Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exploring the adoption and use of the smartphone technology in emerging regions: A literature review and hypotheses development

Users' acceptance of a new information technology (IT) is a determining factor of its market success. A solid understanding of the users' adoption process and use behavior enables a more robust definition of user requirements and better market alignment. This is especially important in markets characterized by rapid technological change such as smartphones. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is often used to assess the factors affecting adoption of new technologies. However, TAM models often omit the role of important variables such as human and social factors in the adoption process. In developing markets such as China, cultural and social influences significantly impact the adoption and use of smartphones and related technologies. Similarly, Saudi Arabia has unique cultural and social contexts that may influence the adoption and use of smartphone technology, but as yet have not been studied in a comprehensive manner. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to develop the foundation for a theoretical research model based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). The case of smartphone adoption and use in Saudi Arabia will be its focus.
Chalcone-based small-molecule inhibitors attenuate malignant phenotype via targeting deubiquitinating enzymes

The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) is usurped by many if not all cancers to regulate their survival, proliferation, invasion, angiogenesis and metastasis. Bioflavonoids curcumin and chalcones exhibit anti-neoplastic selectivity through inhibition of the 26S proteasome-activity within the UPS. Here, we provide evidence for a novel mechanism of action of chalcone-based derivatives AM146, RA-9 and RA-14, which exert anticancer activity by targeting deubiquitinating enzymes (DUB) without affecting 20S proteasome catalytic-core activity. The presence of the α,β-unsaturated carbonyl group susceptible to nucleophilic attack from the sulfhydryl of cysteines in the active sites of DUB determines the capacity of novel small-molecules to act as cell-permeable, partly selective DUB inhibitors and induce rapid accumulation of polyubiquitinated proteins and deplete the pool of free ubiquitin. These chalcone derivatives directly suppress activity of DUB UCH-L1, UCH-L3, USP2, USP5 and USP8, which are known to regulate the turnover and stability of key regulators of cell survival and proliferation. Inhibition of DUB-activity mediated by these compounds downregulates cell cycle promoters, e.g., cyclin D1 and upregulates tumor suppressors p53, p27Kip1 and p16Ink4A. These changes are associated with arrest in S-G2/M, abrogated anchorage-dependent growth and onset of apoptosis in breast, ovarian and cervical cancer cells without noticeable alterations in primary human cells. Altogether, this work provides evidence of antitumor activity of novel chalcone-based derivatives mediated by their DUB-targeting capacity; supports the development of pharmaceuticals to directly target DUB as a most efficient strategy compared with proteasome inhibition and also provides a clear rationale for the clinical evaluation of these novel small-molecule DUB inhibitors. Note: Please see the Erratum, Expression of Concern, and subsequent Comment published regarding this Report.
Logarithmic gravity centrality for identifying influential spreaders in dynamic large-scale social networks

The task of identifying influential spreaders for various big data social network applications plays a crucial role in social networks, and lays the foundation for predictive or recommended applications. Though there are several kinds of methods for this task, most of these methods exploit global computing, and are time-consuming for large-scale social networks. In this paper, by combining the degree centrality with the law of universal gravitation in physics, we present a novel metric called Logarithm Gravity (LG) centrality to quantify the influence of nodes in large-scale social networks, which views the value of the degree centrality as mass for each node and regards the length of the shortest path between a pair of nodes as their distance. In our model, for each node, a local network is generated by obtaining all nodes, which are less than k-hop from it. Then the sum of mutual influence values between the node in question and all other nodes in each local network is figured out as its LG centrality index. Therefore, the complexity of our approach is scalable by adjusting the value of k with efficient local computation. We compare our LG centrality with k-shell, betweenness and degree centralities. Experimental evidence, which has been collected based on the SIR model with four real-world datasets, shows that our approach is more feasible and effective than other state-of-art methods in terms of infection ratios and computational complexity.
RELATIVE GEOMETRIC CONFIGURATIONS

This is a survey of a recent work done by the three authors, in which an analysis of geometric properties of a structure relative to a reduct iq ilnitia $ \dagger$ cd. Ill particular, $( \{(_{\vee^{\backslashfi_{I}}}$ 1 $dt)[( \}$ groups and ﬁelds in \daggerliis context arc cou-bidered. In a relatively l-based theory every group ib deﬁnably isogenous to a subgroup of a group deﬁnable in the reduct. For relatively CM-trivial theories (which encompass certain Hrushovski $s$ amalgams, such as the fusion of two strongly $111i _{t1}i\iota$ iial theories or (’ $()10$ lured ﬁeldg), we $pr()vo$ tllat every group can be mapped by a $homomorphi _{b\ln}$ with central kernel to a group deﬁnable in the reduct.
QoS-Aware Resource Discovery in Mobile Environments

In this chapter, we will address the problem of resource discovery that ensures sustained QoS (Quality of Service) for mobile applications. We present two aspects of the resource discovery problem: (i) static resource discovery that determines the best resources to service a request when it is initiated, (ii) dynamic resource reprovisioning that continues to find nearby resources as a mobile client moves arbitrarily. We explain the role of context information in effective resource discovery and discuss what constitutes relevant context information for mobile applications. By introducing a generalized mediation-based architecture, we show how context information is collected and applied to support static and dynamic resource discovery. We illustrate potential solutions to these issues through a case study that uses nearby grid resources to support mobile services.
Geometric morphometrics and internal anatomy in ž sea bass shape analysis Dicentrarchus labrax

The effects of different conditions of larval and postlarval rearing on the external morphology and internal anatomical characters were studied in juvenile and adult specimens of Dicentrarchus Ž . labrax L. Teleostea, Moronidae in order to assess the potential of a combined methodology in the assessment of finfish quality. Differences in the external morphology between two samples were analysed before their introduction into floating cages and after 15 months of common rearing. Shape differences were studied with geometric morphometrics. Significant differences in shape were found in juveniles. In adults, at the end of the common rearing, differences were smaller but still significant. The importance of larval rearing conditions in determining sea bass juvenile and adult shape is evident as well as a phenomenon of morphological resilience. On the same specimens, internal anatomical data were collected from X-rays. In this way, it was possible to correlate fish shape with internal anatomical data. Characteristic shapes were associated with particular cadres of internal anatomical anomalies, such as head shape and anomalies in the cephalic region, a bent body shape and lordosis of the haemal and prehaemal regions, the shape of the caudal region and lordosis of the caudal vertebral axis. Streamlined wild-like profiles were associated with light anomaly cadres. The use of the combined approach proposed is, thus, recommended in the description and quantification of shape features and particularly in the context of fish quality assessment. q 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
An FPGA implementation of the local global graph-based voice biometric authentication scheme

In this work, we present a novel method for authentication based on voice biometrics. Local graphs of the pre-processed speech signal are first calculated by feature extraction and combined to form a Global graph that is stored in a database for the purpose of authentication. The distance between the Global graphs of the presented test speech signal and the stored reference speech signal is then calculated and based on a threshold, speaker authenticity is established.
Analysis of a Password Strengthening Technique and Its Practical Use

Besides commonly used password strengthening techniques such as salting or repeated applications of a one-way function on the password, we account a less common procedure: the truncation of the output from a one-way function on the password. This technique is used in a Norwegian ATM and a similar method is part of an authentication protocol from Anderson and Lomas which makes use of collision-full hash functions. We depict a probabilistic bound on the probability of guessing the password in the Anderson-Lomas protocol and we propose some improvements on the protocol. Further, the improved protocol proves to be a good solution for a password based authentication between two devices that authenticate in the absence of a previously known secret or of a trusted third party. The protocol proves to have all the desired properties for this scenario.
Extending the transfer function calculus of time-varying linear systems: a generalized underspread theory

We extend the approximate transfer function calculus of "underspread" linear time-varying (LTV) systems introduced by W. Kozek (1992). Our extension is based on a new, generalized definition of underspread LTV systems that does not assume finite support of the systems' spreading function. We establish explicit bounds on various error quantities associated with the transfer function approximation. Our results yield a simple and convenient transfer function calculus for a significantly wider and practically more relevant class of LTV systems than that previously considered.
Outflow Resistance as a Regulator of Left Ventricular Performance

The importance of peripheral circulatory mechanisms in regulating cardiac performance has been appreciated for a long time by physiologists, but has received little attention from clinicians. It has always seemed logical that congestive heart failure resulted from an abnormally functioning heart and that therapy should be aimed directly at the heart. The well-known Frank-Starling phenomenon which relates end-diastolic fiber length to contractile force appeared to explain adequately the abnormal hemodynamics of heart failure, and therapeutic interventions have traditionally been directed at altering ventricular function by attempting to improve contractility and decrease end-diastolic volume.
Epicuticular waxes from caatinga and cerrado species and their efficiency against water loss.

The effects of the contents and chemical composition of the foliar epicuticular waxes of species from the caatinga (Aspidosperma pyrifolium, Capparis yco, Maytenus rigida and Ziziphus joazeiro) and cerrado (Aristolochia esperanzae, Didymopanax vinosum, Strychnos pseudoquina and Tocoyena formosa) were evaluated as to the resistance to water loss by means of an experimental device constructed for this purpose. In general, the waxes of the caatinga species investigated were more efficient against water loss than cerrado species. Increase of the thickness of the waxy deposits from 40 to 90 microg.cm-2 had no significant effect on the resistance to water loss. The chemistry of the wax constituents was shown to be an important factor to determine the degree of resistance to evaporation. n-Alkanes and alcoholic triterpenes were the most efficient barriers, while hentriacontan-16-one (a ketone) and ursolic acid (an acid triterpene) revealed low efficiency. The higher efficiency of the waxes of the leaves from caatinga species (mainly those of C. yco and Z. joazeiro) is probably accounted for the predominance of n-alkanes in their composition. The lower efficiency of the waxes of A. pyrifolium (caatinga), T. formosa and A. esperanzae (both species from the cerrado) is probably a consequence of the predominance of triterpenoids in the waxes of the two former species and hentriacontan-16-one in the latter.
Eclipse Processor Scheduling

Eclipse is an architectural framework for on-chip CPU and coprocessor communication, combining application configuration flexibility with the efficiency of functionspecific hardware. A Kahn process network application model is supported by a generic communication infrastructure and function-specific processors with multi-tasking capabilities. High data bandwidth and limited stream buffer memory lead to high buffer synchronization rates and high task switch rates. These are supported by shells dedicated to each processor. The shells each implement a task scheduler for a dynamic workload environment with guarantees for minimum resource budgets, and achieve effective run-time task selection in a few clock cycles. The resulting implementation with distributed shells provides good scalability.
Determination of enterotoxin genes in coagulase - negative staphylococci from autochthonous Croatian fermented sausages.

________________________________________________________________________________________ DOBRANIC, V. , N. ZDOLEC, I. RACIC, A. VUJNOVIC, M. ZDELAR-TUK, I. FILIPOVIC, N. GRGUREVIC, S. SPICIC: Determination of enterotoxin genes in coagulase negative staphylococci from autochthonous Croatian fermented sausages. Vet. arhiv 83, 145-152, 2013. ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to determine the presence of enterotoxin genes in coagulase negative staphylococci from traditional Croatian fermented sausages. A total of 39 isolates were collected from the dry sausage “kulen” and Slavonian homemade sausages as presumptive CNS, and were subjected to PCR identifi cation to the genus level. All isolates belonged to the Staphylococcus genus. Strains were tested for the presence of 13 enterotoxin genes; seA, seB, seC, seG, seI, tsst1, seD, seE, seH, seJ, seM, seN and seO by the PCR method. All strains were negative to all enterotoxin genes. The observed results indicate the absence of risk related to enterotoxogenic potential of coagulase negative staphylococci as indigenous microbiota from autochthonous Croatian traditional sausages.
Eukaryotic genes of archaebacterial origin are more important than the more numerous eubacterial genes, irrespective of function

The traditional tree of life shows eukaryotes as a distinct lineage of living things, but many studies have suggested that the first eukaryotic cells were chimeric, descended from both Eubacteria (through the mitochondrion) and Archaebacteria. Eukaryote nuclei thus contain genes of both eubacterial and archaebacterial origins, and these genes have different functions within eukaryotic cells. Here we report that archaebacterium-derived genes are significantly more likely to be essential to yeast viability, are more highly expressed, and are significantly more highly connected and more central in the yeast protein interaction network. These findings hold irrespective of whether the genes have an informational or operational function, so that many features of eukaryotic genes with prokaryotic homologs can be explained by their origin, rather than their function. Taken together, our results show that genes of archaebacterial origin are in some senses more important to yeast metabolism than genes of eubacterial origin. This importance reflects these genes’ origin as the ancestral nuclear component of the eukaryotic genome.
Within-family studies for Mendelian randomization: avoiding dynastic, assortative mating, and population stratification biases

Mendelian randomization (MR) is a widely-used method for causal inference using genetic data. Mendelian randomization studies of unrelated individuals may be susceptible to bias from family structure, for example, through dynastic effects which occur when parental genotypes directly affect offspring phenotypes. Here we describe methods for within-family Mendelian randomization and through simulations show that family-based methods can overcome bias due to dynastic effects. We illustrate these issues empirically using data from 61,008 siblings from the UK Biobank and Nord-Trøndelag Health Study. Both within-family and population-based Mendelian randomization analyses reproduced established effects of lower BMI reducing risk of diabetes and high blood pressure. However, while MR estimates from population-based samples of unrelated individuals suggested that taller height and lower BMI increase educational attainment, these effects largely disappeared in within-family MR analyses. We found differences between population-based and within-family based estimates, indicating the importance of controlling for family effects and population structure in Mendelian randomization studies.
Six4, a Putative myogeninGene Regulator, Is Not Essential for Mouse Embryonal Development

ABSTRACT Six4 is a member of the Six family genes, homologues of Drosophila melanogaster sine oculis. The gene is thought to be involved in neurogenesis, myogenesis, and development of other organs, based on its specific expression in certain neuronal cells of the developing embryo and in adult skeletal muscles. To elucidate the biological roles of Six4, we generatedSix4-deficient mice by replacing the Sixhomologous region and homeobox by the β-galactosidase gene. 5-Bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-β-d-galactopyranoside staining of the heterozygous mutant embryos revealed expression ofSix4 in cranial and dorsal root ganglia, somites, otic and nasal placodes, branchial arches, Rathke's pouch, apical ectodermal ridges of limb buds, and mesonephros. The expression pattern was similar to that of Six1 except at the early stage of embryonic day 8.5. Six4-deficient mice were born according to the Mendelian rule with normal gross appearance and were fertile. No hearing defects were detected. Six4-deficient embryos showed no morphological abnormalities, and the expression patterns of several molecular markers, e.g., myogenin andNeuroD3 (neurogenin1), were normal. Our results indicate that Six4 is not essential for mouse embryogenesis and suggest that other members of the Six family seem to compensate for the loss of Six4.
The effect of desulfurization on the postharvest quality and sulfite metabolism in pulp of sulfitated “Feizixiao” Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) fruits

Abstract The residual sulfite caused by sulfur fumigation (SF) is a hazard to health and influenced the export trade of litchi. Desulfurization (DS) is a valid chemical method to reduce the residual sulfite. However, the effect of DS on fumigated litchi has not been studied at physiological and molecular level. This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of DS (SF plus 3% desulfurizer) on the postharvest quality, sulfite residue, and the sulfite metabolism in sulfitated “Feizixiao” litchi during the 4°C storage. Results indicated that the DS promoted the color recovery of sulfitated litchi and achieved an effect similar to SF on controlling rot and browning. DS recovered the water content and respiration rate of sulfitated litchi pericarp. Thus, DS improves commodity properties of sulfitated litchi. Moreover, DS greatly reduced sulfite residue especially in pulp and ensured the edible safety of sulfitated litchi. The activities of sulfite oxidase, sulfite reductase, serine acetyltransferase, and O‐acetylserine(thiol) lyase in pulp increased after SF but fell down after DS while the expressions of their encoding genes decreased after SF but then rallied after DS. These results indicated the key role of these enzymes in sulfite metabolism after SF and DS changed the sulfite metabolism at both enzymatic and transcriptional level. It could be concluded that DS used in this study was an effective method for improving the color recovery and ensuring the edible safety of sulfitated litchi by not only chemical reaction but also both of enzymatic and transcriptional regulation.
A Convolution Neural Network Engine for Sclera Recognition

The world is shifting to the digital era in an enormous pace. This rise in the digital technology has created plenty of applications in the digital space, which demands a secured environment for transacting and authenticating the genuineness of end users. Biometric systems and its applications has seen great potentials in its usability in the tech industries. Among various biometric traits, sclera trait is attracting researchers from experimenting and exploring its characteristics for recognition systems. This paper, which is first of its kind, explores the power of Convolution Neural Network (CNN) for sclera recognition by developing a neural model that trains its neural engine for a recognition system. To do so, the proposed work uses the standard benchmark dataset called Sclera Segmentation and Recognition Benchmarking Competition (SSRBC 2015) dataset, which comprises of 734 images which are captured at different viewing angles from 30 different classes. The proposed methodology results showcases the potential of neural learning towards sclera recognition system.