Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Technology Enabled Customer Relationship Management in Supermarket Industry in Nigeria

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is an enterprise-wide business strategy directed at attracting, retaining and effectively serving customers to grow up their value over the long term. Because customers differ in their preferences and purchasing habit, and their mobility is enhanced by increasing availability of information, firms invest in technologies that help them gain detailed understanding of their customers, allowing them to know how to respond to customer needs and market products and services more effectively. While the modern CRM strategy is intensive in the use of analytical technologies, the Nigeria supermarket industry still at the first stage of its development phase have largely interacted with customers through personal interaction partly due to the low level of competition for customers, high cost of investment in analytical CRM infrastructure and lack of dynamic capability to integrate technology, people and processes.
Synthesis and biodistribution study of a chlorotoxin derivative peptide labeled with 131- iodine for tumor therapy

Background: Chlorotoxin is a 36-amino acid peptide found in the venom of the Leiurus quinquestriatus which blocks small-conductance chloride channels. Chlorotoxin binds preferentially to glioma cells that allow development of new methods for the treatment and diagnosis of several types of cancer. Thus chlorotoxin derivative was labeled with 131 I for further investigation. Materials and Methods: A chlorotoxin derivative was synthesized on a solid phase using a standard Fmoc strategy. Labeling with iodine-131 was performed through chloramine-T method and radiochemical analysis involved sephadex G-25 and HPLC methods. The stability of radiopeptide was checked in the presence of PBS and human serum at 37 °C up to 24 h. The biodistribution was studied in mice. Results: The chemical purity of synthesized peptide as assessed by analytical RP-HPLC was 95%. Labeling of peptide resulted in a radiochemical yield of 80% with radiochemical purity of > 95% with specific activity of 0.740 GBq/µmol. Result of in vitro studies demonstrated acceptable stability of compound in human serum and PBS solution. Biodistribution data showed moderate blood clearance, with concentration of radioactivity in the kidneys, liver, intestine and stomach. Conclusion: Results indicates that the labeled Chlorotoxin derivative might be useful in determining tumor extent and also, tumor therapy of gliomas or possibily other cancers. Iran. J. Radiat. Res., 2011; 8(4): 243­248
Correction: High-Order Artificial Dissipation Operators Possessing the Summation-By-Parts Property

The summation-by-parts (SBP) property can be used to construct high-order provably stable numerical methods. A general framework is explored for deriving provably stable and conservative artificial dissipation operators for use with high-order traditional and elementtype SBP operators on general nodal distributions, thus enabling the time stable and accurate solution of practical nonlinear problems, including those problems that contain variable coe cients, for example, aerodynamics problems involving the compressible Euler and NavierStokes equations. The basic premise is presented for scalar conservation laws and then extended to entropy stability for systems. Artificial dissipation operators for use with traditional SBP operators are constructed having 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th order accuracy on the interior achieved with minimum-width stencils that have ample flexibility in the derivation of novel accuracy-preserving boundary closures. Element-type dissipation operators are constructed on the Legendre-Gauss and Legendre-Gauss-Lobatto nodal distributions. The stability and accuracy properties of a suite of the constructed artificial dissipation operators are characterized in the numerical solution of the quasi-one-dimensional Euler equations applied to a converging-diverging nozzle.
Efficiency Evaluation of Three-phase SiC Power Factor Correction Rectifier with Different Controllers

This paper presents a comprehensive design of a 5 kW silicon-carbide (SiC) based three-phase power factor correction (PFC) to achieve high conversion efficiency. It evaluates the efficiency of the converter by comparing two controllers: a controller without harmonic compensation (HC) in the rotational reference frame and a controller with HC in the stationary reference frame. SiC switches, by exhibiting a low capacitive switching loss compared to Si switches, help increasing the switching frequency and reducing the size of the line filter. To achieve a very high efficiency converter, the controller has an impact on the efficiency, especially at low load. Normally, the current quality of grid-connected converter at low load reduces due to the non-linearity of the converter. This reduction influences the efficiency. In this paper, two methods are presented to improve the current quality at low loads: either increasing the converter-side inductance to yield lower current ripple or improving the controller to mitigate the low frequency current harmonics. Both methods are investigated in this work and it is proved that using a proper controller can help reducing the converter-side inductor to 2/3 which has a great impact on the efficiency. An optimized 5 kW SiC based PFC is designed. Maximum measured efficiency of 99% at full load is achieved.
Using electroceutical treatment to reduce symptoms and improve healing in chronic wounds

Chronic inflammation in a wound is often associated with infection and biofilm, which are linked to raised matrix metalloproteinases (elevated protease activity) and reduced cell production along with growth hormones in the wound bed. This causes persistent challenges to healthcare professionals and increases the costs of wound management; the related symptoms also affect the quality of life (QoL) of patients living with wounds that are hard to heal. Electrical energy known as the ‘current of injury’ is required to assist in tissue repair. It allows different cell types, such as white blood cells, growth factors, enzymes and fibroblasts, into the wound to allow for stimulation of cell proliferation and collagen synthesis. In chronic wounds, the current of injury becomes disrupted due to biofilms, infection and unhealthy tissue in the wound bed. This prevents the wound from going through normal physiological healing. Use of electrical stimulation and electroceutical treatment effectively restores the current of injury, expediting normal healing and reducing chronic inflammation, biofilms, infection and associated symptoms, such as pain and high exudate. Clinical outcomes and QoL are improved and there are also economic benefits.
Cost Analysis of Light Water Reactor Power Plants

Abstract : This study centers on a statistical analysis of the licensing time, construction time, and capital cost of light water reactor power plants. The use of these econometric techniques allows the major cost driving variables to be identified through multivariate analysis of time series data on over 50 U.S. nuclear power plants. The analysis made in the study provides a clearer picture of the dynamic changes that have occurred in the cost of these power plants than does engineering cost estimates, and produces a tool that can be used to project LWR costs. (Author)
The relevance of turbulent mixing in estuarine numerical models for two-layer shallow water flow

The relevance of turbulent mixing in estuarine numerical models for stratified two-layer shallow water flows is analysed in this paper. A one-dimensional numerical model was developed for this purpose by extending an immiscible two-layer model with an additional source term, which accounts for turbulent mixing effects, namely the entrainment of fluid from the lower to the upper layer. The entrainment rate is quantified by an empirical equation as a function of the bulk Richardson number. A finite volume method based on an approximated Roe solver was used to solve the governing coupled system of partial differential equations. A comparison of numerical results with and without entrainment is presented to illustrate the influence of entrainment on both the salt-water intrusion length and lower layer dynamics. Furthermore, one example is given to demonstrate how entrainment terms may help to stabilize the numerical scheme and prevent a possible loss of hyperbolicity. Finally, the model with entrainment is validated by comparing the numerical results to field measurements.
3-D Printer Based Lens Design Method for Integrated Lens Antennas

We propose a new and straightforward dielectric lens design method to increase the gain of integrated lens antennas (ILAs). Our lens is divided into several cone-shaped radial sections. Each section consists of specific permittivity to provide desired phase delays for the waves passing through the section. Our method does not depend on the operating frequencies and the physical appearance of the lens, because all the radial sections share one common phase center as a starting point. Accordingly, to change the main beam direction, we only need to rearrange the sections. However, the required permittivity is all different in every section, which is extremely difficult to be realized using conventional dielectric materials. To fabricate the required permittivity based on an effective medium theory, we use a cutting-edge three-dimensional printing technology. Consequently, we can obtain all the required permittivity using only one base printing material. Through experiments, we can show that our lens not only can form a desired beam but also can increase gain in the target direction, which proves the validity of our lens design method.
Weighted Sum-rate Maximization for Multi-user Mimo-OFDM Downlink with ZF-DPC Methods

Multi -user MIMO techniques were born due to the urge of high data rates and spectral efficiency in 4G systems. For scenarios with a large number of users to be served in one cell, high capacity gains can be achieved by transmitting independent data streams to different users sharing the same time -frequency resources through the use of MIMO precoding. Linear precoding is employed in MU-MIMO communication system to improve the system capacity and to minimize the receiver complexity. The previous works on optimization algorithm to design a linear precoder to maximize the system capacity is assumed to have perfect channel state information (CSI) at the base station (BS). However the CSI available at the BS is imperfect due to channel estimation errors. With enough channel state information (CSI) at the transmitter, MIMO precoding allows to increase multi-user diversity gain. However, without a correct precoding vector selection, the interference between users can seriously degrade the overall network data rate. In a close-loop configuration, the base station (BS) receives from each user the preferred precoding vector and modulation and coding scheme (MCS). To achieve the highest multi -user diversity gains and avoid users interference, the BS needs to recalculate the precoding vector and MCS for each user. Weighted sum rate maximization is also considered, and qualification of throughput difference between two strategies is performed. In this process, it is shown that allocating the user powers in direct proportional to user weights asymptotically maximizes weight sum rate. The goal of this paper is to investigate the performance and complexity of state -of-the art methods for calculation of precoding vectors such as zero –forcing (ZF) or mean square error (MMSE) and Dirty paper Coding(DPC).
Use of size-based production and stable isotope analyses to predict trophic transfer efficiencies and predator-prey body mass ratios in food webs

Methods of assessing the structure and function of food webs are needed to provide a basis for assessing large-scale direct (e.g. fisheries) and indirect (e.g. climate change) effects of human activities on marine ecosystems. We present a simple synthesis of the complex structure and function of a real marine food web, based on analyses of body size distributions, production-body size relationships and trophic level-body size relationships. We show how size-based estimates of production, species richness and trophic level (from nitrogen stable isotope analysis) can be used to quantify trophic transfer efficiency, mean predator-prey body-mass ratios and the mean ratio of the number of predator to prey species in marine food webs. We applied these methods to the central North Sea, and estimated transfer efficiencies of 3.7 to 12.4%, a mean predator-prey body-mass ratio of 109:1 and a mean ratio of the number of predator to prey species of 0.34. We conducted sensitivity analyses to show how differences in the fractionation of d15N and changes in the slope of the relationship between production and d15N affected our predictions. Our estimates of transfer efficiency and mean predator-prey body-mass ratios are similar to those obtained by costly and labour-intensive diet- and ecosystem-modelling studies. Coupled analyses of size and trophic structure may provide a method for validating ecosystem models and assessing human impacts on marine ecosystems.
Time and cell‐dependent effects of endocytosis inhibitors on the internalization of biomolecule markers and nanomaterials

Endocytosis is an essential function of cells, with key roles in the internalisation of nutrients, signal molecules and also drugs. Endocytic processes are therefore widely investigated in the context of drug delivery, and inhibitors of endocytic pathways have been used to provide information regarding uptake mechanisms of drug carrier materials. Here we describe studies in which two established inhibitors of clathrin dependent and independent endocytosis, chlorpromazine and methyl‐β‐cyclodextrin respectively, were employed to probe endocytic pathways of three cell lines chosen to represent tumour‐relevant or associated phenotypes: 3 T3 (fibroblasts), HCT 116 (colon cancer) and MGLVA‐1 (gastric cancer). For clathrin mediated endocytosis the data highlight that chlorpromazine inhibition of transferrin internalization, via clathrin dependent endocytosis, is cell and time dependent. We also show that inhibition of uptake is transient with a resumption of transferrin internalization after a maximal inhibition period. The same endocytosis inhibitors were used to probe the internalization of 50 and 100 nm carboxylated polystyrene nanoparticles (C‐PS‐NPs) as model drug delivery carriers. Flow cytometry data indicated that internalisation of C‐PS‐NPs varied considerably with the incubation time of cells with chlorpromazine or methyl‐β‐cyclodextrin, and that the effects were also markedly cell‐line dependent. These data highlight that the effects of endocytosis inhibitors on the internalisation pathways even of relatively simple nanoparticles are complex and interdependent. We suggest that mechanistic investigations of the endocytic processes which govern practical applications of nanoparticles for diagnostic and therapeutic applications should be considered on a cell, time and concentration basis.
Statistical entropy of Schwarzschild black strings and black holes

The statistical entropy of a Schwarzschild black string in five dimensions is obtained by counting the black string states which form a representation of the near-horizon conformal symmetry with a central charge. The statistical entropy of the string agrees with its Bekenstein-Hawking entropy as well as that of the Schwarzschild black hole in four dimensions. The string length which gives the Virasoro algebra also reproduces the precise value of the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy and lies inside the stability bound of the string.
Tracing carbon assimilation in endosymbiotic deep-sea hydrothermal vent Mytilid fatty acids by 13 C-fingerprinting

Abstract. Bathymodiolus azoricus mussels thrive at Mid-Atlantic Ridge hydrothermal vents, where part of their energy requirements are met via an endosymbiotic association with chemolithotrophic and methanotrophic bacteria. In an effort to describe phenotypic characteristics of the two bacterial endosymbionts and to assess their ability to assimilate CO2, CH4 and multi-carbon compounds, we performed experiments in aquaria using 13C-labeled NaHCO3 (in the presence of H2S), CH4 or amino-acids and traced the incorporation of 13C into total and phospholipid fatty acids (tFA and PLFA, respectively). 14:0; 15:0; 16:0; 16:1(n − 7)c+t; 18:1(n − 13)c+t and (n − 7)c+t; 20:1(n − 7); 20:2(n − 9,15); 18:3(n − 7) and (n − 5,10,13) PLFA were labeled in the presence of H13CO3− (+H2S) and 13CH4, while the 12:0 compound became labeled only in the presence of H13CO3− (+H2S). In contrast, the 17:0; 18:0; 16:1(n − 9); 16:1(n − 8) and (n − 6); 18:1(n − 8); and 18:2(n − 7) PLFA were only labeled in the presence of 13CH4. Some of these symbiont-specific fatty acids also appeared to be labeled in mussel gill tFA when incubated with 13C-enriched amino acids, and so were mussel-specific fatty acids such as 22:2(n − 7,15). Our results provide experimental evidence for the potential of specific fatty acid markers to distinguish between the two endosymbiotic bacteria, shedding new light on C1 and multi-carbon compound metabolic pathways in B. azoricus and its symbionts.
Electrospinning for Drug Delivery Systems: Drug Incorporation Techniques

Electrospinning is a very versatile techniqueused for many purposes, such as tissue engineering, textiles, air and water treatment filter, solar cells, and drug delivery systems, among others. This method is cheap, easy to handle, reproducible when ambient parameters are controlled, and can be used for many formulations. The objective of this review is to enlist and emphasize the advantages and disadvantages of different methods for incorporating therapeutic drugs in a drug delivery system with electrospinning. The importance of the research to create new and innovative drug carriers is high, because of their efficiency of transporting the bioactive agent to the target zone, avoiding secondary effects in the body. Nanofibers and nanoparticles have become an important strategy in pharmacology due to their physicochemical and biocompatible properties useful for this purpose. Among the techniques compared are blending coaxial, emulsion and surface modification electrospinning, followed by electrospray and coaxial electrospray. The present review concludes that every technique has advantages and disadvantages and, not all drugs can be loaded with any method, the strategy used will depend on the drug’s physicochemical properties, target zone, polymeric characteristics, and required drug release rate. This chapter will serve as a starting point for when to choose one of the drug incorporation techniques mentioned.
Business Model Innovation and Firm Performance: The Role of Mediation and Moderation Factors

Business model (BM) innovation is vital for today’s businesses. However, BM innovations can be irreversible, and therefore, in comparison to product, service or process innovation, entail bigger risk and ambiguity. Understanding the way in which BM innovation exerts influences over firm’s performance would help business-owners to be more effective. Based on a systematic literature review, a model to examine how BMI impacts firm performance through mediating and moderating factors was developed. Based on in-depth analysis of 37 articles, we identified twenty moderating factors classified in four groups, i.e., Firm-Characteristics, Industry-Characteristics, BM Implementation, and BM Practices, and ten mediating factors, categorized in three sub-groups, i.e., Revenue Growth, Efficiency Growth, and Enhancing the Organizational Capabilities. This paper offers the grounding for empirical research as well contribute to the development of tools to assess the effectiveness of the BMI.
Robust quantum coherence above the Fermi sea

In this paper we present an experiment where we measured the quantum coherence of a quasiparticle injected at a well-defined energy above the Fermi sea into the edge states of the integer quantum Hall regime. Electrons are introduced in an electronic Mach-Zehnder interferometer after passing through a quantum dot that plays the role of an energy filter. Measurements show that above a threshold injection energy, the visibility of the quantum interferences is almost independent of the energy. This is true even for high energies, up to 130 μeV, well above the thermal energy of the measured sample. This result is in contradiction with our theoretical predictions, which instead predict a continuous decrease of the interference visibility with increasing energy.
Abstract—this Paper Presents a Method for the Detection of Od

in the retina which takes advantage of the powerful preprocessing techniques such as the contrast enhancement, Gabor wavelet transform for vessel segmentation, mathematical morphology and Earth Mover's distance (EMD) as the matching process. The OD detection algorithm is based on matching the expected directional pattern of the retinal blood vessels. Vessel segmentation method produces segmentations by classifying each image pixel as vessel or nonvessel, based on the pixel's feature vector. Feature vectors are composed of the pixel's intensity and 2D Gabor wavelet transform responses taken at multiple scales. A simple matched filter is proposed to roughly match the direction of the vessels at the OD vicinity using the EMD. The minimum distance provides an estimate of the OD center coordinates. The method's performance is evaluated on publicly available DRIVE and STARE databases. On the DRIVE database the OD center was detected correctly in all of the 40 images (100%) and on the STARE database the OD was detected correctly in 76 out of the 81 images, even in rather difficult pathological situations.
Contributions to the knowledge of the genus Microcerberus Karaman { Crustacea Isopoda ) with a description of a new species from the central Californian coast

In connection with an invitation from the Kaiser Foundation Research Institute, Oakland, I was given the opportunity to carry out some studies on the microfauna at the Pacific Marine Station, Dillon Beach, and at Hopkins Marin Station, Pacific Grove. The present paper is one of the results of these studies. To the Kaiser Foundation Research Institute I wish to express my sincere gratitude for travelling expenses and to Statens Naturvetenskapliga Forskningsrad, Stockholm, for financial grants. I am also greatly indebted to my fellow-traveller and colleague Dr. Tor G. Karling, of Stockholm, to the director of the Pacific Marine Station, Dr. Joel Hedgpeth, and to Dr. Donald P. Abbott, of the Hopkins Marine Station.
Endoscopic PIV and holography applied to the study of opaque vessels mechanics

In this work endoscopy and traditional fluid and solid mechanics measurement techniques have been combined for the study of opaque vessels characteristics. Techniques such as high speed PIV, for the flow velocity measurement, and digital holography, for the simultaneous velocity and wall deformation measurement, have been adapted to be used with endoscopes. Those have been used for illumination and/or recording of PIV images and digital holograms. The performance of three endoscopes in different vein models has been tested. Preliminary results of flow velocity and wall deformation are presented.