Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CYTOTOXICITY AND DIFFERENTIATION EFFECTS OF GOLD NANOPARTICLES TO HUMAN BONE MARROW MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS

Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) are widely used in chemical sensing, drug delivery, biomedical imaging, and photothermal therapy due to their strong and size-tunable surface plasmon resonance, fluorescence, and easy-surface functionalization. In this study, we investigated the effects of water-dispersed GNPs on the cytotoxicity and differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) and the associated death pathway. The results showed that the viability of hBMSCs was dependent upon the size of GNPs. Further, GNPs at the smallest size exhibited the highest cytotoxicity after treatment for 5 days and also substantially suppressed the number of colony-forming unit-fibroblast (CFU-F) of hBMSCs after continuous exposure for 21 days. Although large and medium sizes of GNPs had minor cytotoxicity to the cells, the sizes of CFU-F formed in the groups treated with GNPs at medium and large sizes were smaller compared to the control group. Further study of the cell death pathway using GNPs at medium size found that GNPs triggered hBMSCs necrosis, possibly by oxidative stress after GNPs were endocytosed. In addition, GNPs exerted the inhibitory effects on induced osteogenesis and adipogenesis of hBMSCs. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and calcium mineralization during osteogenic induction as well as the accumulation of triacylglycerides in adipogenic hBMSCs were repressed significantly by coculturing with GNPs at medium size. Our results suggest that the application of GNPs as long-term tracers for the activities of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) should be carefully evaluated.
Ampacity of diversely loaded cables in covered and uncovered trays

The existing code for ampacity of cables in a tray does not account for load diversity among the cables and it does not consider the presence of tray covers. This paper provides two factors that can be used to determine ampacity values for these two cases. These factors can be used in conjunction with existing code ampacity values so that cable ampacities can be calculated for diversely loaded, covered and uncovered trays. Also, the case of a few heavily loaded cables in an otherwise lightly loaded tray is addressed. This particular situation can produce nonconservative ampacity values if treated with a one-dimensional heat transfer model. The problem of both load diversity, and the presence of a cover are addressed with a computer code that has been described in previous papers. The computer model is designed to provide conservative ampacity values by assuming that the more highly-loaded cables are placed along the tray centerline and the lightly-loaded cables are positioned on the outer surfaces of the cable bundle. In this way the heavily-loaded cables are insulated from the environment and thus the program calculates a conservative cable temperature. The factors that account for load diversity show that a small percentage of cables in the tray can be loaded significantly beyond the code allowable ampacity value if the remainder of the cables are lightly loaded or unenergized. On the other hand, the code-allowable ampacity must be reduced by up to 25% when a solid cover is placed over the tray.
Taxonomía de riesgos de outsourcing de software Software outsourcing risk taxonomy

In recent years, the software outsourcing (SO) strategy for organizations has become a useful and important alternative, as well as SO projects. SO projects have many complexities due to several factors affecting management. These complexities and importance of SO require that successfull projects meet a parameter set: budget, cost, schedule, among others. This requirement can be met through the implementation of methods and techniques of risk management (RM). RM is a process to prevent problems, establish actions to follow, and monitor the project to ensure success. Likewise, it is considered a key process in making decisions about risks. In this paper, we present a proposal for the risks identification related to software outsourcing process. Risk identification is the basic activity on which rests the success of RM process. Our proposal is a risk taxonomy of SO, consisting in a hierarchical classification structure based on the RM of SO projects. The taxonomy was validated in a study case: Project of pre-developed software acquisition. The results have been useful for the organization and for the refinement of the proposal, thanks to lessons learned.
Distance Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Impact of Online Gaming Addiction on University Students’ Performance

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced most universities worldwide to convert to distance education to ensure the educational process remains uninterrupted. The COVID-19 pandemic-related confinement orders have led students to be more engaged with online games. However, for a minority of students, excessive playing can become problematic and addictive. Few studies investigated the long-term effect of COVID-19 on game addiction among university students. The present study investigates the changes in online game addiction rates between May 2021 and May 2020 and aims at determining the impact of playing online games on students’ academic performance. It also examines the demographic factors associated with video game addiction. A sample (n= 418) of students from one private university in UAE was randomly selected, and data were analyzed. The study has determined a reduction in online game addiction levels in the second year of pandemic compared with the first year. Gender and academic level were considered the most predominant features expressively related to online games addiction. It has also been found that digital game addiction is positively associated with academic performance.
Cross-Temporal Snapshot Alignment for Dynamic Networks

In this paper, we study the task of cross-temporal snapshot alignment for dynamic networks. The goal of this task is to match equivalent nodes across temporal snapshots of a given dynamic network. Previous static network alignment methods ignore the non-stationary nature of networks, while existing dynamic counterparts focusing on two separate evolving networks do not take into account the problem of aligning two snapshots of the same dynamic network. To alleviate these issues, we propose a Cross-Temporal Snapshot Alignment model (CTSA), which maps nodes from different snapshots into the same semantic space and makes the equivalent nodes in the source and target snapshots to be aligned locate as closely as possible. Our CTSA model utilizes graph neural networks to embed nodes for each snapshot by aggregating the local structural information, and integrates the self-attention based encoders to model the dependencies in different snapshots over time. Additionally, to improve the alignment performance of the model, we contrive a novel positional embedding learning method, which takes into account both the ordering information of input representation sequences at each time step and the graph information of each network snapshot. Experimental results on real-world dynamic networks demonstrate that our model outperforms the state-of-the-art baselines.
Covid-19 and corporate tax avoidance: Measuring long-run tax burdens as an alternative bailout test

This study fills the gap in the tax authorityâ€™s Covid-19 financial aid verifications by examining, and nominating, Long-run ETR (Dyreng et al., 2008) as the better corporate tax avoidance measure in excluding tax evader firms from the broad stimulus programs. Analysing confidential tax returns of 4,752 largest firms (32,120 firm-years) in Indonesia over 2009 to 2017 periods, this study found 18.12 percent of total sample firms is able to retain its Long-run ETR below 10 percent, which indicates continual tax avoidance activities by these firms during observation periods. Moreover, applying univariate and multivariate Ordinary Least Squares and Panel Data estimations, this study reveals, relative to other tax avoidance measures, Lagged Cash ETR (Lisowsky, 2010; Lisowsky et al., 2013) present the most consistent reliability in predicting long-run income tax burdens. Thus, this study asserts, in the conditions of computing Long-run ETR is costly and impractical (i.e. because of data unavailability), tax authority and policymakers can directly analyse firmsâ€™ Lagged Cash ETR to gauge their long-run income tax burdens and tax compliance behaviours prior the economic downturn. Â
A Cross-Layer Solution for VoIP over IEEE802.11

The deployment of WLANs was meant to extend LANs, with no particular care for real-time applications. Nevertheless, since VoIP calls are becoming customary, IEEE802.11 WLANs are challenged with the provision of guaranteed quality VoIP calls. In this paper, we address the concerns on the efficiency of WLAN for VoIP provision, and propose a cross-layer scheme aimed to enhance the voice capacity of the current typical WLAN configuration. With the proposed modification, the overhead of the IEEE802.11 MAC is mitigated allowing the aggregation of VoIP packets of the same flow. We show through extensive simulations that the advantage of our scheme is significant, while being compliant with the current IEEE802.11 standard. Keywords— IEEE802.11, VoIP, Cross-Layer.
Theoretical Simulation of Temperature Elevations in a Joint Wear Simulator During Rotations

Artificial joints are the most successful long-term treatment for arthritis. Artificial joints have improved the quality of life for millions of patients; however, one of their major limitations is that failure of the device requires a surgical revision. A wear simulator is a valuable tool for testing the long term wear behavior of artificial joints and developing optimal designs before they are implanted in clinical settings. One of the issues related to artificial joint wear is potential temperature elevations caused by friction between articulating components, which affects not only the lubricant in-between, but also induces heat conduction through the components of the simulator. It has been suggested that the temperature elevations, if sufficient, may roughen the component interface, therefore leading to increases in wear.1–2Copyright © 2013 by ASME
Use and Appreciation of a Web-Based, Computer-Tailored Diet and Physical Activity Intervention Based on the Self-determination Theory: Evaluation Study of Process and Predictors

Background eHealth is a promising tool for promoting lifestyle behaviors such as a healthy diet and physical activity (PA). However, making people use interventions is a crucial and challenging problem in eHealth. More insight into use patterns and predicting factors is needed to improve future interventions. Objective This study aims to examine the use, predictors of use, and appreciation of a web-based, computer-tailored, dietary and PA promotion intervention, MyLifestyleCoach, which is based on the self-determination theory. First, we depict the participants’ flow in the intervention and identify moments when they are likely to discontinue use. Second, we investigate whether demographic, motivational, and program-related characteristics predict the use of several intervention elements. Finally, we report the appreciation scores for the intervention and the participant and program characteristics associated with these scores. Methods This study was based on data from web-based self-report questionnaires. Here, objectively assessed intervention use data were analyzed from participants randomized to the intervention condition. Multiple stepwise (logistic) regression analyses were conducted to examine the predictors of intervention use and evaluation scores. Results Our findings indicate a low full completion rate for the intervention among those who chose and completed the diet module (49/146, 33.6%), the PA module (2/12, 17%), and both modules (58/273, 21.2%). Several points in the intervention where participants were likely to stop using the intervention were identified. Autonomous and intrinsic motivation toward diet were related to the completion of the initial sessions of the intervention (ie, the opening session in which participants could choose which module to follow and the first session of the diet module). In contrast, controlled motivation was linked to the completion of both modules (initial and follow-up sessions). Appreciation scores were somewhat positive. Appreciation was predicted by several motivational constructs, such as amotivation and basic psychological needs (eg, competence) and program-related features (eg, number of completed sessions). Conclusions This study adds meaningful information on the use and appreciation of a web-based, computer-tailored dietary and PA intervention, MyLifestyleCoach. The results indicate that different types of motivations, such as extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, are at play at the points when people are likely to stop using the intervention. The intervention was appreciated fairly well, and several motivational constructs and fulfillment of basic psychological needs were associated with appreciation. Practical implications of these findings have been provided in this study.
Single phase three-level neutral-point-clamped quasi-Z-source inverter

This study presents a novel three-level neutral-point-clamped quasi-Z-source inverter in the single-stage buck-boost multilevel inverter family. The topology was derived by combining the properties of the quasi-Z-source network with those of a three-level neutral point clamped inverter. It features such advantages as low voltage stress of the switches, single-stage buck-boost power conversion, continuous input current, short-circuit withstandability and low total harmonic distortion of the output voltage and current. The authors present a steady state analysis of the topology along with a special modulation technique to distribute shoot-through states during the whole fundamental period. Component design guidelines for a single-phase case study system are described. All the findings have been confirmed by simulations and experiments. The topology could be recommended for applications requiring continuous input current, high input voltage gain and enhanced quality of the output voltage.
Establishing derailment profiles by position for corridor shipments of dangerous goods

The position of railcars carrying dangerous goods in a train can affect their involvement in a derailment. A model is presented, which minimizes the number of cars carrying dangerous goods derailing for different marshalling strategies and rail corridor conditions. An application of the model to the Sarnia–Toronto rail corridor is presented. The results of this analysis suggest that marshalling strategies for cars carrying dangerous goods need to be sensitive to corridor conditions that affect the causes of train derailments. Current Canadian Transport Commission directives governing the placement of cars carrying dangerous goods along a train were found to be ineffective in reducing their derailment probability when compared to a low-cost unregulated option. Effective marshalling strategies can substitute for speed controls on the shipment of dangerous goods, resulting in a similar or improved derailment profiles and lower operating costs. Key words: dangerous goods, derailment, rail, marshalling, railcars.
TRENDS IN COCOON AND SILK PRODUCTION IN JAMMU AND KASHMIRSTATE -A CASE OF CONCERN

In the industrially backward state of Jammu and Kashmir, silk production has played a pivotal role in the pre -independence period. Commercial production of silk through silkworm rearing is ‘Sericulture’. It is labor intensive, agro -industry and is an important activity of the rural population in India as well as in Jammu and Kashmir. This industry attained a unique importance among all other sectors and provides an excellent and unique opportunity for socio-economic progress in the developing countries. There is an immense potential for the development of this agro -industry in Jammu and Kashmir State, as the state owing to favorable climatic conditions, offers tremendous scope for the cultivation of mulberry and the development of good quality raw silk, as well as opportunity to uplift the status of economically poor in the rural Kashmir in particular. Thus an attempt is made in this paper to examine the performance of Jammu and Kashmir silk industry. The paper is divided into three parts -part one examines the cocoon production and the production of silk during the last few years. Part two deals with several constraints faced by the industry and some remedial suggestions. Part three deals with the concluding remark s.
DISTRIBUTION PATTERN OF WEEDS IN WHEAT CROP GROWN IN DISTRICT KHANEWAL, PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

Weed infestation is among the main biotic factors affecting growth and yield of various crops. This issue is more drastic for cereal crops like wheat which is the staple food crop of over 2.5 billion population of the world. One the control strategy is the investigated the distribution pattern of weeds under field conditions. In this regard, a survey study was conducted to investigate the distribution pattern of weed species in wheat crop during 2016-18 in district Khanewal, Punjab Pakistan. Thirty-six weed species distributed among fifteen different families collected from the study area. Family Poaceae was dominant with 10 species while family Asteraceae was the second most dominant family with four weed species. Cynadon dactylon was the most frequently found specie with frequency value 79.1% while Paspalum distichum had the highest importance value index (6.96) among the weeds of the study area.
Optimal Antimicrobial Use under Countervailing Externalities

Over-or underprovision of antimicrobials under free-riding and resistance externalities can be economically important through their impacts on animal health, human health, and food security. This paper models antimicrobial use given disease dynamics with (i) free-riding incentives and (ii) antimicrobial resistance. Our results suggest a strong potential for overprovision of antimicrobials when ignoring resistance dynamics. Numerical simulation indicates an increase in the cost of disease management with increases in resistance levels. Policy implications are discussed in the context of animal health and disease-control subsidy programs in the developing world as well as unregulated sale of antimicrobials.
A Linguistic Analysis of ‘Pet Names’ in Nzema: A Morphosyntactic Description

In the field of Onomastics, many researchers have delved into the study of personal names, place names, church names and school names, among others. This paper gathers another exciting data, (i.e. names that are ascribed to pets in Nzema society) and seeks to examine the morpho-syntactic features of the ‘pet names’. The paper employs the qualitative research approach in providing a descriptive analysis of the linguistic properties that feature in pet names among the people of Nzema. In this paper, ninety (90) pet names are discussed. Relying on Haspelmath’s notion of Framework-free Theory of Grammatical Analysis, the paper demonstrates that the morphological structures of Nzema pet names include single root morphemes, lexical compounding, derivational and inflectional processes, lexical borrowing, and reduplication. These word formation processes are accompanied by some phonological processes such as vowel elision and harmony. At the syntactic/sentential level, the pet names function as simple declarative sentences, imperatives and interrogatives. Compound and complex-embedded clauses were also prevalent in the structure of the pet names. It is ascertained that these pet names are grammatically insightful and can provide a window to understanding the morphosyntactic features of the Nzema language.
An Exploration of the Barriers to the Adoption of Information Technology in Australian Aged Care Industry

Ageing population and the serious shortage of skilled work force has drawn national attention to Aged Care. Despite the general recognition that information technology provides an effective means for acquiring, representing, processing and managing knowledge and data within health care if its application aligns with the business needs of an organisation, the diffusion of IT in Australian Aged Care is not satisfactory. The enabling role of IT in Aged Care is yet to be demonstrated. This report addresses the barriers to the adoption of IT in Australian Aged Care. The objective of the study is to identify the key factors contributing to the low adoption of IT in the sector. An exploratory study involving literature research, unstructured and structured interviews were adopted. This is the first phase of a continuous study. Our investigation suggested that barriers to the adoption of IT occur at both the individual and organizational level. Management and culture are the main instigators of barriers to IT adoption. Six major categories of barriers to the adoption of IT were elaborated. They are (1) lack of management/stakeholder support, (2) cultural resistance towards IT adoption, (3) cost considerations, (4) staffing issues, (5) work practice and (6) the capacity to manage change. The purpose of the research is to accurately identify barriers to IT adoption in aged care. The research findings will provide strong evidence to support the development of effective technology diffusion strategies, guidelines and procedures to help the industry, government, medical software company and various stakeholders to fully harness the benefits of IT investment in Aged Care.
Market Status and Uses of Aqua-Drugs and Chemicals in Aquaculture at Lakhsmipur, Bangladesh

In order to investigate the present status of commercial aqua drugs and chemicals in the local market and their uses on fish health management. A questionnaire survey was carried out for eight months from August 2016 to March 2017 in three upazilas under the district of Lakhsmipur, Bangladesh. Data were collected through questionnaire interview, personal contact, market survey, Participatory Rural Appraisal like Focus Group Discussion with fifteen fish farmers, fifteen retailers of aqua chemical shops, nine representatives of different pharmaceuticals companies in Lakhsmipur sadar upazila, Raipur upazila and Ramgoti upazila. Nine categories of aqua drugs and chemicals were identified in the study area. In this site, 22 companies were found to be supplying different 51 aqua drugs (under nine categories) in the local market, where ten companies supplying around 79% of the total drugs and chemicals. Timsen > Virex>Oxyflow> Renamycin and Aquamycine > Ossi C >Aqua Boost > Aqua Photo> Ammonil> Geolite gold were the most widely used aqua drugs in the district of Lakhsmipur, Bangladesh. In Lakhsmipur sadar upazila, found 27 aqua drug and chemicals and mostly used of Aqua Photo and Ammonil (9%) and Oxyflow, Aqua boost, Virex, Timsen (7%) of each of the total drugs. About 36 aqua drugs and chemicals were reported by the fish farmers at Raipur upazila. Aqua Photo, Oxyflow, and Ammonil were used at 7% of each of the total cases; Biozyme, Aqua Boost, Ossi C, grow fast, gastrap, Geolite gold, and Rotenone were used at 4% of each of total the cases; and Bio-pH was used at 3% of each of the total cases. In this survey, there were 24 different types of aqua drugs and chemicals found in Ramgoti upazila. Ammonil has been used at 11% of the total cases, while Aqua Boost and Charger gel were used at 6% of each of the total cases. In the investigated area, various types of diseases such as Dropsy, EUS (epizootic ulcerative syndrome), red spot and different parasitic diseases were found to occur in Pangus (Pangasianolan hypophthalmus) , Tilapia (Oreochromis nilotica) , Sharputi (Puntius sarana) , Rui (Labeo rohita), Mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala), Thai koi (Anabas testudineus) , Shing ( Heteropneustes fossilis ). Susceptible months of disease outbreak in the study area were August, November, December, January, February, and March. During the field observation, many issues with aqua-drugs were discovered, including farmers’ lack of understanding of drug application, an insufficient withdrawal time, and some negative effects on fish and human health.