Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exhaustivity: Fundamentally Linguistic?

In continuation of experiments by Nordmeyer (2011) and Margulis (2014), the linguistic nature of exhaustivity is investigated. In the sentence `Every student loves writing a thesis', the set of students is said to be exhausted against the set of entities that love writing a thesis. Previous research found that negation and second-order relations are linguistic in nature. Exhaustivity can be seen as a second-order relation, hence the expectation that exhaustivity is linguistic in nature. This was investigated using a verbal shadowing paradigm, introduced by Hermer-Vazquez, Spelke, & Katsnelson (1999), in which participants are repeating spoken audio, which occupies the language center. For the experiment, the control imagery of Nordmeyer (2011) was used. It was found that exhaustivity is not fundamentally linguistic and might be processed by other areas of the brain, rather than the linguistic centre.
Diagnostic Value Investigation and Bioinformatics Analysis of miR-31 in Patients with Lymph Node Metastasis of Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most frequent cancers occurring in developed countries. Distant CRC metastasis causes more than 90% of CRC-associated mortality. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a key role in regulating tumor metastasis and could be potential diagnostic biomarkers in CRC patients. This study is aimed at identifying miRNAs that can be used as diagnostic biomarkers for CRC metastasis. Towards this goal, we compared the expression of five miRNAs commonly associated with metastasis (i.e., miR-10b, miR-200c, miR-155, miR-21, and miR-31) between primary CRC (pCRC) tissues and corresponding metastatic lymph nodes (mCRC). Further, bioinformatics analysis of miR-31 was performed to predict target genes and related signaling pathways. Results showed that miR-31, miR-21, miR-10b, and miR-155 expression was increased to different extents, while miR-200c expression was lower in mCRC than that in pCRC. Moreover, we found that the level of both miR-31 and miR-21 was notably increased in pCRC when lymph node metastasis (LNM) was present, and the increase of miR-31 expression was more profound. Hence, upregulated miR-31 and miR-21 expression might be a miRNA signature in CRC metastasis. Moreover, we detected a higher miR-31 level in the plasma of CRC patients with LNM compared to patients without LNM or healthy individuals. With the bioinformatics analysis of miR-31, 121 putative target genes and transition of mitotic cell cycle and Wnt signaling pathway were identified to possibly play a role in CRC progression. We next identified seven hub genes via module analysis; of these, TNS1 was most likely to be the target of miR-31 and had significant prognostic value for CRC patients. In conclusion, miR-31 is significantly increased in the cancer tissues and plasma of CRC patients with LNM; thus, a high level of miR-31 in the plasma is a potential biomarker for the diagnosis of LNM of CRC.
Automated Analysis of Ultrasound Videos for Detection of Breast Lesions

Background: Breast cancer is the second cause of death among women. Ultrasound (US) imaging is the most common technique for diagnosing breast cancer; however, detecting breast lesions in US images is a difficult task, mainly, because it provides low-quality images. Consequently, identifying lesions in US images is still a challenging task and an open problem in US image processing. This study aims to develop an automated system for the identification of lesions in US images Method: We proposed an automatic method to assist radiologists in inspecting and analyzing US images in breast screening and diagnosing breast cancer. In contrast to previous research, this work focuses on fusing information extracted from different frames. The developed method consists of template matching, morphological features extraction, local binary patterns, fuzzy C-means clustering, region growing, and information fusion-based image segmentation technique. The performance of the system was evaluated using a database composed of 22 US videos where 10 breast US films were obtained from patients with breast lesions and 12 videos belonged to normal cases. Results: The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the system in detecting frames with breast lesions were 95.7%, 97.1%, and 97.1%, respectively. The algorithm reduced the vibration of the physician’s hands’ while probing by assessing every 10 frames regardless of the results of the prior frame; hence, lowering the possibility of missing a lesion during an examination. Conclusion: The presented system outperforms several existing methods in correctly detecting breast lesions in a breast cancer screening test. Fusing information that exists in frames of a breast US film can help improve the identification of lesions (suspect regions) in a screening test.
Development of a Conceptual Framework to Support ICT Adoption by Ghanaian Higher Education Students.

The purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual framework to examine Ghanaian higher education students’ adoption of ICTs for learning. The study reviewed the theoretical and empirical literature on technology adoption to develop a conceptual framework to investigate Ghanaian higher education students’ adoption of ICT for learning. The study identified 5 exogenous variables (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions and ergonomic factors), 2 endogenous factors (behavioural intention and use behaviour), 2 mediating variables (health issues and satisfaction) and 5 moderating variables (age, gender, experience, voluntariness of use and educational level). The study will be useful to administrators and policy makers in higher education to help with understanding and development of the best measures to arouse Ghanaian students’ interest to adopt ICTs for learning and research. The conceptual framework extended the UTAUT with health issues and satisfaction as variables mediating the relationship between ergonomic factors and students’ behavioural intention to use ICT for learning and research.
Strategies for teaching inference comprehension skills to a Grade 8 learner who lacked motivation to read

In South Africa, there is a dearth of detailed research into the challenges that high-school learners face in reading: many young adults leave school without being able to read effectively. The purpose of this study is of theoretical and educational importance because it investigates effective teaching strategies for inference-making of a Grade 8 boy who lacked reading motivation. The study is based upon an amalgam of pedagogic elements drawn from the works of Bandura, Piaget and Vygotsky. The concepts of reading comprehension, inference-making skills, teaching strategies and the impact of motivation on reading comprehension achievement are linked within the notion of social cohesion. One Grade 8 learner was purposively selected because his pre-test comprehension test results indicated his inference skills demanded particular attention. A mixed-method research approach using both interviews and observations was purposively devised for the project and deployed. Pre- and post-test results were analysed. He was interviewed a year later to determine whether any long-term improvements were discernible after the intervention programme. The findings suggest that, with explicit teaching, being socially engaged with the text, the learner’s intrinsic motivation improved as well as his reading practices and his inference skills.
Assessing Performance and Customer Satisfaction with Artificial Intelligence: a Case Study

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have been widely used in the service sector, but the debate regarding the application of these systems is characterized by extreme positions. is. This paper is aimed to investigate the impact of artificial intelligence on customer satisfaction. The methodological approach adopted is qualitative. In particular, we conducted a single-case study on the Chinese ecommerce giant, JD.com. Data were collected from the official reports of the company. JD.com is suited to this research because it employs its own artificial intelligence (JIMI) since 2012. Our research reveals that an AI system implemented may improve the corporate profitability and, consequently, the customer satisfaction.
A Content Analysis of the Reading Activities in “Bright 2”an English Textbook for Junior High School Students

This study aimed to analyze reading activities in “Bright 2” an English textbook for junior high school students grade VIII in Indonesia by using Bloom’s revised taxonomy. A content analysis was conducted to achieve the research purpose. The findings show that the textbook has dominant reading activities on the cognitive process “analyze” 27% and “apply” 21% of the total 145 reading activities, respectively. The number of higher and lower cognitive processes in this textbook is almost balanced on 49% of higher order thinking skills and 51% of lesser order thinking skills correspondingly. There is a slight difference between the number higher thinking process and lower thinking process since most reading activities are on “analyze”, which is belong to the higher thinking process while the second most frequent reading activities are “apply”, the lower thinking process. Meanwhile, “apply” and “analyze” is placed on the 3rd and 4th in the taxonomy, it means that the textbook emphasizes the middle cognitive thinking process of Bloom’s revised taxonomy, which is formed by “apply” and “analyze” thinking process.
DBBC3 Towards the BRAND EVN Receiver

The DBBC3 is a ﬂexible VLBI backend and environment that supports a wide range of observational needs via a suite of FPGA ﬁrmware types. The hardware can sample up to eight 4 GHz-wide baseband signals and convert to digital streams over multiple 10GE links on ﬁbre. The development team has an on-going development programme that has enhanced existing modes and introduced new desired modes as user requirements evolve. Three di ↵ erent ﬁrmware types for observing have been implemented which will be brieﬂy summarised: Direct Sampling Conversion (DSC), arbitrary selection of bands (OCT), Digital Down Conversion (DDC). These modes cover all the requirements of astronomical, VGOS and legacy geodetic VLBI of the present, but also of the near future. At the same time the DBBC3 is an important platform for additional new modes to be implemented for the BRAND receiver. This paper describes the use of the DBBC3 for the receiver development, pointing out which element in the current DBBC3 structure will be part of the BRAND receiver in order to simplify its introduc-Gino
APLICATION OF SOME SELECTION INDICES IN EARLY SEGREGATING GENERATIONS OF BARBADENSE COTTON

Some selection procedures i.e. selection index involving 11 indices and direct selection for four separately traits (lint yield/plant, bolls/plant, seeds/boll and lint/seed) were used to improve lint yield, yield components and fiber properties in early segregating generations; F2, F3 and F4 of the cotton cross;(Giza 85 x Dandara). Means of F4 generation were higher than those ofF2and F3 generations for all studied characters except for fiber fineness (desirable)and fiber length . The heritability estimates obtained in F2,F3 and F4 generations were ranged from moderate to high (56.18 to 92.2%) for most traits. These estimates indicate a possible success in the selection of the early generations that were evaluated . Estimates of PCV and GCV in F4 for most traits were higher than those of F2 and F3 generations. It was due to the application of several procedures that having various performance in selection. Phenotypic variances (Vp) were found to be greater than the corresponding genotypic variances (Vg) for all studied characters indicating that the expressions of these characters were influenced by the environmental factors. Deviations of the realized advance from the predicted of lint yield determined in F3 to F4 generations were positive and high for most selection procedures. Data showed that indices; I.w1, I.w2 , I.w123 ,I.w12 , I.w23 , I.w13, I.w3 and I.xw gives high value of improvement in lint yield as predicted and actual advance . However, The data also indicated that predicted advance from F3 had high value of gains relative to actual advance for most indices . Also, the gains were higher in F3 and F4 than those F2 generation. This may be attributed to the efficiency of selection procedures application in this study. After two cycles of selection, the genetic gains from selection isolated it isolation best ten families on base of the highest value in selected and unselected traits; it my be very important in cotton improvement programs .
Water–Isotope Capacity Building and Demonstration in a Developing World Context: Isotopic Baseline and Conceptualization of a Lake Malawi Catchment

Developing countries such as Malawi require improved access to isotope tracer tools to better characterize and manage water resources threatened by land development, deforestation and climate change. This is the first published study to use an isotope facility developed in Malawi for this purpose, instead of relying upon sample analyses from abroad. Results from this new facility are used to evaluate an important Lake Malawi catchment in the Rift Valley. This work successfully established a stable-isotope baseline, hydrochemical signatures, and system conceptualization against which future policy change and management strategies may be measured. Precipitation isotopic composition was consistent with the Global Meteoric Water Line, but varied, confirming different precipitation systems nationally. Groundwater largely followed a Local Meteoric Water Line, with limited isotopic variation indicating predominant areal groundwater recharge, but with dry-season evaporative enrichment of groundwater near Lake Malawi. Surface-water isotopes widely varied with local precipitation, suggesting the latter accounted for wet-season river flows, but upstream dambo (complex wetlands occupying a shallow, seasonal waterlogged depression) helped sustain dry-season flows. Isotope capacity reinforced water-resource conceptualization and provenance in a hydrologically complex, but not atypical, Rift Valley system, exhibiting a noted complexity of groundwater–surface-water interactions. The latter, critical to integrated water resource management, requires more focused study, to which an expanded array of isotopes will contribute to tracking Sustainable Development Goal 6 targets. This study and future catchment studies should help underpin Malawian water-resource policy implementation on several identified fronts.
The assessment of employee turnover among healthcare assistants (HCA's) in Dublin - Ireland

This study aimed to assess the turnover of healthcare assistants working in the private nursing homes. It is not breaking news that the sector has continually been depressed with the shortages of staff and loosing as many employees as possible. This study however will look deeper into the critical cause of staff shortages which in this case is the high turnover. The high turnover in the sector is the underlying problem which needs cured. Furthermore, the study will investigate possible efforts of retention strategies in order to curb the increased turnover rates within the private nursing homes. To explore turnover and retention of nursing assistants, the research study was conducted within the quantitative method, using a cross-sectional survey design. the objectives of this study were to establish if there are any notable differences in turnover rate levels between age groups, gender and nationality, suggest most effective measures for implementation by management to improve the turnover amongst HCA’s, establish the most important factors that carers consider when deciding to stay or leave an employment and explore possible factors that contribute to retention of carers. The findings of the study were that; a lot of nursing assistants were very unhappy with enormous workload they are faced with, they were again very unhappy with their pay which they claimed it didn’t match the work and responsibility upon them. They further raised that they didn’t not have a good work-life balance within their job and were very unsatisfied with their job which caused them a lot of stress, pressure and many other negative effects in their lives. Moreover, further discoveries found that, those employees only wanted those named factors above to be implemented and factored in for the management to try and retain them. This was inclusive of revised pay, decreased workloads, work-life balance and job satisfaction. Finally, the study discovered that failure to implement the factors of turnover and retention may lead to unproductivity, more turnover rates, disengaged workforce, low morale and other prolonged effects such as mental breakdown, physical disabilities and emotional stress.
Assessing phylogenetic delineations of taxa of filamentous Xanthophyceae (Stramenopiles) using DNA sequence analyses and morphology

To test genus and species boundaries within filamentous Xanthophyceae exhibiting bipartite cell walls (Tribonemataceae), the plastid-encoded psbA/rbcL spacer region and full rbcL sequences were determined for 34 strains (incl. one environmental clone), previously assigned to the four genera Bumilleria Borzì, Bumilleriopsis Printz, Pseudobumilleriopsis Deason & Bold and Tribonema Derbès & Solier. About half of this sample were new isolates which we attempted to identify at the species level using sequence comparisons with reference strains from public culture collections. Visual comparisons of the psbA/rbcL spacer regions revealed that strains previously assigned to a single genus based on morphology were split into seven distinct sequence similarity groups which we propose to represent genera. The same groups were resolved, with high statistical support, in phylogenetic analyses of complete rbcL sequences. The strains assigned to Bumilleria, Bumilleriopsis and Pseudobumilleriopsis were separated into three psbA/rbcL spacer similarity groups and the strains of Tribonema were separated into four different groups. No distinction between Bumilleria, Bumilleriopsis and Pseudobumilleriopsis was seen. Correspondingly, strains assigned to Bumilleriopsis as based on morphology were distributed on three distinct groups. Between groups the psbA/rbcL spacers differed in length and no alignment was possible and, therefore, discriminate genera. Interestingly, each group (genus) had a characteristic length of the psbA/rbcL spacer, i.e. there was no overlap in length between the groups. Strains of Tribonema group 2 were particularly distinct because their spacers were almost three times as long as the other Xanthophyceae. Considerable spacer sequence differences within a similarity group, in particular at the more variable 5’-end of the psbA-rbcL spacer region, were found valuable for the unambiguous identification of species. The considerable spacer differences detected within groups Bumilleriopsis 1 and Bumilleriopsis 3 (which we propose to represent the genera Bumilleria and Bumilleriopsis, respectively) imply that both consist of several species each. The absence of significant psbA/rbcL spacer differences within groups Tribonema 1 and Tribonema 2, each containing multiple strains, is interpreted that both consist of only a single species each. In the latter case molecular data are more conservative than morphology, because Tribonema 1 and Tribonema 2 strains have previously been assigned to six and three different species based on morphology.
A Strategy to Evaluate and Measure the Degree of Openness of Cloud Services Environment

Nowadays, business companies/organizations/enterprises are moving theirs processes to the cloud, on the other hand, they do not want to depend on a unique supplier and be tied to it. On the other hand, they want a variety of company that offers different technologies. But the fact that each supplier uses a different technology, make the selection a costly task that’s consume a lot of time. This does not mean that the amount of suppliers should be reduced, because this is good for the market. Because of this, it is necessary to have an environment that allows the diversity and compatibility of technologies. The cloud should be thought free of incompatibilities to focus on the interoperability among the different suppliers. In other words, each supplier should open the cloud to its competitors. Given them a set of standards and rules that allows the interconnection among the products provided. In this way, the costumers would have the possibility of choosing the most adequate product for its needs and do not be limited to a particular technology. In this sense, a strategy consists on a quality models, metrics and indicators that complement the framework currently applied to the cloud migration, is proposed. Keywords—Workflow; Workflow Management Systems, Business Process, Metrics, Cloud Computing; Performance Indicators, Evaluation Strategies. EPiC Series in Computing Volume 63, 2019, Pages 80–89 Proceedings of 32nd International Conference on Computer Applications in Industry and Engineering Q. Yuan, Y. Shi, L. Miller, G. Lee, G. Hu and T. Goto (eds.), CAINE 2019 (EPiC Series in Computing, vol.
Biosurfactant Producing Bacteria on Oily Areas of Ruminant Skin

Biosurfactants are surface-active compounds produced by microorganisms. In this study, we collected 60 inguinal area and ear canal samples from cows, sheep, and goats (each, 10 animals) and screened for biosurfactant-producing bacteria. We also determined the genera of culturing strains. Fifty six hemolytic bacterial strains (27, 22 and 7, from cows, sheep and goats, respectively) were isolated. Oil spreading test and bioemulsifying activities were measured for all isolates. The cows’ samples had higher population of positive strains than other animals, so that 5 isolates from inguinal area and 4 from ear canal samples (16.1%) were positive for all tests. For sheep, the numbers were 6 and one (12.5%) while for goats one and two (5.3%), respectively. Totally, 19 isolates (33.9%) were positive for all examinations out of them 12 were gram positives. The microorganisms isolated in this study could well be sources of novel biosurfactants. Further investigation into the composition of the biosurfactants and phylogenetic determination of biosurfactant producing bacteria is suggested.
Change management success in implementation of change control and release management process and tool

Goman, Amanda Change Management success in implementation of Change Control and Release Management process and tool Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä, 2019, 55 pp. Information Systems, Master’s Thesis Supervisors: Luoma, Eetu; Pulkkinen, Mirja IT Service Management processes have been part of the everyday life for a long time already in large corporations’ Information Management departments. Change Control and Release Management process execution is varying in this thesis there is a case study for developing the process in the case company. Theoretical framework is built on concepts of process development and change control and release management. Perspective to these is change management and the measurement of change management activities within the implementation project. Research was quantitative with a questionnaire sent to 268 members of ERP development community in the case company and 68 responds. The core finding from the user perspective on successful implementation was how well they knew the messenger of the change. The person communicating on the upcoming change and its necessity has a big role in promoting the success of system implementation. This confirms the known role of change management in development projects and inspired the case company in implementing stronger change agent networks for future implementations.