Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Virtualized Reconfigurable Resources and Their Secured Provision in an Untrusted Cloud Environment

The cloud computing business grows year after year. To keep up with increasing demand and to offer more services, data center providers are always searching for novel architectures. One of them are FPGAs, reconfigurable hardware with high compute power and energy efficiency. But some clients cannot make use of the remote processing capabilities. Not every involved party is trustworthy and the complex management software has potential security flaws. Hence, clients’ sensitive data or algorithms cannot be sufficiently protected. In this thesis state-of-the-art hardware, cloud and security concepts are analyzed and combined. On one side are reconfigurable virtual FPGAs. They are a flexible resource and fulfill the cloud characteristics at the price of security. But on the other side is a strong requirement for said security. To provide it, an immutable controller is embedded enabling a direct, confidential and secure transfer of clients’ configurations. This establishes a trustworthy compute space inside an untrusted cloud environment. Clients can securely transfer their sensitive data and algorithms without involving vulnerable software or a data center provider. This concept is implemented as a prototype. Based on it, necessary changes to current FPGAs are analyzed. To fully enable reconfigurable yet secure hardware in the cloud, a new hybrid architecture is required.
Current Research Advance on Echinococcosis

Echinococcosis is caused by infection with larva (metacestode) of the tapeworms of the genus Echinococcus . Within genus Echinococcus , two species are known as public health concern worldwide: Echinococcus guanulosus causing cystic echinococcosis (CE) and Echinococcus multilocularis causing alveolar echinococcosis (AE). The co-evaluation due to the interaction between parasites and their hosts has been well known to be able to allow tolerating to maintain parasitism as long as possible. With many research advanced find -ings, scientists have been much interested in using either those molecules from parasites producing due to invading and surviving or those cytokines from hosts responding due to defenses to carry out immunotherapeutic practice that is not only against parasitic infection but also for cancer or other immunological related disorders. Taken advance of knowledge on Echinococcus genome research outcomes, recent attentions regarding the discoveries of targeting antiparasitic drug and/or vaccine were extensively discussed in this review.
Long‐term changes in solar quiet (Sq) geomagnetic variations related to Earth's magnetic field secular variation

The daily amplitude of the solar quiet (Sq) magnetic variation of the horizontal intensity, H, of observatories at low and midlatitudes is analyzed, in search of significant long‐term trends. These trends are expected based on secular variations of the Earth's magnetic field (B) and increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases which can affect Sq for instance through their effect on ionospheric conductivities and E‐region electron concentration. The hourly horizontal geomagnetic field component, H, measured at Apia, Fredericksburg, Hermanus, Bangui, and Trivandrum was analyzed for the period 1960–2000. The solar activity effect was filtered out from the daily Sq amplitude of H, and then linear trends were calculated and compared to trend values obtained from the Coupled Magnetosphere‐Ionosphere‐Thermosphere model. Linear trends were calculated separately for periods of different secular trends in the magnetic field intensity, B. We found significant trends in experimental data for Apia, Fredericksburg, Hermanus, and for the period 1960–1983 for Bangui. There is reasonable quantitative agreement between experimental and simulated trends, and a qualitative agreement with trends expected from the secular trend in B.
Higher Image Retrieval Efficiency Using Color Features

Image retrieval techniques are useful in many image processing applications. Content based image retrieval systems works with whole images and searching is based on comparison of the query. In this paper we present a novel frame work for the color information and achieve higher retrieval efficiency using dominant color feature. An image is partitioned into sub blocks of equal size as a first step. Color of each sub block is extracted by using the RGB color space. A one to one matching scheme is used to compare the query and target images. Minkowski distance is used to retrieving the similar images. The experimental results demonstrate the efficiency of the method.
Shared-data or message passing computing models – A human factor in technical choices

It is an ongoing debate in parallel processing whether sharedor distributed-memory computing models are better, whether shared-data or message passing is preferable. Recent research has shed some more light on the debate, showing that many applications can be supported well in either model (though potentially with some special tuning for the corresponding machine) but that for some applications with more extreme behavior the corresponding machine type and computing model are preferable or even the only feasible solution. Otherwise, what does make people choose one or the other? We investigate the human factor and propose the model that the personality type determines to a large extent personal preferences. The paper discusses the relationship between certain personality types and the programming model. To determine these aspects, we applied the psychological Myer-Briggs-Type-Indicator test on a group of students for whom both programming models were mostly new (i.e. who were not pre-occupied). The results give reasonable evidence for the validity of our proposed model and the relevance of the human factor in technical choices, i.e. that choices are not only/always a matter of which model is “better”.
Southern ( SAIS ) 3-1-2008 Evaluating TAM Antecedents in Saudi Arabia

Antecedents of the technology acceptance model have been the focus of research on user intentions toward, and usage of, new technology. This research has found that in developed countries, the antecedents of the technology acceptance model are valuable predictors of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. These findings can potentially translate into new methods that businesses can implement to improve employee acceptance and use of new systems. The present study investigates whether these same antecedents are significant and valid predictors of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use in developing countries, specifically in Saudi Arabia. The findings indicate that the antecedents of the technology acceptance model do, in fact, apply in Saudi Arabia, and therefore also have implications for businesses in developing countries to improve the user acceptance and use of new technologies.
Seismo-electrics, electro-seismics, and seismo-magnetics for earth sciences

Abstract. The seismo-electromagnetic method (SEM) can be used for non-invasive subsurface exploration. It shows interesting results for detecting fluids such as water, oil, gas, CO2, or ice, and also help to better characterise the subsurface in terms of porosity, permeability, and fractures. However, the challenge of this method is the low level of the induced signals. We first describe SEM's theoretical background, and the role of some key parameters. We then detail recent studies on SEM, through theoretical and numerical developments, and through field and laboratory observations, to show that this method can bring advantages compared to classical geophysical methods.
A General Model of Dynamic Asset Allocation with Incomplete Information and Learning

This paper develops a general and flexible multivariate discrete-time model of dynamic asset allocation with incomplete information and learning in the case of timevarying investment opportunity sets. The state variables are described by a vector autoregression and the investor is assumed to have normally distributed and possibly correlated priors on the values of the state variables. We apply the model to an investor who learns about the mean returns on the market and Fama-French SMB and HML portfolios when the size and value premia disappear (possibly stochastically) over time due to trading by other investors. The portfolio implications are shown to be substantial.
Surface eddy diffusivity for heat in a model of the northwest Atlantic Ocean

Eddies influence the surface heat budget both by modifying the surface heat flux and by the lateral transfer of heat within the surface mixed layer. It is shown that the presence of eddies modifies the surface heat flux in a model of the northwest Atlantic Ocean by more than 100 W m−2 over the Gulf Stream system. The diffusive effect of eddies is then illustrated by comparing two model runs, in the second of which the surface heat flux acts only on large spatial scales and interaction with the mesoscale eddies is suppressed. This second run exhibits finer‐scale structure and tighter thermal fronts than in the fully interactive run. Finally, we estimate the surface eddy diffusivity associated with surface thermal damping from the fully interactive run. The estimated diffusivity takes large values (more than 103 m2 s−1) south of the Gulf Stream and smaller values elsewhere.
ROTATIONAL-TRANSLATIONAL ADDITION THEOREMS FOR VECTOR SPHEROIDAL WAVE FUNCTIONS

Rotational‐translational addition theorems for the vector spheroidal wave functions Ma(i)mn(h; ξ, η, φ) and Na(i)mn(h; ξ, η, φ), i = 1,2,3,4, are derived from those for the corresponding scalar spheroidal wave functions ψ(i)mn(h; ξ, η, φ). A vector spheroidal wave function defined in one spheroidal coordinate system (h; ξ, η, φ) is expressed in terms of a series of vector spheroidal wave functions defined in another spheroidal coordinate system (h′; ξ′, η′, φ′), which is rotated and translated with respect to the first one. These theorems allow a rigorous treatment of boundary value problems relative to time‐harmonic vector field waves in the presence of a system of spheroids with arbitrary orientations. As a special case, general rotational‐translational addition theorems for vector spherical wave functions are also presented.
Relationship between constant strain rate and stress relaxation behavior of polypropylene

A new method based on variable transformation is proposed for the estimation of the constant strain rate tensile test by using a previously introduced concept of viscoelastic response given to the real relaxation stimulus. The time range of the 'good' fitting is 2.5 to 3 times larger than the best results achieved using linear viscoelastic approxi- mations. The theoretical background of the method was elucidated as well.
A Review of Trends for Corrosion Loss and Pit Depth in Longer-Term Exposures

For infrastructure applications in marine environments, the eventual initiation of corrosion (and pitting) of steels (and other metals and alloys) often is assumed an inescapable fact, and practical interest then centres on the rate at which corrosion damage is likely to occur in the future. This demands models with a reasonable degree of accuracy, preferably anchored in corrosion theory and calibrated to actual observations under realistic exposure conditions. Recent developments in the understanding of the development of corrosion loss and of maximum pit depth in particular are reviewed in light of modern techniques that permit much closer examination of pitted and corroded surfaces. From these observations, and from sometimes forgotten or ignored observations in the literature, it is proposed that pitting (and crevice corrosion) plays an important role in the overall corrosion process, but that longer term pitting behaviour is considerably more complex than usually considered. In turn, this explains much of the, often high, variability in maximum depths of pits observed at any point in time. The practical implications are outlined.
MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYZER AND DICTIONARY LOOKUP METHOD

A non-word spell checker for Kannada language is designed and implemented. The spell checker developed, by using morphological analyzer and dictionary lookup method, identifies errors in a given block of text and suggests a list of valid words for each of the erroneous word. The suggested list contains words from the dictionary if they differ from the erroneous word by one edit distance length. It is a multi-threaded tool that employs efficient data structures and allows the user to add new words if they are not available in the dictionary. It has a better Graphical User Interface (GUI) and performs better when compared to the commercially available Spell Checkers.
Comparing OMI-based and EPA AQS in situ NO2 trends: towards understanding surface NOx emission changes

Abstract. With the improved spatial resolution of the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) over earlier instruments and more than 10 years of service, tropospheric NO2 retrievals from OMI have led to many influential studies on the relationships between socioeconomic activities and NOx emissions. Previous studies have shown that the OMI NO2 data show different relative trends compared to in situ measurements. However, the sources of the discrepancies need further investigations. This study focuses on how to appropriately compare relative trends derived from OMI and in situ measurements. We retrieve OMI tropospheric NO2 vertical column densities (VCDs) and obtain the NO2 seasonal trends over the United States, which are compared with coincident in situ surface NO2 measurements from the Air Quality System (AQS) network. The Mann–Kendall method with Sen's slope estimator is applied to derive the NO2 seasonal and annual trends for four regions at coincident sites during 2005–2014. The OMI-based NO2 seasonal relative decreasing trends are generally biased low compared to the in situ trends by up to 3.7 % yr−1, except for the underestimation in the US Midwest and Northeast during December, January, and February (DJF). We improve the OMI retrievals for trend analysis by removing the ocean trend, using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) albedo data in air mass factor (AMF) calculation. We apply a lightning flash filter to exclude lightning-affected data to make proper comparisons. These data processing procedures result in close agreement (within 0.3 % yr−1) between in situ and OMI-based NO2 regional annual relative trends. The remaining discrepancies may result from inherent difference between trends of NO2 tropospheric VCDs and surface concentrations, different spatial sampling of the measurements, chemical nonlinearity, and tropospheric NO2 profile changes. We recommend that future studies apply these procedures (ocean trend removal and MODIS albedo update) to ensure the quality of satellite-based NO2 trend analysis and apply the lightning filter in studying surface NOx emission changes using satellite observations and in comparison with the trends derived from in situ NO2 measurements. With these data processing procedures, we derive OMI-based NO2 regional annual relative trends using all available data for the US West (−2.0 % ± 0.3 yr−1), Midwest (−1.8 % ± 0.4 yr−1), Northeast (−3.1 % ± 0.5 yr−1), and South (−0.9 % ± 0.3 yr−1). The OMI-based annual mean trend over the contiguous United States is −1.5 % ± 0.2 yr−1. It is a factor of 2 lower than that of the AQS in situ data (−3.9 % ± 0.4 yr−1); the difference is mainly due to the fact that the locations of AQS sites are concentrated in urban and suburban regions.
Spatio-temporal variations of sea star Asterias spp. distributions between sea scallop Placopecten magellanicus beds on Georges Bank

Presently 80% of the biomass of sea scallop Placopecten magellanicus on Georges Bank is located within 3 large areas closed to fisheries. Sea stars Asterias spp. , primary predators of scal- lops, are also aggregated within these closed areas. As prey becomes depleted within one scallop bed, sea stars may move to another food source, possibly to another scallop bed. We tested the hypothesis that sea star aggregations moved from one scallop bed to another within the Nantucket Lightship Closed Area (NLCA) on Georges Bank. We video surveyed 204 stations in the NLCA from 1999 to 2006 using a 1.57 km grid-centric systematic sampling design. The center of sea star abun- dance was calculated by averaging the sea star frequency-weighted latitude and longitude for all stations. Using multivariate analysis of variance and all-pairs comparisons (Hotelling's T 2 ), shifts in the center of sea star abundance were determined by assessing if the locations of the 2 aggregations were different. The sea star center of abundance, standard ellipse and 95% confidence ellipse were superimposed on the scallop density distribution maps to determine the spatial overlap. The distrib- utions of sea star aggregations in the NLCA significantly shifted between consecutive years from 1999 to 2006 and overlapped with areas of high densities of scallops. Shifts in the center of abundance reflect changes in distribution possibly resulting from movement, recruitment and mortality. As sea stars aggregate in these areas presumably due to high abundances of scallops, sea star movement between the scallop beds may increase natural mortality rates of the scallop population on Georges Bank.
Anthropometric and Physical Efficiency Characteristics of Candidates Newly Admitted to the Polish Air Force Academy in Dęblin as Aviation Pilot Students

This is an open-access ar cle distributed under the terms of the Crea ve Commons A ribu on Non-commercial License (h p://crea vecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0), which permits use, distribu on, and reproduc on in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and is otherwise in compliance with the license. The objective of the study was to assess the baseline anthropometric parameters and anaerobic effi ciency of military pilot candidates in two successive classes admitted to the Polish Air Force Academy in Dęblin.
Prevention does not always improve patient outcomes—use of a ventilator associated events prevention bundle as a quality metric

Over the last decade, and particularly since the public reporting of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Service’s (CMS) quality based performance evaluation of potentially preventable conditions in hospitalized patients, the incidence of ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) has taken a sharp drop with several institutions in United States reporting a “zero incidence” (1). Lately this discrepancy between VAP rates among quality monitoring reports and the actual care given to patients has widened, and the accuracy of reporting zero VAP has been questioned. While the application of several infection prevention measures, implemented as a “bundled approach” ,with effective implementation, has been viewed to be an effective measure for decreasing the incidence of VAP, the credibility of these reports has been questioned (2-5). Recognizing the formidable challenge of accurately diagnosing VAP and the existing gaps between surveillance and clinical definitions, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2013 shifted its focus to complications related to ventilation, rather than to identifying infection, through the new surveillance definition—ventilator associated events (VAE) (6). VAE includes ventilator-associated complications (VAC), infection-related ventilator-associated complications (IVAC), as well as possible and probable VAP (PVAP).
Precision agriculture approaches in support of ecological engineering for pest management

Applied entomologists have long recognised the role of homogeneous vegetation in pest outbreaks. Such outbreaks can also be brought about by the uniform application of insecticides over large areas. Pesticide applications simplify arthropod communities, impoverish them of many beneficial species and reduce their clustered distribution. Until recently, mechanised largescale crop production systems did not allow for a judicious deployment of insecticides and herbicides at a scale smaller than a field. In the last decade or so, however, new technologies have become available to allow the fine-tuning of inputs in the field, through the implementation of precision agriculture. Precision agriculture, also known as precision or site-specific farming, is a set of management practices that vary inputs spatially within a field. For the purpose of this chapter, precision agriculture is defined as the management of cropping systems at the appropriate spatial and temporal scales based on predicted economic and ecological outcomes. Thus, this definition includes ecological as well as economic criteria, and unlike most definitions also includes the temporal scale so important for insect population management. The major conceptual novelty of this cultural practice is the recognition that there is a great deal of variability within agricultural fields and that this variability results in large yield differences across the field. Accordingly, the general goal of precision agriculture is to vary management inputs in different parts of the field so that crop response (i.e. yield) is optimised. This chapter explores how the efficacy of pest control measures could be improved and adverse environmental impact be minimised by considering the spatial variability in pest occurrence and their habitat. This approach to ecological engineering makes use of new technologies that allow farmers to spatially vary inputs in the field and that are being adopted in precision agriculture. The chapter first considers the ecological effects of plant diversity and pesticide application on the density and population dynamics of insect herbivores, then describes some of the new technologies used in precision agriculture. These technologies include remote sensing (RS), yield monitors (YM), variable rate technology (VRT), global positioning systems (GPS) and geographic information systems (GIS). Finally, the applicability of these technologies, which are now used primarily for crop production, is examined in relation to the management of insect pests and weeds. The results of recent research are used to illustrate how these new tools could be used to optimally arrange crop plants in the landscape in order to reduce pest-inflicted damage. Chapter 8
Effect of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fertilizer Rates on Yield and Yield Components of Shallot (Allium cepa L ) at Gemechis and Daro Labu Districts, West Hararghe Zone

Shallot(Allium cepa L) is one of important cash crop in Ethiopia, The study was conducted at Gemechis and Daro labu districts of West Hararghe zone of Oromia region in 2013 - 2014 cropping season. to determine the optimum level of N and P fertilizer for optimum yield of Shallot yerus variety on soil of Gemechis and Daro labu districts of West Hararghe zone. five level of N , 0, 72, 92. 112 and 132 and six level of P, 0, 160, 180, 200, 220 and 240kg treatment combination were used, Shallot(Allium cepa) ythrus variety was used as test crop. At N value, analysis of variance showed that, none significance difference at plant height, average bulb weight, marketable yield and total yield, where as significance difference found among treatment, on unmarketable yield, but treatment 42 kg N ha- 1 of and 132 kg P ha- 1 was the highest mean with 41.35cm. treatment 132 kg N ha -1 and 240 kg P ha -1 was the highest mean of average bulb weight with 90.5gm at followed by 87.5gm on 92 kg N ha- 1 and 240kg P ha- 1 . treatment 92 kg N ha- 1 and 160 kg P ha- 1 was the highest means of marketable yield 23.0 tone/ha -1 followed 22.6 tone/ha -1 at treatment 92 kg N ha- 1 and 220 kg P ha- 1 of respectively. and the lowest means of marketable yield 21.95 tones ha -1 recorded by treatment 112 kg N ha- 1 and 240 kg P ha- 1 . treatment 92 N kg ha- 1 and 160 kg P ha- 1 was the highest mean of total yield of 23.45 tons ha -1 was obtained. Therefore, 92 kg N ha- 1 N and 160 kg ha- 1 of P fertilizer combination was recommended to the study area and similar agro ecology. Keywords: Allium cepa, average bulb weight, Dap, marketable yield, Shallot, Urea