Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Secure Communications in Cooperative D2D Networks by Jointing Wyner’s Code and Network Coding

Due to the broadcast nature of wireless device-to-device networks, the transmission of private information is threatened by the exterior eavesdropping. Targeting at this problem, we jointly exploit the Wyner’s code and the linear network coding, in this paper, to improve the security. The function of the Wyner’s code requires the legitimate channel better than the eavesdropper’s channel, so we propose a novel relay selection scheme to achieve this objective. Specifically, two groups of relays have been selected. Relays in one of the groups are selected to forward the private information, and relays in the other group are selected to transmit artificial noise. In this way, we make sure that the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at the legitimate receiver is larger than a target value but the SNR at the eavesdropper has a certain probability less than the target value so that the security can be enhanced. Moreover, focusing on the problem that the Wyner’s code cannot achieve security if the SNR at the eavesdropper is larger than the target value, we propose a network coding method. In this method, the message to be transmitted is divided into multiple parts, and then these parts are correlated with each other by using network coding. Thus, the eavesdropper also cannot decode the private information even its SNR larger than the target value. We analyze the secrecy outage probability in theory, and the simulation results are provided to confirm our analysis.
An explicit formula for the harmonic indices and harmonic polynomials of carbon nanocones CNC k [n]

Abstract Let G be a simple molecular graph without directed and multiple edges and without loops. The vertex and edge-sets of G are denoted by V(G) and E(G), respectively. Suppose G is also a connected molecular graph and let u, v ŒV(G) be two vertices. The harmonic index H(G) of G is defined as the sum of the weights 2(du+dv )-1 of all edges in E(G), where dv is the degree of a vertex v in G which is defined as the number of vertices of G adjacent to v. The harmonic polynomial of G is defined as H(G, x) = ∑ e=uυϵE(G ) 2x (du+dv–1) and there is the following nice relation between these two notions . In this paper, we present an explicit formula for the harmonic indices and harmonic polynomials of carbon nanocones CNC k [n].
Intra- and interannual streamflow variations of Wardha watershed under changing climate

ABSTRACT Management of river water is an important aspect governing the political and economic affairs of any country. Owing to varied climatic conditions, the flow of river water needs to be altered to meet the increasing demands of agriculture and human needs for the designing and executing of water resource projects. The purpose of the study is to investigate the variations in streamflow of Wardha watershed, India, under changing climatic conditions. Regional climate models (RCMs) data with representative concentration pathway (RCP) of 4.5 and 8.5 scenarios were used to simulate the streamflow for the historic and future periods with Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). Sequential Uncertainty Fitting Algorithm (SUFI-2) of SWAT calibration and uncertainty program (SWAT-CUP) was used for sensitive analysis, calibration and validation of the SWAT model. SWAT-simulated streamflow for the future period has been analyzed by dividing the total period into four 20-year spans: 2020–2039, 2040–2059, 2060–2079 and 2080–2099. The results suggest a decrease in future streamflow compared to earlier periods. Intra- and interannual variabilities of streamflows for the future periods are less variable compared to the observed streamflow.
Lead Binding to δ-Aminolevulinic Acid Dehydratase (ALAD) in Human Erythrocytes

Over 99% of the lead present in blood is usually found in erythrocytes. To investigate the nature of this selective accumulation of lead in erythrocytes, the specific binding of lead to proteins in human erythrocytes was studied using liquid chromatography coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LC-ICP-MS). The principal lead-binding protein had a mass of approximately 240 kDa, and adsorption to specific antibodies showed that the protein was 6-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD). Thus, the previous notion that lead in erythrocytes was bound primarily to haemoglobin has to be revised. Furthermore. in lead-exposed workers, the percentage of lead bound to ALAD was influenced by a common polymorphism in the ALAD gene. Specifically, in seven carriers of the ALAD 2 allele, 84% of the protein-bound lead recovered was bound to ALAD compared to 81% in seven homozygotes for the ALAD allele whose erythrocytes were matched for blood-lead concentration. The small difference was statistically significant in Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test (P=0.03). No ALAD allele-specific difference in ALAD-bound lead was found among 20 unexposed controls. Perhaps the difference in ALAD-bound lead can provide an explanation for the previously reported finding of higher blood-lead levels among carriers of the ALAD 2 allele than among ALAD' homozygotes in lead-exposed populations.
Multi-Sensor Preprocessing for Traffic Light Detection

With the exponential growth of smartphone usage and its computational capability, there is an opportunity today to build a usable navigation system for the visually impaired. A smartphone contains virtually all sensors for sensing the surrounding environment such as GPS, cameras, and inertial sensors. However, there are many challenges for building a complete navigation system, such as low-level methods of environment sensing, accuracy, and efficient data processing. In this dissertation, we address some of these challenges and present a system for traffic light detection, which is fundamental for pedestrian navigation by the visually impaired in outdoors. In this system, we analyze the video feed from a smartphone’s camera using model-based computer vision techniques to detect traffic lights. Specifically, we utilize both color and shape information as they are the most prominent features of the traffic lights. Additionally, we use the inertial sensors of a smartphone to compute the 3D orientation of a smartphone to predict a subpart of a video frame, which is highly probable to contain the traffic lights. By processing only that subpart, we improve the computational time by an order of magnitude on average. Furthermore, due to the processing of a subpart instead of the whole video frame, our system achieves higher accuracy because of reduced false positive. Finally, we recognize walk and stop signs for pedestrians in addition to the regular traffic lights to obtain higher confidence during navigation. We evaluated this system in various lighting conditions such as cloudy, sunny, and at night, and achieved over 95% accuracy in the traffic light and sign detection and recognition.
On-orbit NOAA-20 VIIRS solar diffuser bidirectional reflectance distribution function and screen transmittance characterization using yaw manoeuvres and regular on-orbit SDSM data

ABSTRACT On-orbit radiometric calibration of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensor onboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) NOAA-20 satellite is dependent on Solar Diffuser (SD) and Solar Diffuser Stability Monitor (SDSM) observations for the Reflective Solar Bands (RSBs). The time-dependent degradation of the SD Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) (called H-factor) is measured by the SDSM. To reduce direct illumination from the Sun, SD and SDSM have two independent screens called SD Screen (SDS) and SDSM Sun view screen. Once the instrument is on-orbit, the product of the SD BRDF and SDS transmittance can only be measured by VIIRS and SDSM detectors through the Rotating Telescope Assembly (RTA) and SDSM SD viewport, respectively. Using pre-launch parameter tables, the initial H-factor trends showed abnormal oscillations. To validate the functionality of the pre-launch tables, the NOAA-20 VIIRS spacecraft performed 15 yaw manoeuvres on 25 January and 26 January 2018 as a part of post-launch tests. During the yaw manoeuvres, on-orbit SD and SDSM data were collected and used to characterize the SD screen transmittance functions with BRDFs and the SDSM Sun view screen transmittance functions. On-orbit estimated SD/SDSM BRDFs and SDSM Sun screen transmittance functions showed some differences from the pre-launch version, especially with the SDSM Sun view screen transmittance function. This problem was not resolved by applying the initial yaw manoeuvre-derived table. As an alternative approach, NOAA VIIRS team applied a methodology to add fine features in the SDSM Sun transmittance function from the one-year regular on-orbit SDSM collections to cover a full operational range of the solar azimuth angle in the SDSM Sun viewport. After applying additional SDSM detector gain corrections, the yaw manoeuvre and on-orbit regular SDSM data points are aligned that reduced abnormally large degradations in SDSM detector 6, 7, and 8. Finally, 1% level H-factor oscillations are reduced to 0.2% level. Corresponding SD F-factors, scaling calibration coefficients, are calculated and deliver to the NOAA’s Interface Data Processing Segment (IDPS) to generate the official VIIRS Science Data Record (SDR) products.
Short Selling Pressure, Reporting Transparency, and the Use of Real and Accruals Earnings Management to Meet Benchmarks

Abstract Prior literature finds that short selling is beneficial to the market because it increases liquidity and helps to discipline optimistic market prices. The authors use 2 controlled experiments to examine the potential for an unintended consequence of allowing short selling or easing short selling restrictions. Because prior research identifies short sellers as sophisticated market participants who have the ability to see through accrual earnings management choices, we predict and find that, when reporting is transparent, managers are more likely to use real earnings management relative to accrual earnings management when short selling restrictions are relaxed. This is consistent with the idea that real earnings management activities are more defensible as the result of legitimate operating decisions and are therefore more likely to hold up to scrutiny from short sellers. Overall, the results suggest that regulations that are unrelated to financial reporting can affect how managers respond to the transparency that arises from financial reporting regulations.
When you kill the body, do you kill the spirit? Curating affectual performances addressing violence related to sorcery accusations in Papua New Guinea

ABSTRACT In this paper, we examine the socially engaged practices of human rights-based organisations in Papua New Guinea (PNG) as they perform, stage and engage with communities to unsettle and challenge contemporary justifications of violence and malice. Specifically, we explore Yumi Sanap Strong (Let's Stand Together), a PNG national initiative and a repertoire of curated performances and experiences that navigate the complexities of contemporary cultural and social engagements to create alternative narratives for change. Creative practice processes are re-imagined and re-staged harnessing indigenous performances, and resulting in the affectual experience among communities.
SANCTUARY: ARMing TrustZone with User-space Enclaves

ARM TrustZone is one of the most widely deployed security architecture providing Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs). Unfortunately, its usage and potential benefits for application developers and end users are largely limited due to restricted deployment policies imposed by device vendors. Restriction is enforced since every Trusted App (TA) increases the TEE’s attack surface: any vulnerable or malicious TA can compromise the system’s security. Hence, deploying a TA requires mutual trust between device vendor and application developer, incurring high costs for both. Vendors work around this by offering interfaces to selected TEE functionalities, however, these are not sufficient to securely implement advanced mobile services like banking. Extensive discussion of Intel’s SGX technology in academia and industry has unveiled the demand for an unrestricted use of TEEs, yet no comparable security architecture for mobile devices exists to this day. We propose SANCTUARY, the first security architecture which allows unconstrained use of TEEs in the TrustZone ecosystem without relying on virtualization. SANCTUARY enables execution of security-sensitive apps within strongly isolated compartments in TrustZone’s normal world comparable to SGX’s user-space enclaves. In particular, we leverage TrustZone’s versatile AddressSpace Controller available in current ARM System-on-Chip reference designs, to enforce two-way hardware-level isolation: (i) security-sensitive apps are shielded against a compromised normal-world OS, while (ii) the system is also protected from potentially malicious apps in isolated compartments. Moreover, moving security-sensitive apps from the TrustZone’s secure world to isolated compartments minimizes the TEE’s attack surface. Thus, mutual trust relationships between device vendors and developers become obsolete: the full potential of TEEs can be leveraged. We demonstrate practicality and real-world benefits of SANCTUARY by thoroughly evaluating our prototype on a HiKey 960 development board with microbenchmarks and a use case for one-time password generation in two-factor authentication.
Temporal changes in community structure of tide pools following the "Erika" oil spill

The impact of the " Erika" oil spill on the tidal rock pool community, and particularly on two species of sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus and Psammechinus miliaris), was investigated over a 3-year period, at Piriac-sur- Mer (Department of Loire-Atlantique, France, 47 ◦ 21.6 � N; 2 ◦ 31.7 � W). A dramatic increase in the abundance of two macroalgae Ulva sp. and Grateloupia doryphora occurred following a 100% mortality of sea urchins observed three weeks after the oil spill. The density of sea urchins and of other main herbivores, the periwinkle Littorina littorea and the trochid mollusks Gibbula umbilicalis and Gibbula pennantii, were monitored between January 2000 and March 2003. There was significant inverse relationship between the overall density of herbivores (sea urchins, periwinkles and trochid mollusks) and the percent cover of algae in the tidal pools. The first urchins in the tidal pools were observed two years after the oil spill and it took three years to reach sea urchin densities comparable to the reference value of 63 ind.m −2 obtained before the oil spill.
Effects of Benzo(a)pyrene on the endometrial receptivity and embryo implantation in mice: An experimental study

Abstract Background Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) as an environmental pollutant is ubiquitous in the environment and it has destructive effects on human health. So far, various studies have demonstrated that BaP can cause adverse effects on the female reproductive system, but the existing information is limited about the effects of BaP on the endometrial receptivity and embryo implantation. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of BaP on the endometrial receptivity and implantation in mice. Materials and Methods In this experimental study, 40 pregnant BALB/c mice were divided into 5 groups (n = 8/each) as follows: experimental groups received the doses of 100 µg/kg, 200 µg/kg, and 500 µg/kg BaP dissolved in corn oil, the control group received normal saline and sham group received corn oil. Pregnant mice administered these solutions from Day 1 to Day 5 of gestation by gavage. On Day 6, the mice were sacrificed. Then their embryos were counted and the hormonal, histomorphological and molecular analyses were performed on the mocusa of uterine tube. Results The data revealed that BaP reduces estrogen and progesterone levels, decreases the number of implantation site, endometrium thickness, uterine lumen diameter, stromal cells and endometrial glands, and blood vessels in the endometrium. However, the expression of Activin receptor-like kinase 5 and E-cadherin genes was not changed by BaP with different doses. Conclusion The finding of this study showed that BaP can change estrogen and progesterone levels, and endometrial morphology leads to impairing the endometrial receptivity and decreasing the number of implantation site.
Forest Management Approaches for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation: a Comparison Between Germany and Japan

ABSTRACT Forest management affects carbon sequestration (mitigation) and resilience of forest ecosystems (adaptation) under climate change. Therefore, the efforts to integrate these two approaches have been made by the political arrangements to seek the synergy effects and deal with trade-offs. To study the state of the art linkages and forest policies to realize both adaptation and mitigation, we systematically review the literature highlighting the topic (136 publications) and outline two different approaches from Germany and Japan as countries with substantial forest resources and high influences on international forest policies and wood trade. We identify three linkages: (1) an ecosystem (based) approach assuming that a resilient ecosystem (adaptation), has high potential as a carbon sink (mitigation), (2) a sustainable forest management (SFM) aiming for enhancing forests’ resilience and carbon sink potential simultaneously, and (3) a cross-sectoral approach generating synergies among multiple sectors of agriculture, forestry, urban design, and nature conservation. We find that a significant objective is still SFM for sustaining the forest area andwood production, where SFM examples in Germany and Japan exemplify contributions to carbon sinks and ongoing disaster risk management, respectively. Overall, the current differentiated objectives of SFM do not underpin the twofold approach and their synergy effects.
Inhibition of methane oxidation by ammonium in the surface layer of a littoral sediment

The diffusive flux of CH4 from the sediment into the water was measured in intact sediment cores taken from the littoral of Lake Constance. CH4 fluxes were measured under oxic and anoxic conditions. Emissions under anoxic conditions were used to estimate the potential diffusive flux. The results showed that about 79% of the CH4 diffusing upwards was oxidized at the sediment surface. Kinetic measurements of CH4 oxidation in diluted surface sediment gave Vmax = 1.2 μmol CH4 mlsed−1h−1. This was high enough to explain the oxidation rates calculated from the flux measurements. NH4+ was added to the water overlaying the sediment cores to measure its influence on CH4 oxidation. This treatment resulted in increased concentrations of pore water NH4+ which were measured with a NH4+ microelectrode. Pore water NH4+ concentrations of 20 mM. Measurements of potential NH4+ oxidation rates were below the detection limit of 0.5 nmol NO2− produced mlsed−1 h−1. Thus, the NH4+ oxidizing activity was about 3 magnitudes lower than the CH4 oxidizing activity, and it is unlikely that NH4+ oxidizers are important for CH4 oxidation in this littoral sediment.
Multiple Targets Detection of Linear Frequency-Modulated Continuous Wave Active Sonar Using Fractional Fourier Transform

Abstract In order to improve the detection performance of active sonar and make up for the shortcomings of pulsed active sonar (PAS), linear frequency-modulated continuous wave (LFMCW) was applied in continuous active sonar (CAS). The expression of transmitting waveform was presented, and the echo model of underwater moving targets was established. To detect the LFMCW echoes, the received signal was first demodulated by the transmitting signal, resulting in a de-chirped signal. Unlike radar system, the target velocity of active sonar was not negligible, comparing with the sound velocity in water, and the de-chirped signal was also a LFM signal, whose chirp rate and frequency were related with the velocity and distance of the target. Fractional Fourier Transform (FRFT), a time-frequency analysis method which is generally used to detect and estimate LFM signals, was proposed to detect and estimate the de-chirped signal. In multiple targets situation, “CLEAN” algorithm was proposed to solve the problem of the detection interference from strong targets to weak targets. Simulations show that LFMCW active sonar with the de-chirp-FRFT receiver can get much higher processing gain than conventional PAS with a matched filter (MF) receiver. The resolutions of velocity and distance with the de-chirp-FRFT algorithm fully meets the needs of underwater target detection. The simulation result also shows that the proposed CLEAN algorithm can detect LFMCW multi-target echoes effectively.
Learned backprojection for sparse and limited view photoacoustic tomography

Filtered backprojection (FBP) is an efficient and popular class of tomographic image reconstruction methods. In photoacoustic tomography, these algorithms are based on theoretically exact analytic inversion formulas which results in accurate reconstructions. However, photoacoustic measurement data are often incomplete (limited detection view and sparse sampling), which results in artefacts in the images reconstructed with FBP. In addition to that, properties such as directivity of the acoustic detectors are not accounted for in standard FBP, which affects the reconstruction quality, too. To account for these issues, in this papers we propose to improve FBP algorithms based on machine learning techniques. In the proposed method, we include additional weight factors in the FBP, that are optimized on a set of incomplete data and the corresponding ground truth photoacoustic source. Numerical tests show that the learned FBP improves the reconstruction quality compared to the standard FBP.
Exploring the concept of hostmanship through “50 cups of coffee”

ABSTRACT This article explores how hospitality academics and students understand, interpret and experience hostmanship. Building on a literature review which outlines and discusses the development and definition of hospitality, this exploratory study is framed by an interpretivist approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 46 hospitality academics, staff and students (50 were initially invited). Each individual interview focused on uncovering the individual’s understanding of and attitude towards hostmanship, and was transcribed before being analysed by both researchers in order to identify themes that could be used to investigate the concept of hostmanship. Findings show that a genuine connection, the pro-active behaviour of the host, and surprises led to a welcoming feeling for the guest. An unwelcome feeling was mostly created when protocols and systems were prioritised above the human being and, on occasion, specific, unpleasant behaviour of the host. When people were asked to define hostmanship, the following aspects were mentioned most: being and acting sincerely from the heart, and creating a true connection between people.