Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multi-agent management of scalable opportunistic networks

Opportunistic networks belong to the class of mobile networks with an acceptable delay in the transmission of messages. They reduce the requirements for network topology, allowing nodes to exchange data in the absence of connectivity by building discrete (in time) message transmission routes. A dynamic hypergraph model of an opportunistic network is studied, its probabilistic characteristics are calculated — areas and densities of components, structural and numerical characteristics of routes. The use of agents for the dynamic construction of the most profitable routes for the distribution of messages in the network is proposed. A network management algorithm based on a multi-agent approach is presented that uses deontic logic to describe the behavior of agents. The presentation of the results is accompanied by graphs.
Interstitial hydrogen enhances the mobility of some grain boundaries in tungsten

Segregation of interstitials at a grain boundary (GB) is known to generally lower its mobility. This phenomenon, called ‘solute-drag’, has important ramifications on the process of recrystallization and microstructural evolution. In this manuscript, we present predictions from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations which demonstrate that interstitial hydrogen in tungsten can in fact increase the mobility of some GBs which exhibit shear coupling. Assuming a disconnection-based mechanism, activation energies and pre-factors for disconnection nucleation are predicted from simulations of shear-coupled motion. In GBs where enhanced mobility is predicted, interstitial H reduces both the activation energy and the pre-factor for disconnection nucleation, thus effectively increasing the mobility. For GBs with diminished mobility, MD predicts that presence of interstitial H reduces the pre-factor and, in some cases, increases the activation energy. The reduction in the activation energy inferred from MD simulations are confirmed by nudged elastic band calculations. Temperature-dependent structural transitions are observed for some GBs, and the effect of interstitial H is found to change with the changes in structure. The effect of interstitial H is predicted to be complex and highly variable, providing some plausible explanations for experimental observations on the recrystallization of tungsten in presence of H-loaded plasma.
Use of a Nanofiber Resorbable Scaffold During Rotator Cuff Repair: Surgical Technique and Results After Repair of Small- to Medium-Sized Tears

Background: The rate of retear after primary rotator cuff failure remains unacceptably high (up to 36% for small- to medium-sized tears). Augmentation of cuff repair with scaffold devices has been reported to improve healing after cuff repair. Purpose/Hypothesis: To describe the surgical technique of using an interpositional nanofiber scaffold during rotator cuff repair and report on a retrospective series of patients regarding functional outcomes and postoperative healing on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We hypothesized that augmentation of cuff repair with an interpositional scaffold would result in a high rate of tendon healing and excellent functional outcomes. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: A total of 33 patients underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair augmented with a nanofiber, bioresorbable polymer patch secured as an inlay between the tendon and underlying bone. Patients were evaluated preoperatively and postoperatively with the Simple Shoulder Test (SST), American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) shoulder score, and active range of motion (ROM) measurements. Postoperative MRI was used to evaluate repair status. Results: At a minimum follow-up of 6 months, the patients showed significant improvement on SST and ASES scores (P < .0001 for both). ROM in forward flexion, abduction, internal rotation, and external rotation significantly improved at 6 months postoperatively (P < .05 for all). MRI at an average of 11 months postoperatively showed healing in 91% of patients; one patient had a recurrent tear with transtendon failure, and another patient had retear at the insertional site. The patch was not visible on postoperative imaging, suggesting complete resorption in all patients. No adverse events were associated with the patch. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate the preliminary safety and efficacy of a novel, bioresorbable synthetic scaffold for rotator cuff repair. The use of the scaffold resulted in a 91% tendon healing rate and significant improvements in functional and patient-reported outcome measures. The results are promising for improving the current unacceptably high rate of rotator cuff repair failure.
Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Fusarium commune Causing Strawberry Root Rot in Southcentral China

Strawberry plants and fruits are vulnerable to infections by a broad range of pathogens and pests. However, knowledge about the epidemiology of pathogens causing strawberry diseases is limited. In this study, we analyzed Fusarium commune, a major fungal pathogen causing strawberry root rot, from diseased strawberry root tissues in southcentral China. A total of 354 isolates were obtained from 11 locations that spanned about 700 km from both south to north and east to west. Multilocus genotypes of all isolates were obtained using seven polymorphic simple sequence repeat markers developed in this study. Our analyses revealed significant genetic diversity within each of the 11 local populations of F. commune. STRUCTURE analysis revealed that the optimal number of genetic populations for the 354 strains was two, with most local geographic populations containing isolates in both genetic clusters. Interestingly, many isolates showed allelic ancestry to both genetic clusters, consistent with recent hybridization between the two genetic clusters. In addition, though alleles and genotypes were frequently shared among local populations, statistically significant genetic differentiations were found among the local populations. However, the observed F. commune population genetic distances were not correlated with geographic distances. Together, our analyses suggest that populations of F. commune causing strawberry root rot are likely endemic to southcentral China, with each local population containing shared and unique genetic elements. Though the observed gene flow among geographic regions was relatively low, human activities will likely accelerate pathogen dispersals, resulting in the generation of new genotypes through mating and recombination.
Polysaccharides from Medicine and Food Homology Materials: A Review on Their Extraction, Purification, Structure, and Biological Activities

Medicine and food homology (MFH) materials are rich in polysaccharides, proteins, fats, vitamins, and other components. Hence, they have good medical and nutritional values. Polysaccharides are identified as one of the pivotal bioactive constituents of MFH materials. Accumulating evidence has revealed that MFH polysaccharides (MFHPs) have a variety of biological activities, such as antioxidant, immunomodulatory, anti-tumor, hepatoprotective, anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, and radioprotective activities. Consequently, the research progress and future prospects of MFHPs must be systematically reviewed to promote their better understanding. This paper reviewed the extraction and purification methods, structure, biological activities, and potential molecular mechanisms of MFHPs. This review may provide some valuable insights for further research regarding MFHPs.
Kinematics and dynamics simulations of cold orbital forging machines based on ADAMS

The vibration of cold orbital forging (COF) machines is detrimental to the quality of the forged part. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out kinematics and dynamics analyses, study the vibration of the COF machine, and provide effective methods for reducing the vibration. In terms of kinematics and dynamics analyses, the mathematical modeling and model solving processes are complicated, and it takes a long time to obtain the kinetic and vibration performances of the COF machine. In this study, the kinematics and dynamics models of the COF machine were investigated. Subsequently, automatic dynamic analysis of mechanical systems (ADAMS) was applied to conduct kinematics and dynamics simulations. The simulation process was convenient and time-saving, and the simulation of the COF machine was effectively verified by conducting an experiment. Based on the simulation results, the kinetic and vibration performances of the COF machine were studied. In addition, a structure optimization method for the COF machine is proposed. Based on the singularity stability theory, the Hopf bifurcation and chaos phenomena are less likely to occur on the optimized COF machine, and therefore the vibration of the optimized COF machine is stable. Meanwhile, the structure optimization method was proven to be effective in reducing the vibration of the COF machine, which improves the quality of the forged part.
Remote Working during the Covid-19 Global Pandemic and its Implications for Employee Motivation: Some Evidence from Nigeria through the Lens of Self-Determination Theory

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world took several safety measures, including enforced confinement to check the spread of the disease. These measures had economic, health, and psychosocial implications. On the other hand, the pandemic accelerated remote working and the deployment of technology to support this new way of working as businesses needed to continue functioning. Empirical research on the implication of these measures on the mental health, engagement, and motivation of employees abound in other jurisdictions, whereas it is limited in Nigeria. From a self-determination perspective, this study examines the mediating roles of organizational factors (OF) and employee’s individual situation (ES) on employee motivation during the pandemic. The study employed a survey research design while descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, and structural equation modelling were used to analyze the data. Remote working intensity (RW) during the pandemic had a significant positive impact on organizational factors. Employee’s Individual Situation had a significant positive impact on Employee Motivation (EM). The study concludes that as good as remote working may seem, the enforced confinement led to increased stress levels, more mental health challenges, and lower motivation. The moderation role of basic psychological needs (PN) satisfaction was confirmed. The findings showed that employees who could influence their work schedule were more motivated. Higher levels of support from employers that enabled individuals to achieve desired results amidst the uncertainties created by the pandemic were also associated with better levels of motivation. Employees in organizations that found innovative ways for social connection and had regular check-ins by managers were more engaged and motivated because employers’ support was found to be empowering, produced better psychological health, and helped employees feel self-determined. Even though the study shows the association between remote working, basic psychological needs satisfaction, and employee motivation, how motivation level changes after some point or the degree to which it would change in the post-pandemic era remains unclear and should be an area for further study since motivation is not a unitary phenomenon.
Response of irregular lightly reinforced concrete frame structures in low seismic zones

This article evaluates the performance of lightly reinforced concrete frames in low seismic zones. The frames under evaluation contain vertical and/or plane irregularities and are designed for gravity loads only. Nonlinear time history analysis using scaled ground motions and pushover procedure as a supplemental method is performed in this study. With the adoption of plastic hinge method, damage levels are addressed according to FEMA 356 definitions. The pivot model is considered for hysteresis behavior. The damage stage and number of formed hinges are classified for the beams and columns. A comparison between models demonstrates while the first story height may suffer minor to moderate damage levels even under low seismic intensity, the severity of damage to the asymmetric plan models can be noticeable. The pushover method results are close to that of time history analysis only for the vertical irregular frames without plane irregularity.
One-Chip Isolation of Drug-Resistant Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells with CXCR4-Targeted Magnetic Fluorescent Nanoprobes

Drug resistance and relapse lead to high mortality in acute myeloid leukemia, and studies have shown that CXCR4 overexpression is highly correlated with poor prognosis and drug resistance in leukemia cells. Isolation and detection of AML cells with CXCR4 overexpression will be crucial to the treatment of AML. In this paper, magnetic nanoparticles were firstly prepared successfully by high-temperature thermal decomposition method, and then characterized by TEM, VSM and DLS. Subsequently CXCR4-targeted magnetic fluorescent nanoprobes conjugated with antibody 12G5 were constructed by stepwise coupling. In cell experiments, the obtained probes demonstrated excellent targeting efficacy to CXCR4 overexpressed AML cells HL-60. In addition, HL-60 cells labelled with the magnetic probes can be magnetic isolated successfully in one microfluidics chip, with efficiency of 82.92 ± 7.03%. Overall, this method utilizes the superiority of superparamagnetic nanomaterials and microfluidic technology to achieve the enrichment and capture of drug-resistant cells in a microfluidic chip, providing a new idea for the isolation and detective of drug-resistant acute myeloid leukemia cells.
Modeling the sharpening of tuning in nonsimultaneous masking

Frequency selectivity refers to the ability of the auditory system to resolve sounds in the spectral domain. In humans, frequency selectivity can be measured behaviorally with masking experiments. Results from such experiments show greater frequency selectivity when nonsimultaneous masking techniques are used as opposed to simultaneous ones (Moore et al., 1984; Oxenham and Shera, 2003). The differences in tuning have been suggested to occur because of suppression, a nonlinear interaction between the masker and the signal, whose effects are only observed when the two stimuli overlap in time. Suppression is thought to be a consequence of the compressive behavior of the basilar membrane. As a result of suppression, the increased frequency selectivity in nonsimultaneous masking may enhance the perception of dynamic signals, such as speech. In this thesis, the relationships between frequency selectivity, compression, and suppression were studied using a modeling approach. A computational auditory signal processing model developed by Jepsen et al. (2008) was used to simulate two behavioral measures of frequency selectivity: psychophysical tuning curves and the notched-noise method. The model included the dual-resonance nonlinear (DRNL) filterbank (Lopez-Poveda and Meddis, 2001). Simulations were compared with the results of a pilot test on one test subject, and with published data. It was found that changes were needed to the parameters of the DRNL in order to account for the tuning differences observed in human data. Specifically, from the modifications suggested by Plack et al. (2002), the most important one was the use of different bandwidths and center frequencies for the bandpass filters in the nonlinear path of the DRNL. Simulations with the modified model were in good agreement with human frequency-selectivity estimates, although discrepancies were observed with respect to the threshold differences between simultaneous and forward masking. As a result of the modifications, an auditory signal processing model was obtained that shows instantaneous changes in frequency selectivity due to suppression effects. In further studies, such a model could be used to investigate how changes in tuning affect the perception of speech-like dynamic signals.
Prosodic and Voice Quality Analyses of Filled Pauses in Japanese Spontaneous Conversation by Chinese learners and Japanese Native Speakers

The present study documents (1) how Japanese native speakers and L1-Chinese learners of L2 Japanese differ in the production of filled pauses during spontaneous conversations, and (2) how the vowels of filled pauses and ordinary lexical items differ in spontaneous conversation. Prosodic and voice quality measurements were extracted from vowels in filled pauses and ordinary lexical items produced by Japanese native speakers and Chinese learners of L2 Japanese. Statistical results revealed that there are significant differences in prosodic and voice quality measurements including duration, F0mean, intensity, spectral tilt-related indices, jitter and shimmer, (1) between Japanese native speakers and Chinese learners of L2 Japanese, as well as (2) between filled pauses and ordinary lexical items. In addition, random forest analysis was conducted to examine how much the measurements contribute to the classification of filled pauses and ordinary lexical items. Results indicate that duration and intensity play the most significant role, while voice quality related features make a secondary contribution to the classification. Results also suggest that the filled pause production patterns of Chinese learners of L2 Japanese are influenced by L1 background.
Local sliding mode inversion algorithms and state observers with space applications

The main objective of this work is to propose novel finite‐time algorithms to either invert a time‐varying map or to estimate the state of a time‐varying nonlinear plant. The former goal is pursued by using a sliding mode version of the Newton algorithm, whereas the latter objective is achieved by resorting to the inverse of the Jacobian matrix of the observability map to implement a sliding mode differentiator in the original coordinates. Finally, it is shown how these two techniques can be efficiently used to solve some relevant space applications, such as the estimation of the angular velocity of an axial symmetric satellite, the estimation of the inertia parameters of an orbiting object from measurements of its angular velocities, and the estimation of a Keplerian orbital element given measurements of the other five ones.
Perceived CSR motives, perceived CSR authenticity, and pro-environmental behavior intention: an internal stakeholder perspective

Purpose This study aims to apply attribution theory to examine how internal stakeholders’ attributions affect the perceived company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives on employees’ pro-environmental behavioral intention through a mediated perceived CSR authenticity. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire-based survey was used because of the standardized questions and ease of acquisition of the target data with the assistance of a Web-based tool. Findings The perceived company’s other-centered CSR motives are positively associated with the perceived authenticity of the CSR engagement. The small company had a significantly stronger relationship than the large company. The perceived company’s self-centered CSR motives are not associated with the perceived authenticity of the CSR engagement. The perceived authenticity of CSR engagement is positively related to its own pro-environmental behavioral intention. Research limitations/implications A larger sample size across different industries can improve the result. When the authors examine the effect of company size, multi-group sizes can be used instead of two groups. The above scenario usually works in normal businesses. How about the “dirty” business situation? Examples of dirty businesses are tobacco, gambling, alcohol and mining companies. During their business operations, they destroy our environment or create harmful effects on our health. Thus, dirty businesses engaging in CSR practices at the same time seems contradicting. Practical implications The management should ensure that employees perceive the company’s CSR initiatives as other-centered rather than self-centered. Company size matters in terms of delivering other-centered CSR messages. Specifically, employees who work in a small company (i.e. less than 100 employees) are more favorable to other-centered CSR messages. Originality/value This study extends the CSR literature by examining how internal stakeholders’ attributions (i.e. employees’ attribution) of the perceived company’s CSR initiatives influence employees’ pro-environmental behavior through a mediated perceived CSR authenticity.
The Influences of Dealer-Buyer Relationship Quality, Subjective Norm, and Perceived Value on the Repurchase Intention of Fertilizer among Opish Farmers

Businesses must build a solid relationship with the customers to ensure continuous support for companies to succeed. However, for an agricultural commodity such as fertilizer, knowledge of factors that affect the repurchase of fertilizers by Malaysian oil palm farmers is limited in the existing literature. This study aims to understand the determinants of Oil Palm Independent Smallholder (OPISH) farmers’ intention to repurchase the same brand of fertilizers. It emphasizes the role of dealer-farmer relationship quality, the perceived value of Technology Advisory and Transfer Services (TUNAS) officers, and the subjective norm on repurchase intention. The distribution of 1200 questionnaires to OPISH farmers in Peninsula Malaysia, Sabah, and Sarawak led to the applicable return rate of 85.1% (943) completed responses. The multiple regression analysis demonstrated significant positive relationships between TUNAS officers’ perceived value, dealer-farmer relationship quality, and OPISH farmers’ repurchase intention. However, subjective norm had no significant relationship with OPISH farmers’ repurchase intention. The results suggested that selling farming products such as fertilizer requires a strong correlation between the sellers and farmers and the technical advisory personnel. Effective communication between sellers and farmers, continual follow-up programs, and technical advice are essential in developing a continuous relationship. The study’s expressed contribution towards employing the dealer-farmer relationship and perceived TUNAS officers’ value, which received little mentioning in the existing literature.
An efﬁcient regression method for 3D object localization in machine vision systems

Machine vision or robot vision plays is playing an important role in many industrial systems and has a lot of potential applications in the future of automation tasks such as in-house robot managing, swarm robotics controlling, product line observing, and robot grasping. One of the most common yet challenging tasks in machine vision is 3D object localization. Although several works have been introduced and achieved good results for object localization, there is still room to further improve the object location determination. In this paper, we introduce a novel 3D object localization algorithm in which a checkerboard pattern-based method is used to initialize the object location and followed by a regression model to regularize the object location. The proposed object localization is employed in a low-cost robot grasping system where only one simple 2D camera is used. Experimental results showed that the proposed algorithm signiﬁcantly improves the accuracy of the object localization when compared to the relevant works.