Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Composite Cryogel with Polyelectrolyte Complexes for Growth Factor Delivery

Macroporous scaffolds composed of chitosan (CHI), hydroxyapatite (HA), heparin (Hep), and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) were prepared with a glutaraldehyde (GA) cross-linker by cryogelation. Addition of PVA to the reaction mixture slowed down the formation of a polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) between CHI and Hep, which allowed more thorough mixing, and resulted in the development of the homogeneous matrix structure. Freezing of the CHI-HA-GA and PVA-Hep-GA mixture led to the formation of a non-stoichiometric PEC between oppositely charged groups of CHI and Hep, which caused further efficient immobilization of bone morphogenic protein 2 (BMP-2) possible due to electrostatic interactions. It was shown that the obtained cryogel matrix released BMP-2 and supported the differentiation of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (rat BMSCs) into the osteogenic lineage. Rat BMSCs attached to cryogel loaded with BMP-2 and expressed osteocalcin in vitro. Obtained composite cryogel with PEC may have high potential for bone regeneration and tissue engineering applications.
Talking about Space with Space: Describing Environments in ASL

Spatial discourse-talking about space-usually involves adopting a particular perspective on the scene or environment being described. For example, an addressee may be taken on a mental tour of an environment, as in this example from Linde and Labov's study of New Yorker's de­ scriptions of their apartments: "As you open the door, you are in a small five-by-five room which is a small closet. When you get past there, you're in what we call the foyer . If you keep walking in that same direction, you're confronted by two rooms in front of you . large living room which is about twelve by twenty on the left side. And on the right side, straight ahead of you again, is a dining room which is not too big" (1975, 929 ). Taylor and Tversky ( 1992, 1996) characterize this style of discourse as utilizing a route perspective in which landmarks and motion through the environment are described with respect to a viewer (usually "you" in English) using viewer-relational terms such as "left" and "right. " This type of perspective is contrasted with what Taylor and Tversky call a survey perspective in which the perspective is from above (a bird's­ eye view); landmarks are described with respect to other landmarks, car­ dinal direction terms are used (e.g., north, south); and existential and stative verbs are used, rather than verbs of motion. The following is an excerpt from an apartment description from Linde and Labov that adopts
Mobile SNS Addiction and User Continuance: An Empirical Investigation of WeChat

Mobile social networking sites (SNS) have become one of the most popular means of online social interactions. However, that excessive and uncontrolled SNS use may have negative consequences. Recent statistics show that use of mobile SNS can be addictive for some individuals, which can lead to some significant behavioural or psychological problems. This study has extended the dual-process continuance model by examining the impact of users’ levels of addiction as important factors that influence their continuance intention to use WeChat, as one of the most popular mobile SNS in China. Structural equation modelling was used to validate the proposed models and assumptions. Based on survey data from 495 valid responses of WeChat users, we found that the level of mobile SNS addiction augments users’ perceptions of perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, trusting beliefs and habit, whereas it has no impact on users’ satisfaction and loyalty. It can serve as a platform for future research on technology addiction, and for better understanding of addiction-driven system overuse behaviours and their effects on users. The results suggest that the increase in usage time and frequency of use does not necessarily mean higher satisfaction and loyalty to the mobile SNS, perhaps certain addictive symptoms occurring.
Teaching and Learning Arabic Language through Multicultural Approach and Applying ICT in Pesantren Institution

Multicultural approach and applying ICT in the Arabic language learning would enhance students’ capacity and accelerated language pedagogy. This research explained various practices and processes in the Pesantren that constructed to reduce prejudice and discrimination with ICT assistance. In addition, explained the curriculum was organized around concepts basic to each ethnic from several different groups. The research design was qualitative approach. Data collected from conducting interview and observational field data. Furthermore, data elaborated on grounded theories analysis. Teachers conceptualize multicultural approach as content related to various ethnic and cultural groups. Furthermore, the processes on teaching and learning Arabic proficiency through ICT on various ethnic and cultural groups of students pointed out that it helped students a mean to learn Arabic language. The Function of Arabic language as medium of instruction at Pesanteren is able to unite the multilingual students. The usage of ICT is very important in the teaching Arabic so that the material taught becomes more understandable and for students to gain more experience and to enable them to make use of the information easily and at the same time can achieve the objective of teaching and learning Arabic in the classroom. Key-words: Pesantren, multicultural approach, Arabic language learning, applying ICT in Teaching and learning Arabic language proficiency
The effect of rooting medium temperature and moisture on rooting of black mulberry hardwood cutting.

In this study, the effect of different temperature and humidity content of rooting medium on rooting percentage of black mulberry hard wood cutting was investigated. For this purpose, different temperature and humidity contents were applied. In the result of the study, the effect of interaction of temperature x humidity and temperature on rooting ratio was not significant. On the other hand, humidity content caused significant changes on rooting percentage. The highest rooting ratio (63,11%) was observed in cutting planted in medium with 40% humidity. The lowest rooting percentages were obtained from two other media contained higher humidity compared to medium with 40% humidity. Both temperature and humidity treatment caused significant changes in root length. Among humidity treatment, 80% humidity produced the longest roots. The longest roots were obtained from 22°C of basal heating treatment. In term of the number of root per cutting, significant difference was not found among humidity treatments while temperature treatment caused significant changes. The highest root number per cutting was observed in cutting planted at 22°C.
ESTIMATION OF A DYNAMIC MULTI- LEVEL FACTOR MODEL WITH POSSIBLE LONG-RANGE DEPENDENCE

A dynamic multilevel factor model with possible stochastic time trends is proposed. In the model, long-range dependence and short memory dynamics are allowed in global and regional common factors as well as model innovations. Estimation of global and regional common factors is performed on the prewhitened series, for which the prewhitening parameter is estimated semiparametrically from the cross-sectional and regional average of the observable series. Employing canonical correlation analysis and a sequential least-squares algorithm on the prewhitened series, the resulting multilevel factor estimates have a centered asymptotic normal distribution. Selection of the number of global and regional factors is also discussed. Estimates are found to have good small-sample performance via Monte Carlo simulations. The method is then applied to the Nord Pool electricity market for the analysis of price comovements among different regions within the power grid. The global factor is identified to be the system price, and fractional cointegration relationships are found between regional prices and the system price.
Multihoming and Oligopolistic Platform Competition

We provide a general framework to analyze competition between any number of symmetric two-sided transaction platforms, in which buyers and sellers can multihome. We show how key primitives such as the number of platforms, the fraction of buyers that find multihoming costly, the value of transactions, and the degree of user heterogeneity jointly determine the level and structure of platform fees. Even though platform entry always reduces the total fee level, whether it shifts the fee structure in favor of buyers or sellers depends on whether most of the buyers are singlehoming or multihoming. (JEL D43, L11, L13, L40)
EXPLORING THE DISCURSIVE CONSTRUCTION OF FAIR VALUE ACCOUNTING IN CHINA

This paper explores the adoption of fair value acco unting (FVA) in China. Given China’s rejection of FVA measurements in the past, the adop tion of FVA was a transformative and significant event. This paper shows how this shift in accounting measurement was made possible through the mobilisation discourses associ ated with market economies within the context of a socialist political system. In so doin g, we show how accounting discourse can be used to create and reinforce ideological commitment s to neoliberalism. The paper relies on Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CD A) to study the connections between discursive practices and wider social and cultural rel tions. We argue that FVA as a discourse enables the appearance of an ‘efficient’ and ‘free’ market whilst simultaneously obscuring the shift in ideology towards neoliberalisation that is a feature of China’s adoption of market valuations of this kind. The analysis of keywords a nd phrases such as ‘market economy’, ‘value relevance’, ‘market efficiency’ and ‘opening -up’, show how discourse is mobilised to produce accounting regulation within China despite th apparent contradictions that exist between market valuations, state regulations and th e ideals of a socialist government. This reflects the socio-cognitive aspect of discourse th at has the potential to naturalise particular power relations. This paper draws on discourses pro duced both from power (government, media, leading academics) and those present within forms of dissent to show how discourse functioned to enable regulatory change within China , whilst also obscuring China’s growing commitments to the ideals of neoliberalism.
Effect of Extraction Method on Biochemical Properties and Oxidative Stability of Apricot Seed Oil

In this study, apricot seed oil (ASO) was extracted by using either cold-press (CP-ASO) or solvent extraction (SEASO) method. The effect of the extraction methods on chemical composition, antioxidant activity, oxidative stability and color of apricot seed oil was determined. Oleic acid with more than 70% ratio was the major fatty acid. The concentration of tocopherol isomers was in the order of γ>α>δ>β for both types of oils. Lag phase formation of lipid hydroperoxides, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and rancimat induction period of SE-ASO were greater than those of CP-ASO’s. Results indicated that extraction method did not influence the fatty acid composition, TAG composition, total phenolic content and color values of apricot seed oils, but it had a significant effect on tocopherol content, antioxidant activity and oxidative stability of oils.
Simulating Uneven Urban Spatial Expansion under Various Land Protection Strategies: Case Study on Southern Jiangsu Urban Agglomeration

Urban spatial expansion (USE) is an uneven process affected by both natural and human factors, and land use regulation policy is of significance. To indicate the potential effects of different policies at a regional scale and then improving them under the context of increasing emphasis on land protection, we take Southern Jiangsu Urban Agglomeration (SJUA) in eastern China as a case study. Based on USE simulation with a minimum cumulative resistance (MCR) model under four scenarios related with arable and ecological land protection, we analyze the spatial differentiation of newly added urban construction lands and examine the changes of urban system with fractal analysis. Results indicate the allocations of newly added urban construction land differs by scenarios as well as total expanding amounts, and larger cities tend to grow faster. The share of the four largest cities (Suzhou, Nanjing(S), Wuxi, and Changzhou) were mostly higher than 40%. Accordingly, the final area of all cities was linearly corrected with their extant sizes in 2010. However, the differentiated allocations of newly added urban lands related to both increasing expanding amounts and different scenarios caused differences in the said linear relationships and also influenced urban rank-size in different degrees. It is concluded that the MCR model is feasible for simulating regional scale urban expansion and land protection strategies do not induce dramatic changes to the basic structures of regional urban system, but they are slightly different as land protection strategies change. The spatial distribution of protected lands affect the differentiation of both the predicted expanding amount of different cities and the regional urban systems significantly. It is of importance to optimize the spatial distribution of protected lands to regulate regional scale USE patterns and also urban systems properly.
Green Flexible Polyurethane Foam as a Potent Support for Fe-Si Adsorbent

This paper describes the preparation, characterisation, and potential application of flexible palm oil-based polyurethane foam (PUF) as a support for iron-silica (Fe-Si) adsorbent. Fe-Si/polyurethane composite (Fe-Si/PUC) was prepared by impregnating Fe-Si adsorbent onto the surface of PUF by using a novel immersion-drying method. Morphological analysis of Fe-Si/PUC proved that Fe-Si was successfully impregnated onto the surface of PUF. Compression test and thermogravimetric analysis were carried out to determine the flexibility and thermal stability of Fe-Si/PUC, respectively. The Fe-Si/PUC removed 90.0% of 10 ppm methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution in 60 min. The reusability study showed that Fe-Si/PUC removed 55.9% of MB on the seventh cycle. Hence, the synthesis of Fe-Si/PUC opens up a new path of implementing palm oil-based PUF to assist in the recovery of an adsorbent for environmental clean-up. The mechanism of physical interaction during the impregnation of Fe-Si adsorbent onto PUF was proposed in this paper.
DANISH METEOROLOGICAL INSTITUTE

A generalized thunderstorm index based on parcel lifting from the lower and middle troposphere is described. The index requires calculation of tropopause pressure and vertical profiles of wet bulb potential temperature and wet bulb potential temperature at saturation. A simple method to estimate tropopause pressure from the vertical temperature profile is described and fast convergence iteration algorithms to calculate the wet bulb profiles are developed. Case studies indicate that the thunderstorm index performs better in mountain areas than the simpler K-index based on temperature and dew point temperature at fixed pressure levels. Over land without large mountains high values of the thunderstorm index tends to occur in regions that are more narrow than the regions of corresponding high values of the K-index. Over sea the opposite tends to be the case. However, the case studies do not provide reliable statistics to show whether the thunderstorm index generally performs better than the K-index. Extended-period verification with inclusion of lightening data is required to obtain more reliable statistics.
CO2 Hydrogenation over Nanoceria-Supported Transition Metal Catalysts: Role of Ceria Morphology (Nanorods versus Nanocubes) and Active Phase Nature (Co versus Cu)

In this work we report on the combined impact of active phase nature (M: Co or Cu) and ceria nanoparticles support morphology (nanorods (NR) or nanocubes (NC)) on the physicochemical characteristics and CO2 hydrogenation performance of M/CeO2 composites at atmospheric pressure. It was found that CO2 conversion followed the order: Co/CeO2 > Cu/CeO2 > CeO2, independently of the support morphology. Co/CeO2 catalysts demonstrated the highest CO2 conversion (92% at 450 °C), accompanied by 93% CH4 selectivity. On the other hand, Cu/CeO2 samples were very selective for CO production, exhibiting 52% CO2 conversion and 95% CO selectivity at 380 °C. The results obtained in a wide range of H2:CO2 ratios (1–9) and temperatures (200–500 °C) are reaching in both cases the corresponding thermodynamic equilibrium conversions, revealing the superiority of Co- and Cu-based samples in methanation and reverse water-gas shift (rWGS) reactions, respectively. Moreover, samples supported on ceria nanocubes exhibited higher specific activity (µmol CO2·m−2·s−1) compared to samples of rod-like shape, disclosing the significant role of support morphology, besides that of metal nature (Co or Cu). Results are interpreted on the basis of different textural and redox properties of as-prepared samples in conjunction to the different impact of metal entity (Co or Cu) on CO2 hydrogenation process.
The Structure and Biochemical Changes during Finger Drop in Ripening Bananas

Finger drop is a typical physiological disorder of some banana cultivars under certain conditions which individual fingers dislodged from the banana crown during ripening. ‘Kluai Hom Thong’ (Musa acuminata, AAA Group) exhibited 100% finger drop when they were fully ripe while ‘Kluai Namwa’ (Musa x paradisiaca, ABB Group) did not show finger drop at all upon fully ripening. Tissue at the pedicel adjacent to the rupture area of ‘Kluai Hom Thong’ at unripe stage was stained with ruthenium red much more dense than that at fully ripening stage, while ‘Kluai Namwa’ had no difference in staining with ruthenium red at both unripe and fully ripening stages. Polygalacturonase activity and water-soluble pectin content in the pedicel tissue adjacent to the rupture area of ‘Kluai Hom Thong’ were higher than that of ‘Kluai Namwa’. The difference became greater when finger drop advanced. While alkaline soluble pectin content in the pedicel tissue adjacent to the rupture area of ‘Kluai Namwa’ was much higher constantly than that of ‘Kluai Hom Thong’ throughout the study period. Histochemical study in the pedicel adjacent to the rupture area at which finger drop occurred did not show an abscission zone in unripe and fully ripe bananas. It is concluded that finger drop in ripening banana resulted from a localized softening and weakening of tissue in the pedicel adjacent to the rupture area and finger drop does not require an abscission zone.
ACTGAN: Automatic Configuration Tuning for Software Systems with Generative Adversarial Networks

Complex software systems often provide a large number of parameters so that users can configure them for their specific application scenarios. However, configuration tuning requires a deep understanding of the software system, far beyond the abilities of typical system users. To address this issue, many existing approaches focus on exploring and learning good performance estimation models. The accuracy of such models often suffers when the number of available samples is small, a thorny challenge under a given tuning-time constraint. By contrast, we hypothesize that good configurations often share certain hidden structures. Therefore, instead of trying to improve the performance estimation of a given configuration, we focus on capturing the hidden structures of good configurations and utilizing such learned structure to generate potentially better configurations. We propose ACTGAN to achieve this goal. We have implemented and evaluated ACTGAN using 17 workloads with eight different software systems. Experimental results show that ACTGAN outperforms default configurations by 76.22% on average, and six state-of-the-art configuration tuning algorithms by 6.58%-64.56%. Furthermore, the ACTGAN-generated configurations are often better than those used in training and show certain features consisting with domain knowledge, both of which supports our hypothesis.
Symptomatic Achilles Tendons are Thicker than Asymptomatic Tendons on Ultrasound Examination in Recreational Long-Distance Runners

There is a need for clinical indicators that can be used to guide the treatment of Achilles tendon complaints in recreational runners. Diagnostic ultrasound has recently been introduced for clinical decision support in tendon pain management. The aim of this study was to determine whether tendon thickness and morphological changes in the Achilles tendon detected in ultrasound examinations are associated with local symptoms in middle-age recreational long-distance runners. Forty-two Achilles tendons (21 middle-aged runners) were investigated by ultrasound examination measuring tendon thickness and a morphology score indicating tendinosis. The Generalized Estimating Equations method was applied in multiple models of factors associated with reporting a symptomatic tendon. Eleven symptomatic and 31 asymptomatic Achilles tendons were recorded. In the multiple model that used tendon thickness measured 30 mm proximal to the distal insertion, an association was found between thickness and reporting a symptomatic tendon (p < 0.001; OR 12.9; 95% CI 3.1 to 53.2). A qualitative morphology score was not found to be significantly associated with reporting a symptomatic tendon (p = 0.10). We conclude that symptomatic Achilles tendons were thicker than asymptomatic tendons on ultrasound examination among recreational long-distance runners and that the importance of parallel morphological findings need to be further investigated in prospective studies.
Bidirectional Screening of Diabetes Mellitus and Tuberculosis in Cambodia

Background: Cambodia has a high burden of Tuberculosis (TB) with an incidence rate of 326 per 100,000 population in 2018 and rapidly increasing rates of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) with prevalence rate 9.6% in 2016. The introduction of the first national guidelines for the management of TB/DM co-morbidity in 2014 has resulted in the introduction of coordinated service delivery. Objective: This study aimed to assess the performance and the results of bidirectional TB/DM screening, diagnosis of co-morbidity, and enrollment in treatment in 7 health operational districts in 5 provinces in Cambodia. Methods: The retrospective study reviewed patient records of 6,463 DM patients and 8,403 TB patients who received treatment between July 2016 and February 2019 in 7 referral hospitals and 113 health centers. Results: Forty percent of DM patients were screened for TB, and 55% of TB patients were screened for DM. Of the screened DM patients, 4.6% were diagnosed with TB. Of screened TB patients, 3.7% were diagnosed with DM. All DM patients diagnosed with TB were enrolled in TB treatment and 95% of TB patients diagnosed with DM began receiving treatment for DM. Conclusion: This is the first study examining TB/DM co-morbidity and coordinated service delivery in Cambodia. The gaps in the performance of bidirectional screening suggest areas for further intervention. To increase the rate of bidirectional screening, provider compliance with standards needs to be improved by strengthening providers competencies. Strengthened data collection and reporting systems will also contribute to increasing provider accountability. Secondly, the current structure of TB and DM service delivery with TB services only available from the public sector and public DM services only available at the referral level creates a challenging environment for effective referrals and coordinated care and should be reconsidered. In addition to improved coordination between the public and private sectors, expansion of public DM services to health centers and to the community level warrants exploration. Finally, the increased focus needs to be given to addressing the high levels of pre-diabetes. Cambodia has a limited window of opportunity to build capacity and develop systems to effectively manage TB/DM co-morbidity.