Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Two‐GHz hybrid coaxial bandpass filter fabricated by stereolithography 3‐D printing

This brief presents a fourth‐order hybrid coaxial bandpass filter, which is fabricated using Stereolithography 3‐D printing. The filter is designed to operate at a center frequency of 2 GHz, with a bandwidth of 40 MHz, a Chebyshev response and two symmetrical transmission zeros at 1.96 GHz and 2.04 GHz to achieve a better frequency selectivity. Usually in coaxial cavity filter design, the main‐line couplings and cross couplings are realized using coupling irises or probes. However, in the filter presented here, the main‐line couplings between coaxial resonators and input/output coupling are realized using Printed Circuit Board (PCB) lines instead. This novel idea allows different topologies to be designed easily by altering the PCB layout. It also allows multiple cross couplings to be included in the PCB layout for different filter topologies. In addition, the quality factor of each of the coaxial resonators in the filter is increased by introducing base rounding in the resonator. The filter was tested, and the measurement result of the filter shows very good agreement with simulated result without tuning, which indicates the accuracy of the fabrication process.
Increase in CO2 reduction rate via optical near-field effect

Abstract. To reduce the effects of global warming, visible and near-infrared light must be used more efficiently. Deep ultraviolet light (8 eV) is required for the direct dissociation of CO2 by light; however, the introduction of a metal complex has made it possible to realize CO2 reduction with visible light. We demonstrate that the optical near field (ONF) can increase the CO2 reduction rate. For this, we used gold clusters, because they can be a suitable source for ONFs, as their size and density can be controlled by the number of gold atoms. By attaching a metal complex near gold clusters with diameters of 1.0 to 1.3 nm, we confirm that the reduction rate of CO2 to CO increased by 1.5 to 2.1 times. The gold clusters were sufficiently small; therefore, there was no plasmonic resonant peak or heat generation. Because the near-field effect is based on a photochemical reaction, it can be applied to other metal complexes used in CO2 reduction, and it has other applications such as water splitting and water purification.
Cereal grain-based functional beverages: from cereal grain bioactive phytochemicals to beverage processing technologies, health benefits and product features

Abstract Increased consumer awareness of health and wellness has promoted a high demand for foods and beverages with functional and therapeutic properties. Cereals, apart from being important staple crops and primary sources of energy and nutrition, are replete with bioactive phytochemicals with health properties. Cereal grains contain a diverse range of bioactive phytochemicals including phenolic compounds, dietary fibers, carotenoids, tocols, phytosterols, γ-oryzanol, and phytic acid and therefore have great potential for processing into functional beverages. Although there are a variety of cereal grain-based beverages produced world-wide, very little scientific and technological attention has been paid to them. In this review, we have discussed cereal grain-based functional beverages based on 3 main categories: cereal grain-based milk alternatives, roasted cereal grain teas, fermented nonalcoholic cereal grain beverages. The processing techniques, health properties and product features of these beverages are elaborated, and the challenges and future perspectives are proposed. As the food market becomes increasingly diverse, cereal grain-based beverages could be a promising new category of health functional beverages in our daily life.
Exodus of Healthcare Professionals: Antecedents of Occupational Turnover Among Nurses in Kenya

Background: Despite the strides made in the healthcare sector in Kenya, the country is still bedevilled by nurses’ shortage arising from high turnover rates particularly in public hospitals. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors contributing to occupational turnover among nurses in Kenya. Methods: Descriptive research design, was used to collect data from 274 nurses using a questionnaire-based survey on the basis of systematic random sampling technique. Results: The overall correlation results showed that those who were dissatisfied with working conditions were more likely to have intent to leave (r= .391, p<0.001). Further, findings revealed that those who felt dissatisfied with the training and development policies were more likely to have intention to leave (r= .398, p<0.001). It was also established that those who felt dissatisfied with pay and benefits were more likely to have intention to leave (r= .513, p<0.001). Finally, the study established that those who felt dissatisfied with the way management support to staff, were more likely to have intention to leave MTRH (r= .493, p<0.001). Practical Implications: The need to reduce turnover rates among nurses remains paramount. Unless sufficient numbers of nurses are recruited and retained within the nursing profession, provision of quality health care services and patient care will be hampered. Thus, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences Vol. 1 1 , No. 2, 2021, E-ISSN: 2222-6990 © 2021 HRMARS 697 hospital management should devise effective strategies to curb the rising turnover rates among healthcare workers. Conclusion: Turnover among healthcare professionals has been attributed to discontent with work related factors. Hospital management could create and maintain a healthy environment with resources that nurses need to use during the provision of care, address the effects of the staff turnover.
Low Power QC-LDPC Decoder Based on Token Ring Architecture

The article presents an implementation of a low power Quasi-Cyclic Low-Density Parity-Check (QC-LDPC) decoder in a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) device. The proposed solution is oriented to a reduction in dynamic energy consumption. The key research concepts present an effective technology mapping of a QC-LDPC decoder to an LUT-based FPGA with many limitations. The proposed decoder architecture uses a distributed control system and a Token Ring processing scheme. This idea helps limit the clock skew problem and is oriented to clock gating, a well-established concept for power optimization. Then the clock gating of the decoder building blocks allows for a significant reduction in energy consumption without deterioration in other parameters of the decoder, particularly its error correction performance. We also provide experimental results for decoder implementations with different QC-LDPC codes, indicating important characteristics of the code parity check matrix, for which an energy-saving QC-LDPC decoder with the proposed architecture can be designed. The experiments are based on implementations in the Intel Cyclone V FPGA device. Finally, the presented architecture is compared with the other solutions from the literature.
A Suggestion of a Framework: Conceptualization of the Factors That Affect Technology Integration in Mathematics Education

The aim of this study is to identify the main factors that affected the process of technology integration in mathematics education. The methodological approach taken in this study is a structured grounded theory. The participants of the study included two secondary-school mathematics teachers, four students selected by the teachers, and two school administrators who were responsible for technology implementation. The data collection tools included two semi-structured interview forms based on a literature review, whose pilot studies were conducted, to identify the opinions of teachers, students and administrators separately. The data analysis method of the study was the constant comparative method that requires to collect data constantly and create codes and categories suggested by the grounded theory. For the analysis of the data, the qualitative data analysis software, MAXQDA 2020, was employed. Based on the findings of the study the factors that affected the process of technology integration in mathematics education were examined as teacher-driven and non-teacher driven factors. The results of the study highlighted that teachers were highly effective in the integration process. Therefore, 20 factors that affected the teachers were identified. These factors included perception of technology, technological awareness, self-confidence, planning and technological materials; and 9 factors that were related to non-teacher-driven aspects including physical conditions, administrative support, student readiness, economic situation, mathematics curriculum and mathematics curriculum approach. These factors were associated with each other, and a framework related to the factors that affected technology integration in mathematics education was suggested.
Fluorescence concentration studies of HiPco SWNTs and semi-conjugated polymers

Photoluminescence intensity PL measurements were taken for a range of PmPV concentrations, in which HiPco single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) at 100%, 10%, 1%, 0.1%, 0.01% and 0% mass fractions were added. The PL intensity of the composite was shown to decrease for all mass fractions, relative to the polymer up to 1.56x10-3g/l of PmPV, above which there is an initial increase in the composite emission yield with respect to the polymer. This increase is associated with an interaction within the composite, which results in a decrease in polymer aggregate formation, which has been shown to quench intensity yields. Within the concentration range studied 5.9x10-8g/l to 2g/l the photoluminescence intensity yield for each system is highly non linear. Previously the ratio of the maximum PL intensity of the composite, which includes both, bound and unbound polymer chains, and the maximum PL intensity of the polymer, which includes only unbound polymer chains was plotted as a function of polymer concentration. From this the authors calculated the amount of free polymer within each composite and derived a model, which showed that as the polymer concentration is lowered the bundles break up until isolated SWNTs are stable at low concentrations. In particular for their 100% mass fraction polymer/HiPco SWNT it was shown that individual nanotubes are stable in solutions ~3x10-5kg/m3. Here we utilize this approach and results indicate that as the mass fraction of nanotubes in reduced, individual nanotubes are stable at higher polymer concentrations. In particular for our 100% mass fraction results indicate that below ~1.5x10-4g/l individual nanotubes are stable. This result indicates that the choice of polymer and or solvent has a significant effect on the debundling and aggregation within these systems.
STRUCTURE, VIBRATIONAL PROPERTIES AND POLARIZABILITIES OF METHYLNAPHTHALENE ISOMERS. A QUANTUM-MECHANICAL APPROACH

Geometries, barrier heights for rotation of the methyl group, infrared and Raman spectra and electronic and vibrational polarizabilities (⟨α⟩) of 1-and 2-methylnaphtalene isomers (1-MN and 2-MN) have been calculated by ab initio HF and MP2 methods, as well as by DFT-B3LYP functional, using 6-31G* and 6-31 + G* basis sets. Structural parameters and relative energies of MN isomers are dependent on electron correlation effects, the MP2/6-31G* theoretical level giving the best results. The methyl group of 2-MN is predicted to have a greater electrophilic affinity than that of the 1-MN isomer, owing to the lower acidity of its hydrogen atoms. Computed B3LYP/6-31 + G* ⟨α e ⟩ values of MN isomers are in excellent agreement with experiment, with deviations within 1%. In passing from 1-MN to 2-MN isomer, the increase of ⟨α e ⟩ is in some consistency with an observed increase of the biodegradation rates in aqueous systems, suggesting that polarizability plays an important function in the biodegradative process.
Employing Subjective Tests and Deep Learning for Discovering the Relationship between Personality Types and Preferred Music Genres

The purpose of this research is two-fold: (a) to explore the relationship between the listeners’ personality trait, i.e., extraverts and introverts and their preferred music genres, and (b) to predict the personality trait of potential listeners on the basis of a musical excerpt by employing several classification algorithms. We assume that this may help match songs according to the listener’s personality in social music networks. First, an Internet survey was built, in which the respondents identify themselves as extraverts or introverts according to the given definitions. Their task was to listen to music excerpts that belong to several music genres and choose the ones they like. Next, music samples were parameterized. Two parametrization schemes were employed for that purpose, i.e., low-level MIRtoolbox parameters (MIRTbx) and variational autoencoder neural network-based, which automatically extract parameters of musical excerpts. The prediction of a personality type was performed employing four baseline algorithms, i.e., support vector machine (SVM), k-nearest neighbors (k-NN), random forest (RF), and naïve Bayes (NB). The best results were obtained by the SVM classifier. The results of these analyses led to the conclusion that musical excerpt features derived from the autoencoder were, in general, more likely to carry useful information associated with the personality of the listeners than the low-level parameters derived from the signal analysis. We also found that training of the autoencoders on sets of musical pieces which contain genres other than ones employed in the subjective tests did not affect the accuracy of the classifiers predicting the personalities of the survey participants.
Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy among Older HIV-infected Persons Receiving Treatment in a Public Hospital in Gauteng Province

Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a complex and dynamic process and remains an important issue in HIV care. Literature has highlighted sub-optimal adherence to ART across settings and populations, with many factors influencing the level of adherence. While older adults have been characterised as being more compliant, other studies have demonstrated at least 50% poor adherence. The aim of this study was to explore and describe own perspectives on adherence to ART among older persons receiving HIV treatment in a public hospital in Gauteng Province, South Africa. This study used a qualitative exploratory design that included a purposive sample of older HIV-infected men and women currently receiving HIV healthcare services from a public hospital in Gauteng Province. Individual interviews with 12 purposively selected older participants were conducted. The data were analysed using a thematic approach. Findings of the study revealed five main themes, namely: 1) disclosure, stigma and adherence; 2) drug-related side effects; 3) difficulties related to social factors and lifestyle; 4) support and adherence to ART; as well as 5) experience with the health system. Recommendations include empowering older persons in managing internalised stigma, monitoring of adherence by healthcare providers, and educating family and other support structures to form part of adherence enhancing strategies.
Effectiveness of Citronella Oil Nanoemulsion on Phytophthora palmivora Butl. Black Pod Pathogen

Penyakit busuk buah yang disebabkan oleh Phytophthora palmivora merupakan penyakit utama pada tanaman kakao di seluruh dunia. Pengendalian P. palmivora dapat menggunakan minyak serai wangi karena mengandung bahan aktif sitronella dan geraniol yang bersifat fungisidal. Bahan aktif dari minyak serai wangi mudah menguap sehingga dapat menurunkan keefektifannya. Stabilitas minyak serai wangi dapat ditingkatkan dengan menggunakan teknologi nano. Tujuan penelitian adalah menganalisis efektivitas formula nanoemulsi minyak serai wangi terhadap Phytophthora palmivora patogen busuk buah kakao . Penelitian dilaksanakan di Laboratorium Nanoteknologi Balai Besar Pascapanen, Bogor dan Laboratorium Proteksi Tanaman Balai Penelitian Tanaman Industri dan Penyegar, Sukabumi, mulai bulan Januari sampai Desember 2015. Formula nanoemulsi minyak serai wangi dibuat secara difusi spontan dan inversi dengan menambahkan pengemulsi Tween 80. Penelitian menggunakan rancangan acak lengkap dengan 6 perlakuan dan 5 ulangan. Perlakuannya adalah formula nanoemulsi minyak serai wangi (F1, F2, F3, F4, F5) dan kontrol. Konsentrasi formula yang diuji adalah 0,50% pada percobaan in vitro dan 1,00% pada buah kakao. Peubah yang diamati adalah daya hambat formula, bioassay , konsentrasi, dan daya hambat pada buah kakao. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa formula nanoemulsi minyak serai wangi dapat menghambat pertumbuhan P. palmivora dengan daya hambat 23,11%–77,78% dibandingkan dengan kontrol. Formula terbaik adalah F5 dengan daya hambat 77,78% in vitro dan 31,60% pada buah kakao. Aktivitas nanoemulsi minyak serai wangi memengaruhi laju pertumbuhan jamur, bobot segar dan kering jamur. Untuk aplikasinya pada buah kakao perlu menaikkan konsentrasi agar keefektifannya lebih meningkat.
Nucleation of pentacene on silicon dioxide at hyperthermal energies

The nucleation of pentacene on silicon dioxide, incident at hyperthermal energies, has been investigated with atomic force microscopy. The incident kinetic energy of the pentacene molecules strongly influences the process of adsorption—the adsorption probability decreases with increasing incident energy, indicative of trapping-mediated adsorption. In addition, the trapping probability of pentacene decreases with more glancing angles of incidence, a result inconsistent with so-called normal energy scaling. Analysis of the dependence of the island density on the growth rate in the submonolayer regime indicates that growth at all energies is consistent with a critical cluster containing four molecules.
Poly( L -lactic acid) Microfiltration Membrane Formation via Thermally Induced Phase Separation with Drying

Microfiltration membranes of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA), which is a major biodegradable plastic, were prepared from PLLA–1,4-dioxane–water solutions via the thermally induced phase separation. The resulting membranes are used to retain bacterial cells and permeate protein molecules. Only 20% of the bacterial cells in cell suspensions were retained by the membranes prepared from 10–12.5% polymer solution. Increasing the polymer concentration from 12.5 to 15% markedly elevated the bacterial cell retention to 60%. The retention further increased to 90% by elevating the casting temperature from 40 to 50°C. By drying the polymer solution for 2 min before quenching, the cell retention reached 99%. Casting at temperatures of 60°C or higher and drying for periods of 5 min or longer made the membrane uneven and/or increased the membrane resistance. By drying the polymer solution before quenching, the porous structure near the membrane surface was altered so that the membrane retains the bacterial cells. The membrane retained bacterial cells in the manner of a screen filter. The membranes developed in this research will be useful as a pre-filter in biochemical processes to enhance the life time of the final filters and to reduce industrial wastes due to being made of a compostable polymer.
Top-Spray Fluidized Bed Coating: Effect of Process Variables on Coating Efficiency

Abstract The effects of several process variables on the coating efficiency of top-spray fluidized bed coating were evaluated. Sodium chloride crystals were coated with protein concentrates as a model system in a laboratory top-spray fluidized bed unit. It was established that a higher coating mass of sodium caseinate is obtained at a lower average particle size and that the highest coating mass is obtained at a critical inlet air temperature of approximately 74 °C. The nozzle atomization pressure was demonstrated to act as more than a droplet size influencing factor. The highest coating efficiency of sodium caseinate was achieved at a high atomization pressure, the latter having the combined effect of producing smaller droplets with a higher velocity and decreasing the bed temperature. The functional and compositional properties of protein concentrates clearly influence the coating efficiency when these products are used as a coating material in a top-spray fluid-bed process as was observed in studies using sodium caseinate, lysozyme and blood plasma concentrate. In conclusion, coating losses may be drastically reduced by choosing appropriate processing conditions.
Surface modification of magnetic nanoparticles for stem cell labeling

Stem cell implantation is increasingly viewed as a promising strategy for the treatment of many diseases. A key aspect of stem cell therapies is the ability to distinguish the implanted cells from the host tissue cells and to understand their fate. Ex vivo labeling of the stem cells combined with non-invasive real time imaging modalities such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are highly advantageous for this purpose. Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) are promising as a labeling agent but they have to be modified to increase uptake by stem cells in order to generate sufficient contrast from the unlabeled tissues. This review provides a summary of the methods for the synthesis of SPIONs, their properties, and strategies for their modification to increase the efficiency in labeling stem cells. The challenges faced in using SPIONs for stem cell tracking by MRI are also discussed.
Community-Based ecotourism and bushmeat consumption dynamics: Implications for conservation and community development

Abstract This paper uses qualitative research methods guided by the social exchange theory and the Community-Based Natural Resource Management concept to explore the contribution of community-based ecotourism to bushmeat consumption/production using the Chobe Enclave Conservation Trust, located adjacent to the Chobe National Park, Botswana. Data were collected between May and August 2018. Using semi-structured in-depth interviews, results indicate that, bushmeat consumption became prevalent through trophy hunting tourism. With the hunting ban in 2014, game hunting licenses was stopped, cutting institutionalized bushmeat supply and widening trade-offs between community livelihoods improvement and conservation. Socially, hunting tourism has contributed to affinity for bushmeat taste. Bushmeat contributes to food security for a significant number of community members. Institutionally, bushmeat’s contribution to community livelihoods is perceived varyingly by different stakeholders - some see it as a threat to wildlife resources, a key driver to poaching and extinction of species resulting in unmanageable stakeholders’ interests while others see it as a means to improve their livelihoods and dietary needs. Overall, the nutritional role and financial contribution of bushmeat are prevalent in rural people's livelihoods. The paper contributes through the development of a model that aims to improve bushmeat production and community participation in natural resources conservation