Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multilevel controller‐assisted intrinsically modified ant colony optimization heuristic‐based load‐balancing model for mega cloud infrastructures

The exponential rise in decentralized computing demands has made cloud computing an inevitable technical need; however, under exceedingly high load dynamism, ensuring service level agreement (SLA) has remained a challenge. Despite of the fact that heuristic‐driven VM migration or load‐balancing methods are effective towards quality of service (QoS) and reliable cloud services, the major existing solutions ignore the issues of local minima and convergence and hence undergo SLA violation (SLAV). Moreover, most of the existing methods are designed as a reactive scheduling concept that often results into delayed scheduling and hence SLAV or QoS compromise. To alleviate such issues, in this paper, a robust intrinsically modified evolutionary computing‐driven dynamic load‐balancing model (intrinsically modified ant colony system [IMACS]) is proposed for mega cloud infrastructures. To address aforesaid issues, IMACS employs stochastic prediction‐based overload detection, followed by SLA‐sensitive VM selection and IMACS for load balancing. In IMACS, the use of stochastic prediction‐based overload detection method enabled timely hotspot detection and hence improved proactive decision ability. Moreover, it applies minimum migration time‐sensitive VM selection concept that too helped in guaranteeing load balancing without undergoing downtime or SLAV. To improve VM migration, unlike classical heuristic methods, we designed IMACS with multitype population, adaptive pheromone update, adaptive pheromone diffusion, and coevolution concept, which not only helped in reducing the search space and allied computation but also enabled time‐efficient scheduling decision. The overall proposed model was realized in sync with two controllers named local controller and global controller. Here, the first controller collects the real‐time VM and VM manager (VMM) information which is used to detect overloaded host and the VM to be migrated. While the global controller is designed with IMACS to exploit the information from local controller to execute QoS‐sensitive VM migration. The proposed IMACS‐driven load‐balancing model was realized with CloudSim platform were simulating it over 800 number of independent VMs, each encompassing autonomous task, the performance was analyzed in terms of SLAV, number of migrations, SLA per active host, and energy consumption. Simulation results revealed that the proposed model exhibits 20% higher migration, while retaining almost 19% better SLA in comparison to the other state‐of‐art methods like genetic algorithm or classical ant colony system‐based load‐balancing methods. IMACS exhibited 30% higher host shutdown signifying better energy efficiency (15% lower power consumption).
Development and validation of an UHPLC-Orbitrap-HRMS method for rapid determination of endogenous L-carnitine in patients on hemodialysis/peritoneal dialysis and its application to promote rational drug use

Background L-carnitine is an endogenous vitamin-like amino acid derivate which plays an essential role in energy metabolism and can be easily lost via dialysis. Deficiency of L-carnitine has great effects on many aspects of bodily functions. To determine the deficiency degree and adjust the supplementation dose, a rapid, sensitive, and specific method for the detection of endogenous L-carnitine in the plasma of dialysis patients using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-Orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Orbitrap-HRMS) was developed and validated. Methods The plasma samples were processed by protein precipitation and centrifugation before analysis using UHPLC-Orbitrap-HRMS. Sample separation was achieved with a hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) column, using an isocratic elution with a runtime of 5 min. The separated analytes were detected by positive ionization mode in full scan mode and targeted-single ion monitoring (t-SIM) mode. Mildronate was used as the internal standard (IS). Results All the plasma could be detected in the range of 6.169 to 197.394 µM, with adequate accuracy, precision, and recovery. The method was validated in fortified validation with relative standard deviations (RSD) 5.15–8.74%. This method was applied to the analysis of 105 dialysis patients and 39 healthy participants, the results revealed that peritoneal dialysis patients without L-carnitine supplementation should pay more attention to L-carnitine monitoring, meanwhile, all the hemodialysis patients were advised to be routinely given a full dose of L-carnitine, no matter whether they had taken L-carnitine or not. Conclusions This study developed a simple and rapid UHPLC-Orbitrap-HRMS method for detection of endogenous L-carnitine in dialysis patients, which could be useful to promote rational drug use.
Effects of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles on Model Systems of the Intestinal Barrier

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NP) are often used in the food sector, among others, because of their advantageous properties. As part of the human food chain, they are inevitably taken up orally. The debate on the toxicity of orally ingested ZnO NP continues due to incomplete data. Therefore, the aim of our study was to examine the effects of two differently sized ZnO NP (<50 nm and <100 nm primary particle size; 123–614 µmol/L) on two model systems of the intestinal barrier. Differentiated Caco-2 enterocytes were grown on Transwell inserts in monoculture and also in coculture with the mucus-producing goblet cell line HT29-MTX. Although no comprehensive mucus layer was detectable in the coculture, cellular zinc uptake was clearly lower after a 24-h treatment with ZnO NP than in monocultured cells. ZnO NP showed no influence on the permeability, metabolic activity, cytoskeleton and cell nuclei. The transepithelial electrical resistance was significantly increased in the coculture model after treatment with ≥307 µmol/L ZnO NP. Only small zinc amounts (0.07–0.65 µg/mL) reached the basolateral area. Our results reveal that the cells of an intact intestinal barrier interact with ZnO NP but do not suffer serious damage.
Comparison of the Immunoglobulin Levels in Maternal and Cord Blood and Influence of Parity on Maternal Immunoglobulin Concentration in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Aim: This study was carried out to compare the immunoglobulin levels in maternal and cord blood and to find out if parity has any effect on the immunoglobulin concentration of the maternal blood. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Human Physiology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, between June 2018 and September 2019. Methodology: A total of 25 paired maternal and cord serum was used for the study. About 5ml of venous blood was collected from mothers immediately after delivery and cord blood was also collected after the cord has been cut and the clamp released slightly to allow blood flow into a plain bottle. The serum levels of IgA, IgG and IgM were measured using Turbidimetric immunoassay method. Results: The mean IgA, IgM and IgG levels in maternal blood were 163.20 ± 13.35mg/dl, 88.16 ± 7.74 mg/dl and 351.60 ± 36.83 mg/dl respectively while their corresponding levels in the cord blood were 12.00±1.00mg/dl, 19.36 ± 1.67 and 300.60 ± 27.83 mg/dl respectively. The version 20.0 of the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) and Microsoft Excel 2012 for the statistical analysis were employed for analyzing the various sets of data. The Mean, standard errors of mean and ranges were determined for the different parameters for the two groups of subjects. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine the variations between the subjects. The P-value of less than 0.05 was regarded as significant. The IgA and IgM showed significant variation in maternal and cord blood (P<0.05) while IgG showed no significant variation (P>0.05). Also, parity had no significant correlation with immunoglobulin concentration (P>0.05). Conclusion: IgA and IgM concentrations were found to be significantly higher in maternal blood than in the cord blood, IgG showed no significant variation. There is a significant variation.
Assessing intra-annual density fluctuations across and along white pine’s stem

Intra-annual density fluctuations (IADFs) are triggered by environmental cues, but whether they are distributed uniformly throughout the stem is not well documented. The spatial distribution of IADFs could help us understand variations in cambial sensitivity to environmental cues throughout the tree. We investigate how IADF distribution varies radially, longitudinally, and circumferentially within white pine (Pinus strobus L.) stems. We took wood samples at breast height, near branches, and at the top of the trees. We identified IADFs visually and measured their radial position within a ring as well as their circumferential arc in cross-sections. IADFs occurred in 22.2% of rings. The radial position of IADFs within a ring was remarkably consistent at roughly 80% of the total annual radial increment across heights, trees, and years of formation. The main factors affecting the likelihood of IADF occurrence were ring width, year of formation, and the interaction between the two. Being near branches or at the top of the tree slightly increased the probability of occurrence. The sample size was not large enough to provide conclusive results about the circumferential distribution of IADFs, though our data suggest that the circumferential arc of the IADFs might be conserved throughout the stem.
Nanoparticle-Induced Property Changes in Nematic Liquid Crystals

Doping liquid crystals with nanoparticles is a widely accepted method to enhance liquid crystal’s intrinsic properties. In this study, a quick and reliable method to characterise such colloidal suspensions using an optical multi-parameter analyser, a cross-polarised intensity measurement-based device, is presented. Suspensions characterised in this work are either plasmonic (azo-thiol gold AzoGNPs) or ferroelectric Sn2P2S6 (SPS) nanoparticles in nematic liquid crystals. The elastic constants and rotational viscosity showed nonlinear dependence on the concentration of AzoGNPs, initially increasing at lower concentrations and then decreasing at higher concentrations, indicating some degree of particle aggregation. For the SPS suspension, the elastic constant decreased with doping, while the rotational viscosity increased, in agreement with previous findings. Through viscosity measurements, the stability of SPS suspension over ten years is also highlighted.
Old but Gold: Secondary School Students’ Communication Attitude Scale

Communication as a skill is not something new; however, it has become much more important than ever before as the way and with whom we communicate have changed. That is why educators need to have valid and reliable tools to understand how this skill is perceived by students. This study aims to provide a valid and reliable secondary school students’ communication attitude scale (SSSCAS). A draft form for the scale was prepared with 32 items depending on the relevant literature and reviewed by experts in the field. The revised form was applied to 397 students at a state secondary school in Aksaray city of Turkey in the 2020-2021 academic year. First, explanatory factor analysis that tests construct validity was carried out and three items were extracted from further analysis due to insufficient factor loadings. The remaining 29 items are placed under four sub-dimensions called openness to communication, body language and preferences, self-confidence, and obstacles. The structure was tested through confirmatory factor analysis and the validity of the scale with the four sub-dimensions was found to be appropriate. The Cronbach’s alpha values of all sub-dimensions and the scale were above the required level. As a result, the developed scale is a valid and reliable scale to assess communication attitudes of secondary school students.
Accessibility of Brazilian Federal Agencies' Mobile Apps: Requirements, Conformance and Response to Complaints

Regulatory standards and legislation have been crucial to improving the accessibility of governmental services provided with information systems. Adequate accessibility of mobile apps involves using appropriate processes for procuring, specifying, developing, evaluating and responding to accessibility complaints. A previous study from the authors of this study has investigated the approaches to considering accessibility in procurement and specification of 24 mobile apps from the Brazilian federal government. The present paper extends the previous study, including an accessibility evaluation of 22 of the mobile apps that were still live and an analysis of how the government agencies responded to formal complaints regarding the accessibility problems encountered in their apps. The analysis of the procurement and specification processes was done on the responses to freedom-of-information requests. Preliminary accessibility evaluations were performed using an automated evaluation tool, and formal complaints were filed on the official ombudsman service of the Brazilian Federal Government. The first results revealed that only seven out of 24 mobile systems included accessibility requirements in their procurement and specification. Eight agencies explicitly stated they did not include accessibility requirements. Some agencies classified the information as secret or stated they did not possess the information. All 22 mobile apps live in 2021 had accessibility problems encountered in the automated evaluation. Sixteen of the 22 mobile apps reported had responses stating the complaint was forwarded to the development team for correction, while three did not answer the complaint, and three did not respond accordingly. Elements from the Regulatory Compliance Theory provided grounds to identify low levels of enforcement of accessibility laws and low deterrence. Some agencies indicated in their responses that moral obligation and legitimacy played a critical factor in favouring accessibility requirements. A higher level of willing responses to formal complaints in official ombudsman services showed that social control of public organisations behaviour related to accessibility is an important aspect to be incentivised to promote accessibility.
Microbial Profile and Detection of Bio-catalytic Enzymes from Bacterial Derivatives in Selected Agrowastes

The bio-catalytic enzyme potential of microbial consortium in selected agrowastes was evaluated in this study. Bio-wastes possess renewable resources of biomass and represents potentially-valuable sources due to their low cost, environmental friendly and sustainable nature. The isolation, enumeration and biochemistry of bacteria and fungi from agrowastes were conducted via standard microbiological techniques. Screening of agrowaste substrates for enzyme synthesis was conducted via plate assay method. Potato peels had the highest bacterial count of 3.85×104 CFU/ml as maize husk had the highest fungal load of 6.55×104 SFU/ml while wheat shaft had the lowest fungal load of 1.5×104 SFU/ml. Acinetobacter baumanii, Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Micrococcus luteus, Bacillus subtilis, B. cereus, B. licheniformis, B. megaterium were among bacterial consortium significantly enumerated. Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Rhodotorula glutins, Candida albicans and Geotrichum candidum were yeasts characterized from the fermented agrowastes while Aspergillus niger, A. terreus, A. flavus constitute some of the mould consortium enumerated. Amylase and cellulase content of the agrowaste substrates increased after fermentation while protease and pectinase content of all the agrowastes remained unchanged after the fermentation process. Acinetobacter baumanii, Bacillus subtilis, B. cereus, B. licheniformis, B. megaterium, B. subtilis and G. candidum were positive for amylase, protease, cellulase and pectinase production. Penicillium chrysogenum and Microsporum canis were negative for the enzyme production. The findings of this study demonstrated the enzymatic-production potential of Bacillus species associated with agrowastes because they exhibited higher enzyme production.
Chemical and Chromatic Effects of Fermentation Temperature on Three Clones of Pinot noir over Two Consecutive Vintages

Three different Pinot noir clones (115, 777, and 828) from the Central Coast of California were subjected to different maceration temperature regimes for 14 days using triplicate fermentations (Cold: 10°C; Hot: 25°C; and Variable: 10°C on days 0 to 7 and 25°C on days 8 to 14) to determine the effect of maceration temperature on color and phenolic extraction across all three clones over two consecutive vintages (2019 and 2020). In 2019, the Hot treatment and the hot portion of the Variable treatment were obtained by exposing the fermentors to direct sunlight, while in 2020, this was achieved by artificial heating. Spectrophotometric analyses showed that at time of pressing, extraction of total phenolics for Cold, Variable, and Hot temperature treatments was 723, 894, and 1031 mg/L, respectively. Similar trends were observed in Cold, Variable, and Hot treatments for anthocyanins (208, 265, and 284 mg/L, respectively), tannins (68, 81, and 123 mg/L, respectively), and polymeric pigments (0.40, 0.46, and 0.51 absorbance units [AU], respectively). Similarly, the average monomeric anthocyanin concentrations of both vintages’ Cold, Variable, and Hot treatments analyzed via high-performance liquid chromatography were 210, 269, and 267 mg/L, respectively; that of flavonols were 26, 28, and 30 mg/L, respectively. Color analysis showed a negative correlation with temperature for CIELab lightness values across Cold, Variable, and Hot treatments (86.69, 84.89, and 83.37, respectively), and positive correlation for red hues (16.05, 17.73, and 20.50, respectively) and wine color (AU 420 + 520 + 620 nm; 0.48, 0.54, and 0.60, respectively). Finally, differences in heating method between the two vintages (direct sunlight in 2019 and a temperature-controlled room in 2020) was a major factor in phenolic extraction.
Alternative operations strategy processes: do they matter?

Abstract With the increasing significance of business model innovation, and due to the ongoing difficulties encountered in executing formally developed strategies, there is a strong case for studying the functional-level strategy processes from fresh perspectives. This paper examines the significance of alternative operations strategy (OS) processes and organisational context and explores how they relate to operations performance. The empirical evidence was drawn based on the statistical analysis of data collected through 242 survey responses from the senior management staff of the Canadian oil and gas industry. The evidence drawn from the empirical study confirmed that alternative forms of OS development do indeed exist in practice and that certain organisational factors have a direct influence on OS processes. The analysis discerned four strategy process configurations representing singular and multiple combinations of the three process modes identified through the literature review. The results explain the differences between these process configurations in terms of certain contextual factors and operations performance. The findings of this study help advance the understanding of OS processes and may contribute to theory building, particularly what is known as ‘mid-range’ theory, as the evidence was built through the analysis of a relatively large sample of data drawn from an industry sector that has not been reported on in previous studies.
Improving supply chain responsiveness through Advanced Manufacturing Technology: the mediating role of internal and external integration

Abstract Responsiveness is one of the key performance factors that firms need to face up to the challenges posed by today’s markets. Many manufacturing firms are investing in advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) with a view to improving competitiveness. However, empirical evidence shows that investments in AMT alone do not lead to improvements in performance. In this study, a model that links AMT implementation and responsiveness through internal integration and external integration is proposed. A sample of 441 Spanish industrial companies was used to test the model through structural equation modelling. The findings highlight that internal integration needs to be supplemented with external integration in order to ensure that the implementation of AMT will result in improved responsiveness. Supply chain managers should focus on integration within the supply chain – firstly internal and later external – to obtain returns on investments in AMT in the form of improved flexibility and more reliable and faster deliveries.
Systematic Review of Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Initiatives in Breast Reconstruction

Background Improving patient care and safety requires high-quality evidence. The objective of this study was to systematically review the existing evidence for patient safety (PS) and quality improvement initiatives in breast reconstruction. Methods A systematic review of the published plastic surgery literature was undertaken using a computerized search and following PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. Publication descriptors, methodological details, and results were extracted. Articles were assessed for methodological quality and clinical heterogeneity. Descriptive statistics were completed, and a meta-analysis was considered. Results Forty-six studies were included. Most studies were retrospective (52.2%) and from the third level of evidence (60.9%). Overall, the scientific quality was moderate, with randomized controlled trials generally being higher quality. Studies investigating approaches to reduce seroma (28.3% of included articles) suggested a potential benefit of quilting sutures. Studies focusing on infection (26.1%) demonstrated potential benefits to prophylactic antibiotics and drain use under 21 days. Enhanced recovery after surgery protocols (10.9%) overall did not compromise PS and was beneficial in reducing opioid use and length of stay. Interventions to increase flap survival (10.9%) demonstrated a potential benefit of nitroglycerin on mastectomy skin flaps. Conclusions Overall, studies were of moderate quality and investigated several worthwhile interventions. More validated, standardized outcome measures are required, and studies focusing on interventions to reduce thromboembolic events and bleeding risk could further improve PS.