Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Strain-engineered direct-indirect band gap transition and its mechanism in two-dimensional phosphorene

Recently fabricated two-dimensional phosphorene crystal structures have demonstrated great potential in applications of electronics. In this paper, strain effect on the electronic band structure of phosphorene was studied using first-principles methods including density functional theory (DFT) and hybrid functionals. It was found that phosphorene can withstand a tensile stress and strain up to 10 N/m and 30%, respectively. The band gap of phosphorene experiences a direct-indirect-direct transition when axial strain is applied. A moderate −2% compression in the zigzag direction can trigger this gap transition. With sufficient expansion (+11.3%) or compression (−10.2% strains), the gap can be tuned from indirect to direct again. Five strain zones with distinct electronic band structure were identified, and the critical strains for the zone boundaries were determined. Although the DFT method is known to underestimate band gap of semiconductors, it was proven to correctly predict the strain effect on the electronic properties with validation from a hybrid functional method in this work. The origin of the gap transition was revealed, and a general mechanism was developed to explain energy shifts with strain according to the bond nature of near-band-edge electronic orbitals. Effective masses of carriers in the armchair direction are an order of magnitude smaller than that of the zigzag axis, indicating that the armchair direction is favored for carrier transport. In addition, the effective masses can be dramatically tuned by strain, in which its sharp jump/drop occurs at the zone boundaries of the direct-indirect gap transition.
Darier Disease-A Genetic Disorder Detection in the Light of Computer Vision

This paper deals with the detection of a genetic disorder called Darier disease manifested in dermal changes. The clinical diagnosis of the said disease motivates its recognition in the light of computer vision which incorporates three methodologies based on 1) gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM), 2) local binary pattern (LBP) and 3) wavelet energy feature for skin texture feature extraction. The feed forward neural network (FNN) is implemented for Darier disease detection. All the methodologies are thoroughly compared to find the most suitable one as skin texture screening tool. The GLCM, LBP and wavelet based methodologies attain Darier disease detection accuracy of about 82%, 82% and 89% respectively. The other aspect of this work is that GLCM based methodology addresses the presence and location of several typical skin texture abnormalities by the statistical plots drawn against user defined offsets (spatial relationship between two pixels).
Short-term and Long-term Exposure to Air pollution and Stroke risk

Background: Stroke is a major cause of mortality and morbidity across the world. Air pollution has become an acknowledged risk factor for stroke, especially for acute effects. There is less support for effects by chronic exposure due to the methodological challenges inherent in such studies. Such challenges can regard missing individual level data or residual confounding and can partly be overcome by employing two-phase methods. The general idea with such methods is to incorporate study subjects with partly missing data into the analysis. The main aims in this work were to investigate if air pollution increase stroke risk in Scania (Sweden), where pollution levels are rather low, and to investigate the performance of different two-phase methods. Methods: Nitrogen oxides (NOx) concentrations were modelled with high resolution. Data from the National Stroke Register (Riks-stroke) were obtained on hospital admissions for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke during the years 2001 to 2006. The association between annual mean levels of NOx (as a marker for long-term exposure to air pollution) and ischemic stroke was studied in a two-phase case-control design. The short-term association between daily levels of inhalable particulate air pollution (PM10), ozone, NOx and temperature and the number of strokes occurring each day was studied with time series methods. The performance of several different two-phase methods was compared in a simulated case-control study. Results: No association between annual mean NOx and ischemic stroke was observed. Regarding short-term effects, high levels of PM10 increased the risk of ischemic stroke the next day, whereas high levels of temperature decreased the risk the next day. For hemorrhagic strokes, a similar, but less precise pattern was observed. Two-phase methods seemed to benefit from incorporating group-level data on exposure. The method which was most suitable for incorporating such data could be generalised to polytomous exposure categories and to include confounding factors. Conclusions: No evidence for long-term exposure to air pollution to increase ischemic stroke risk in Scania was observed. Short-terms effects by PM10 were documented, contributing to evidence for risk increases even in low-level areas. The role of temperature should be investigated further. The use of two-phase methods was illustrated in both a methodologial study and an empirical study. (Less)
Gender, availability and dual emancipation in the Swedish ICT sector

Set in the context of the Swedish state’s agenda of dual emancipation for women and men, the article shows how a global ICT consultancy company’s formal gender equality goal is undermined by competing demands. Employing the concept of availability, in preference to work–life balance, the research found women opted out of roles requiring high degrees of spatial and temporal availability for work, in favour of roles more easily combined with family responsibilities. Such choices led to poor career development, plus the loss of technological expertise and confidence. These outcomes were at odds with the company’s gender equality aims, as well as government objectives to make it easier for women and men to combine work and family, and increase the number of women within ICT.
Association between different degrees of hypothyroidism and serum lipids

The association between overt hypothyroidism (OH) and altered lipid profile is well known, however the significance of dyslipidemia in subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) remain controversial. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine any association between lipid profile and different degrees of thyroid dysfunction. Thyroid and lipid profile parameters were analysed in 58 patients with overt (TSH ≥ 10.0 μIU/L and/or abnormally low fT4 and fT3 levels) and 87 patients with subclinical hypothyroidism (TSH 6.0-9.9 μIU/L with normal fT4 and fT3 levels) in this case-control study. These were compared with 100 ageand sex-matched euthyroid controls. It was found that only mean serum level of total cholesterol in patients with SCH was significantly high from that in controls (p=0.045). Other lipid parameters did not show any statistical significance. Whereas patients with OH had statistically significant higher levels of total cholesterol (p<0.001), triglyceride (p<0.05), LDL-C (p<0.001) and VLDL-C (p<0.05). There was also an increase in HDL-C in both SCH and OH group though not significant statistically. In conclusion, lipid profile is not much deranged in SCH whereas OH is a major cause of secondary dyslipidemia which may lead to increased risk of coronary artery disease. Therefore, thyroid hormone replacement would be most beneficial in patients with OH instead of SCH. However, patients with SCH should be monitored for deterioration of thyroid function and dyslipidemia at regular intervals.
What Drives Bank Competition? Some International Evidence

Using bank-level data, we apply the Panzar and Rosse (1987) methodology to estimate the extent to which changes in input prices are reflected in revenues earned by specific banks in 50 countries' banking systems. We then relate this competitiveness measure to indicators of countries' banking system structures and regulatory regimes. We find systems with greater foreign bank entry and fewer entry and activity restrictions to be more competitive. We find no evidence that our competitiveness measure negatively relates to banking system concentration. Our findings confirm that contestability determines effective competition especially by allowing (foreign) bank entry and reducing activity restrictions on banks.
A ROBUST DISPERSION CONTROL CHART BASED ON M-ESTIMATE

Process control charts are proven techniques for improving quality. Specifying the control limits is the most important step in designing a control chart. The presence of outliers may extremely affect the estimates of parameters using classical methods. Robust estimators which are not affected by outliers or the small departures from the model assumptions are applied in this paper to specify the control limits. All the robust estimators of dispersion which have been proposed during the last decade are evaluated and their performance in control charting is compared. The results indicate that the M-estimate is a better estimator of dispersion in the presence of outliers. We show that when the M-estimate with a bisquare ρ -function is used to estimate the dispersion, the S control chart has the best performance among all estimators.
THE EFFECTS OF STRETCHING ON SERIES ELASTIC MUSCLE STIFFNESS AND PASSIVE RANGE OF MOTION

Sports people participating in activities involving running and jumping are vulnerable to Achilles tendon injuries. These injuries occur from either acute trauma or develop more slowly over a longer period of time. "Warm up" exercises are often advocated for the prevention and treatment of muscle and tendon injuries. These exercises usually include aerobic and stretching exercises, however, at this time the effect of these "warm up" regimes is largely anecdotal. Therefore the purpose of this investigation was to determine the effect of stretching and jogging on the series elastic muscle stiffness of the Soleus/Achilles tendon complex and on the range of motion of the ankle joint. Twenty subjects with no history of musculoskeletal pathology participated in this study, and were required for four testing sessions. In the first session maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) was assessed so that subsequent stiffness testing would be at 30% of their MVC. In the second session subjects were randomly assigned to one of a stretching, jogging, or stretching and jogging combined protocol. During the third and forth sessions the subjects completed the remaining protocols. The stretching protocol was five 30 second static stretches with 30 seconds rest between stretches, while the aerobic exercise protocol had the subjects jogging on a treadmill for 10 minutes at 60% of maximum-age-predicted heart rate. A damped oscillation technique was used to measure the series elastic stiffness of the Soleus/Achilles tendon complex. Range of motion was assessed using weights and a pulley system to move the ankle joint through its range passively. EMG of soleus was monitored to ensure muscle activity was minimal. The results for stiffness showed that running was significantly (pd.05) more effective than stretching for decreasing series elastic muscle stiffness. In contrast, the results for range of motion showed that a combination of running and stretching were significantly (peO.05) better than either running or stretching separately for increasing joint range of motion. These data have implications for the sports participant. It may be best to prepare for activities with extreme ranges of motion by combining an aerobic warmup with stretching. Those involved in movements not reaching the limits of joint motion may be best served by an aerobic warmup only.
An Optimal Rate Control and Routing Scheme for Multipath Networks

This paper considers optimal rate control and routing schemes for multipath networks which can be formulated as multipath network utility maximization problems. In these schemes, maximizing the aggregated user utility over the network with multipath routes under the link capacity constraints is the objective of utility maximization problems. By adopting the Lagrangian method, sub-problems for users and paths are deduced and interpreted from an economic point of view. In order to obtain the optimal rate allocation, a novel distributed primal-dual algorithm is proposed, and the performance is evaluated through simulations under two different fairness concepts. Moreover, window-based flow control scheme is also presented since it is more convenient to realize in practical end-to-end implementation than the rate control scheme.
Development of Mathematical Cost Model for Preheated End-milling of AISI D2 Tool Steel

In this research paper, reliable mathematical model for estimating the cost of preheated end-milling of AISI D2 tool steel using TiAlN coated carbide tool inserts is developed. Initially, the different components of machining cost were identified, followed by establishment of equations to determine their values. Then, the required experimental and non-experimental data were collected and the bottom-up approach was adopted for evaluating the cost of machining corresponding to each of fifteen experimental runs. The Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to develop the model in which the cost of machining is given as a function of the machining parameters; cutting speed, feed per tooth, and preheating temperature, and expressed in RM per cm 3 . ANOVA output was utilized to check the adequacy of the developed model. The developed model was found to be statistically adequate and this was confirmed by the small prediction errors made by the model.
Protein-protein Interaction Studies with Hfq

Hfq, ein Sm-like Protein von Escherichia coli hat vielfache Funktionen in zellularen Prozessen.Es ist bekannt, dass Hfq mit Komponenten des Ribosoms, des Degradosoms und anderen zellularen Maschinen, die im RNA Metabolismus involviert sind, assoziiert ist.Das Ziel dieser Studie war zu ergrunden, ob Hfq direkt mit den vermeintlichen Partnern S1 und der DEAD-box Helikase CsdA interagiert. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass Hfq indirekt mit dem ribosomalen Protein S1 und CsdA interagiert und dass diese Interaktionen mit hoher Wahrscheinlichkeit durch RNA mediiert sind. Es konnte weiters gezeigt werden, dass der C-terminale Teil von CsdA fur die indirekte Assoziation mit Hfq notwendig ist.
Labor Induction with Transcervical Catheter versus Oral Misoprostol in Primiparous Women and Women with an Unripe Cervix

Objective: To compare labor induction with transcervical catheter to oral misoprostol treatment in primiparous women and women with an unripe cervix, who are at high risk for unsuccessful labor induction. Study Design: A retrospective study was carried out in a university hospital in Sweden. Primary outcomes were vaginal birth within 24 hours and the cesarean section rate. Secondary outcomes were the induction to vaginal delivery interval, chorioamnionitis and neonatal asphyxia. Results: Vaginal birth within 24 hours was obtained more frequently after catheter compared with misoprostol in primiparous women (p 0.05). The induction to vaginal delivery interval was 8 - 12 hours shorter after catheter (p 0.05). Conclusion: Labor induction with transcervical catheter resulted in a higher rate of vaginal birth within 24 hours and an 8 - 12 hour shorter induction to vaginal delivery interval compared to treatment with oral misoprostol. This was obtained without increasing the rates of cesarean section, chorioamnionitis or neonatal asphyxia.
ENHANCING PARENTING DURING INFANCY: AN INTERVENTION PROJECT FOR AT-RISK MOTHERS

by Carol Elizabeth Akai The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a preventative, intensive, and comprehensive intervention project designed to improve early parenting. Forty-eight at-risk mothers were randomly assigned to either a treatment condition consisting of joint-attention treatment training, developmental knowledge training, and loving touch training or a minimal support control condition. Following the intervention, treatment mothers were less rigid, less intrusive and more flexible than control mothers, indicating reduced tendencies to exert control over infants. Treatment mothers also had better understanding of infants’ cognitive needs, indicated by higher quality verbalizations, more demonstrative teaching, and less role reversal. Participants did not differ in emotional expression towards their infants. Overall, results showed meaningful changes in knowledge and skills of at-risk mothers.
The dynamics of public goods

We analyze the replicator equation for two games closely related with the social dilemma occurring in public goods situations. In one case, players can punish defectors in their group. In the other case, they can choose not to take part in the game. In both cases, interactions are not pairwise and payoffs non-linear. Nevertheless, the qualitative dynamics can be fully analyzed. The games offer potential solutions for the problem of the emergence of cooperation in sizeable groups of non-related individuals -- a basic question in evolutionary biology and economics.
Engineering education research supervision: communicating expectation using supervisory and student learning styles

Establishing congruence relationship between students and supervisor in research supervision has been highlighted by many authors in the literature, especially in communicating expectation at the beginning of the research. It is particularly in engineering education research, engineering students normally activating multiple dimensions of learning styles and supervisors on the other hand, have their own supervisory styles and expectation. The literature suggests that incongruence between students’ learning and supervisory styles are one of the key factors that slow a student study progress. Therefore, this research attempts to establish congruence student-supervisor relationship using supervisory and student learning style in communicating expectation. This study will employ a three phase mix method approach for data collection. The first phase will be a survey to students and supervisor on expectation of supervision and supervisory style of supervisors, as well as learning style of research students; the second phase will be a comparative analysis of students and supervisor’s expectation mediated by students learning styles and supervisory styles; and the third phase will be the post analysis in establishing congruence relationships framework. The participants will be engineering education research students and supervisors from technical and vocational education faculties in local universities. Data will be analyses using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) and computer aided software. It is expected that the model will help to expedite graduation, increase graduation rates, and improve the quality of research in engineering education
Advanced gas turbines health monitoring systems

An overview of science papers in the field of machine diagnosis has exposed increasing efforts in developing accurate and reliable engine health monitoring systems. Attempts have been made in both diagnostics and prediction of system faults. Essential limitations of the standard monitoring system are discussed in this paper as well as arguments for implementation of the Advanced Gas Turbine Health Monitoring Systems. Examples of implementation are discussed and a comparison between “Enhanced Arrangement” and “Standard Arrangements” is carried out. The individual system components are implemented today using very different methods. Performance degradation of gas turbines is described here with an approach of Condition Based Maintenance and it was shown how the classification method can help to improve equipment operation. The review of signal processing methods was carried out to present strengths and shortcomings of individual methods.
A CORPUS-BASED PROPOSAL FOR THE GRADING OF VOCABULARY TEACHING MATERIALS FOR THE LEGAL ENGLISH CLASS

The introduction of legal English as a compulsory subject in the curriculum of the Law Degrees taught at Spanish universities due to the implementation of the Bologna Reform has led to the design of syllabuses which are intended to enable students to become proficient users of this English variety with both academic and professional purposes. This paper presents a corpus-based proposal for the grading of materials for the teaching of legal vocabulary which can be extrapolated to other varieties of English for Specific and Academic Purposes (ESAP). In order to exemplify it, a sample list of 33 crime nouns (obtained from the legal English textbooks consulted) has been examined in terms of their frequency, keyness and text range values in an ad hoc legal corpus of 2.6 million words, UKSCC . After doing so, Chung’s (2003) automatic term recognition (ATR) method has been applied so as to establish their level of specialisation. Our proposal relies on the assumption that the information obtained after taking these different parameters into consideration might be helpful for the ESAP instructor to rank the vocabulary inventories obtained from specialised corpora so that the materials derived from them can be graded according to the students’ needs.
On the Shape of Dark Matter Halos in the Galaxy Cluster Abell 3827 and the Scattering Cross-Section of Dark Matter

Four bright elliptical galaxies lie within the central 20 kpc of the galaxy cluster Abell 3827, indicative of an ongoing merger. Gravitational lensing has already been used to measure the offsets between dark and luminous matter. Existing measurements of an offset in one of the galaxies in this cluster suggests the presence of self-interacting dark matter (SIDM). The self-interactions scatter the dark matter (DM) particles, separating the DM halo from the collisionless stellar mass. However, offsets are not the only prediction of SIDM. Numerical simulations of some models of SIDM predict colliding halos will develop a skew in the shape of a tail. For this thesis I have developed two new parametric models to detect these tails, using gravitational lensing. These are then implemented to reconstruct the mass distribution in Abell 3827, using existing HST data, together with new integrated field spectroscopy observations from VLT/MUSE. There are three main findings. Firstly, in the new mass model of Abell 3827 there are now two galaxies where dark to luminous matter offsets are present. These offsets suggest an effective cross section for DM of $\tilde \sigma / m_{DM} \gtrsim 1.4 \text{ cm}^2 \text{g}^{-1}$. Secondly, the shape of the DM halo does not significantly alter the predicted offsets between the peak of the dark and luminous matter, compared to a model without skew. Finally, there are tentative signs that there may be a tail of scattered DM particles trailing one of the offset galaxies in Abell 3827.
KINETIKA I MODELOVANJE EKSTRAKCIJE ULJA IZ SEMENA LANA (Linum usitatissimum L.) NATKRITIČNIM UGLJENDIOKSIDOM

U ovom radu su prikazani rezultati ekstrakcije ulja iz semena lana (Linum usitatissimum L.) pomoću natkritičnog ugljendioksida na pritiscima od 30, 40 i 50 MPa, temperaturama od 47 i 52 °C, specifičnom protoku CO2 od 8,8 kg/(kg h), kao i sa frakcijama polaznog čvrstog materijala čestica od 0,16–0,315, 0,315– 0,80 i 0,80–2,00 mm. Usitnjeno seme lana je ekstrahovano na laboratorijskoj aparaturi u vremenu od 4 časa. Određene su zavisnosti prinosa ulja od procesnih parametara (pritisak, temperatura, vreme ekstrakcije i usitnjenost čvrstog materijala), kao i kinetika ekstrakcije ulja iz semena lana pomoću natkritičnog ugljendioksida. Eksperimentalne vrednosti za prinos ekstrahovanog ulja upoređivane se sa podacima koji se dobijaju primenom kombinovanog modela Honga i saradnika [I.K. Hong, S.W. Rho, K.S. Lee, K.P. Yoo, Korean J. Chem. Eng. 7 (1990) 40].