Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Smartphone log data in a qualitative perspective

Log data from smartphones have primarily been used in large-scale research designs to draw statistical inferences from hundreds or even thousands of participants. In this article, we argue that more qualitatively oriented designs can also benefit greatly from integrating these rich data sources into studies of smartphones in everyday life. Through an illustrative study, we explore a more nuanced perspective on what can be considered “log data” and how these types of data can be collected and analysed. A qualitative approach to log data analysis offers researchers new opportunities to situate smartphone use within people’s practices, norms, and routines. This is of relevance both to studies focusing on smartphones as cultural objects in everyday life and studies that use such devices as proxies for social behaviour more generally. We argue that log data, for instance in in-depth interviews, may serve as cues to instigate discussion and reflection as well as act as resources for contextualizing and organizing related empirical material. In the discussion, the advantages of a qualitative perspective for research designs are assessed in relation to issues of validity. Further perspectives on the promises of log data from various devices are proposed.
Self-Noise in Synchronizers

Synchronization of narrow-band data signals is plagued by self-noise arising from the randomness of the data stream. The disturbance can be resolved into in-phase and quadrature components with respect to the recovered carrier or clock. Only the quadrature component necessarily contributes to phase jitter of the recovered reference. Spectrum of the quadrature component, in many cases, vanishes at the reference frequency. Circuit precautions are needed to avoid cross coupling the in-phase disturbance into phase jitter.
Open Access Initiatives in India: an Evaluation

Developing countries have embraced open access with a view to promoting visibility of research done in these regions. Open access initiatives described in this paper are based on interviews with information professionals responsible for creation and maintenance of online research repositories in India. Open access journals, e-print archives and e-theses repositories are covered with an emphasis on the sciences including the physical sciences, mathematics and the biomedical sciences. Existing repositories were identified from the Registry of Open Access Repositories located at http://archives.eprints. org. Key contacts were facilitated by well-known local open access advocates. Participants were contacted by e-mail and sites visited wherever possible. Many universities in India are at present lacking in infrastructure for establishing institutional repositories, so most of the institutions visited were research institutes and informatics centres. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to ascertain the background of participants, institutional culture, software selection, nature of funding, submission policies and future plans of these repositories. Also covered were promotion methods, user feedback and institutional support. Barriers to setting up institutional repositories are identified in this paper. Special features are described. Based on participant feedback a list of best practices is presented. The study has definite implications for the role of Canadian librarians in the promotion of Canadian research.
Classification of wetland vegetation by texture analysis methods using ERS-1 and JERS-1 images

Images obtained by the C-band (5.3 GHz, 5.7 cm) VV-polarized ERS-1 SAR and the L-band (1.275 GHz, 23.5 cm) HH-polarized JERS-1 SAR were analyzed for the classification of wetland vegetation types. Both scenes were obtained when the wetland vegetation was at the maximum biomass stage. The authors applied texture analysis method using the cooccurrence matrix to classify the vegetation of the Kushiro mire. The result of the classification was evaluated comparing with the result using the SPOT data. As a result, it is shown that several texture features of SAR images are useful for the wetland vegetation classification. The authors especially demonstrate that the bog and the fen vegetation in the wetland can be segregated using JERS-1 image, and also the swamp forest can be delineated from the fen vegetation using ERS-1 image. <<ETX>>
Students' Perceptions of Technology Use in College Courses

Seven hundred twenty-eight undergraduate and graduate students completed a questionnaire on the use of technology in one of their courses. Twenty courses, representing a wide range of academic disciplines, that used computer-based technologies in some way were included in the sample. Likert and open-ended items were used to assess the students' perceptions of the relative benefit of various types and uses of technology on their learning of course-related materials. Students were generally very positive about the use of technology, with no major differences across class-level (freshman to graduate). Although still positive about the use of technology, females rated the use of technology for learning and classroom instruction somewhat lower than their male peers. Several interesting connections were found between learning preferences of students and their evaluation of various uses of technology. Responses to the open-ended items corroborate and elucidate these general findings.
Aggregates of alternate amphiphilc polyanion to carry zwitterionic drug in aquedous media

The effect of amphiphilic polyanion Poly(maleic acid-alt-octadecene)sodium salt on solubility of a zwitterionic drug (ampicillin trihydrate) in aqueous media was evaluated. This polymeric salt was obtained by an equimolar reaction of parent copolymer poly Poly(maleic acid-alt-octadecene)with an aqueous solution of NaOH. The obtained amphiphilic polyanion was purified by dialysis and lyophilization and was characterized by FTIR spectroscopy. Secondly, a method for the model drug quantification by UV spectrophotometry at 37°C was standardized. Also the grade of association drug-polymer in aqueous media using ultrafiltration methodology at three levels of temperature (20, 30 and 40°C) and two levels of pH (1.2 and 7.4) was determined. Finally, the variation of aqueous solubility of ampicillin trihydrate in ultra-pure water and two buffer media with pH of 1.2 and 7.4 with an ionic strength of 0.15 M at 37°C in presence and absence of amphiphilic polyanion was evaluated. It was found that maximum solubility is reached at a pH value of 1.2 in absence of polymeric material with a value of 36 mg/mL, which diminishes dramatically to a value of 8.3mg/mL when the polyanion is added. In the other side, when the system has a pH value of 7.4, the drug solubility slightly increases from 13 to 16mg/mL in presence of polymeric material, describing that solubility of this kind of drugs is strongly influenced by aqueous media and this type of polymeric materials.
Partially heterogeneous tests for Granger non-causality in panel data

The power of Granger non-causality tests in panel data depends on the type of the alternative hypothesis: feedback from other variables might be homogeneous, homogeneous within groups or heterogeneous across different panel units. Existing tests have power against only one of these alternatives and may fail to reject the null hypothesis if the specified type of alternative is incorrect. This paper proposes a new Union-Intersections (UI) test which has correct size and good power against any type of alternative. The UI test is based on an existing test which is powerful against heterogeneous alternatives and a new Wald-type test which is powerful against homogeneous alternatives. The Wald test is designed to have good size and power properties for moderate to large time series dimensions and is based on a bias-corrected split panel jackknife-type estimator. Evidence from simulations confirm the new UI tests provide power against any direction of the alternative.
Camera Pose Revisited -- New Linear Algorithms

Camera pose estimation is the problem of determining the position and orientation of an internally calibrated camera from known 3D reference points and their images. We briefly survey several existing methods for pose estimation, then introduce four new linear algorithms. The first three give a unique linear solution from four points by SVD null space estimation. They are based on resultant matrices: the 24×24 method is the raw resultant matrix, and the 12 × 12 and 9 × 9 methods are compressed versions of this obtained by Gaussian elimination with pivoting on constant entries. The final method returns the four intrinsic solutions to the pose from 3 points problem. It is based on eigendecomposition of a 5 × 5 matrix. One advantage of all these methods is that they are simple to implement. In particular, the matrix entries are simple functions of the input data. Numerical experiments are given comparing the performance of the new algorithms with several existing algebraic and linear methods.
Simulations, Games, and Experience-Based Learning: The Quest for a New Paradigm for Teaching and Learning

This article provides an overview of the evolution of experiential instruction theory and practice from its popular emergence in the late 1960s through the present period. Simulations, games, and other experience-based instructional methods have had a substantial impact on teaching concepts and applications during this period. They have also helped to address many of the limitations of traditional instructional methods, seven of which are discussed in the article. In addition to influencing classroom instruction, experiential methods have come to provide a pervasive and largely taken-for-granted foundation for a wide range of endeavors across many fields. Still, many of the limitations of the classic paradigm continue as vital and largely unresolved challenges today, and there remains much important work to be done to translate insights about experience, teaching, and learning into common practice.
Phosphate as a control on schwertmannite stability, iron mineralogy and anaerobic biogeochemistry in acid-sulfate systems

Phosphate as a control on schwertmannite stability, iron mineralogy and anaerobic biogeochemistry in acid-sulfate systems 3 which thereby causes microbial Fe(III)-reduction to outcompete microbial SO4 2-reduction. Vivianite became increasing important as PO4 3loading increased. In the abiotic, Fe(II) rich schwertmannite system, sorption of PO4 3triggered rapid partial transformation of schwertmannite to a micro-crystalline Fe(III) oxyhydroxide. Following Fe(II) addition, PO4 3loading determined the extent of more crystalline mineral formation (i.e. lepidocrocite and goethite), with PO4 3inhibiting schwertmannite transformation. This experiment shows, for the first time, that PO4 3has contrasting effects on schwertmannite stability, whereby it both induces and inhibits schwertmannite transformation depending on environmental conditions. Under all three experimental settings, PO4 3remained bound to the solid-phase, reflecting its strong affinity for schwertmannite.
Interdependence of balance mechanisms during bipedal locomotion

Our main interest is to identify how humans maintain upright while walking. Balance during standing and walking is different, primarily due to a gait cycle which the nervous system must contend with a variety of body configurations and frequent perturbations (i.e., heel-strike). We have identified three mechanisms that healthy young adults use to respond to a visually perceived fall to the side. The lateral ankle mechanism and the foot placement mechanism are used to shift the center of pressure in the direction of the perceived fall, and the center of mass away from the perceived fall. The push-off mechanism, a systematic change in ankle plan-tarflexion angle in the trailing leg, results in fine adjustments to medial-lateral balance near the end of double stance. The focus here is to understand how the three basic balance mechanisms are coordinated to produce an overall balance response. The results indicate that lateral ankle and foot placement mechanisms are inversely related. Larger lateral ankle responses lead to smaller foot placement changes. Correlations involving the push-off mechanism, while significant, were weak. However, the consistency of the correlations across stimulus conditions suggest the push-off mechanism has the role of small adjustments to medial-lateral movement near the end of the balance response. This verifies that a fundamental feature of human bipedal gait is a highly flexible balance system that recruits and coordinates multiple mechanisms to maintain upright balance during walking to accommodate extreme changes in body configuration and frequent perturbations.
Intestinal helminthiasis and human/environmental factors among primary school pupils in Okuzu-Oba, Anambra State, Nigeria

Intestinal helminthiasis, a health problem in the developing world; is due to factors that promote their survival and transmission, with children at the highest risk. Using direct wet preparation and Formol-Ether concentration techniques; survey carried out revealed an overall prevalence rate of 34.8%. These parasites were identified with their corresponding rates: hookworms – 26.8%, Ascaris lumbricoides – 9.4%, Strongyloides stecoralis – 1.7%, Trichuris trichura – 1.7%, Enterobius vermicularis – 0.7% and Giardia lamblia – 0.7%. A sample size of 138 pupils including 74 male and 64 females, of whom 35.1% and 34.8% were infected respectively. Four age groups: 4 – 6, 7 – 9, 10 – 13 and 14 – 16 had infection rates of: 33.3%, 26.7%, 42% and 25% respectively, with significant difference among the age groups (P>0.05). Sources of drinking water included bore-hole and stream/river, with infection rates according to the sources as: 41.3% and 21.7% respectively, difference highly significant (P>0.01). Drinking water purification by boiling was analyzed and 16.7% of those who did were infected while 35.6% of those who did not purify were infected, difference highly significant (P>0.01). Infection rates according to toilet facility type at home were: 50% for no toilet, 41.2% for water closet and 33.6% for pit toilet owners. Toilet facility at home notwithstanding, some prefer to defecate in the bush of whom 56.7% were infected, while 30.8% of those who use toilet facility at home were infected, difference highly significant (P>0.01). This research showed high prevalence rate, poor sanitary conditions and lack of good water supply. Health education, Mass chemotherapy and provision of good water are recommended.
Effect of Flax Seed Oil on Acute Carbon Tetrachloride-induced Hepatic Injury and Determination of Hepatic Apoptosis in Rats

Aims: The present study was designed to evaluate the hepatoprotective activity of flaxseed oil (FSO) on liver lesions induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) in rats by measurement of caspase 3, 8 and 9 activities in cellular apoptosis, ALT activities, triglyceride, total protein, total cholesterol and liver MDA levels. Place and Duration of Study: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Pathology, Erciyes University, Kayseri, between June 2017 and July 2018. Methodology: In this study 32 male Wistar albino rats were divided into four groups of 8 animals in each. The first group was identified as the control and received an intraperitoneal 0.9% NaCl and the second group was given per os at dose of 4 ml/kg FSO for 4 weeks. The third group received an intraperitoneal dose of 1.0 ml/kg CCl4 twice in the first week. The fourth group received an intraperitoneal dose of 1.0 ml/kg CCl4 twice in the first week and simultaneously 4 ml/kg FSO by gavage for 4 weeks. Results: Histopathological examination of CCl4 group showed intense macro and micro vesicular steatosis in hepatocytes, necrosis, lymphocytes rich mononuclear cell infiltration in portal area and parenchyma. The flaxseed oil application did not ameliorate the histological changes induced by CCl4, however reduced the activity of caspase 3, 8 and 9 by a limited number. CCl4 administration produced significantly elevated levels of serum ALT activity, total cholesterol, triglyceride and liver MDA levels, and these increases were not normalized with FSO treatment. In addition, decreased serum total protein levels in CCl4 treated group were ameliorated by FSO application. Conclusion: The results indicate that the antioxidant properties of FSO do not have an ameliorative effect in either the histopathological lesions or biochemical parameters against CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. In addition, it was concluded that duration‐dependent further research results are needed to determine the effects of flaxseed oil in high doses that can give the best results without side effects.
A low-power CMOS time-to-digital converter

A time-to-digital converter, TDC, with 780 ps lsb and 10-/spl mu/s input range has been integrated in a 1.2-/spl mu/m CMOS technology. The circuit is based on the interpolation time interval measurement principle and contains an amplitude regulated crystal oscillator, a counter, two pulse-shrinking delay lines, and a delay-locked loop for stabilization of the delay. The TDC is designed for a portable, low-power laser range-finding device. The supply voltage is 5/spl plusmn/0.5 V, and the operating temperature range is -40 to +60/spl deg/C. Single-shot accuracy is 3 ns and accuracy after averaging is /spl plusmn/120 ps with input time intervals 5-500 ns. In the total input range of 10 /spl mu/s, the final accuracy after averaging is /spl plusmn/200 ps. Current consumption is 3 mA, and the chip size is 2.9 mm/spl times/2.5 mm. >
Signaling over high-speed optical intersatellite links

Pulse-position modulation (PPM) has long been considered by NASA for some deep-space and intersatellite communication applications. As the demand for increased throughput increases, however, it has become apparent that PPM is rather inefficient, and that alternative modulation schemes should be investigated. The authors investigate the throughput and error-probability performances of various modulation schemes, including PPM, overlapping PPM (OPPM), multi-pulse PPM (MPPM) and on-off keying (OOK). <<ETX>>
Low birth weight and its sociodemographic correlates: a descriptive study from medical college hospital, Maharashtra

Background: Low birth weight is one of the most serious challenges in maternal and child health in both developed and developing countries. According to a UNICEF report about 28 per cent of babies born in India are low birth weight. Present hospital based study was undertaken to estimate the proportion of babies with low birth weight.Methods: The present hospital based descriptive study was conducted at Swami Ramanand Teerth Rural Govt. Medical College and Hospital. The data collection was done during 1st March 2012 to 28th February 2013. All deliveries occurring on alternate days were included in the study which comes to, 1154 deliveries.Results: Out of total 1154 live full term new borns; 279 (24.18%) were low birth weight babies. The percentage of low birth weight babies was more in mothers from rural area 243 (27.46%). Highest percentage (45.33%) of low birth weight babies was seen in non agricultural laborer. Higher percentage of low birth weight babies (26.18%) was observed among mothers belonging to joint family. Highest percentage (28.61%) of low birth weight babies was observed in class V socioeconomic status.Conclusions: Baby birth weight has significant association with place of residence, mothers occupation, fathers occupation, socioeconomic status of family (p<0.05).
CRAd with capsid incorporated mesothelin for higher anti-tumor immunization

The adenovirus (Ad) has been widely used as a vaccine because of its unique characteristics as gene transfer vector. The conventional approach for using Ads as vaccine is the insertion of genes encoding the protein of interest into the expression cassette. An alternative approach is the capsid incorporation strategy. This strategy describes the incorporation of antigens into the capsid proteins to achieve higher immunization. To extent the use of the adenovirus, Ads have been modified to work as cancer therapy agents. These conditionally replicative Ad replicate specific in cancer cells, while sparing the normal cells. This project combined the two earlier mentioned strategies to design a vaccine for ovarian cancer. Specifically, the hypothesis testing Ad contains a SPARC promoter and the tumor peptides from mesothelin in capsid protein pIX. The hypothesis of this project is that CRAd with capsid-incorporated mesothelin gives higher anti-tumor immunization then single treatment of CRAd or mesothelin as a transgene. The five Ads for the test of hypothesis are all succesfully produced. It is possible that the mesothelin is not expressed on the capsid surface caused by non-incorporation. Therefore, the expression of mesothelin on the surface should be validated by western blot before immunization can be tested.
OpenCL‐based implementation of an unstructured edge‐based finite element convection‐diffusion solver on graphics hardware

The solution of problems in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) represents a classical field for the application of advanced numerical methods. Many different approaches were developed over the years to address CFD applications. Good examples are finite volumes, finite differences (FD), and finite elements (FE) but also newer approaches such as the lattice‐Boltzmann (LB), smooth particle hydrodynamics or the particle finite element method. FD and LB methods on regular grids are known to be superior in terms of raw computing speed, but using such regular discretization represents an important limitation in dealing with complex geometries. Here, we concentrate on unstructured approaches which are less common in the GPU world. We employ a nonstandard FE approach which leverages an optimized edge‐based data structure allowing a highly parallel implementation. Such technique is applied to the ‘convection‐diffusion’ problem, which is often considered as a first step towards CFD because of similarities to the nonconservative form of the Navier–Stokes equations. In this regard, an existing highly optimized parallel OpenMP solver is ported to graphics hardware based on the OpenCL platform. The optimizations performed are discussed in detail. A number of benchmarks prove that the GPU‐accelerated OpenCL code consistently outperforms the OpenMP version. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.