Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An enhanced EDCG replica allocation method in ad hoc networks

The maturity of wireless technology has led to an ever-increasing interest in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). Many applications are expected to be developed using MANETs. However, the connectivity among mobile hosts may change due to their mobility which results in frequent disconnections. Thus, data accessibility in MANETs is lower than that in traditional fixed networks. To ensure high data accessibility, most researches utilized replica allocation methods to improve data accessibility in MANETs. We propose a new replica allocation method for allocating replicas with high access frequencies on mobile ad hoc networks.
Low-power wireless communications in the Internet of Things : solutions and evaluations

The Internet of Things (IoT) is already providing solutions to various tasks related to monitoring the environment and controlling devices over wired and wireless networks. It is estimated by several well-known research facilities that the number of IoT devices will be in the order of tens of billions by 2020. This inevitably brings challenges and costs in deployment, management, and maintenance of networks. The focus of this thesis is to provide solutions that mainly help in the deployment and maintenance of various wireless IoT networks. Different applications have different requirements for a wireless link coverage. It is important to utilize suitable radio technology for a particular application in order, e.g., to maximize the lifetime of a device. A wireless body area network (WBAN) typically consists of devices that are within couple of meters from each other. The WBAN is suitable for, e.g., measuring muscle activity and transferring data to a storage for processing. The wireless link can use air as a medium, or alternatively, an induced electric field to a body can be used. In this thesis, it is shown that a location of the electrodes in the body have impact to the attenuation. Home automation IoT applications are typically implemented with mid-range wireless technologies, known as wireless personal area networks (WPAN). In order to minimize and get rid of battery change operations, a wake-up receiver could be utilized in order to improve the device’s energy efficiency. The concept is introduced and performance of the current state-of-theart works are presented. In addition, a control loop enabling a passive device to have control over an energy source is proposed. Applications that have low bandwidth requirements can be implemented with low-power wide area networks (LPWAN). One technology – LoRaWAN – is evaluated, and it is recommended as based on the results to use it in non-critical applications.
Economic valuation of air quality in Kenya

This thesis employs stated preferences to estimate the economic value of air quality in Kenya through motorized emission reductions in the city of Nairobi. Firstly, it uses the contingent valuation (CV) method to evaluate individuals’ preferences associated with motorized emission reductions in the city together with an account of how these preferences are affected by respondent uncertainty. Secondly, it employs the discrete choice experiments (DCEs) to analyze the implicit prices that motor vehicle owners in the city would be willing to pay towards specific motorized emission reduction attributes. Lastly, the thesis examines the relative performance of several DCE models and how best they are able to account for preference variation in the analysis of choice data. Notably, in the contingent valuation framework, three formats are used to draw preferences from individuals, namely, the conventional payment card format, which assumes that respondents are certain about their preferences; the stochastic payment card and the polychotomous payment card formats,
Modified L-type eloran transmitting antenna for co-location with an AM antenna

The modified L-type eLoran (enhanced Long Range Navigation) transmitting antenna is proposed for co-location with an AM transmitting antenna in a limited area. To compensate for the loading effect, the inverted L-type antenna is modified by adding the umbrella-type loading. The AM antenna is co-located with the radiator part and the loading part of the proposed antenna. The simulation results of the eLoran antenna show 1.4 kHz bandwidth and 32.5% radiation efficiency. Also, the validity of the co-location between the AM antenna and the eLoran antenna is verified through the simulation results of the radiation pattern and the antenna coupling. The proposed eLoran antenna can be used with the AM antenna in the same area.
Generalization of the polar representation in time domain fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy for biological applications: practical implementation

The polar representation or phasor, which provides a fast and visual indication on the number of exponentials present in the intensity decay of the fluorescence lifetime images is increasingly used in time domain fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy experiments. The calculations of the polar coordinates in time domain fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy experiments involve several experimental parameters (e.g. instrumental response function, background, angular frequency, number of temporal channels) whose role has not been exhaustively investigated. Here, we study theoretically, computationally and experimentally the influence of each parameter on the polar calculations and suggest parameter optimization for minimizing errors. We identify several sources of mistakes that may occur in the calculations of the polar coordinates and propose adapted corrections to compensate for them. For instance, we demonstrate that the numerical integration method employed for integrals calculations may induce errors when the number of temporal channels is low. We report theoretical generalized expressions to compensate for these deviations and conserve the semicircle integrity, facilitating the comparison between fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy images acquired with distinct channels number. These theoretical generalized expressions were finally corroborated with both Monte Carlo simulations and experiments.
Description sémiotique de contenus audiovisuels

Trois categories d'elements de description du contenu sont necessaires pour la description d'un Document AudioVisuel (DAV) : les objets montres, les procedes de mise en image et les relations diegetiques. L'identification des relations diegetiques (ie celles de l'univers spatio-temporel designe par le recit) ne peut etre automatisee. Les formalismes de la communaute utilisent des descripteurs semantiques difficiles a selectionner puisqu'ils dependent d'elements contextuels interpretes d'apres des connaissances elaborees. Nous choisissons de garder l'homme dans la chaine d'indexation pour repondre a ce constat. Deux elements de reponse sont fournis. Premierement, nous proposons une methode d'indexation semiotique fondee sur l'identification et l'explicitation des signes reifies lors de l'analyse. Pour cela, nous definissions le signe tetraedrique qui est une representation cognitive composee necessairement d'un signifie et d'un signifiant et eventuellement de referents intensionnels et extensionnels. Nous definissions ensuite l'interpretation comme une reecriture semiotique. Les graphes de signes sont proposes comme correlats de l'activite mentale et peuvent etre operationnalises par des schemas (RDF+OWL) servant d'extension a MPEG-7. Deuxiemement, nous preconisons un modele d'interaction operative entre l'homme et le systeme outillant la reification de l'interpretation. Une plateforme pour la construction de graphes de signes fondee sur le paradigme multi-agents permet la construction dynamique et negociee de signes exprimes selon une syntaxe et une grammaire fournie. Des schemas d'interpretation fournissent aux agents des micros interpretations activables en contexte.
Tendon and ligament from the horse: an ultrastructural study of collagen fibrils and elastic fibres as a function of age

A study has been made of the ultrastructural organization of the collagen fibrils and elastic fibres in tendons and ligaments from horses of ages ranging from 2 months premature to 19 years. Diameter distributions of the collagen fibrils in the common digital extensor tendon, the superficial flexor tendon and the suspensory ligament are unimodal in the foetal tissue and at birth, and at these stages of development the three collagenous tissues are virtually indistinguishable. However, at maturity, the ligament and flexor tendon have bimodal distributions similar to that found for rat-tail tendon. The fibril distribution for extensor tendon remains unimodal until the onset of maturity, beyond which the distribution becomes bimodal. Fibril diameter distributions for ligament, extensor and flexor tendon at old age are, as at birth, virtually identical. An estimate has been made of fibrillar collagen content in the three tissues as a function of age. As with rat-tail tendon, the collagen content increases steadily from birth to maturity, at which stage the content remains fairly constant though it does drop slowly with increasing age. The presence of well developed elastic tissue in foetal and immature tendon and ligament shows that the development of the elastic fibres does not parallel the development of the collagen fibrils. In diseased tissues from a 3 year suspensory ligament and an 8.5 year superficial flexor tendon only immature elastic fibres have been observed. Furthermore, since the collagen fibril diameter distributions in these specimens show a marked change from the norm, it would be expected that the mechanical properties of these tissues would be altered significantly.
PENGARUH PERBEDAAN LABA AKUNTANSI DAN LABA PAJAK TERHADAP MANAJEMEN LABA DAN PERSISTENSI LABA

This study was conducted to examine the effect of book tax-differences in indicating the earnings persistence by first testing whether the listed companies manage their earnings to avoid losses. The number of samples used in this study is 79 firms to examine earnings management, and 26 firms to examine earnings persistance. The results show that samples manage their earnings to avoid losses. In addition, it is evident that the deferred tax expense and accruals jointly influence positively on the probability the company do earnings management. Partially large book-tax differences, operating cash flow, earnings and profit effect significantly on earnings persistence. The results also show that companies with large positive-book tax differences are shown to have lower earnings persistence than firms with small book tax differences. Moreover, companies with large positive book-tax differences show that the persistence od accruals for future earnings is lower than small firms with positive book-tax differences.
Sleep‐related memory consolidation in depression: an emerging field of research

Sleep‐related memory consolidation has received increasing attention in recent years. Because previous research has focused on healthy young adults, only very few studies have been conducted in patients with psychiatric disorders so far. The investigation of sleep‐related memory consolidation in depression offers a wide range of future research opportunities and can therefore be regarded as an emerging field of research. This article gives a short overview of current knowledge of sleep‐related memory consolidation in healthy young adults and builds a bridge to psychiatry and depression, where further research is urgently needed. Depression and Anxiety, 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Hamstrung by hamstring strains: a review of the literature*.

The purpose of this paper is to review those studies which have attempted to delineate causative factors of hamstring strains. Anatomy and biomechanics of the hamstring muscle group are reviewed. Mechanisms of injury and various etiological factors are presented. Decreased hamstring muscle flexibility and decreased hamstring muscle strength were factors most frequently studied, yet the relationship of these factors to the incidence of hamstring strains remains unclear. Future studies should seek to test hamstring muscle flexibility and strength under conditions simulating the proposed mechanisms of injury. Results of further research examining decreased hamstring muscle flexibility and strength must be viewed in light of age, levels of maturity, history of previous injury, demands of specific activities, and psychological characteristics of the participants.J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 1984;5(4):184-195.
The Role of Federalism in Malaysian Low-Cost Housing Provision: The Unexplored
 Dimension

Various studies have examined federalism in the context of housing provision around the globe. In Malaysia, the tension between the federal and state governments with regard to low-cost housing (LCH) is yet to be explored. This article presents part of the results of a larger research that reveals the tension between federal and state governments with regard to the provision of LCH through a qualitative approach. LCH targets set by the federal government which manifests in five-year economic plans should be met by the various states. To what extent do policy-makers consider the means with which the various states can meet these LCH targets? The states are expected to find the additional funds to deliver the LCH. Findings show there have been instances of a tussle over land and LCH provision between the federal and state governments. Other aspects of federalism which impact on LCH delivery are presented in this paper.
Efficiency of public policies for financing higher education: a comparative study among Brazil, Canada and China

The research performs the evaluation of the main public policies for financing of higher education (HE) in Brazil, Canada and China, between the period from 2003 to 2012, starting from a gap to be explored concerning the proposition of new public policies with a view to potentially subsidize other existing national systems in the globalized world, taking as a basis practices already carried out in other countries. Therefore, it was conceptualized the Brazilian, Canadian and Chinese HE funding. When it comes to the methodological procedures, the study was designed as an exploratory, quantitative and multi-case research, with bibliographical and documentary data collection, in which 15 public policies were statistically analyzed, from the compound annual growth rate (CAGR), taking into account the investment made and the number of students attended in the period, in order to check the efficiency of each policy. The results showed a series of possibilities to promote the advancement of HE worldwide, with examples of policies that can be replicated to other nations, and, therefore, assist them in their development.
Detection of Power Transformer Winding Deformation Using Improved FRA Based on Binary Morphology and Extreme Point Variation

Frequency response analysis (FRA) has recently been developed as a widely accepted tool for power transformer winding mechanical deformation diagnosis, and has proven to be effective and powerful in many cases. However, there still exist problems regarding the application of FRA. FRA is a comparative method in which the measured FRA signature should be compared with its fingerprint. Small differences of FRA signatures in certain frequency bands might be produced by external disturbance, which hinders fault diagnosis. Additionally, the existing correlation coefficient indicator recommended by power industry standards cannot reflect key information of signatures, namely the extreme points. This paper proposes an improved FRA based on binary morphology and extreme point variation. Binary morphology is first introduced to extract the certain frequency bands of signatures with significant difference. A composite indicator of extreme point variation is adopted to realize the diagnosis of fault level. A ternary diagram is constructed by the area proportions of the binary image to identify winding faults, which has a potential to realize cluster analysis of fault types.
Role of Mrx Fimbriae of Xenorhabdus nematophila in Competitive Colonization of the Nematode Host

ABSTRACT Xenorhabdus nematophila engages in mutualistic associations with the infective juvenile (IJ) stage of specific entomopathogenic nematodes. Mannose-resistant (Mrx) chaperone-usher-type fimbriae are produced when the bacteria are grown on nutrient broth agar (NB agar). The role of Mrx fimbriae in the colonization of the nematode host has remained unresolved. We show that X. nematophila grown on LB agar produced flagella rather than fimbriae. IJs propagated on X. nematophila grown on LB agar were colonized to the same extent as those propagated on NB agar. Further, progeny IJs were normally colonized by mrx mutant strains that lacked fimbriae both when bacteria were grown on NB agar and when coinjected into the insect host with aposymbiotic nematodes. The mrx strains were not competitively defective for colonization when grown in the presence of wild-type cells on NB agar. In addition, a phenotypic variant strain that lacked fimbriae colonized as well as the wild-type strain. In contrast, the mrx strains displayed a competitive colonization defect in vivo. IJ progeny obtained from insects injected with comixtures of nematodes carrying either the wild-type or the mrx strain were colonized almost exclusively with the wild-type strain. Likewise, when insects were coinjected with aposymbiotic IJs together with a comixture of the wild-type and mrx strains, the resulting IJ progeny were predominantly colonized with the wild-type strain. These results revealed that Mrx fimbriae confer a competitive advantage during colonization in vivo and provide new insights into the role of chaperone-usher fimbriae in the life cycle of X. nematophila.
Size constraints and flower abundance determine the number of interactions in a plant /flower visitor web

The number of interactions with flower visitor species differs considerably among insect pollinated plants. Knowing the causes for this variation is central to the conservation of single species as well as whole plant � /flower visitor communities. Species specific constraints on flower visitor numbers are seldom investigated at the community level. In this study we tested whether flower size parameters set constraints on the morphology of the potential nectar feeding visitors and thus determine the number of visitor species. We studied three possible constraints: the depth and width of tubular structures hiding the nectar (nectar holder depth and width) and the size of flower parts that visitors can land on (size of the alighting place). In addition we assess the role of flower abundance on this relationship. We hypothesized that the stronger size constraints and the smaller flower abundance, the smaller the number of visitor species will be. Our study of a Mediterranean plant � /flower visitor community revealed that nectar holder depth, nectar holder width and number of flowers explained 71% of the variation in the number of visitor species. The size of the alighting place did not restrict the body length of the visitors and was not related to visitor species number. In a second step of the analyses we calculated for each plant species the potential number of visitors by determining for each insect species of the local visitor pool whether it passed the morphological limits set by the plant. These potential numbers were highly correlated with the observed numbers (r 2 � /0.5, p B /0.001). For each plant species we tested whether the observed visitors were a random selection out of these potential visitors by comparing the mean of the observed and expected proboscis length distributions. For most plant species the observed mean was not significantly different from the random means. Our findings shed light on the way plant � /flower visitor networks are structured. Knowing the constraints on interaction patterns will be an important prerequisite to formulate realistic null models and understand patterns of resource partitioning as well as coevolutionary processes.
Diseño y puesta en marcha de un banco de medidas de dispersión a frecuencias ópticas

Estudio de la dispersion a frecuencias opticas, de los conceptos relacionados y de los metodos existentes para su medida y caracterizacion. Estudio de las caracteristicas de los dispositivos que forman el montaje basico del metodo de medida MPSM (Modulation Phase Shift Method) y de otros metodos derivados de este. Diseno a partir de los dispositivos disponibles en el laboratorio del D3 de un banco de pruebas de metodos de medida de dispersion a frecuencias opticas. Determinacion del espectro de retardo de grupo y del coeficiente de dispersion de dispositivos caracteristicos a partir del banco de medidas disenado, usando MPSM u otros metodos.
A Clustering Technique Using Dynamic Filtering Concepts and its Application to Computer Workload Modeling

This work describes clustering methods for constructing a reliable classification of data. The underlying scheme is based on qualitative and quantitative measures of similarity in order to create classes. The methods take into consideration the objectives of the classification study that have not been dealt with by previous work. They are computationally efficient and have high classification accuracy. The basic ideas of the presented methods are simple yet effective. They use a control-generate-test strategy, which involves the generation of a set of dynamic filters (concepts) and then testing these concepts on given data vectors (components) for detecting clusters of these components. The SOM (self-organizing map) method and some wellknown clustering techniques are used to show the clustering capability of these methods. In particular, simulation results from the application of these methods to computer workload characterization indicate that the conceptual clustering has a higher potential for producing meaningful categories of the workload components than the traditional clustering methods.
Application of Vortex Induced Vibration Energy Generation Technologies to the Offshore Oil and Gas Platform: The Feasibility Study

 Abstract — Ocean current is always available around the surrounding of SHELL Sabah Water Platform and data are collected every 10 minutes, 24 hours a day, for a period of 365 days. Due to low current speed, conventional hydrokinetic power generation is not feasible, thus leading to the study of low current enabled vortex induced vibration power generation application. In this case, the design of a vortex induced vibration application is studied to obtain an optimum design for the VIV oscillator. Power output is then determined to study the feasibility of the VIV application in low current condition.