Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
IoTSim‐Edge: A simulation framework for modeling the behavior of Internet of Things and edge computing environments

With the proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) and edge computing paradigms, billions of IoT devices are being networked to support data‐driven and real‐time decision making across numerous application domains, including smart homes, smart transport, and smart buildings. These ubiquitously distributed IoT devices send the raw data to their respective edge device (eg, IoT gateways) or the cloud directly. The wide spectrum of possible application use cases make the design and networking of IoT and edge computing layers a very tedious process due to the: (i) complexity and heterogeneity of end‐point networks (eg, Wi‐Fi, 4G, and Bluetooth); (ii) heterogeneity of edge and IoT hardware resources and software stack; (iv) mobility of IoT devices; and (iii) the complex interplay between the IoT and edge layers. Unlike cloud computing, where researchers and developers seeking to test capacity planning, resource selection, network configuration, computation placement, and security management strategies had access to public cloud infrastructure (eg, Amazon and Azure), establishing an IoT and edge computing testbed that offers a high degree of verisimilitude is not only complex, costly, and resource‐intensive but also time‐intensive. Moreover, testing in real IoT and edge computing environments is not feasible due to the high cost and diverse domain knowledge required in order to reason about their diversity, scalability, and usability. To support performance testing and validation of IoT and edge computing configurations and algorithms at scale, simulation frameworks should be developed. Hence, this article proposes a novel simulator IoTSim‐Edge, which captures the behavior of heterogeneous IoT and edge computing infrastructure and allows users to test their infrastructure and framework in an easy and configurable manner. IoTSim‐Edge extends the capability of CloudSim to incorporate the different features of edge and IoT devices. The effectiveness of IoTSim‐Edge is described using three test cases. Results show the varying capability of IoTSim‐Edge in terms of application composition, battery‐oriented modeling, heterogeneous protocols modeling, and mobility modeling along with the resources provisioning for IoT applications.
The Training and Application of RBF Neural Network Based on GWO

To optimize the hidden center matrix, Gaussian RMS width vector and the hidden-output weight matrix of RBF neural network, Grey Wolf Optimizer (GWO) and its several variants have been introduced. With the combination of the three parameters as the position vector of the grey wolf in GWO, selecting half of the average squared error as the optimizing object function, the RBF neural network based on GWO is named as RBF-GWO network. In the processing of training the parameters for RBF-GWO, the difference between the actual output of RBF-GWO network and the desired output value is considered as the guide of updating the position vector for the grey wolf, and in each iteration the optimal parameter values are stored in the position vector of Wolf α which will be returned to the RBF-GWO. The parameter training is completed until the end conditions of the iteration are satisfied. To verify the validity of RBF-GWO network, the continuous function approximation experiment and the chaotic synchronization anti-control experiment have been done in turn. Not only it is proved that the proposed RBF-GWO network is effective, but it is also found that the RBF-GWO network based on the WGWO has a relatively strong adaptive capacity in all experiments from the overall view.
Eco-friendly date-seed nanofillers for polyethylene terephthalate composite reinforcement

Polymer composites have been widely exploited in numerous industries. Micro-particle fillers are typically added as reinforcement materials to improve the characteristics of these composites. In this work, organic nanoparticles of date seeds were added as a filler for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to produce enhanced polymer nanocomposites. A date-seed nanofiller (DSN) was prepared and examined with x-ray diffraction measurements, and then added to PET by hot compression. The characteristics of the PET-DSN composite were experimentally investigated through tests of mass loss, compressive strength, and Vickers micro-hardness. The PET-DSN microstructure was inspected using a scanning electron microscope and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The results show chemical stability of the PET-DSN composite. Moreover, key mechanical properties of the composite, namely hardness, compressive strength and wear resistance, were improved and optimized with a DSN reinforcement of 0.75 wt%.
Physical therapy evaluation and treatment in distal radius fracture: a case report

Background: subjects who have suffered DRF submitted imobilization may have a loss in active range of motion and functional deficit. Objectives: evaluate changes in the wrist and verify the effectiveness of physical therapy intervention used in the treatment of DRF. Methods: a physiotherapy evaluation form, goniometry and Visual Analogue Scale were used to assess the patient. A treatment protocol was applied for seven sessions. Results: the results showed reduced pain and increased range of motion of the wrist. Conclusion: there were changes as pain and reduced range of motion of the wrist. The treatment protocol was effective for these changes.
The Impact of a College Transition Program Proactive Advising Intervention on Self-Efficacy

This study proposes an empirically grounded, non-deficit oriented, college transition program proactive advising model, called “mid-semester grade checks,” to promote academic self-efficacy among first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented minoritized students. The grade checks model was developed based on data comprised of longitudinal interviews with 70 participants in a comprehensive college transition program. Mid-semester grade checks promote academic self-efficacy through: (a) reflection and self-assessment, (b) emotional and interpersonal support, and (c) proactive planning and instrumental guidance.
Modeling of inversion and centroid charges of long channel strained-silicon surrounding gate MOSFETs incorporating quantum effects

This paper presents a modeling approach for strained silicon surrounding gate MOSFETs. The main contribution of this work is the simplification of the charge model by using an explicit solution technique which includes the strained and quantum effects. Quantum effects are essential due to extreme scaling of radius and oxide thickness. These can be solved by integrating the quantum capacitance and threshold in the proposed model. The gate capacitance is formulated based on a centroid charge that can be applied for multiple doping levels and structural dimensions. Meanwhile, the quantum effect on the channel due to carrier confinement can be approximated based on the radius of the channel. For the simulator, the Bohm Quantum Model (BQP) is used to facilitate the quantum effect. Our explicit model is in good agreement with the numerical simulator, for various gate voltages, doping concentration and structural effects, based on the centroid and inversion charge. It is found that the doping level can contribute to the changes in the centroid charge position from the silicon-oxide interface to the center of the channel. In addition, the tensile strain shows a significant impact on the electrical properties of the strained silicon surrounding gate such as threshold voltage, inversion charge, and current. This technique holds the potential for implementation is owing to advantages such as fast data computing which can be directly integrated into the circuit simulator.
Corrigendum: Computational methods for 2D materials: discovery, property characterization, and application design (2017 J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 29 473001)

The discovery of two-dimensional (2D) materials comes at a time when computational methods are mature and can predict novel 2D materials, characterize their properties, and guide the design of 2D materials for applications. This article reviews the recent progress in computational approaches for 2D materials research. We discuss the computational techniques and provide an overview of the ongoing research in the field. We begin with an overview of known 2D materials, common computational methods, and available cyber infrastructures. We then move onto the discovery of novel 2D materials, discussing the stability criteria for 2D materials, computational methods for structure prediction, and interactions of monolayers with electrochemical and gaseous environments. Next, we describe the computational characterization of the 2D materials ’ electronic, optical, magnetic, and superconducting properties and the response of the properties under applied mechanical strain and electrical fields. From there, we move on to discuss the structure and properties of defects in 2D materials, and describe methods for 2D materials device simulations. We conclude by providing an outlook on the needs and challenges for future developments in the field of computational research for 2D materials.
Comparison of Iris L. morphogenesis in in vitro culture with seedling development in some highly specialized plants

A sharp change in the course of ontogenesis and transition to another type of nutrition (parasitic nutrition) is supposed to contribute to similarity of the morphogenetic processes in in vitro plants and seedlings of higher parasitic plants. Tracheary elements are formed in the shoots of Iris in in vitro culture as an adaptive response of the plant body to culture conditions. Underdevelopment of the vascular system for transporting nutrients from the agar medium to plant tissues results in the formation of this vascular system in the maternal shoots. Macronutrients and plant hormones are transported to the zones of meristematic activity via the vascular system. Parasitic plants obtain nutrients from their hosts through the newly formed vascular system. The elements of tracheary structures are unique for haustoria and play a vital role not only in deposition and transport of macronutrients, but also in the hydrostatic pressure regulation and protection against pathogens. The vascular system of parasitic plants is disordered similar to that of regenerated plants. This vascular system can be referred to as a distribution network, the structure capable of transforming a set of cells into the cellular transport system, which unites tissues and organs into a single growing organism.
In-situ crosslinking of electrospun gelatin-carbodiimide nanofibers: fabrication, characterization, and modeling of solution parameters

Abstract This work has focused on in-situ crosslinking of gelatin (G) to produce electrospun scaffold with improved fiber morphology retention and mechanical properties. As per this approach, we prepared G nanofibers through mixing G, 1-ethyl-3-(3 dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) in the new solvent system. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to study the influence of solution parameters on fiber diameter. The morphological structure was examined, and the appropriate level of setting to obtain smooth fibers with a favorable diameter was reported. Results revealed using EDC/NHS for in-situ crosslinking improves the mechanical properties and stability of G fibrous scaffolds significantly. Moreover, the results showed these G fibrous sheets has no toxic effect on cell culture. In conclusion, such G nanofibers with excellent properties may be considered as a candidate material in future studies for biomedical applications.
Development of an intervention to promote Physical Activity for Cancer Survivors (PACS)

Although positive effects of physical activity in cancer survivors are well-established, survivors are often not active enough to benefit. Exercise Referral Schemes are under-used by cancer survivors, largely due to lack of referral. A physical activity promotion pack, “MoveMore”, was developed by Macmillan in 2011, followed by a campaign to promote it to all cancer survivors in Wales. However education alone is not sufficient to effect behaviour change. The aim of this project was to develop a behaviour change intervention to reinforce the “MoveMore” message, and promote physical activity for cancer survivors. Following the Medical Research Council framework, a systematic review was conducted to determine the effectiveness of physical activity education materials, a literature review identified relevant theory to underpin the proposed intervention, focus groups explored cancer survivors’ views about physical activity advice and informed the refinement of the intervention. Finally a survey of health professionals explored knowledge and beliefs about promoting physical activity to cancer survivors. The systematic review findings indicated that education materials may increase physical activity levels in cancer survivors. Furthermore reinforcement based on behaviour change theories complements readiness to initiate or increase exercise. Focus group participants wanted consistent, tailored and face-to-face physical activity advice as part of their standard care. The survey confirmed the focus group findings but highlighted inconsistency, with health professionals lacking knowledge or confidence to give physical activity advice. Physical inactivity in cancer survivors needs addressing to improve quality of life. Behaviour change interventions need to be theory-driven and low-maintenance. The proposed 12 weekly text message reinforcement intervention to promote physical activity in cancer survivors may be beneficial if integrated into existing health services. The feasibility of the proposed intervention can be tested in a pilot randomised controlled trial, the protocol of which has been drafted as part of this research work.
EVALUATING THE ROLE OF IL-2 AND IL-6 IN PATIENTS WITH BURNS USING ELISA TECHNIQUE

Introduction: Burns are common medical infections that examined in hospitals. Cytokines are produced by innate immune response; cytokines determine the type of adaptive immune response. This study aims to screen and evaluate the role of IL-2 and IL-6 levels in the serum of patients who have suffered from burns by ELISA technique. Methods: Seventy serum samples were collected from burned patients in Baghdad city hospitals and tested by ELISA technique to detect IL-2 and IL-6 levels. Results: Shows great differences in IL-2 level of male patients (30.16 pg/ml) compared to males control group by an average of (29.66 pg/ml). While IL-6 shows significant differences in female patients with range (63.39 pg/ml) and male (66.47 pg/ml) compared to females control group (2.48 pg/ml) and males (22.80 pg/ml). Moreover cytokines shows significant differences between the three age groups of burned patients in comparison with the control group. In conclusion the result of present study showed significant difference in level of some cytokines IL-2,IL-6 for patients with burns. Conclusion: the result of present study showed significant difference in level of some cytokines IL-2, IL-6 for patients with burns.
Phylogeny of two new pheronematid sponges from the Caroline Seamount and South China Sea

Two new species of genus Pheronemoides are described in this study. The Specimens were collected from the South China sea and the Caroline seamount in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. Pheronemoides crustiformis sp. nov. differs from its congeners in exhibiting large microamphidiscs, whip-like and slightly bent microuncinates and small spiny microdiactins. Pheronemoides curvipentactin sp. nov. possesses special pentactine atrialia with round terminal or tapering terminal curved pinular rays and crooked pentactins, making it easily distinguishable from its congeners. Partial sequences of the 28S rDNA and 16S rDNA genes were also amplified to confirm the family assignment of the two new species and to explore the systematic status of Pheronemoides.
Estimation of Full-Length TprK Diversity in Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum

Immune evasion and disease progression of Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum are associated with sequence diversity in the hypervariable, putative outer membrane protein TprK. Previous attempts to study variation within TprK have sequenced at depths insufficient to fully appreciate the hypervariable nature of the protein, failed to establish linkage between the protein’s 7 variable regions, or were conducted on strains passed through rabbits. As a consequence, a complete profiling of tprK during infection in the human host is still lacking. Furthermore, prior studies examining how T. pallidum uses its repertoire of genomic donor sites to generate diversity within the V regions of the tprK also yielded a partial understanding of this process, due to the limited number of tprK alleles examined. In this study, we used short- and long-read deep sequencing to directly characterize full-length tprK alleles from T. pallidum collected from early lesions of patients attending two STD clinics in Italy. Our data, combined with recent data available on Chinese T. pallidum strains, show the near complete absence of overlap in TprK sequences among the 41 strains profiled to date. Moreover, our data allowed us to redefine the boundaries of tprK V regions, identify 55 donor sites, and estimate the total number of TprK variants that T. pallidum can potentially generate. Altogether, our results support how T. pallidum TprK antigenic variation system is an unsurmountable obstacle for the human immune system to naturally achieve infection eradication, and reiterate the importance of this mechanism for pathogen persistence in the host. Importance Syphilis continues to be a significant public health issue in both low- and high-income nations, including the United States, where the number of infectious syphilis cases has increased dramatically over the past five years. T. pallidum, the causative agent of syphilis, encodes an outer membrane protein TprK that undergoes segmental gene conversion to constantly create new sequences. We performed deep TprK profiling to understand full-length TprK diversity in T. pallidum-positive clinical specimens and compared these to all samples for which TprK deep sequencing is available. We found almost no overlap in TprK sequences between different patients. We further estimate that the total baseline junctional diversity of full-length TprK rivals that of current estimates of the human adaptive immune system. These data underscore the immunoevasive ability of TprK that allows T. pallidum to establish lifelong infection.
Biostimulants’ influence on tomato fruit characteristics at conventional and low-input NPK regime

ABSTRACT Plant biostimulants are commercial products based on different chemical substances used to enhance plant growth and productivity. The effects of biostimulants, Megafol and Viva, with different dominant compositions (amino acids and humic acids) on two tomato cultivars (cv. Gravitet F1 and cv. Minaret F1) exposed to conventional and low-input macronutrient nutrition were investigated. Application of both biostimulants positively affected yield at conventional nutrition. In low-input nutrition variant, biostimulant application prevented yield loss only in cv. Minaret F1. Inter-cultivar differences were noticed in fruit characteristics (total phenol content, total flavonoids content and total antioxidative capacity) where application of biostimulants leads to opposite results in the examined cultivars. We considered the possibility of biostimulant usage as an effective nutritional addition for overcoming the problem of excessive fertilisation.
Disk-shaped magnetic particles for cancer therapy

Magnetic disks are a new generation of nanoparticles with outstanding properties to face biomedical challenges as a cancer treatment. The key features of their suitability are the ability of rotation (torque), the high dispersion capability, and the easy manipulation under low magnetic fields. These properties make disk-shaped particles ideal magnetomechanical actuators to damage cancer cell integrity, deliver antitumor drugs, generate heat (magnetic hyperthermia), or separate cancer cells for early detection. Since the experimental demonstration of the capability of destroying brain cancer cells by the force exerted from rotating Ni80Fe20 microdisks, important advances have been reported on disks composed of different magnetic materials and dimensions. Here, we present the evolution of a decade-old research field by combining the discussion of in vitro experiments available in the literature with our most recent results. More importantly, we compare the torque and dispersion capability of each type of magnetic disk in order to promote the investigation toward the most efficient magnetomechanical actuator to destroy cancer cells.
Effects of rail pressure control on fuel consumption, emissions and combustion parameters in a turbocharged diesel engine

Abstract The influence of rail pressure control on fuel consumption, emissions and combustion in an automotive downsized turbocharged diesel engine was investigated, considering different operating modes in three-part load working conditions. These modes were selected according to the results of a previous step of the study, where low NOX and fuel consumption levels were obtained managing a hybrid exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system and the turbocharger variable nozzle turbine (VNT). Aiming at limiting observed soot penalties, increased values of rail pressure were applied, deepening the interactions with engine-controlled sub-assemblies and the related variations in operating, environmental, energy and combustion parameters. At low levels of engine speed and load, major reduction in NOX emissions and fuel consumption were observed, with acceptable soot and noise combustion increase, while turbocharger speed was also enhanced. No variations in fuel consumption were achieved at higher load and speed, while soot penalty remained significant. A simplified method to describe and model engine behaviour and combustion process was also developed, defining linear relationships between rail pressure and engine quantities, including a wide set of combustion parameters derived from in-cylinder pressure diagrams and heat release curves.