Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Statistical Beamforming Based on Effective Channel Gain for Spatially Correlated Massive MIMO Systems

A statistical beamforming (SBF) scheme based on the effective channel gain (ECG) is proposed for spatially correlated massive multiple-input multiple-output systems. The proposed SBF scheme consists of outer and inner precoders. The outer precoder is designed to eliminate multiuser interference based on the correlation matrix of downlink channel. Then, according to the ECG defined as the squared inner product of the dedicated channel and an arbitrary precoding vector, the inner precoder is selected among the eigenvectors of the dedicated channel’s correlation matrix with the maximum ECG. Simulation results show that the proposed SBF scheme outperforms conventional schemes.
Pricing Credit-Linked Notes Issued by the Protection Buyer and an SPV

We first derive the closed-form solutions of the CLNs issued by an SPV or the protection buyer both the with reference and counter party risk under the consideration of default events correlated with the short-term interest rate. We derive the fair fees that are paid by a protection buyer to an SPV for the purpose of issuing the CLNs. From numerical analyses, we find that the values of CLNs are negatively correlated with the interest rate volatility and the default intensity of reference obligation. Further, if the short-term interest rate changes dramatically or the credit qualities of the reference entity and the protection buyer get worse, it is a better timing for the CLNs issued through an SPV.
Shared legacies of the war : Spirit mediums and war veterans in southern Zimbabwe

This paper explores the nature of ongoing relationships between war veterans and spirit mediums in Zimbabwe, as well as the continuing salience of a shared chimurenga legacy of co-operation by these two groups, and how it has been put to use, and acted out by both in the context of Zimbabwe's recent fast track land reform project. In emphasising this continuity, the paper also considers whether a corresponding disparity between the ideology of the ruling political elite and the practices, experiences and performances of guerrillas, spirit mediums and others acting on the ground, which materialised during the liberation struggle, has re-emerged, despite or alongside the recent collaboration of some war veterans with the ruling party's rhetoric of 'patriotic history'. Engaging with Lambek's work on moral subjectivity and Mbembe's 'logic of conviviality' of postcolonial states and their subjects, it argues that war veterans and spirit mediums sometimes share a 'moral conviviality' which appears during bira possession ceremonies, in the shared demands for the return and reburial of the war dead from foreign countries, or for 'national' ceremonies held at Great Zimbabwe and elsewhere to thank the ancestors, as well as in the similar way in which spirit mediums and war veterans subject their agency to that of the ancestors in their narrative performances. It concludes by suggesting that although many war veterans have undeniably been closely complicit in the violent 'authoritarian nationalism' of the state, in this shared war legacy of spirit mediums and war veterans lies the opportunity for radical alternative imaginations of the state.
Factors Associated With Nurses’ Intentions to Educate Female Patients on Heart Disease Risk and Prevention

Background:Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women in the United States. The literature indicates that despite aggressive educational efforts, only about 54% of women are aware that heart disease is their major health risk. Educating women about heart disease risk and prevention should be a focus of all healthcare professionals especially staff nurses.By being the largest group of healthcare professionals, nurses can be in the forefront of this mission. With more than half working in the hospital setting, staff nurses can impact women’s awareness of heart disease. However, very little is known about factors associated with nurses’ intentions to educate female patients about heart disease risk and prevention. Objective:This study examined the factors, including attitudes and perceptions, associated with nurses’ intentions to educate female patients about heart disease risk and prevention. Methods:With the use of a descriptive-correlation design, 91 telemetry and medical-surgical nurses of a suburban acute care hospital completed the Nurses Educating Women About Cardiovascular Disease questionnaire, a self-administered survey instrument (developed by the principal investigator) based on Icek Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior. The questionnaire assessed nurses’ attitudes, perceptions of expectations from significant others (subjective norms), and perceptions of their abilities to educate female patients about heart disease risk and prevention. Selected professional attributes and their association with the target behavior were also explored using &khgr;2 statistics. Results:The study revealed significant associations between nurses’ attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control and nurses’ intentions for the target behavior, with subjective norms scoring the highest. Conclusion:Knowledge of nurses’ attitudes and perceptions can help guide healthcare organizations in mobilizing nurse-led initiatives in raising female patients’ awareness of heart disease as a major health risk.
Modeling and Simulation of Adhoc / P 2 P Resource Sharing Networks Modeling and Simulation of Adhoc / P 2 P Resource Sharing Networks

Performance evaluation of adhoc peer-to-peer resource sharing networks is difficult since nearly every aspect of such networks including topology and offered resources can change unpredictably. In this paper we introduce a random-graph based model for studying the evolution of ad hoc peer-to-peer (P2P) communities (such as Gnutella/Freenet). The proposed random graph model generates a nonuniform graph and provides control over the nodal degree distribution. Based on this random graph model, we present analytic and simulation-based approaches to understand performance characteristics and issues. The analytic approach studies basic properties such as reachability and nodal utilization in the network. To address more detailed performance characteristics, we present our simulation framework called Sim . We discuss the crucial issue of efficiently simulating a random graph model by looking at several potential approaches. Sim incorporates several performance-related aspects of the P2P environment including reachability metrics, queuing behavior, content caching at each node, impact of user timeouts, etc., which are illustrated via an example. While the current study targets a simple static P2P file sharing environment likw Gnutella or Freenet, Sim is intended for opensource release shortly in order to facilitate the evaluation of other more dynamic networks and perhaps intelligent searches.
Detecting Abandoned Luggage Items in a Public Space

Visual surveillance is an important computer vision research problem. As more and more surveillance cameras appear around us, the demand for automatic methods for video analysis is increasing. Such methods have broad applications including surveillance for safety in public transportation, public areas, and in schools and hospitals. Automatic surveillance is also essential in the fight against terrorism. In this light, the PETS 2006 data corpus contains seven left-luggage scenarios with increasing scene complexity. The challenge is to automatically determine when pieces of luggage have been abandoned by their owners using video data, and set an alarm. In this paper, we present a solution to this problem using a two-tiered approach. The first step is to track objects in the scene using a trans-dimensional Markov Chain Monte Carlo tracking model suited for use in generic blob tracking tasks. The tracker uses a single camera view, and it does not differentiate between people and luggage. The problem of determining if a luggage item is left unattended is solved by analyzing the output of the tracking system in a detection process. Our model was evaluated over the entire data set, and successfully detected the left-luggage in all but one of the seven scenarios.
Quadruped walking robot with multi PIC microcomputer system

We propose a multi PIC microcomputer system for a quadruped waking robot using eight degrees of freedom. The control system has a two-level hierarchy in which one PIC microcomputer is used as a master computer, and eight PIC microcomputers are used as slave computers. Three bits are used to communicate between the master and slave computers. We have verified from experiments that this multi PIC microcomputer system is functional.
Deficiency in Repair of the Mitochondrial Genome Sensitizes Proliferating Myoblasts to Oxidative Damage

Reactive oxygen species (ROS), generated as a by-product of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, are particularly damaging to the genome of skeletal muscle because of their high oxygen consumption. Proliferating myoblasts play a key role during muscle regeneration by undergoing myogenic differentiation to fuse and restore damaged muscle. This process is severely impaired during aging and in muscular dystrophies. In this study, we investigated the role of oxidatively damaged DNA and its repair in the mitochondrial genome of proliferating skeletal muscle progenitor myoblasts cells and their terminally differentiated product, myotubes. Using the C2C12 cell line as a well-established model for skeletal muscle differentiation, we show that myoblasts are highly sensitive to ROS-mediated DNA damage, particularly in the mitochondrial genome, due to deficiency in 5’ end processing at the DNA strand breaks. Ectopic expression of the mitochondrial-specific 5’ exonuclease, EXOG, a key DNA base excision/single strand break repair (BER/SSBR) enzyme, in myoblasts but not in myotubes, improves the cell’s resistance to oxidative challenge. We linked loss of myoblast viability by activation of apoptosis with deficiency in the repair of the mitochondrial genome. Moreover, the process of myoblast differentiation increases mitochondrial biogenesis and the level of total glutathione. We speculate that our data may provide a mechanistic explanation for depletion of proliferating muscle precursor cells during the development of sarcopenia, and skeletal muscle dystrophies.
Granula: Toward Fine-grained Performance Analysis of Large-scale Graph Processing Platforms

Big Data processing has become an integral part of many applications that are vital to our industry, academic endeavors, and society at large. To cope with the data deluge, existing Big Data platforms require significant conceptual and engineering advances. In particular, Big Data platforms for large-scale graph processing require in-depth performance analysis to continue to support the broad applicability of linked data processing. However, in-depth performance analysis of such platforms remains challenging due to many factors, among which the inherent complexity of the platforms, the limited insight provided by coarse-grained "black-box" and inefficiency of fine-grained analysis, and the lack of reusability of results. In this work, we propose Granula, a performance analysis system for Big Data platforms that focuses on graph processing. Granula facilitates the complex, end-to-end processes of fine-grained performance modeling, monitoring, archiving, and visualization. It offers a comprehensive evaluation process that can be iteratively tuned to deliver more fine-grained performance information. We showcase with a prototype of Granula how it can provide meaningful insights into the operation of two large-scale graph processing platforms, Giraph and PowerGraph.
Virtual Team Leadership: A Case Study in Christian Higher Education

This study focused on virtual team leadership in Christian higher education by exploring the viability and acceptability of leadership practices defined by Malhotra, Majchrzak, and Rosen (2007). They identified six leadership practices effective leaders use to overcome the unique challenges associated with virtual teams, including: (a) establishing and maintaining trust through the use of communication technology, (b) ensuring that distributed diversity is understood and appreciated, (c) managing virtual work-life cycle (meetings), (d) monitoring team progress using technology, (e) enhancing visibility of virtual members within the team and outside in the organization, and (f) enabling individual members of the virtual team to benefit from the team. Using a case study design, a qualitative in-depth interview was conducted with an exemplary virtual team leader to explore his views of the leader's role and effectiveness within a virtual team environment in Christian higher education. Analysis of the data found that the leadership practices were conceptually accepted and practically applied; thus, this study concludes that these leadership practices are both valid and accepted by this exemplary virtual team leader.
Efficient Automated Program Repair through Fault-Recorded Testing Prioritization

Most techniques for automated program repair use test cases to validate the effectiveness of the produced patches. The validation process can be time-consuming especially when the object programs ship with either lots of test cases or some long-running test cases. To alleviate the cost for testing, we first introduce regression test prioritization insight into the area of automated program repair, and present a novel prioritization technique called FRTP with the goal of reducing the number of test case executions in the repair process. Unlike most existing prioritization techniques frequently requiring additional cost for gathering previous test executions information, FRTP iteratively extracts that information just from the repair process, and thus incurs trivial performance lose. We also built a tool called TrpAutoRepair, which implements our FRTP technique and has the ability of automatically repairing C programs. To evaluate TrpAutoRepair, we compared it with GenProg, a state-of-the-art tool for automated C program repair. The experiment on the 5 subject programs with 16 real-life bugs provides evidence that TrpAutoRepair performs at least as good as GenProg in term of success rate, in most cases (15/16), TrpAutoRepair can significantly improve the repair efficiency by reducing efficiently the test case executions when searching a valid patch in the repair process.
A core code reinforcement method based on dynamic loading on Android platform

Recently, those methods of protecting application from crack have a great development. Code obfuscation, dynamic link library, software shelling, those methods all have different levels of innovation and optimization [1]. However, various software crack technology also became increasingly mature. Static code analysis cooperating with dynamic code analysis makes mostly code reinforcement method failed. After analyzing all of those code reinforcement method, author came up with a kind of core code reinforcement method, which is organized with client and server architecture and based on dynamic loading. Different with most methods, this method can ensure even if hacker has obtained the original dex file, the application can still be safe.
Negotiating community resilience in the city in a time of political change and deficit reduction

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to develop a discussion of the production of community resilience to extreme weather during the first years of a new national government, one which is cognisant of the political change and uncertainty, the legislative framework and the institutional complexity that defines the adaptation scenario in the UK and London specifically.Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative semi‐structured interviews and group interventions were conducted amongst regional and local authority decision‐makers in London in the period from late 2010 through to early 2011.Findings – Hazard experience and political will were found to be important, interrelated drivers of community resilience. Adaptation work was found to face a tangibility problem that challenged stakeholders to make the case for its higher prioritisation in a highly economistic decision‐making process. Citywide resilience‐building schemes were observed of increasing organisational sophistication, and remained difficult to test a.
Plastid genomics in horticultural species: importance and applications for plant population genetics, evolution, and biotechnology

During the evolution of the eukaryotic cell, plastids, and mitochondria arose from an endosymbiotic process, which determined the presence of three genetic compartments into the incipient plant cell. After that, these three genetic materials from host and symbiont suffered several rearrangements, bringing on a complex interaction between nuclear and organellar gene products. Nowadays, plastids harbor a small genome with ∼130 genes in a 100–220 kb sequence in higher plants. Plastid genes are mostly highly conserved between plant species, being useful for phylogenetic analysis in higher taxa. However, intergenic spacers have a relatively higher mutation rate and are important markers to phylogeographical and plant population genetics analyses. The predominant uniparental inheritance of plastids is like a highly desirable feature for phylogeny studies. Moreover, the gene content and genome rearrangements are efficient tools to capture and understand evolutionary events between different plant species. Currently, genetic engineering of the plastid genome (plastome) offers a number of attractive advantages as high-level of foreign protein expression, marker gene excision, gene expression in operon and transgene containment because of maternal inheritance of plastid genome in most crops. Therefore, plastid genome can be used for adding new characteristics related to synthesis of metabolic compounds, biopharmaceutical, and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Here, we describe the importance and applications of plastid genome as tools for genetic and evolutionary studies, and plastid transformation focusing on increasing the performance of horticultural species in the field.
Dimensions of Conservation

Residential energy conservation is among the most efficient means of reducing emissions, yet behavior is lagging behind this potential, suggesting this is an area where psychology can contribute. Research suggests that conservation behaviors may cluster into distinct dimensions, and a greater understanding of these differences could improve intervention. This article explores this idea through systematic literature review and analysis of survey data. Content analysis of 28 articles showed strong support for two primary dimensions (curtailment and efficiency), with up to nine defining attributes. However, analysis also identified inconsistencies, leaving questions about their validity. Factor analysis of survey data identified two principal components along these dimensions; subsequent analyses revealed several differences in their predictors. Results provide support for a dimensional approach and suggest further research into underlying attributes. Although the curtailment versus efficiency dichotomy may be useful, it also has the potential to obscure high leverage maintenance behaviors, especially for renters.
Hurtful Cyber-Teasing and Violence

The current study sought to specifically examine the affect of teasing by way of technology (cyber-teasing) and the importance of the redressive component of a tease. A triangulated approach was used here to gain better insight into the concept of “hurtful” cyber-teasing between romantic partners. A pretheoretical model was developed highlighting the possible associations between teasing via technology and relational outcomes. Findings provide researchers with the prevalence of hurtful cyber-teasing and the associated personal and relational outcomes. In addition, the relationship between hurtful cyber-teasing and the reasons why certain messages escalated into face-to-face verbal aggression and physical violence were also revealed. These results are discussed in light of the inability of technology to fully transmit the redressive nonverbal component of a cyber-tease.
Epidemiological study by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of an outbreak of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in a geriatric hospital

Twelve cases of infections caused by extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBla)-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae were reported between August 1991 and March 1993 in the Geriatric Department of the Nimes University Hospital, where these bacterial had not been previously isolated. Restriction profiles of total genomic DNAs cleaved by XbaI and SpeI were compared by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. The strains that were tested included the 12 isolates from K. pneumoniae-infected patients, strains recovered from rectal swabs of asymptomatic patients in the same ward, and strains isolated in other hospitals in Nîmes at the same time. The restriction profiles of the 12 isolates and those recovered from asymptomatic patients in the same ward were very similar. Over a period of more than 1 year, extended-spectrum beta-lactamases were not detected in K. pneumoniae isolates with restriction patterns different from that of the epidemic strain. It seems, therefore, that there was no transfer of a plasmid or a gene coding for ESBla to strains of K. pneumoniae that were different from the epidemic strain. At the same time, ESBla-producing K. pneumoniae isolates exhibiting restriction endonuclease profiles very different from that of the epidemic strain were isolated from other hospitals in Nîmes. None of these strains caused an outbreak. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, which allows precise characterization of strains beyond the species level, is a useful tool for studying the ESBla-producing K. pneumoniae strains involved in nosocomial outbreaks.
On Reducing Delays in P2P Live Streaming Systems

(ABSTRACT) Peer-to-peer (P2P) technology provides a scalable solution in multimedia streaming. Many streaming applications, such as IPTV and video conferencing, have rigorous constraints on end-to-end delays. Obtaining assurances on meeting those delay constraints in dynamic and heterogenous network environments is a challenge. In this proposal, we devise a streaming scheme which minimizes the maximum end-to-end streaming delay for a mesh-based overlay network paradigm. We first formulate the minimum-delay P2P streaming problem, called the MDPS problem, and prove its NP-completeness. We then present a polynomial-time approximation algorithm to this problem, and show that the performance of our algorithm is bounded by a ratio of O(√ log n). For a practical deployment, we extend the algorithm to a distributed version with the adaptation to network dynamics. Our simulation study reveals the effectiveness of our algorithm, and shows a reasonable message overhead. Besides playback lag, delays occurring in P2P streaming may arise from two other factors: node churn and channel switching. Considering the fact they both stem from the reconnecting request in churn, we call them churn-induced delay. A typical channel switching delay costs around 10 seconds or even more. Current users have been accustomed to delays under seconds, which are typical in a cable TV system. Thus, this long switching delay has negatively affected the extensive commercial deployment of P2P systems. In this proposal, we propose an agent-based scheme to provide preventive connections to all channels. Once an actual connection is requested, time will be saved in retrieving bootstrapping information and obtaining authorization as well as authentication in new channel. Towards an efficient control and message overhead, each channel will select some powerful peers as agents to represent the peers in the channel. Agents will distill the bootstrapping peers with superior bandwidth and lifetime expectation to quickly serve the viewer in the initial period of streaming. We build a queueing theory model to analyze the agent-based scheme.