Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Theoretical Discussion of Electronic Banking in Jordan by Integrating Technology Acceptance Model and Theory of Planned Behavior

Information technology services are the major driver of the changes occurring on the global level. The shift from traditional banking to electronic banking has been considered to be one of such changes, and to be a significant part of the bank’s strategy of formulating a model of information technology adoption that provides customer services. In the context of Jordan, although majority of banks have already adopted the Internet in providing different customer services, the understanding of user’s acceptance of electronic banking services is still scarce. Added to this, previous studies in literature concerning e-banking acceptance have primarily been done in the developed nations. This study primarily aimed to provide a theoretical Discussion of Electronic Banking in Jordan by Integrating TAM Model and TPB Model, and identify the factors affecting the acceptance of E-Banking in Jordan. We developed a theoretical model based on an integration of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model with perceived trust, self-efficacy and enjoyment. Electronic banking, in this study, was considered as an innovative service to be examined in light of its acceptance among Jordanian banks. The importance of such acceptance lies in the lower costs and more convenience provided to customers.
Using Digital Globes to Explore the Deep Sea and Advance Public Literacy in Earth System Science

ABSTRACT Digital globes are new technologies increasingly used in informal and formal education to display global datasets and show connections among Earth systems. But how effective are digital globes in advancing public literacy in Earth system science? We addressed this question by developing new content for digital globes with the intent to educate and excite the public about biological and geophysical processes and exploration in the deep ocean. We developed the content in tight collaboration with scientists, educators, and graphic artists. We used global datasets, including a new dataset for locations of deep-sea vents, and imagery from deep-diving vehicles to create two narratives, Life Without Sunlight and Smoke and Fire Underwater, each targeting a set of Earth Science and ocean literacy principles. Here, we evaluate perceived learning outcomes for the narratives delivered as movies and as live, docent-led presentations with the room-sized Science On a Sphere®. Both narratives led to median responses of “Some” to “Quite a bit” of perceived learning per literacy principle. Perceived learning outcomes were greatest for adult lifelong learners, followed closely by students (under age 18); adult educators generally reported less learning. We found no significant differences in the effectiveness of our movies compared to docent-led presentations for any of the literacy principles, and all presentations led to “Quite a bit” of excitement for all viewers. Our evaluation provides an initial indication that digital globes can be effective in teaching the scientific literacy principles, and we make recommendations for additional assessment of digital globes as educational platforms.
Performance of Regularly Cycling Repeater Dairy Cows on Mineral Mixture Supplementation

The dairy cows in Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu are reared with limited amount of dry fodder, green grass and wheat bran as concentrate sources. This affects the productive and reproductive performance of dairy cows. Hence an attempt was made to assess the deficit per cent of nutrient intake in comparison with NRC (2001) feeding standard, in eight regularly cycling repeater, Jersey cross (Jx) and Holstein Friesian cross (HFx) cows. The results revealed there was deficit /kg of dry matter intake (DMI) in Total digestible nutrient (TDN), crude protein (CP) and calcium (Ca) was The deficit /kg of dry matter intake (DMI) in Total digestible nutrient (TDN), crude protein (CP) and calcium (Ca) was 1.65 kg/day, 1134, 413 and 29 g/day, respectively and intake of phosphorus was excess by 0.64 g/day in Jx and in (HFx) cows the DMI,TDN, CP and Ca deficit were 1.26 kg/day, 865, 394 and 25 g/day, respectively and intake of phosphorus was excess by 13 g/day. Considering the low levels of calcium and excess phosphorous intake of the animals when compared to NRC (2001), supplementation of commercially available mineral mixture at the rate of 50 g per cow per day was done from day of insemination till the days of confirmation of pregnancy (90 days). Even though there was deficiency of other nutrients in this experiment, the trial was planned with mineral mixture alone to ascertain whether feeding mineral mixture alone will be sufficient to mitigate the repeat breeding problems. The result of the study concluded that repeater problem can be nullified to 75 % in Jx cows and 87% in HFx cows on supplementation of mineral mixture at the rate of 50 gm/day from the day of insemination to 90 days.
Microparticles Carrying Sonic Hedgehog Are Increased in Humans with Peripheral Artery Disease

Sonic hedgehog (Shh) is a prototypical angiogenic agent with a crucial role in the regulation of angiogenesis. Experimental studies have shown that Shh is upregulated in response to ischemia. Also, Shh may be found on the surface of circulating microparticles (MPs) and MPs bearing Shh (Shh + MPs) have shown the ability to contribute to reparative neovascularization after ischemic injury in mice. The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that, in humans with peripheral artery disease (PAD), there is increased number of circulating Shh + MPs. This was done by assessing the number of Shh + MPs in plasma of patients with PAD and control subjects without PAD. We found significantly higher number of Shh + MPs in plasma of subjects with PAD, compared to controls, while the global number of MPs—produced either by endothelial cells, platelets, leukocytes, and erythrocytes—was not different between PAD patients and controls. We also found a significant association between the number of Shh + MPs and the number of collateral vessels in the ischemic limbs of PAD patients. Interestingly, the concentration of Shh protein unbound to MPs—which was measured in MP-depleted plasma—was not different between subjects with PAD and the controls, indicating that, in the setting of PAD, the call for Shh recapitulation does not lead to secretion of protein into the blood but to binding of the protein to the membrane of MPs. These findings provide novel information on Shh signaling during ischemia in humans, with potentially important biological and clinical implications.
An investigation of semantic patterns in passwords

The advent of large password leaks in recent years has exposed the security problems of passwords and enabled deeper empirical investigation of password patterns. Researchers have only touched the surface of patterns in password creation, having characterized patterns in terms of frequency, length, composition rules and, to some extent, syntactic patterns. The semantics of passwords remain largely unexplored. In this thesis, we aim to fill this gap by employing Natural Language Processing techniques to extract and leverage understanding of semantic patterns in passwords. We present the first framework for segmentation, semantic classification and semantic generalization of passwords and a model that captures the semantic essence of password samples. The results of our investigation demonstrate that the knowledge captured by our model can be used to crack more passwords than the state-of-the-art approach. In experiments limited to 3 billion guesses, our approach can guess 67% more passwords from the LinkedIn leak and 32% more passwords from the MySpace leak. Furthermore, we explore the implications of using date patterns in guessing attacks and investigate the lexical differences between standard English and the language used in passwords.
Scrub Typhus and Leptospirosis: The fallacy of Diagnosing with IgM Enzyme Linked Immunosorbant Assay

Introduction: Leptospirosis and scrub typhus are important causes of acute febrile illness in India. IgM Enzyme Linked Immunosorbant Assay (ELISA) is the most common diagnostic modality used for their diagnosis. The common epidemiology of both the diseases creates an opportunity of dual infections with these diseases. Therefore, the objective of the study was to detect and evaluate the cases of serological and molecular dual infections. Methodology: A cross sectional diagnostic study from October 2013 to October 2015 was conducted on 258 patients with acute febrile illness. All the samples were subjected to IgM ELISA for scrub typhus and leptospirosis. The samples that were positive for both scrub typhus and leptospirosis were subjected to serological tests for other infections. They were also subjected to PCR assays to find out the cases of molecular dual infections. Results: A total of twenty serum samples were positive by IgM ELISA for leptospirosis while thirty five serum samples were positive by IgM ELISA for scrub typhus. Among these, ten samples were positive for both the serological tests. These dual positives were additionally positive by serology for some other infections [Dengue (n = 2), Mycoplasma pneumoniae (n = 1), Malaria (n = 1), Chlamydia pneumoniae (n = 6), Typhoid (n = 2) and Legionella pneumophila (n = 1)]. Only one case of molecular dual infection was confirmed. Conclusion: The possibility of serological co-infections should be investigated in endemic areas. In a case of serological dual infection, since there are high chances of serological cross reactivity, molecular confirmation should be sought for. The choice of therapy in inconclusive cases should include those drugs that cover for both the infections.
Refinement of LabCyte EPI-MODEL24 Skin Irritation Test Method for Adaptation to the Requirements of OECD Test Guideline 439

A validation study of an in vitro skin irritation test (SIT) method using a reconstructed human epidermal (RhE) model for replacement of the Draize test was conducted by the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM), and a protocol using an RhE model, EpiSkin (SkinEthic, France), was approved as a validated reference method (VRM) in April, 2007. Structural and performance test criteria for skin models are defined in the ECVAM Performance Standards. We have performed several evaluations of our RhE model, LabCyte EPI-MODEL24 (Japan Tissue Engineering Co., Ltd, Japan), and have confirmed the original LabCyte EPI-MODEL24 SIT method defined by the ECVAM Performance Standards. However, the original LabCyte EPI-MODEL24 SIT might not meet with OECD test guideline 439 (OECD TG439) defining the SIT method used with a RhE model, which was newly adopted in July, 2010. This is because the original LabCyte EPI-MODEL24 SIT method predicted 1bromohexane as a false-negative, which is one of the reference chemicals listed in OECD TG439 but OECD TG439 doesn't allow a SIT which predicts a false-negative except for some specific reference chemicals. In the present study, various modifications of the original LabCyte EPI-MODEL24 SIT have been examined in order to solve the misclassification of 1-bromohexane showing up as a false-negative, and it was found that the misclassification could be corrected by modifying the washing protocol for test chemicals (the modified LabCyte EPI-MODEL24 SIT). When the predictive potency of the modified LabCyte EPI-MODEL24 SIT was evaluated with the 20 reference chemicals listed in the new OECD TG439 for in vitro skin irritation testing, which was adopted in July 2010, the sensitivity, specificity and overall accuracy were 90 %, 70 %, and 80%, respectively. It is thought that these results meet the acceptance criteria described in
Dynamic Modeling of the Pinna for Audio Spatialization

This paper proposes a dynamic model for the human pinna, or outer ear. This dynamic model is needed to complete the implementation of structural models used for digital audio spatialization. The paper describes the rationale followed to derive this model and the process by which the parameters of the model can be instantiated for any given prospective user of the audio spatialization system. The results obtained with the model demonstrate that this is a plausible modeling solution for the acoustic performance of the pinna, when the sound sources are in the frontal plane. Key-Words: Dynamic Model, HRTF, HRIR, Pinna, Pronys Method, Sound Spatialization
Evolutionary history and taxonomy of the Cuscuta umbellata complex (Convolvulaceae): Evidence of extensive hybridization from discordant nuclear and plastid phylogenies

The Cuscuta umbellata complex is one of the 15 major clades recently circumscribed in C. subg. Grammica. Most of its members occur in North America and the Caribbean (C. desmouliniana, C. lacerata, C. leptantha, C. liliputana, C. odontolepis, C. polyanthemos, C. tuberculata, C. umbellata), but three species (C. acuta, C. membranacea, C. umbellata) grow in South America, and one (C. hyalina) is found as a native species in India, Pakistan and Eastern to South Africa. Basic morphology, scanning electron microscopy and sequence data from the nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and the plastid trnL-F region were used to reconstruct the phylogeny, gain a better understanding of the evolutionary history, and determine species boundaries. Our results show that in its currently accepted delimitation C. umbellata is polyphyletic. Discordances between phylogenies derived from plastid and nuclear data strongly suggest that at least four independent hybridization events have occurred in the evolution of this species group, rendering relationships among its members more complex than previously thought. One of these reticulation events involves C. umbellata var. reflexa, a taxon that has been considered synonymous to C. umbellata var. umbellata in the last decades. This hybrid is morphologically intermediate but distinct from its putative parents, C. odontolepis or C. acuta on the maternal side, and C. umbellata (var. umbellata) on the paternal side, which supports its treatment as a new species, C. legitima. Cuscuta umbellata is further redefined to exclude C. umbellata var. dubia, which is merged into C. desmouliniana. A new classification is provided, together with an identification key, descriptions, illustrations, and geographical distributions for the twelve species of the clade.
Noni Seed Oil Topical Safety, Efficacy, and Potential Mechanisms of Action *

Background: Noni fruit and leaf juices were used to treat acne in Polynesian folk medicine. However, the potential benefit of noni seed oil (NSO) for human skin health is not as well known. Objective: The topical safety of NSO was evaluated in a repeat insult patch test with 49 adult volunteers. Comedogenicity was evaluated in 23 adolescent volunteers for four weeks. Anti-inflammatory activity was determined in-vitro with COX-2 and 5-LOX enzyme inhibition assays. Results: No reactions to NSO were observed in any of the volunteers. NSO also reduced the number of open and closed comedones in the comedogenicity test. NSO inhibited COX-2 and 5-LOX enzymes in a concentration dependent manner, but with COX-2 inhibition being more pronounced than 5-LOX. Conclusion: Noni seed oil is safe for topical use and is non-comedogenic. It also has potential anti-inflammatory activity, being a dual inhibitor of COX-2 and 5-LOX enzymes. These results indicate the potential utility of NSO for skin care applications, as well as warrant further investigation of efficacy in 5-LOX and COX-2 related pathophysiological conditions.
TAXONOMY OF THE CUSCUTA PENTAGONA COMPLEX (CONVOLVULACEAE) IN NORTH AMERICA

Cuscuta pentagona, C. campestris, and C. glabrior are closely similar taxa recognized here at specific rank. Closely related to these are C. runyonii, C. harperi, C. plattensis, and C. sandwichiana, as well as C. obtusiflora var. glandulosa and C. polygonorum. Cuscuta runyonii, C. harperi, and C. sandwichiana are relatively narrow endemics, C. plattensis and C. glabrior have wider but apparently discrete ranges, while C. obtusiflora var. glandulosa, C. polygonorum, and especially C. pentagona and C. campestris are widespread and broadly sympatric in North America, at least in some regions. Cuscuta campestris is one of the most widespread species in the world, being additionally recorded from South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Comparisons among these nine species are presented as a key and as comparative descriptions. SEM images are provided for flowers, fruits, seeds, and pollen.
Epidemics with two levels of mixing

We consider epidemics with removal (SIR epidemics) in populations that mix at two levels: global and local. We develop a general modelling framework for such processes, which allows us to analyze the conditions under which a large outbreak is possible, the size of such outbreaks when they can occur and the implications for vaccination strategies, in each case comparing our results with the simpler homogeneous mixing case. More precisely, we consider models in which each infectious individual i has a global probability pG for infecting each other individual in the population and a local probability pL, typically much larger, of infecting each other individual among a set of neighbors script N (i). Our main concern is the case where the population is partitioned into local groups or households, but our approach also applies to cases where neighborhoods do not form a partition, for instance, to spatial models with a mixture of local (e.g., nearest-neighbor) and global contacts. We use a variety of theoretical approaches: a random graph framework for the initial exposition of the simple case where an individual's contacts are independent; branching process approximations for the general threshold result; and an embedding representation for rigorous results on the final size of outbreaks. From the applied viewpoint the key result is that, compared with the homogeneous mixing model in which individuals make contacts simply with probability pG, the local infectious contacts have an "amplification" effect. The basic reproductive ratio of the epidemic is increased from its individual-to-individual value RG in the absence of local infections to a group-to-group value R* = μRG, where μ is the mean size of an outbreak, started by a randomly chosen individual, in which only local infections count. Where the groups are large and the within-group epidemics are above threshold, this amplification can permit an outbreak in the whole population at very low levels of pG, for instance, for pG = O(1/Nn) in a population of N divided into groups of size n. The implication of these results for control strategies is that vaccination should be directed preferentially toward reducing μ; we discuss the conditions under which the equalizing strategy, aimed at leaving unvaccinated sets of neighbors of equal sizes, is optimal. We also discuss the estimation of our threshold parameter R* from data on epidemics among households.
A New Design of Metamaterials for SAR Reduction

The purpose of this paper is to calculate the reduction of specific absorption rate (SAR) with a new design of square metamaterials (SMMs). The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method with lossy-Drude model is adopted in this analysis. The method of SAR reduction is discussed and the effects of location, distance, and size of metamaterials are analyzed. SMMs have achieved a 53.06% reduction of the initial SAR value for the case of 10 gm SAR. These results put forward a guideline to select various types of metamaterials with the maximum SAR reducing effect for a cellular phone.
Subjective Listening Tests and Neural Correlates of Speech Degradation in Case of Signal-Correlated Noise

In this paper, we examine whether particularly sensitivity of the human cortex to reduction in speech quality is visible in the electroencephalogram (EEG) and whether these measures can be used to improve the behavioral assessment of speech quality. We degraded a speech stimulus (vowel /a/) in a scalable way and asked for a behavioural rating. In addition, the brain activity was measured with EEG. We trained classifiers, which were found capable of distinguishing between events which are seemingly similar at the behavioral level (i.e., no button press), neurally, however, noise contamination is detected, possibly affecting the long-term contentment with the transmission quality.
Robustness of Energy Landscape Control for Spin Networks Under Decoherence

Quantum spin networks form a generic system to describe a range of quantum devices for quantum information processing and sensing applications. Understanding how to control them is essential to achieve devices with practical functionalities. Energy landscape shaping is a novel control paradigm to achieve selective transfer of excitations in a spin network with surprisingly strong robustness towards uncertainties in the Hamiltonians. Here we study the effect of decoherence, specifically generic pure dephasing, on the robustness of these controllers. Results indicate that while the effectiveness of the controllers is reduced by decoherence, certain controllers remain sufficiently effective, indicating potential to find highly effective controllers without exact knowledge of the decoherence processes.
Exo70p mediates the secretion of specific exocytic vesicles at early stages of the cell cycle for polarized cell growth

In budding yeast, two classes of post-Golgi secretory vesicles carrying different sets of cargoes typified by Bgl2p and invertase are delivered to the plasma membrane for secretion. The exocyst is implicated in tethering these vesicles to the daughter cell membrane for exocytosis. In this study, we report that mutations in the exocyst component Exo70p predominantly block secretion of the Bgl2p vesicles. Furthermore, a defect in invertase vesicle trafficking caused by vps1Δ or pep12Δ in the exo70 mutant background is detrimental to the cell. The secretion defect in exo70 mutants was most pronounced during the early budding stage, which affected daughter cell growth. The selective secretion block does not occur at the vesicle formation or sorting stage because the exocytic vesicles are properly generated and protein processing is normal in the exo70 mutants. Our study suggests that Exo70p functions primarily at early stages of the cell cycle in Bgl2p vesicle secretion, which is critical for polarized cell growth.
The Potential for Climate Impacts from Widespread Deployment of Utility-Scale Solar Energy Installations: An Environmental Remote Sensing Perspective

Solar energy systems directly benefit the environment by avoiding CO2 emissions that would otherwise be generated from fossil-fuel power plants. Indirect impacts to climate may also result at local-, regional-, and globalscales, but these impacts are as yet poorly understood and characterized. Widespread deployment of utility-scale solar energy (USSE) installations may alter the radiative balance at the land-atmosphere interface by shifting radiative forcing that eventually changes climate. When USSE installations displace cropland or desert surface, this deployment introduces complicated effects on local radiative forcing. This article presents for the first time satellitebased measurements to assess USSE impacts on earth-atmosphere interactions relating to climate feedbacks. Long-term shortwave albedo and longwave emissivity data derived from NASA satellites were used for this case study to assess the potential radiative balance effects of USSE deployment. The results show that USSE deployment appears to change albedo and emissivity. Albedo decreased and emissivity generally increased in two of three instances when a USSE installation was constructed in semi-arid regions.