Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
IT ] 1 M ar 2 01 6 Caching Incentive Design in Wireless D 2 D Networks : A Stackelberg Game Approach

Caching in wireless device-to-device (D2D) networks can be utilized to offload data traffic during peak times. However, the design of incentive mechanisms is challenging due to the heterogeneous preference and selfish nature of user termina ls (UTs). In this paper, we propose an incentive mechanism in wh ich the base station (BS) rewards those UTs that share contents w ith others using D2D communication. We study the cost minimizat ion problem for the BS and the utility maximization problem for each UT. In particular, the BS determines the rewarding poli cy to minimize his total cost, while each UT aims to maximize his utility by choosing his caching policy. We formulate the conflict among UTs and the tension between the BS and the UTs as a Stackelberg game. We show the existence of the equilibrium and propose an iterative gradient algorithm (I GA) to obtain the Stackelberg Equilibrium. Extensive simulations are carried out to evaluate the performance of the proposed caching scheme and comparisons are drawn with several basel ine caching schemes with no incentives. Numerical results show that the caching scheme under our incentive mechanism outperfor ms other schemes in terms of the BS serving cost and the utilitie s of the UTs.
Timing of Recent Accelerations of Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica

We have used Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data and sequential Landsat imagery to identify and temporally constrain two acceleration events on Pine Island Glacier (PIG). These two events are separated by a period of at least seven years (1987–1994). The change in discharge between two flux gates indicates that the majority of the increase in discharge associated with the second acceleration originates well inland (>80 km) from the grounding line. An analysis indicates that changes in driving stress consistent with observed thinning rates are sufficient in magnitude to explain much of the acceleration.
Industrial scale detoxification of phycotoxin-contaminated shellfish : myth or reality ?

As early as 1999, the EUROHAB initiative reported an urgent need for research on phycotoxin accumulation, detoxification and biotransformation rates in exploited shellfish species. It also strongly recommended a second objective of developing commercial systems for the cleansing of shellfish once contaminated with toxin. As a result, EU Framework Programs and regional programs funded a series of R & D projects aiming to consolidate our understanding of contamination/detoxification pathways, together with the development of industrial scale detoxification processes and mechanisms. These studies attempted to accelerate the depuration process, for DSP in blue mussels, PSP in Pacific oysters and Manila clams, and ASP in King Scallops. Bulk culture protocols were undertaken for either toxic (Alexandrium, Pseudo-nitzschia) or non-toxic (Skeletonema, Isochrysis) algae to balance the often random nature of toxic episodes, and to fulfil industry requirements for detoxification. Technical improvements were derived from these studies. They included a practical protocol for washing ASP from the edible parts of contaminated scallops, and the manufacture of an algal paste that could be used as detoxification material instead of live cells. Difficulties were experienced with a decrease in Alexandrium or Pseudo-nitzschia toxicity when grown in bulk cultures, and the wide individual variations of shellfish toxin content compromised some experiments. However, supplying non-toxin containing food to these bivalves was confirmed as one of the most efficient means of speeding up detoxification, although the time needed to reach the regulatory level varied according to toxin type and shellfish species.
Durative Complements in the Hakka Verb Copying Construction

This paper provides an analysis of the ambiguous interpretations of the durative complements in the Hakka verb copying construction, schematically represented as ”NP1 V-NP2 V C3”, in terms of the constructional approach and the cognitive approach. This study has the following proposals. First, the interpretation of the durative complement hinges crucially on the aspectual properties of the V-NP2 unit. Second, contrary to what is generally assumed, a verb copying sentence may be ambiguous between the continuity reading and the repetition reading and can be viewed as a case of constructional polysemy. Third, such ambiguities arise due to the interaction between the episodic/generic duality of the V-NP2 unit and the duration/lapse of time duality of the durative complement and are a natural consequence of the gestalt effect. Finally, the varying degrees of markedness of such a sentence, influenced by world knowledge, depend mainly on the compatibility of the V-NP2 unit and the durative complement.
M-money as Conduit for Conditional Cash Transfers in the Philippines

Many developing countries provide conditional cash transfers (CCTs) for their poorest families. In the Philippines, CCT use has expanded rapidly such that in five years the amount of transfers increased by 3,300%, with PHP34 billion (US$801 million) disbursed in 2013. This expansion of deliveries has complicated government logistics. In an effort to reach the poor in all areas of the country, the government partnered with the telecommunication firm Globe’s network of GCash merchants to provide direct cash payouts to CCT beneficiaries. This article investigates the CCT implementation through the cash-based GCash Remit system to determine its effectiveness, efficiency, and security. A cost comparison was done between the GCash Remit mode of CCT delivery and the potential use of noncash mobile money (m-money) platforms already in the market. The study is based on field observations, a randomized survey of 194 CCT beneficiaries, interviews with CCT program implementers and m-money providers, and scrutiny of the tariff data of m-money providers.
Phase II Monitoring of Autocorrelated Polynomial Pro les in AR(1) Processes

In many practical situations, the quality of a process or product can be characterized by a function or pro le. Here, we consider a polynomial pro le and investigate the e ect of the violation of a common independence assumption, implicitly considered in most control charting applications, on the performance of the existing monitoring techniques. We speci cally consider a case when there is autocorrelation between pro les over time. An autoregressive model of order one is used to model the autocorrelation structure between error terms in successive pro les. In addition, two remedial methods, based on time series approaches, are presented for monitoring autocorrelated polynomial pro les in phase II. Their performances are compared using a numerical simulation runs in terms of an Average Run Length (ARL) criterion. The e ects of assignable cause and autocorrelation coe cient on the shape of pro les are also investigated.
Grid Global Behavior Prediction

Complexity has always been one of the most important issues in distributed computing. From the first clusters to grid and now cloud computing, dealing correctly and efficiently with system complexity is the key to taking technology a step further. In this sense, global behavior modeling is an innovative methodology aimed at understanding the grid behavior. The main objective of this methodology is to synthesize the grid's vast, heterogeneous nature into a simple but powerful behavior model, represented in the form of a single, abstract entity, with a global state. Global behavior modeling has proved to be very useful in effectively managing grid complexity but, in many cases, deeper knowledge is needed. It generates a descriptive model that could be greatly improved if extended not only to explain behavior, but also to predict it. In this paper we present a prediction methodology whose objective is to define the techniques needed to créate global behavior prediction models for grid systems. This global behavior prediction can benefit grid management, specially in áreas such as fault tolerance or job scheduling. The paper presents experimental results obtained in real scenarios in order to valídate this approach.
Simulation of the interaction of galactic cosmic ray protons with meteoroids: On the production of 3H and light noble gas isotopes in isotropically irradiated thick gabbro and iron targets

Abstract— Thick spherical targets, one made of gabbro (R = 25 cm) and one made of iron (R = 10 cm), were irradiated isotropically with 1.6 GeV protons at Laboratoire National Saturne (LNS)/Saclay to simulate the interactions of galactic cosmic ray protons with meteoroids in space. At various depths, both artificial meteoroids contained a large number of high‐purity, single‐element target foils and chemical compounds of up to 28 target elements. In these individual target foils, the elemental production rates of radionuclides and noble gas isotopes were measured. Here, we report the results for the light noble gas isotopes 3,4He, 20,21,22Ne, and 36,38,39Ar for the most cosmochemically relevant target elements as well as for some meteoritic material from Jilin, Farmington, and Cape York. From 3He analyses done several years apart, 3H diffusive losses during sample storage have been obtained, and direct as well as cumulative 3He production rates for O, Mg, Al, Si, Fe, Ni, and the meteoritic material are given. Losses by diffusion of tritium from metallic Mg and Fe are found to occur on time scales of months, while metallic Al, Si, and stone meteorites are much more retentive. The production rate ratios P(3H)/P(3He)d obtained in the simulation experiments are 0.73, 1.28, and 1.16 for O, Al, and Si, respectively. These rates are based on our best knowledge about the 3H and 3He production rates and should, therefore, replace data published earlier (Leya et al. 2000a). The earlier calculations for 4He, 20,21,22Ne, and 36,38,39Ar remain valid.
An Overview of Branding and Packaging Of a Company Product (A Case Study of British American Tobacco Company Zaria)

In this research, an overview of branding and packaging of a company product was examined because of its perceived indispensable role in business and marketing for the smooth running of company. A number of studies have been carried out on branding and packaging. This study has identified a knowledge gap which concerns the nexus between the company and the consumers, since this study will direct focus on consumers and the company, are company stands to better from the study. The company will know where it has problems and from the findings she can mend the problems. There is need to continually evaluate the materials being used in packaging since the relative cost and benefits of alternative materials is over hanging.
Nominalisation as Racialisation in the Italian Press 1

In this article we discuss the language used by the Italian media to refer to immigrant and other minority groups. In particular, we focus on one linguistic device commonly used when referring to minorities, namely, the use of nominalised forms of ethnic, nationality or religious-based adjectives, which leads to talk of 'the Romanian', 'the Muslim', and so on. We show that such nominalisation has recently become the subject of criticism both from courts and from journalists' associations. We consequently examine a corpus of articles drawn from the two main Italian dailies, La Repubblica and Il Corriere della Sera, from 1992 onwards. Whilst we find no global trends, we find that some references - to Romanians, Albanians, and 'islamici' - have become more nominalised over time, at least in La Repubblica. Trends in nominalisation for Il Corriere are stable or declining, but start from a higher rate. Based on these results, we argue that la Repubblica is catching up with a pattern of prejudicial coverage which is likely to date back to before 1992.
Detection of Chalara fraxinea in common ash (Fraxinus excelsior) using real time PCR

Summary A real time PCR assay was developed for the detection of Chalara fraxinea in common ash. PCR primers and Taqman probes, based on the internal transcribed spacer region of the multi-copy gene rDNA, were tested for specificity and sensitivity. The primers amplified an 81 bp fragment for C. fraxinea but did not amplify DNA from other Chalara species or from other fungi isolated from ash, whether pathogenic or saprophytic. The limit of detection was 5 pg of genomic DNA per PCR. Moreover, naturally-infected samples were correctly diagnosed. A procedure for DNA extraction from woody tissues using an electric drill yielded DNA of an appropriate quality for real time PCR. This molecular method could be useful for routine analysis of this emergent pathogen and for epidemiological studies.
EFFECT OF DEPOSITION TIME ON THE STRUCTURAL AND OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF MOLYBDENUM CHALCOGENIDES THIN FILMS

Molybdenum chalcogenides, specifically molybdenum selenide, MoSe2 and molybdenum sulphide, MoS2 thin films have been successfully deposited onto indium-tin-oxide (ITO) coated glass substrates and stainless steel substrates by electrodeposition technique. The effects of the deposition time on the growth, structural and optical properties of the films were then studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns have confirmed the polycrystalline rhombohedral MoSe2 and hexagonal MoS2 phase formation. The results show that the intensity of XRD peaks for these materials increases with the increase of deposition time. UV -VIS spectrophotometric measurement revealed that the optical band gap values of the thin films decreased with the increase of deposition time and lie in the range from 1.12 – 1.22 eV for MoSe2 and 1.65 – 1.74 eV for MoS2 thin films. Surface morphology studies by scanning electron microscopy showed uniform and continuous thin film with layered structure surface.
Perylenes as sensitizers in hybrid solar cells: how molecular size influences performance

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs), one kind of hybrid solar cells, are being intensively developed due to their high efficiency and low cost. One of the main factors to improve the efficiency is the minimization of the recombination of holes and electrons at the TiO2/dye/electrolyte interface. To suppress the charge recombination, dye arrangement on the TiO2 surface plays the pivotal role in DSCs. Herein we report three perylene sensitizers of various molecular sizes, which are derived from the introduction of different groups in the 1,6-positions of the perylene core. The same donor (di-p-tert-octylphenylamino) and acceptor (anhydride) moieties in these perylene sensitizers render them highly similar spectroscopic and electrochemical properties, which can be used to compare the effect of the dye-loading on the TiO2 surface, namely, the photovoltaic performance as a function of the sensitizer size. These results will help in better understanding the complex relationship between the molecular size and the device performance.
Application of simulated tempering and magnetizing to a two-dimensional Potts model

We apply the simulated tempering and magnetizing (STM) method to the two-dimensional three-state Potts model in an external magnetic field in order to investigate STM’s applicability further. The temperature and the external field are treated as dynamical variables updated during the STM simulations. On the basis of adequate information obtained by STM for several lattice sizes L × L (up to 160×160), we also perform a number of conventional canonical simulations of larger lattices in order to illustrate the crossover behavior of the Potts model in an external field with increasing L. The temperature and external field for the larger lattice size simulations are chosen by extrapolation of the detailed information obtained by STM. We present a careful analysis of the crossover-scaling behavior at the phase transitions with respect to the lattice size as well as the temperature and external field. The crossover behavior is clearly observed in the simulations in agreement with theoretical predictions.
How Sensitive are Japanese Firms to Earnings Risk? Evidence from Cash Holdings

We investigate the hypothesis that cash balances have a precautionary motive and serve to mitigate the volatility of operating earnings, which we use as a proxy for risk. Our results show that cash holdings are positively associated with firm level risk, but negatively related to industry risk. Consistent with previous findings, cash holdings are decreasing with the firm's size and debt ratio, and increasing with its profitability, growth prospects, and dividend payout ratio. The precautionary motive for holding cash is investigated by analyzing different cases under which cash shortfalls have different cost implications. The results show that keiretsu affiliated firms hold less cash and are less risk sensitive. There is also evidence that financial constraints reduce the incentives to mitigate earnings risk. Finally, we show that bank-controlled firms and highly leveraged firms increased their sensitivity to earnings volatility as the condition of Japanese banks deteriorated after 1998. Overall, our results strongly support the precautionary motive for holding cash and underline the importance of corporate risk mitigation.
Host-parasitoid persistence over variable spatio-temporally susceptible habitats: bottom-up effects of ephemeral resources

We experimentally and theoretically investigated the persistence of hosts and parasitoids interacting in a metapopulation structure consisting of ephemeral local patches (MELPs). We used a host–parasitoid system consisting of necrophagous Diptera species and their pupal parasitoids. The basal resources used by the host species were assumed to be ephemeral, supporting only one generation of individuals before completely disappearing from the environment. We experimentally measured the host–parasitoid persistence and the effects of local demographic processes in two scenarios: 1) constant occurrence of basal resources at a single site (no dispersion or colonization of other sites) and 2) variable occurrence of basal resources between two sites (colonization of a new patch requiring species dispersal). The experimental setup and findings were then formalized into a mathematical model describing the interaction dynamics in a MELP structure. We evaluated the contribution of several factors to the host–parasitoid coexistence, such as resource allocation probability (probability of resource appearance in a site), variation in resource size and number of sites available to receive resources in the MELP. We found that demographic fluctuations and environmental stochasticity affected the density of migrants, patch habitat connectivity, persistence and spatial distribution of interacting species.
of a-Tubulin Constrains Protofilament Number in Native Microtubules

Background: Microtubules are built from linear polymers of a-b tubulin dimers (protofilaments) that form a tubular quinary structure. Microtubules assembled from purified tubulin in vitro contain between 10 and 16 protofilaments; however, such structural polymorphisms are not found in cells. This discrepancy implies that factors other than tubulin constrain microtubule protofilament number, but the nature of these constraints is unknown. Results: Here, we show that acetylation of MEC-12 a-tubulin constrains protofilament number in C. elegans touch receptor neurons (TRNs). Whereas the sensory dendrite of wildtype TRNs is packed with a cross-linked bundle of long, 15-protofilamentmicrotubules,mec-17;atat-2mutants lacking a-tubulin acetyltransferase activity have short microtubules, rampant lattice defects, and variable protofilament number both between and within microtubules. All-atom molecular dynamics simulations suggest a model in which acetylation of lysine 40 promotes the formation of interprotofilament salt bridges, stabilizing lateral interactions between protofilaments and constraining quinary structure to produce stable, structurally uniform microtubules in vivo. Conclusions: Acetylation of a-tubulin is an essential constraint on protofilament number in vivo. We propose a structural model in which this posttranslational modification promotes the formation of lateral salt bridges that fine-tune the association between adjacent protofilaments and enable the formation of uniform microtubule populations in vivo.
ACHIEVING AND VERIFYING ULTRA-LOW PHOSPHORUS FOR WASTEWATER DISCHARGE OR REUSE

According to the USEPA’s Nutrient Pollution website, “nutrient pollution is one of America's most widespread, costly and challenging environmental problems, and is caused by excess nitrogen and phosphorus in the air and water” [USEPA (2013)]. Phosphorus (P) in the water increases algae growth, which can kill off the waterway’s plant and animal life, produce harmful dioxins when disinfected for drinking water, and create a decline in the tourism, fishing, and real estate industries. To combat this problem, several areas in the U.S. now, or will soon, require low levels of phosphorus in the effluent of wastewater plants discharging to state waterways. One such example of this is the Cahaba River basin in Alabama; wastewater plants discharging more than 1 MGD (3,788 m 3 /day) into this river - or tributaries feeding it - will be required to meet an average monthly total phosphorus limit of 0.043 mg/l by 2022. To determine how to consistently meet these low phosphorus limits, a pilot study was conducted in December of 2012 at the Buxahatchee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Calera, AL. The main plant processes are a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) secondary system and a cloth media filtration (CMF) tertiary system. To achieve the required ultra-low phosphorus level, a sidestream of the filter effluent was passed through an ultrafiltration (UF) pilot unit. This paper describes the system parameters required to obtain ultra-low effluent phosphorus levels. In addition, some of the challenges encountered in the study are discussed, along with how these challenges were overcome.
Large-scale water balance indicators for different pruning dates of tropical wine grape

The objective of this work was to develop and apply water balance indicators to be scaled up in the wine grape ( Vitis vinifera ) growing regions of the municipalities of Petrolina and Juazeiro, in the states of Pernambuco and Bahia, respectively, Brazil, simulating different pruning dates along the year. Previous energy balance measurements were used to relate the crop coefficient (Kc) with the accumulated degree‑days (DDac). This model was applied to scale up the water balance indicators during the growing seasons. When irrigation water was available, the best pruning periods were from May to July, due to the better natural thermal and hidrological conditions. More care should be taken for pruning done in other periods of the year, regarding the effect of increasing thermal conditions of wine quality. The water balance indicators, both successfully developed and applied, allow large‑scale analyses of the thermohydrological conditions for wine grape production under the semiarid conditions of the Brazilian Northeast.