Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance limitations of resonant refractive index sensors with low-cost components

: Resonant biosensors are attractive for diagnostics because they can detect clinically relevant biomarkers with high sensitivity and in a label-free fashion. Most of the current solutions determine their detection limits in a highly stabilised laboratory environment, which does, however, not apply to real point-of-care applications. Here, we consider the more realistic scenario of low-cost components and an unstabilised environment and consider the related design implications. We ﬁnd that sensors with lower quality-factor resonances are more fault tolerant, that a ﬁltered LED lightsource is advantageous compared to a diode laser, and that a CMOS camera is preferable to a CCD camera for detection. We exemplify these ﬁndings with a guided mode resonance sensor and experimentally determine a limit of detection of 5.8 ± 1.7 × 10 − 5 refractive index units (RIU), which is backed up by a model identifying the various noise sources. Our ﬁndings will inform the design of high performance, low cost biosensors capable of operating in a real-world environment.
Traditional Medicine and Micrornas Inperiodontal Disease: Bridiging the Gap

Traditional Medicine can be epitomized as knowledge, skill and practices based on the theories and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness. MicroRNAs (miRNA) have become the spotlight of the biomedical research. The connection between the plant miRNAs and their ingestion in human tissues bestows a new unexplored relationship between the two kingdoms. Delving further into this zone, miRNA therapeutics could be the next best step toward identifying novel therapeutic options involving medicinal plants. Continuing efforts in this area will broaden our understanding of biological actions of herbal remedies and will open the way for the development of new approaches to prevent or treat human diseases by improving overall response and survival outcomes, especially when combined with conventional therapeutics. a key role of miRNAs in refining the host response to periodontal pathogens, by targeting IRAK1, SOCS3 or TRAF6 pathways. A study conducted comparing gingival biopsy samples derived from chronic periodontitis subjects, periimplantitis subjects and healthy subjects showed significant differential expression of miR-146a and miR-499 amongst these groups [71]. These findings collectively suggest the pivotal role of miRNAs in the immuno-modulation of periodontal inflammatory soft tissues and the underlying alveolar bone. miRNAs could towards the of the by regulating knowledge gained by the miRNA interactions to the mainstream machinery at the level of DNA, mRNA and protein have expanded our scope for developing alternative therapeutic intervention strategies to treat periodontal disease.
Quantum nonlinear light emission i n metamaterials: broadband Purcell enhancement of parametric downconversion: supplementary material

This document provides supplementary nonlinear light emission in metamaterials: broadband Purcell enhancement of parametric downconversion,” S1 provides key methods used in the Letter. Sec. S2 provides a brief overview of key concepts associated with hyperbolic media. Sec. S3 discusses classical phase matching in quadratically nonlinear hyperbolic media. Sec. S4 discusses the physics of light emission in a generic scenario of a Drude-like metamaterial. Sec. S5 accounts for losses in metamaterials with realistic material parameters. Sec. S6 provides a detailed theoretical derivation. Sec. S7 suggests experimental structures where the predicted phenomena may be observed.
Electronic Marketing Orientation in the SMEs Context

Purpose – There is an increasing interest in the role of business orientations in relation to why organizations vary in e-marketing adoption. Nevertheless, there is still scant evidence on Electronic Marketing Orientation (EMO) within the SMEs context. This paper seeks to shed light on the key factors that affect the degree of e-marketing adoption among SMEs from an organizational orientation perspective. Design/methodology/approach – The study employs a cross-sectional survey of just over 135 European SMEs. The constructs are measured using multi-item indicators to capture the underlying theoretical domains. Findings – The results show that Electronic Marketing Orientation in SMEs is a high order construct that consists of three main components, principally: management beliefs, initiation and implementation activities. The degree of EMO is primarily affected by perceived relative advantage and customer pressure. Research limitations/implications: The study focuses on for-profit SMEs in developed economies. Future researchers may replicate this study using qualitative methods in different contexts (i.e. developing countries) across several technologies and platforms (i.e. websites, Internet of things, mobile applications and social media networks) Originality/value – This study further extends the literature on EMO and provides answers to the questions related to the variation in SMEs’ e-marketing adoption. Practitioners can apply the EMO construct to evaluate their orientation towards e-marketing, and most importantly, to take the required remedial action to improve their performance in digital commerce.
Parallel Crossed Chaotic Encryption for Hyperspectral Images

Hyperspectral images (HI) collect information from across the electromagnetic spectrum, and they are an essential tool for identifying materials, recognizing processes and finding objects. However, the information on an HI could be sensitive and must to be protected. Although there are many encryption schemes for images and raw data, there are not specific schemes for HI. In this paper, we introduce the idea of crossed chaotic systems and we present an ad hoc parallel crossed chaotic encryption algorithm for HI, in which we take advantage of the multidimensionality nature of the HI. Consequently, we obtain a faster encryption algorithm and with a higher entropy result than others state of the art chaotic schemes.
Social Dynamics Models on Complex Networks

In recent years the problem of modelling social interactions using methods from more mathematically rigorous disciplines has received much attention. The physics community in particular has drawn from statistical mechanics a variety of tools and models applicable in the study of large populations, among other subjects. These developments have been followed in parallel by a growing cross-disciplinary interest in the use of complex network science. In the present work, some of the most popular models in two areas of social dynamics, opinion formation and cultural dissemination, are reviewed. Particular attention is given to signiﬁcant and recent extensions to the main models. The inﬂuence of networks on the dynamical processes is another point of focus. The aim of this review is not only to give an account of the latest works in the new discipline of sociophysics, but also to show the potential and interest for future applications and research in the ﬁeld.
Methyl-Accepting Taxis Protein from Myxococcus xanthus, Shows Modulated Methylation during Fruiting Body Formation

The frizzy (frz) genes of Myxococcus xanthus are required to control directed motility during vegetative growth and fruiting body formation. FrzCD, a protein homologous to the methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins from enteric bacteria, is modified by methylation in response to environmental conditions. Transfer of cells from rich medium to fruiting medium initially caused rapid demethylation of FrzCD. Subsequently, the amount of FrzCD increased, but most remained unmethylated. At about the time of mound formation (9 h), most of the FrzCD was converted to methylated forms. Dispersal of developing cells (10 h) in buffer led to the demethylation of FrzCD, whereas concentration of these cells caused methylation of FrzCD. Some mutants which were unable to form fruiting bodies still modified their FrzCD during incubation under conditions of starvation on a surface.
Title: The effect of whole body vibration as a warm up for Olympic weightlifting.

Recent studies have shown whole body vibration training (WBV) to be an effective training modality for producing an acute response to performance. Benefits can be seen in multiple physical qualities such as strength, speed, flexibility and countermovement jump (CMJ) performance. Since Olympic weightlifting requires many of these attributes, the potential for WBV usage within this population warrants further investigation. The purpose of this study was to look at the acute response of WBV warm up in Olympic weightlifters and compare the effect of different vibration frequencies (30Hz, 35Hz, 40Hz, 45Hz, 50Hz) to non-vibration (0Hz). 19 Olympic weightlifters (13 male and 6 female, 27 ± 4 years, 174.4 ± 7.5 cm, 77.3 ± 18.6 kg) underwent 6 consecutive sessions over 6 days consisting of a warm up on a randomly assigned WBV frequency followed by 3 repetitions of a mid-thigh clean pull (60% of one-repetition maximum clean) with 4 minutes rest between attempts. Time interval rate of force development and peak force data was recorded for analysis. To assist in understanding the mechanisms behind WBV, skin temperature and a v-sit and reach test were also conducted before and after the warm up. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was revealed no significant differences were seen in peak force or time interval rate of force development. The mean percentage change in skin temperature when compared to 0Hz showed a significance (0.011° C). No significance was seen in the mean percentage change in flexibility (0.821in) when compared to 0Hz.
Building Comprehensive Open Educational Resources in Mechanics: Evaluating Approaches to Problem Development

of Mechanical Engineering Her teaching-related interests include team-based learning and ﬂipped classroom approaches, open educational materials, and educating non-engineers about engineering, as well as diver-sity and climate issues in engineering education. Her technical research in Orthopaedic Biomechanics is in the area of human joint motion and cartilage health, with a particular focus on pediatric hip disorders and MRI-based methods. Dr. Maw currently holds the Huff Chair in Innovative Teaching in the College of Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan. In this capacity, his work focuses on learning facilitation methods especially as they pertain to engineering design. He earned his BASc and MASc degrees in Systems Design Engineering from Waterloo, and a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Alberta. His current research interests lie in sports engineering and engineering pedagogy.
Transformation of a Conditionally Peptidoglycan-Deficient Mutant of Staphylococcus aureus with Plasmid DNA

A simple and reliable method for polyethylene glycol-induced plasmid transformation of a temperature- sensitive peptidoglycan-deficient mutant of Staphylococcus aureus is described. The procedure uses strains carrying the tofA372 mutation grown under conditions that yield osmotically fragile cells capable of efficient wall regeneration. The peptidoglycan-deficient cells were transformed with plasmids pE194 and p1258 at frequencies comparable with those obtained with protoplasts prepared with lysostaphin treatment. A readily portable tofA372 mutation was constructed by isolating an insertion of the erythromycin resistance transposon TnSSI adjacent to tofA372. tofA372 was shown by protoplast fusion and transformation analyses to be in the gene order hly-421-fl[Chr::TnS51]1059-tofA372-uraB232--S[Chr::Tn916] 1O1-thrB106 on the chromosome of S. aureus NCTC 8325. peptidoglycan precursor synthesis. They identi- fied specific enzymatic defects in three of these mutants (in L-alanine-adding enzyme, D-glutamate-adding enzyme, and L-lysine-adding enzyme) that interfered with the of amino acids to the pentapeptide moiety of the peptidoglycan monomer (20). This study was undertaken to investigate the usefulness of TOF mutants as transformation recipients for plasmid DNA.
High-Harmonic and Terahertz Spectroscopy (HATS): Methods and Applications

Electrons driven from atom or molecule by intense dual-color laser fields can coherently radiate high harmonics from extreme ultraviolet to soft X-ray, as well as an intense terahertz (THz) wave from millimeter to sub-millimeter wavelength. The joint measurement of high-harmonic and terahertz spectroscopy (HATS) was established and further developed as a unique tool for monitoring electron dynamics of argon from picoseconds to attoseconds and for studying the molecular structures of nitrogen. More insights on the rescattering process could be gained by correlating the fast and slow electron motions via observing and manipulating the HATS from atoms and molecules. We also propose the potential investigations of HATS of polar molecules, and solid and liquid sources.
Equivalent‐circuit–based modeling of the scattering and noise parameters for multi‐finger GaAs pHEMTs

This study is focused on the experimental characterization of the high‐frequency linear behavior of interdigitated gallium arsenide (GaAs) pseudomorphic high‐electron‐mobility transistors (pHEMTs) in terms of scattering and noise parameters. A measurement‐based model is developed by using the equivalent‐circuit representation. The values of the extrinsic bias‐independent elements are obtained by means of the “cold” approach and then subtracted from the scattering parameter measurements at the bias point of interest, thereby enabling calculation of the intrinsic bias‐dependent elements. Next, the extracted small‐signal equivalent circuit is expanded by assigning an equivalent noise temperature to each resistor, thus obtaining the noise model. The validity of the extracted equivalent‐based model is fully confirmed by the good agreement between measurements and model simulations over a broad frequency range for devices having different number of gate fingers. In addition, the scaling of the achieved performance versus the total gate width is analyzed and discussed.
IN THE EYE OF THE PATIENT INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN EMOTIONAL REACTIONS TO VISUAL DESIGN AESTHETICS OF HEALTH-CARE PRODUCTS

of basic emotions and Kahneman´s (2011) best seller “Thinking fast and slow. ” The empirical study and the data analysis are guided by this theoretical framework. The result will be discussed in terms of methodological limitations and related to multidisciplinary research (e.g. neuroscience, psychology, design and marketing) on personality traits and emotions. ABSTRACT This study explores how the personality traits of potential patients inﬂuence their emotional reactions to the visual design aesthetics of health-care products. Sixty-six students completed a personality test and reported their emotional reactions to thirteen photos of health-care products. The key-ﬁndings were (1) a high degree of extraversion inﬂuences pleasant affect, (2) a high degree of neuroticism inﬂuences unpleasant affect, especially fear, (3) a low degree of conscientiousness inﬂuences pleasant affect in terms of positive surprise, (4) a high degree of openness inﬂuences happiness, (5) a high degree of extraversion inﬂuences fear, while a low degree of extraversion inﬂuences sadness (6) a low degree of extraversion, a low degree of neuroticism and/or a high degree of conscientiousness inﬂuence the absence of emotional reaction The study explains why identical products evoke different emotions in different individuals, which is an important step in understanding how different design aesthetics satisfy different individuals based on their personalities.
Towards Fiscalization of the European Union? The US and EU Fiscal Unions in a Comparative Historical Perspective

This paper shows that the emergence of the federal power to tax is the result of a sovereign debt crisis at the state level. I analyse the fiscal history of the early United States (US) to demonstrate how the institutional flaws of the Articles of Confederation, mainly the central budget based on contributions from the states, so-called ‘requisitions’, led to a sovereign debt crisis on the state level, which triggered taxpayers’ revolts in 1786/1787. This social unrest, in turn, was perceived by the political élite as an endogenous threat to the union and paved the way for the fiscalization of the federal government, i.e. the creation of a genuine fiscal union with the federal power to tax based firmly in the Constitution of 1789. This analysis is complemented with lessons for the European Union (EU) on how to handle such a debt crisis if the union is to be preserved.
CUDARE A 4-stated DICE: quantitatively addressing uncertainty effects in climate change

: We introduce a version of the DICE-2007 model designed for uncertainty analysis. DICE is a wide-spread deterministic integrated assessment model of climate change. Climate change, long-term economic development, and their interactions are highly uncertain. The quantitative analysis of optimal mitigation policy under uncertainty requires a recursive dynamic programming implementation of integrated assessment models. Such implementations are subject to the curse of dimensionality. Every increase in the dimension of the state space is paid for by a combination of (exponentially) increasing processor time, lower quality of the value or policy function approximations, and reductions of the uncertainty domain. The paper promotes a state reduced, recursive dynamic programming implementation of the DICE-2007 model. We achieve the reduction by simplifying the carbon cycle and the temperature delay equations. We compare our model’s performance and that of the DICE model to the scientiﬁc AOGCM models emulated by MAGICC 6.0 and ﬁnd that our simpliﬁed model performs equally well as the original DICE model. Our implementation solves the inﬁnite planning horizon problem in an arbitrary time step. The paper is the ﬁrst to carefully analyze the quality of the value function approximation using two diﬀerent types of basis functions and systematically varying the dimension of the basis. We present the closed form, continuous time approximation to the exogenous (discretely and inductively deﬁned) processes in DICE, and we present a numerically more eﬃcient re-normalized Bellman equation that, in addition, can disentangle risk attitude from the propensity to smooth consumption over time.
aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and fluoroquinolone use.

Few long-term multicenter investigations have evaluated the relationships between aggregate antimicrobial drug use in hospitals and bacterial resistance. We measured fluoroquinolone use from 1999 through 2003 in a network of US hospitals. The percentages of fluoroquinolone-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were obtained from yearly antibiograms at each hospital. Univariate linear regression showed significant associations between a hospital’s volume of fluoroquinolone use and percent resistance in most individual study years (1999–2001 for P. aeruginosa , 1999–2002 for S. aureus ). When the method of generalized estimating equations was used, a population-averaged longitudinal model incorporating total fluoroquinolone use and the previous year’s resistance (to account for autocorrelation) did not show a significant effect of fluoroquinolone use on percent resistance for most drug-organism combinations, except for the relationship between levofloxacin use and percent MRSA. The ecologic relationship between fluoroquinolone use and resistance is complex and requires further study.
Clinical Relevance of Circulating Tumor Cells in Early and Metastatic Breast Cancer

Serrano and colleagues reported the results on CTC determination in peripheral blood of early breast cancer patients in the setting of neoadjuvant treatment. The presence of CTCs was found in 17 out of 24 patients before neoadjuvant chemotherapy. After neoadjuvant chemotherapy, 13 out of 24 patients were CTC-positive. Univariate and multivariate analyses demonstrated that the presence of CTCs detected both before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy was related to OS. The double-positivity of CTC detection may be utilized as a biomarker for prognosis in early breast cancer patients [14].
Profitability of General Insurance Underwriters in Kenya: Does Firm Size Matter?

The objective of the study was to determine the relationship between size and profitability of general insurance companies in Kenya. The study used an unbalanced panel of all general insurance companies in Kenya for the five year period 2012 to 2016 (the number ranged from 34 to 37). Regression analysis was used to relate size (proxied by log of total assets) against financial performance (ROA, ROE and then quarterly by size for ROE). Using ROA as a measure of profitability, the findings were that the effect of size on financial performance of general insurance companies in Kenya was insignificant. When performance was measured by ROE, the effect of size on profitability was significant and positive, but only explaining 3% of the variability in performance. Indeed, the effect of size on profitability (ROE) was not significant when the general insurance firms were partitioned into quarters, meaning that among similar sized companies, the size effect disappeared. Size therefore appears not to be a major determinant of profitability of general insurance companies in Kenya. Further research should be carried out to establish the reason why this is so.
Performance Analysis of Propagation Models for Cellular Mobile Communication Systems at 2.5 GHz

— In wireless communication systems, transfer of information between the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna is achieved by means of electromagnetic waves. Furthermore, the interaction between the electromagnetic waves and the environment reduces the signal strength which is sent from transmitter to receiver, that causes the path loss. There are several propagation models which can precisely calculate the path loss. In this paper various propagation models (COST 231 Hata Model, Stanford University Interim (SUI) Model and Ericsson Model) are compared and analyzed. These propagation models have been proposed for operating frequency at 2.5 GHz for different receiver antenna heights in all types of the environments (urban, suburban and rural) by using MATLAB Software. It was noticed from the results of the path loss estimation for 4 m and 8 m receiver antenna heights in suburban area that SUI model showed the lowest path loss result (119 dB in 4 m receiver antenna height) as compared with the other models in suburban environment. On the contrary, Ericsson model showed the highest path loss result (183 dB in 4 m receiver antenna height) as compared with the other models in rural environment. Also, COST 231 Hata model showed the highest path loss result (159 dB in 4 m receiver antenna height) as compared with the other models in urban environment. Moreover, it was mentioned that SUI model showed the lowest path loss result (119 dB in 4 m receiver antenna height) as compared with the other models in all types of the environments (urban, suburban and rural). Furthermore, it can be realized that SUI model is extensively used to predict the path loss in all types of terrain (urban, suburban and rural).
Deep Residual Network with Sparse Feedback for Image Restoration

A deep neural network is difficult to train due to a large number of unknown parameters. To increase trainable performance, we present a moderate depth residual network for the restoration of motion blurring and noisy images. The proposed network has only 10 layers, and the sparse feedbacks are added in the middle and the last layers, which are called FbResNet. FbResNet has fast convergence speed and effective denoising performance. In addition, it can also reduce the artificial Mosaic trace at the seam of patches, and visually pleasant output results can be produced from the blurred images or noisy images. Experimental results show the effectiveness of our designed model and method.