Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Emergency management systems using mobile cloud computing: A survey

Among today's rapidly evolving technologies, artificial intelligence plays a significant role in making decisions by a system without any human intervention. An Emergency Management System (EMS) is a decision support system where emergencies such as tsunami, landslide, fire, cyclone, and electrical short circuits can be prevented with prior detection and can be addressed immediately in an efficient way after the emergency occurred. Automation of EMS can avoid or manage multiple emergencies, which alternatively can save lives, economy, and environment. Quality demand response with fast data transfer, error minimized computation, and effective resource utilization is very much essential while developing the EMSs. This will provide a bridge between the technology and emergency responders. Resource‐limited smart devices can be made rich in computational behavior by outsourcing their requirements such as storage, virtual servers, and web services using Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC). In this work, we have done a detailed survey on both MCC applications and EMS applications proposed in the literature, and we have also identified the design challenges handled in both MCC and EMS applications. We have presented the design challenges and possible solutions for development of EMS using MCC. We propose an architecture for building an automated EMS using MCC. Finally, we conclude the paper with specific future directions.
Passivity‐based robust adaptive sliding mode control for singular time‐delay systems with uncertainties in both derivative matrix and some other system matrices

This article addresses the passivity analysis and passification problems for a class of nonlinear singular time‐varying delay systems with the special forms of uncertainties in both derivative matrix and some other system matrices by adopting adaptive sliding mode control (SMC) strategy. First, a distinctive state augmentation technique, which keeps the admissibility and the robust passivity unchanged, is employed due to “left‐singular” form uncertainty in the derivative matrix (ie, E0(I+ΔE0(σ)) ). Next, an integral‐type sliding surface, which involves the SMC gain matrix K, is constructed. By designing an appropriate Lyapunov‐Krasovskii functional and introducing slack matrix approach, in which the slack matrix W˜ is not constrained in contrast to most existing literatures, a new sufficient condition is derived to ensure that the resulting sliding mode dynamics is admissible and robustly passive for all admissible uncertainties. Additionally, for the passification problem, a delay‐dependent sufficient condition is proposed in the form of strict linear matrix inequality (LMI), which not only removes the equality constraint but also makes the SMC gain matrix K solvable. Then a novel adaptive SMC law, which does not need to use the assumption that bounds of nonlinear perturbation function and external disturbance are known constants, is synthesized such that the finite‐time reachability can be guaranteed. And the state information before and after state augmented transformation is utilized in SMC law design to help achieve better performance. Finally, four examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness, superiority, and less conservativeness of the proposed scheme.
Determination of ultra‐low vapor pressures by submicron droplet evaporation

Vapor pressures as low as of order 10−8 mm Hg (10−10 atm) have been determined by measuring the diffusion‐controlled evaporation rates of single submicron droplets suspended in an electric field in the path of a laser beam. Using Mie theory to ascertain the droplet radius as a function of time from light‐scattering data, the vapor pressures of dioctyl phthalate (DOP), dibutyl sebacate (DBS), and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) have been determined at temperatures near room temperature. In addition to vapor pressures, heats of vaporization and Lennard‐Jones molecular interaction parameters are determined from the experiments.
Impact of Sleep Disturbances on the Quality of Life Among Schizophrenic Out-patients of Jimma University Medical Center, Southwest Ethiopia: Hospital Based Cross-sectional Study

Current study was aimed to assess the impacts of sleep disturbances on patient’s quality of life. Schizophrenia is a syndrome, which affects sleep. Up to 80% of schizophrenic patients complain of sleep disturbances which affect the quality of life To assess the association of sleep disturbances and quality of life and other contributing factors among schizophrenic patients on follow-up treatment at Jimma University Southwest Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study with a consecutive sampling of 411 out-patients at Jimma University medical center was employed from April 21-June 20, 2019. Sleep disturbances and the quality of life were assessed by Pittsburgh sleep quality index and WHOQOL-BREF, respectively. Epi data version 3.1 and SPSS version 23.0 software was used. Chi-square and independent samples t-test were used for association and P-value < 0.05 was considered for statistical significance. Most participants had sleep disturbances and the mean score of positive scale on PANSS was higher for patients with sleep disturbances. About one-fourth of the patients had very good subjective sleep quality and > 85% of sleep efficiency was reported by 139 participants. More than half (51.1%) of the subjects had used sleep medication and the majority (64.7%) of them were reported daytime dysfunctions in the past month. The social domain (M±SD=3.92±2.51, t=8.46, p= <0.001, eta2=0.15) and overall WHOQOL (M±SD=57.60±16.87, t=9.24, p= < 0.001, eta2= 0.17) score had a large difference of means and about 15% and 17% of the variance in sleep disturbance have been explained. Generally, the finding of the current study was in agreement with most of the previous studies and sleep disturbances respectively moderate to significant effects on the patient’s quality of life.
Gender differences in perceptions of policy advocacy activities among top executive leadership: Focusing on two types of South Korean social work organizations

This exploratory study examined gender differences in perceptions of policy advocacy activities performed by top executive leaders in social work organizations. A nationwide survey of 233 top executives from two types of social work organizations in South Korea revealed gender differences in the perception of the level of one’s policy advocacy activities, where male executives were more likely to recognize their policy advocacy performance activities than were female executives. These gender differences were also confirmed in multiple regression analyses, which showed that gender was the only significant determinant for all three dependent variables of policy advocacy activities.
A smart spectrum utilization approach using multiantenna‐based cognitive relays in cognitive radio network

Efficient spectrum utilization is a promising technique for a prolonged unused radio frequency (RF) spectrum in a wireless network. In this paper, an adaptive spectrum sharing cognitive radio (CR) network has been proposed consisting of a primary user (PU) and secondary user transmitter (SU − Tx) that communicates with secondary user receiver (SU − Rx) via multiantenna‐based proactive decode‐and‐forward (DF) relay selection scheme. In our model, strategically an adaptable joint venture on underlay/overlay protocol is defined based on channel occupancy using spectrum sensing technique. Here, secondary transmitters (i.e., source transmitter) continuously sense the PU activities by energy detector and can simultaneously transmit to secondary receivers. Depending on sensing result secondary transmitters automatically switches in underlay mode if PU is active otherwise operates in overlay mode. The advantage of this scheme is that the joint mode of transmission allows the SUs to maximize their transmission rate. The outage performance at SU − Rx and closed‐form expressions of joint underlay/overlay protocol has been evaluated. The power control policies at different transmitter nodes are taken care of. With the same diversity order, a trade‐off between multiantenna and multirelay is shown. This comparison shows improvement in outage behavior when the count in relays surpasses the number of antennas. Finally, the analytical model of smart efficient spectrum utilization without harming license users in CR is validated by MATLAB simulation.
Ectopic expression of LhMYC2 increases susceptibility to Botrytis cinerea in Arabidopsis thaliana

Abstract: Gray mold disease, mainly caused by Botrytis elliptica (Berk.) Cooke and Botrytis cinerea Pers. , leads to severe losses in lily cut flower and bulb production. MYC2 is a critical regulator of the activation of jasmonate-mediated defense responses in plants; however, information about the lily MYC2 gene is limited. Therefore, functional characterization of MYC2 in lily, especially its role in plant immune responses, should be performed. Here, significant differences between the Botrytis-resistant Lilium hybrid ‘Sorbonne’ and the Botrytis-susceptible ‘Tresor’ were found following B. cinerea inoculation, as indicated by jasmonic acid (JA) and JA-isoleucine (JA-Ile) accumulation and related gene expression. More JA and JA-Ile were detected in ‘Sorbonne’ than in ‘Tresor’ following fungal inoculation, and higher transcript levels of JA biosynthesis genes (LhAOS, LhAOC, and LhOPR3) and a signaling gene (LhCOI1) were detected in ‘Sorbonne’ than in ‘Tresor’. In contrast, expression of the critical signaling regulator LhMYC2 was higher in ‘Tresor’ than in ‘Sorbonne’. LhMYC2 was then isolated from ‘Sorbonne’ and found to be similar to several plant MYC2 homologs that have pivotal roles in JA signaling. The expression of LhMYC2 increased significantly in response to JA and salicylic acid (SA) in ‘Sorbonne’. Ectopic expression of LhMYC2 in Arabidopsis resulted in greater susceptibility to B. cinerea than that observed in wild-type plants. This susceptibility was coupled with the transcriptional changes in SA- and JA-responsive genes. Overall, our findings indicate that LhMYC2 plays a negative role in Arabidopsis resistance to B. cinerea.
Bio-regeneration of π-complexation desulfurization adsorbents

The coupling of adsorption desulfurization and biodesulfurization is a new approach to produce clean fuels. Sulfur compounds are firstly adsorbed on adsorbents, and then the adsorbents are regenerated by microbial conversion. п-Complexation adsorbent, Cu(l)-Γ, was obtained by ion exchanging Γ-type zeolite with Cu2+ and then by auto-reduction in helium at 450°C for 3 h. Dibenzothiophene (DBT) was used as a model compound. The effects of cell concentration, volume of oil phase, the ratio of aqueous phase to adsorbent on DBT desorption by a bacterium were studied. The amounts of DBT desorbed and 2-HBP produced can be apparently increased with addition of n-octane. BDS activity can be improved by increasing cell concentration and the ratio of water-to-adsorbent. 89% of DBT desorbed from the adsorbents can be converted to 2-HBP within 6 h and almost 100% within 24 h, when the volume ratio of oil-to-water was 1/5 mL/mL, the cell concentration was 60 g·L-1, and the ratio of adsorbent-to-oil was 0.03 g- mL-1. The amount of 2-HBP produced was strongly dependent on the volume ratio of oil-to-water, cell concentration and amount of adsorbent. Adsorption capacity of the regenerated adsorbent is 95% that of the fresh one after being desorbed with Pseudomonas delafieldii R-8, washed with n-octane, dried at 100°C for 24 h and auto-reduced in He.
Look-Back Study of Transfusion-Transmitted Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Iran

Background: With the identification of blood donors with a subsequent positive result in HCV screening and the possibility of HCV transmission via their previous negative donations, the role of look-back investigation has been crucial in enhancing blood safety. A retrospective study was conducted to identify the fate of blood components from donors subsequently found to be confirmed HCV positive cases with previous negative donations. Objectives: This look-back study aimed to determine the transfusion-induced hepatitis C virus infection through previous HCV-negative donations of subsequent HCV positive blood donors in Iran. Methods: In this study, all serologically confirmed HCV positive blood donors across the country from December 2015 to June 2017 were included. A look-back process was conducted by tracing back previous HCV negative donations of subsequent HCV-positive blood donors to specific recipients, according to the IBTO instructions. The HCV RNA testing was carried out using an in-house one-step TaqMan real-time RT-PCR assay. Results: During the study period, 280 serologically confirmed HCV-positive blood donors were included, with 267 as first-time, nine as repeated, and three as regular donors. Of the participants, the first-time donors were excluded, the repeated donors were not eligible, and only the regular donors were selected for the look-back study. The HCV RNA was detected in one regular donor, but HCV infection was not detected in his previous donation recipient. In addition, more than two HCV risk factors were reported by each regular blood donor. Conclusions: According to the results, evidence of HCV transmission via previous blood transfusions and the risk of HCV infection was not observed among recipients. Due to the reporting of some HCV risk factors by the subjects, paying proper attention to the donor selection process is highly recommended.
Citizen-Centric Strategies During Crisis Outbreak: An Overview

Citizen-centric has been a major focus area for professionals, managers and scholars for nearly three decades because of its profound impact on policy making and service delivery. A massive number of studies on citizen-centric have been carried out by past scholars which resulted in a large volume of strategies but there has been little examination of these strategies in the crisis context. This study aims to produce a citizen-centric model that can be used during a crisis. There is a need to generalize the strategies that are capable of forming a universal citizen-centric model during crises. This study is an exploratory analysis of previous literatures in the context of public administration that has shed light by examining the indicators of citizen-centric concepts during crisis.
Analysis of Generalized Multistep Collocation Solutions for Oscillatory Volterra Integral Equations

In this work, we introduce a class of generalized multistep collocation methods for solving oscillatory Volterra integral equations, and study two kinds of convergence analysis. The error estimate with respect to the stepsize is given based on the interpolation remainder, and the nonclassical convergence analysis with respect to oscillation is developed by investigating the asymptotic property of highly oscillatory integrals. Besides, the linear stability is analyzed with the help of generalized Schur polynomials. Several numerical tests are given to show that the numerical results coincide with our theoretical estimates.
GIS-Enabled Digital Twin System for Sustainable Evaluation of Carbon Emissions: A Case Study of Jeonju City, South Korea

Despite the growing interest in digital twins (DTs) in geospatial technology, the scientific literature is still at the early stage, and concepts of DTs vary. In common perspectives, the primary goals of DTs are to reduce the uncertainty of the physical systems in real-world projects to reduce cost. Thus, this study is aimed at developing a structural schematic of a geographic information system (GIS)-enabled DT system and exploring geospatial technologies that can aid in deploying a DT system for a real-world project—in particular, for the sustainable evaluation of carbon emissions. The schematic includes three major phases: (1) data collection and visualization, (2) analytics, and (3) deployment. Three steps are designed to propose an optimal strategy to reduce carbon emissions in an urban area. In the analytics phase, mapping, machine learning algorithms, and spatial statistics are applied, mapping an ideal counterpart to physical assets. Furthermore, not only are GIS maps able to analyze geographic data that represent the counterparts of physical assets but can also display and analyze spatial relationships between physical assets. In the first step of the analytics phase, a GIS map spatially represented the most vulnerable area based on the values of carbon emissions computed according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines. Next, the radial basis function (RBF) kernel algorithm, a machine learning technique, was used to forecast spatial trends of carbon emissions. A backpropagation neural network (BPNN) was used to quantitatively determine which factor was the most influential among the four data sources: electricity, city gas, household waste, and vehicle. Then, a hot spot analysis was used to assess where high values of carbon emissions clustered in the study area. This study on the development of DTs contributes the following. First, with DTs, sustainable urban management systems will be improved and new insights developed more publicly. Ultimately, such improvements can reduce the failures of projects associated with urban planning and management. Second, the structural schematic proposed here is a data-driven approach; consequently, its outputs are more reliable and feasible. Ultimately, innovative approaches become available and services are transformed. Consequently, urban planners or policy makers can apply the system to scenario-based approaches.
Who Benefits from Analyst “Top Picks”?

Following the Global Settlement, analysts extensively use a top pick designation to highlight their highest conviction best ideas. Such a designation enables analysts to provide greater granularity of information, but it can potentially be influenced by conflicts of interest. Examining a comprehensive sample of top picks, we find, even though top picks are more likely to be investment banking clients, they have greater investment value, attract greater media and investor attention, and lead to more trading than buy recommendations. Bad top picks are more likely to be influenced by strategic objectives and have adverse consequences for analysts. Institutions, but not retail investors, discern between good and bad top picks.
Identification and Analysis of a Novel NR0B1 Mutation in Late-Onset Adrenal Hypoplasia Congenita and Hypogonadism

Abstract Objective X-linked adrenal hypoplasia congenita (AHC) is a rare disorder characterized by primary adrenal insufficiency and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HHG) caused by mutations of the NR0B1/DAX1 gene. We aimed to search for the presence of any NR0B1/DAX1 gene mutations in a referred patient and to further characterize the phenotypes of the identified mutation. Case Presentation Herein, we report a Japanese patient with a novel missense mutation of the NR0B1/DAX1 gene resulting in adult-onset AHC and HHG. The patient was referred with diffuse skin pigmentation at 28 years of age, presented partial adrenal insufficiency and had undiagnosed incomplete HHG. Urological examination revealed severe oligospermia and testicular microlithiasis. Results The NR0B1/DAX1 gene mutation was identified by exome sequencing as a novel missense mutation (c.884A>T, p.Leu295His). We conducted in silico modeling of this mutant NR0B1/DAX1 protein (p.Leu295His) which affected the conserved hydrophobic core of the putative ligand-binding domain (LBD). In addition, functional analysis revealed that this mutant showed a decreased ability as a transcriptional repressor to suppress target genes, such as STAR and LHB. Furthermore, this mutant showed functionally impaired repression of steroidogenesis in human adrenocortical H295R cells. Conclusions We identified a novel missense mutation of the NR0B1/DAX1 gene in a patient suffering from late-onset AHC and HHG, who presented with oligospermia and testicular microlithiasis. This mutant NR0B1/DAX1 protein was found to have reduced repressor activity, according to in vitro studies, clinically consistent with the patient’s phenotypic features.
Ring-cleavage Reactions of Aromatic Hydrocarbons Studied by FT–IR Spectroscopy. I. Photooxidation of Toluene and Benzene in the NOx–Air System

α-Dicarbonyl compounds produced in the photooxidation of o-, m-, and p-xylenes were analyzed quantitatively using long-path FT–IR spectroscopy. Glyoxal, methylglyoxal, and biacetyl were observed in the case of o-xylene, and glyoxal and methylglyoxal were observed in cases of m- and p-xylenes. Yields of glyoxal, methylglyoxal, and biacetyl were 8, 23, and 10% (mole/mole) of o-xylene consumed, respectively. Yields of glyoxal and methylglyoxal were 13 and 42% in the case of m-xylene, and 24 and 12% in the case of p-xylene. These yields could be explained by the ring cleavage of 6,7-dioxabicyclo[3.2. 1]octane compounds of OH–aromatics-O2 adduct. Formations of maleic anhydride was observed in the case of o-xylene and it is suggested that maleic anhydride is produced from cis-2-butenedial. Formation of 3-hexene-2,5-dione (unsaturated γ-dicarbonyl) was observed from p-xylene. The ring-cleavage process accounts for 41, 55, and 36% of the total reaction in o-, m-, and p-xylenes, respectively.
A Bi-Objective Home Health Care Routing and Scheduling Model with Considering Nurse Downgrading Costs

In recent years, the management of health systems is a main concern of governments and decision-makers. Home health care is one of the newest methods of providing services to patients in developed societies that can respond to the individual lifestyle of the modern age and the increase of life expectancy. The home health care routing and scheduling problem is a generalized version of the vehicle routing problem, which is extended to a complex problem by adding special features and constraints of health care problems. In this problem, there are multiple stakeholders, such as nurses, for which an increase in their satisfaction level is very important. In this study, a mathematical model is developed to expand traditional home health care routing and scheduling models to downgrading cost aspects by adding the objective of minimizing the difference between the actual and potential skills of the nurses. Downgrading can lead to nurse dissatisfaction. In addition, skillful nurses have higher salaries, and high-level services increase equipment costs and need more expensive training and nursing certificates. Therefore, downgrading can enforce huge hidden costs to the managers of a company. To solve the bi-objective model, an ε-constraint-based approach is suggested, and the model applicability and its ability to solve the problem in various sizes are discussed. A sensitivity analysis on the Epsilon parameter is conducted to analyze the effect of this parameter on the problem. Finally, some managerial insights are presented to help the managers in this field, and some directions for future studies are mentioned as well.