Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Study of the Service Quality Issues of Internet Banking in Non-Metro Cities of India

Banking is a demand-driven industry and for efficient banking services; information technology and the internet become more and more important. The service quality is an important tool for banks to compete. Therefore, it is important to utilize good service quality in order to differentiate itself from other service providers. This study aims to explore the underlying dimensions of internet banking service quality and develop a multiple item scale for measuring internet banking service quality; and finds relevance as no specific studies have been conducted on non- metro cities which are the emerging business hubs.  Index Terms—e-services, service quality, internet/electronic banking, non-metro tier-2 cities.
Real-time Human Age Estimation based on Facial Images using Uniform Local Binary Patterns

This paper summarizes work done on real-time human age-group estimation based on frontal facial images. Our approach relies on detecting visible ageing effects, such as facial skin texture. This information is described using uniform Local Binary Patterns (LBP) and the estimation is done using the K-Nearest Neighbour classifier. In the current work, the system is trained using the FERET dataset. The training data is divided into five main age groups. Facial images captured in real-time using the Microsoft Kinect RGB data are used to classify the subjects age into one of the five different age groups. An accuracy of 81% was achieved on the live testing data. In the proposed approach, only facial regions affected by the ageing process are used in the face description. Moreover, the use of uniform Local Binary Patterns is evaluated in the context of facial description and age-group estimation. Results show that the uniform LBP depicts most of the facial texture information. That led to speeding up the entire process as the feature vector’s length has been reduced significantly, which optimises the process for real-time applications.
INCLUSION COMPLEX SYSTEM; A NOVEL TECHNIQUE TO IMPROVE THE SOLUBILITY AND BIOAVAILABILITY OF POORLY SOLUBLE DRUGS: A REVIEW

Orally administered drugs completely absorb only when they show fair solubility in gastric medium and such drugs shows good bioavailability. The solubility and dissolution properties of drugs play an important role in the process of formulation development. Problem of solubility is a major challenge for formulation scientist which can be solved by different technological approaches during the pharmaceutical product development work. Solid dispersion, solvent deposition, micronization are some vital approaches routinely employed to enhance the solubility of poorly water soluble drugs. Each approach suffers with some limitations and advantages. Among all, complexation technique has been employed more precisely to improve the aqueous solubility, dissolution rate, and bioavailability of poorly water soluble drugs. Cyclodextrins, the unique cyclic carbohydrates are successfully utilized as the potential complexing agents which form inclusion complex with insoluble drugs. A comprehensive literature survey was made collect the rightful utilization of cyclodextrins as complexing agents and permeation enhancers. Various techniques have been investigated to explain the methods for preparation of inclusion complexes. In the present review, an attempt was made to discuss various complexation techniques and tried to briefly highlight the potential applications, technical and economical limitations associated with these approaches.
Platelet-rich fibrin with 1% metformin for the treatment of intrabony defects in chronic periodontitis: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) is a second-generation platelet concentrate that releases various growth factors that promote tissue regeneration. Metformin (MF), a member of the biguanide group, has been shown to facilitate osteoblast differentiation and thus may exhibit a favorable effect on alveolar bone. The current study is designed to evaluate the efficacy of open-flap debridement (OFD) combined with PRF, 1% MF gel, and PRF + 1% MF gel in the treatment of intrabony defects (IBDs) in patients with chronic periodontitis (CP). METHODS One hundred twenty patients with single defects were categorized into four treatment groups: OFD alone, OFD with PRF, OFD with 1% MF, and OFD with PRF plus 1% MF. Clinical parameters such as site-specific plaque index (PI), modified sulcus bleeding index (mSBI), probing depth (PD), relative attachment level (RAL), and gingival marginal level (GML) were recorded at baseline (before surgery) and 9 months postoperatively. Percentage radiographic IBD depth reduction was evaluated using computer-aided software at baseline and 9 months. RESULTS PRF, 1% MF, and PRF + 1% MF groups showed significantly more PD reduction and RAL gain than the OFD-only group. Mean PD reduction and mean RAL gain were found to be greater in the PRF + 1% MF group compared to just PRF or MF at 9 months. Furthermore, PRF + 1% MF group sites showed a significantly greater percentage of radiographic defect depth reduction (52.65% ± 0.031%) compared to MF (48.69% ± 0.026%), PRF (48% ± 0.029%), and OFD alone (9.14% ± 0.04%) at 9 months. CONCLUSION The PRF + 1% MF group showed greater improvements in clinical parameters, with greater percentage radiographic defect depth reduction compared to MF, PRF, or OFD alone in treatment of IBDs in patients with CP.
An efficient deterministic sequence for sampling-based motion planners

This paper presents a deterministic sequence that has the following good and useful features for sampling-based motion planners. It generates samples over a hierarchical grid structure in an incremental low-dispersion manner, allowing a uniform coverage of the configuration space. Due to its grid structure, neighborhood relationship between samples is easily computed, thus allowing roadmap-based planners to faster construct the roadmap. The sequence is computationally efficient and permits to locally control the degree of resolution required at each region of the configuration space by allowing the generation of more samples where they are most needed. The proposed sequence has been incorporated to a PRM-like planner and tested on a bend-corridor problem for different degrees of freedom
Habitat features and performance interact to determine the outcomes of terrestrial predator-prey pursuits.

Animals are responsive to predation risk, often seeking safer habitats at the cost of foraging rewards. Although previous research has examined how habitat features affect detection by predators, little is known about how the interaction of habitat features, sensory cues, and physical performance capabilities affect prey escape performance once detected. To investigate how specific habitat features affect predation risk, we developed an individual-based model of terrestrial predator-prey pursuits in habitats with programmable features. We ran simulations varying the relative performance capabilities of predator and prey as well as the availability and abundance of refuges and obstacles in the habitat. Prey were more likely to avoid detection in complex habitats containing a higher abundance of obstacles; however, if detected, prey escape probability was dependent on both the abundance of refuges and obstacles and the predator's relative performance capabilities. Our model accurately predicted the relative escape success for impala escaping from cheetah in open savanna versus acacia thicket habitat, though escape success was consistently underestimated. Our model provides a mechanistic explanation for the differential effects of habitat on survival for different predator-prey pairs. Its flexible nature means that our model can be refined to simulate specific systems and could have applications toward management programs for species threatened by habitat loss and predation.
Morphological heterogeneity in relation to structural and functional properties of mumps virus.

The morphological heterogeneity of the chick embryo-adampted Enders strain of mumps virus was examined in relation to biological and biochemical properties of the virus. The range of virion sizes increased as multiplicity of infection (m.o.i.) increased, with virions of 800 to 1000 nm in diam. occurring in preparations grown at the higher multiplicities. There was no evidence for a distinct class of noninfectious haemagglutinating particles. Dense fractions from isopycnic gradients of virus were enriched in larger virions, but virus RNA was predominantly a single 50S species. Despite evidence that many virions were multiploid, u.v. inactivation kinetics were single-hit, suggesting only a single biologically active genome per virion.
Relationships Among Nurses’ Professional Self-Concept, Health, and Lifestyles

According to the American Nurses Association, the entire profession of nursing exists to serve and improve society’s health. Thus, to become a nurse, individuals must master a body of knowledge surrounding numerous health aspects. While acquiring the unique knowledge, skills, and values of their profession, nurses form perceptions of personal adequacy in their role, known as professional or nurse self-concept. Given the centrality of health to the profession, it would seem logical that nurses would personally value health and integrate core health behaviors into their professional self-concept and everyday lives. Yet the prevailing evidence leaves in question whether nurses associate their personal health and lifestyles with their professional roles. This article explores the relationships among nurse self-concept, health status, and healthy lifestyle practices in a sample of Midwestern nurses in an attempt to better understand if nurses who integrate healthy behaviors into their everyday lives feel a stronger sense of professional adequacy relative to nurses who do not.
Paragraph2Vec-based sentiment analysis on social media for business in Thailand

This paper proposes the sentiment analysis system in Thai language. It aims to use for the three business types (Retail, Banking and Telecommunication) to monitor their brand image via social media. Pantip.com is the most popular online community in Thailand, which many customers posted the comments about their business. Normally, three sentiments must be identified (positive, negative and neutral), but four sentiments (positive, negative, neutral and need) are introduced in our proposed system because the need sentiment can be used for generating new business opportunities. The unsupervised deep learning feature extraction for text, called Paragraph2Vec, paragraph vector or Doc2Vec, was applied in this paper, compared to the classical TF-IDF. The experimental results show that our proposed method perform better than the baseline method.
Anion translocation through an Slc26 transporter mediates lumen expansion during tubulogenesis

Lumen formation is a critical event in biological tube formation, yet its molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. Specifically, how lumen expansion is coordinated with other processes of tubulogenesis is not well known, and the role of membrane transporters in tubulogenesis during development has not been adequately addressed. Here we identify a solute carrier 26 (Slc26) family protein as an essential regulator of tubulogenesis using the notochord of the invertebrate chordate Ciona intestinalis as a model. Ci-Slc26aα is indispensable for lumen formation and expansion, but not for apical/luminal membrane formation and lumen connection. Ci-Slc26aα acts as an anion transporter, mediating the electrogenic exchange of sulfate or oxalate for chloride or bicarbonate and electroneutral chloride:bicarbonate exchange. Mutant rescue assays show that this transport activity is essential for Ci-Slc26aα’s in vivo function. Our work reveals the consequences and relationships of several key processes in lumen formation, and establishes an in vivo assay for studying the molecular basis of the transport properties of SLC26 family transporters and their related diseases.
Navigating the currents of change: technology, inclusion, and access for people with disabilities in the Pacific

Using a multiple case study design, the authors describe lessons learned from providing information and communication technologies (ICTs) to individuals with disabilities in the US-affiliated Pacific Islands. The cases include descriptions of the processes underlying the adoption of assistive technologies and ICT in under-resourced settings and consider culturally relevant ways to introduce ICT-related initiatives for indigenous Pacific Islanders. The paper highlights themes of collaboration, access, and procurement, and the iterative process of providing assistive technology, using examples from each case study to illustrate the ideas presented. The authors discuss the ways in which ICTs can be used to empower individuals with disabilities, create conditions for self-advocacy and inclusion, and counter negative perceptions of disability. Roland Weistroffer is the accepting Associate Editor for this article.
Gestión turística activa y desarrollo económico en los parques naturales andaluces. Una propuesta de revisión desde el análisis del posicionamiento de sus actuales gestores

Los cambios producidos en la demanda turistica y la necesidad de los propios territorios de diversificar su estructura productiva, mejorando las oportunidades para la generacion de empleo y de riqueza para la poblacion rural, han convertido al turismo de naturaleza en un instrumento de primera magnitud para el desarrollo socioeconomico de la mayor parte de los parques naturales andaluces. Por el contrario, en la actual situacion, la inexistencia de mecanismos de planificacion y gestion activa del desarrollo turistico de estos espacios amenaza con provocar serios impactos sobre los territorios en los que se desarrolla, y, en consecuencia, con dilapidar buena parte de las oportunidades que el turismo brinda a los parques naturales. Es necesario, por tanto, afrontar una nueva etapa, caracterizada por un enfoque proactivo en el tratamiento del turismo por parte de los gestores de los parques naturales andaluces. Sin embargo, para ello es necesario, primero, que estos gestores (especialmente, los directores-conservadores) asuman los valores del turismo como instrumento al servicio del desarrollo, e, incluso, de la conservacion, de estos espacios. Y, segundo, disponer de especialistas en turismo que asuman esta gestion. En este trabajo, se analiza la postura de los actuales gestores de los parques naturales andaluces respecto a ambas circunstancias, planteandose, finalmente, las funciones que podria asumir esta nueva figura de gestor turistico, y que estarian dispuestos a admitir los directoresconservadores de los parques naturales.
Role of the Axial Length/Corneal Radius Ratio in Determining the Refractive State of the Eye

The purpose of our study was to investigate the extent to which the ratio between axial length and corneal radius (the AL/CR ratio) determines the refractive state of the human eye. Subjects for the study were 194 young adults between the ages of 18 and 30 years, whose spherical equivalent refraction ranged from +7.91 to -13.32 D. For each subject, manifest objective refraction, corneal radii, and axial ocular distances were measured. Lens power was determined using a formula proposed by Bennett and Rabbetts. The AL/ CR ratio was found to be approximately 3.00 for emmetropic eyes, ranging from 2.60 for the most highly hyperopic eye to 4.10 for the most highly myopic eye. The coefficient of determination of linear regression for the AL/CR ratio as a function of spherical equivalent refraction was 0.84, suggesting that 84% of the variance in refraction could be accounted for by variance of the AL/CR ratio. The results of the study suggest that for a given amount of ametropia, an eye having a relatively high AL/CR ratio would tend to have a lowpowered lens (indicating that the lens had “emmetropized”), whereas an eye having a relatively low AL/CR ratio would tend to have a high-powered lens. We conclude that the AL/CR ratio can provide information concerning the extent to which the lens has emmetropized by reducing its power concurrent with axial elongation.
Cross layering in wireless sensor networks

Cross layering enables to have both a generic network design and optimized performance for the desired application and its operational environment. We examine here how to apply cross layering to adapt the OLSR routing protocol to the considered application and its wireless sensor environment. Cross layering with the application leads to (i) adapt OLSR timers to the application phases, (ii) maintain routes only to strategic nodes and (iii) select more stable routes based on the node movement knowledge. Cross layering with the MAC layer increases the reactivity of OLSR to topology changes and improves route stability by choosing only links of good quality. Cross layering with the energy management allows OLSR to be energy efficient and combined with node activity scheduling, to maximize network lifetime.
Prevalence of Cytolethal Distending Toxin Production in Periodontopathogenic Bacteria

ABSTRACT Cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) is a newly identified virulence factor produced by several pathogenic bacteria implicated in chronic infection. Seventy three strains of periodontopathogenic bacteria were examined for the production of CDT by a HeLa cell bioassay and for the presence of the cdt gene by PCR with degenerative oligonucleotide primers, which were designed based on various regions of the Escherichia coli and Campylobacter cdtB genes, which have been successfully used for the identification and cloning of cdtABC genes from Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans Y4 (M. Sugai et al., Infect. Immun. 66:5008-5019, 1998). CDT activity was found in culture supernatants of 40 of 45 tested A. actinomycetemcomintans strains, but the titer of the toxin varied considerably among these strains. PCR experiments indicated the presence of Y4-type cdt sequences in these strains, but the rest of A. actinomycetemcomitans were negative by PCR amplification and also by Southern blot analysis for the cdtABC gene. In the 40 CDT-positive strains, Southern hybridization with HindIII-digested genomic DNA revealed that there are at least 6 restriction fragment length polymorphism types. This suggests that the cdtABC flanking region is highly polymorphic, which may partly explain the variability of the CDT activity in the culture supernatants. The rest of tested strains of periodontopathogenic bacteria did not have detectable CDT production by the HeLa cell assay and for cdtB sequences by PCR analysis under our experimental conditions. These results strongly suggested that CDT is a unique toxin predominantly produced by A. actinomycetemcomitans among periodontopathogenic bacteria.
A comparative study of MFCC-KNN and LPC-KNN for hijaiyyah letters pronounciation classification system

Reciting Al-Qur'an sometimes becomes hard to do for Indonesian because Al-Qur'an was written in Arabic which is not the native language of Indonesian. The common mistake for Indonesian is pronouncing the Hijaiyah letters. In this paper, we propose to utilize the ability of Speech Recognition to help people learn reciting Al-Qur'an in the right way. This system is built using K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) Algorithm as the classifier. For the extraction feature, we use Linear Predictive Coding (LPC) and Mel-Frequency Cepstrum Coefficients (MFCC) and compare both. We also compare the result for system with Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and without PCA. The best result when we use LPC is 78,92% and when we use MFCC is 59,87%.
Building Application Ontologies through Knowledge System Goals

This article presents a case study in building an application ontology for the development of a knowledgebased system in the field of Inheritance Law, developed with GAODT, a goal oriented technique. GAODT proposes the translation of the goals necessary to build a knowledge-based system expressed in natural language to rules in First-order logic, from which the elements that constitute the application ontology (classes, relations, properties and axioms) are extracted. It is also presented a comparative evaluation between GAODT and other state of the art techniques.
Characterisation of the nuclear proteome of a dehydration‐sensitive cultivar of chickpea and comparative proteomic analysis with a tolerant cultivar

Water deficit or dehydration hampers plant growth and development, and shrinks harvest size of major crop species worldwide. Therefore, a better understanding of dehydration response is the key to decipher the regulatory mechanism of better adaptation. In recent years, nuclear proteomics has become an attractive area of research, particularly to study the role of nucleus in stress response. In this study, a proteome of dehydration‐sensitive chickpea cultivar (ICCV‐2) was generated from nuclei‐enriched fractions. The LC‐MS/MS analysis led to the identification of 75 differentially expressed proteins presumably associated with different metabolic and regulatory pathways. Nuclear localisation of three candidate proteins was validated by transient expression assay. The ICCV‐2 proteome was then compared with that of JG‐62, a tolerant cultivar. The differential proteomics and in silico analysis revealed cultivar‐specific differential expression of many proteins involved in various cellular functions. The differential tolerance could be attributed to altered expression of many structural proteins and the proteins involved in stress adaptation, notably the ROS catabolising enzymes. Further, a comprehensive comparison on the abiotic stress‐responsive nuclear proteome was performed using the datasets published thus far. These findings might expedite the functional determination of the dehydration‐responsive proteins and their prioritisation as potential molecular targets for better adaptation.
A Multi-Stage Stochastic Non-Linear Model for Reactive Power Planning Under Contingencies

This paper presents a model for long-term reactive power planning where a deterministic nonlinear model is expanded into a multi-stage stochastic model under load uncertainty and an N-k contingency analysis. Reactive load shedding is introduced in the objective function to measure the reactive power deficit after the planning process. The objective is to minimize the sum of investment costs (IC), expected operation costs (EOC) and reactive load shedding costs optimizing the sizes and locations of new reactive compensation equipment to ensure power system security in each stage along the planning horizon. An efficient scenario generation and reduction methodology is used for modeling uncertainty. Expected benefits are calculated to establish the performance of the expected value with perfect information (EVPI) and the value of the stochastic solution (VSS) methodologies. The efficacy of the proposed model is tested and justified by the simulation results using the Ward-Hale 6-bus and the IEEE 14-bus systems.