which paid dividends for the previous year (sticky dividend effect) and were more profitable and that the relation between the market value to book value of assets ratio (Tobin’s q ratio), and the propensity to pay dividends has an inverted U shape. The calculated target dividend payout ratio was 66,7% and the calculated speed of adjustment alpha = 0,626 indicates relatively slow reaching of the target.
RAYLEIGH WAVE VELOCITY DISPERSION FOR CHARACTERIZATION OF SURFACE TREATED AERO ENGINE ALLOYS

In aero engines mechanically high stressed components made of high-strength alloys like IN718 and Ti6Al4V are usually surface treated by shot-peening. Other methods, e.g. laser-peening, deep rolling and low plasticity burnishing are also available. All methods introduce compressive residual stress desired for minimizing sensitivity to fatigue or stress corrosion failure mechanisms, resulting in improved performance and increased lifetime of components. Beside that, also cold work is introduced in an amount varying from method to method. To determine the remaining life time of critical aero engine components like compressor and turbine discs, a quantitative non-destructive determination of compressive stresses is required. The opportunity to estimate residual stress in surface treated aero engine alloys by SAW phase velocity measurements has been re-examined. For that, original engine relevant material IN718 has been used. Contrary to other publications a significant effect of the surface treatment to the ultrasonic wave velocity was observed which disappeared after thermal treatment. Also preliminary measurements of the acousto-elastic coefficient fit into this picture.
Mapping rock types through the use of constrained energy minimization

Different rock spectrums have been successfully used to detect different rock types in many statistical cases such as cluster analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), factor analysis, etc. In methods above, because the signature of target and that of background are mixed together, the mapping result is not very satisfied. In this paper, from the viewpoint of separating signature of target and that of background, a technique named Constrained Energy Minimization (CEM) which on a pixel-by-pixel enhances the desired signature and suppresses the undesired ones such as that of background is presented. Using Thematic Mapper (TM) data, different rock types are detected and the technique (CEM) has been shown to perform well.
Effectual Networks : A pre-commitment approach to bridging the gap between opportunism and trust

One of the theoretical puzzles concerning how organizations and markets come to be has to do with our fundamental behavioral assumptions. While economic theories are built on assumptions of opportunism, organizational and sociological theories either look for existing structures of trust as ways to overcome opportunism, or emphasize the role of a third-party arbiter. In this paper, we bring together two existing concepts in previous literature, namely, docility and effectuation, to construct a pre-commitment approach to the creation of new networks that proceeds in the face of motivational uncertainty – i.e. irrespective of assumptions of opportunism or trust. We develop our synthesis within the context of new market creation in entrepreneurship. Instead of strong behavioral assumptions based on opportunism or trust, we begin with the far weaker assumption of docility – i.e. the fact that human beings are, to varying degrees, persuadable. Furthermore, in the context of extremely nascent or non-existent markets, actors may not only be uncertain about each others’ motivations, but may be unsure of their own future preferences and goals. Under such circumstances of combined motivational and environmental uncertainty, non-predictive strategies such as effectuation are called for in creating and managing new networks. The effectual pre-commitment approach we develop in this setting is analogous to other pre-commitment approaches developed in areas such as finance, jurisprudence, and economic psychology. A pre-commitment is defined as a self-imposed non-negotiable constraint that stacks the deck in favor of or against specific future choices.
Combined optical and chemical asynchronous event pixel array

The paper presents the concept, layout and simulation results for a combined chemical and optical 92×92 pixel array designed as a 3.18×3.18mm2 ASIC in standard AMS 0. 35μm CMOS technology. The optical pixels employ PN junctions as photodiodes, while the chemical pixels use ISFETs that are pH sensitive with the standard passivation layer of the process. Local light intensity and pH level are encoded using pulse frequency modulation (PFM) and conveyed off-chip using the address event representation (AER) protocol. The chip has been conceived specifically to characterize a light sensitive biomolecular thin film that is in turn intended as a retinal implant for the treatment of end-stage retinal degenerative diseases.
A brief outline of the evolutionary approach for compassion focused therapy.

Humans are evolved animals set up to pursue various life tasks. This gives rise to different phenotypes some of which are conducive to well-being, while others are not. Compassion focused therapy seeks to harness the evolved importance of affiliative and caring motivational processing to help alleviate individuals who are caught in high levels of shame and self-criticism and consequent depression and anxiety. This paper will outline the basic theoretical stance of CFT and some of its therapeutic interventions.
Alzheimer’s Disease: Errors in Gene Expression

Hypotheses concerning the etiology of Alzheimer’s disease are numerous but perhaps two of the most probable involve either an unconventional infectious agent of the scrapie, Creutzfeldt-Jakob family or an error in gene expression. Strong circumstantial evidence supports both hypotheses; however, definitive evidence will require an extensive understanding of the molecular biology of this common cause of senile and presenile dementia.
Who receives Government Benefits ? : the Effect of Reading / Writing Assistance on Take-Up of Disability Support Pension

The Disability Support Pension (DSP) is an important income support for individuals with permanent disability in Australia. However, 56.7% of claims for DSP were rejected in 2012-2013, and the largest non-medical reason for rejection was the failure to supply requested information, accounting for 12% of all rejections. In this paper, I examine the impact of receiving reading and writing assistance on the take-up of DSP. I employ age at onset of the disability as an instrumental variable to account for potential selection problem present in receiving the assistance. Using a pooled crosssectional data (2003, 2009, 2015) from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, a recursive bivariate probit estimation is carried out to allow for the supposed correlation between the unobserved tendencies and receipt of assistance. Results indicate that reading and writing assistance substantially increases the probability of receiving DSP. The effects are also significant for the sub-samples of individuals with psychological/psychiatric and intellectual/learning disabilities, re-
REINSTATING AND MARKING SPATIAL PARCEL BOUNDARIES AS A BASE FOR A 3D DIGITAL CADASTRE BY MEANS OF REAL TIME KINEMATICS GPS

The inability of the existing 2D Cadastre to facilitate the rapid developments on one hand and the growing land shortage on the other hand necessitates a fundamental change in the cadastral system. Based on the existing 2D cadastre, a 3D cadastre system for land rights registration is proposed in this paper. A general description and definitions of its components are detailed. Additionally a description of a GPS RTK reinstating/marking technique for 3D spatial parcel is also detailed
Non-intrusive Quality Assessment of Synthesized Speech using Spectral Features and Support Vector Regression

In this paper, we propose a new quality assessment method for synthesized speech. Unlike previous approaches which uses Hidden Markov Model (HMM) trained on natural utterances as a reference model to predict the quality of synthesized speech, proposed approach uses knowledge about synthesized speech while training the model. The previous approach has been successfully applied in the quality assessment of synthesized speech for the German language. However, it gave poor results for English language databases such as Blizzard Challenge 2008 and 2009 databases. The problem of quality assessment of synthesized speech is posed as a regression problem. The mapping between statistical properties of spectral features extracted from the speech signal and corresponding speech quality score (MOS) was found using Support Vector Regression (SVR). All the experiments were done on Blizzard Challenge Databases of the year 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012. The results of experiments show that by including knowledge about synthesized speech while training, the performance of quality assessment system can be improved. Moreover, the accuracy of quality assessment system heavily depends on the kind of synthesis system used for signal generation. On Blizzard 2008 and 2009 database, proposed approach gives correlation of 0.28 and 0.49 , respectively, for about 17 % data used in training. Previous approach gives correlation of 0.3 and 0.09 , respectively, using spectral features. For Blizzard 2012 database, proposed approach gives correlation of 0.8 by using 12 % of available data in training.
Job-Related Factors and their Influence on Organizational Commitment of Part-Time Academic Staff in Institutions of Higher Education in Nairobi and Mombasa Cities in Kenya

This study was set out to establish whether selected job-related factors affect organizational commitment of parttime academic staff in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Kenya. The quantitative study design by use of survey was used for the study. The sampling frame was developed through capture-recapture method. The sampling technique used was muti-stage consisting of several stages of stratified and simple random sampling and time-location sampling. Data was collected using questionnaires from 227 part-time academic staff from selected HEIs in Nairobi and Mombasa cities in Kenya. The results show that role clarity is a negative predictor of normative commitment. All the job-related factors (supervisor support, co-worker support and access to resources) are predictors of affective commitment. The study recommends that education managers in HEIs should make deliberate attempts to develop and implement explicit policies relating to the management of parttime academic staff. This study strongly recommends that part-time academics staff should be provided with resources to enable them effectively carry out their duties.
A Box-Jenkins Model for Monthly Natural Gas Production in Nigeria

This is a study of monthly natural gas production in Nigeria as a time series. The realization sampled and analyzed spans from January 2008 to December 2015. Knowledge of the trend of the production and a model which adequately accounts for variability in the series could be helpful for planning and administrative purposes. The time plot shows a generally increasing trend. It is observed that the series is also seasonal of period 12 months. A nonseasonal differencing of the series is stationary and a first order moving average model is fitted to it. That is, fitted to the original data is the BoxJenkins model, ARIMA(0,1,1). Taking advantage of the seasonality of the series, a seasonal differencing is done on the differenced series and a SARIMA(0,1,1)x(0,1,1)12 model is fitted to the original series. This latter model is found to outdo the former in adequacy on all counts. In addition, using the January to May 2016 data, with this model, there is out-of-sample observation/forecast goodness-of-fit. Therefore the latter model is recommended as a basis for the forecasting or simulation of the series. Keywords—natural gas production; BoxJenkins modelling; ARIMA modelling; SARIMA modelling; Nigeria