Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Design and Fabrication of 1550 nm Photonic Crystal Surface Emitting Lasers

In this study, the design and fabrication of a monolithic InP-based 1550-nm photonic-crystal surfaceemitting laser (PCSEL) is reported. The device is composed by an InGaAsP multi-quantum well (MQW) active layer and InP photonic crystal (PhC) formed by metal organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD). A theoretical study based mainly on the Fourier modal method using Stanford Stratified Structure Solver (S4) and finite element analysis using COMSOL Multiphysics was carried out in order to optimize the emission at 1550 nm due to the two-dimensional band-edge resonance effect at the Γ point. The device design and modeling, materials testing (annealing and MOCVD regrowth), process optimization and the fabrication of light emitting diodes (LEDs) based on the same structure as the PCSELs (without the PhC) is reported. The fabricated devices show a low series resistance of 8.19 Ω and a turn-on voltage of 0.84 V. The average differential output power is 41 mW/A with an electroluminescent peak at 1511 nm. The full assembly of the final PCSEL devices is beyond the scope of the present thesis and corresponds to an ongoing project expected to be finalized within the coming year. However, detailed guidelines and fabrication instructions, including the manufacturing of an appropriate lithographic mask set, are provided.
Damage mechanism and stress response of reinforced concrete slab under blast loading

The numerical investigations have been carried out on reinforced concrete slab against blast loading to demonstrate the accuracy and effectiveness of the finite element based numerical models using commercial package ABAQUS. The response of reinforced concrete slab have been studied against the influence of weight of TNT, standoff distance, boundary conditions, influence of air blast and surface blast. The results thus obtained from simulations were compared with the experiments available in literature. The inelastic behavior of concrete and steel reinforcement bar has been incorporated through concrete damage plasticity model and Johnson-cook models available in ABAQUS were presented. The predicted results through numerical simulations of the present study were found in close agreement with the experimental results. The damage mechanism and stress response of target were assessed based on the intensity of deformations, impulse velocity, von-Mises stresses and damage index in concrete. The results indicate that the standoff distance has great influence on the survivability of RC slab against blast loading. It is concluded that the velocity of impulse wave was found to be decreased from 17 to 11 m/s when the mass of TNT is reduced from 12 to 6 kg. It is observed that the maximum stress in the concrete was found to be in the range of 15 to 20 N/mm 2 and is almost constant for given charge weight. The slab with two short edge discontinuous end condition was found better and it may be utilised in designing important structures. Also it is observed that the deflection in slab by air blast was found decreased by 60% as compared to surface blast.
FACULTY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

This thesis presents a signal analysis tool, which has been designed to investigate walking abnormalities which are related to foot rolling movements during walking; interaction of foot with ground which is called stance phase. They would cause a wide range of severe anatomical damages such as ankle, leg, heel and back pain in the long-term. Comparing to the conventional data acquisition setups of biomechanical researches, inertial measurement sensors (IMU), which are being used widely as an appropriate alternative setup recently, facilitate monitoring human movement for a long-term period out of laboratory. This justifies the growing trend of improving the IMU-based algorithms which are designed for events detection, position calculation, and rotation estimation. Therefore, a set of 4 IMUs, placed on shank and foot of both legs, has been used for data collection. In data processing stage, two novel algorithms have been developed and implemented as the backbone of the designed software aiming to detect and integrate stance phases. The first algorithm was developed to detect stance phases in gait cycle data. Even though the detection of events in gait cycles has been the topic of a majority of biomechanical researches, stance phase as the interval between two consecutive events has not been studied sufficiently. The second algorithm, sensor alignment, generates a rotation matrix which is used to align IMU sensors placed on the same foot and shank. This alignment of the two sensors enables us to add or subtract the data point-wisely to make a more meaningful interpretation of the data regarding thought-out walking abnormalities during phase stances. The visualized results of the thesis can be considered as an early stage of a more comprehensive research which might lead to quantitative results corresponding to different walking abnormalities.
SERUM CORTISOL AND CORTICOTROPIN LEVELS AMONG HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS IN KANO, NIGERIA

Hypertension remains the leading single cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and a growing public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Few studies have estimated serum cortisol and corticotrophin (ACTH) levels in a metropolitan city of Kano-Nigeria. A total of 300 adult participants consisting of 200 hypertensive patients and 100 apparently healthy individuals as control were recruited as the study subjects. Serum cortisol and ACTH were analysed using competitive ELISA method, electrolytes (Na + and K + ) by flame photometric method and plasma glucose by glucose oxidase method. The result showed significant (p < 0.05) increase in serum cortisol (22.16 ± 11.01µg/L) while, ACTH (9.07 ± 5.5 ng/L) and HDL-C (1.02 ± 0.23 mmol/L) significantly (p < 0.001; p=0.016) decrease in hypertensive patients compared to controls (1.94 ± 2.38 µg/L, 16.47 ± 12.8 ng/L and 1.09 ± 0.24 mmol/L respectively). There were no significant (p > 0.05) differences in plasma glucose, TC, LDL-C and TG between hypertensive patients and controls. There was a significant (p < 0.001) increase in the levels of serum sodium (144.96 ± 9.62 mmol/L) and potassium (4.32 ± 0.70 mmol/L) in hypertensive patients compared to controls ( 136.27 ± 5.84 mmol/L and 3.86 ± 0.36 mmol/L respectively). Serum cortisol was negatively correlated with HDL-C (r = - 0.298; p = 0.001) and positively correlated with sodium (r = 0.175; p = 0.013). Cortisol was also found to be directly correlated with the rising hypertension (r = 0.294; p = 0.001). There is a need for routine evaluation of serum cortisol and ACTH for the management of hypertension.
The Implementation of Noradrenaline in the NeuCogAr Cognitive Architecture

—In this paper, we present a novel approach to model and re-implement the noradrenaline inﬂuence in a bio-plausible manner suitable for the modelling of emotions in a computational system. We have upgraded our previous bio-inspired architecture NEUCOGAR (Neuromodulating Cognitive Architecture) to capture a key aspect of cognitive processes: novelty detection and its evaluation. With our model, we can computationally implement a bioinspired cognitive architecture that uses neuromodulation as a mechanism to identify signals, as well as to evaluate them according to their novelty, taking into account the noradrenaline concentration dynamics. At the same time, the values thus generated are stored in the system using the same neurotransmitters model.
Long-Term Risk of Skin Cancer and Lymphoma in Users of Topical Tacrolimus and Pimecrolimus: Final Results from the Extension of the Cohort Study Protopic Joint European Longitudinal Lymphoma and Skin Cancer Evaluation (JOELLE)

Purpose: Evidence is insufficient to infer whether topical calcineurin inhibitors (TCIs; tacrolimus and pimecrolimus) cause malignancy. The study objective was to estimate the long-term risk of skin cancer and lymphoma associated with topical TCI use in adults and children, separately. Patients and Methods: A cohort study in Denmark, Sweden, UK, and the Netherlands was conducted. Adjusted incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC), melanoma, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) excluding CTCL, and Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) in new users of TCIs versus users of moderate/high-potency topical corticosteroids. Results: The study included 126,908/61,841 adults and 32,605/27,961 children initiating treatment with tacrolimus/pimecrolimus, respectively. Follow-up was ≥10 years for 19% of adults and 32% of children. Incidence rate ratios and (95% confidence intervals) for tacrolimus versus corticosteroid users in adults were <1 for melanoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and Hodgkin lymphoma; and 1.80 (1.25–2.58) for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. For pimecrolimus, IRRs in adults were <1 for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, and Hodgkin’s lymphoma; and 1.21 (1.03–1.41) for melanoma; and 1.28 (1.20–1.35) for nonmelanoma skin cancer. In children, results were inconclusive due to few events. In adults, incidence rate ratios ≥5 years after first topical calcineurin inhibitor exposure were not higher than in overall analyses. Conclusion: Overall, we found little evidence associating use of topical calcineurin inhibitors with skin cancer and lymphoma; confounding by indication, surveillance bias, and reverse causation may have influenced these results. Even if causal, the public health impact of these excess risks would be low and confined to the first years of exposure.
The Study of Female Entrepreneurs’ Resource Bricolage Behavior Modeling

—With progression towards opening up for social changes such as gender equality and women’s issues rise to power, female entrepreneurs’ behaviors and road to success have become focuses of innovative entrepreneurship researchers. With the help of education popularization and the support of a friendly environment, economically speaking, women’s willingness and capability to enter the entrepreneurial market has been greatly strengthened, although the details may still lack attention and analysis. In this study, The Theory of Planned Behavior was adopted as the basis for constructing the Female Entrepreneurs’ Bricolage Behavior Model, with “Entrepreneurial attitude” and “Entrepreneurial orientation” as independent variables for checking the predictive power of both on “Resource bricolage behavior” and checking the influence of “Entrepreneurial orientation” as a mediating variable. Through judgmental sampling, successful female entrepreneurs from the W Federation of Chinese Business Women were selected as participants for the questionnaire survey. All indirect effects were subjected to follow-up bootstrap analyses with 5,000 bootstrap samples and 95% bias-corrected confidence intervals. The results support that the research tool after passing the test demonstrated reliability and validity. The modeling analysis results show that “Entrepreneurial attitude” (β = .668, p<.001) produced a significantly positive predictive power on “Resource bricolage:” “Entrepreneurial attitude” produced a significantly positive predictive power on the sub-dimensions of “Entrepreneurial orientation, ” namely, “Innovativeness” (β = .601, p<.001), “Proactiveness” (β = .673, p<.001), and “Risk taking” (β = .648, p<.001); the sub-dimensions of “Entrepreneurial orientation,” namely, “Innovativeness” (β = .610, p<.01) and “Risk taking” (β = .536, p<.05) produced a significantly positive predictive power, indicating that “Innovativeness” and “Risk taking” played a partially mediating role, while “Proactiveness” (β = -.365, p>.05) produced no effect as a mediating variable.
Analysis of a Thunderstorm Activity According to WWLLN: a Case Study

The analysis of thunderstorm activity is carried out in Timiryazevskiy forestry of Tomsk region. The authors used data from the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) in 2010-2015. The five WWLLN stations nearest to Tomsk (until 2015) were Bryansk (≈3200 km), Yakutsk (≈2600 km), Beijing (≈2900 km), Lanzhou (≈2700 km) and Vladivostok (≈3600 km). The network registered data throughout the year. Data on spherics recorded by WWLLN contain the following indicators: date, time, latitude, longitude, error and number of stations in which the electromagnetic pulse was recorded. The year of the maximum number of lightning discharges according to WWLLN is 2015 in Timiryazevskiy forestry. The smallest number of lightning discharges was observed in 2010, 2012 and 2013. During one day, the peak of lightning discharges is observed at noon time, at 14-15 hours, and at night, 22-1 hours, according to the local solar time. The minimum number of spherics is observed in the early morning, at 5-6 hours. The highest density of lightning discharges is characteristic for the central parts of Timiryazevskiy forestry. As a conclusion, it should be noted that lightning activity was complex over the territory of Timiryazevskiy forestry in the period from 2010 to 2015. Days were found when more than 300 discharges per day were recorded with a maximum both in the afternoon and at night. In addition, the maximum number of lightning discharges in certain years can be observed not only in July, but also in June and August.
Effects of Adenophostin-A and Inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate on Cl (cid:50) Currents in Xenopus laevis Oocytes

SUMMARY Adenophostin-A, a novel compound isolated from cultures of Penicillium brevicompactum , has been shown to stimulate Ca 2 (cid:49) release from inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP 3 )-sensitive Ca 2 (cid:49) stores in microsomal preparations, permeabilized cells, and lipid vesicles containing purified IP 3 receptor. The purpose of the current study was to compare the effects of adenophos-tin-A and IP 3 on Ca 2 (cid:49) release from stores and Ca 2 (cid:49) influx in intact Xenopus laevis oocytes. Ca 2 (cid:49) influx though store-oper-ated Ca 2 (cid:49) channels and Ca 2 (cid:49) release from stores were mon-itored by measuring two Ca 2 (cid:49) -activated Cl (cid:50) currents that can be used as real-time indicators of Ca 2 (cid:49) release and Ca 2 (cid:49) influx (I Cl-1 and I Cl-2 , respectively). We find that high concentrations (final intraoocyte concentrations of 5–10 (cid:109) M ) of adenophostin-A and IP 3 stimulate a large Ca 2 (cid:49) release from stores (as measured by I Cl-1 ) followed by Ca 2 (cid:49) influx (as measured by I Cl-2 ). Low concentrations ( (cid:59) 50 n M ) of IP 3 stimulate oscillations in Ca 2 (cid:49) release without stimulating Ca 2 (cid:49) influx. In contrast, low concentrations of adenophostin-A can stimulate Ca 2 (cid:49) influx without stimulating a large Ca 2 (cid:49)
Comparative Assessment of Antibacterial Efficacy of four popular hand sanitizers sold in Nigeria

Despite the increase in popularity of hand sanitizers (HS) in Nigeria, there is a dearth of literature on the efficacies of these products. This study assessed the efficacies of four popular brands of HS in Nigeria against some clinically important bacterial pathogens. Using the well variant of the agar dilution method to determine antimicrobial susceptibility and the broth dilution method to determine minimum inhibitory concentration, the activities of the HS (HSF, HSM, HDT, and HSK) were evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella pneumonia. Each of the products displayed varying activities against the test organisms. HSM had the highest inhibitory effect against all the test organisms, while HSF was the least effective. S. aureus was the most susceptible organism, with the highest susceptibility to HSM (12.0 mm). P. aeruginosa was the most resistant organism, with the highest resistance to HSM (9.0 mm). Each of the HS was bacteriostatic against all of the test bacteria and none displayed bactericidal activity. HSM and HDT reduced the mean colony-forming unit (cfu) counts of bacteria on the hands of subjects by 72% and 62%, respectively. A one-tailed t-test showed that HSM was more effective than HDT in this regard. None of the products could reduce bacterial counts by 99.9%, as the manufacturers claim. Such claims need to be verified to ensure that these products contain the correct quantities of active ingredients, and sellers need to store such products according to the manufacturers’ instructions.
International Journal of Science and Business

As the globalization pressures the companies to expand multi-nationally, the human resource management (HRM) issues are becoming more challenging with cultural factors involved. A growing literature emphasizes that HRM play important part in the success of MNCs. Then what are the HR practices that attracts local staff? What is the belief of local staff that MNCs will provide to them? This research uses the concept of psychological contract to search the answers of above questions by investigating the dynamics of local staffs working for MNCs in Korea. The qualitative methods by conducting in-depth interviews from 9 local staffs and organizing focus group meetings at the Korean subsidiaries of oversea are executed to analyze the psychological aspects of the workers. The performance base rewards and its home country cultures were one of several factors that influenced psychological contract. The change of contract and causes of psychological contract violation is also examined. Recommendations generated from the findings are drawn for MNC HR managers. IJSB Accepted 22 February 2020 Published 05 March 2020 DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3698100
Overweight and obesity affect skeletal maturation and dental development in children and adolescents – a retrospective study

Results: The mean dental age acceleration was 0.38 ± 1.13 in the NW group, 1,79 ± 0.96 in the OW group and 1.88 ± 0.75 in the OB group and was significantly greater in the OW and OB group than in the NW group (P<0.05). The mean CVM score accounted for 2.01 ± 1.16 in the NW group, 2.95 ± 1.47 in the OW group and 2.97 ± 1.49 in the OB group. The mean CVM score was significantly greater in the OW and OB group than in the NW group (P<0.05). Conclusions: The study revealed accelerated dentition development and skeletal maturity in overweight and obese children and adolescents. BMI percentile is an important data that healthcare professionals should consider in the context of growth and development assessment in paediatric patients.
Inﬂuence of the RNA-Binding Protein HuR in pVHL-Regulated p53 Expression in Renal Carcinoma Cells

A recent analysis of gene expression in renal cell carcinoma cells led to the identiﬁcation of mRNAs whose translation was dependent on the presence of the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor gene product, pVHL. Here, we investigate the ﬁnding that pVHL-expressing RCC cells (VHL (cid:1) ) exhibited elevated levels of polysome-associated p53 mRNA and increased p53 protein levels compared with VHL-defective (VHL (cid:2) ) cells. Our ﬁndings indicate that p53 translation is speciﬁcally heightened in VHL (cid:1) cells, given that (i) p53 mRNA abundance in VHL (cid:1) and VHL (cid:2) cells was comparable, (ii) p53 degradation did not signiﬁcantly inﬂuence p53 expression, and (iii) p53 synthesis was markedly induced in VHL (cid:1) cells. Electrophoretic mobility shift and immunoprecipitation assays to detect endogenous and radiolabeled p53 transcripts revealed that the RNA- binding protein HuR, previously shown to regulate mRNA turnover and translation,
The Anti-Anti-Sigma Factor BldG Is Involved in Activation of the Stress Response Sigma Factor (cid:1) H in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) (cid:1)

The alternative stress response sigma factor (cid:1) H has a role in regulation of the osmotic stress response and in morphological differentiation in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2). Its gene, sigH , is located in an operon with the gene that encodes its anti-sigma factor UshX (PrsH). However, no gene with similarity to an anti-anti-sigma factor which may have a role in (cid:1) H activation by a “partner-switching” mechanism is located in the operon. By using a combination of several approaches, including pull-down and bacterial two-hybrid assays and visualization of the complex by native polyacrylamide electrophoresis, we demonstrated a direct interaction between UshX and the pleiotropic sporulation-speciﬁc anti-anti-sigma factor BldG. Osmotic induction of transcription of the sigHp2 promoter that is speciﬁcally recognized by RNA polymerase containing (cid:1) H was absent in an S. coelicolor bldG mutant, indicating a role of BldG in (cid:1) H activation by a partner-switching-like mechanism. sigH gene ampliﬁed primers SIGH2DHDir and SIGHDHRev cloned an 820-bp fragment in pUT18C, pUT18C-sigH. The ushX gene ampliﬁed using the primers USHXDHDir and USHXDHRev and cloned as a 430-bp fragment in pKT25, resulting in pKT25-ushX. The apgA gene was ampliﬁed using the primers ORF3DHDir and ORF3DHRev and cloned as a 440-bp fragment into pKT25, resulting in pKT25-ApgA. The nucleotide sequences of all the genes were checked by sequencing. The interaction of fusion proteins encoded in pUT18C-zip and pKT25-zip (20) was used as a positive control. The combinations of the resulting pUT18C and pKT25 constructs were cotransformed into the cya -deﬁ-cient strain E. coli BTH101 and screened on LB medium supplemented with 0.5 mM IPTG (isopropyl- (cid:10) - D -thiogalactopyranoside) and 40 (cid:2) g/ml X-Gal (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl- (cid:10) - D -galactopyranoside). Ampicillin and kanamycin were added to select the plasmids, and streptomycin was added to select the strain. The colonies were screened after 2 days at 30°C. Quantitative measurements of (cid:10) -galactosidase activities in the sets of three independent transformants for each plasmid combination were performed according to Miller (39). The statistical signiﬁcance of data sets was analyzed by a two-tailed Student t test with a P of (cid:11) 0.05 considered signiﬁcant. Overexpression of genes in E. coli T7 RNA polymerase system and protein puriﬁcation. Overexpression of S. coelicolor ushX in an E. coli pET28a system and native puriﬁcation of His-tagged UshX on His-Tag Bind resin (Novagen)
Efficacy of Acaricides on Eutetranychus orientalis (Acari: Tetranychidae) and Its Compatibility with Predatory Mite Euseius scutalis (Acarei: Phytoseiidae) under Field Conditions

Efficacy evaluation of seven acaricides, i.e. Acarine (Abamectin 5% EC), Gat Fast (2% Abamectin + 10% Thiamthoxam (12% SC)), Ortis Super (Fenpyroximate 5% EC), Concord (Chlorfenapyr 24% EC), Perfect (2% Abamectin + 10% Chlorfenapyr (12% EW)), Micronet S (Sulfur 80% WP ) and Acarots (Fenpyroximate 5% SC) at recommended dose (RD), against the brown spider mite, Eutetranychus orientalis (Tetranychidae) and its predatory mite, Euseius scutalis (Phytoseiidae), was applied on citrus crop in Assiut Governorate under field conditions. Three assorted exposure eras: three days, one week and two weeks, were achieved in May 2018. It was found that a total reduction rate of these 7 acaricides against E. orientalis was 88.26%, 90.40%, 87.99%, 88.91%, 88.78%, 88.41% and 87.82% and against E. scutalis was 23.69%, 19.61%, 14.33%, 12.7%, 15.52%, 16.51% and 15.33%, respectively. Abamactin 5% was significantly higher than other acaricides (p<0.05) followed by Fenpyroximate 5% EC and Fenpyroximate 5% SC. On the other hand, the rest of acaricides appeared to be insignificant (p>0.05). Acaricides can be used against E. orientalis without affecting E. scutalis where the results showed compatibility between acaricide and predatory mites in the field. For mode of action, Fenpyroximate is safer for human and animal than others because it acts as mitochondrial electron transport inhibitor with contact action. Application of serial concentrations from these compounds is recommended to reduce its toxicity in the environment. behavior and control are needed to generate adequate knowledge to develop optimal control policies. This work aimed to evaluate the efficacy of seven chemicals of plant origin to control E. orientalis and predatory mite Euseius scutalis as natural enemy under field conditions in Assuit Governorate, Egypt.