Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Continuous Improvement and Quality Data and Reporting on Innovation Performance

It is stated that there is no certainty in the literature as to what sort of relationship between Quality Management practices and innovation exists. The literature on the relationship between Continuous Improvement (CI) and Quality Data and Reporting (QDR) -two of the practices related to quality management- and innovation is even more limited. The aim of this study is to determine the relationships between CI and QDR and innovation performance (IP). The data were obtained from the companies with ISO certificate in the manufacturing and service sectors. The model which consists of QDR, CI and IP variables was analysed with the Structural Equation Model. The IP level was above the midpoint as well. It has been seen that CI and QDR have an impact on IP. In addition, it has been determined that QDR has a mediating role in the effect of CI on IP.
A Multi-scale Analysis of the Atmospheric Conditions Associated with the Daytona Beach Tornado of Christmas Day, 2006

This case study describes a severe-storm event over Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina on 25 December 2006, with a particular focus on an F2 tornado that struck Daytona Beach, FL and caused over $50 million in damages. The severe weather occurred over a 12-h period and was associated with a deep upper-level trough and surface front moving through the southeastern U.S. Morning soundings over Florida showed low to moderate CAPE and strong vertical wind shear, consistent with seasonal composite tornadic soundings for the region. A quasi-linear convective system moved onshore near Tampa during the midmorning hours, the northern half of which accelerated and produced bow echoes that resulted in two tornadoes and nontornadic wind damage over Pasco, Sumter, and Lake Counties between 1620 and 1725 UTC. This portion of the line then moved into Volusia County and spawned F2 tornadoes in Deland and Daytona Beach after 1800 UTC. Data from the Melbourne National Weather Service Forecast Office’s Weather Surveillance Radar-1988D (WSR-88D), Daytona Beach International Airport (DAB) Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS), and DAB Low Level Wind Shear Alert System (LLWAS) were integrated to analyze conditions at the east end of the DAB runway 7L/25R complex, where the tornado first appeared. The LLWAS is normally used by air traffic control personnel for monitoring airport wind-shear conditions. The 10-s LLWAS wind data filled critical temporal and spatial gaps in the WSR-88D and ASOS data, and captured evidence of strong winds and cyclonic curvature nearly coincident with the locations of the radar-identified velocity couplet and tornado itself.
Gene expression in male and female stickleback from populations with convergent and divergent throat coloration

Abstract Understanding of genetic mechanisms underlying variation in sexual dichromatism remains limited, especially for carotenoid‐based colors. We addressed this knowledge gap in a gene expression study with threespine stickleback. We compared male and female throat tissues across five populations, including two in which female red coloration has evolved convergently. We found that the expression of individual genes, gene ontologies, and coexpression networks associated with red female color within a population differed between California and British Columbia populations, suggesting differences in underlying mechanisms. Comparing females from each of these populations to females from populations dominated by dull females, we again found extensive expression differences. For each population, genes and networks associated with female red color showed the same patterns for males only inconsistently. The functional roles of genes showing correlated expression with female color are unclear within populations, whereas genes highlighted through inter‐population comparisons include some previously suggested to function in carotenoid pathways. Among these, the most consistent patterns involved TTC39B (Tetratricopeptide Repeat Domain 39B), which is within a known red coloration QTL in stickleback and implicated in red coloration in other taxa.
Waste to wealth: Recycling of steel slag as flux for the submerged arc welding process and its effect on mechanical and metallurgical properties of welds

A novel technology has been developed to recycle steel slag as a flux for the submerged arc welding process. The chemical, mechanical, and metallurgical properties of welds produced using recycled slag have been evaluated and compared with that of fresh flux available in the market. The tensile strengths of weld metal prepared with recycled slag and fresh flux are 462.25 MPa and 471.49 MPa, which are comparable. The impact strength of welds produced using recycled slag is 83.66 J which is acceptable in accordance with AWS SFA 5.17 specifications. The welds produced were subjected to non-destructive tests such as radiography and also dye-penetration test apart from visual inspection to ascertain the soundness of welds produced. Metallurgical investigations were carried out, and a favorable microstructure containing acicular ferrite was obtained in welds deposited using recycled slag. Similar trends of microhardness survey have been observed in both the welds produced.
Network-based Intrusion Detection Systems for Industrial Control Systems

As Industrial Control Systems (ICSs) become more and more connected it follows that they need to become more secure. Traditional Intrusion Detection Systems (IDSs) do not work well due to the fact that they mostly work on a signature basis and there are not many known signatures to detect attacks on ICSs. Since the network traffic from an ICS is claimed to be static and signatures are scarce, searching for anomalies in the network to detect threats is more effective. This can be achieved using machine learning and other statistical models, teaching the system to tell regular traffic from irregularities. In this thesis we survey papers from related work and evaluate their results, conduct a risk analysis of ICSs from published sources and a workshop with an industry expert. Based on the survey and the risk analysis we analyze over 100 days of network traffic from a water distribution system in order to get further understanding of how ICSs act, both considering network traffic and process semantics. From this work we propose and evaluate three methods to be used when creating a more data driven IDS, capable of detecting process semantic tampering within an ICS. Our results from conducted experiments exhibit a static nature of the data originating from the ICS and the result from evaluating two of the three proposed methods using proof of concept systems, we deem that these anomaly-based detection methods work well for both semantic tampering as well as on a network basis. Having an IDS using a fusion of all three proposed methods, would benefit the security of an ICS since both semantics and network behavior are taken into account.
Linearization Coefficients for Some Basic Hypergeometric Polynomials

In this paper, we give a simple and original method based on inverse relation to express explicitly the linearization coefficients for some general classes of basic hypergeometric polynomial set in terms of the basic Kampé de Fériet function. We use symbolic computation algorithms, namely, q -Multisum to find recurrence relations for the resulting linearization coefficients and qsum17 to solve some from the obtained recurrence relations. In some cases, the linearization coefficients are reduced to hypergeometric functions or hypergeometric terms.
Oral communication capabilities of managers: The case of Iranian middle managers

Abstract Sharing of information through oral communication has increased in significance among different occupations specifically among managers. This has resulted in the need for an instrument to measure managers’ oral communication capabilities. The main objectives of this paper are to identify the dimensions of the oral communication capability and to develop an instrument to measure this capability. To achieve these goals, a survey was conducted among 59 male and female middle managers in different companies through providing a modified Oral Communication Capability Self-test. The results indicate that the oral communication capability construct has a structure with three dimensions among Iranian managers: The Ability to Pass on Information, The Ability to Present Self Credibly, and The Ability to Communicate With Male Counterparts. This study also investigated the typology of middle managers based on their oral communication capabilities. Based on the cluster analysis procedure, a two-cluster solution with significant differences between all oral communications dimensions was obtained.
study of annealing temperatures on electrical conductivity and optical properties of nanostructure ITO film as deposited by ion assisted e-beam evaporation

In this research, the electrical and optical properties of nanostructured Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) films were investigated. The ITO films were deposited by ion assisted e-beam evaporation with the glancing angle deposition (GLAD) technique on commercial ITO substrates, followed by annealing treatment. The results of crystal structure showed that the nanostructured ITO films are polycrystalline and cubic bixbyite structure (222). The sheet resistance and average transmission at the visible region were 12.17 W sq−1 and 89 %, respectively. The films presented the lowest resistivity and good transparency, where the sheet resistance and an average transmittance were 11.21 W sq−1 and 91% after annealing. The omnidirectional characteristics for a wide range of incident angle (0 − 80°) of nanostructured ITO film which was annealed at 300 °C had higher optical transmission than ﬁlms without annealing. This work eventually proved that the plasma treatments have effectively promoted the performance of the dye-sensitized solar cells and confirmed their potentials in the real-world applications.
Histo-Pathology Of Some Internal Organs Of Broiler Chickens Infected With Salmonella enteritidis And Treated With Methanol Extract Of Phyllanthus amarus’ Leaves

A 21 d study was carried out to determine the histo-architectural defects associated with spleen, kidney, liver, heart and intestine of Salmonella enteritidis-infected broiler chickens treated with methanol extract of Phyllanthus amarus’ leaves. Sixty (60) 5-week old unsexed Arbor acre broiler chickens on deep litter system were used for the study. They were allotted into 4 groups of T1 = distilled water (control), T2 = Salmonella enteritidis (SE) (1 × 107 CFU/mL, per os), T3 = SE + P. amarus (150 mg/kg), and T4 = SE + enrofloxacin (10 mg/kg, per os) in a completely randomized design and replicated thrice with 5 birds/replicate. One hour prior to inoculation of SE, T3 and T4 received P. amarus and enrofloxacin respectively which continued till expiration of study, whereas T1 and T2 received distilled water and SE respectively via the oral route. At the end of study, a bird per replicate was randomly sampled of the spleen, kidney, liver, heart, and intestine for histopathological examination. There were no observable lesions on T1 plates. Meanwhile, the liver showed multifocal hepatocellular coagulation necrosis, and inflammation (T2), moderate atrophy of hepatic plates (T3) and hepatocellular atrophy, coagulation necrosis and inflammation (T4). Other pathological lesions were seen in T2of all organs due to effect of SE and T4 of the intestine that showcased moderate villi atrophy and cryptal necrosis. This showed that P. amarus was able to alleviate toxic manifestations occasioned by SE inoculation except in the liver where the lesion was however moderate.
Highly efficient nonlinear waveguides in LiNbO3 fabricated by a combination of Soft Proton Exchange (SPE) and E-beam writing

Maxim NERADOVSKIY1,3*, Dmitry CHEZGANOV1,2, Lubov GIMADEEVA1, Evgenii VLASOV1, Vsevolod KVASHNIN1, Elizaveta KOLCHINA1, Andrey AKHMATKHANOV1,2, Maria CHUVAKOVA1, Denis ALIKIN1, Herve TRONCHE3, Florent DOUTRE3, Pascal BALDI3, Vladimir Ya. SHUR1,2, Marc P. DE MICHELI3 1Institute of Natural Sciences, Ural Federal University, 620000, Ekaterinburg, Russia 2Labfer Ltd., 620014, Ekaterinburg, Russia, 3LPMC, University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis, 06100 Nice, France * marc.de-micheli@unice.fr
UTILIZATION OF CITRIC ACID AS BONDING AGENT IN SEMBILANG BAMBOO (Dendrocalamus giganteus Munro) PARTICLEBOARD PRODUCTION

Citric acid was utilized as a bonding agent in the production of Sembilang bamboo particleboard. The limitation in using bamboo for particleboard production is that the silica content in bamboo skin can accelerate particleboard processing machines' bluntness and reduce particle adherence in particleboard manufacturing. This research aimed to investigate the influence of bamboo skin and citric acid content on the characteristics of Sembilang bamboo particleboard. Particleboards were prepared using bamboo particles (type A) and unskinned bamboo particles (type B). The citric acid solution (59%) was sprayed over the surface of bamboo particles to obtain three different levels of citric acid, i.e., 15, 20, and 25 % (based on bamboo particles’ dry weight). The Sembilang bamboo particleboards were manufactured using a hot-pressing machine at 200°C, 5 MPa for 10 min. The particleboard targeted density was 0.8 g/cm3. The type B particleboards’ internal bond (IB), modulus of rupture (MOR), water absorption (WA), and thickness swelling (TS) were superior compared to the type A particleboards. This was influenced by the lower concentration of silica in type B particleboards, which tend to allow an intimate contact area among particles and citric acid then produced better quality particleboards compared to type A particleboards. The type B particleboards met the obligation of JIS A 5908 for type 18 particleboard in terms of modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, and internal bond, however, only fulfilled the type 8 particleboard in terms of screw holding power. The physical properties of Sembilang bamboo particleboard were also improved when using type B bamboo particles and adhered with citric acid at a level of 25%.
Removing subordinate species in a biodiversity experiment to mimic observational field studies

Background: Positive effects of plant species richness on community biomass in biodiversity experiments are often stronger than those from observational ﬁ eld studies. This may be because experiments are initiated with randomly assembled species compositions whereas ﬁ eld communities have experienced ﬁ ltering. Methods: We compared aboveground biomass production of randomly assembled communities of 2 – 16 species (controls) with experimentally ﬁ ltered communities from which subordinate species were removed, resulting in removal communities of 1 – 8 species. Results: Removal communities had (1) 12.6% higher biomass than control communities from which they were derived, that is, with double species richness and (2) 32.0% higher biomass than control communities of equal richness. These differences were maintained along the richness gradient. The increased productivity of removal communities was paralleled by increased species evenness and complementarity. Conclusions: Result (1) indicates that subordinate species can reduce community biomass production, suggesting a possible explanation for why the most diverse ﬁ eld communities sometimes do not have the highest productivity. Result (2) suggests that if a community of S species has been derived by ﬁ ltering from a pool of 2S randomly chosen species it is more productive than a community derived from a pool of S randomly chosen species without ﬁ ltering.
Comparison of diagnostic accuracy of transcutaneous bilirubinometry during phototherapy by using skin patch

Background: Neonatal jaundice is a very common condition. Serious unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia may result in neurological dysfunction as catastrophic as kernicterus. Phototherapy is the method of choice in treatment of hyperbilirubinemia. Aim and objectives: the aim of the study was to assess the accuracy of transcutaneous bilirubin measurement during phototherapy by using skin patch and comparing this with skin and serum bilirubin measurement at the same time. Subjects and methods: This was an observational prospective study was conducted in special care baby unit at Al-wahda teaching hospital –Derna-Libya over a period of nine months (June 1st 2021 to March 2022). Eighty (80) newborn (41 Male, 39 Female) were enrolled in the study . Transcutaneous bilirubin measurement from skin over sternum, skin under patch at Rt. Side of chest, simultaneously serum bilirubin sample were collected. Results: during phototherapy; the mean± SD TSB (14.94 ± 4.57 μmol/L) and mean± SD TCBC (13.52 ± 4.84) and at skin level was 9.45 ± 3.62. Bland–Altman plot showed significant agreement between TcB from patched site and TSB Conclusion: TCB measurements correlate strongly with TSB levels during and after PT.
METHOD OF DIMENSIONALITY REDUCTION IN CONTACT MECHANICS AND FRICTION: A USER'S HANDBOOK. II. POWER-LAW GRADED MATERIALS

Until recently, the only way of solving contact problems was to applythree-dimensional contact theories. However, this presupposes higher mathematical and numerical knowledge, which usually only research groups possess. This has changed drastically with the development of the method of dimensionality reduction (MDR), which allows every practically oriented engineer an access to the solution of contact problems. The simple and contact-type dependent rules are summarized in the first part of the user manual; they require contacts between elastically homogeneous materials. The present paper forms the second part of the user handbook and is dedicated to the solution of contact problems between power-law graded materials. All the MDR-rules are listed with which normal, tangential and adhesive contacts between such high-performance materials can be calculated in a simple manner.
Analysing preferences for knowledge transfer channels between universities and industry: To what degree do sectors also matter?

There is a wide variety of channels through which knowledge and technology is being transferred between universities and industry. This paper aims to explain the relative importance of these different channels in different contexts. For this purpose, responses from two questionnaires were analysed, addressing Dutch industrial and university researchers respectively. A reassuring result is that the perceived importance of the 23 distinct transfer channels we distinguished hardly differs between industry and university: we did not observe a major mismatch. Overall, our results suggest that the industrial activities of firms do not significantly explain differences in importance of a wide variety of channels through which knowledge between university and industry might be transferred. Instead, this variety is better explained by the disciplinary origin, the characteristics of the underlying knowledge, the characteristics of researchers involved in producing and using this knowledge (individual characteristics), and the environment in which knowledge is produced and used (institutional characteristics). Based on our findings, we offer policy recommendations.
α-Arrestins and Their Functions: From Yeast to Human Health

α-Arrestins, also called arrestin-related trafficking adaptors (ARTs), constitute a large family of proteins conserved from yeast to humans. Despite their evolutionary precedence over their extensively studied relatives of the β-arrestin family, α-arrestins have been discovered relatively recently, and thus their properties are mostly unexplored. The predominant function of α-arrestins is the selective identification of membrane proteins for ubiquitination and degradation, which is an important element in maintaining membrane protein homeostasis as well as global cellular metabolisms. Among members of the arrestin clan, only α-arrestins possess PY motifs that allow canonical binding to WW domains of Rsp5/NEDD4 ubiquitin ligases and the subsequent ubiquitination of membrane proteins leading to their vacuolar/lysosomal degradation. The molecular mechanisms of the selective substrate’s targeting, function, and regulation of α-arrestins in response to different stimuli remain incompletely understood. Several functions of α-arrestins in animal models have been recently characterized, including redox homeostasis regulation, innate immune response regulation, and tumor suppression. However, the molecular mechanisms of α-arrestin regulation and substrate interactions are mainly based on observations from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae model. Nonetheless, α-arrestins have been implicated in health disorders such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative disorders, and tumor progression, placing them in the group of potential therapeutic targets.
Development of a Real-Time PCR Assay to Identify and Distinguish between Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii Species Complexes

Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii are the principle causative agents of cryptococcosis. Differences in epidemiological and clinical features, and also treatment, mean it is important for diagnostic laboratories to distinguish between the two species. Molecular methods are potentially more rapid than culture and cryptococcal antigen (CRAG) detection; however, commercial PCR-based assays that target Cryptococcus do not distinguish between species. Here, we developed a real-time PCR assay targeting the multicopy mitochondrial cytochrome b (cyt b) gene to detect C. neoformans and C. gattii in clinical specimens. Assay performance was compared with culture, histopathology, CRAG and panfungal PCR/DNA sequencing. The cyt b-directed assay accurately detected and identified all eight C. neoformans/gattii genotypes. High-resolution melt curve analysis unambiguously discriminated between the two species. Overall, assay sensitivity (96.4%) compared favorably with panfungal PCR (76.9%) and culture (14.5%); assay specificity was 100%. Of 25 fresh frozen paraffin embedded (FFPE) specimens, assay sensitivity was 96% (76% for panfungal PCR; 68% for histopathology). The Cryptococcus-specific PCR is a rapid (~4 h) sensitive method to diagnose (or exclude) cryptococcosis and differentiate between the two major species. It is suitable for use on diverse clinical specimens and may be the preferred molecular method for FFPE specimens where clinical suspicion of cryptococcosis is high.
The Turnover Intention Influenced by Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment

Turnover intention is a tendency of a person or employee to quit his job voluntarily, turnover intention is influenced by various factors such as organizational commitment and job satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to determine turnover intention which is influenced by organizational commitment and job satisfaction. The research methodology used is causal associative with a quantitative approach. Respondents in this study amounted to 98 employees. The data analysis method in this study uses multiple regression. The results of the study are as follows: 1). Job satisfaction has a positive and significant influence on turnover intention, 2). Organizational commitment has a positive and significant influence on turnover intention, 3). Job satisfaction and organizational commitment, together affect turnover intention by 0.5% and 99.5% influenced by variables outside the study.