Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Simple Four Quadrants Model to Monitor the Performance of Local Governments

This paper, conducted as part of the research activities of SOSE S.p.A. , develops a simple and innovative model to evaluate the performance of local government in the provision of local public services. The model employs a reduced set of information and fewer assumptions than traditional techniques such as Data Envelopment Analysis and Stochastic Frontier Analysis. The main idea is to base the model on the joint graphical analysis of standard expenditures needs and standard level of services both estimated using a reduced form approach derived from a general theoretical framework based on the interaction between the demand and the supply for local public services. Data about social care services provided by Italian municipalities in 2010 are used to test the model.
Rooting of firebush shrub hardwood cuttings using growth regulator long duration application

Vegetative propagation through stem cuttings is the most vital method to reproduce plants and conserve their innate desirable characters. Sixty uniform hardwood cuttings with the same number of nodes of one-centimetre diameter were used to test the influence of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) after 12 and 24 hours of soaking on induction, growth of adventitious roots and establishment of firebush (Hamelia patens Jacquin) hardwood cuttings was examined. Cuttings vitality expressed as bud break responded positively to growth regulators treatments. The treatment of IBA at 500 ppm achieved the highest bud break percentage with an increase of 70.5% compared to the control. Also, IBA at 500 ppm achieved the highest rooting percentage (65.6% after 12 hours and 69.4% after 24 hours of treatment), greater number of roots per cutting (30.5 and 29.8 at 12 and 24 hours, respectively), longer roots per cutting (36.6 and 9.2 mm), higher fresh and dry weight of roots per cutting, the highest number of branches per cutting (8.8) and greater number of leaves per cutting (65.3 and 48.3% after 12 and 24 hours of treatment duration, respectively). The treatment of IBA at 500 ppm achieved the highest establishment percentage (68.3 and 53.3% establishment after 12 and 24 hours of treatment time, respectively). At twelve-hour soaking time, IBA at 500 ppm and 300 ppm resulted in longer branches (159.2 and 151.3 mm). The treatment of IBA at 500 ppm is recommended for effective hardwood cutting rooting of firebush. Time of soaking (12-24 h) effect was not consistent and was different among individual treatments.
STD-Net: Structure-preserving and Topology-adaptive Deformation Network for Single-View 3D Reconstruction

3D reconstruction from single-view images is a long-standing research problem. To date, there are various methods based on point clouds and volumetric representations. In spite of success in 3D models generation, it is quite challenge for these approaches to deal with models with complex topology and fine geometric details. Thanks to the recent advance of deep shape representations,learning the structure and detail representation using deep neural networks is a promising direction. In this paper, we propose a novel approach named STD-Net to reconstruct 3D models utilizing mesh representation that is well suited for characterizing complex structures and geometry details. Our method consists of (1) an auto-encoder network for recovering the structure of an object with bounding box representation from a single-view image; (2) a topology-adaptive GCN for updating vertex position for meshes of complex topology; and (3) a unified mesh deformation block that deforms the structural boxes into structure-aware meshes. Evaluation on ShapeNet shows that STD-Net has better performance than state-of-the-art methods in reconstructing complex structures and fine geometric details.
A powerful 13-tap ATDE and XPIC implemented on one chip for co-channel digital radio system

The growing demand for high capacity transmission in digital radio systems (DRS) has led to the adoption of a highly spectral efficient system comprising cochannel operation and multilevel QAM. Due to the vulnerability of such a system to the channel conditions, great efforts have been made on counteracting multipath fading and depolarization. The authors propose a powerful multitask chip with 150 K gate array for DRS. This chip was implemented with state of the art 0.6 /spl mu/ HCMOS technology and was designed to be used not only as an equalizer for multipath fading and a canceller for cochannel operation, but also as a digital filter for pulse shaping in modems using up to 1024-QAM or TCM. The performance of cochannel of 64-QAM DRS combined with digital slope equalizer is presented. <<ETX>>
Target enrichment of long open reading frames and ultraconserved elements to link microevolution and macroevolution in non‐model organisms

Despite the increasing accessibility of high‐throughput sequencing, obtaining high‐quality genomic data on non‐model organisms without proximate well‐assembled and annotated genomes remains challenging. Here, we describe a workflow that takes advantage of distant genomic resources and ingroup transcriptomes to select and jointly enrich long open reading frames (ORFs) and ultraconserved elements (UCEs) from genomic samples for integrative studies of microevolutionary and macroevolutionary dynamics. This workflow is applied to samples of the African unionid bivalve tribe Coelaturini (Parreysiinae) at basin and continent‐wide scales. Our results indicate that ORFs are efficiently captured without prior identification of intron‐exon boundaries. The enrichment of UCEs was less successful, but nevertheless produced substantial data sets. Exploratory continent‐wide phylogenetic analyses with ORF supercontigs (>515,000 parsimony informative sites) resulted in a fully resolved phylogeny, the backbone of which was also retrieved with UCEs (>11,000 informative sites). Variant calling on ORFs and UCEs of Coelaturini from the Malawi Basin produced ~2000 SNPs per population pair. Estimates of nucleotide diversity and population differentiation were similar for ORFs and UCEs. They were low compared to previous estimates in molluscs, but comparable to those in recently diversifying Malawi cichlids and other taxa at an early stage of speciation. Skimming off‐target sequence data from the same enriched libraries of Coelaturini from the Malawi Basin, we reconstructed the maternally‐inherited mitogenome, which displays the gene order inferred for the most recent common ancestor of Unionidae. Overall, our workflow and results provide exciting perspectives for integrative genomic studies of microevolutionary and macroevolutionary dynamics in non‐model organisms.
Oral Impacts Experienced by Orthodontic Patients Undergoing Fixed or Removable Appliances Therapy in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Purpose The objective of this study is to compare the orthodontic patient’s experiences with removable and fixed orthodontic appliances on daily activities, food consumption, and oral symptoms in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia. Methods This was a cross-sectional observational study carried out among orthodontic patients. A total of 150 adult patients, including 118 in the fixed orthodontic appliance group and 32 in the removable (Invisalign) orthodontic group, who met the inclusion criteria completed a validated and self-administered questionnaire. In addition, the study participants reported their experience in terms of daily routine, food consumption, and oral symptoms one week after appliance activation. Data were analyzed using the chi-square test and Fisher’s exact tests for the categorical variables. In addition, Mann–Whitney U, Kruskal–Wallis, and Spearman’s tests were also applied to the data. Results The fixed orthodontic patients compared to the removable orthodontic cases showed significantly higher difficulty in sleeping (1.28±1.10 vs 0.94±0.88, p=0.024), sores on the tongue (0.97±1.00 vs 0.56±0.76, p=0.042) and cheeks (1.20±1.11 vs 0.72±0.81, p=0.027), and the presence of food debris under the appliance (1.53±1.16 vs.1.00±0.95, p=0.021). Moreover, the oral health impact score showed a significant positive correlation with the duration of the orthodontic treatment (r=0.339, p<0.001) and pain intensity (r=0.309, p<0.001). Conclusion The fixed orthodontic treatment compared to removable orthodontic treatment resulted in more severe pain, sleeping difficulty, sores on the tongue and cheeks, and food impaction after one week of appliance activation.
The strong interfacial coupling effect of Nafion between LaFeO3/electrolyte for efficient photoelectrochemical water reduction

Insufficient reduction capability and scanty active substance limit the application of LaFeO3 (LFO) in the field of photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. This work demonstrates a judicious combination of LFO/Nafion composite to improve the PEC performance by a unique dip-coating method on the FTO. The photocurrent density of the LFO electrode coated with two layers Nafion increased to −23.9 μA cm−2 at 0.47 V versus RHE, which is 4.1 times that of the pristine LFO. Based on the experimental data and theoretical analysis, the improvement of the PEC properties is attributed to the construction of organic/inorganic units, which would enable strong electronic coupling and favor interfacial charge transfer, resulting in a 30 mV downward shift of its flat band potential. Thus, the conduction band gets closer to the proton reduction potential of H+ to H2 after decoration with Nafion, resulting in a stronger photogenerated electron reduction ability. Our study provides insights that organic materials modify semiconductor photoelectrodes for accelerating charge kinetics.
Detecting Critical Patterns in Maternal-Fetal Heart Rate Tracings over Time

The present study examined how individuals detect critical patterns in MFHR tracings in single and multiple monitor displays. Two studies were performed, varying the number of critical signals presented within displays. In the first study, the number of critical signals increased with increases in the number of displays. In the second study, the number of signals remained constant across display conditions. The results from Study 1 showed no decrement for either display condition; however, fewer critical signals were detected in the multiple display condition. In Study 2, there was no vigilance decrement nor was there a difference in number of signals detected for display condition. However, significantly more false alarms were committed for the multiple display condition. Although no definitive conclusion can be reached regarding vigilance performance and multiple displays, there is cause for concern from a clinical perspective about the degraded ability to detect signals from multiple displays. These findings highlight the need for additional research on factors that affect the ability to monitor MFHR tracings, particularly in clinical settings.
Educators’ Use and Views of Simulations as Teaching Tools within a Discipline: The Example of Hospitality and Tourism

This Scholarship of Teaching and Learning study investigated hospitality faculty members’ perceptions and use of industry-related simulations in hospitality and tourism education to help the authors understand how simulations are and can be used as educational tools. Using learning engagement theory as a framework, respondents to a survey perceived that simulations help students develop decision-making skills, increase problem-solving skills, integrate knowledge from other classes, learn to work with others, and link theory to practice, and noted that simulations are fun to use. A significant positive relationship was found between the number of semesters educators have used simulations and their satisfaction with the simulations. Perceived drawbacks to the use of simulations included that they are costly, time-consuming, too complex, and lack realism and validity. Based on the findings, suggestions are made for improving the use of simulations in hospitality and tourism education, and limitations and ideas for further research are offered.
Artemisia santolinifolia-Mediated Chemosensitization via Activation of Distinct Cell Death Modes and Suppression of STAT3/Survivin-Signaling Pathways in NSCLC

Conventional chemotherapy remains an integral part of lung cancer therapy, regardless of its toxicity and drug resistance. Consequently, the discovery of an alternative to conventional chemotherapy is critical. Artemisia santolinifolia ethanol extract (AS) was assessed for its chemosensitizer ability when combined with the conventional anticancer drug, docetaxel (DTX), against non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). SRB assay was used to determine cell viability for A549 and H23 cell lines. The potential for this combination was examined by the combination index (CI). Further cell death, analyses with Annexin V/7AAD double staining, and corresponding protein expressions were analyzed. Surprisingly, AS synergistically enhanced the cytotoxic effect of DTX by inducing apoptosis in H23 cells through the caspase-dependent pathway, whereas selectively increased necrotic cell population in A549 cells, following the decline in GPX4 level and reactive oxygen species (ROS) activation with the highest rate in the combination treatment group. Furthermore, our results highlight the chemosensitization ability of AS when combined with DTX. It was closely associated with synergistic inhibition of oncogenesis signaling molecule STAT3 in both cell lines and concurrently downregulating prosurvival protein Survivin. Conclusively, AS could enhance DTX-induced cancer cells apoptosis by abrogating substantial prosurvival proteins’ expressions and triggering two distinct cell death pathways. Our data also highlight that AS might serve as an adjunctive therapeutic option along with a conventional chemotherapeutic agent in the management of NSCLC patients.
Differentiated reliability in optical networks: theoretical and practical results

This paper presents both theoretical and experimental studies carried on wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) networks with arbitrary (mesh) topology that provide optical circuits with differentiated reliability (DiR). Reliability is obtained by means of a modified shared path protection (SPP) switching scheme-here referred to as SPP-DiR. As explained in the paper, SPP-DiR networks provide multiple degrees of circuit reliability that satisfy client-specific reliability requirements in a cost-effective way. The theoretical study first defines the problem of optimally designing SPP-DiR WDM networks. It then presents a time-efficient suboptimal algorithm that determines the routing and the reliability degree of each demand in the given traffic matrix by applying both the conventional SPP and the SPP-DiR scheme. When compared to dedicated path protection switching, results obtained for the pan-European network using the proposed algorithm indicate cost reductions of about 16% when SPP is applied, and up to 34% when SPP-DiR is applied. The experimental study describes the /spl Omega/ testbed-a WDM optical circuit-switched mesh network with an IP control plane-which is believed to be the first testbed ever built that makes use of the SPP-DiR scheme. Experimental results performed on the /spl Omega/ testbed report restoration times of the optical circuits-disrupted by a fiber fault-that are few tens of milliseconds.
The Phosphorylated Form of the Histone H2AX (γH2AX) in the Brain from Embryonic Life to Old Age

The γ phosphorylated form of the histone H2AX (γH2AX) was described more than 40 years ago and it was demonstrated that phosphorylation of H2AX was one of the first cellular responses to DNA damage. Since then, γH2AX has been implicated in diverse cellular functions in normal and pathological cells. In the first part of this review, we will briefly describe the intervention of H2AX in the DNA damage response (DDR) and its role in some pivotal cellular events, such as regulation of cell cycle checkpoints, genomic instability, cell growth, mitosis, embryogenesis, and apoptosis. Then, in the main part of this contribution, we will discuss the involvement of γH2AX in the normal and pathological central nervous system, with particular attention to the differences in the DDR between immature and mature neurons, and to the significance of H2AX phosphorylation in neurogenesis and neuronal cell death. The emerging picture is that H2AX is a pleiotropic molecule with an array of yet not fully understood functions in the brain, from embryonic life to old age.
Social identity in construction: enactments and outcomes

A social identity lens and theories of self-reinforcement are used to explore identity work and processes of identification at the micro-level in a large construction company. Rich data from a qualitative case study show that a strong collective identification is self-defining for the vast majority of managers in the organization, regardless of their role and function. This collective identification revolved around the trade of ‘being a construction worker’, associated with the traits of being practically oriented and of having a long professional background in construction. This collective identification seems to reinforce itself by a combination of pulling and pushing movements and/or ‘being blind’ vis-à-vis those that stand outside its self-defining core, content, and behaviours. The results of the study suggest that self-defining at the individual and group levels has implications for organizational performance and outcomes. It is also suggested that the use of a social identity lens can help increase understanding of interpersonal relations, collaboration, and change initiatives in the construction industry.
Assessment of the Impact of Coaching on a Company’s Performance: A Review of Methods

The aim of the present study is to provide an analysis of the literature about methods for assessing the impact of coaching on the performance of a company, and elaborate a framework of assessment methods emphasizing their use in the course of coaching interaction. The paper also explores the relationship between open innovation and coaching and proposes the themes for further research. The Scopus and Web of Science databases were selected for the review of the research papers in the business subject area. The review was guided by the following research questions: What methods are used for assessing the impact of coaching? How are these methods used in the course of the coaching interaction? How does coaching interrelate with open innovation? The findings suggest that the assessment of the impact of coaching on the individual’s behavior and performance of a company is considered from different perspectives. The methods differ based on the needs for the assessment whether the process evaluation or the outcome evaluation is required. The analysis of the literature proves that the relationship between coaching and open innovation is mutually advantageous.
A STUDY ON LEARNING APPROACHES USED AMONG POST-GRADUATE STUDENTS IN RESEARCH UNIVERSITY

This paper aims to determine the method of learningapproaches adopted by post-graduate students in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and to identify whether these approaches are associated with demographic factors (age, gender, main streams, mode of study and working experience). Participants included 354 post-graduate students from different faculties in UTM whereas questionnaires were distributed via email and throughdesignated contact person. The One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed that there were significant differences on the usage of the three post-graduates’ learning approaches across age, main streams and years of working experience. Significance was not seen between learning approaches on gender and mode of study. Deep approach was found to be preferred approaches to their learning methods. Our investigation suggests that approach to learning should be included in their academics, however the suggestion is tailored according on the tasks given to the students. Hence, we concluded that further investigation could be carried out the effect of learning environment towards students dynamic in learning
The Impact of Quality Management on Business Performance of Manufacturing Firms: The Moderated Effect of Industry 4

Purpose: The research aims to investigate the individual quality management (QM) factors impact on business performance in manufacturing firms. We then assess their influence and look at how industry 4.0 affects business performance directly. Furthermore, the study will demonstrate the moderate effect of industry 4.0 on the interaction between QM and business performance. Methodology/Approach: The authors used two methodologies. The first is qualitative methods, by interviewing experts to develop a realistically appropriate model. The second is quantitative methods, by carrying out the survey and getting 84 observations. This research used the multivariate data analysis technique PLS-SEM to evaluate three measurement models: formative measurement model, reflective measurement model, and structural model. Findings: The QM was operationalised as a multi–dimensional construct. According to the findings, these individual QM factors significantly affect the organisation’s performance, including customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction and quality performance. Besides, QM and Industry 4.0 have directly impact on performance. The study also shows that industry 4.0 has a positive moderating role in the relationship between QM and business performance. Research Limitation/Implication: The survey was only done in emerging countries and the sample size is limited. There are other QM and business performance measurement parameters that have not yet to be discussed. Originality/Value of paper: The study contributes to the QM literature by building a business quality model, in which the role of Industry 4.0 was explored.
A Load Compensator Based on One-Cycle Control with Plug-In Repetitive Control

This study proposes a novel one-cycle control scheme with a plug-in repetitive controller for load compensator. The novelty of this scheme lies in the combination of high dynamics and the simplicity of a one-cycle controller and good steady-state harmonic suppression ability of the repetitive controller. In addition, the proposed scheme can reduce the effect of the harmonics in phase voltage for the existence of the repetitive controller. Finally, experimental results on a three-phase, four-wire, three-level load compensator are reported to validate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.
Can warnings curb the spread of fake news? The interplay between warning, trust and confirmation bias

ABSTRACT Despite attempts by social media companies to curb the spread of fake news with warnings flagging news credibility, the effectiveness of such measures remains unclear. Through the lens of the cognitive dissonance theory and individuals’ trust in the news, this study develops a theoretical model that explains why and how warnings affect an individual’s intention to share fake news. The study empirically assesses the predicted relationships using experimental survey data from 382 individuals. The findings provide evidence for two processes that underlie the effectiveness of warnings in curbing fake news sharing: (1) warnings negatively impact intention to share fake news through the psychological mechanism of lowering people’s cognitive and emotional trust in the news and (2) warnings mitigate the impact of cognitive trust on intention to share fake news. Confirmation bias is found to serve as a boundary condition for the effectiveness of warnings in lowering individuals’ cognitive and emotional trust in the news and in reducing the impacts of trust on an individual’s intention to share fake news.