Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Ionic and Non-Ionic Surfactant on Bovine Serum Albumin Encapsulation and Biological Properties of Emulsion-Electrospun Fibers

Emulsion electrospinning is a method of modifying a fibers’ surface and functional properties by encapsulation of the bioactive molecules. In our studies, bovine serum albumin (BSA) played the role of the modifier, and to protect the protein during the electrospinning process, the W/O (water-in-oil) emulsions were prepared, consisting of polymer and micelles formed from BSA and anionic (sodium dodecyl sulfate–S) or nonionic (Tween 80–T) surfactant. It was found that the micelle size distribution was strongly dependent on the nature and the amount of the surfactant, indicating that a higher concentration of the surfactant results in a higher tendency to form smaller micelles (4–9 µm for S and 8–13 µm for T). The appearance of anionic surfactant micelles reduced the diameter of the fiber (100–700 nm) and the wettability of the nonwoven surface (up to 77°) compared to un-modified PCL polymer fibers (100–900 nm and 130°). The use of a non-ionic surfactant resulted in better loading efficiency of micelles with albumin (about 90%), lower wettability of the nonwoven fabric (about 25°) and the formation of larger fibers (100–1100 nm). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to detect the presence of the protein, and UV-Vis spectrophotometry was used to determine the loading efficiency and the nature of the release. The results showed that the location of the micelles influenced the release profiles of the protein, and the materials modified with micelles with the nonionic surfactant showed no burst release. The release kinetics was characteristic of the zero-order release model compared to anionic surfactants. The selected surfactant concentrations did not adversely affect the biological properties of fibrous substrates, such as high viability and low cytotoxicity of RAW macrophages 264.7.
Children’s Lived Experiences in Poverty in Hong Kong as a High-Income Asian Society

Child poverty situated in different socioeconomic and environmental contexts has long been a central concern for practitioners, researchers, and policy makers. However, concerned research studies are predominantly adult-centric, confined to specific areas, or seldom found in Asian developed economies. Against the backdrop of this research gap, this study examines children’s experiences of poverty in relation to economic and material aspects, social relationships and participation, and psychological and emotional wellbeing, and their ways of coping with the effects of poverty. Using a purposive sampling method, a total of 40 children participants aged 8–14 living in or near poverty were recruited for an individual interview. The study showed that children experienced a range of deprivations in relation to falling short of the resources, opportunities, and activities that are commanded by average young persons. Limited living space also stands out as a more severe problem that is difficult to cope with. The various coping strategies include small spending savvy tactics, parental buffering, compensation, and mental coping. Proximity to schools and NGOs can help children in poverty to cope with problems caused by deprivations in different aspects. Implications for research studies and practice for working with children in or near poverty are discussed accordingly.
To change or not to change? Perceived psychological barriers to individuals’ behavioural changes in favour of biodiversity conservation

ABSTRACT Even if there is an increasing public awareness of biodiversity loss, there still is the need to improve individuals’ behaviours in favour of biodiversity conservation, such as composting or buying pollinator-friendly plants. Why do individuals who know about the risks of biodiversity loss, not change their lifestyles to promote biodiversity? The main aim of this paper is to empirically identify the psychological barriers to biodiversity conservation behaviours, with a specific attention to individuals’ perception of the psychological distance of biodiversity loss. To this purpose, 270 individuals were asked to complete a questionnaire. Data demonstrated that six main psychological barriers prevent behavioural change, depending on individuals’ perceived psychological distance as well as on the specific features of the behaviour considered. Our findings constitute a significant theoretical complement to previous research on behavioural change to respond to environmental threats, as it specifically investigates the psychological barriers resulting in citizens’ inaction with regard to biodiversity loss. Furthermore, our paper offers advice for policy-makers, deciding bodies, and associations involved in biodiversity conservation on the cognitive barriers that they might be confronted to when addressing citizens and promoting their engagement in individual and collective actions in favour of the environment.
Analysis of Uncertainties in Inductance of Multi-Layered Printed-Circuit Spiral Coils

Eddy-current sensors are widely used for precise displacement sensing and non-destructive testing. Application of printed-circuit board (PCB) technology for manufacturing sensor coils may reduce the cost of the sensor and enhance the performance by ensuring consistency. However, these prospects depend on the uniformness of the sensor coil. Inductance measurements of sample coils reveal rather considerable variations. In this paper, we investigate the sources of these variations. Through image analysis of cut-away cross-sections of sensor coils, four factors that contribute to the inductance variations are identified: the distance between layers, the distance between tracings, cross-sectional areas, and misalignment among layers. By using and extending existing method of calculating inductance of spiral coils, the inductance distributions are obtained when these factors are randomly varied. A sensitivity analysis shows that the inductance uncertainty is most affected by the uniformness of the spacings between coil traces and the distances between layers. Improvements in PCB manufacturing process can help to reduce the uncertainty in inductance.
A 10-BIT 25 MS/S PIPELINED ADC USING 1.5-BIT SWITCHED CAPACITANCE BASED MDAC IN 180NM CMOS

The primary motivation of the work presented in this paper is to significantlyreduce power consumption in pipelined ADCs using Switched Capacitance based MDAC with Opamp Sharing configuration. ADC power reduction enables longerbattery life in mobile applications, and lower cost packaging in wired applications.For conventional ADCs differential amplifiers dominate the power dissipation in most high-speed analog to digital conversion applications. This work presents a 9 stage, 10-bit Pipelined ADC with Error Correction Algorithm which achieves the dynamic power consumption of 138.38 mW for 25 MS/s sampling rate at a 1.8V supply voltage in GPDK 180nm CMOS. All the sub-blocks to generate top level Pipelined ADC have been designed in Cadence environmentand simulated to output parameters in Cadence Spectre and MATLAB. Designed ADC achieves 63.17 dB SFDR, INL of 0.35 LSB and DNL of 0.5 LSB.
Testing of the Seismic Gap Hypothesis in a Model With Realistic Earthquake Statistics

The seismic gap hypothesis states that fault regions where no large earthquake has recently occurred, are more prone than others to host the next large earthquake. It can lead to the idea of immunity after local disaster which, notwithstanding it sounds reasonable, it has been frequently rejected by objective testing. More generally, the estimate of the occurrence probability of the next big shock on the basis of the time delay from the last earthquake still represents a big challenge. The problem is that this issue cannot be addressed only on the basis of historical catalogs which contain too few well documented big shocks, and decades of future observations appear necessary. On the other hand, recent results have shown that important insights can be obtained from the spatial organization of aftershocks and its relationship to the mainshock slip profile. Here, we address this issue by monitoring the stress evolution together with the occurrence of big shocks and their aftershocks in a model where the fault is described as an elastic interface embedded in a ductile medium. The model reproduces all relevant statistical features of earthquake occurrence and allows us to perform accurate testing of the seismic gap hypothesis and its consequences, particularly on the side of aftershock spatial patterns. We show that large earthquakes do not regularly repeat in time, but it is possible to achieve insights on the time until the next big shock from the percentage of aftershocks occurring inside the mainshock slip contour.
Development of thermal displays for haptic interfaces

This thesis studied the effect of different stimulus parameters on the thermal response of the skin. A set of thermal patterns, known as thermal icons, was presented to participants using a thermal display mounted on the hand. The thermal responses of the skin were studied to understand which features of the thermal stimuli were important and could be perceived by users. The effectiveness of these patterns was evaluated for applications involving hand-held and wearable thermal devices. In the first series of experiments, a set of six thermal icons was developed and presented on the thenar eminence and the fingertips. The second experiment was conducted on the wrist with a revised set of thermal icons which had a shorter duration and were presented relative to each participant’s baseline skin temperature. The information transfer (IT) values for the thermal icons presented on the wrist-mounted thermal display demonstrated that the information processing capabilities of the thermal sensory system may rival those achieved with vibrotactile inputs. To date, thermal icon studies have only used the temporal properties of stimuli and not the spatial properties. A set of two experiments was conducted to examine how the spatial and temporal properties of thermal stimuli interact. The results showed that the temporal properties of thermal stimulation can influence the perceived location of a thermal stimulus. This space-time dependency for the thermal sensory system provides an extra dimension to use to present information in a thermal display and potentially could result in a display that functionally has a higher spatial resolution than the number of thermal elements would indicate. Thesis Supervisor: Lynette A. Jones Title: Senior Research Scientist in Mechanical Engineering
Interactive analysis of big geospatial data with high‐performance computing: A case study of partisan segregation in the United States

Researchers are increasingly working with large geospatial datasets that contain hundreds of millions of records. At this scale, desktop GIS systems typically fall short and so new approaches and methods are needed. The objective of this work is to develop new approaches to interactively analyze large datasets and then to demonstrate the usefulness of those approaches using a case study looking at voter, or partisan segregation. Historically, the measurement of partisan segregation has been limited to comparing large geographic areas such as counties or states because researchers only had access to aggregated data. In this case study, however, we measure partisan segregation down to the individual for 180 million U.S. voters using advanced geospatial data science and high‐performance computing. This article discusses interactive method development for big geospatial data analysis including techniques used, solutions developed, and processing time statistics.
The impact of foreign direct investment on China's carbon emission efficiency through energy intensity and low-carbon city pilot policy

The rapid growth of foreign direct investment (FDI) has had a significant impact on rapid economic development and environmental pollution in China. Nonetheless, the underlying mechanism and empirical evidence of FDI impact on carbon emission efficiency have not been systematically explored. Therefore, this study investigates the impact of FDI on carbon emission efficiency via energy intensity, as well as the moderating role of the Low-Carbon City Pilot Policy (LCCP) in the process. We found that: (1) During the study sample period, the average carbon emission efficiency tends to rise, however, there remains a gap between the optimal carbon emission efficiency; (2) FDI is one of the key factors that inhibit the improvement of carbon emission efficiency, with a non-linear relationship between them; (3) FDI indirectly suppresses the improvement of carbon emission efficiency by promoting energy intensity. Nevertheless, the implementation of LCCP has a positive effect on carbon emission efficiency; (4) The implementation of LCCP has improved the negative impact of FDI on carbon emission efficiency, nonetheless, it cannot significantly influence the process that FDI affects carbon emission efficiency through energy intensity. Thus, we propose improvement measures from three aspects, i.e., increasing the introduction of foreign capital, adjusting the energy consumption structure, and expanding the scope of low-carbon cities.
Are Construction Managers from Mars and Workers from Venus? Exploring Differences in Construction Safety Perception of Two Key Field Stakeholders

Persisting high rates of worksite accidents and injuries in construction projects indicate the urge to investigate the root causes and revisit safety practices in this industry. Consonance in perceptions and safety approaches has been identified as a fundamental factor in boosting projects’ safety. Discrepancies between how different elements of construction safety are perceived and handled by the key stakeholders, namely managers and workers, could be detrimental to worksite safety. This research studied how, if at all, the perception of four key construction safety components, including 33 sets of pairwise questions, is different in the lens of managers from workers. To explore safety perceptions, 133 construction professionals in the United States participated in the study and expressed their perceptions toward their own and counterparts’ (1) safety knowledge, (2) safety culture and commitment, (3) safety performance, and (4) safety support and communication. The results indicated that massive gaps in safety perceptions do exist between the construction managers and workers (26 out of 33 areas), and the magnitude varies for different safety elements. In all four categories, both managers and workers perceived a superior safety position for themselves and inferior for their counterparts. Further investigations revealed that the common ground between managers and workers is their consensus on proper communication and safety training as the key solutions to address such discrepancies. Construction safety professionals and practitioners can benefit from the results of this study to establish and implement strategies to foster communication and provide more effective safety training to bridge the existing gaps in the perception of safety by managers and workers.
Field Installation of Strain Gaged Geotextiles

High-strength polyester geotextiles were used in two major Corps of Engineers projects: Wilmington Harbor, Del. and New Bedford, Mass. To verify design assumptions and as part of monitoring the construction and dike performance after construction, strain gages were attached to the geotextiles. This paper describes the procedure in which the strain gages were attached, their calibration, and read-out technique. Also explained is the installation method used to protect the strain gages from water and backfill material. A brief description of the placement of the strain gaged geotextile sheet at each site is provided.
Growth of the imbrication zone along the southeast Anatolian orogenic belt: evidencefrom fission track thermochronology from Gölbaşı region (SE Turkey)

: One of the major components of continental collision zones is their imbricated zones. Such a zone along the Southeast Anatolian Orogenic Belt (SAOB) is solely controlled by a still-active convergence and accretion system between the Anatolian Plate and Arabian platform since at least Late Cretaceous. The zone is characterized by NEE/SWW-trending, northward-dipping thrust slices that are squeezed between the Tauride Block to the north and the Arabian platform to the south. The units cropping out within the zone comprise Neo-Tethys-related magmatic, ophiolitic, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks with Late Cretaceous to Miocene formation/metamorphism ages. The Karanlıkdere granitoid intrudes into Late Cretaceous Meydan ophiolite, Helete volcanics, and Malatya metamorphics. These units thrust over Cenozoic volcanic and sedimentary rocks. Although various scenarios have been proposed for the late Cretaceous to Neogene evolution of the complex region, quantitative data aiming to understand the growth mechanism of the imbrication zone in the region are limited. The zircon U-Pb and the apatite fission track (AFT) thermochronology were applied to the Karanlıkdere granitoid within the imbrication zone of the Southeast Anatolian Orogenic Belt (SAOB). The LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb age yields 79.67 ± 0.24 Ma with 0.23–0.65 Th/U ratios. This age is slightly younger than the previously published ages, indicating that the main body of the Karanlıkdere granitoid formed 3-4 Ma later than the small dikes intruded into other units. The AFT ages are directly controlled by altitude and range between 40.38 ± 3.4 Ma and 22.81 ± 0.63 Ma. The oldest AFT age has the highest altitude, whereas the youngest has the lowest height. The age-temperature models show a slow uplift rate between 40 Ma and 22 Ma. The results indicate that the growth of the imbrication zone in front of the Nappes of the SAOB continued in a steady-state mode with a slow uplift rate of 0.02 ± 0.005 mm/a, during middle-late Eocene to early Miocene and increasing uplift rate during early-middle Miocene, which might be explained by continental collision during early-middle Miocene.
THE RISK PERCEPTION OF TUBERCULOSIS INFECTED DIABETES MELLITUS PATIENTS

Introduction: The number of people with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) increases from year to year. Indonesia is in the sixth highest rank globally for the number of people with DM. Moreover, the level of risk of DM suffering TB is higher. The consequences can be prolonged if not treated immediately. However, the dangers of DM should be the concern of everyone. A non-healthy lifestyle such as high consumption of fast food and a sedentary lifestyle has a negative impact. DM will be worsened and can even lead to various diseases, including blindness, heart disease, kidney failure, stroke, or even amputation. Methods: This research was conducted in East Java and assessed the correlation between behavior, perception, perceived behavior control, and social support so that people can be motivated to seek information about the risk of TB in DM patients. This comprehensive community-based research combines quantitative and qualitative using a cross-sectional method on people who had been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus for at least one year. Information gathered concerning things to know for prevention and the desire to do the prevention. Result: The result of this research is the establishment of a brief video animation explaining the risk of TB in DM patients. Based upon data processing, DM patients diagnosed under five years are more active in seeking information about diabetes mellitus and its complications, including tuberculosis, as seen in table 3. Conclusion: The information is at their most plentiful access from social media (Facebook, Instagram), followed by radio, newspapers, television, and WhatsApp/ Line. Even more surprising, from the result of this research, it was found that the role of doctors or nurses was in the bottom two in providing information related to the risk of DM and TB. Similarly, health facilities (public health services, hospitals, clinics) are the third bottom after doctors and nurses. Of course, this is very unfortunate because the transfer of information from the primary source, in this case, health workers, did not occur properly. Keywords: Diabetes Mellitus; Tuberculosis; Perception; Risk of TB in DM Patients
MIRAGRODEP-AEZ 1.0: Documentation

MIRAGRODEP-AEZ is a recursive dynamic multi-region, multi-sector Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model based on MIRAGRODEP which in turn is based on MIRAGE (Modelling International Relations Under Applied General Equilibrium) with Agro-ecological zones (regions). It constitutes an extension of the MIRAGRODEP model that allows the user to perform analysis at the subnational level using spatial disaggregated data. The model is particularly suitable for agricultural policy analysis that require working at different levels of disaggregation to consider differences in agro-ecological conditions. Résumé MIRAGRODEP-AEZ est un modèle général calculable (EGC) dynamique multirégional et multisectoriel élaboré à partir de MIRAGRODEP qui à son tour est basé sur MIRAGE avec des zones agro-écologiques (régions). Il constitue une extension du modèle MIRAGRODEP qui permet à l'utilisateur d'effectuer une analyse au niveau infranational en utilisant des données spatiales désagrégées. Le modèle est particulièrement adapté pour l'analyse des politiques agricoles qui nécessite de travailler à différents niveaux de désagrégation pour tenir compte des différences de conditions agroécologiques.
STATUS OF A PRECISE TEMPERATURE-REGULATION SYSTEM FOR THE C-BAND ACCELERATOR AT XFEL/SPRING-8

This paper describes the present status of a precise temperature-regulation system for the C-band accelerator at XFEL (X-ray Free Electron Laser)/SPring-8. It is essential to maintain a constant temperature of an rf cavity for stable lasing. We therefore installed a heaterassembly unit into a cooling water circuit of each rf cavity. By controlling the heater power, the temperature of the cavity can be stabilized. We constructed a prototype of this system at the SCSS (SPring-8 Compact SASE Source) test accelerator to check its feasibility for the XFEL. The prototype significantly contributes to a stable supply of SASE to users. For the XFEL, we simplified this system in consideration of cost and controllability. For example, to make one regulation system simultaneously controlling two C-band accelerating structures was tried. Keeping a temperature variation as tight as ±0.02 K at any operational mode could be achieved by this system. The preliminary test results of the system are also reported in this paper.