Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Can natural language be utilized in the learning of programming fundamentals?

The complexity and importance of learning programming fundamentals (i.e., sequences of sentences that express actions, conditions, and repetitions in computing) for undergraduate students has motivated the development of an intense educational research area. One frequently studied problem is the difficulty in the learning of traditional context-free grammars which are present, for example, in programming languages such as Pascal and C. This study experimentally investigates the use of natural language in the learning of programming fundamentals by two groups of undergraduate students without prior knowledge of programming and compares its use with that of a traditional grammar language. Results suggest that the use of natural language is a good alternative, despite the small differences, to the use of traditional programming languages defined by context-free grammars. This alternative is attractive and promising because the student does not need to learn a formal grammar to learn the fundamentals of programming.
Post‐stroke depression, executive dysfunction and functional outcome

The early diagnosis of vascular cognitive impairment has been challenged and executive control function has been suggested to be a rational basis for the diagnosis of vascular dementia. We sought to examine the correlates of executive dysfunction in a well‐defined stroke cohort. A group of 256 patients from a consecutive cohort of 486 patients with ischaemic stroke, aged 55–85 years, was subjected to a comprehensive neuropsychological examination 3–4 months after ischaemic stroke and 188 of them in addition to detailed psychiatric examination. Basic and complex activities of daily living (ADLs) (bADLs and cADLs) post‐stroke were assessed. The DSM‐III‐R criteria were used for the diagnosis of the depressive disorders. Altogether 40.6% (n=104) of the patients had executive dysfunction. The patients with executive dysfunction were older, had lower level of education, were more often dependent, did worse in bADLs and cADLs, had more often DSM‐III dementia, had worse cognition as measured by Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and were more depressed as measured by the BECK depression scale, but not with the more detailed psychiatric evaluation. They had more often stroke in the anterior circulation and less often in the posterior circulation. The independent correlates of executive dysfunction were cADLs (OR 1.1, 95% CI 1.03–1.16), each point of worsening in cognition by MMSE (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.42–1.97) and stroke in the posterior circulation area (OR 0.4, 95% CI 0.18–0.84). Clinically significant executive dysfunction is frequent after ischaemic stroke and is closely connected with cADLs and to overall cognitive status but could be distinguished from depression by detailed neuropsychological examination. Executive measures may detect patients at risk of dementia and disability post‐stroke.
At PEX2 and At PEX10 Are Targeted to Peroxisomes Independently of Known Endoplasmic Reticulum Trafﬁcking Routes 1[w]

Controversy exists in the literature over the involvement of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in the delivery of membrane proteins to peroxisomes. In this study, the involvement of the ER in the trafﬁcking of two Arabidopsis ( Arabidopsis thaliana ) peroxisomal membrane proteins was investigated using confocal laser scanning microscopy of living cells expressing fusions between enhanced yellow ﬂuorescent protein (eYFP) and At PEX2 and At PEX10. The fusion proteins were always detected in peroxisomes and cytosol irrespective of the location of the eYFP tag or the level of expression. The cytosolic ﬂuorescence was not due to cleavage of the eYFP reporter from the C-terminal fusion proteins. Blocking known ER transport routes using the fungal metabolite Brefeldin A or expressing dominant negative mutants of Sar1 or RabD2a had no effect on the trafﬁcking of At PEX2 and At PEX10 to peroxisomes. We conclude that At PEX2 and At PEX10 are inserted into peroxisome membranes directly from the cytosol.
Enhanced field emssion properties of paste CNT emitters with nickel buffer layer

Stable field emitters were developed using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) composite pastes with nickel (Ni) buffer layer. The paste CNT emitters showed lower threshold for field emission but which have short lifetime and unstable emission current in high emission current. In this paper, we developed the simple process of inserting Ni buffer layer between the CNT emitters and substrate. The paste CNT emitters with Ni buffer layer showed enhanced field emission properties than bare one. The lifetime of paste CNT emitters with Ni buffer layer were 9 hours 40 min. It's 22 times longer than without buffer layered one.
Nanoemulsions as potential vehicles for transdermal and dermal delivery of hydrophobic compounds: an overview

Introduction: In recent years, nanoemulsions have been investigated as potential drug delivery vehicles for transdermal and dermal delivery of many compounds especially hydrophobic compounds in order to avoid clinical adverse effects associated with oral delivery of the same compounds. Droplet size and surface properties of nanoemulsions play an important role in the biological behavior of the formulation. Areas covered: In this review, current literature of transdermal and dermal delivery of hydrophobic compounds both in vitro as well as in vivo has been summarized and analyzed. Expert opinion: Nanoemulsions have been formulated using a variety of pharmaceutically acceptable excipients. In many cases of dermal and transdermal nanoemulsions, the skin irritation or skin toxicity issues on human beings have not been considered which needs to be evaluated properly. In the last decade, much attention has been made in exploring new types of nanoemulsion-based drug delivery system for dermal and transdermal delivery of many hydrophobic compounds. This area of research would be very advantageous for formulation scientists in order to develop some nanoemulsion-based formulations for their commercial exploitation and clinical applications.
Title : High-Precision Parallel Graphic Equalizer Year : 2014 Version : Post print

This paper proposes a high-precision graphic equalizer based on second-order parallel filters. Previous graphic equalizers suffer from interaction between adjacent band filters, especially at high gain values, which can lead to substantial errors in the magnitude response. The fixed-pole design of the proposed parallel graphic equalizer avoids this problem, since the parallel second-order filters are optimized jointly. When the number of pole frequencies is twice the number of command points of the graphic equalizer, the proposed non-iterative design matches the target curve with high precision. In the three example cases presented in this paper, the proposed parallel equalizer clearly outperforms other non-iterative graphic equalizer designs, and its maximum global error is as low as 0.00–0.75 dB when compared to the target curve. While the proposed design has superior accuracy, the number of operations in the filter structure is increased only by 23% when compared to the second-order Regalia-Mitra structure. The parallel structure also enables the utilization of parallel computing hardware, which can nowadays easily outperform the traditional serial processing. The proposed graphic equalizer can be widely used in audio signal processing applications.
On-line Junction Temperature Measurement of CoolMOS Devices

To operate power electronic devices at high ambient temperatures it has to be ensured that the maximum specified junction temperature is not exceeded at any time during operation. This paper presents a method to calculate the actual junction temperature by measuring voltage and current at a power MOSFET during operation of a converter. Based on this temperature, the actual transferred power of a converter can be controlled to ensure a safe operation within the specified temperature limits.
Point‐of‐use water treatment and diarrhoea reduction in the emergency context: an effectiveness trial in Liberia

Communicable diseases are of particular concern in conflict and disaster‐affected populations that reside in camp settings. In the acute emergency phase, diarrhoeal diseases have accounted for more than 40% of deaths among camp residents. Clear limitations exist in current water treatment technologies, and few products are capable of treating turbid water. We describe the findings of a 12‐week effectiveness study of point‐of‐use water treatment with a flocculant–disinfectant among 400 households in camps for displaced populations in Monrovia, Liberia. In intervention households, point‐of‐use water treatment with the flocculant–disinfectant plus improved storage reduced diarrhoea incidence by 90% and prevalence by 83%, when compared with control households with improved water storage alone. Among the intervention group, residual chlorine levels met or exceeded Sphere standards in 85% (95% CI: 83.1–86.8) of observations with a 95% compliance rate.
Removal of Broken Hardware

Abstract Despite advances in metallurgy, fatigue failure of hardware is common when a fracture fails to heal. Revision procedures can be difficult, usually requiring removal of intact or broken hardware. Several different methods may need to be attempted to successfully remove intact or broken hardware. Broken intramedullary nail cross‐locking screws may be advanced out by impacting with a Steinmann pin. Broken open‐section (Küntscher type) intramedullary nails may be removed using a hook. Closed‐section cannulated intramedullary nails require additional techniques, such as the use of guidewires or commercially available extraction tools. Removal of broken solid nails requires use of a commercial ratchet grip extractor or a bone window to directly impact the broken segment. Screw extractors, trephines, and extraction bolts are useful for removing stripped or broken screws. Cold‐welded screws and plates can complicate removal of locked implants and require the use of carbide drills or high‐speed metal cutting tools. Hardware removal can be a time‐consuming process, and no single technique is uniformly successful.
What Makes Dreams Positive or Negative: Relations to Fundamental Dimensions of Positive and Negative Mood

The present study examined the general emotional content of dreams reported by individuals who typically experience “positive” versus “negative” dreams. Self-reports of the 153 participants indicated that positive versus negative dreamers (ns = 42 and 24, respectively) generally experienced more positive emotions, e.g., joviality, self-assurance, and fewer negative emotions, e.g., fear, sadness. No differences were found in the self-reports of the participants in the experience of surprise, guilt, fatigue, and shyness between the groups, hence, positive and negative dreams do not appear to reflect simply more positive and fewer negative emotions, respectively.
Uptake and intracellular disposition of IgA by rat hepatocytes in monolayer culture

It is well documented that the liver provides an important source of secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) in the gut fluid. In the rat, liver parenchymal cells can actively sequester the dimeric form of IgA (dIgA) from plasma and transfer it attached to its receptor, secretory component (SC), via vesicles into the bile. In the present investigation, isolated rat hepatocytes in monolayer culture were studied using quantitative electron microscopic autoradiography to determine if the previous reported specific binding of dIgA by isolated cells would result in internalization of the ligand and, if so, whether its distribution within the cultured hepatocytes would be similar to that found in vivo. The specificity of the process for receptor (SC) availability was evaluated utilizing sIgA and by blocking the receptor with rabbit IgG anti‐rat SC antibody. For these studies, purified dIgA and sIgA were iodinated with [125I] and added to fresh culture medium 24 hr following the isolation of the hepatocytes. After 3, 30, and 60 min of incubation with the isotope, the cells were washed, fixed, and processed for light and electron microscopic autoradiography. Binding of dlgA to the cells occurred by 3 min, and the number of autoradiographic grains per unit membrane length remained constant throughout the 60‐min time period. With time, there was a progressive increase in the per cent of internalized grains. As in the previous in vivo studies, the majority of these internalized grains were localized to vesicles and smooth surface endoplasmic reticulum. There was no evidence of binding or uptake of sIgA at any time period and pretreatment with anti‐SC reduced binding and internalization of dIgA to 16% of the control value.
Immunological paralysis of mice with pneumococcal polysaccharide antigens.

INTRODUCTION . 267 BACKGROUND. 267 WAYS OF INDUCING AND DETECTING PARALYSIS. 268 Antigenic Types . 268 Route of Injection. 268 Number of Doses; "Low Zone" Paralysis. 269 Detection Methods . 269 Animal Species . 270 The Mouse: Age, Strain, Past History . 270 Paralysis In Vitro . 271 HUMORAL AND CELLULAR IMMUNOLOGY OF PNEUMOCOCCAL POLYSACCHARIDES. 271 Early Responses to SSS. 271 Role of Macrophages. 272 Histological Changes and Sites of Antibody Formation. 273 Action of Antilymphocytic Serum. 273 Heterogeneity of Anti-pneumococcal Antibodies. 274 Anamnesis and Secondary Responses. 275 Persistence of SSS and Circulating Antibodies. 276 Other Antigens with Similar Behavior. 278 MECHANISM OF PARALYSIS. 278 Antibody Production by Paralyzed Mice. 278 Passive Transfer of Antibody. 279 Adoptive Transfer of Immunity and Paralysis. 281 Duration and Termination of Paralysis. 282 Antibodies from Single Cells During Paralysis. 283 Applications. 284 CONCLUSIONS. 285 Terminology. 285 LITERATURE CITED. 286
Manner and Meaning of Susceptibility Testing of Ampicillin-Resistant Haemophilus influenzae

We examined ampicillin-resistant strains of Haemophilus influenzae to compare the percentage of resistant organisms in each strain with the susceptibility to ampicillin by an agar dilution method. Using an inoculum of 104 colony-forming units, the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) increased with the percentage of resistant organisms in the strain. Laboratory-manipulated strains composed of different proportions of a susceptible and a resistant strain behaved similarly. The survival of isolated colony-forming units (colony MIC) was then determined by spreading inocula over the surface of a set of MIC plates, resulting in separation of individual colonies. This modification of the susceptibility test to the colony level gave end points that were clear and reproducible and that did not vary with changes in incubation time or temperature. True differences in susceptibility among strains were demonstrated by this method, whereas results of the conventional MIC test may reflect only the number of resistant organisms present in the inoculum.
Family adversity, positive peer relationships, and children's externalizing behavior: a longitudinal perspective on risk and resilience.

Peer acceptance and friendships were examined as moderators in the link between family adversity and child externalizing behavioral problems. Data on family adversity (i.e., ecological disadvantage, violent marital conflict, and harsh discipline) and child temperament and social information processing were collected during home visits from 585 families with 5-year-old children. Children's peer acceptance, friendship, and friends' aggressiveness were assessed with sociometric methods in kindergarten and grade 1. Teachers provided ratings of children's externalizing behavior problems in grade 2. Peer acceptance served as a moderator for all three measures of family adversity, and friendship served as a moderator for harsh discipline. Examination of regression slopes indicated that family adversity was not significantly associated with child externalizing behavior at high levels of positive peer relationships. These moderating effects generally were not qualified by child gender, ethnicity, or friends' aggressiveness, nor were they accounted for by child temperament or social information-processing patterns. The need for process-oriented studies of risk and protective factors is stressed.
Designing a flexible tool for rapid implementation of brain-computer interfaces (BCI) in game development

Early neurological injury or disease can lead to severe life-long physical impairments, despite normal cognitive function. For such individuals, brain-computer interfaces (BCI) may provide a means to regain access to the world by offering control of systems through directly processing brain patterns. However, current BCI applications are often research driven and consequently seen as uninteresting, particularly for prolonged use and younger BCI-users. To help mitigate this concern, this paper establishes a tool for researchers and game developers alike to rapidly incorporate a BCI control scheme (the P300 oddball response) into a gaming environment. Preliminary results indicate the proposed P300 Dynamic Cube (PDC) asset works in online BCI environments (n=20, healthy adult participants), resulting in median classification accuracy of 75 ± 3.28%. Additionally, the PDC tool can be rapidly adapted for a variety of game designs, evidenced by its incorporation into submissions to the Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) Game Jam 2019 competition. These findings support the PDC as a useful asset in the design and development of BCI-based games.
FBXO4 loss facilitates carcinogen induced papilloma development in mice

Cyclin D1 is frequently overexpressed in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and is considered a key driver of this disease. Mutations in FBXO4, F-box specificity factor that directs SCF-mediated ubiquitylation of cyclin D1, occur in ESCC with concurrent overexpression of cyclin D1 suggesting a potential tumor suppressor role for FBXO4. To evaluate the contribution of FBXO4-dependent regulation cyclin D1 in esophageal squamous cell homeostasis, we exposed FBXO4 knockout mice to N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine (NMBA), an esophageal carcinogen. Our results revealed that loss of FBXO4 function facilitates NMBA induced papillomas in FBXO4 het (+/−) and null (−/−) mice both by numbers and sizes 11 months after single dose NMBA treatment at 2mg/kg by gavage when compared to that in wt (+/+) mice (P < 0.01). No significant difference was noted between heterozygous or nullizygous mice consistent with previous work. To assess cyclin D1/CDK4 dependence, mice were treated with the CDK4/6 specific inhibitor, PD0332991, for 4 weeks. PD0332991 treatment (150mg/kg daily), reduced tumor size and tumor number. Collectively, our data support a role for FBXO4 as a suppressor of esophageal tumorigenesis.
Hopfield neural networks for edge detection

In this paper, new parameters of Hopfield Neural Network (HNN) for edge detection of image are proposed. In conventional methods, two kinds of edge parameters, which detect horizontal and vertical direction edges, are introduced. In the proposed method, other four kinds of edge parameters are introduced for more accurate edge detection.
A Distributed Approach of a Threshold Certificate-Based Encryption Scheme with No Trusted Entities

ABSTRACT The distributed paradigm as manifested in distributed networks, calls for a different way from the traditional client-server model for providing Trusted third party (TTP) services to strengthen security. Certificate Authorities (CAs) are among the most common such TTP. Generating certified keys and manage certification information (the basic functionality of a CA) in a fully distributed manner is a key challenge in the distributed IT environment. Current approaches are based on the use of trusted entities within the distributed system that constitute single points of failure and follow complex certificate management and revocation mechanisms capable of hindering their adoption in a large scale. The hardware resources cost of each distributed system member committed to realizing and maintaining such certificate authority system can be high. Furthermore, distributed CA approaches lack flexibility when it come to dynamic member behavior such as dynamic member joining or leaving the system, since they employ complex, computational intensive mechanisms for retaining the CA consistency during such activity. In this paper, we propose the combination of a distributed key generation threshold cryptography scheme along with an efficient secure certificate-based encryption scheme to provide a solution that matches the above problems. The outcome of this proposal is a distributed Threshold Certificate-Based Encryption Scheme that has no need for any centralized trusted entity to create, and split secrets or distribute keys-certificates at any point during its operating cycle. The proposed scheme has few requirements concerning certificate management due to its inherited Certificate-based Encryption features which enables the scheme's participants to use their certificates as keys and has an easy participant addition-removal mechanism to support dynamic network environments. Extending the work done in (Fournaris, 2012), in this paper the proposed distributed Certificate Authority and encryption/decryption scheme is described and analyzed, participant addition and removal mechanisms as detailed and the scheme's security and performance is discussed. Performance characterization reveals that our scheme is very efficient in terms of computational intensive and resource constraining operations like Elliptic Curve point multiplication and bi-linear pairing.
Technology-In-Practice and its Influence on User Involvement in OSS 2.0 Projects

There is evidence of a lack of non-developer user involvement and usability problems with free and open source software. Open source software (OSS) 2.0 communities where developers are not necessarily the users of the software often have greater commercial and non-profit institutional involvement in the project. As such these types of projects have a greater need to engage non-developer users and are likely to employ more rigorous project software development practices. The study of OSS 2.0 communities provides an opportunity to expand on our understanding of the structures that support involving non-developer users in distributed participatory design. Utilizing the structurational perspective of technology as the main theoretical foundation, this poster presents initial results from a pilot study of one OSS 2.0 community discussing virtual mediation practices and their effect on users’ involvement with regard to knowledge transfer and influence over design outcomes.
Breast reconstructive surgery in medically underserved women with breast cancer

Breast reconstructive surgery can improve mastectomy patients' emotional relationships and social functioning, but it may be underutilized in low‐income, medically underserved women. This study assessed the impact of patient‐physician communication on rates of breast reconstructive surgery in low‐income breast cancer (BC) women receiving mastectomy.
Gain and impedance matching improvement of Sierpinski carpet patch antenna using dual band EBG structure

This paper presents a dual band Sierpinski carpet patch antenna with improved performance at frequency bands of 2.7 and 7GHz. The improvement has been achieved using a dual band EBG structure. The whole antenna structured has been modeled and simulated in HFSS software environment demonstrating notable enhancements not only in antenna radiation patterns at both frequency bands, but also in antenna reflection coefficient response. Simulation results show 10.9dB reduction in back radiation at the design frequency of 2.7 GHz while there is 2.7dB and 8.6dB improvement in both back and front radiation pattern respectively at design frequency of 7GHz.