Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spiritual Leadership Values and Practices: An Analysis in Islamic Higher Education

This study presents an analysis of spiritual leadership values and practices in Islamic higher education. The aim of this analysis is to explain the phenomena and implications of spiritual leadership values and practices in Islamic higher education as seen through the lecturers. The research questions examine how the lecturers show spiritual leadership values and practices in their teachings. The case study has underpinned this analysis by using observation and semi-structured interviews which provide the narratives that inform the basis of this study. The results show that the spiritual leadership values and practices emerge from the respondents under various themes which are reflected in most of the respondents with diverse rates of each theme. These themes link the personal life experience of the respondents to unique findings which are truly in line with the current scholarly discourse on spiritual leadership values and practices.
Preclinical Models of Pediatric Solid Tumors (Neuroblastoma) and Their Use in Drug Discovery

Neuroblastoma is the most common pediatric abdominal solid tumor. This aggressive embryonal malignancy of neural crest origin has a peak age of onset of 22 months, and accounts for ∼11% of all pediatric cancers and 15% of all pediatric cancer deaths. With current treatment protocols, including high‐dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplantation, radiation, and surgery, ∼80% of high‐risk patients go into remission, although the majority relapse and succumb to therapy‐resistant tumors. Long‐term survival rates (>5 years) are <50%. Mouse models of neuroblastoma provide clinically relevant tools for studying the growth and metastasis of this aggressive malignancy, and for testing the efficacy of potentially novel therapeutics in vivo. This unit describes an orthotopic murine model of neuroblastoma using cultured human cells that closely mimics the clinical condition in terms of the bulky intra‐abdominal tumors and other aspects of metastatic disease. Also described are methods for in vivo imaging and monitoring of tumor growth, and procedures for necropsy and tumor preservation for pathological analysis. Curr. Protoc. Pharmacol. 52:14.17. 1‐14.17. 18. © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Power control for D2D underlay cellular communication: Game theory approach

Device-to-device (D2D) communication is considered as a promising resource reuse in cellular networks. However, the allocation of channel resources and power to D2D communication require precise coordination since D2D user equipments (UEs) can cause interference to cellular UEs. In this paper, we develop Nash Bargaining Solution (NBS) and Nash Competitive games frameworks to model the power allocation problem. NBS is a type of cooperative games, which has been applied for solving resource allocation problem among competing players. In the NBS game, the optimization problem is not convex. We propose a method to make the problem convex. In the Nash Competitive game, the problem is convex so that we apply KKT conditions and find a closed form solution for Nash Equilibrium (NE). Finally, we perform computer simulations to study the performance of the games. Simulation results show that our method for finding NBS has a significant accuracy. Results also indicate that D2D users have higher rates in NBS game compared to Nash Competitive game which states that the cooperation helps D2D users to gain more efficiency.
Effect of exogenous enzymes in maize-based diets varying in nutrient density for young broilers: growth performance and digestibility of energy, minerals and amino acids

1. A total of 192 male broilers (Cobb 500) were used in a growth and digestibility assay, involving a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments, to assess the effects of an enzyme cocktail of xylanase, amylase and protease in maize-based diets. 2. The following two diets were formulated: a positive control diet containing adequate nutrient concentrations for broiler starters as per breeder recommendations and a negative control diet to contain approximately 0·63 MJ/kg apparent metabolisable energy (AME) and 3% amino acids less than the positive control. 3. A further two dietary treatments were developed by supplementing each control diet with an enzyme product containing xylanase, amylase and protease. 4. Birds fed on the negative control diet had poorer weight gain and feed efficiency than those given the positive control diet. There was no effect of diet or enzyme on feed intake. The digestibility of nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus and most amino acids were unaffected by dietary nutrient density. 5. Supplementation of both the positive and negative control diets with the enzyme improved weight gain and feed efficiency compared with the unsupplemented diets. In the case of the negative control, supplemental enzyme improved performance to that of the unsupplemented positive control diet. There was no interaction between diet and enzyme for either weight gain or FCR, suggesting similar beneficial responses regardless of the nutrient density of the diet. 6. In both diets, enzyme supplementation improved AME by an average of 3% (0·35 MJ/kg DM) and nitrogen retention by an average of 11·7% (26 g/kg DM intake vs 29 g/kg DM intake). There was no interaction between diet and enzyme for AME or nitrogen retention. 7. Ileal digestibilities of calcium and phosphorus were not influenced by supplemental enzyme, whereas the digestibility of nitrogen and most amino acids was improved by enzyme addition compared with the unsupplemented control diets. There was no interaction between diet and enzyme for the ileal digestibility of nitrogen and amino acids. 8. These data demonstrate that it is possible to improve the nutritional value of a maize/soy-based diet for broiler starters through the use of exogenous enzymes. The nutrient density of the diet does not appear markedly to influence the response to enzyme, offering flexibility in the use of enzymes for maize-based diets. 9. It is concluded that the energy and amino acid values of maize-based diets for broilers can be enhanced by supplementation with an enzyme cocktail of xylanase, amylase and protease, offering potential economic benefits to producers.
Effects of streptokinase and deoxyribonuclease on viscosity of human surgical and empyema pus.

STUDY OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of streptokinase and deoxyribonuclease (DNase) on the viscosity of pus to assess whether the DNase in the old preparation of streptokinase-streptodornase used intrapleurally to treat empyema was contributing to easier drainage of pus compared with purified streptokinase. DESIGN In vitro measurement of pus viscosity. PATIENTS Pus from three patients with surgically drained soft tissue abscesses and from six patients with empyema thoracis of varying etiology was studied. INTERVENTIONS Pus samples were incubated with saline solution as control and with streptokinase, streptokinase-streptodornase, human recombinant DNase, and a mixture of streptokinase and DNase in concentrations approximating those achieved in clinical practice. RESULTS Purified streptokinase had little effect on pus viscosity, with a mean reduction of 11.1% in the surgical specimens and 1.7% in the empyema samples. Streptokinase-streptodornase reduced viscosity by a mean of 52.8% in the surgical samples and 94.8% in the empyema samples. Human recombinant DNase reduced viscosity by a mean of 32. 79% in surgical samples and 93.4% in empyema samples. Adding streptokinase to human recombinant DNase produced no further reduction in viscosity. Final viscosities in samples treated with DNase were very similar whatever the starting viscosity. CONCLUSIONS DNase significantly reduces pus viscosity, whereas streptokinase has little or no effect, and in empyema may work simply by breaking down loculations. Clinical studies should be undertaken to see if these in vitro changes produce clinical benefits. The simple viscometer devised for these experiments may also prove useful in other contexts.
Erasure of methylation imprinting of Igf2r during mouse primordial germ‐cell development

During germ cell differentiation in mice, the genome undergoes specific epigenetic modifications. These include demethylation of imprinted genes and subsequent establishment of parental allele‐specific methylation. The mouse Igf2r gene is an imprinted gene that shows maternal‐specific expression. Maternal‐specific methylation of differentially methylated region 2 (DMR2) of this gene may be necessary for its maternal‐specific expression. Before the allele‐specific methylation is established, DMR2 is demethylated in both male and female primordial germ cells (PGCs) by 13.5 days post coitum (dpc), indicating that the demethylation of this region occurs earlier in PGC development. The timing of the demethylation has been, however, unknown. In this study, we attempted to determine the timing of methylation erasure of Igf2r DMR2 in developing PGCs, using transgenic mice expressing green fluorescent protein specifically in the germ line. We purified migrating PGCs from the transgenic mice and examined the methylation status of DMR2. The results show that some CpG sites within DMR2 start demethylation at 9.5 dpc in some migrating PGCs, before the cells colonize genital ridges, and the progression of demethylation is rapid after colonization of the genital ridges. To examine whether the gonadal environment is involved in demethylation, we analyzed the methylation of DMR2 after culturing migrating PGCs in the absence of a gonadal environment. These culture experiments support the idea that a gonadal environment is not required for demethylation of the region in at least a fraction of PGCs. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 65: 41–50, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Decreased Fracture Risk in Users of Organic Nitrates: A Nationwide Case‐Control Study

In a nationwide population‐based pharmaco‐epidemiological case‐control study, including 124,655 subjects who had sustained a fracture during 2000 (cases) and 373,962 age‐ and sex‐matched controls, we found an ∼15% reduced risk of fractures in users of organic nitrates. Thus, organic nitrates may protect against osteoporosis.
Towards a theory of disintegration

ABSTRACT Existing theories of European integration offer little purchase on the problems facing the European Union today. New theories of disintegration are emerging, but they remain disjointed. The purpose of this comment is to suggest an overarching theoretical framework. This framework helps to structure the existing literature and to suggest new areas for research. It also helps to explain how integration and disintegration interact at different levels of aggregation.
Recent developments in chipless Ultra-Wide-Band (UWB) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems

This paper presents a brief overview to the recent developments in the field of chipless Ultra-Wide-Band (UWB) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems. First, we provide introductory notes about the evolution of RFID systems and principles of their operation. Second, we give an idea how to design and encode UWB-RFID tags, and provide information about the commonly used technologies for fabrication. We also discuss possible setups to measure UWB-RFID tag's signatures, and provide an overview about the current signal processing techniques often used at the reader side to extract tags' encoding information. Finally, we show how sensors are being used in chipless UWB-RFID systems with some applications.
MAGNETO: Covert Channel between Air-Gapped Systems and Nearby Smartphones via CPU-Generated Magnetic Fields

In this paper, we show that attackers can leak data from isolated, air-gapped computers to nearby smartphones via covert magnetic signals. The proposed covert channel works even if a smartphone is kept inside a Faraday shielding case, which aims to block any type of inbound and outbound wireless communication (Wi-Fi, cellular, Bluetooth, etc.). The channel also works if the smartphone is set in airplane mode in order to block any communication with the device. We implement a malware that controls the magnetic fields emanating from the computer by regulating workloads on the CPU cores. Sensitive data such as encryption keys, passwords, or keylogging data is encoded and transmitted over the magnetic signals. A smartphone located near the computer receives the covert signals with its magnetic sensor. We present technical background, and discuss signal generation, data encoding, and signal reception. We show that the proposed covert channel works from a user-level process, without requiring special privileges, and can successfully operate from within an isolated virtual machine (VM).
Fatty Acids and Other Risk Factors for Sudden Cardiac Death in Patients Starting Hemodialysis

Background: Little is known about risk factors for sudden cardiac death in hemodialysis patients during the high-risk first year of dialysis. We therefore undertook to identify such risk factors in a nationally representative cohort and were able to include baseline levels of blood fatty acids, some of which influence arrhythmogenicity and sudden cardiac death risk. Design: The study cohort included 100 patients who died of sudden cardiac death during the first year of hemodialysis and 300 frequency-matched controls. Using the elastic net statistical method, numerous demographic and clinical characteristics were included with baseline total serum levels for 11 major fatty acids (model 1) and with serum phospholipid fractions of these same fatty acids (model 2). Final models included only covariates that had a non-zero coefficient. Results: In model 1, serum albumin [odds ratio (95% CI): 0.55 (0.33-0.93); p = 0.03] and total serum long-chain n-3 docosapentaenoic acid [0.70 (0.51-0.97); p = 0.03] were inversely associated with the odds of sudden cardiac death, while the total serum saturated fatty acid level had a direct association [1.01 (1.00-1.02); p = 0.03]. In model 2, serum albumin and docosapentaenoic acid remained inversely associated with sudden cardiac death in a similar manner as in model 1. Pulse pressure also had an inverse association [0.96 (0.93-1.00); p < 0.05]. Conclusions: Several factors, including blood content of docosapentaenoic acid and saturated fatty acids, were associated with the odds of sudden cardiac death during year one of hemodialysis. These results raise the possibility that dietary modification may reduce sudden death risk.
Prognostic significance of morphologic parameters in renal cell carcinoma

Many morphologic parameters have been used in prognostic studies in renal cell carcinoma. In this study, the relationship between these parameters and prognosis was investigated. This study includes 75 patients who were treated with radical nephrectomy between 1985 and 2001. Pathological stage (TNM), grade (Fuhrman nuclear grade) cell type (UICC and AJCC), histologic pattern, tumour size, vascular invasion and multifocality were used as prognostic parameters. There were 34 female and 41 male patients with mean age of 54.5 ± 12.5. The mean size of the tumour was 76.9 ± 37.2 (30–200) mm. Of the patients, 40 had pT1, 21 pT2, nine pT3 and two pT4 diseases. Twenty‐eight patients had Grade 1, 29 Grade 2, 15 Grade 3 and three Grade 4 tumour. According to cell type, 63 had clear cell, six papillary and six undifferentiated types. Five had multifocal and seven had vascular invasion. In conclusion, nuclear grade and tumour stage were found as the most important prognostic indicators.
Physical Activity Among Children Attending Preschools

Objectives. Obesity rates are increasing among children of all ages, and reduced physical activity is a likely contributor to this trend. Little is known about the physical activity behavior of preschool-aged children or about the influence of preschool attendance on physical activity. The purpose of this study was to describe the physical activity levels of children while they attend preschools, to identify the demographic factors that might be associated with physical activity among those children, and to determine the extent to which children's physical activity varies among preschools. Methods. A total of 281 children from 9 preschools wore an Actigraph (Fort Walton Beach, FL) accelerometer for an average of 4.4 hours per day for an average of 6.6 days. Each child's height and weight were measured, and parents of participating children provided demographic and education data. Results. The preschool that a child attended was a significant predictor of vigorous physical activity (VPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Boys participated in significantly more MVPA and VPA than did girls, and black children participated in more VPA than did white children. Age was not a significant predictor of MVPA or VPA. Conclusions. Children's physical activity levels were highly variable among preschools, which suggests that preschool policies and practices have an important influence on the overall activity levels of the children the preschools serve.
Method of handling the contents of TCP packets on router via netfilter

This paper researches on how to deal with the contents of the packets via the technology of netfilter on the router device. And this page mainly introduced the architecture of netfilter, the firmware of router, the method of netfilter programming and transplanting as well as the realization of the TCP packet's addition, deletion, modification, detection function. Finally, list an example of installing a netfilter module on the router device and its experimental result to demonstrate that the application of this scheme is feasible.
Dynamic structure neural networks for stable adaptive control of nonlinear systems

An adaptive control technique, using dynamic structure Gaussian radial basis function neural networks, that grow in time according to the location of the system's state in space is presented for the affine class of nonlinear systems having unknown or partially known dynamics. The method results in a network that is "economic" in terms of network size, for cases where the state spans only a small subset of state space, by utilizing less basis functions than would have been the case if basis functions were centered on discrete locations covering the whole, relevant region of state space. Additionally, the system is augmented with sliding control so as to ensure global stability if and when the state moves outside the region of state space spanned by the basis functions, and to ensure robustness to disturbances that arise due to the network inherent approximation errors and to the fact that for limiting the network size, a minimal number of basis functions are actually being used. Adaptation laws and sliding control gains that ensure system stability in a Lyapunov sense are presented, together with techniques for determining which basis functions are to form part of the network structure. The effectiveness of the method is demonstrated by experiment simulations.
Learning database queries via intelligent semiotic machines

In the Big Data era, data-intensive and data-driven approaches are affording the paradigm change. In this data deluge, finding relevant and appropriate information is of great importance for achieving the demanding goals posed by business and society. However, traditional database search is limited by the assumption of query criteria as hard constraints. This provides results without personalization and flexibility, and often leads to information overload, i.e., non-focused results that are not informative to users. There is also often relevance misalignment, which occurs when the system only relies on consensus relevance. To overcome these problems, we present, in this work, a novel approach for (semi) automatically learning database queries based on Semiotics and Computational Intelligence techniques, in which user perception and intention are considered for interactively producing tailored queries that facilitate personalized data exploration and retrieval. In this sense, we present an empirical analysis to assess the effectiveness of our approach in learning SQL queries in a Query By Example scenario. The obtained results confirm that our approach is capable of generating SQL queries based on a single user-defined example without requiring any database-specific knowledge such as query language or database schema and structure.
Reinforcement learning for optimal energy management of a solar microgrid

In an optimization based control approach for solar microgrid energy management, consumer as an agent continuously interacts with the environment and learns to take optimal actions autonomously to reduce the power consumption from grid. Learning is built in directly into the consumer's behaviour so that he can decide and act in his own interest for optimal scheduling. The consumer evolves by interacting with the influencing variables of the environment. We consider a grid-connected solar microgrid system which contains a local consumer, a renewable generator (solar photovoltaic system) and a storage facility (battery). A model-free Reinforcement Learning algorithm, namely three-step-ahead Q-learning, is used to optimize the battery scheduling in dynamic environment of load and available solar power. Solar power and the load feed the reinforcement learning algorithm. By increasing the utility of battery and the solar power generator, an optimal performance of solar microgrid is achieved. Simulation results using real numerical data are presented for a reliability test of the system. The uncertainties in the solar power and the load are taken into account in the proposed control framework.
Baroreflex control of renal sympathetic nerve activity and heart rate in near‐term fetal sheep

Late preterm infants, born between 34 and 36 weeks gestation, have significantly higher morbidity than neonates born at full term, which may be partly related to reduced sensitivity of the arterial baroreflex. The present study assessed baroreflex control of heart rate (HR) and renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) in near‐term fetal sheep at 123 ± 1 days gestation. At this age, although fetuses are not fully mature in some respects (term is 147 days), sleep‐state cycling is established [between high‐voltage, low‐frequency (HV) and low‐voltage, high‐frequency (LV) sleep], and neural myelination is similar to the term human infant. Fetal sheep were instrumented to record blood pressure (BP), HR (n = 15) and RSNA (n = 5). Blood pressure was manipulated using vasoactive drugs, phenylephrine and sodium nitroprusside. In both HV and LV sleep, phenylephrine was associated with increased arterial BP and decreased HR. In HV sleep, phenylephrine was associated with a fall in RSNA, from 124 ± 14 to 58 ± 11% (P < 0.05), but no significant change in RSNA in LV sleep. In contrast, the fall in BP after sodium nitroprusside was associated with a significant increase in HR during LV but not HV sleep, and there was no significant effect of hypotension on RSNA. These data demonstrate that in near‐term fetal sheep baroreflex activity is only partly active and is highly modulated by sleep state. Critically, there was no RSNA response to marked hypotension; this finding has implications for the ability of the late preterm fetus to adapt to low BP.