Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Scalable Stream Processing and Management for Time Series Data

There has been an enormous growth in the generation of time series data in the past decade. This trend is caused by widespread adoption of IoT technologies, the data generated by monitoring of cloud computing resources, and cyber physical systems. Although time series data have been a topic of discussion in the domain of data management for several decades, this recent growth has brought the topic to the forefront. Many of the time series management systems available today lack the necessary features to successfully manage and process the sheer amount of time series being generated today. In this today we stive to examine the field and study the prior work in time series management. We then propose a large system capable of handling time series management end to end, from generation to consumption by the end user. Our system is composed of open-source data processing frameworks. Our system has the capability to collect time series data, perform stream processing over it, store it for immediate and future processing and create necessary visualizations. We present the implementation of the system and perform experimentations to show its scalability to handle growing pipelines of incoming data from various sources.
OLSR in android operating system

Optimized Link State Routing protocol, an ad-hoc routing protocol, has been popular in wireless devices running on Linux operating system for quite some time. In this project we have outlined the process of preparing Android devices for ad-hoc networking, a way to overcome limitations of the OS for continuous UDP communication, ensure all devices communicate on the same wireless Wi-Fi SSID, Cell-ID, subnet and finally implement the Optimized Links State Routing (OLSR) in Android Operating System using Google Nexus 7 devices. Using the code base from ProjectSPAN, an open source project, OLSR protocol has been ported to Android Nexus 7 devices. The core application is divided into two major sections, MANET and OLSR. Mobile Ad-hoc Network portion of the code takes care of setting up the device for ad-hoc mode communication, firewall and peripheral setup while OLSR portion of the code maintains the neighbor tables, MPRs and routing. The project also describes the process by which a device is prepared to run low level custom codes in Android operating system. The OLSR implementation has been successfully tested with three nodes test bed, demonstrating the multi-hop ad-hoc networking capabilities of this wireless routing protocol. With the aid of the Android’s graphical interface the application is able to exhibit the dynamic nature of the OLSR protocol. As nodes and neighbors in the network moves around with respect to time and relative location, OLSR protocol is able to form new neighbors and elect Multipoint Relay in real time.
A Dynamic Light Scattering Approach for Detection of Nanomaterials in Tennessee River

Application of different engineered nanomaterials is fast‐growing, leading to increased chances of environmental release. Consequently, a robust preliminary detection method for nanomaterials in major ecological environments is beneficial. We report a facile strategy using intensity and number metric of dynamic light scattering to detect presence of nanomaterials in river water. Samples from eight locations of the Tennessee River within Chattanooga were analyzed using our dynamic light scattering technique as a representative assessment of an urban region of Southeastern United States. The average particle sizes (108–294 nm) indicated a possibility of nanomaterials in this region. The results were complemented via scanning electron microscopy. We found that a criteria of identifying peaks at the smallest size distribution for the intensity metric was useful in detecting presence of nanomaterials in environmental samples. The novelty of our approach is the ability to rapidly assess environmental water in solution form with minimum sample preparation artifacts.
Managing competitive advantage through technology and innovation systems and its impacts on service delivery within the Kaohsiung City Government in Taiwan

Owing to technical advancement and transformation in various business sectors, the idea of competitive advantage has evolved over time (Feng et al. 2020). Organisation management and the potential for enough services can be achieved by developments in an effortless and viable manner. The use of technology and innovation will help the organisation adapt to the dynamic condition and improve its competitive position. Furthermore, it enables the organisation to make business esteem; it would be less demanding for them to offer quality merchandise and enterprises, increment efficiency and amplify benefits (Wei, Feng & Zhang 2017). Although technology advancement is a phase, the redesign of innovation capacities is an ongoing task for the enterprise. This requires a complex strategy and analysis development of capacity-enhancing or capacitygrowing services. The emphasis is on the use and improvement of technology, product, process, expertise, practice and organisation. Eventually, these considerations will decide whether clients/ Background: Technology and innovation were envisaged as the key to competitive advantages and have become a hallmark of business life worldwide. Without technologies and invention practically, no organisation can survive. Thus, this required a clear understanding of how managing innovation and technology influenced business survival. This was much more explicit in an unprecedented and unavoidable competition in the business world environment, and particularly in the local government authorities’ context, it can be of great significance.
Hyperspectral and Multispectral Image Fusion via Variational Tensor Subspace Decomposition

The fusion of hyperspectral image (HSI) and multispectral image (MSI) refers to enhance the spatial resolution of HSI with the help of a corresponding MSI that has a high spatial resolution to finally obtain an HSI with high resolution in both spatial and spectral domains. In this letter, we propose a variational tensor subspace decomposition-based fusion method to fully explore the differences and correlations among three modes of the HSI tensor. Experimental results on two HSI datasets show that the proposed method can achieve superior performance compared with existing state-of-the-art fusion methods with high computational efficiency.
Stationary shoulder friction stir welding – low heat input joining technique: a review in comparison with conventional FSW and bobbin tool FSW

Abstract Invention of friction stir welding (FSW) is revolutionarily redefined solid-state materials joining process for lightweight constructions. With numerous commercial applications, FSW has been classified as a matured joining process with some key issues, such as high shoulder heat input on top surface, high process downforce, weld thinning, and relatively poor surface asperity. Stationary shoulder friction stir welding (SSFSW) is one of the most important variants derived from the conventional FSW (CFSW) possessing almost uniform and balanced heat input through the thickness of plates to be welded. Thus, the SSFSW eliminates or suppresses the above key issues of the CFSW process with improved microstructural and mechanical properties. Numerous reviews are available summarizing the development of CFSW, while not such on SSFSW. With the advancement of SSFSW in recent years, sufficient literature of SSFSW deserves a review to help researchers from both academia and industry gaining process aspects and unexplored areas. The present paper summarizes the research progress on SSFSW critically reviewing microstructural evolution, mechanical properties, and derivatives to cope with particular problems. Moreover, this review provides a detailed comparison of CFSW, SSFSW, and bobbin tool friction stir welding (BTFSW) on different aspects, such as process principle, tooling system, heat generation, joint features, and joint performance. To put more emphasize on commercialization of SSFSW, the different variants of SSFSW along with their industrial applications are also presented. Finally, the process challenges and future scopes of SSFSW are proposed.
Influence of Camel Milk on the Antibacterial Activity of Ciprofloxacin

Background: Despite the availability of more researched and formulated orthodox medicines, traditional medicines remain the main source of therapy for the majority of people worldwide with some patrons concurrently using both forms unaware of the unwanted effects that may occur. Camel milk is often used alone or in combination with other orthodox medications to treat diseases. The study aimed to investigate the influence of camel milk on the antibacterial activity of ciprofloxacin. Materials and methods: The in vitro antibacterial activity of camel milk escalating doses (30μL, 100μL and 300μL) alone and in combination with Ciprofloxacin escalating doses (2mcg, 5mcg, 15mcg) against some clinical bacterial isolates (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Serratia marcescens) was determined using the Agar-well diffusion method. Result: Camel milk escalating doses alone showed dose-dependent antibacterial effect against all the test bacteria. However, combinations of the camel milk escalating doses and ciprofloxacin escalating doses respectively produced an antagonistic effect against all the test organisms. Conclusion: Fresh camel milk possesses antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Serratia marcescens and Staphylococcus aureus but is not recommended for combination with ciprofloxacin to treat infections caused by the above organisms.
The effect of visual cues in e-books on pre-K children’s visual attention, word recognition, and comprehension: An eye tracking study

Abstract This study explored how pre-K children process an e-book with narration through eye movements, and also the effects of visual cues on preschoolers’ visual attention to text, word recognition, and comprehension. Data were collected from eight children attending a university-associated daycare center. Eye tracker was used to record the participants’ eye movements while interacting with the e-book. Although the participants understood the story, only two of them showed an increase in the word recognition test. The obtained eye movement data demonstrated that the children focused more on the pictures (82.31%) than on the text (15.56%), which is a result that is higher than found in previous studies (e.g., Evans & Saint-Aubin, 2005; Justice et al., 2005; Takacs & Bus, 2018). Overall, 51.71% of their fixations on text matched with the visual cues synchronized with the narration. This study was limited to a single reading session of a short storybook, and employed a small sample size.
A case study of the periodic fracture control of a thick-hard roof based on deep-hole pre-splitting blasting

A thick-hard roof implies a large hanging-roof and high-frequency dynamic strata behaviour during mining, which may jeopardise personnel safety and equipment. To alleviate these hazards, deep-hole pre-splitting blasting is employed to control periodic fractures in thick-hard roof seams in Datong mining area. Based on loading and instability characteristics, a mechanical model of thick-hard roof periodic collapse is established to investigate the relationships and optimal parameters among the collapse interval, fracturing angle and support working resistance. LS-DYNA was employed to analyse the fracture evolution to determine the optimal charge parameters. The minimum weakening width and average fragmentation of the pre-split roof are obtained. Universal distinct element code simulations were used to determine the thick-hard roof collapse morphology and strata behaviour to confirm the optimal pre-splitting parameters. The deep-hole pre-splitting blasting on-site implementation reduces thick-hard roof collapse intervals, and the supports loading is verified to be safe with sufficient allowance, which show a good control effect on thick-hard roof seams.
Determinants of role-incongruent knowledge transfer behavior of apprentices and trainers in the context of the German apprenticeship system

What motivates individuals to engage in role-incongruent knowledge transfer? Drawing on role congruity theory, we characterize role-incongruent (“reverse”) knowledge transfer as being based on an incongruity of the functional and social roles of the actors. Further integrating status characteristics theory and relational demography, we propose affect- and cognition-based trust as well as age as determinants of individuals’ engaging in such reverse knowledge transfer. In so doing, we distinguish between the social roles of trainers and apprentices, as these social roles carry implications for which behaviors are regarded as role-congruent or -incongruent. We test the resulting conceptual framework based on individual-level data from 442 participants (338 apprentices and 104 trainers) in multiple organizations within the context of vocational education training. The results largely support our hypotheses: For trainers, affect-based trust in apprentices and own age are positively associated with role-incongruent knowledge seeking, and the latter relationship is positively moderated by apprentice age. For apprentices, affect based trust is positively and cognition-based trust is negatively related to their role-incongruent knowledge sharing, but age has no significant effect. Finally, supplementary analyses document that the antecedents of reverse knowledge transfer differ from those factors that are significantly related to role-congruent knowledge exchange.
Perceptions of intolerant norms both facilitate and inhibit collective action among sexual minorities

This article presents the results of three studies that examine how the perceived opinions of others are related to sexual minorities’ support for social change toward greater equality. Results of two cross-sectional studies (Study 1: N = 1,220; Study 2: N = 904) reveal that perceived intolerance (i.e., perceived intolerant societal norms) is indirectly related to intentions to engage in collective action in both negative and positive ways: the negative effect was mediated by lower perceptions of perceived efficacy; positive effects were mediated by greater anger (about the legal situation and public opinion) and greater perceived need for a movement. Study 3 (N = 408) replicates this conflicting effect with a delayed outcome measure by showing that perceived intolerant norms were indirectly, both negatively and positively, associated with actual collective action engagement. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our expanded social identity model of collective action.
Sevoflurane Exposure of Clinical Doses in Pregnant Rats Induces Vcan Changes without Significant Neural Apoptosis in the Offspring

Background and Objectives: Sevoflurane is a commonly used inhalational anaesthetic in clinics. Prolonged exposure to sevoflurane can induce significant changes in lipid metabolism and neuronal damage in the developing brain. However, the effect of exposure of pregnant rats to clinical doses of sevoflurane remains unclear. Materials and Methods: Twenty-eight pregnant rats were randomly and equally divided into sevoflurane exposure (S) group, control (C) and a blank group at gestational day (G) 18; Rats in S group received 2% sevoflurane with 98% oxygen for 6 h in an anesthetizing chamber, while C group received 100% oxygen at an identical flow rate for 6 h in an identical chamber. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), ultra performance liquid chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UPLC/TOF-MS) and MetaboAnalyst were used to analysis acquire metabolomics profiles, and immunohistochemical changes of neuronalapoptosis in hippocampus and cortex of neonatal rats were also analyzed. Results: This study aimed to explore lipidomics and transcriptomics changes related to 2% sevoflurane exposure for 6 h in the developing brains of newborn offspring rats. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC/TOF–MS) and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analyses were used to acquire metabolomics and transcriptomics profiles. We used RNA-seq to analyse the expression of the coding and non-coding transcripts in neural cells of the cerebral cortex. No significant differences in arterial oxygen tension (PaO2), arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO2), or arterial blood gas were found between the groups. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of retention times was <1.53%, and the RSDs of peak areas ranged from 2.13% to 8.51%. Base peak chromatogram (BPC) profiles showed no differences between the groups. We evaluated the partial least square-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) model. In negative ion mode, R2X was over 70%, R2Y was over 93%, and Q2 (cum) was over 80%. Cell apoptosis was not remarkably enhanced by TUNEL and haematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining in the sevoflurane-exposed group compared to the control group (p > 0.05). Glycerophospholipid (GP) and sphingolipid metabolism disturbances might adversely influence neurodevelopment in offspring. The expression of mRNAs (Vcan gene, related to neuronal development, function and repair) of the sevoflurane group was significantly increased in the differential genes by qRT-PCR verification. Conclusions: GP and sphingolipid metabolism homeostasis may be potential therapeutic approaches against inhalational anaesthetic-induced neurodegenerative disorders. Meanwhile, sevoflurane-induced Vcan changes indicated some lipidomic and transcriptomic changes, even if neural cell apoptosis was not significantly changed in the usual clinical dose of sevoflurane exposure.
Using the electromagnetic spectrum

We consider the problem of estimating the power and position of an unknown transmitter using only observations on the received power for several sensors, without any directional information. We describe several existing propagation models, and we compute the Fisher in- formation for the free-space loss model. For more complex model, we present some results using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo method, and we describe the application of a particle filter to estimate posterior distributions for the transmitter and channel characteristics.
A Review on Compressive Sensing for Distributed Signal Processing in WBAN

Wireless networks of the body (WBANs) that support healthcare applications are in the early stages of development but make valuable contributions to surveillance, diagnostics or therapy. They cover real-time medical information acquisition from various sensors with secure data communication and low power consumption. WBANs promises discreet outpatient medical monitoring over a long period of time and inform the physician in real-time about the patient's condition. They are widely used for ubiquitous healthcare, entertainment, and military applications. This article presents distributed wireless networks and describes the search for Orthogonal Matching Pursuit (OMP), Basis Pursuit (BP), Least Mean Square Technique (LMS), and Normalized Least Mean Square Technique (NLMS).
Biodiversity offsetting can relocate nature away from people: An empirical case study in Western Australia

Regular contact with nature provides multiple health benefits for people, but biodiversity is declining fast in an urbanizing world. Biodiversity offsets are implemented to compensate for the negative residual impacts of economic development projects on biodiversity, but the impacts on people who stand to lose biodiversity from their local environment are rarely considered. Offsetting typically involves creating, restoring or protecting biodiversity values at a specified site that can be located some distance away from the development site. In this article, we explore whether any relocation of nature is occurring due to development and offsets in Western Australia (WA); a jurisdiction with one of the world's few spatially referenced and comprehensive public offset registers. We analyzed data from 158 projects within the WA Environmental Offsets Register. We compared the location of development sites within 50 km (the urban and peri urban zone) and 500 km (~one day's drive) of the central business district (CBD) of Perth with the associated offset sites. The development and offset process together can be considered to contribute to a loss of urban nature as the offset sites tended to be further away from urban areas than the associated development sites. The offset sites were also located in significantly lower population density areas. However, offsets increased the publicly accessible land area by changing land ownership and creating amenity benefit by improving nature values on public land. Nevertheless, it is unclear to what extent relocation of nature further from people is balanced by increased public access to nature. In order to maintain nature connectedness, ecosystem service delivery and environmental justice in cities, we argue offset policies should require spatial proximity between impact and offset sites.
Lexical Frequency and Frequency of Co-Occurrence Predict the Use of Embedded-Language Islands in Bilingual Speech: Adjective-Modified Nominal Constituents in Russian-German Code-Mixing

This article explores the role of usage frequency in the structure of language mixing by the application of corpus-linguistic and statistical methods. The goal of the study is to reveal that the frequency of a lexical item and the frequency with which it occurs with other items account for its use in bilingual speech. To achieve this goal, I analyze German monolingual and German-Russian mixed adjective-modified nominal constituents in otherwise Russian discourse in a corpus of Russian-German bilingual speech collected from fluent bilinguals in Russian-speaking communities in Germany. My findings show that many of German nominal constituents, also called embedded-language islands, are recurrent A-N combinations. However, in the absence of sequential associations between the involved words, the adjectives may be realized in Russian or in German. In light of this evidence, I suggest two mechanisms underlying the production of embedded-language islands: retrieval of a multiword chunk and co-activation.
Detection of Cryptosporidium Parvum Oocysts in Artificially Contaminated Filter Backwash Water and Ozone Treatment at Pilot Scale

ABSTRACT Waterborne diseases are a relevant concern for public health systems since commonly applied treatment techniques may not remove all water contaminants. Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts are an issue in water treatment plants due to their reduced size and resistance to the disinfection process (e.g., chlorination). Moreover, oocysts retained on the filter media might recirculate amongst the filter backwash water (FBW). This study aimed to detect Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts artificially inoculated on the FBW and evaluate the ozone treatment performance. A synthetic FBW underwent three concentration methods followed by immunomagnetic separation: calcium carbonate flocculation, direct centrifugation, and direct centrifugation with the 7X ICN dispersion solution. The latter method was selected as it presented less interference on oocyst viability (37.2% reduction) and higher recovery (22.1%) on preliminary assays. The recovery for the commercial suspensions was 15.4 ± 3.3%, although the analytical quality performed with EasySeed® suspension obtained a recovery of 2.8 ± 0.8%. These limitations and methodologies for protozoan detection are challenging due to low recoveries, especially in complex matrices. Finally, FBW ozonation was performed on a pilot scale, and the propidium iodide dye indicated oocyst viability decreased after treatment. Oocyst inactivation was 2.83 log and 3.44 log for dosages of 7.5 mg O3 L−1 for 10 min (i.e., 75 mg min L−1) and 10 mg O3 L−1 for 5 min (i.e., 50 mg min L−1), respectively. Disinfection is a crucial pathway for addressing outbreak scenarios, and ozone treatment should be further studied. Graphical abstract