Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
OFDM Channel Estimation Based on Novel Local Search Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm

A novel Channel Estimation (CE) approach in multi-carrier wireless communication systems, such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) system and Code Division Multiple access (CDMA) via a combination of Local Search (LS) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is proposed in this study. The CE is vital towards overcoming the effect of channel fading, which causes the degradation of the Bit Error Rate (BER) and the jamming of pilot symbols. The CE expressions were derived as an objective function to study the effect of improving BER in MC-CDMA/OFDM for a frequency selective Rayleigh fading environment. The number of particles for each single swarm was used to determine the best fitness solution, and is being computed from an average BER value. The proposed channel estimator was tested under the fast fading channel in a multi carrier communication system with and without interpolation methods. The simulation showed that the proposed CE of the MIMO-OFDM system can significantly result in better BER performance compared with other techniques at different modulation types, mean square error (MSE), Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) values, and channel lengths.
Inter-domain routing stability measurement

Prior inter-domain routing measurements include passive analysis of routing table growth and error injection for convergence measurement. The measurement here is solely based on passive logging of BGP control traffic from measurement points including a major European ISP's backbone networks and some academic networks. Its goal is to understand the failures involved in today's much discussed routing stability issues. As a result, the general status of the Internet reachability and flapping has been observed. Some explanations for the erroneous phenomenon are offered. Though only macro effects from the control plane are measured, part of the future study includes determining work to determine whether these results correlate with the data forwarding plane results.
XMM-NEWTON SURVEY OF LOCAL O VII ?> ABSORPTION LINES IN THE SPECTRA OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

Highly ionized, z = 0 metal absorption lines detected in the X-ray spectra of background active galactic nuclei (AGNs) provide an effective method to probe the hot (T ∼ 106 K) gas and its metal content in and around the Milky Way. We present an all-sky survey of the K &agr; ? > transition of the local O vii absorption lines obtained by Voigt-profile fitting archival XMM-Newton observations. A total of 43 AGNs were selected, among which 12 are BL Lac-type AGNs, and the rest are Seyfert 1 galaxies. At above the 3 &sgr; ? > level the local O vii absorption lines were detected in 21 AGNs, among which 7 were newly discovered in this work. The sky covering fraction, defined as the ratio between the number of detections and the sample size, increases from about 40% for all targets to 100% for the brightest targets, suggesting a uniform distribution of the O vii absorbers. We correlate the line equivalent width with the Galactic coordinates and do not find any strong correlations between these quantities. Some AGNs have warm absorbers that may complicate the analysis of the local X-ray absorber since the recession velocity can be compensated by the outflow velocity, especially for nearby targets. We discuss the potential impact of warm absorbers on our analysis. A comprehensive theoretical modeling of the X-ray absorbers will be presented in a later paper.
Narrow Band EEG Descriptive Parameters during Visual Habituation and Visual-Motor Association in Young Adults

Oscillations, action and postsynaptic potentials in glial-neuronal ensembles integrate the spectral power of EEG and are proposed to be the building blocks of cognitive processes in attuned networks. Hence, we aimed at describing the EEG default mode and its modifications related to habituation and visual-motor association to identify possible biomarkers. The EEG was recorded at rest with closed eyes before and during repeated photo stimulations (RPh) and before (Pre) and during association of RPh with switch pressing (VM-Asso) in 64 healthy adults. The EEG was analyzed using UAM/ INR software, which removes artifacts, identifies the corresponding signals, selects 20 samples from each condition (2-s), applies Welch’s periodogram to calculate the absolute power (AP) of ᵹ, θ, α and β, before and during procedures, computes the AP averages (AAPs), and emits the data to a spreadsheet. Differences in each condition were evaluated using nonparametric tests. Cortical distribution of the AAPs per frequency during either Pre and RPh or VM-Asso was studied using a linear regression model. Delta AAP increased (synchronization or inactivation, I) during habituation and decreased (desynchronization or activation, A) during association. θ decreased (A) with the first stimulation and increased (I) with the subsequent stimulations (slope A/I) with greater synchronization (inactivation) during habituation. α presented A/I in both procedures with prolonged activation during association. β’s AAP increased with RPh and VM-Asso. The spectral power (SP) and its topography are descriptive parameters of habituation and visual-motor association, indicating the predominance of inhibitory neurons in habituation and facilitatory ones in visual-motor response.
Chemical Composition and Functional Properties of Selected Seaweeds from the Kenya Coast

The aim of the study was to determine the chemical and functional properties of five Kenyan seaweed species namely; ( Hypnea musciformis, Eucheuma denticulatum, Laurencia intermedia, Sargassum oligocystum, Ulva fasciata ) as a potential fat replacer in chicken sausage processing. The proximate composition was investigated using the standard AOAC methods, while the nitrogen-free extract (NFE) was determined by weight difference of the proximate components. The seaweeds were analyzed for mineral composition using atomic absorption spectrophotometry while the fatty acid profile was determined by gas chromatography. The water holding capacity and the emulsion capacity of the seaweed were determined using AACC procedures. The highest proximate component was NFE (65.06 %) while the least was crude fat (0.87 %). Among the nine minerals analyzed, calcium was the highest ( 1185.29 mg/100g ) while lead was not detected. Saturated fatty acids (SFA) were the highest with a range of 53.03-71.05 % followed by monounsaturated fatty acids (4.83-17.71%) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (2.75 - 10.13%). The highest emulsifying activity was obtained in Ulva fasciata (75.66 %) and Eucheuma denticulatum (75.69 %) while the lowest was obtained in Sargassum oligocystum (59.19 %). The highest water holding capacity was obtained in Sargassum oligocystum (13.75ml/g) while the lowest was recorded in Eucheuma denticulatum (8.42ml/g) and Ulva fasciata (9.16ml/g). The findings of this study demonstrated the potential of seaweeds in improving the chemical and functional characteristics of processed foods.
Planar four node piezoelectric elements with drilling degrees of freedom

Several new planar four node piezoelectric elements with drilling degrees of freedom are presented. We begin by deriving two families of variational formulations accounting for piezoelectricity and in‐plane rotations. The first family retains the skew‐symmetric part of the stress tensor, while in the second, the skew part of stress is eliminated from the functional. The finite elements derived from two of the variational formulations derived in this paper are investigated. The first element is based on an ‘irreducible’ form, while the other is based on a fully mixed functional, with both stress and electric flux density assumed. Our new elements are shown to be accurate and robust in comparison with a number of existing elements, for several benchmark test problems. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Design and Evaluation of Performance of Cryptography Technique based on DES

Cryptography is an emerging technology which uses the characteristics of human vision to decrypt encrypted images. It does not require cryptography knowledge and complex computation. It also ensures that hackers cannot perceive any clues about a secret image from individual cover images for security concerns. There are many challenges, which one face when design a security model. The requirements of the security model depend upon the type of data to be encrypted. There is main problem to be considered, is the computational speed of the encryption model. There are many security models, which provide high level of security. Such model increases the execution time for encryption. The effectiveness of the algorithms highly depends upon computational time or computational speed. There is a main problem to Mono-alphabetic Cipher, that it can be broken because same plain letters are encoded to same cipher letter and the underlying letter frequencies remain unchanged. This problem can be solved by assigning various cipher letters or symbols to same plain letters. This can be implemented by a poly-alphabetic ciphering and deciphering technique. The proposed method is based on DES and it has similar properties and structure to DES with much smaller parameters. The proposed encryption algorithm takes an 8-bit block of plaintext (example: 10111101) and a 10-bit key as input and produces an 8-bit block of cipher text as output. The proposed decryption algorithm takes an 8-bit block of cipher text and the same 10-bit key used to produce that cipher text as input and produces the original 8-bit block of plaintext. A time effective symmetric key algorithm for small amount of data has been proposed. The performance of proposed technique will be evaluated through text received and computation time. MATLAB R2013a will be used as an implementation platform.
A Novel Approach of Task Allocation based on K-means and QoS in Cloud Environment

: Cloud computing is a paradigm of distributed computing to provide the customers on-demand, utility based computing services. Cloud users aim at providing more reliable, available and updated services to their clients in turn. Since cloud computing stores the data and widely spread resources in the open environment. So the amount of data storage increases quickly. Cloud itself consists of physical nodes in the data centers of cloud providers and there are number of applications that run on cloud which a user uses on a basis of pay per use. Therefore, the system that incurs a cost for the user should function properly . So as to make the system function properly it should have the proper algorithms implemented. In this paper, a load balancing algorithm has been put forward and implemented in CloudSim toolkit andalso simulation results have been computed andanalysed.
Across the “Second Valley of Death”: Designing Successful Energy Demonstration Projects

Technology demonstration projects pose one of the most difficult challenges in energy-innovation policy. They are necessary to build an adequate portfolio of clean-energy options that have the potential to be deployed globally on a massive scale in the coming decades. They require public investment; private investors will not fully fund them. But the federal government’s track record of selecting, funding, and managing these projects is not encouraging. The title of the leading study of the subject, The Technology Pork Barrel (which was published in 1991 and based on projects carried out in the 1970s and early 1980s), conveys its conclusion: Demonstration projects almost inevitably become “technological turkeys. ”1
Preindustrial reconstruction of a perhumid midboreal landscape, Anticosti Island, Quebec

The knowledge of natural disturbance dynamics and preindustrial landscapes is essential to implement sustainable forest management. Recent findings identify the lack of a forest dynamics model, different from the standard cyclic model of Baskerville (1975. For. Chron. 51: 138–140), for balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill. ) ecosystems of maritime eastern Canada. With the use of historical forest maps and dendrochronology, we reconstructed the range of variability of the preindustrial landscape (6798 km2) and inferred on the natural disturbance dynamics of the balsam fir forest of Anticosti Island. The preindustrial landscape was characterized by a forest matrix of overmature softwood stands with inclusions of younger softwood stands ranging from 0.1 to 7837 ha in size. Widespread stand-initiating events were apparently rare in the preindustrial landscape over the last 160 years. Since our results were not well represented by the cyclic model, which predicts the occurrence of a mosaic of stands in differen.
Time Use Elasticity of Substitution Estimates Conditional on Working Time Available

We introduce the demand elasticity of available working time into the model of domestic production in order to show that the limits on discretionary times use may alter the estimates of time use elasticity of substitution good. Our elasticity estimation result for food is 0.50 in Turkey for 2007, which ranges from 0.22 to 0.56 in the literature. However, the elasticity of substitution for food rises up to 0.92 when one considers working time available with all consumption groups, suggesting that households may overcome time scarcity and increase working time by reducing time spent in the leisure, transportation, other and personal care and health categories. This process, in turn, yields good intensive consumption in Turkey. We obtain more robust estimation results by using the opportunity cost of time measurement proposed by Gardes (2016) for Turkish households in 2007. In this work, the Time Use Survey for 2006 is matched with the 2007 Household Budget Survey.
The Ordovician Quebrada Grande Formation, Cordón de Lila (Antofagasta Region, northern Chile): stratigraphicand paleogeographic significance

The Cordon de Lila is located immediately to the south of the Salar de Atacama, in northern Chile. The geology of the Cordon de Lila is characterized by extensive outcrops of Early Paleozoic volcanic and sedimentary rocks (Cordon de Lila Igneous and Sedimentary Complex; CISL) that form the ‘Arco magmatico occidental’ (AMO) which is intruded by a multiple suite of Middle Ordovician to Lower Silurian granitoids. In this contribution we report the results of a sedimentological and paleontological study of a recently discovered 1,600 m thick marine Ordovician sedimentary sequence (Quebrada Grande Formation) which unconformably overlies the CISL. The Quebrada Grande Formation comprises three mayor facies associations. In stratigrafic order, these facies associations are: matrix-supported conglomerates (1), interbedded sandstones and siltstones (2) and clast-supported conglomerates (3). Facies association (1) is interpreted as debris flow deposits accumulated in a proximal marine fan-delta setting while the overlying sandstones and siltstones facies (2) represent open-marine platform deposits. Clast-supported conglomerates (3) are the record of high-energy sedimentary episodes during which coarse sediments reached the distal part of the fan-delta. The detrital fraction of the Quebrada Grande Formation is derived from the erosion of the Cambrian? -Lower Ordovician? CISL volcanic arc, the plutonic roots of the arc and its continental basement. The age of this formation is well constrained by the occurrence of brachiopods (Paralenorthis sp., Monorthis transversa Benedetto, and Mollesella? sp.) near the base and graptolites (Tetragraptus sp. and Cryptograptus? sp.) towards the middle of the succession. Both brachiopods and graptolites indicate an Arenigian to early Llanvirnian (Darriwilian) age. The brachiopod assemblage from Cordon de Lila displays affinities with the Famatina basin fauna of western Argentina. The absence of taxa in common between the AMO and the nearby ‘Faja Eruptiva de la Puna Occidental’ (FEPO) of NW Argentina may result from some kind of environmental barrier or some geographic separation from the Gondwana margin. According to the latter hypothesis, the Quebrada Grande succession developed on the allochtonous Arequipa-Antofalla Terrane.
Effects of Foliar Application Pure Amino Acid and Amino Acid ContainingFertilizer on Broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica) Transplants

The greenhouse experiments were carried out to study the effects foliar application of L-cysteine, L-methionine and Aminoacid fertilizer (AA) on Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) transplants. L-cysteine, L-methionine and AA was applied at three concentrations, 0, 100 and 200 mg L-1 commencing from 20 days after the sowing. Physical and chemical properties of the transplants determined according to the methods described by Tabatabaee. Results showed that L-cysteine at concentrations of 100 and 200 mg L-1 increased the leaf area by 53% and 48%, while methionine and the amino-acid-bearing fertilizer, both at 200 mg L-1, increased the leaf area by 59% and 48% respectively. These percentages are expressed in comparison to the control. L-cysteine at concentrations of 100 and 200 mg L-1 increased the fresh weight of shoots by 50% and 55%, respectively, while methionine at 100 and 200 mg L-1 increased the fresh weight of shoots by 55% and 60% respectively. The amino-acid-bearing fertilizer treatments at a concentration of 200 mg L-1 increased the shoot dry weight of Broccoli seedlings by 38%, L-cysteine at concentrations of 100 and 200 mg L-1 increased the root dry weight by 26% and 60%, methionine at 100 and 200 mg L-1 increased the root dry weight by 31% and 177%. The results showed that methionine at 200 mg L-1 increased chlorophyll by 61%. The amino-acid-bearing fertilizer at a concentration of 200 mg L-1 managed to increase the length of transplants by 30%, compared to the control. Methionine at 100 and 200 mg.L-1 increased the amount of nitrogen in transplanted Broccoli by 36% and 38%.
The Higgs boson and quark compositeness

Considering that each quark is composed of two prequarks it is shown that the recently found Higgs boson belongs to a triplet of neutral bosons, and that there are two quadruplets of charged Higgs-like bosons. The quantum numbers of these bosons are calculated and shown to be associated to a new kind of hypercharge directly linked to quark compositeness. Particularly, the quantum number of the recently found Higgs boson is identified. A chart for quark decays via virtual Higgs-like bosons is proposed. Justifications for quark compositeness are presented.
Effects of Silver Nanoparticles on Seed Germination and Seedling Growth of Radish (Raphanus Sativus L.)

The use of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in a wide range of consumer products has the furthered need to assess its impact on organisms. To date, there have been very few studies examining the effects of AgNPs on plants. This study investigated the impact of AgNPs to seed germination rate, seedling growth, peroxidase (POD) enzyme activity and chlorophyll content of a vegetable plant Raphanus sativus. Results showed that both AgNPs and AgNO3 had no significant effect on seed germination of R. sativus. Root length and root fresh weight was significantly reduced when exposed to 40 mg/L AgNPs or AgNO3. It showed that the toxicity of AgNPs on R. sativus seedling growth is similar to AgNO3. 40 mg/L of AgNPs and AgNO3 significantly increase the activities of POD in R. sativus root and leaf. R. sativus bioassays employed in our experiments provided valuable information concerning the effects of AgNPs on plants. Keywords-raphanus sativus; silver nanoparticles; seed growth; peroxidase; toxicity.
Extragalactic Globular Cluster Populations from High Resolution Integrated Light Spectra

We present a comparison of high-resolution, integrated-light, detailed chemical abundances for Galactic and extragalactic globular clusters in both massive galaxies and dwarf galaxies. We include measurements of Fe, Ca, Si, Na, and Al for globular cluster samples in the Milky Way, M31, Large Magellanic Cloud, and NGC 5128. These and other recent results from our group on M31 and NGC 5128 are the first chemical abundances derived from discrete absorption features in old stars beyond the Milky Way and its nearest neighbors. These abundances can provide both galaxy enrichment histories and constraints on globular cluster formation and evolution.
Diagnostics of Electric Power Equipment by Discriminating Signals Coming from Different Sources

The proposed diagnostic method is based on signal processing procedures applied to information coming from the structure under investigation and generated by both natural and designed stimuli which may also be different in nature. The discrimination of signals acquired by each sensor and coming contemporarily from different sources allows to identify various anomalies in the different parts of the structure. An effective mathematical procedure is proposed with an aim to distinguish the contribution of each source from the entire information collected. After a preliminary calibration performed using designed stimulation, the diagnostic system is applied to apparatuses under normal operating conditions through the following steps: data acquisition by means of sensors and transducers; processing and discrimination of the acquired data using specific analysis software; comparisons of the processed information so as to isolate common characteristics and consequently identify significant diagnostic parameters; data post-processing to recognize a number of belonging classes so as to define the state of the different parts of the structure. The method was applied with slight changes to diagnose a number of different electromechanical structures such as power transformers, circuit breakers, railway components, joints and terminations of MV and HV cables.
Neurological Manifestations of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is associated with different neurological and psychiatric disorders, which are integrated among the extra-intestinal manifestation of this disease. The physiopathology of neurological manifestations of IBD varies among the different kind of complications. The origin and the significance of these manifestations must be understood by clinicians who manage IBD patients. Some of them are related to therapeutic agents. The present chapter consists of a review of the most prevalent neurological and psychiatric disorders associated with IBD. The physiopathology of those entities will also be discussed, as well as the appropriate management for their prevention and treatment.
Guiding the cloud:optimizing the total energy consumption and CO2 emissions by distributing IT workload among worldwide dispersed data centers

Major internet service providers have built and are currently building the world’s largest data centers (DCs), which has already resulted in significant global energy consumption. Energy saving measures from chip to building level have been introduced gradually in recent decades. However, there is further potential for savings by assessing the performance of different DCs on a wider scale and evaluating IT workload distribution strategies among these DCs. This paper proposes a methodology to optimize the electricity consumption and CO2 emissions by distributing IT workload across multiple imaginary DCs. The DCs are modelled and controlled in a virtual test environment based on a building energy simulation (BES) tool (TRNSYS) and a controller tool (Matlab) is used to support testing and tuning of the optimization algorithm. A case study, consisting of the distribution of IT workload across four different types of data centers in multiple locations with different climate conditions, is presented. The case study will illustrate the efficiency of the approach proposed in this paper.