Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The development of a lean six sigma and BIM framework for enhancing off-site manufacturing

Purpose This study aims to improve a construction company's overall project delivery by utilising lean six sigma (LSS) methods combined with building information modelling (BIM) to design, modularise and manufacture various building elements in a controlled factory environment off-site. Design/methodology/approach A case study in a construction company utilised lean six sigma (LSS) methodology and BIM to identify non-value add waste in the construction process and improve sustainability. Findings An Irish-based construction company manufacturing modular pipe racks for the pharmaceutical industry utilised LSS to optimise and standardise their off-site manufacturing (OSM) partners process and leverage BIM to design skids which could be manufactured offsite and transported easily with minimal on-site installation and rework required. Productivity was improved, waste was reduced, less energy was consumed, defects were reduced and the project schedule for completion was reduced. Research limitations/implications The case study was carried out on one construction company and one construction product type. Further case studies would ensure more generalisability. However, the implementation was tested on a modular construction company, and the methods used indicate that the generic framework could be applied and customized to any offsite company. Originality/value This is one of the few studies on implementing offsite manufacturing (OSM) utilising LSS and BIM in an Irish construction company. The detailed quantitative benefits and cost savings calculations presented as well as the use of the LSM methods and BIM in designing an OSM process can be leveraged by other construction organisations to understand the benefits of OSM. This study can help demonstrate how LSS and BIM can aid the construction industry to be more environmentally friendly.
Developing Virtual Gaming Simulations to Promote Interdisciplinary Learning in Addressing Intimate Partner and Gender-Based Violence

ABSTRACT Gender-based violence (GBV) is global issue, requiring specialized knowledge, attitudes, and skills. The most effective responses are interdisciplinary, involving social work, healthcare, and the justice system. While GBV was exacerbated during the pandemic, many students faced a reduced availability of practice opportunities to learn how to respond to GBV. The authors describe a teaching and learning project which expanded access to experiential, interdisciplinary learning across three faculties (social work, nursing, law) by using virtual gaming simulation-based learning (VGSBL). Processes of development and implementation are discussed, along with recommendations for further integration of VGSBL in addressing grand challenges of social work education such as interdisciplinary collaboration in responding to GBV.
Isothermal Crystallization, Melting Behavior and Mechanical Properties of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) and Reorganized PET (RPET)

Abstract Analysis of the isothermal crystallization kinetics of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and reorganized PET was carried out using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Reorganization of PET process results in material with widely different organizations, structures, and morphologies of their polymer chains and different material properties. In thermal study of PET and RPET, the Avrami equation explained the primary stage of the isothermal crystallization of both PET and RPET. In the crystallization process of PET and RPET, the secondary crystallization occurred simultaneously with the primary crystallization and the two processes obeyed different Avrami time dependences. Lauritzen–Hoffman’s (L-H) secondary nucleation theory and the Lauritzen Z-test explained the microscopic description of the crystallization kinetics. The L-H analysis revealed that both PET and RPET crystallization followed regime I to II transitions at temperatures between 194 and 240 The folding surface free energies of RPET, determined from the Lauritzen–Hoffman equation, were = 61.2 erg/cm2 and 64.9 erg/cm2; and the works of chain folding were q = 7.38 Kcal/mol and 7.83 Kcal/mol, for regime I and regime II, respectively, whereas for PET they were = 50.2 erg/cm2 and 70.4 erg/cm2; and the works of chain folding were q = 6.06 Kcal/mol and 8.49 Kcal/mol, for regime I and regime II, respectively. Polarized optical microscopy observations showed that different morphologies were developed in RPET than PET when crystallized from the melt. The mechanical properties and morphology of PET and RPET were studied using a universal tensile machine and atomic force microscopy, respectively. The morphological study, the mechanical properties and the thermal behavior of RPET confirmed that the RPET had an enhanced crystallization rate and mechanical parameters.
3D Printing Technology as a Promising Tool to Design Nanomedicine-Based Solid Dosage Forms: Contemporary Research and Future Scope

3D printing technology in medicine is gaining great attention from researchers since the FDA approved the first 3D-printed tablet (Spritam®) on the market. This technique permits the fabrication of various types of dosage forms with different geometries and designs. Its feasibility in the design of different types of pharmaceutical dosage forms is very promising for making quick prototypes because it is flexible and does not require expensive equipment or molds. However, the development of multi-functional drug delivery systems, specifically as solid dosage forms loaded with nanopharmaceuticals, has received attention in recent years, although it is challenging for formulators to convert them into a successful solid dosage form. The combination of nanotechnology with the 3D printing technique in the field of medicine has provided a platform to overcome the challenges associated with the fabrication of nanomedicine-based solid dosage forms. Therefore, the major focus of the present manuscript is to review the recent research developments that involved the formulation design of nanomedicine-based solid dosage forms utilizing 3D printing technology. Utilization of 3D printing techniques in the field of nanopharmaceuticals achieved the successful transformation of liquid polymeric nanocapsules and liquid self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS) to solid dosage forms such as tablets and suppositories easily with customized doses as per the needs of the individual patient (personalized medicine). Furthermore, the present review also highlights the utility of extrusion-based 3D printing techniques (Pressure-Assisted Microsyringe—PAM; Fused Deposition Modeling—FDM) to produce tablets and suppositories containing polymeric nanocapsule systems and SNEDDS for oral and rectal administration. The manuscript critically analyzes contemporary research related to the impact of various process parameters on the performance of 3D-printed solid dosage forms.
Resistance through clothing styles: Iranian young women’s body representation in public spaces

ABSTRACT This qualitative research extends critical theorizing on clothing practices by exploring how young women’s clothing styles serve the function of resistance to formal hegemonic culture in Iran. Thirty young women, recruited through a snowball-sampling strategy, reported their lived experiences of wearing fashionable clothing styles in urban public spaces. Data were gathered through in-depth interviews and analyzed by way of inductive thematic analysis. Seven key themes were found: young women use clothing styles (1) to communicate new meanings and values related to their femininity; (2) to resist dominant dress codes and veiled bodies; (3) to strengthen feminine agency; (4) to express elegance and openness; (5) to create alternative public spaces; (6) to resist hegemonic body shape; and (7) and to challenge the unbearable heaviness of being the same. It was concluded that the heterogeneity in appearance and in bodily practices among Iranian young women challenges the intended homogeneity of the dominant culture. In this sense, fashionable clothing styles are tools of resistance.
A new angular acceleration estimation method and its application in acceleration feedback control

A Newton predictor (NP) is incorporated into the Kalman filter (KF) for online angular acceleration estimation. It intends to reduce the phase lag due to filtering while maintaining or even improving the prediction performance. The acceleration feedback control is applied to design an acceleration close-loop in terms of stability and robustness. Extensive experiments are also conducted on the first joint of a 2-DOF direct-dirve manipulator. Results are compared to those obtained by KF-only estimator and by accelerometer, to demonstrate the improvements of the Kalman filter with Newton predictor (KFNP), as well as the feasibility and validity while the estimated acceleration is used for control in place of the measured acceleration by accelerometer.
Fact or Opinion? – Essential Value for Financial Results Briefing

Financial results briefings offer a two-way communication channel between investors and management and provide qualitative information. Although the importance of those qualitative information has been recognized, there has yet to be an investigation into the extent to which such information is included in financial results briefings and how the recent corporate characteristics and performance affect them. Therefore in this study, we tackle a task to classify the text of financial results briefings into “facts” or “opinions” using GPT-3.5-turbo (chatGPT), a large-scale language model (LLM), and evaluate zero-shot and few-shot classification performance using manual labels assigned by three experts. Then, we confirm the proportion of “facts” or “opinions” in each briefing and clarify to what extent the number of opinions and facts are influenced by company size and performance in the first place. We find that, on average, 38% of statements in the briefings contain the opinion. Companies with smaller ordinary income margins tend to have a higher percentage of opinion statements, and companies with higher market value relative to book value have a higher volume of opinion sentences. The study highlights the importance of financial results briefings as a communication channel providing subjective opinions and explaining financial results and future outlook.
Redox-Enabled Bio-Electronics for Information Acquisition and Transmission

Biology uses an electron-based modality that involves reduction and oxidation (redox) reactions, and this redox modality has both molecular and electrical features. Importantly, the electrical features are accessible to convenient electrode measurements, but this electron-based redox modality is fundamentally different from biology’s ion-based electrical modality that is prominent in neural and neuromuscular communication. Here, we review recent efforts to develop redox based bioelectronics for the acquisition of information and actuation of responses. Specifically, we illustrate how electrodes enable comparatively simple modulation/demodulation because electrodes readily transduce electrical inputs into redox-signals– in some cases, the same redox signals (i.e., reactive oxygen species; ROS) used by biology. The propagation of redox signals occurs through diffusion and reaction mechanisms involving redox reaction networks. We further describe how advanced biological methods (protein engineering and synthetic biology) are being used to enable a targeting of redox inputs to actuate specific responses at molecular (i.e., protein conjugation) and cellular (i.e., electrogenetic) levels. In summary, we envision that redox-based bioelectronics could enable entirely new opportunities for applying electronics to: provide new experimental approaches for the study of redox-biology; yield systems-level measurements for clinical practice; and facilitate a fusion of the information-processing capabilities of biology and electronics.
Isolation and Identification of Flavanone Derivative Eriodictyol from the Methanol Extract of Afzelia africana Bark and Its Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities

Background Afzelia africana is a plant species with well-documented ethnobotanical and medicinal properties. The plant is reported to have various secondary metabolites and had been applied for the treatment of various diseased conditions. Objectives The study objectives include fractionation, isolation, purification, and characterization of eriodictyol from the bark of A. africana, and the determination of its antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Methodology. The series of methodologies that were employed include fractionations and purification (column chromatography), characterization (HPLC, LC-MS, IR, 1H, 13C, DEPT-135, HSQC, and HMBC), antimicrobial assays (microbroth dilution and checkerboard assay), and antioxidant activities assays (ABTS and DPPH scavenging capacity). Results The study reports the identification and characterization of eriodictyol from the bark of A. africana which exhibited potent antioxidant activities against ABTS and DPPH radicals with scavenging capacities (SC50) of 2.14 ± 0.05 and 2.51 ± 0.06 µg/mL, respectively. The compound exhibited its antimicrobial activity by reporting good bacteriostatic activities (MBC/MIC > 4) against Staphylococcus aureus (SA), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and fluconazole-resistant Candida albicans (CA2). Moreover, a broad spectrum of bactericidal effects (MBC/MIC ≤ 4) was reported against Streptococcus mutans (SM), Escherichia coli (EC), Bacillus subtilis (BS), Klebsiella pneumonia (KP), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA), Salmonella typhi (ST), and standard Candida albicans (CA1). The compound further exhibited synergistic effects against EC, KP, ST, and MRSA; ST; and CA2 when combined with ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, and nystatin, respectively. However, antagonistic effects were observed against PA and CA1 when combined with ciprofloxacin and ketoconazole, respectively. Conclusion The study reports for the first time the identification of eriodictyol from the bark of A. africana which exhibited significant antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.
Measuring the competitiveness of Aden container terminal and neighboring terminals using Fuzzy Analytic Hierocracy Process

: The Globalization of world trade has led to an increase in maritime transport, especially containerization transport, which plays the main role in maritime transport and considered the backbone of global trade and world economy. Moreover, around 80% of world trade is transported by sea. This research aims to propose a framework using Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) on Aden container terminal for 2022, looking for the increase of the Port’s competitive position. In fact, FAHP reveals
Refractory left atrial mural endocarditis secondary to a mitral valve jet lesion requiring thoracotomy: a case report

Abstract Background Infective endocarditis (IE) lesions rarely exist only in the endocardium, except on the valves. Such lesions are usually treated with the same strategy used to treat valvular IE. Depending on the causative organisms and degree of intracardiac structure destruction, it might be cured with conservative treatment consisting of antibiotics alone. Case summary A 38-year-old woman had a continuous high fever. Echocardiography revealed a vegetation located on the endocardial side of the posterior wall of the left atrium, from the valve ring on the side of the posteromedial scallop, which was exposed to a mitral regurgitation jet. Mural endocarditis caused by methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) was diagnosed based on blood cultures. Splenic infarction developed despite various types of appropriate antibiotics. The vegetations increased in size over time to >10 mm. The patient underwent surgical resection and had an uneventful post-operative course. There was no evidence of exacerbation or recurrence during the post-operative outpatient follow-up visits. Discussion Even in cases of isolated mural endocarditis, infections caused by MSSA that are resistant to multiple antibiotics can be challenging to manage with antibiotics alone. Specifically, for cases of MSSA IE that show resistance to various antibiotics, early consideration should be given to surgical intervention as part of the treatment process.
Biosynthetic Potential of Hypogymnia Holobionts: Insights into Secondary Metabolite Pathways

Lichens are symbiotic associations consisting of a photobiont (algae or cyanobacteria) and a mycobiont (fungus). They are known to produce a variety of unique secondary metabolites. To access this biosynthetic potential for biotechnological applications, deeper insights into the biosynthetic pathways and corresponding gene clusters are necessary. Here we provide a comprehensive view of the biosynthetic gene clusters of all organisms comprising a lichen thallus: fungi, green algae, and bacteria. We present two high-quality PacBio metagenomes, in which we identified a total of 460 biosynthetic gene clusters. Lichen mycobionts yielded 73–114 clusters, other lichen associated ascomycetes 8–40, green algae of the genus Trebouxia 14–19, and lichen-associated bacteria 101–105 clusters. The mycobionts contained mainly T1PKSs, followed by NRPSs, and terpenes; Trebouxia reads harbored mainly clusters linked to terpenes, followed by NRPSs and T3PKSs. Other lichen-associated ascomycetes and bacteria contained a mix of diverse biosynthetic gene clusters. In this study, we identified for the first time the biosynthetic gene clusters of entire lichen holobionts. The yet untapped biosynthetic potential of two species of the genus Hypogymnia is made accessible for further research.
Current Controller Based on Active Disturbance Rejection Control With Parameter Identification for PMSM Servo Systems

This study aimed to design an active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) with parameter identification for current control in permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) servo systems. Given the nonlinear uncertainty of the PMSMs, a parameter identification method based on the consensus Kalman filter was designed to establish an approximate model of the motor, reduce the uncertainty of the current loop model, and utilize the improved ADRC algorithm to eliminate the influence of uncertainty, nonlinearity, and strong coupling of the current loop of the PMSM. Consequently, the current control precision of the inner loop improved. The control experiment results indicate that the proposed method is suitable for the current control of nonlinear and strongly-coupled servo systems.
Comparative Evaluation of Waist-to-Height Ratio and BMI in Predicting Adverse Cardiovascular Outcome in People With Diabetes: A Systematic Review

Central obesity is strongly associated with cardiovascular risk in people with diabetes. BMI does not reflect a regional fat distribution. The other anthropometric indices, which are markers of central obesity, like waist circumference and waist-hip ratio, are subject to age, sex, and ethnic variations. An index like waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), which considers central obesity, outperforms BMI in predicting cardiometabolic risk. With a single cut-off of 0.5, irrespective of age, sex, and ethnic variations, WHtR has a wide application in screening obesity in population settings. Previous systematic analyses were conducted in the general population, assessing cardiometabolic risk. The current study is the first systematic analysis to compare the applicability of WHtR and BMI in predicting both cardiovascular risk and adverse cardiovascular outcomes in people with diabetes. It includes prospective cohort studies, cross-sectional studies, and randomized control trials to generate evidence. The summary scores indicate that WHtR is probably a better indicator than BMI to assess cardiovascular risk in people with diabetes. A future meta-analysis will pave the way for more robust evidence.
Para-Social Interaction and Trust in Live-Streaming Sellers

Live streaming is one of the modern methods that allows sellers to create, transmit, or broadcast some content on the internet in real-time, and it has been used by many small individual merchants. Understanding how live streaming contributes to online consumption is becoming increasingly important in social commerce as the live-streaming industry has grown more and more popular. However, the number of studies on live streaming is still quite limited in Vietnam. Therefore, this research will look at the mechanism that enables live streaming to boost customer trust in streamers. Using PLS-SEM on a sample of 360 respondents who viewed selling live streams on social network sites in Vietnam, we discovered that other members' endorsement, value similarity, hedonic value, and utilitarian value contribute to good para-social interaction. Next, utilitarian and hedonic values, streamer product expertise, and para-social interaction all positively affect trust in the streamers. The findings could help live-streaming sellers better understand their social interactions with viewers, resulting in increased customer trust. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2023-07-03-06 Full Text: PDF
A Trajectory-Based User Movement Pattern Similarity Measure for User Identification

Recently, matching the cross-site user accounts based on user trajectory similarity has been attracting much attention, which benefits many applications. Most of existing works measure the user trajectory similarity based on the proximity of stay points. However, since the user trajectory is noisy, sparse and biased, the trajectory similarity measure is not a trivial task. In theory, the user movement pattern inherent in user trajectory is unique to the user and site-independent, which may be the key to address the above question. Thus, we propose a trajectory-based user movement pattern similarity measure for user identification. Specifically, we first find the frequent user stay points at each time slot to represent the user daily activities, and then present a similarity measure method for user daily activities, where we assign a global popularity and local popularity to stay point with the aim of accurately characterizing the contribution of stay point to the similarity. To represent the user-specific and site-independent movement pattern, we propose a trajectory-oriented embedding method, called T-LINE, which preserves the similarity of user daily activities. Finally, based on the similarity of movement patterns between a user and his/her candidates, we select top $n$ similar users as the matching users. The experiments conducted on three ground-truth datasets show a significant improvement compared to the representative works.
The Round Complexity of Distributed Sorting

We consider the model of fully connected networks, where in each round each node can send an O(logn)-bit message to each other node (this is the congest model with diameter 1). It is known that in this model, min-weight spanning trees can be found in O(log logn) rounds. In this paper we show that distributed sorting, where each node has at most n items, can be done in time O(log logn) as well. It is also shown that selection can be done inO(1) time. (Using a concurrent result by Lenzen and Wattenhofer, the complexity of sorting is further reduced to constant.) Our algorithms are randomized, and the stated complexity bounds hold with high probability.