Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Secure High-Speed Anonymity Systems on Future Internet Architectures

We design and evaluate HORNET, a protocol for anonymous communications that operates at the network level. HORNET allows endpoints to communicate anonymously as long as not all nodes on a path are compromised. The protocol uses asymmetric cryptography only for the setup, and symmetric cryptography for data forwarding, enabling low-latency anonymous communication suitable for realtime chat and video. We evaluate the security of HORNET by analyzing possible attacks and showing the strengths and limits of the protocol in defending against them. We also evaluate HORNET’s performance by implementing it and simulating the processing of data packets, and find that the overhead introduced by the protocol is typically under 2 ms, one tenth of the average network delay. The current version of HORNET proves to be fast, scalable and secure, making it a well suited protocol to be part of the next generation of Internet architectures.
Hierarchical En-Route Planning under the Extended Belief-Desire- Intention (E-BDI) Framework

En-route planning is a dynamic planning process to find the optimal route (e.g., shortest route) while driving. The goal of this paper is to mimic a realistic drivers’ en-route planning behavior under the situations with incomplete information about road conditions using the Extended Belief-Desire-Intention (E-BDI) framework. The proposed EBDI based en-route planning is able to find a new route to the destination based on the predicted road conditions inferred by drivers’ own psychological reasoning. A main challenge of such a detailed E-BDI model is a high computational demand needed to execute a large scale road network, which is typical in a big city. To mitigate such a high computational demand, a hierarchical route planning approach is also proposed in this work. The proposed approach has been implemented in Java-based E-BDI modules and DynusT® traffic simulation software, where a real traffic data of Phoenix, Arizona is used. To validate the proposed hierarchical approach, the performance of the en-route planning modules under the different aggregation levels is compared in terms of their computational efficiency and modeling accuracy. The validation results reveal that the proposed en-route planning approach efficiently generates a realistic route plan with individual driver’s prediction of the road conditions.
Conjecture: A Possible nnΛ Resonance

We address the question of whether there might exist a resonance in the nn Λ system, using a rank one separable potential formulation of the Hamiltonian. We explore the eigenvalues of the kernel of the Faddeev equation in the complex energy plane using contour rotation to allow us to analytically continue the kernel onto the second energy sheet. We follow the largest eigenvalue as the n Λ potentials are scaled and the nn Λ continuum is turned into a resonance and then into a bound state of the system.
Unconscious gender bias in academia: From PhD students to professors

In an academic landscape where female physicists are still strongly underrepresented, underlying causes like unconscious gender bias deserve specific attention. Members of academia are often not aware of their intrinsic, hence unconscious, biases; this can have negative effects on students and staff at all career levels. At the Queen's University Belfast, I have developed and conducted a workshop on unconscious gender bias awareness at the School of Mathematics and Physics. The first installment of the workshop was attended by 63 members of the School, among them 26 academic staff (lecturer level and above). Participants attended an informational talk followed by a discussion session, and then took part in the Harvard Implicit Association Test for association of gender with science. The participants self-reported their results and their previous expectations, followed by a group discussion. Here I present the observed magnitude of unconscious gender bias and summarise the discussion points of the participants. The outcomes that bias can have on the success of physics students as well as the careers of physicists in an academic context will be highlighted. Putting the results into context, I discuss steps forward to make physics a level playing field for all genders.
Hyper‐Heuristics and Metaheuristics for Selected Bio‐Inspired Combinatorial Optimization Problems

Many decision and optimization problems arising in bioinformatics field are time demand‐ ing, and several algorithms are designed to solve these problems or to improve their cur‐ rent best solution approach. Modeling and implementing a new heuristic algorithm may be time‐consuming but has strong motivations: on the one hand, even a small improvement of the new solution may be worth the long time spent on the construction of a new method; on the other hand, there are problems for which good‐enough solutions are acceptable which could be achieved at a much lower computational cost. In the first case, specially designed heuristics or metaheuristics are needed, while the latter hyper‐heuristics can be proposed. The paper will describe both approaches in different domain problems.
Sources of uncertainty in climate change impacts on river discharge and groundwater in a headwater catchment of the Upper Nile Basin, Uganda

Abstract. The changing availability of freshwater resources is likely to be one of the most important consequences of projected 21st century climate change for both human and natural systems. However, substantial uncertainty remains regarding the precise impacts of climate change on water resources, due in part due to uncertainty in GCM projections of climate change. Here we explore the potential impacts of climate change on freshwater resources in a humid, tropical catchment (the River Mitano) in the Upper Nile Basin of Uganda. Uncertainty associated with GCM structure and climate sensitivity is explored, as well as parameter specification within hydrological models. These aims are achieved by running pattern-scaled output from seven GCMs through a semi-distributed hydrological model of the catchment (developed using SWAT). Importantly, use of pattern-scaled GCM output allows investigation of specific thresholds of global climate change including the purported 2 °C threshold of "dangerous" climate change. In-depth analysis of results based on the HadCM3 GCM climate scenarios shows that annual river discharge first increases, then declines with rising global mean air temperature. A coincidental shift from a bimodal to unimodal discharge regime also results from a projected reduction in baseflow (groundwater discharge). Both of these changes occur after a 4 °C rise in global mean air temperature. These results are, however, highly GCM dependent, in both the magnitude and direction of change. This dependence stems primarily from projected differences in GCM scenario precipitation rather than temperature. GCM-related uncertainty is far greater than that associated with climate sensitivity or hydrological model parameterisation.
Comparison of the BERNESE and GIPSY/OASIS II software systems using EUREF data

The data processing within the EUREF permanent network is presently distributed among 16 analysis centers, 14 of which are using the Bernese GPS software. Thus, the combined result is almost exclusively based on only one software package. This somehow contradicts the geodetic practice to verify and validate results by applying different softwares and processing strategies. Therefore, a comparison of the two totally different software systems BERNESE and GIPSY/OASIS II is performed by analysing single baselines as well as a 20 stations network selected from EUREF. Both softwares are applied in their commonly used mode. The obtained results do not suggest any clear preference of one of the systems upon the other. The BERNESE performed in particular better on longer baselines, whereas GIPSY/OASIS II showed slightly better daily repeatabilities of the horizontal position components in the network mode. On the average, the network adjustments, comprising 40 days of data, agree on the 2 mm level. The only systematic effect appears to be a scale difference of 2 10.
Cytokine Priming Enables Triggering of Naive Auto-Reactive CD 8 * T Cells by Weak Agonist Ligands of the TCR by

The activation of naive CD8+ T cells by an antigen requires two different signals. The first signal is mediated via the T cell receptor (TCR) following its interaction with the peptide presented on class-I major histocompability complex (MHC-I) molecules. The second signal is delivered via the co-stimulatory receptors upon recognition of their ligands on antigen presenting cells. However, in response to homeostatic pressure, as in lymphopenia, naive T cells undergo proliferation without antigenic stimulation through a process referred to as lymphopenia-induced proliferation (LIP). LIP of naive CD8+ T cells requires IL-7 and a self peptide presented by MHC-I, which implies that TCR signaling is needed for LIP of naive CD8+ T cells. Recent work from our laboratory has shown that with the homeostatic cytokines IL-7 and IL-15 synergize with IL-21 to induce antigen-independent proliferation of naive CD8+ T cells. Moreover, this cytokine-driven, antigen-independent proliferation "sensitizes" or "primes" naive CD8+ T cells to undergo robust proliferation in response to limiting concentrations of their cognate antigens. Cytokine-primed CD8+ T cells also abundantly produce effector cytokines, such as TNFa and IFNy and display a potent CTL activity following stimulation by antigen when pre-stimulated. In my project, I have investigated whether cytokine-induced priming could be an important mechanism by which potentially autoreactive naive CD8+ T cells are stimulated to cause autoimmune disease using a TCR transgenic mouse model of autoimmune type 1 diabetes (T1D). These mice harbor CD8+ T cells that express transgenic P14 TCR (P14 cells), which recognizes an antigenic peptide derived from the glycoprotein antigen (GP33) of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV). We show that, following priming with IL-21 in the presence of IL-7 or IL-15, P14 cells gain the ability to respond robustly to modified peptide ligands that possess weak agonistic activity towards unprimed P14 cells. Furthermore, cytokine-primed P14 cells stmulated with weak TCR ligands displayed potent effector functions such as cytotoxicity and production of effector cytokines, TNFa and IFNy. These cells also induced T1D when adoptively transferred to mice that expressed the LCMV GP antigen under the control of the insulin promoter in the islets. Collectively, our findings show that IL-15 and IL-21 produced during chronic inflammatory conditions could cause priming of potentially autoreactive CD8+ T cells, leading to autoimmune diseases.
High-order neural network in entity relationship extraction

In this paper, a kind of high-order neural network is proposed to extract entity relations in natural language. In this kind of network, different parameters absorb non-overlapping information from separated data respectively, which makes parameters more significant for understanding. This neural network can alleviate overfitting problem in some degree. When solving the task of entity relationship extraction, this network can give a result no worse than current methods.
THE GROUND STATE OF THE ELECTRON GAS BY A STOCHASTIC METHOD

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Black hole attack analysis in vehicular ADHOC Network

The use of wireless links furnishes a VANET unsafe to malicious attacks for example Denial of Service, black hole attack, Sybil attack, selective forwarding and altering routing information. In Vehicular Networks are contemplated as the unique class of wireless networks, also called as VANET. It is a major part of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). VANET technology is recognized for enhancing road safety and transport efficiency. But, there are huge security issues in VANET, therefore, there must be a reliable way for communication which is quite tedious and important concern. In this review article, we studied Black Hole attacks under CBR/UDP traffic pattern using various protocols from various research papers of high quality. There are possibilities of various attacks like an active and passive attack on the network to access data. As we know there are many issues in VANET and especially security issues. Our research work will be carried out using NS-2 simulator. Besides this, a detailed study of the attack examined because there are abundant numbers of attack available. These attacks are divided into an active and passive attack and further, these two are classified. In this review paper, we convoluted the diverse class of attacks and their depth in an ad-hoc network.
Biosynthesis of Copolyesters Consisting of 3-Hydroxyvalerate and Medium-chain-length 3-hydroxyalkanoates by the Pseudomonas aeruginosa P-5 Strain

A bacterial strain capable of synthesizing polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) with an unusual pattern of monomer units was isolated from activated sludge using the enrichment culture technique. The organism, identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa P-5, produced polyesters consisting of 3-hydroxyvalerate and medium-chain-length (MCL) 3-hydroxyalkanoate monomer units when C- odd alkanoic acids such as nonanoic acid and heptanoic acid were fed as the sole carbon source. Solvent fractionation experiments using chloroform and hexane revealed that the 3-hydroxyalkanoate monomer units in these polyesters were copolymerized. The molar concentration of 3-hydroxyvalerate in the polyesters produced were significantly elevated up to 26 mol% by adding 1.0 g/L valeric acid as the cosubstrate. These copolyesters were sticky with low degrees of crystallinity. The PHA synthase genes were cloned, and the deduced amino acid sequences were determined. P. aeruginosa P-5 possessed genes encoding MCL-PHA synthases (PhaC1 and PhaC2) but lacked the short-chain-length PHA synthase gene, suggesting that the MCL-PHA synthases from P. aeruginosa P-5 are uniquely active for polymerizing (R)-3-hydroxyvaleryl-CoA as well as MCL (R)-3-hydroxyacyl-CoAs.
MEMS programmable spectral imaging system for remote sensing

ITT Industries Space Systems Division and Eastman Kodak Company have developed a scalable, data- and power-efficient imaging spectrometer system with a digitally tunable optical filter capability, which enables the rapid selection of high-quality user-defined optical spectral band(s) of interest. The system utilizes a custom-designed, high-contrast diffractive MEMS device with 50 independent spectral switches at the image plane of a double-pass dispersive/de-dispersive spectrometer. The custom MEMS device is based on grating electromechanical system (GEMS) display technology, which provides very high image contrast (2000:1), fast optical switching speeds (< 100 ns), and a large active area with a very high fill factor. The system enables the selection of arbitrary, narrow or wide spectral bands of interest across the visible spectrum with a sampling resolution of 5 nm, without any moving mechanical parts. The resulting optical filter quality and performance is comparable to conventional fixed-band dichroic filters used in current remote sensing systems. The brassboard systems are designed for rapid transition to space-based, electro-optical (EO) remote sensing missions that utilize large format linear TDI scanning sensors and large format area staring arrays in the visible band. This technology addresses numerous capabilities to meet future EO system requirements for rapidly selecting and utilizing a high quality imaging optical bandpass of interest. The system concept provides capability for a >20X scan rate advantage over conventional hyperspectral imagers as a result of the compatibility with TDI scanning. The image quality is comparable to current MSI and HSI systems.
Methods for Assessing the Credit Risk of Leasing Assets

This paper analyzes how to appeal to the securitization of leasing companies affect the possible appearance in Russia in the framework of Basel II and Basel III capital requirements in respect of credit risk operations, securitization of leasing assets. It also discusses the possible implications for lessors, planned to carry out securitization during the implementation of the project in the Russian document “Updates to the framework agreement of the Basel Committee approach to securitization” in its current wording. Keywords: credit risk, assessment methodology, leasing assets JEL Classifications : D80, G32
Recovery of the Baseline Incidence Density in Censored Time-to-Event Analysis

Abstract Time-to-event analyses are often concerned with the effects of explanatory factors on the underlying incidence density, but since there is no intrinsic interest in the form of the incidence density itself, a proportional hazards model is used. When part of the purpose of the analysis is to use actual cumulative incidence for simulation, or for providing informative visual displays of the results, an estimate of the baseline incidence density is required. The usual method for estimating the baseline hazards in Cox’s proportional hazards analysis yields values that are of little use, and furthermore no standard deviations of the estimates (SDEs) are available. In this article we present an alternative approach to recovering an estimate of the baseline incidence density that yields smooth estimates as well as smooth estimates of SDEs. We illustrate the method on a large dataset of inter-visit times for individuals in a diabetes registry, and indicate how it can be used to incorporate different baseline incidence densities in the analysis of different subgroups.
Distribution of picophytoplankton and nanophytoplankton along an anthropogenic eutrophication gradient in French Mediterranean coastal lagoons

We explored the role of natural and anthropogenic environmental perturbations in shaping the community structure and dynamics of pico- and nanophytoplankton in coastal waters. The distribution patterns of phycoerythrin-rich picocyanobacteria (PE-CYAN) and phycocyanin-rich picocyanobacteria (PC-CYAN), autotrophic picoeukaryotes (PEUK) and nanophytoplankton (NANO) were examined over a period of 3 yr in 24 Mediterranean coastal lagoons displaying wide trophic gradients (from 0.2 to 630 mu g chlorophyll a [chl a] l(-1)) and salinity gradients (from fresh to marine waters). In summer, picoplanktonic abundances reached 3 x 10(8) cells l(-1), 5 x 10(9) cells l(-1) and 6 x 10(10) cells l(-1) for PE-CYAN, PC-CYAN and PEUK, respectively. PE-CYAN and PC-CYAN showed opposing responses to environmental gradients, resulting in a restricted dominance of PE-CYAN in oligotrophic marine lagoons and a dominance of PC-CYAN in some eutrophic brackish lagoons. Most lagoons exhibited steady-state nutrient conditions, giving competitive advantages to small eukaryotic algae, even in eutrophic and hypertrophic waters. Among the picophytoplankton, picoeukaryotes (ca. 2 to 3 mu m) are the most competitive with increasing nutrient availability; in terms of abundance and biomass, their relative and absolute importance tended to increase with increasing total chl a biomass. Freshwater discharges resulted in large pulses of nutrient and more turbulent systems that altered the structure of the phytoplankton community and stimulated fast-growing NANO composed of phytoflagellates and diatoms (ca. 3 to 6 mu m, up to 1.6 x 10(9) cells l(-1)). Members of the microphytoplankton (ca. 20 to 200 mu m) were rarely observed in eutrophic and hypertrophic lagoons and were composed of harmful dinoflagellates in oligotrophic lagoons. These results show that anthropogenic and meteorological changes are highly influential on the composition and size structure of phytoplankton communities.
SUCCESSION PLANNING AND STAFF RETENTION CHALLENGES: AN INDUSTRIAL OUTLOOK AND MAJOR RISKS

How to cite this paper: Maphisa, S. M. , Zwane, B. K. , & Nyide, C. J. (2017). Succession planning and staff retention challenges: An industrial outlook and major risks. Risk governance & control: financial markets & institutions, 7(3), 17-26. doi:10.22495/rgcv7i3p2 How to access this paper online: http://dx.doi. org/10.22495/rgcv7i3p2 Copyright © 2017 The Authors This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b
Malay students' entrepreneurial attitude and entrepreneurial efficacy in vocational and technical secondary schools of Malaysia

Entrepreneurial attitude and entrepreneurial self-efficacy are considered as important factors affecting the intention to step into the process of entrepreneurship. However, there is limited information on students' entrepreneurial attitude and entrepreneurial self-efficacy, particularly for technical school students who have acquired the technical knowledge to become entrepreneurs. This study has surveyed entrepreneurial attitude and entrepreneurial self-efficacy among secondary school students in Malaysia. A total of 2,574 students undertaking technical subjects were randomly selected as the participants. A set of questionnaire was employed to measure students' attitudes toward and efficacy in entrepreneurship. Findings of the study indicate that the student scored high on entrepreneurial attitude components including self-esteem cognition, achievement cognition, and achievement affect. However, the students' mean score for entrepreneurial self-efficacy was between moderate to high level. This paper discusses the importance of intervention programmes and proper teaching and learning strategies to improve technical students' entrepreneurial attitude and entrepreneurial self-efficacy.
Unemployment in an Extended Cournot Oligopoly Model

ATrEMP1rS to explain unemployment' begin with the labour market. Yet, by attributing it to deficient demand for goods, Keynes questioned the use of partial analysis, and stressed the need to consider interactions between the labour and product markets. Imperfect competition in the labour market, reflecting union power, has been a favoured explanation; but imperfect competition may also affect employment through producers' oligopolistic behaviour. This again points to a general equilibrium approach such as that by Negishi (1961, 1979). Here we propose an extension of the Cournot oligopoly model (unlike that of Gabszewicz and Vial (1972), where labour does not appear), which takes full account of the interdependence between the labour market and any product market. Our extension shares some features with both Negishi's conjectural approach to demand curves, and macroeconomic non-Walrasian equilibrium theories, usually associated with the fix-price approach.2 For Negishi, economic agents base decisions on perceived demand (or supply) curves which are purely "subjective" except at equilibrium; in contrast our conjectured demand curves are, in Nikaido's (1975) terminology, "objective"'. We start by defining a Cournot-Nash equilibrium for a single sector (viewed as a "representative industry") and at a money wage taken as given by all agents. If one follows temporary general equilibrium theory (see Grandmont (1977)) with its particular view of money, and admits the possibility of quantity rationing in the labour market, one can view this as a "short-run" equilibrium and suppose that the wage is chosen at some preliminary stage. The model also has a "static" interpretation, where money is a nonproduced good and the nominal wage is a parameter which is competitively adjusted. In the following we shall always maintain the two interpretations.