Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Syringe-injectable Mesh Electronics for Stable Chronic Rodent Electrophysiology

Implantable brain electrophysiology probes are valuable tools in neuroscience due to their ability to record neural activity with high spatiotemporal resolution from shallow and deep brain regions. Their use has been hindered, however, by mechanical and structural mismatches between the probes and brain tissue that commonly lead to micromotion and gliosis with resulting signal instability in chronic recording experiments. In contrast, following the implantation of ultraflexible mesh electronics via syringe injection, the mesh probes form a seamless, gliosis-free interface with the surrounding brain tissue that enables stable tracking of individual neurons on at least a year timescale. This protocol details the key steps in a typical mouse neural recording experiment using syringe-injectable mesh electronics, including the fabrication of mesh electronics in a standard photolithography-based process possible at many universities, loading mesh electronics into standard capillary needles, stereotaxic injection in vivo, connection of the mesh input/output to standard instrumentation interfaces, restrained or freely moving recording sessions, and histological sectioning of brain tissue containing mesh electronics. Representative neural recordings and histology data are presented. Investigators familiar with this protocol will have the knowledge necessary to incorporate mesh electronics into their own experiments and take advantage of the unique opportunities afforded by long-term stable neural interfacing, such as studies of aging processes, brain development, and the pathogenesis of brain disease.
Spectral analysis of the Vedic mantra Omkara

It has been recognised for quite some time that Mantras or sacred words have beneficial effects on human beings and even plants. In a previous study, the authors have demonstrated the effect of Agnihotra mantra chanting at sunrise and sunset on the germination of rice seeds. Scriptures also mention that mantras like Om, Gayatri and Mrityunjaya have benefited humanity quite a lot. This paper is an attempt to identify quantitatively the signal characteristics of mantra sound patterns. It is a pilot study and appears to be one of the first of its kind in the world. The study has confined itself to the identification of the predominant frequencies and their subharmonics of A-kara, U-kara, Ma-kara and Om-kara.
Indirect-Drive Noncryogenic Double-Shell Ignition Targets for the National Ignition Facility: Design and Analysis

The central goal of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) is demonstration of controlled thermonuclear ignition. The mainline ignition target is a low-Z, single-shell cryogenic capsule designed to have weakly nonlinear Rayleigh-Taylor growth of surface perturbations. Double-shell targets are an alternative design concept that avoids the complexity of cryogenic preparation but has greater physics uncertainties associated with performance-degrading mix. A typical double-shell design involves a high-Z inner capsule filled with DT gas and supported within a low-Z ablator shell. The largest source of uncertainty for this target is the degree of highly evolved nonlinear mix on the inner surface of the high-Z shell. High Atwood numbers and feed-through of strong outer surface perturbation growth to the inner surface promote high levels of instability. The main challenge of the double-shell target designs is controlling the resulting nonlinear mix to levels that allow ignition to occur. Design and analysis of a suite of indirect-drive NIF double-shell targets with hohlraum temperatures of 200 eV and 250 eV are presented. Analysis of these targets includes assessment of two-dimensional radiation asymmetry as well as nonlinear mix. Two-dimensional integrated hohlraum simulations indicate that the x-ray illumination can be adjusted to provide adequate symmetry control in hohlraums specially designed to have high laser-coupling efficiency [Suter et al., Phys. Plasmas 5, 2092 (2000)]. These simulations also reveal the need to diagnose and control localized 10-15 keV x-ray emission from the high-Z hohlraum wall because of strong absorption by the high-Z inner shell. Preliminary estimates of the degree of laser backscatter from an assortment of laser-plasma interactions suggest comparatively benign hohlraum conditions. Application of a variety of nonlinear mix models and phenomenological tools, including buoyancy-drag models, multimode simulations and fall-line optimization, indicates a possibility of achieving ignition, i.e., fusion yields greater than 1 MJ. Planned experiments on the Omega laser to test current understanding of high-energy radiation flux asymmetry and mix-induced yield degradation in double-shell targets are described.
Mechanistic Modeling of Tumor Repopulation during Radiation Treatments

A mechanistic mathematical model for radiotherapy is developed to study the effect of tumor repopulation on radiation treatment outcome. The Two-Lesion Kinetic (TLK) model is adopted to describe the interaction between ionizing radiation and malignant cells, and extended in this work to take into account tumor proliferation. The investigated kinetics for tumor cells growth includes exponential, logistic and Gompertz laws, while standard fractionation treatments are considered as case studies. Scaling analysis is used for non-dimensionalizing the system of ordinary differential equations describing the process under investigation. Numerical solution of the proposed model is shown as a function of the dimensionless variables and groups generated by the scaling procedure. The latter allows minimizing the number of parameters needed to describe the radiotherapy process when DNA damage formation and repair, and tumor repopulation phenomena take place simultaneously. The effectiveness in tumor eradication is mapped as a function of two dimensionless groups that take into account the radiation dose rate as well as the DNA lesions repair and malignant cells repopulation rates. The present study illustrates that outcomes of the radiotherapy treatment are strongly affected by the relative rates of phenomena simultaneously occurring. In particular, it appears that in order to achieve an effective treatment by keeping as low as possible the total dose to be administered, the fractionation scheme should be optimized on the base of the ratio between the DNA repair mechanisms and tumor cell growth rates. Model results also show that exponential and logistic kinetics yield similar results in terms of treatments outcomes. By comparison, model simulations with the Gompertz law indicate that repopulation described by this growth kinetics result in a significantly poorer prognosis for tumor eradication than either exponential or logistic models.
Visual Experience of Brand-Specific Automobile Design: Studying Appreciation; Emotion and Comprehension Using the VPE Framework

This paper presents a qualitative questionnaire study of brand-specific visual product design in the automotive sector. The purpose of the study was to explore the visual product experience of automobile design as perceived by the general public and to analyse those experiences using an emerging framework for visual product experience; VPE. In the study; respondents were asked to assess the design of two car models at an international car show in relation to brand perceptions and visually perceived attributes using; among other tools; visual analogue scales. Results from the study indicate that there is a correlation between experiential modes; in that respondents tended to rate attributes consistently high or low across modes. This implies that if the aesthetics are not perceived as favourable; neither is the expression of the car. Furthermore; respondents’ assessments of aesthetic appeal and expression are on an average strikingly similar; suggesting that the level of aesthetic appeal correlates with the level of semantic understanding of the design. The general rating of emotional response follows a similar consistent pattern for the two studied cars. (Less)
Broadband photocarrier dynamics and nonlinear absorption of PLD-grown WTe2 semimetal films

WTe2 is a unique material in the family of transition metal dichalcogenides and it has been proposed as a candidate for type-II Weyl semimetals. However, thus far, studies on the optical properties of this emerging material have been significantly hindered by the lack of large-area, high-quality WTe2 materials. Here, we grow a centimeter-scale, highly crystalline WTe2 ultrathin film (∼35 nm) by a pulsed laser deposition technique. Broadband pump-probe spectroscopy (1.2–2.5 μm) reveals a peculiar ultrafast optical response where an initial photo-bleaching signal (lasting ∼3 ps) is followed by a long-lived photoinduced absorption signature. Nonlinear absorption characterization using femtosecond pulses confirms the saturable absorption response of the WTe2 ultrathin films, and we further demonstrated a mode-locked Thulium fiber laser using a WTe2 absorber. Our work provides important insights into linear and nonlinear optical responses of WTe2 thin films.WTe2 is a unique material in the family of transition metal dichalcogenides and it has been proposed as a candidate for type-II Weyl semimetals. However, thus far, studies on the optical properties of this emerging material have been significantly hindered by the lack of large-area, high-quality WTe2 materials. Here, we grow a centimeter-scale, highly crystalline WTe2 ultrathin film (∼35 nm) by a pulsed laser deposition technique. Broadband pump-probe spectroscopy (1.2–2.5 μm) reveals a peculiar ultrafast optical response where an initial photo-bleaching signal (lasting ∼3 ps) is followed by a long-lived photoinduced absorption signature. Nonlinear absorption characterization using femtosecond pulses confirms the saturable absorption response of the WTe2 ultrathin films, and we further demonstrated a mode-locked Thulium fiber laser using a WTe2 absorber. Our work provides important insights into linear and nonlinear optical responses of WTe2 thin films.
Phosphate mediates electron transfer in pyruvate oxidase from Lactobacillus plantarum

Introduction Pyruvate oxidase from Lactobacillus plantarum (LpPOX, EC 1.2.3.3) is homotetrameric flavoenzyme with a subunit molecular mass of 65.5 kDa composed 603 residues. Each subunit contains one tightly and noncovalently bound FA thiamin diphosphate (ThDP), the biologically active form of vitamin BI. and Mgz+ anchoring the diphosphate moiety of ThDP. In the presence of phosphate and oxyg LpPOX catalyses the oxidativedecarboxylation of pyruvate yielding carbon dioxi acetylphosphate and hydrogen peroxide. Tbe catalytic cycle of LpPOX comprises i) the deprotonation at the C2 of ThDP, the covalent binding of pyruvate to ThDP, iii) the decarboxylation of the then formed 2-1actyl-ThDP (LThDP) intermediate to yield the carbanion/enamine . of hydroxyethyl-ThDP (HEThDP), iv) an intramolecular two step electron transfer fr HEThDP to FAD and finally v) the reoxidation of FADHz by oxygen and vi) phosphorolysislhydrolysis of the 2-acetyl-ThDP (AcThDP) intermediate (1). A kinetic analysis of single steps of catalysis using FAD absorbance revealed phosphorolysis of the AcThDP intermediate as weil as the reoxidation of the redu FAD to be partially rate-limiting. In the presence of phosphate no transient rad FAD species can be observed in the course of the reductive half-reaction (2). Here, we present stopped flow and titrimetric results of the influence of the subst phosphate on the reductive and oxidative half-reaction as weil as the stabilisatior radical FAD species in the enzyme.
Electric field-induced nucleation and growth of focal-conic and stripe domains in a smectic A liquid crystal

We have studied the electric field-induced first order transition from a homeotropic smectic A structure to a polydomain texture that occurs through the nucleation of toric focal-conic domains (TFCDs). The process involves two steps: first, nucleation of TFCDs of a size larger than a critical radius a*, and then a steady growth of TFCDs to a secondary critical radius a**, when surface anchoring effects become dominant and cause a transition from a circular TFCD to an elongated stripe domain (SD). Studies were performed for pure smectic A materials and for smectic A doped with kunipia nanoparticles. Non-destructive 3D imaging with fluorescence confocal polarizing microscopy showed that field-induced TFCDs can nucleate in the smectic A bulk. Clay particles reduce the energy barrier for nucleation as they distort the smectic A layers and thus increase the ground state energy. Simple elastic models of the TFCD and SD allow us to describe the qualitative features of the observed phenomena.
Special Issue on Location-based Social Media Analysis

Social media is immensely popular, with billions of users across various platform. The study of social media has allowed for deeper inquiries into questions posed by computer scientists, social scientists, and others. Social media posts tagged with location have provided means for researchers to perform even deeper analysis into their data. While location information allows for rich insight into social media data, very few posts are explicitly tagged with geographic information. In this work, we begin by introducing some state-of-the-art analysis techniques that can be performed using the location of a social media post. Next, we introduce some systems that help first responders provide relief with the help of the location of social media posts. Finally, we discuss how machine learning techniques can be applied to infer the location of a social media post, bringing this analysis to any message posted on social media.
Evaluation of Shampoos Containing Silicone Quaternary Microemulsion

This study aimed to characterize properties and to evaluate conditioning performance providence of shampoos containing various concentrations, i.e., 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 %w/w, of silicone quaternary microemulsion. The results indicated that all samples were clear yellowish liquids with good odor. Addition of silicone quaternary microemulsion in the investigated formulation did not markedly affect the characteristics of the obtained shampoos, except viscosity. Their averaged pH values were in the range of 6.59-7.17 which were acceptable according to TIS 162-2541. All samples provided stable foam, surface tension reduction and low viscosity with Newtonian flow. Under a light microscope, the cuticle arrangement of five tresses washed by the studied shampoos seemed to be better than their counterpart tresses before washing. However, no obvious difference on the cuticle arrangement of the tresses after washing by the identical manner with different shampoos was observed. Most of 50 referees rated and scored that the tress washed with shampoo containing 1%w/w silicone quaternary microemulsion provided the highest conditioning performance, i.e., smooth and softness, via contacting. It could be concluded that silicone quaternary microemulsion was able to be incorporated with the investigated shampoo formulation as an effective hair-conditioning agent.
Rhetoric versus Reality: The Best and Worst of Aid Agency Practices

Foreign aid critics, supporters, recipients, and donors have produced eloquent rhetoric on the need for better aid practices— has this translated into reality? This paper attempts to monitor the best and worst of aid practices among bilateral, multilateral, and UN agencies. We create aid practice measures based on aid transparency, specialization, selectivity, ineffective aid channels, and overhead costs. We rate donor agencies from best to worst on aid practices. We find that the UK does well among bilateral agencies, the US is below average, and Scandinavian donors do surprisingly poorly. The biggest difference is between the UN agencies, who mostly rank in the bottom half of donors, and everyone else. Average performance of all agencies on transparency, fragmentation, and selectivity is still very poor. The paper also assesses trends in best practices over time—we find modest improvement in transparency and more in moving away from ineffective channels. However, we find no evidence of improvements (and partial evidence of worsening) in specialization, fragmentation, and selectivity, despite escalating rhetoric to the contrary.
Sources of Hematopoietic Stem Cells

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has the potential to cure a variety of malignant and nonmalignant diseases. Sources of hematopoietic stem cells for transplantation have expanded progressively since the beginning of the modern era of transplantation in the late 1960s. Although bone marrow was the main source of stem cells in the early years of transplantation, in the past 10 to 15 years peripheral blood has assumed increasing importance. The initial impetus for the use of PBSCs for transplantation was to be able to offer transplantation to patients who were not candidates for the use of bone marrow cells (tumor contamination of the marrow or those with hypocellular marrows). Subsequent studies demonstrated that PBSCs could be mobilized from the bone marrow with either hematopoietic growth factors (GM-CSF, G-CSF) or a combination of chemotherapy and growth factors, which increased the number of hematopoietic progenitors collected from the blood by 10to 1000fold compared with steady-state conditions. Umbilical cord blood represents the newest source of stem cells for transplantation. At now peripheral blood is the main source in the autologous setting. Within the allogeneic setting, multiple sources of stem cells are possible and include those derived from individuals related or unrelated to the patient. Hematopoietic progenitor cell (HPC) products contain hematopoietic stem and lineagecommitted progenitor cells capable of providing hematopoietic and immune reconstitution after myeloablative or reduced-intensity preparative regimens. HPCs administered intravenously migrate to the marrow, where they adhere, expand, selfrenew (stem cells only), and differentiate. The differentiated cells are released into the blood, restoring blood counts and immunity. The time from administration of HPCs to recovery of adequate or normal blood counts is variable. Recipients of peripheral blood stem cells recover counts faster than recipients of bone marrow. Cord blood tends to be the slowest to engraft. The minimum number of HPCs necessary for engraftment in a myeloablated recipient has not been established. Different products have widely different numbers of progenitors and stem cells. However, eligibility criteria for some protocols usually dictate a minimum number of cells to be collected and infused. Several methods are used to measure the number of cells in an HPC collection. Simple cell count may be adequate for many marrow collections. Most centers use flow cytometric enumeration of CD34+ cells for the majority of cellular products. The discovery of the CD34 antigen in the early 1980s revolutionized our understanding of hematopoiesis. Cells expressing CD34 are capable of reconstituting hematopoiesis in lethally irradiated animals and humans, indicating that the putative hematopoietic stem cell expresses CD34.
A MOBILE ROLE BASED ACCESS CONTROL SYSTEM USING IDENTITY BASED ENCRYPTION WITH NON-INTERACTIVE ZERO KNOWLEDGE PROOF OF AUTHENTICATION

The undersigned hereby certify that they have read and recommend to the Faculty of Permission is herewith granted to Dalhousie University to circulate and to have copied for non-commercial purposes, at its discretion, the above title upon the request of individuals or institutions. I understand that my thesis will be electronically available to the public. The author reserves other publication rights, and neither the thesis nor extensive extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's written permission. The author attests that permission has been obtained for the use of any copyrighted material appearing in the thesis (other than the brief excerpts requiring only proper acknowledgement in scholarly writing), and that all such use is clearly acknowledged. Abstract Controlled access to confidential information and resources is a critical element in security systems. Role based access control (RBAC) has gained widespread usage in modern enterprise systems. Extensions have been proposed to RBAC for incorporating spatial constraints into such systems. Several solutions have been proposed for such models and much research has now been directed towards enforcing system policies. The thesis proposes a security framework for RBAC systems with spatial constraints based on identity based encryption. Integration of identity based encryption and with zero knowledge proof is proposed to provide authentication and information security. We also show how Near Field Communication can be used to establish the integrity of a user's proof of location. We discuss the design choices made in the protocol and explain the protocol implementation. Simulation results in Java validate our model. Furthermore, security analysis has been done to show how our framework protects against well-known attacks.
An Exploration of Information Seeking Models : Its Importance to Higher Learning Institutions

Information searchers with skills and knowledge in information seeking will gather more relevant information than graduates without information skills. Hence, graduates students for instance, need to be excellent in information seeking so as not to be left behind with the overwhelming growth of information. It is believed that there is a need for information users to know and understand how people seek for information as well as, understand the challenges and barriers faced so that they will be able to cope with the environment ahead .
QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION- A PERSPECTIVE

The article caters to the quality assurance activities adopted by education institutions. Survival in education industry requires healthy changes in the institution. The expectations of the stakeholder attached to the institution have to be fulfilled. Terms such as standards and quality of educations are becoming handy these days. Thus besides offering new degrees or putting up fancy ads, the term quality assurance is of great importance to the institution. It plays a major role on the configuration of the status of the institution in the education industry. Even getting certifications and affiliations from recognized institutions are referring to the quality education of the institution. Higher education has immensely improved in Pakistan. The introduction of Quality Assurance Agency is an addition to the education industry. This paper highlights the important factors considered for maintain quality in an institution. Education institution is like a means of transport which requires quality fuel to run efficiently. Thus the quality of institution depends on its faculty, pedagogy, curriculum design, strategic planning, examination system, resources and policies. This paper would be covering all the factors related to quality of the institution. At the same time the benchmark given by the Higher Education commission would also be disclosed. I will be developing a quality assurance framework of the entire procedure adopted by institutions. The entire process basically revolves around the input, process and output (IPO) model. The coordination, observation, feedback and collaboration of the internal stakeholders play the game. Thus this paper reveals the importance of quality management in higher education institution.