Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Regime change and development in China and Japan from the early 1970s to the late 1990s : an integrated analysis

The underlying theme of this dissertation is to focus on analysing complex and incremental change by applying the concept of regime change. Only when we undertake an analysis, which focuses on changes within a specific political-economic setting, will we be able to assess the extent and dynamic of political-economic change that occurred over a specific period of time. Regime as applied in this dissertation refers to a middle level of cohesion in the political economy of a nation state. It therefore differs from its common usage in linking a regime to a specific government or the state; as such this thesis also contributes towards generating additional awareness in distinguishing between the state, the government and a regime. It is further argued that the concept of regime change is both specific and flexible enough to cover a diverse range of case studies. To test the application of the theoretical framework two distinctive case studies, China and Japan, were selected. The concept or regime change also informs our understanding of the complexity and particularity of specific cases and the processes of complex change they experienced, like in the cases of China and Japan.
Four ESOL Graduate Students’ Hybrid Learning Through a Reflective Project: A Qualitative Case Study

: This is a qualitative case study to investigate English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) graduate students’ learning experiences when completing a reflective project. Four graduate students in the United States participated in this study and completed the project to share their linguistic and cultural stories in a traditional paper-based essay format and in a multimedia format. The data consisted of a reflection paper, digital storytelling (DST), a project report, an oral presentation, and an interview, which were analysed through content analysis. The findings included participants’ learning of (a) language and culture, (b) language teaching, (c) language teachers’ responsibilities, and (d) technology. These showed that ESOL graduate students’ dialogues with preceding, current, and future utterances indicated their hybrid learning experiences through traditional and technology-mediated reflective tasks. The author discussed the influences of dialogues within their hybrid learning. In addition, pedagogical implications of a combined project between a reflection paper and DST and the instructional elements of DST that teachers need to consider were suggested.
Characterization of Pre-Breeding Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Germplasm for Stripe Rust Resistance Using Field Phenotyping and Genotyping

Wheat is highly affected by stripe rust disease, particularly under cooler environments, and the losses can reach up to 100 percent depending on the intensity of infection and the susceptibility of the genotype. The most effective method to manage this disease is the use of resistant varieties. In the present study, 192 wheat genotypes were evaluated for stripe rust resistance under field conditions and also in a laboratory using molecular markers. These lines included pre-breeding germplasm developed for rust resistance and some high-yielding commercially grown wheat varieties. Out of 192 genotypes, 53 were found to be resistant, and 29 showed moderate resistance reaction under field conditions, whereas the remaining genotypes were all either moderately susceptible or susceptible. Under controlled conditions, out of 109 genotypes, only 12 were found to be resistant to all the six virulent/pathogenic pathotypes. Additionally, a selection of 97 genotypes were found resistant in field screening and were subjected to molecular validation using the markers linked to major R-genes, viz., Yr5, Yr10, Yr15 and Yr17. Nine genotypes possessed the Yr5 gene, twelve had the Yr10 gene, fourteen had the Yr15 gene and thirty-two had the Yr17 gene. The resistance genes studied in the current study are effective in conferring resistance against stripe rust disease. The genotypes identified as resistant under both field and controlled conditions can be used as sources in stripe rust resistance breeding programs.
Cloud model-based simulations of satellite microwave data and their application to an SSM/I rain algorithm

Satellite microwave observations of convective rain systems are simulated using a three-dimensional cloud model and a microwave radiative-transfer model. The simulated data sets are then used as a basis to derive rain estimation algorithms which are tested on actual satellite data. A tropical simulation is discussed, and the algorithms are applied to SSM/I data.
Mobile health applications designed for self-management of chronic pulmonary diseases in children and adolescents: a systematic mapping review

ABSTRACT Objective: Mobile health (mHealth) applications are scarce for children and adolescents with chronic pulmonary diseases (CPDs). This study aimed to map and describe the contents of the mHealth apps available for use in children and adolescents with CPDs. Methods: We performed a systematic mapping review of published scientific literature in PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Library by February of 2023, using relevant keywords. Inclusion criteria were as follows: children aged < 18 years with CPDs; and studies published in English on mHealth apps. Results: A total number of 353 studies were found, 9 of which met the inclusion criteria. These studies described seven mHealth apps for Android and iOS, designed either for asthma (n = 5) or for cystic fibrosis (n = 2). Five content areas were identified: education/information; pharmacological treatment; emergency; support; and non-pharmacological treatment. The studies (4, 2, and 3, respectively) showed consistent findings using qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methodologies. Conclusions: This mapping review provided a guided selection of the most appropriate mHealth apps for use in children and adolescents with CPDs based on the needs of each target population. However, these mHealth apps have limited capabilities to reinforce disease self-management and provide information related to treatment compliance.
Morchella esculenta cultivation in fallow paddy fields and drylands affects the diversity of soil bacteria and soil chemical properties

The properties of paddy field (DT) and dry land (HD) soil and food production can be enhanced by the cultivation of Morchella esculenta (ME) during the fallow period. However, whether ME cultivation affects the soil health and microbial diversity of paddy fields and drylands during the cultivation period remains unclear, and this has greatly limited the wider use of this cultivation model. Here, we analyzed the soil chemical properties and bacterial diversity (via metabarcoding sequencing) of DT and HD soils following ME cultivation. Our findings indicated that ME cultivation could enhance soil health. The content of soil phosphorus and potassium (K) was increased in DT soil under ME cultivation, and the K content was significantly higher in HD soil than in DT soil under ME cultivation. ME cultivation had a weak effect on alpha diversity, and ME cultivation affected the abundance of some genera of soil bacteria. The cultivation of ME might reduce the methane production capacity of DT soil and enhance the nitrogen cycling process of HD soil based on the results of functional annotation analysis. Network analysis and correlation analysis showed that Gemmatimonas, Bryobacter, and Anaeromyxobacter were the key bacterial genera regulating soil chemical properties in DT soil under ME cultivation, and Bryobacter, Bacillus, Streptomyces, and Paenarthrobacter were the key taxa associated with the accumulation of K in HD soil. The results of our study will aid future efforts to further improve this cultivation model.
Explorer A Semi-supervised Learning Approach for Robust Indoor-outdoor Detection with Smartphones

The environmental context of a mobile device determines how it is used and how the device can optimize operations for greater efficiency and usability. We consider the problem of detecting if a device is indoor or outdoor. Towards this end, we present a general method employing semi-supervised machine learning and using only the lightweight sensors on a smartphone. We find that a particular semi-supervised learning method called co-training, when suitably engineered, is most effective. It is able to automatically learn characteristics of new environments and devices, and thereby provides a detection accuracy exceeding 90% even in unfamiliar circumstances. It can learn and adapt online, in real time, at modest computational costs. Thus the method is suitable for on-device learning. Implementation of the indoor-outdoor detection service based on our method is lightweight in energy use – it can sleep when not in use and does not need to track the device state continuously. It is shown to outperform existing indoor-outdoor detection techniques that rely on static algorithms or GPS, in terms of both accuracy and energy-efficiency.
Formalizing BPE Tokenization

In this paper, we formalize practical byte pair encoding tokenization as it is used in large language models and other NLP systems, in particular we formally define and investigate the semantics of the SentencePiece and HuggingFace tokenizers, in particular how they relate to each other, depending on how the tokenization rules are constructed. Beyond this we consider how tokenization can be performed in an incremental fashion, as well as doing it left-to-right using an amount of memory constant in the length of the string, enabling e.g. using a finite state string-to-string transducer.
A Fish Rheotaxis Mechanism as a Zero-Order Optimization Strategy

Animal navigation has been an invaluable source of inspiration for designing different engineering solutions ranging from optimization strategies to control solutions for complex systems. Recent results indicate that zebrafish larvae could exploit local inhomogeneities from the background flow to orient and navigate against a flowing current, a behavior known as rheotaxis. It has been hypothesized that rheotaxis can be explained through a simple yet effective mechanism consisting of the computation of a line integral around the fish body. However, the exact nature of the information generated by these computations has yet to be established. Motivated by these observations, we studied how zebrafish larvae can estimate gradients of continuous scalar functions using local information only. Interestingly, we found that line integrals, representing flow measurements around the fish body, can provide accurate gradient estimates. This result establishes a connection between the rheotaxis mechanism based on line integrals and optimization methods relying on zero-order information (local measurements). We then formulated a zero-order optimization strategy and studied its convergence for planar objective functions. By applying the descent lemma and leveraging the L-smoothness property of the objective function, we derived necessary conditions ensuring the strategy’s convergence to a stationary point. The effectiveness of the zero-order approach was illustrated via numerical examples and the application to target localization problems in mobile robots.
Les organisations rurales au Maghreb. Leur rôle dans le développement : un essai d’évaluation

Des reformes institutionnelles ont autorise la liberte d’association dans les pays du Maghreb. L’emergence et/ou l’essor d’un reseau ramifie d’organisations offertes par ces nouvelles politiques de developpement rural ont multiplie les possibilites d’action autonome des acteurs sociaux dans la vie locale. Toutefois ce processus de developpement des organisations agricoles et rurales est contrarie par des contradictions qui exigent a l’avenir la mise en œuvre concrete de strategies et de politiques publiques fortes, reformant a la fois les modes de repartition des richesses creees et la redistribution des pouvoirs. Les nouveaux modes de gouvernance locale rurale doivent en particulier contribuer a approfondir les formes de decentralisation et les principes de democratie locale qui l’accompagnent.
Nanomaterial-Based Drug Delivery Systems for Pain Treatment and Relief: From the Delivery of a Single Drug to Co-Delivery of Multiple Therapeutics

The use of nanomaterials in drug delivery systems for pain treatment is becoming increasingly common. This review aims to summarize how nanomaterial-based drug delivery systems can be used to effectively treat and relieve pain, whether via the delivery of a single drug or a combination of multiple therapeutics. By utilizing nanoformulations, the solubility of analgesics can be increased. Meanwhile, controlled drug release and targeted delivery can be realized. These not only improve the pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of analgesics but also lead to improved pain relief effects with fewer side effects. Additionally, combination therapy is frequently applied to anesthesia and analgesia. The co-encapsulation of multiple therapeutics into a single nanoformulation for drug co-delivery has garnered significant interest. Numerous approaches using nanoformulation-based combination therapy have been developed and evaluated for pain management. These methods offer prolonged analgesic effects and reduced administration frequency by harnessing the synergy and co-action of multiple targets. However, it is important to note that these nanomaterial-based pain treatment methods are still in the exploratory stage and require further research to be effectively translated into clinical practice.
Factors Influencing Clients’ Satisfaction of Agent Banking: An Empirical Exploration

Purpose: The prime intention of this study is to explore client satisfaction with branchless agent banking services during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The roles of service quality, security, transaction cost, trust, and convenience have been explored to assess the client satisfaction of agent banking in Bangladesh. Theoretical framework: The research model used in this study is based on the theory of Oliver (1980). In the model, dependent variable (client satisfaction) is measured through the service quality, security, transaction cost, trust, and convenience. Oliver (1980) claims that the customer satisfaction model explains why feelings of satisfaction occur when customers assess how well actual products or services perform in comparison to their expectations. Design/Methodology/Approach: The self-administered questionnaire was deployed for primary data collection purposes. A partial least square-structural equation model (PLS-SEM) analysis was performed on the 286 useable questionnaires that were returned from a total of 300 questionnaires in order to validate the model and assess the validity of the hypothesis. Findings: The study's conclusions showed that factors including service quality, security, trust, and convenience have a big impact on how satisfied customers are. Transaction costs don't, however, significantly affect how satisfied customers are. Research, Practical & Social implications: This study's findings will close the existing empirical gap by educating academics about the relationship between consumer happiness, service quality, security, transaction cost, trust, and convenience in the agent banking sector. Furthermore, it aids in their comprehension of theoretical and practical issues. Certainly, this research will serve as the basis for future research in Bangladesh in this field. The results of this investigation will have a wide range of significant ramifications for the sector. Originality/Value: Agent banking is not a novel concept in Bangladesh, but to the best of our knowledge, there is no literature available that uses PLS-SEM to assess rural consumers' satisfaction. This essay is a wise attempt to close that gap. The research offers some useful practical implications for agent banks to identify appropriate ways to satisfy their consumers, despite some constraints.
Customer mistreatment and employees’ extra-role performance: A goal failure perspective

Although customer mistreatment has harmful consequences for employees and the organization, the boundary conditions of customer mistreatment have been largely neglected. This study conceptualizes Customer Mistreatment (CM) as a signaling failure regarding employees’ pursuit of tasks and social goals at work and aims to examine the impact of CM on employees’ extra-role performance through the mediating role of rumination. In addition, the moderating role of Hostile Attribution Bias (HAB) in the link between CM - rumination was also investigated. The Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was used for data analysis, including measurement and structural assessment. Based on the data collected from 200 frontline staff working at Tan Son Nhat international airport, the findings revealed that CM indirectly affects employees’ extra-role performance via rumination. Besides, although HAB did not moderate the thee CM - rumination relationship, it did impact employees’ rumination. Limitations, recommendation for future research, and implications are discussed.
Broadband Achromatic Metalenses With High Focusing Efficiency Based on Inverse Design

In this letter, we propose a broadband achromatic metalens that exhibits high focusing efficiency within the wavelength range of 1270–2070 nm and is insensitive to polarization. Within the operating wavelength range, the metalens displays a focal length shift of only <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\pm 0.5~\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and exhibits excellent achromatic properties. The average focusing efficiency of the metalens is 56%, with a maximum focusing efficiency of 70.7%. Compare with no metalens, the metalens can enhance the transmissivity of incident light by approximately 10%. And the average full width at half maximum (FWHM) of this structure is <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.5526~\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. In the design process, we propose a new algorithm. The concept behind this method has significant implications for other inverse design algorithms.
Insights into how regional tourism operators view their markets

Many researchers have considered segmentation in the tourism context and these efforts have enabled us to understand the bases that tourism destinations can use to segment markets and the bases that are more accurate predictors of future tourist behaviour. To date, all studies have used tourist data to profile the tourists travelling to a destination and most studies have used quantitative data. Addressing a key gap in the literature, this research sought to understand how tourist operators actually segment their market. Twelve tourism operators (activity operators, accommodation providers, destination marketing organisations and other stakeholders) were interviewed in one regional Australian tourism destination. Results indicated that different segmentation bases were used by different tourism operators. Activities sought, location, age, and trip purpose were the variables most frequently used by tourism operators to describe tourists. A tourist operator view is important because tourist operators can describe the tourists that are currently using their services. Given that different tourist operators attract different tourists, insights from these tourism operators can be compared with tourist data, thus enabling researchers to determine if they are adequately describing the tourists travelling to a destination.
Hydrodynamics of Supersonic Steam Jets Injected into Cross-Flowing Water

High-speed gas/vapour jets injected into a cross-moving sonic liquid signifies a vital phenomenon which bears useful applications in environmental and energy processes. In the present experimental study, a pulsating jet of supersonic steam was injected into cross-flowing water. Circulation zones of opposite vorticity owing to the interaction between the steam jet and cross-water flow were found. However, a large circulation appeared in front of the nozzle exit. Also, most small circulation regions were observed at higher water-flow rates (>2 m3/s). Among the prime mixing variables (i.e., turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) and Reynolds shear stress (RSS)), the RSS estimations backed a small diffusive phenomenon within a region far from the nozzle exit. Further information extracted from the PIV images indicated the existence of Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instabilities. The counter-rotating vortex pairs (CVPs) appeared to be significant in the region close to the nozzle exit, and they exhibited leeward side folds. Moreover, the effects of the operating conditions on the pressure recovery and mixing efficiency as well as the penetration and the separation height were evaluated to determine the optimisation of the phenomenon. By applying extreme difference analysis, the mixing efficiency was found as the most influential parameter.
Control of Network Bursting in a Model Spiking Network Supplied with Memristor—Implemented Plasticity

We consider an unstructured neuron network model composed of excitatory and inhibitory neurons. The synaptic connections are supplied with spike timing-dependent plasticity (STDP). We take the STDP model implemented using a memristor. In normal conditions, the network forms so-called bursting discharges typical of unstructured living networks in dissociated neuronal cultures. Incorporating a biologically inspired model, we demonstrate how memristive plasticity emulates spike timing-dependent plasticity, which is crucial for regulating synchronous brain activity. We have found that, when the memristor-based STDP for inhibitory connections is activated, the bursting dynamics are suppressed and the network turns to a random spiking mode. The dependence of bursting properties on the degree of the memristor-based STDP plasticity is analyzed. These findings hold implications for advancing invasive neurointerfaces and for the identification and management of epileptiform activity.
Modelling of nanosensors based on localised surface plasmon resonance

ABSTRACT To design nanosensors based on localised surface plasmon (LSP), a structure is considered consisting of metal nanoparticles and study the influence of nanoparticles size, material, geometry, and background refractive index (RI) on its performance. We propose a nanosensor based on nanoplasmonic and investigate its sensitivity. The boundary element method is employed to calculate the extinction cross-section and sensitivity of the proposed sensor. We study the effect of various parameters on LSP resonance. Our calculations about extinction, scattering, and absorption spectra have been compared with experimental data. According to the comparison, it is deduced the boundary element method provides acceptable results. It is shown that the proposed nanosensor is very sensitive to the variation of sample RI. Moreover, it is possible to adjust the required spectral range by changing the geometry and material of nanoparticles. Here, the highest sensitivity is obtained for cubic nanoparticles made of silver.