Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of Sensory Afferences in Postural Control Quantified by Force Platform: A Protocol for Systematic Review

Older adults’ postural balance is a critical domain of research as balance deficit is an important risk factor for falls that can lead to severe injuries and death. Considering the effects of ageing on sensory systems, we propose that posturographic evaluation with a force platform exploring the effect of sensory deprivation or perturbation on balance could help understand postural control alterations in the elderly. The aim of the future systematic review and meta-analysis described in this protocol is to explore the capacity of older adults to maintain their balance during sensory perturbations, and compare the effect of perturbation between the sensory channels contributing to balance. Seven databases will be searched for studies evaluating older adults’ balance under various sensory conditions. After evaluating the studies’ risk of bias, results from similar studies (i.e., similar experimental conditions and posturographic markers) will be aggregated. This protocol describes a future review that is expected to provide a better understanding of changes in sensory systems of balance due to ageing, and therefore perspectives on fall assessment, prevention, and rehabilitation.
Electroacupuncture Reduces Cerebral Hemorrhage Injury in Rats by Improving Cerebral Iron Metabolism

Objective To study the effects of electroacupuncture at Baihui and Dazhui points on the expression of hepcidin (Hepc), transferrin (Tf), transferrin receptor (TfR), and ferritin (Ft) in rats with cerebral hemorrhage to provide a theoretical basis for the treatment of cerebral hemorrhage with acupuncture. Method The model of cerebral hemorrhage in rats was established by autologous blood injection method and treated by electroacupuncture (EA) at the acupoints of Baihui and Dazhui. Hepc siRNA was injected into the lateral ventricle 30 min before model preparation to produce the cerebral hemorrhage model. The modified neurological severity score (mNSS) was used to assess the neurological function, and the total iron content in brain tissue was determined using atomic absorption spectrometry; the expression of Hepc, Ft, Tf, and TfR in perihematoma tissue was detected using immunohistochemistry; the interference efficiency of Hepc siRNA was detected using western blot and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results The degree of neurological deficit showed a downward trend at 3 days, 7 days, and 14 days, and electroacupuncture significantly reduced the neurological deficit score at each time point (P < 0.01). Regarding total iron content in brain tissue, on the 3rd day, the 7th day, and the 14th day, the iron content of the hematoma tissue after intracerebral hemorrhage was reduced by electroacupuncture (P < 0.01). Regarding immunohistochemical results. Hepc, Ft, Tf, and TfR protein expressions on day 14 were significantly higher after cerebral hemorrhage (P < 0.01). After electroacupuncture, the expression of Hepc, Ft, Tf, and TfR protein was significantly reduced (P < 0.01). Western blot and RT-PCR revealed that the interference efficiency of Hepc siRNA was statistically significant (P < 0.01). Conclusion Electroacupuncture can reduce neurological severity scores in rats with cerebral hemorrhage and may exert cerebral protective effects by reducing Hepc protein and gene expression; lowering Ft, Tf, and TfR protein expression; and promoting iron metabolism in the brain of rats with cerebral hemorrhage.
Prospects of mango fruit powder production at farm level and its utilisation during mango off-season in Ghana

Mango (Mangifera indica) is an important fruit served to customers as fresh-cut fruit, juice, ice cream and yogurts in many fruit juice joints, restaurants and hotels in Ghana. However, the crop’s highly seasonal and perishable nature is a challenge for food processors and farmers. Preservation of the fruit in dry particulate form can serve as a substitute in off-seasons. The study sought to determine mango fruit powder production prospects at the farm level and explore its potential use as a substitute during the off-season. Farmer groups and food enterprises were therefore interviewed. The study showed that Keitt and Kent varieties were the most cultivated varieties because of market demand and high yield. However, an average annual fruit loss of 29.8% at the farm level was observed. Postharvest extension delivery service to farmers is inadequate, and where available, frequency of contact is irregular. A limited number of farmers received training in fruit processing; and few were engaged in transformational value addition activities but were willing to add value through processing into powder. Probit regression analysis showed that a unit increase in training would increase transformational farm level value addition into mango fruit powder by 22.9%. The majority of the food enterprises source fruits within Ghana while 79% experienced mango fruit shortage in the off-seasons. Only a few of the enterprises used mango fruit-based substitutes to serve customers in off-seasons. Probit regression analysis showed that a marginal increase in processors’ use of substitute significantly (p≤0.05) increased willingness to use mango fruit powder as a substitute by 47%. The study has revealed that local production of mango fruit powder could serve as a substitute to fill the seasonal gap in mango supply and also reduce post-harvest losses.
Transformation of Amorphous Terbium Metal–Organic Framework on Terbium Oxide TbOx(111) Thin Film on Pt(111) Substrate: Structure of TbxOy Film

The present study is focused on the synthesis and structural properties of amorphous terbium metal–organic framework thin film (TbMOF-TF) and its transformation to terbium oxide by pyrolysis at 450 °C in the air. The crystalline (cTbMOF) and amorphous (aTbMOF) films were prepared by solvothermal synthesis using different amounts (0.4 and 0.7 mmol) of the modulator (sodium acetate), respectively. The powders were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry (TG), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The varied chemical composition of the surface of TbMOFs and TbxOy was investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that aTbMOF had been fully transformed to a Tb4O7 phase with a cubic crystal structure at 450 °C. The amorphous aTbMOF-TF film was prepared by dropping a colloidal solution of amorphous precursor nanocrystals on the SiO2/Si substrates covered with Pt as an interlayer. XPS confirmed the presence of Tb in two states, Tb3+ and Tb4+. The amorphous film has a rough, porous microstructure and is composed of large clusters of worm-like particles, while terbium oxide film consists of fine crystallites of cubic fluorite cF-TbOx, c-Tb4O7, and c-Tb2O3 phases. The surface topography was investigated by a combination of confocal (CM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The amorphous film is porous and rough, which is contrast to the crystalline terbium oxide film.
Gravity waves from the non-renormalizable Electroweak Vacua phase transition

It is currently believed that the Standard Model is an effective low energy theory which in principle may contain higher dimensional non-renormalizable operators. These operators may modify the standard model Higgs potential in many ways, one of which being the appearance of a second vacuum. For a wide range of parameters, this new vacuum becomes the true vacuum. It is then assumed that our universe is currently sitting in the false vacuum. Thus the usual second-order electroweak phase transition at early times will be followed by a second, first-order phase transition. In cosmology, a first-order phase transition is associated with the production of gravity waves. In this paper we present an analysis of the production of gravitational waves during such a second electroweak phase transition. We find that, for one certain range of parameters, the stochastic background of gravitational waves generated by bubble nucleation and collision have an amplitude which is estimated to be of order $\Omega_{GW}h^2\sim10^{-11}$ at $f=3\times 10^{-4}$Hz, which is within reach of the planned sensitivity of LISA. For another range of parameters, we find that the amplitude is estimated o be of order $\Omega_{GW}h^2\sim10^{-25}$ around $f=10^3$Hz, which is within reach of LIGO. Hence, it is possible to detect gravity waves from such a phase transition at two different detectors, with completely different amplitude and frequency ranges.
Towards New Classes of Flux Compactifications

We derive novel solutions of flux compactification with D7-branes on the resolved conifold in type IIB String Theory and later extend this solution to allow for non-zero temperature. At zero temperature, we find that adding D7-branes via the Ouyang embedding contributes to the supersymmetry-breaking (1,2) imaginary-self-dual flux, without generating a bulk cosmological constant. We further find that having D7-branes and a resolved conifold together give rise to a non-trivial D-term on the D7-branes. This supersymmetry-breaking term vanishes when we take the singular conifold limit, although supersymmetry appears to remain broken. We also lift our construction to F-theory where we show that the type IIB (1,2) flux goes to (2,2) non-primitive flux on the fourfold. In the second part of the thesis, we extend these results by taking the non-extremal limit of our geometry to incorporate temperature. In this case, the internal NS-NS and R-R fluxes are no longer expected to be self-dual, but they should also naturally be extensions of the fluxes found above. From the supergravity equations of motion, we compute how the new contributions to the fluxes should enter, due to the squashing of the resolved metric and non-extremality. This provides us with a compelling gravity dual of large N thermal quantum chromodynamics with flavor.
Dlg Is Required for Short-Term Memory and Interacts with NMDAR in the Drosophila Brain

The vertebrates’ scaffold proteins of the Dlg-MAGUK family are involved in the recruitment, clustering, and anchoring of glutamate receptors to the postsynaptic density, particularly the NMDA subtype glutamate-receptors (NRs), necessary for long-term memory and LTP. In Drosophila, the only gene of the subfamily generates two main products, dlgA, broadly expressed, and dlgS97, restricted to the nervous system. In the Drosophila brain, NRs are expressed in the adult brain and are involved in memory, however, the role of Dlg in these processes and its relationship with NRs has been scarcely explored. Here, we show that the dlg mutants display defects in short-term memory in the olfactory associative-learning paradigm. These defects are dependent on the presence of DlgS97 in the Mushroom Body (MB) synapses. Moreover, Dlg is immunoprecipitated with NRs in the adult brain. Dlg is also expressed in the larval neuromuscular junction (NMJ) pre and post-synaptically and is important for development and synaptic function, however, NR is absent in this synapse. Despite that, we found changes in the short-term plasticity paradigms in dlg mutant larval NMJ. Together our results show that larval NMJ and the adult brain relies on Dlg for short-term memory/plasticity, but the mechanisms differ in the two types of synapses.
An Analysis of the Women Commuters’ Satisfaction in the Public Bus Service in Bangladesh: A Survey on Local Buses in Major Cities

Bangladesh is one of the most populated developing countries where public bus service plays a vital role as a public transport mode since it is easily avail-able and cost-effective. In the social, commercial, educational, and administrative spheres, women’s participation in the labor force in economic enter-prises is steadily expanding in the country. Very little research considers only women commuters to analyze the service quality of public buses and they selected only Dhaka city as a study area. However, a large number of trips were generated by women commuters in the industrial and commercial zones such as Gazipur, Narayanganj, and Dhaka. This paper ascertains the public bus service attributes that affect women commuters’ satisfaction as well as finds out the major problems of women commuters while traveling on public buses and the possible solutions to them. This survey included 766 women commuters from Dhaka, Narayanganj, and Gazipur who were interviewed face to face. Structural Equation Model (SEM) was used as the instrument for identifying the service quality (SQ) attributes that influenced the women commuters’ satisfaction. A series of models were developed based on the trial-and-error method and the model M 3 is selected as the best fit according to SEM fit indices values. The study’s main goal was to compile a list of service quality attributes that influence women commuters’ satisfaction. Major issues with the current public bus service in terms of safety and security, as well as reme-dies, were identified through discussions with experienced female commuters. These findings reveal that women commuters’ tential strategies for addressing the issues, which may prompt policymakers to pay more attention to these aspects in transportation planning.
Evolutionary Ecology of Fire

Fire has been an ecosystem process since plants colonized land over 400 million years ago. Many diverse traits provide a fitness benefit following fires, and these adaptive traits vary with the fire regime. Some of these traits enhance fire survival, while others promote recruitment in the postfire environment. Demonstrating that these traits are fire adaptations is challenging, since many arose early in the paleontological record, although increasingly better fossil records and phylogenetic analysis make timing of these trait origins to fire more certain. Resprouting from the base of stems is the most widely distributed fire-adaptive trait, and it is likely to have evolved under a diversity of disturbance types. The origins of other traits like serotiny, thick bark, fire-stimulated germination, and postfire flowering are more tightly linked to fire. Fire-adaptive traits occur in many environments: boreal and temperate forests, Mediterranean-type climate (MTC) shrublands, savannas, and other grasslands. MTC ecosystems are distinct in that many taxa in different regions have lost the resprouting ability and depend solely on postfire recruitment for postfire recovery. This obligate seeding mode is perhaps the most vulnerable fire-adaptive syndrome in the face of current global change, particularly in light of increasing anthropogenic fire frequency. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, Volume 53 is November 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews. org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
ParamMacros: Creating UI Automation Leveraging End-User Natural Language Parameterization

—Prior work in programming-by-demonstration (PBD) has explored ways to enable end-users to create custom automation without needing to write code. We propose a new end-user specifcation model – asking the end-user to explicitly identify parts of their natural language query that can be generalized. We built a PBD system, ParamMacros, where users frst generalize a concrete natural language question – identifying parameters and their possible values – and then create a demonstration of how to answer the question on the website of interest. ParamMacros then infers a generalized program by using the user-provided parameter values to identify relevant patterns in the website’s structure. In a lab study we found that participants were able to meaningfully parameterize natural language queries and felt such a parameterization and demonstration process would be useful for creating custom automation.
A Residual Learning Approach to Deblur and Generate High Frame Rate Video With an Event Camera

Event cameras are bio-inspired cameras that can measure the intensity change asynchronously with high temporal resolution. One of the advantages of event cameras is that they suffer less from motion blur than traditional frame cameras when recording daily scenes with fast-moving objects. In this paper, we formulate the deblurring task on traditional cameras directed by events to be a residual learning one, and propose corresponding network architectures for effective learning of deblurring and high frame rate video generation tasks. We first train a modified U-Net network to restore a sharp image from a blurry image using the corresponding events. Then we train another similar network by replacing the downsampling blocks with blocks of the convolutional long short-term memory (Conv-LSTM) to recurrently generate high frame rate video using the restored sharp image and part of the events. Benefitting from the blur-free events and the proposed learning strategy, the experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms state-of-the-art methods for generating sharp images and high frame rate videos.
Recent Advances in the Growth and Characterizations of SILAR-Deposited Thin Films

Many researchers have reported on the preparation and characterization of thin films. The prepared thin films could be used in lasers, cathodic ray tubes, solar cells, infrared windows, ultraviolet light emitting diodes, sensors, supercapacitors, biologic applications, and optoelectronic applications. The properties of these thin films strongly depend on the deposition techniques. Throughout the years, many investigations into the production of various types of thin films (by using the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method) were conducted. This method attracts interest as it possesses many advantages when compared to other deposition methods. For example, large area depositions could be carried out in any substrates at lower temperatures via inexpensive instruments; moreover, a vacuum chamber is not required, it has an excellent growth rate, and the unique film properties could be controlled. In this work, metal sulfide, metal selenide, metal oxide, and metal telluride were deposited on substrates by using the SILAR method. According to the findings, both thick and thin films could be synthesized under specific conditions during the experiment. Additionally, the results showed that the number of deposition cycles, rinsing times, immersion times, and concentrations of the precursors affected the crystallinities, grain sizes, film thicknesses, surface roughness, and shapes of the obtained films. These films could be used in solar cell applications with high power conversion efficiency due to the appropriate band gap value and high absorption coefficient value.
Optimal Management of Microgrids With External Agents Including Battery/Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles

This paper studies the economic dispatch problem for a microgrid that interacts with external agents. First, the microgrid acts in the day-ahead market to find the optimal schedule for its internal resources, considering the consumption and generation forecast and the energy price prediction. Once the day-ahead market has closed, external agents such as other microgrids in the same network, aggregators or electric vehicles can interact with the microgrid through a local energy market. If an external agent requests a specific energy profile that offers an economic benefit, the microgrid controller will propose supplying the closest profile to that requested, depending on the benefit offered. The proposed solution allows the microgrid to respond to external requests, thus optimizing its economic benefit. The problem is solved using model predictive control (MPC), and the operation and degradation costs are included in the objective function. In order to capture both continuous/discrete dynamics and switching between different operating conditions, the plant is modeled using the mixed logic dynamic framework. The MPC problem is solved by means of mixed-integer quadratic programming.
Business incubation as a community of practice: an emergent cultural web

ABSTRACT Research on business incubation has been dominated by studies exploring university-industry technology transfer and high technology accelerators. Less is known about Business Incubation Centres (BICs), specifically, how their formal and informal structures may impact upon client development. Drawing on concepts from the community of practice (CoP) literature and organizational culture, we explore if BICs can be considered to be CoPs. We also seek to unravel the key elements which underpin the culture of a BIC and how these elements may provide enabling or constraining conditions for a CoP to emerge. Through a qualitative methodology of regional-based BICs in Ireland, we illustrate how the amount of time spent on campus; the nature of the working week; the scalability of the enterprise; and the capacity of the enterprise to meet the criteria associated with high potential start-ups influences clients’ perceptions of the value of BICs. We provide new theoretical insights which suggest that BICs are a CoP with a culture that can be studied, captured, and illustrated. Practical and policy implications are suggested to enhance the effectiveness of BICs for both clients and regions.
Strategies to Overcome Communication Apprehension during Academic Presentations: A Case of International Students in Malaysian Universities

Communication apprehension is defined as “an individual's level of fear or anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person or persons” (McCroskey 1984: 279). While many prior studies have investigated oral communication apprehension among undergraduate students, there has been little research exploring this phenomenon among doctoral students. This study applied qualitative methodology via observation and interviews. The research subjects were international doctoral students from several Malaysian universities. The experiences of the students in communicating with their examination panel during academic presentations (e.g., proposal and viva) are analyzed and the strategies and techniques employed to overcome communication apprehension are explored.