Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Internal Heat Source in Temperature Rate Dependent Thermoelastic Medium with Hydrostatic Initial Stress

The present work is devoted to study the effect of hydrostatic initial stress in an infinite isotropic generalized thermoelastic medium with the dependence of modulus of elasticity and thermal conductivity on the reference temperature. In view of calculating general problems, a numerical solution technique is to be used. For this purpose , the normal mode analysis method is chosen. The results for the displacement components, force stress and temperature distribution are illustrated graphically with some comparisons. The numerical results are given and presented graphically for Lord–Shulman theory of thermoelasticity when mechanical force is applied.
Pseudoinnovation: the development and spread of healthcare quality improvement methodologies.

BACKGROUND Over the last two decades, we have seen the successive rise and fall of a number of concepts, ideas or methods in healthcare quality improvement (QI). Paradoxically, the content of many of these QI methodologies is very similar, though their presentation often seeks to differentiate or distinguish them. METHODS This paper sets out to explore the processes by which new QI methodologies are developed and disseminated and the impact this has on the effectiveness of QI programmes in healthcare organizations. It draws on both a bibliometric analysis of the QI literature over the period from 1988 to 2007 and a review of the literature on the effectiveness of QI programmes and their evaluation. RESULTS The repeated presentation of an essentially similar set of QI ideas and methods under different names and terminologies is a process of 'pseudoinnovation', which may be driven by both the incentives for QI methodology developers and the demands and expectations of those responsible for QI in healthcare organizations. We argue that this process has important disbenefits because QI programmes need sustained and long-term investment and support in order to bring about significant improvements. The repeated redesign of QI programmes may have damaged or limited their effectiveness in many healthcare organizations. CONCLUSIONS A more sceptical and scientifically rigorous approach to the development, evaluation and dissemination of QI methodologies is needed, in which a combination of theoretical, empirical and experiential evidence is used to guide and plan their uptake. Our expectations of the evidence base for QI methodologies should be on a par with our expectations in relation to other forms of healthcare interventions.
Maximum likelihood estimation for array processing in colored noise

The problem of direction of arrival estimation of multiple sources in noise with unknown covariance is considered. The noise is modeled as a spatial autoregressive process with unknown parameters. An approximate maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) of the signal and noise parameters is derived. It requires numerical maximization of a compressed likelihood function over the unknown arrival angles. Analytical expressions for the MLEs of the signal covariance and the autoregressive (AR) parameters are given. <<ETX>>
Synthesis of carbon nanotubes - polyphenylene sulfone composite membranes for waste water treatment from petroleum sources

MSc report presented to the University of the Witwatersrand In the fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg April 2017
Controlled contusion injury alters molecular systems associated with cognitive performance

We investigated whether a learning impairment after a controlled cortical impact (CCI) injury was associated with alterations in molecules involved in synaptic plasticity and learning and memory. Adult male rats with moderate CCI to the left parietal cortex, tested in a Morris water maze (MWM) beginning at postinjury day 10, showed impaired cognitive performance compared with sham‐treated rats. Tissue was extracted for mRNA analysis on postinjury day 21. The expression of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), synapsin I, cyclic‐AMP response element binding protein (CREB), and calcium‐calmodulin–dependent protein kinase II (α‐CAMKII) were all significantly decreased compared with sham injury levels within the ipsilateral hippocampus after CCI. No significant molecular level changes were found in the contralateral hippocampus. Decreased expression of BDNF and synapsin I was also found within the ipsilateral parietal cortex of CCI‐injured rats compared with shams. However, BDNF and synapsin I expressions were significantly increased in the contralateral parietal cortex of the CCI rats. CREB expression was significantly decreased within the contralateral cortex of the CCI group. These findings show enduring reductions in the expression of BDNF, synapsin I, CREB, and α‐CAMKII ipsilateral to a CCI injury, which seem associated with the spatial learning deficits observed in this injury model. In addition, the delayed increase in the expression of BDNF and synapsin I within the cortex contralateral to CCI may reflect restorative processes in areas homotypical to the injury. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Millimeter Wave High Isolation Resistive Coupler In 45nm RFSOI Technology for Sensing Application

This paper proposes the design and test of a high isolation millimeter wave directional coupler for sensing application. The compact device is fabricated using the 45nm RFSOI technology of Global Foundries. The core size of the coupler is $44 \mu \mathrm{m} \times 34 \mu \mathrm{m}$. An insertion loss close to the expected 3.6 dB and a coupling ratio of about 26 dB within the 40-80 GHz frequency band have been reached. Moreover, the proposed coupler achieved a measured isolation greater than 43 dB at 60 GHz. This performance is particularly mandatory in sensing applications where maintaining the integrity of the measured signal is critical.
Secrecy outage probability of wirelessly powered wiretap channels

This paper considers a wirelessly powered wiretap channel, where an energy constrained information source, powered by a dedicated power beacon, communicates with a legitimate user in the presence of a passive eavesdropper. The source is assumed to have multiple antennas, while the other three nodes are equipped with a single antenna each. Considering a simple time-switching design where power transfer and information transmission are separated in time. We investigate two popular transmission schemes, namely maximum ratio transmission (MRT) and transmit antenna selection (TAS). Closed-form expressions are derived for the achievable secrecy outage probability of both schemes. In addition, simple approximations are obtained at the high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regime. Our results demonstrate that the more channel state information (CSI) available, the better the secrecy performance. For instance, with full CSI of the main channel, the system can achieve substantial secrecy diversity gain. On the other hand, without the CSI of the main channel, no diversity gain can be attained. Finally, our theoretical claims are validated by the numerical results.
Concise texture editing

Many computer graphics applications remain in the domain of the specialist. They are typically characterized by complex user-directed tasks, often requiring proficiency in design, colour spaces, computer interaction and file management. Furthermore, the demands of this skill set are often exacerbated by an equally complex collection of image or object manipulation commands embedded in a variety of interface components. The complexity of these graphic editing tools often requires that the user possess a correspondingly high level of expertise. Concise Texture Editing is aimed at addressing the over-complexity of modern graphics tools and is based on the intuitive notion that the human user is skilled at high level decision making while the computer is proficient at rapid computation. This thesis has focused on the development of interactive editing tools for 2D texture images and has led to the development of a novel texture manipulation system that allows: • the concise painting of a texture; • the concise cloning of textures; • the concise alteration of texture element size. The system allows complex operations to be performed on images with minimal user interaction. When applied to the domain of image editing, this implies that the user can instruct the system to perform complex changes to digital images without having to specify copious amounts of detail. In order to reduce the user’s workload, the inherent self-similarity of textures is exploited to interactively replicate editing operations globally over an image. This unique image system thereby reduces the user’s workload through semi-automation, resulting in an acutely concise user interface.
On decomposability of cyclic triple systems

We enumerate, up to isomorphism, the indecomposable cyclic triple systems TS(v, λ) in each of the following cases: v ≤ 18 and λ ≤ 7; v = 19 and λ ≤ 4; v = 21 and λ ≤ 3; v = 25 and λ ≤ 2. In particular, our census enables us to answer in the affirmative the questions left open in the book “Triple systems” by C.J. Colbourn and A. Rosa, about the existence of an indecomposable TS(v, λ) for (v, λ) = (13, 5), (15, 5), (11, 6), (12, 6), (13, 6), (15, 6), and (16, 6). In the first five cases there are “many” cyclic solutions (all of which are non-simple) but there is a unique indecomposable cyclic TS(16, 6). It is simple and it is shown that it lies in an infinite class of TS(4k, 6) that we obtain, theoretically, via k-extended Skolem sequences.
How Organizational Culture Shapes Competitive Strategies: a Comparative Case Study of Two E-Commerce Firms in China

Many well-established multinational firms have been attracted to China by its tremendous market size and fast growing economy. While many have succeeded and enjoyed significant returns on their investments, some have failed and suffered significant financial losses. In the e-commerce market, failures seem to be more frequent than successes. In this study, we attempt to find some answers as to why e-commerce market is especially tough for foreign firms by using a comparative case study in which the epic battle of two giants in Chinese C2C market during 2004-2006 is analyzed. We argue that other things being equal, the local firms have an embedded competitive advantage if the management can transform a better understanding of the national culture into an organizational culture of innovativeness and market responsiveness. Such organizational culture, according to the resourced based view, could have significant impact on the competitive strategies and eventually determine the market performance of the firm.
oPOSSUM: identification of over-represented transcription factor binding sites in co-expressed genes

Targeted transcript profiling studies can identify sets of co-expressed genes; however, identification of the underlying functional mechanism(s) is a significant challenge. Established methods for the analysis of gene annotations, particularly those based on the Gene Ontology, can identify functional linkages between genes. Similar methods for the identification of over-represented transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) have been successful in yeast, but extension to human genomics has largely proved ineffective. Creation of a system for the efficient identification of common regulatory mechanisms in a subset of co-expressed human genes promises to break a roadblock in functional genomics research. We have developed an integrated system that searches for evidence of co-regulation by one or more transcription factors (TFs). oPOSSUM combines a pre-computed database of conserved TFBSs in human and mouse promoters with statistical methods for identification of sites over-represented in a set of co-expressed genes. The algorithm successfully identified mediating TFs in control sets of tissue-specific genes and in sets of co-expressed genes from three transcript profiling studies. Simulation studies indicate that oPOSSUM produces few false positives using empirically defined thresholds and can tolerate up to 50% noise in a set of co-expressed genes.
Mutational specificity in bacteria.

INTRODUCTIO N . 2 1 5 Definitions. 2 1 6 MUTAGENI C PATHWAyS . 216 SPECIFI CITY OF SOS-DEPENDE NT MUTAGENS . 218 Compounds Forming Bulky Adducts . 2 19 Antitumor Drugs . 2 2 1 Mutations Resulting from the Induction of the SOS System-Untargeted Mutagenesis? 222 Ultraviolet Light . :. 226 HOTSPOTS-S ITE SPE CIFICITy . ,. 230 FRAMESHIFTS . 231 Mechanisms of Frameshift Mutagenesis . 234
Calibration System and Calibration Method of Biochip Temperature Sensors

Currently, a microanalysis technology is employed in detection systems in fields such as medical science, food safety, and environmental monitoring, and it is being developed in the form of a lab-on-a-chip. However, the reproducibility and sensitivity of biochips are essential factors for its commercialization. Because this requires accurate temperature control, there should be no errors in the temperature sensor used for the biochip. This paper proposes a system that calibrates the temperature sensor of the biochip by directly heating the biochip and using the difference between the measured values of the temperature sensor attached to the biochip and the precision temperature sensor on the biochip surface. In addition, directly heating the biochip was observed to shorten the time taken to reach the target temperature, compared to the chip calibration by placing it in the constant-temperature water bath. The shortened calibration time of the biochip enables us to realize reduced production cost when the chips are manufactured on a large scale.
Pay what you want ” as a profitable pricing strategy : Theory and experimental evidence

Prevailing wisdom in the literature suggests that the success of a “pay what you want” (PWYW) pricing strategy depends on consumers’ altruistic inclinations, sense of fair play, or consumers’ willingness to reciprocate the firm’s generous offer. In this article, we consider whether PWYW can be profitable when the consumer’s only motive is self-interest. Through analyzing an infinitely repeated pricing game between a firm and a fixed consumer population, we find that PWYW could be as profitable as a fixed price regime, if the firm’s strategy is to threaten to switch to the fixed price regime over a length of time in the future, should PWYW not yield enough profits. If consumers are forward looking and there exist a sufficient number of consumers who find the firm’s fixed price regime to be more costly than other alternatives, then such a threat could lead to a sustainable PWYW regime. We also examine coordination mechanisms that may enhance the sustainability of this regime in practice, and present a laboratory study that provides support for some of our conclusions.
Using ontology for resume annotation

Employers collect a large number of resumes from job portals or from their companys own website. These documents are used for an automated selection of candidates satisfying the requirements and therefore reducing recruitment costs. Various approaches for process documents have already been developed for recruitment. In this paper, we present an approach based on semantic annotation of resumes for an e-recruitment process. The most important task consists of modelling the semantic content of these documents using ontology. The ontology is built taking into account the most significant components of resumes inspired from the structure of EUROPASS CV. This ontology is thereafter used to annotate automatically the resumes.
Autonomic Resource Management for Program Orchestration in Large-Scale Data Analysis

Large-scale data analysis applications are becoming more and more prevalent in a wide variety of areas. These applications are composed of many currently available programs called analysis components. Thousands of analysis component processes are orchestrated on many compute nodes. This paper proposes a novel self-tuning framework for optimizing an application's throughput in large-scale data analysis. One challenge is developing efficient orchestration that takes into account the diversity of analysis components and the varying performances of compute nodes. In our previous work, we achieved such an orchestration to a certain degree by introducing our own middleware, which wraps each analysis component as a remote procedure call (RPC) service. The middleware also pools the processes to reduce startup overhead, which is a serious obstacle to achieving high throughput. This work tackles the remaining task of tuning the size of the analysis components' process pools to maximize the application's throughput. This is challenging because analysis components differ drastically in turnaround times and memory footprints. The size of the process pool for each type of analysis component should be set by giving consideration to these properties as well as the constraints on both the memory capacity and the processor core counts. In this work, we formulate this task as a linear programming problem and obtain the optimal pool sizes by solving it. Compared to our previous work, we significantly improved the scalability of our framework by reformulating the performance model to work on hundreds of heterogeneous nodes. We also extended the service allocation mechanism to manage the computational load on each compute node and reduce communication overhead. The experimental results show that our approach is scalable to thousands of analysis component processes running on 200 compute nodes across three clusters. Moreover, our approach significantly reduces memory footprint.
Relaying with Packet Aggregation for Half-Duplex All-to-All Broadcast in Time-Critical Wireless Networks

Wireless automation and control networks, with stringent latency and reliability requirements, typically use half-duplex communications combined with deadline-aware scheduling of time slots to nodes. To introduce higher reliability in legacy industrial control systems, extra time slots are usually reserved for retransmissions. However, in distributed wireless control systems, where sensor data from several different nodes must be timely and reliably available at all places where controller decisions are made, this is particularly cumbersome as all nodes may not hear each other and extra time slots imply increased delay. To enable all-to-all broadcast with manageable overhead and complexity in such systems, we therefore propose a novel relaying strategy using packet aggregation. The strategy assigns relayers to time slots, as well as determines which packets to aggregate in each slot, using a low-complexity algorithm such that ultra-reliable communications can be obtained with maintained end- to-end latency.
Deficiency of a Retinal Dystrophy Protein, Acyl-CoA Binding Domain-containing 5 (ACBD5), Impairs Peroxisomal β-Oxidation of Very-long-chain Fatty Acids*

Acyl-CoA binding domain-containing 5 (ACBD5) is a peroxisomal protein that carries an acyl-CoA binding domain (ACBD) at its N-terminal region. The recent identification of a mutation in the ACBD5 gene in patients with a syndromic form of retinal dystrophy highlights the physiological importance of ACBD5 in humans. However, the underlying pathogenic mechanisms and the precise function of ACBD5 remain unclear. We herein report that ACBD5 is a peroxisomal tail-anchored membrane protein exposing its ACBD to the cytosol. Using patient-derived fibroblasts and ACBD5 knock-out HeLa cells generated via genome editing, we demonstrate that ACBD5 deficiency causes a moderate but significant defect in peroxisomal β-oxidation of very-long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) and elevates the level of cellular phospholipids containing VLCFAs without affecting peroxisome biogenesis, including the import of membrane and matrix proteins. Both the N-terminal ACBD and peroxisomal localization of ACBD5 are prerequisite for efficient VLCFA β-oxidation in peroxisomes. Furthermore, ACBD5 preferentially binds very-long-chain fatty acyl-CoAs (VLC-CoAs). Together, these results suggest a direct role of ACBD5 in peroxisomal VLCFA β-oxidation. Based on our findings, we propose that ACBD5 captures VLC-CoAs on the cytosolic side of the peroxisomal membrane so that the transport of VLC-CoAs into peroxisomes and subsequent β-oxidation thereof can proceed efficiently. Our study reclassifies ACBD5-related phenotype as a novel peroxisomal disorder.
Fine-Tuned Convolutional Neural Network Model for Rice Leaf Disease Prediction

Rice stands as a crucial sustenance for the majority of the global population, underscoring its cultivation's significance within agriculture. Nonetheless, the vitality of rice crops is persistently imperilled by a multitude of leaf diseases, culminating in substantial declines in yield. Prompt and accurate diagnosis of these diseases holds paramount importance for effective disease management and safeguarding food security. In recent times, convolutional neural networks (CNNs), have been identified as remarkable models in achieving optimal results in image-processing tasks, including the identification of plant diseases and health diseases. The proposed work has been employed with a CNN model for rice leaf disease classification. The open-source data repository “Kaggle” has been used as the source of the rice leaf disease dataset collection. Further, the CNN model has been trained for the automatic recognition and classification of four different kinds of rice leave diseases namely bacterial blight, blast, brown spot, and tungro. To build this CNN model, fine-tuning has been performed by changing the number of epochs and learning rate along with optimizers. The results show that the model has achieved the highest accuracy of 93.33% at epoch 14, whereas, at epoch 75 it has been identified as 75.56%. Furthermore, when the epoch was again increased to 100, the accuracy started to increase and resulted in 81.53% at epoch 100. In future, the model can be trained with the augmented images to achieve optimal results in the increased number of epochs.
Robust Gray-Scale Image Watermarkingusing Symlet Wavelet Decomposition using Hybrid Approach

Amongst digital requirements, gray-scale image watermarking-capacity is the crucial issue that has to be effectively handled. A method of utilizing a blind watermarking scheme to insert a gray-scale image into another gray-scale image of a different size is proposed in order to mark the same. This method achieves a logically good perceptual analogy by measuring the appropriate (PSNR) and (SSIM) index. To extract LL bands, the technique uses sym 4 discrete wavelet transformation at a single level (DWT), where most of the image's features are kept. A trustworthy rectangular matrix of computationally viable areas of the updated image is then obtained using a singular value decomposition (SVD), first utilized to obtain a set of elements sufficient to describe the full image. The technique is resistant to attacks from motion blur, JPEG compression, pepper and salt, Gaussian, speckle, median, and Gaussian lowpass filters, as well as attacks from sharpening and histogram equalization. An increasingly popular strategy for securing copyright protection and identifying data owners is watermarking. The representation of the image determines the watermark embedding techniques, and each domain has its own set of advantages and disadvantages.