Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Telerehabilitation for Word Retrieval Deficits in Bilinguals With Aphasia: Effectiveness and Reliability as Compared to In-person Language Therapy

Background: Bilinguals with post-stroke aphasia (BWA) require treatment options that are sensitive to their particular bilingual background and deficits across languages. However, they may experience limited access to bilingual clinical resources due to reduced availability of bilingual practitioners, geographical constraints, and other difficulties. Telerehabilitation can improve access to bilingual clinical services for BWA and facilitate the delivery of specific language treatments at distance, but more evidence on its effectiveness and reliability is needed. This study aimed to determine the equivalence of effectiveness and reliability of a semantic treatment for word retrieval deficits in BWA delivered via telerehabilitation relative to in-person therapy. Methods: We examined the retrospective data of 16 BWA who received 20 sessions of therapy based on semantic feature analysis for word retrieval deficits in person (n = 8) or via telerehabilitation (n = 8). The two groups were comparable on age, years of education, time of post-stroke onset, aphasia severity, and naming ability in both languages. Treatment effectiveness (i.e., effect sizes in the treated and the untreated language, and change on secondary outcome measures) and reliability (i.e., clinician adherence to treatment protocol) were computed for each delivery modality and compared across groups. Results: Significant improvements were observed in most patients, with no significant differences in treatment effect sizes or secondary outcomes in the treated and the untreated language between the teletherapy group and the in-person therapy group. Also, the average percentage of correctly delivered treatment steps by clinicians was high for both therapy delivery methods with no significant differences between the telerehabilitation vs. the in-person modality. Discussion: This study provides evidence of the equivalence of treatment gains between teletherapy and in-person therapy in BWA and the high reliability with which treatment for word retrieval deficits can be delivered via telerehabilitation, suggesting that the essential treatment components of the intervention can be conducted in a comparable manner in both delivery modalities. We further discuss the benefits and potential challenges of the implementation of telerehabilitation for BWA. In the future, telerehabilitation may increase access to therapy for BWA with varying linguistic and cultural backgrounds, thus, offering a more inclusive treatment approach to this population.
Treponema denticola-Induced RASA4 Upregulation Mediates Cytoskeletal Dysfunction and MMP-2 Activity in Periodontal Fibroblasts

The periodontal complex consists of the periodontal ligament (PDL), alveolar bone, and cementum, which work together to turn mechanical load into biological responses that are responsible for maintaining a homeostatic environment. However oral microbes, under conditions of dysbiosis, may challenge the actin dynamic properties of the PDL in the context of periodontal disease. To study this process, we examined host-microbial interactions in the context of the periodontium via molecular and functional cell assays and showed that human PDL cell interactions with Treponema denticola induce actin depolymerization through a novel actin reorganization signaling mechanism. This actin reorganization mechanism and loss of cell adhesion is a pathological response characterized by an initial upregulation of RASA4 mRNA expression resulting in an increase in matrix metalloproteinase-2 activity. This mechanism is specific to the T. denticola effector protein, dentilisin, thereby uncovering a novel effect for Treponema denticola-mediated RASA4 transcriptional activation and actin depolymerization in primary human PDL cells.
Dynamical Hybrid System for Optimizing and Controlling Efficacy of Plant-Based Protein in Aquafeeds

In this paper, a mathematical model was used to evaluate a dynamical hybrid system for optimizing and controlling the efficacy of plant-based protein in aquafeeds. Fishmeal (FM), raw rapeseed meal (RM), and a fermented meal with yeast (RM-Yeast) and fungi (Aspergillus oryzae RM-Koji) were used as test ingredients for the determination of apparent digestibility coefficients (ADCs) of dry matter, crude protein, crude lipid, energy, and essential amino acids (EAA) for olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus, 7 ± 0.02 g) using diets containing 0.5% Cr2O3 as an inert indicator. Among all ingredients tested, FM had the maximum ADC of dry matter ( P < 0.05 ), protein ( P < 0.05 ), lipid ( P > 0.05 ), and energy ( P > 0.05 ). Fermented meals (RM-Yeast and RM-Koji) showed higher ADC ( P < 0.05 ) of crude protein compared with RM, while there was no significance in ADCs of crude lipid and energy among different forms of rapeseed meal. Besides, ADC of crude lipid for RM-Yeast and RM-Koji, on the one hand, and ADC of gross energy for RM-Yeast, on the other hand, were not varied from that for FM ( P > 0.05 ). Amino acid digestibility reflects protein digestibility in most cases. Interestingly, protease, lipase, and amylase activities were better expressed in RM-Koji, RM-Yeast, and FM over RM, respectively. The current results deliver important information on nutrients and energy bioavailability in raw and fermented RM, which can be implemented to accurately formulate applied feeds for olive flounder. Compared with other applicable systems, the complexity of the approach implemented has been considerably reduced.
Effects of "the Selected Smartphone Social-Messaging Applications" Training on Iranian Elderly's Quality of Life: Results of a Qualitative Study

This qualitative study aimed to investigate the effects of using smartphone’s communication apps on Quality of Life (QoL) of elderly people living in Shiraz-Iran. The population of the study was all the senior residents registered with local public health centers located in Shiraz, Fars, Iran in 2018-2019. Overall, 20 participants volunteered to join the study, from the intervention and control groups (10 in each). Data were collected via semi-structured face to face interviews and analyzed using open-coding. The findings of this study and the educational training are intended to help families, practitioners in the aging field to pay more attention to teaching modern communication technology in order to promote healthier elderly and community.
Hydrogen-atom abstraction from alkanes by OH. IV: Isobutane

Absolute rate coefficients for the reactions of the hydroxyl radical with four selectively deuterated isotopes of isobutane were determined by using the laser photolysis/laser-induced fluorescence technique. Kinetic data were obtained at a pressure of 400 Torr of helium over the temperature range 293-864K. Rate coefficient results for the OH + i-C/sub 4/H/sub 10/ . -->. H/sub 2/O + C/sub 4/H/sub 9/ reaction are fit by the modified Arrhenius expression k/sub 1/(T) = (4.31 x 10/sup -17/)T/sup 1.80/ exp(+348 cal mol/sup -1//RT) cm/sup 3/ molecule/sup -1/s/sup -1/. The authors find that the reactivity of an individual methyl or methylidyne group in isobutane is independent of the hydrogen isotopic content of the remaining alkyl groups in the molecule. Branching ratios for formation of tert-butyl and isobutyl radicals are presented as functions of temperature; abstraction of a tertiary hydrogen atom dominates the reactivity at room temperature, and abstraction of primary hydrogen atom is favored at 1000 K. The kinetic isotope effect for tertiary H- and D-atom abstraction from isobutane by OH is characterized.
DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS (DEA) APPROACH FOR ASSESSING TECHNICAL, ECONOMIC AND SCALE EFFICIENCY OF BROILER FARMS

This study was surveyed and evaluated technical, economic and scale efficiency of broiler farms in Egypt using DEA technique. So as to accomplish the specified aim, stratified random sampling technique was utilized to gather information from 150 broiler farms. The results showed that mean technical efficiencies of broiler farms were 0.915 and 0.985 under constant returns to scale (CRS) and variable returns to scale (VRS) respectively, implying that on average the farms could reduce input utilization by 8.5% and 1.5% for production level of output to be technically efficient. Notably, 48.7% of the farms were estimated fully technical efficient under VRS-model. The mean allocative and economic efficiency of the farms were assessed as 0.941 and 0.918 respectively, with only 2% of the farms were fully allocative and economic efficient. Furthermore, the average scale efficiency was 0.929 with the majority of broiler farms (82%) were operating with increasing returns to scale. The estimated Tobit regression showed that farmer's age, education, experience, access to extension services, and level of training were the most significant variables contributing to the disparities in efficiency of broiler farms. Such results are useful for extension workers and policy makers so as to guide policies towards expanding efficiency.
The impact of managed honeybees and commercial reared bumblebees on pathogens in wild bees

Bees are important beneficial insects due to their ability to pollinate our crops and vegetables, as well as being critically important for maintaining wild floral biodiversity. Bees are important from both an economic perspective and an environmental perspective, which highlights the importance of having healthy and sustainable bee populations. The world’s bees share many of the same, or similar, pathogens, which can be transmitted between bees of the same or different species. One concern is that pathogens in imported or managed bees may spill over to native bees, with potentially devastating effects. The aim of this project was to assess if the pathogen distribution in wild bees has any relationship to the distribution of pathogens in managed bees. The pathogens investigated are: Nosema spp. , Crithidia spp. , Apicystis spp. , acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV), slow bee paralysis virus (SBPV) and deformed wing virus (DWV). The study was divided into three separate projects. Super-B project: The goal of this study was to determine if there is a change in the pathogen distribution in wild bees at the same location over three years. Lövsta project: The goal of this study was to determine the pathogen distribution in wild bees in relation to the bee density and distance to honeybee hives. MSB project: The goal of this study was to compare pathogen distribution and abundance in wild bumblebees in relation to the presence or absence of imported bumblebee colonies. These three projects show that there is a relationship between the distribution of pathogens in managed bees and wild bees. During three consecutive years (2015 to 2017), there was an increase in overall pathogen pressure in both honeybees and wild bees, coinciding with an increase of the density of bees in the sampled area. These trends were however different for different pathogens. The distance to honeybee colonies affected the presence and levels of pathogens in wild bees, again in a pathogen-specific manner. Similarly, the effect of imported Bombus terrestris on the pathogen distribution in wild bumblebees, including wild Bombus terrestris, was different for different pathogens. Nosema, Crithidia and ABPV were present at higher levels in the strawberry farm without imported Bombus terrestris, SBPV was higher at the farm with imported Bombus terrestris, while Apicystis and DWV were roughly the same. More investigation is needed on the effect of these pathogens on different bee species and their function pathogen transmission.
Energy-efficient Protection of IoT Networks using Trust Management on the IEEE 802.15.4 Protocol

Many devices used in the Internet of Things (IoT) have scarce processing resources and restricted energy budgets. Thus, established security mechanisms to protect IoT nodes against malicious attacks cannot be applied. Trust management is a promising technology to circumvent the processing limitations since it makes the use of lightweight but still powerful security mechanisms possible. In earlier work, we proposed a trust-based routing solution that builds the reputation of IoT devices to detect maliciously behaving ones. It has, however, the disadvantage of additional battery draining since it works only with constant idle listening of the communication channel which is quite energy intensive. In this paper, we present a method to alleviate this problem by aligning the proposed security algorithm with the popular IEEE 802.15. 4 protocol that offers functionality to reduce active channel listening. In particular, we suggest an adaption to one of the application modes of IEEE 802.15. 4 such that we can use our trust-based algorithm with often only slight losses from idle listening. The results of the protocol adaptations are discussed for two different scenarios.
Physicochemical, thermal, rheological, and morphological properties of flour from different guar seed (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba) cultivars

ABSTRACT In the present study, physicochemical, thermal, rheological, and morphological properties of flours from guar seed cultivars (G80, Ageta 112, and HG365) were assessed. Ageta 112 flours showed the highest protein content (26.78%) and varied significantly from G80 and HG365. The fiber, ash, and carbohydrate displayed significant differences in all three guar cultivars. Maximum gum content was extracted from G80 (41.19%), followed by HG365 and Ageta 112. Assessment of thermal properties revealed G80 flours with highest onset, peak, and endset temperature. Flours from cultivar Ageta 112 were recorded with highest paste temperature and peak viscosity and G80 flours showed lowest setback viscosities. Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the morphological structure of different guar seed flour. Scanning electron micrographs presented the internal structure containing the galactomannans. Several significant correlations between physicochemical, gum yield, and thermal properties were revealed by Pearson correlation.
Abnormal Return and Tick Size Reduction in Tokyo Stock Exchange

Tick size is minimum price variation which investors quote stock shares in financial market. Purpose of tick size reduction is to improve liquidity. Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) reduced twice its tick size in 2014. The first time is called phase 1 (P1). Also, the second time is called phase 2 (P2). In previous study, Amihud showed the relationship between stock return and illiquidity. If stock exchanges improve liquidity due to tick size reduction, there is the possibility that stock return will decrease. But Pachare and Rainer find no impact on abnormal return (AR) and cumulative abnormal return (CAR). So, in this paper, our purpose is to investigate long term AR and CAR. As a result, we got following four results. First, there are some positive and negative AR days in P1. Second, there are some negative AR days in P2. Third, CAR is positive in P1. Fourth, CAR is negative in P2.
Effect of Different Steeping Conditions on the Peroxidase Activities of Some Improved Sorghum Varieties

In order to evaluate the impact of duration and the incorporation or otherwise of air rest during steeping on the peroxidase activities of sorghum grains, five improved varieties were studied. Steeping durations used ranged from 0 (raw grains) to 72 hours, in two formats: with air rest and without air rest. Results obtained showed that among the raw grains which were the control experiment, variety SK5912 gave the highest peroxidase activity, followed by variety KSV 8 while variety CSRO2 had the least peroxidase activity. During steeping, we observed that in almost all cases, higher peroxidase activities were obtained with air rested sorghum grains than those without air rest. In terms of how the different varieties compared during steeping, we found that variety KSV 8 gave the highest peroxidase activity at both with and without air rest regimes in all the steeping periods used. Also, we observed that in all cases, the highest increase in peroxidase expression was obtained during the first 6 hours of steeping, shown by a steep rise of over 50% increase in activity. The other steeping times following the first 6 hours however showed just gradual increases in peroxidase over the period of sorghum. The major significance of this result is that although increasing duration showed increased peroxidase activities, such increases were less jumpy than those obtained during the first 6 hours. Therefore, long steeping times may not necessarily be very beneficial, with the added benefit that costs associated with long steeping durations may be avoided. Key words : Sorghum, cereals, peroxidases, enzymes, steeping, germination, air rest.
Secrecy Performance Analysis of Mixed α − μ and Exponentiated Weibull RF-FSO Cooperative Relaying System

Increasing concerns regarding wireless systems’ security are leading researchers to exploit the physical properties of a medium while designing any secured wireless network. The secrecy performance of a mixed radio frequency-free space optical (RF-FSO) system with a variable gain relaying scheme is investigated in this paper under the attempt of wiretapping by an eavesdropper. We assume that the eavesdropper can intrude the target data from the RF link only. Both the RF links (main and eavesdropper) undergo the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\alpha -\mu $ </tex-math></inline-formula> fading statistics and the FSO link experiences the exponentiated Weibull fading statistics. Exploiting the amplify-and-forward (AF) relaying scheme while considering two detection techniques (i.e. heterodyne detection and intensity modulation/direct detection) with pointing error impairments, the mathematical formulations of the unified probability density function and cumulative distribution function are performed for the equivalent signal-to-noise ratio of the considered dual-hop RF-FSO link. Closed-form analytical expressions for average secrecy capacity, secrecy outage probability, and the probability of non-zero secrecy capacity are derived in terms of Meijer’s <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$G$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and Fox’s <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$H$ </tex-math></inline-formula> functions to quantify the system performance. Capitalizing on these expressions, the secrecy performance is further analyzed for various channel parameters of RF links, aperture sizes of the receiver, pointing errors, and atmospheric turbulence severity. The results reveal that aperture averaging can improve the secrecy performance remarkably by suppressing the effects of turbulence. Monte Carlo simulations are provided to justify the accuracy of the proposed model.
10T SRAM Computing-in-Memory Macros for Binary and Multibit MAC Operation of DNN Edge Processors

Computing-in-memory (CIM) is a promising approach to reduce latency and improve the energy efficiency of the multiply-and-accumulate (MAC) operation under a memory wall constraint for artificial intelligence (AI) edge processors. This paper proposes an approach focusing on scalable CIM designs using a new ten-transistor (10T) static random access memory (SRAM) bit-cell. Using the proposed 10T SRAM bit-cell, we present two SRAM-based CIM (SRAM-CIM) macros supporting multibit and binary MAC operations. The first design achieves fully parallel computing and high throughput using 32 parallel binary MAC operations. Advanced circuit techniques such as an input-dependent dynamic reference generator and an input-boosted sense amplifier are presented. Fabricated in 28 nm CMOS process, this design achieves 409.6 GOPS throughput, 1001.7 TOPS/W energy efficiency, and a 169.9 TOPS/mm2 throughput area efficiency. The proposed approach effectively solves previous problems such as writing disturb, throughput, and the power consumption of an analog to digital converter (ADC). The second design supports multibit MAC operation (4-b weight, 4-b input, and 8-b output) to increase the inference accuracy. We propose an architecture that divides 4-b weight and 4-b input multiplication to four 2-b multiplication in parallel, which increases the signal margin by $16\times $ compared to conventional 4-b multiplication. Besides, the capacitive digital-to-analog converter (CDAC) area issue is effectively addressed using the intrinsic bit-line capacitance existing in the SRAM-CIM architecture. The proposed approach of realizing four 2-b parallel multiplication using the CDAC is successfully demonstrated with a modified LeNet-5 neural network. These results demonstrate that the proposed 10T bit-cell is promising for realizing robust and scalable SRAM-CIM designs, which is essential for realizing fully parallel edge computing.
Multiscale Graph Sample and Aggregate Network With Context-Aware Learning for Hyperspectral Image Classification

Recently, graph convolutional network (GCN) has achieved promising results in hyperspectral image (HSI) classification. However, GCN is a transductive learning method, which is difficult to aggregate the new node. Besides, the existing GCN-based methods divide graph construction and graph classification into two stages ignoring the influence of constructed graph error on classification results. Moreover, the available GCN-based methods fail to understand the global and contextual information of the graph. In this article, we propose a novel multiscale graph sample and aggregate network with a context-aware learning method for HSI classification. The proposed network adopts a multiscale graph sample and aggregate network (graphSAGE) to learn the multiscale features from the local regions graph, which improves the diversity of network input information and effectively solves the impact of original input graph errors on classification. By employing a context-aware mechanism to characterize the importance among spatially neighboring regions, deep contextual and global information of the graph can be learned automatically by focusing on important spatial targets. Meanwhile, the graph structure is reconstructed automatically based on the classified objects as network training, which is able to effectively reduce the influence of the initial graph error on the classification result. Extensive experiments are conducted on three real HSI datasets, which are demonstrated to outperform the compared state-of-the-art methods.
5G Network Slice - A URLLC Resource Allocation Perspective

The fifth generation wireless network, known as 5G, is the first network that was considered to meet some requirements to help IoT become a reality. 5G is also envisioned as a network that will support a diverse set of performance and service requirements and help create a wide range of vertical markets. One of the main facilitators of 5G that will provide such flexibility is slicing a single physical network into multiple isolated logical networks, each with different requirements. Different technologies have been studied to make it possible to create this end-to-end network on demand, such as Software Defined Networking (SDN), Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and Cloud Computing. However, allocating enough resources to guarantee the desired QoS for specific services even when this virtual network fails remains forgotten by the literature. In this paper, we identify challenges and open issues related to this subject. Moreover, we discuss relevant proposals and point some possible directions to overcome this problem.