Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance Improvement for Wireless Mesh Networks with Renewable Energy Source

Multi-radio multi-channel wireless mesh networks (WMNs) have been the focus of numerous research efforts during the past few years. These efforts aimed at extending the utilization of technologies based on the IEEE 802.11 standard in large-scale communities and even for city wide networking. However, mesh nodes in these networks are typically limited in their resources (e.g., bandwidth, power and radio interfaces). Such a limitation has led to an unsatisfactory network performance as well as users dissatisfaction. This dissertation addresses three important performance issues related to WMNs, namely, network performance enhancement, network survivability and green communications. To address the first issue, a novel quality of service (QoS) aware joint channel assignment (CA) and routing algorithm is developed. The proposed algorithm employs both dynamic and static CA techniques and corresponding link schedules that maximize the network throughput and minimize the delay and packet loss ratio. Next, the thesis addresses the problem of network survivability and theoretically analyzes the effects of node failure probabilities on the ability of the remaining network nodes to maintain their connectivity. A tight upper bound on the node failure probabilities needed to maintain full network connectivity on the one hand is first developed. On the other hand, a lower bound, at which the system loses connectivity, is also derived. We show that these bounds are dependent only on the nodes’ geometric distribution and density. Based on the premise that failure of nodes in a small area may lead to failure of dependent nodes in other areas due to the quick divergence of traffic in these areas, an efficient node failure backup scheme is presented. The scheme relies on the capacity of the surviving network components in order to find new paths that do not overload the neighbours of the failed node which reduces the probability of generating congestion. Finally, the thesis addresses the problem of realizing energy-efficient WMNs that can operate using renewable energy sources. In these systems, batteries are often used to store and regulate the use of the supplied green energy to transmit the received data at each network router in order to overcome the problem of supply fluctuating of various energy sources. To realize these networks, the behaviour of the residual energy of the battery at a heavily loaded green wireless mesh node with a general traffic arrival and energy charging functions is first analyzed. Based on obtained theoretical results, both an online and an offline QoS aware packet scheduling schemes are proposed to minimize the probability of depleting the battery. Each of the aforementioned contributions is supported with various experimental evaluations to demonstrate the achieved performance enhancements.
Potential Use of Immature Oocyte to Improve Fertility Preservation Outcome: A Narrative Review

Fertility preservation through gamete vitrification has become one of the critical strategies to secure a childbearing potential in patients who are diagnosed with cancer or risks of infertility. Preserving the gametes would prevent the deleterious effects of cancer drugs or radiotherapy exposure on the quality of the gametes. Furthermore, in vitro fertilisation of vitrified mature human oocytes has lately demonstrated promising results that are reflected in the increased survival rate of thawed oocytes and the resultant clinical pregnancy rate. However, limitations in the cryopreservation of mature oocytes of cancer patients persist. Ovarian stimulation protocols which comprise administering gonadotrophin-releasing hormones could aggravate cancer or delay essential cancer therapy. Considering such circumstances, vitrification of immature oocytes would become a rational option. While the vitrification procedure of mature oocytes has been established, the vitrification of immature oocytes remains controversial due to a low post-thaw in vitro maturation and fertilisation rate. Apparent cryoinjuries to the immature oocytes post thawing or warming have been observed in both human and animal model oocytes. An alternative strategy was therefore proposed to improve the effectiveness of utilising immature oocytes for fertility preservation by conducting the in vitro oocyte maturation process first before vitrification. This method has prevailed, especially in oncofertility patients. Although the success rate of the clinical outcomes remains low, this approach, in conjugation with proper counselling, might provide oncofertility patients with an opportunity to preserve their reproductive potential.
Evaluating the feasibility of converting crude tall oil and tall oil fatty acids into biofuel

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of conversion of crude tall oil and tall oil fatty acids into biodiesel. During the Kraft pulping process, Crude Tall Oil originates as tall oil soap, which is separated from recovered black liquor. The soap is then converted to Crude Tall Oil by acidulation with sulphuric acid. The Crude Tall Oil is then fractionated by distillation to produce tall oil fatty acids (TOFA), rosin and pitch. There were a number of conversional methods that were considered but proved to be inappropriate. A base-catalyzed method was inappropriate with due to the high free fatty acid content on the feedstock, and the acid-base catalyzed method was inappropriate due to the long reaction times and large excess of methanol required. An enzyme based conversion method was also found to be inappropriate because of the high price attached to the purchasing of the enzymes and the stability of the enzyme. A procedure of choice was the supercritical methanol treatment, due to the fact that it requires no separate catalyst. A procedure was developed for both the feedstocks (i.e. crude tall oil and tall oil fatty acids) using the supercritical methanol treatment. In supercritical methanol treatment, feedstock and methanol were charged to a reactor and were subjected to temperatures and pressures beyond the critical point of methanol (Tc = 240 °C, Pc = 35 bar). The maximum biodiesel yield obtained from Crude tall oil was 66% and was 81% for the tall oil fatty acids that was produced in a single stage process. The temperature and methanol to feedstock ratio effects was also found to yield a maximum biodiesel yield at 325°C and 40:1 respectively. A 20 minutes reaction time was found to be appropriate for the maximum yield of biodiesel. The final biodiesel produced was also evaluated against a commercial biodiesel product and its parameters measured. The biodiesel resulting from the tall oil fatty acid yielded parameters that were acceptable according to ASTM D6751 specifications for biodiesel. The biodiesel produced from the crude tall oil did not meet the ASTM D6751 specification, and this was mostly attributed to the presence of unsaponifiables which hindered the conversion of oil into biodiesel.
Possible Causes of Anomalous Glacier Mass Balance in the Western Kunlun Mountains

Under current global warming, most glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau have shown significant mass loss during 2000–2019. However, the average glacier mass balance in the western Kunlun Mountains (WKM) was positive during this period. The causes of these opposing average status and the temporal glacier mass changes over the last several decades in the WKM continue to be the subject of active debate. The long‐term mass balance of the Guliya Ice Cap (Guliya) in the WKM during 1970–2019 was reconstructed using an energy and mass balance model and calibrated ERA5 data, which was calibrated and validated by in situ measurements and geodetic mass balances. Guliya showed a positive mean mass balance during 2000–2019 because annual snowfall was larger than low ablation‐season meltwater caused by low air temperature (T a ). At interannual scales, annual mass balances were equally controlled by ablation‐season precipitation and T a during 1970–2019. From 1970s–1990s to 1990s–2010s, most Tibetan glaciers showed decreased mass balance due to increased ablation season T a , while the WKM glaciers experienced increased mass balance due to increased ablation‐season precipitation related to changes in the Silk Road Pattern. However, during 2000–2019, the annual mass balance of Guliya followed a decreasing trend due to increasing ablation‐season T a . The positive mass balance of the WKM glaciers will cease under future warming due to annual snowfall decreasing below ablation‐season meltwater. These changes will threaten lives and livelihoods in the Tarim Basin, whilst also jeopardizing ice core‐derived climate histories from the WKM glaciers.
Trajectories of Anxiety and Depression Symptoms over Five Years since Breast Cancer Diagnosis: Results of the NEON-BC Prospective Study

Anxiety and depression symptoms are frequent among patients with breast cancer (BCa) and may last after initial treatments. We aimed to identify five-year trajectories of anxiety and depression symptoms among women with BCa. Neuro-oncological complications of BCa (NEON-BC) cohort included 506 patients admitted at the Portuguese Institute of Oncology of Porto in 2012, who were evaluated with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale before cancer treatment and after one, three, and five years (7.9% attrition rate). Mixed-effect models were used to model anxiety and depression scores over time and model-based clustering to identify the different trajectories. Three trajectories of anxiety symptoms were identified: (1) high scores at baseline and increasing over time (21.7%); (2) consistently low scores over time (63.6%); (3) mid-range scores at baseline, decreasing over time (14.6%). Three trajectories were identified for depression symptoms: (1) high scores at baseline and increasing over time (21.1%); (2) mid-range scores at baseline, which decreased afterward (58.7%); (3) consistently low levels over time (20.2%). Age, education, baseline, and one-year anxiety/depression status predicted the worst five-year trajectories. These results show that assessing anxiety and depression symptoms before treatment and after one year may contribute to identifying the patients who could benefit the most from psychological support.
Chapter 10. Exploring the learning potential of writing development in heritage language education

This chapter examines writing-to-learn practices in a U.S. university foreign language (FL) setting that serves both Anglophone learners of Spanish as a FL and heritage language (HL) students. The HL participants in this study, adults with biliterate knowledge in Spanish and English, exhibit skills, needs, and expectations that diverge considerably from those of their (monolingual) FL counterparts. Evidence gathered from interviews with instructors, student surveys, and instructional materials points toward an approach in which writing serves merely as a means of enhancing language proficiency (a writing-to-learn approach). Findings suggest that traditional writing-to-learn practices are ill-suited to addressing HL students’ literacy needs, which include developing rhetorical skills and genre knowledge that have currency beyond the FL classroom. Accordingly, the chapter adds to the theme explored in the book with its analysis of the potential misalignments between the learning-to-write and writing-to-learn dimensions of L2 writing that may exist in a given instructional setting.
Mixed reality technologies for immersive interactive broadcast

Up until now, TV has been a one-to-many proposition apart from a few exceptions. The TV Stations produced and packaged their shows and the consumers had to tune in at a specific time to watch their favourite show. However, new technologies are changing the way we watch and produce television programs. For example, viewers often use second screen applications and are engaged in lively discussions via social media channels while watching TV. Nevertheless, immediate live interaction with broadcast media is still not possible. In this paper, the latest results of the European funded project ACTION-TV, which is developing novel forms of user interaction based on advanced Computer Vision and Mixed-Reality technologies, are presented. The aim of this research project is to let viewers actively participate in pre-produced live-action television shows. This expands the horizon of the interactive television concept towards engaging television shows. The paper explains the concept, challenges and solutions resulting in a first prototype real-time demonstrator for novel interactive TV services.
Information and Communication Technologies and Employment: Complements or Substitutes?

Information and communication technologies have changed the way in which a very large number of professions are exercised. As a result, digital technology can therefore contribute to the reduction or destruction of jobs and consequently to the rise in unemployment. Hence the fear of workers regarding the substitution of labor by machinery. Nevertheless, Schumpeterian theory maintains that technical progress generates opportunities for profit, and therefore investment opportunities, which when seized by companies are transformed into jobs. It is in the light of this controversy that the purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of information and communication technologies on employment in Cameroon. By applying the OLS method to data covering the period 1980-2016, the results reveal that ICT promotes job creation in Cameroon. Thus, we suggest to the Cameroonian government to create more favorable conditions for the development of ICTs which will have the positive externality of job creation.
Assessing the Effectiveness of Green Landscape Buffers to Reduce Fire Severity and Limit Fire Spread in California: Case Study of Golf Courses

Communities looking to improve fire protection may consider incorporating landscape features that ‘buffer’ the effects of a fire between developed and undeveloped lands. While landscapes such as golf courses, vineyards, or agriculture are already being considered part of this buffer zone, few empirical studies demonstrate causally how well these different landscape features operate as a fire buffer. This research selects golf courses as an example of a possible buffer landscape and proposes methods to test if this buffer alters fire severity and limits fire spread. Using propensity score matching and multiple linear regression, we demonstrate golf courses that burned in California between 1986 and 2020 had a predicted 49% reduction in fire severity relative to otherwise similar vegetated land. This reduction in fire severity is regionally dependent, with the effect of golf course buffering landscapes most pronounced in the North Bay region. For limiting fire spread, golf courses function similarly to hardscaped land uses such as airports, suggesting that irrigation and vegetation management can be effective in creating desired buffering qualities. These methods suggest that artificially created irrigated green zones act as effective buffers, providing de facto fuel breaks around communities, and can be reproduced for other potential buffering landscape features. This study does not advocate for the use of any specific anthropogenic landscape feature, but rather highlights that community-based fire hazard reduction goals could be attained through considering landscape features beyond fuel reduction manipulations.
Moderating Effect of Gender, Income and Age towards an Islamic Health Protection Retirement Plan (i-HPRP)

This study examines the moderating effect of demographic variables like gender, income, and age on the proposed Islamic Health Protection Retirement Plan Model (i-HPRP). The study adopts a quantitative method by surveying 498 respondents located in different states in Malaysia. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) is adopted in this study to measure the moderating effect of demographic variables. The analysis results showed that saving behavior has significantly influenced the plan's preferences while the spending behavior did not. Besides, demographic variables play a role as a moderator in the relationship between saving and the retirement plan. Overall, this research findings reveal that gender, age, and income level were important in determining individual saving behavior and preparation for retirement. An effort to increase awareness of retirement preparation should be enforced on various age groups among citizens to reduce the problem of insufficient funds among retirees.
Effect of acetylsalicylic acid and ammonium sulphate on productive and physiological parameters in Stipa caudata under water shortage conditions

Stipa caudata is a grass native to low rainfall areas in Argentina and Chile, considered an excellent potential candidate for biofuel production or soil restoration programmes. This study aimed at analysing the effects of ammonium sulphate (AMS) and acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) on the productivity and biochemical traits of plants of this species under water scarcity conditions. The experimental work was carried out on plants grown outdoors using a randomised block plot design. Several yield and biochemical parameters related to resistance to water scarcity were analysed in plants treated with AMS or ASA. Plants in the treatments with ASA and AMS had higher total chlorophyll content than the others. Concerning ion content, water-restricted plants treated with AMS had similar values to irrigated plants. Regarding the osmoprotectants and antioxidants, treated plants had increased concentrations of proline and total flavonoids. Under water stress, plants had higher APX activity and there was an A x B interaction for CAT and SOD activity. The results obtained show that the use of ASA and AMS in some crops or in environmental restoration programmes could be a useful tool to cope with future climate scenarios of water scarcity.
A Logical Methodology for Archaeoseismology: A Proof of Concept at the Archaeological Site of Sagalassos, Southwest Turkey

Archaeoseismology is currently controversial, with criticisms over the extent to which this research field can contribute to seismic-hazard analysis and, in- deed, as to whether man-made structures can be used as earthquake indicators at all. Addressing these concerns—in other words, refining the utility of archaeologi- cally derived earthquake information to permit its inclusion in earthquake-hazard assessments—requires first a systematic, quantitative, and interdisciplinary approach to the seismocultural record. Here, we modify a semiquantitative logic-tree formalism developed for palaeoseismology to explore a methodological scheme that can track uncertainties in successive stages of archaeoseismological investigation. The end result of our logic-tree formalism is a value that expresses the level of certainty to which an archaeological site has recorded a palaeoearthquake and thus reflects its relative significance with respect to a seismic-hazard analysis; we call this measure the archaeoseismic quality factor (AQF). We illustrate how the methodological scheme might work by applying it to Saga- lassos in southwest Turkey, an archaeological site for which earthquake effects are extensively reported. The resulting AQF that we derive from our critical review of the Sagalassos dataset is currently meaningless, because comparable values from equiva- lent reappraisals of earthquake evidence at other archaeological sites are needed for its relative significance to be appreciated. Nevertheless, the varying levels of uncertainty that we assign for different stages in the logic tree allow us to identify key weaknesses in the earthquake hypothesis at Sagalassos, deficiencies that might be redressed through future investigations onsite. The logic-tree formalism offers the potential of a standardized procedure to compile, categorize, and evaluate archaeoseismological information in a form that might, with refinement from wider earthquake archaeology studies, be appropriate for seismic-hazard analysis.
EXPRESS: A business model pattern arrives... and then? A translation perspective on business model innovation in established firms

This study examines business model innovation (BMI) in an established firm. We investigate the case of a Swedish utility company that adopted and implemented a business model (BM) pattern originating from outside the firm. We draw upon Scandinavian translation theory to understand the micro-level dynamics of how BMI unfolds. Our findings show that the BM pattern is disassembled into its constituent parts, that these are translated separately and, little by little, (re)assembled into a whole to form a new BM. This process involves several loops of translation activated by the interplay between five practices: formulating, engaging, resisting, anchoring, and energizing. On the basis of our findings, we develop a BM translation framework. We thereby contribute to a better understanding of the micro-level perspective on BMI initiated by the adoption of a BM pattern. We also reveal that BMI processes triggered by BM patterns from outside differ from those taking place when a new BM is entirely developed within a firm.
Development of a human presence detection system using a novel electrostatically-enhanced displacement current sensing technique

i Declaration ii Acknowledgments iii List of Tables vii List of Figures viii List of Appendices xi List of Acronyms and Abbreviations xii Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Motivation and Rationale 1 1.2 Aim and Objectives 4 1.3 Research Approach and Methodology 5 1.4 Thesis Contribution 6 1.5 Thesis Overview 8 Chapter 2 Biopotentials and Electrophysiology Measurement 2.
Evaluation of m‐Health‐rehabilitation for respiratory disorders: A systematic review

Chronic respiratory diseases are prominent causes of morbidity worldwide that impose significant social and economic burdens on individuals and communities. Pulmonary rehabilitation is one of the main aspects of medical rehabilitation. Nowadays, mobile health apps deliver pulmonary rehabilitation support via smartphones. This article presents a systematic review of the literature on m‐Health apps used in respiration disorders rehabilitation.
Dermal Absorption of Sesquiterpene Lactones from Arnica Tincture

Arnica tincture is a traditional herbal medicine used to treat blunt injuries, e.g., bruises and squeezes. In addition, a potential new use in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis is currently under investigation. Therefore, detailed information about the dermal absorption of the tincture and especially its bioactive constituents, sesquiterpene lactones (STLs) of the helenalin- and 11α,13-dihydrohelenalin type, is mandatory. Consequently, this article reports on dermal absorption studies of Arnica tincture using diffusion cells and porcine skin as well as two human skin samples with different permeability. The amounts of STLs on the skin surfaces, in skin extracts and in the receptor fluids were quantified by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography with high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS). It was found that Arnica STLs permeated into the receptor fluid already 4 h after the application, but the amount was rather low. Within 48 h, a maximum of 8.4%, 14.6% and 36.4% of STLs permeated through porcine skin, human skin A (trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) = 11.518 g·m−2·h−1) and the more permeable human skin B (TEWL = 17.271 g·m−2·h−1), respectively. The majority of STLs was absorbed (penetrated into the skin; 97.6%, 97.8% and 99.3%) after 48 h but a huge portion could not be extracted from skin and is expected to be irreversibly bound to skin proteins. To better visualize the analytes in different skin layers, a fluorescence-labeled STL, helenalin 3,4-dimethoxycinnamate, was synthesized. Fluorescence microscopic images depict an accumulation of the fluorescent derivative in the epidermis. For the treatment of local, cutaneous complaints, an enrichment of the bioactive substances in the skin may be considered beneficial.