Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Novel Approach for Reduce Energy Consumption in Mobile Cloud Computing

In recent years, using mobile devices has a special place in human life and applicability of these devices leads to increased number of users. Business companies have integrated them with cloud computing technology and have provided mobile cloud in order to improve using mobile devices and overcome the energy consumption of mobile devices. In mobile cloud computing, computations and storages of mobile devices applications are transferred to cloud data centers and mobile devices are used merely as user interface to access services. Therefore, cloud computing will help to reduce energy consumption of mobile devices. In this paper, a new approach is given to reduce energy consumption of based on Learning Automata in mobile cloud computing. Simulation results show that our proposed approach dramatically saves energy consumption through determining the appropriate location for application.
The Hologenomic Basis of Speciation: Gut Bacteria Cause Hybrid Lethality in the Genus Nasonia

Microbes → Host Speciation? No living organism is an individual—an individual's microbiota can outnumber the host's somatic cells. Working in parasitoid wasps, Brucker and Bordenstein (p. 667, published online 18 July) now suggest that the gut microbiota can play a crucial role in speciation and hybrid lethality. In a clade of parasitoid wasps, interspecies hybrids survived when reared on antibiotic-treated sterile food (thus eliminating gut microbiota), but experienced high mortality when reared on conventional diet or host material. Speciation may be a collective property of an organism and its microbiota. Although the gut microbiome influences numerous aspects of organismal fitness, its role in animal evolution and the origin of new species is largely unknown. Here we present evidence that beneficial bacterial communities in the guts of closely related species of the genus Nasonia form species-specific phylosymbiotic assemblages that cause lethality in interspecific hybrids. Bacterial constituents and abundance are irregular in hybrids relative to parental controls, and antibiotic curing of the gut bacteria significantly rescues hybrid survival. Moreover, feeding bacteria to germ-free hybrids reinstates lethality and recapitulates the expression of innate immune genes observed in conventionally reared hybrids. We conclude that in this animal complex, the gut microbiome and host genome represent a coadapted “hologenome” that breaks down during hybridization, promoting hybrid lethality and assisting speciation.
T lymphocytes against solid malignancies: winning ways to defeat tumours

In the last decades, a novel field has emerged in the cure of cancer, by boosting the ability of the patient’s immune system to recognize and kill tumour cells. Although excellent and encouraging results, exploiting the effect of genetically modified T cells, have been obtained, it is now evident that tumour malignancies can evolve several mechanisms to escape such immune responses, thus continuing their growth in the body. These mechanisms are in part due to tumour cell metabolic or genetic alterations, which can render the target invisible to the immune system or can favour the generation of an extracellular milieu preventing immune cell infiltration or cytotoxicity. Such mechanisms may also involve the accumulation inside the tumour microenvironment of different immune-suppressive cell types, which further down-regulate the activity of cytotoxic immune cells either directly by interacting with them or indirectly by releasing suppressive molecules. In this review, we will first focus on describing several mechanisms by which tumour cells may dampen or abrogate the immune response inside the tumour microenvironment and, second, on current strategies that are adopted to cope with and possibly overcome such alterations, thus ameliorating the efficacy of the current-in-use anti-cancer immuno-therapies.
Advances in phase-stepping real-time holography using photorefractive sillenite crystals

This work presents a review of recent developments in phase-stepping real-time holographic interferometry with photorefractive sillenite crystals. Quantitative results are shown in micro-rotation, micro-displacement, and microdeformation measurements, and in wave-optics and surface analysis as well. The phase stepping was carried out in a four-frame process and the resulting phase map was unwrapped by applying a sin/cos filter. The experimental results are in good agreement with the ones obtained through other means, showing the promising potentialities of phase-stepping real-time holographic interferometry for in situ visualisation, monitoring and analysis in non-destructive testing.
An Exploratory Study of the Level of Sophistication of Management Accounting Practices in Jordan

Purpose – The research aims to provide a view of the present role of management accounting to identify the extent of usage of management accounting practices (MAPs) and finally to determine the sophistication level of MAPs by employing International Federation of Accountants model (IFAC) in the Jordanian financial sector. Design/methodology/approach – To attain these objectives, the research used the questionnaire method 64 valid questionnaires were returned, giving a 67.3% response rate. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to analyse the responses. Findings – Regarding the life-cycle stages, it was revealed that 67.2% of the respondent companies are located in the first two stages. The research reported that traditional practices are still widespread and highly used, rarely using the more sophisticated or advanced practices, and that there is a diversity of practices used in the financial sector context. In general, the research revealed that budgeting practices and financial measures are heavily used, and there is a lack of usage of decision making practices and strategic analysis practices. Concerning the sophistication level of MAPs, the research revealed that almost all of the Jordanian financial sector companies are located in the first stage by 64.1% and 29.7% of companies in the second stage based on the IFAC model, thus indicating the simplicity of information that they require. This, in turn, reflects the simplicity of practices that are used in the Jordanian financial sector. Originality/value – Provides a broad overview of management accounting practices in the Jordanian financial sector, indicates is a lack of using MAPs in the developing countries, and indicates the improvement which would take place in the Jordanian financial sector in terms of the adoption of more sophisticated or advance MAPs.
Reflective Clothing is Attractive to Pedestrians

Motor vehicle crash fatalities involving pedestrians result in 1.8 deaths per 100,000 population annually in the US. Most of these fatalities are attributed to the pedestrian not being seen in time for the driver to avoid a collision, particularly under poor lighting conditions. Previous research shows that reflective clothing worn at night significantly increases a pedestrian's visual conspicuity to drivers, especially when worn on a part of the body that moves. The purpose of the present research was to examine pedestrians' willingness to pay an additional dollar amount for clothing providing increased conspicuity at night. Two studies were conducted with sample sizes of n = 340 and 325, respectively, comprised of university students and non-students. Findings from these two studies suggest that over 49 percent of respondents would be willing to pay an additional amount ($33 versus $30) for a sweat shirt or jacket, and over 60 percent would pay the same additional amount for athletic shoes. These findings suggest that a relatively large segment of the population are interested in and would be willing to spend more for clothing with reflective material. In both studies, significantly more women than men selected the reflective material option. Respondents spending more time outdoors at dusk or at night walking, running or jogging professed a significantly greater willingness to purchase the reflective clothing than respondents reporting spending less time outdoors at dusk or after dark. Implications for product marketing and future research are discussed.
Marketing Research of the Chocolate Market in Macedonia

Tržiste potrosnih dobara u Makedoniji, a posebno tržiste cokolade, preuzeto je od strane brojnih stranih brendova. Domace kompanije, bez obzira na svoju velicinu, gube tržisno ucesce u odnosu na konkurente sa jacim strategijama. Ovaj rad ukazuje na postojece slabosti aktuelnih strategija domacih kompanija putem studije slucaja 2 najveca proizvođaca konditorskih proizvoda u Makedoniji, s jedne strane, i otkriva ponasanje potrosaca i njihove preferencije na tržistu potrosnih dobara i cokolade putem marketing istraživanja i analize namernog uzorka od 300 potrosaca, s druge strane. Primenjene su istraživacke tehnike za potrebe istraživanja ponasanja potrosaca u vidu upitnika i dubinskih intervjua sa menadžerima kompanija. Analiza jasno pokazuje da adekvatnim marketing istraživanjima, npr. implementacijom modela i tehnika istraživanja tržista, baza za konkurentnu i uspesnu marketing strategiju može biti kreirana, ne samo od strane velikih korporacija, vec isto tako i od strane pojedinaca / vlasnika malih i srednjih preduzeca.
Determinants of Malnutrition among Children Aged 6-59 Months in Trans-Mara East Sub-County, Narok County, Kenya

Malnutrition is associated with a lot of morbidity and more than one-third deaths in children under 5 years globally. A majority of those who suffer from the brunt of malnutrition are in developing countries. Of note Kenya is one of the countries with the greatest burden of malnutrition associated with rapid nutrition, economic and social transitions. However, there is a paucity of data on malnutrition and the factors related to it in children in rural settings. This study therefore examined the prevalence and predictors of malnutrition among children aged 6-59 months in Trans-Mara East sub-county in Narok county. The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional design and data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Analysis was done using multivariate logistic regression. Of the 350 children enrolled in this study, 31%, 22% and 8% of the children were stunted, underweight and wasted, respectively. Besides, 9% and 4% of the children suffered from overweight and obesity respectively. The key determinants for stunting were number of children in the household (adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR): 1.86; 95%CI: 1.01-3.43), mother being a house wife (aOR: 3.63; 95%CI: 1.08-12.24), and being poor (aOR: 3.33; 95%CI: 1.44-7.68). For obesity, the predictors were child age with 12-23 months (Crude Odds Ratio: 2; 95%CI: 0.175-22.8); 24-35 months (odds ratio of 2.22; 95%CI: 0.22-22.3), child gender with males more likely to be obese relative to females (OR: 3.27; 95%CI: 0.856-12.5). This study indicates that there is double burden of malnutrition in rural settings characterized by high prevalence of under nutrition and low prevalence of over nutrition. The results of this study will be useful for the Ministry of Health and other developmental partners targeting child nutrition in formulating context-specific interventions that are optimized according to the level of food insecurity within different settings.
Bioremediation a potential approach for soil contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: An Overview

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) represent a group of priority pollutants which are present at high concentration in soils of many industrially contaminated sites. Standards and criteria for the remediation of soils contaminated with PAHs vary widely between countries. Bioremediation has gained preference as a technology for remediation contaminated sites as it is less expensive and more environmental friendly. Bioremediation utilizes microorganisms to degrade PAHs to less toxic compounds. This technology degrades contaminants through natural biodegradation mechanisms or enhanced biodegradation mechanism and can be performed in-situ or ex-situ under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. The purpose of this paper is to highlight potential of using isolated strains from municipal sludge on soil remediation. Several indigenous bacteria from municipal sludge namely genus Micrococus, Sphingomonas , and Corynebacterium demonstrated a high removal rate of PAHs with more than 80% of lower molecular weight of PAHs degraded after one week incubation. Laboratory studies had established that these genus able to degrade PAHs on contaminated soil. The successful application of bacteria to the bioremediation of PAHs contaminated sites requires a deeper understanding of how microbial PAH degradation proceeds. An overview of research focusing on biodegradation of PAHs will be presented.
The mediating effect of depression between superstitious beliefs and problem gambling: a cross-cultural study of Chinese and Caucasians residing in the United States

The purpose of this study was to address the mediational role of depression in the association between superstitions and problem gambling and to test whether this mediating process is significantly different between Chinese and Caucasian Americans. Eight items assessing superstitious beliefs, the 21-item Beck Depression Inventory-II, and the 20-item South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) were completed by 115 Chinese gamblers and 187 Caucasian gamblers residing in the United States, and the responses between tests and between groups compared. Path analysis results showed that superstitious beliefs had a significant effect on both Chinese and Caucasian gamblers' SOGS scores (i.e., problem gambling symptoms). In both groups, depression played a significant mediating role between the superstitious beliefs variable and the problem gambling variable. Future clinical research might use the findings of this study to develop specific prevention and treatment approaches focusing on a gambler's cognitive bias and negative mood.
Phytoremediation of Cadmium by Selected Leguminous Plants inHydroponics Culture

Attempts to use the plants for remediation of heavy metal contamination have been made. This study was conducted to determine the phytoremediation of Cadmium (Cd) by three leguminous plants (Acacia mangium Willd, Pterocarpus indicus Willd and Cassia fistula Linn.) where assessment was done for the Cd accumulation, relative growth, biomass productivity and bio concentration factor. The plants used for testing were obtained from Ratchaburi Nursery Center, Royal Forest Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Thailand. Plants were hydroponically cultured in 10% modified Hoagland solution and treated with various Cd concentrations under the laboratory condition for 15 days. Obtained results indicated that P. indicus at 8 mg/L of Cd concentration had the highest Cd accumulation (522.91 ug/g dry wt.). The relative growth and biomass productivity in plants were significantly decreased when the test concentrations were increased (P<0.05). The highest relative growth and biomass productivity was observed in P. indicus followed by A. mangium and C. fistula (P<0.05). The highest bio concentration factor (BCF) was found in P. indicus when exposed to 8.0 mg/L of Cd concentration. A higher Cd accumulation was also detected in roots compared to the shoots. The results suggests that P. indicus has the capability of phytoremediation in case of Cd contamination.
Intelligent Vehicle Localization in Urban Environments Using EKF-based Visual Odometry and GPS Fusion

Abstract We present a method for intelligent vehicle localization and 3D mapping in urban environments using integration of stereovision and Real-Time Kinematic GPS (RTK-GPS). In our approach, stereoscopic system is used to recover the scene geometry and to predict the camera motion. Accurate GPS positions are integrated to correct the vehicle positions and orientations using Extended Kalman Filter (EKF), and to rectify the global positions of reconstructed 3D landmarks based on the positions of reference stereo frames. The method was tested using data obtained by a real electrical GEM vehicle equipped with stereoscopic system and RTK-GPS in urban environments. The results show that the trajectory obtained by GPS/Vision integrated method can fit the ground truth better than the vision-only method, and can also avoid the position jumps aroused by GPS signal failures.
What Lenneberg Got Right: A Homological Program for the Study of Language Evolution

By 1967, it was clear to Eric Lenneberg that reconstructing the phylogenetic history of language should require the adoption of a non-functional (or Owenian) homology concept for grounding relevant comparisons. Fifty years later, most biolinguistic approaches have betrayed this project, for they routinely derive their conclusions regarding the unique/shared status of language on merely folk grounds — as dramatically illustrated in Hauser, Chomsky & Fitch vs. Pinker & Jackendoff’s debate, or based on functional considerations — as in Chomsky’s recent conceptualization of language as a unique tool for thought. Here we claim that Lenneberg’s project needs to be resumed and we articulate some suggestions about how to conduct it, taking advantage of recent findings and new conceptual insights concerning two crucial levels of analysis actually pinpointed by him — namely, anatomical/molecular structure and physiological function.
Low Temperature (180°C) Growth of Smooth Surface Germanium Epilayers on Silicon Substrates Using Electron Cyclotron Resonance Chemical Vapor Deposition

This paper describes a new method to grow thin germanium (Ge) epilayers (40 nm) on c-Si substrates at a low growth temperature of 180°C using electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapor deposition (ECR-CVD) process. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the Ge (004) in X-ray diffraction pattern and the compressive stain in a Ge epilayer of 683 arcsec and 0.12% can be achieved. Moreover, the Ge/Si interface is observed by transmission electron microscopy to demonstrate the epitaxial growth of Ge on Si and the surface roughness is 0.342 nm. The thin-thickness and smooth surface of Ge epilayer grown on Si in this study is suitable to be a virtual substrate for developing the low cost and high efficiency III-V/Si tandem solar cells in our opinion. Furthermore, the low temperature process can not only decrease costs but can also reduce the restriction of high temperature processes on device manufacturing.
Tidal and rotational effects in the perturbations of hierarchical triple stellar systems. I. Numerical model and a test application for Algol

A new numerical integrator has been developed for studying the orbital and spin evolution of hierarchical triple stellar systems. The code includes equilibrium tide approximations with arbitrary direction of rotational axes. The variation of the orbital elements (e.g. the inclination of the close - eclipsing - binary) and its observational consequences according to the distorted models with different mass-distributions of the stars, as well as with and without dissipation are studied in the case of the well-known eclipsing triple system Algol. We found that, in the absence of the tidal dissipation, the presence of the third star may cause sudden fluctuations in the orbital elements and the stellar rotation of the binary members even in the previously synchronized case, too. The dissipation can eliminate these fluctuations, nevertheless some variations which would produce observable effects in the same order which have been measured in several eclipsing binaries are also present.
Aedes spp mosquitoes and emerging neglected diseases of Kenya

In the recent past, Kenya has seen an upsurge in diseases oubreaks caused by arboviruses especially dengue, chikungunya and riftvalley which have led to economic loss in terms of morbidity and mortality sometimes in both animals and man like in the case of riftvalley fever. Climatic change, unplanned urbanization combined with efficient vectors are some of the factors believed to be driving the emergence. Going by the current trend, an increase in the number of outbreaks is foreseeable in the future. The greatest risk of these arboviruses comes from their ability and potential to adopt from slyvatic zoophilic cycles to urban or peridomestic transmission cycles involving highly efficient and anthropophilic vector, Ae. aegypti. To exacerbate the problem, most of these arboviruses have no licensed vaccines and third world countries like Kenya still lack policies for the prevention and control of these diseases. There is also the reason to believe that viruses like Yellow fever and Zika virus have the potential for urban transmission. This could have devastating public health consequences, especially due to the fact that most city dwellers are not vaccinated and thus have no herd immunity. More emphasise therefore needs to be put in understanding the factors for emergence of these diseases in the local environments, their future trends and what actions could be taken to prevent and control them locally.
Communication networks in the zebrafish, Danio rerio

Communication is not only restricted to dyadic interactions. And, therefore, signals exchanged between animals can be available to third-party elements, that can gather information potentially relevant to them, in a phenomenon termed as eavesdropping. For instance, in an aggressive context, males could eavesdrop on male-male interactions to gather information about their rivals' fighting abilities. However, the presence of bystanders can lead to a situation in which their presence could potentially influence the signaling behaviour of eavesdropped animals, in a phenomenon named as audience effect. The effect of an audience on agonistic signaling behaviour has been extensively studied in several species. Here, we were interested in determining if zebrafish males (Danio rerio) could eavesdrop on aggressive contests between demonstrators and, if so, whether experiencing a prior victory or defeat could influence how they use the gathered information. To do this, we measured their preference in terms of the time spent with each winner or loser. Also, we wanted to determine if males adjusted their agonistic behaviour when exposed to conspecifics, either before and/or during an aggressive interaction. In these experiments we used zebrafish since it has been used as a model organism in several areas of study. Therefore, by being a highly studied species, it has an extensive number of genetic resources available such as transgenic or mutant lines. We could not detected the presence of eavesdropping in zebrafish in terms of its preference towards winners or losers of seen interactions. Therefore we could not determine the influence of a prior outcome in the use of socially acquired information. However, we found that zebrafish males adjust their aggressive behaviour when conspecifics are present, by increasing the frequency of assessment in these interactions. Also, pre-exposure to conspecifics increased the time winners spent chasing losers.
Microsavings and Market Saturation: The Evolution of Diversity in Saving Products

Saving behavior influences economic development in many possible ways. The paradox of thrift stresses the negative effects of increased individual savings. How does this relationship transfer to microfinance and to microsavings in particular? Based on savings data of differently developed countries, we investigate the relationship described by the triangle of the availability of saving products, savings behavior, and development. The data supports the assumption of the proposed saturation triangle that with an increased number of MFIs active in a country, the average deposit per MFI decreases. Furthermore, the savings product saturation of a country is linked to economic as well as social developments.