Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Comparative Evaluation of Smear Layer Removal by using Three Different Irrigating Systems in Endodontics: An In-Vitro Scanning Electron Microscopic Study

Background: The purpose of this study was to compare and evaluate the efficacy of conventional needle irrigation delivery system, EndoActivator system, and EndoVac irrigation in removal of smear layer in root canals. Materials and Methods: 45 freshly extracted human mandibular premolar teeth were used. The teeth were decoronated to obtain standard working length of 17 mm for all samples. Working length determination was done, and samples were instrumented up to 40 size (K-file) with 2.5% NaOCl irrigation between each instrumentation followed by irrigation with 5 ml of saline. Then, each sample was subjected to irrigation with 5 ml of 17% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) using three different irrigating systems. Group I: 15 samples with 17% EDTA using conventional needle irrigation. Group II: 15 samples with 17% EDTA using EndoActivator irrigating system. Group III: 15 sample with 17% EDTA using EndoVac irrigation system. Final irrigation was done with 5 ml of Saline using a 27-gauge needle with 20 mm length. Longitudinal sectioning of the samples was done. Then, the samples were observed under scanning electron microscope at apical, middle, and coronal levels. The images were scored according to the criteria given by Torabinejad et al.: (i) 1 = No smear layer, (ii) 2 = Moderate smear layer, (iii) 3 = Heavy smear layer. Data obtained were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance followed by Mann– Whitney U-test for individual comparison. The level of significance was set as 0.05. Results: The results of the present study showed that all the irrigating systems used removed smear layer from the root canal. The EndoActivator (Group II) and EndoVac (Group III) irrigating systems had no difference among them and showed better smear layer removal at all levels of the root canal compared to conventional needle irrigation. Conclusion: EndoActivator and EndoVac give relatively cleaner surfaces of root canal walls when used with EDTA for smear layer removal than conventional needle irrigation and probably aid in a better clinical outcome of the root canal treatment.
TD-DFT Calculations, NBO, NLO Analysis and Electronic Absorption Spectra of Some Novel Thiazolo[3,2-a]Pyridine Derivatives Bearing Anthracenyl Moiety

The electronic structure and spectra of the studied compounds 1–4 are investigated using TD-DFT/B3LYB/6-311G (d, p) level of theory. The results of calculations show that all the studied compounds 1–4 are non-planar, as indicated from the dihedral angles. The electronic absorption spectra of the studied compounds are recorded in the UV-VIS region, in both Acetone (as polar solvent) and Xylene (as non-polar solvent). The observed vertical electronic transitions assignments are facilitated via time-dependent density functional theory TD-DFT. Solvent dependence of the band maxima (λmax) and intensities of the observed spectra are explained in terms of blue and red shifts. Electronic configurations contributing to each excited state are identified and the relevant MOs are characterized. The natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis were discussed in terms of the extent of delocalization, intermolecular charge transfer and second order perturbation interactions between donor and acceptor MOs. The Coulomb-attenuating method (CAM-B3LYP) and Corrected Linear Response Polarizable Continuum Model (CLR) PCM studied for theoretically obtaining the electronic absorption spectra in gas phase, Acetone and Xylene, respectively, indicate a good agreement with the observed spectra. The calculated nonlinear optical parameters (NLO); polarizibilty (α), anisotropy of the polarizibility (Δα) and first order hyperpolarizibility (β) of the studied compounds show promising optical properties. The HOMO-LUMO energy gap helped in analyzing the chemical reactivity, hardness, softness, chemical potential and electro negativity. 3D-plots of the molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) for the studied compounds are investigated and analyzed showing the distribution of electronic density of orbital's describing the electrophilic and nucleophilic sites of the selected molecules.
Deep Learning Applications in Mobile Networks

The expected deployment of 5G networks, growing percentages of mobile networks’ market penetration levels and increasing popularity of mobile applications induce new challenges and requirements for mobile network operators. One of the ways of tackling these new challenges is the deployment of advanced machine learning techniques in hopes of handling expected traffic volumes, performing real-time analytics and managing network resources. The paper presents the aspects of mobile networking in which deep learning methods can be implemented. After presenting the basic background and modern deep learning techniques and related technologies, paper presents an overview of the current advances made in these research areas. The paper also identifies the fields within the realm of mobile networking that show particular potential for new exploration.
A Sociopsychological Explanation

Intergroup confl icts are an inherent part of human relations, having on a large scale taken place continuously and constantly throughout all millennia of history. Of these, intractable intergroup confl icts, 1 which still rage in various parts of the globe—in Sri Lanka, Kashmir, Chechnya, or the Middle East—are of special interest. Confl icts in this category stem from disagreements over contradictory goals and interests in different domains such as territories, natural resources, economic wealth, self-determination, and/or basic values, and these real issues must be addressed in confl ict resolution processes. Nonetheless, it is assumed that these disagreements could potentially be resolved if not for the powerful sociopsychological barriers which fuel and maintain the confl icts (Arrow et al. 1995 ; Bar-Siman-Tov 1995 , 2010 ; Bar-Tal and Halperin 2011 ; Ross and Ward 1995 ).
Limiting End-user Piracy | The Role of Private and Public Anti-Piracy Measure

We study when the original product developer makes costly investment to deter end-user piracy in a given regime of IPR protection. We find that when the consumers' tastes are sufficiently diverse and IPR protection is weak, only then it is profitable for the product developer to tolerate piracy. In all the other cases, it is profitable to deter, unless piracy is blockaded by strong IPR protection. The relationship between the optimal deterrence level from the product developer (private anti-piracy measure) and the degree of IPR protection in the economy (public anti-piracy measure) can be monotonic or non-monotonic. The private optimal deterrence level generally increases with the quality of the pirated good except when consumers' tastes are sufficiently diverse and the quality of the pirated good is sufficiently high. Public antipiracy measure unambiguously reduces piracy.
Inventory Policy for a Deteriorating Item with Time-Varying Demand Under Trade Credit and Inflation

Abstract It’s often the case that the supplier will provide the retailer with a permissible delay period in payments, during which the supplier charges the retailer no interest and the retailer accumulates interest earned from investment return. As a type of price reduction and an alternative to price discount, trade credit helps the supplier encourage the retailer’s ordering. This paper develops an inventory replenishment model for a deteriorating item with time-varying demand and shortages, taking account of trade credit and time value of money under inflation over a finite time horizon. This model is an extension and development of the existing studies related to the inventory system considering trade credit and time value of money and offers a more general model with more flexibility and resilience to handle the situation where demand of the end market is non-decreasing with regard to time.
Intersections of Mother Tongue-Based Instruction, Funds of Knowledge, Identity, and Social Capital in an Ugandan Pre-School Classroom

ABSTRACT This article reports on a collaborative action research project, conducted in a pre-primary school in South Central Uganda, which explores the opportunities for children to draw upon and integrate their home and community-based knowledge and experiences through mother tongue (MT) instruction and resources. We use the funds of knowledge (Moll, Amanti, Neff, & Gonzalez, 1992), language and identity (Norton, 2000, 2013), and social capital (Bourdieu, 1984; Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977) theoretical perspectives to consider how MT pedagogical approaches that acknowledge the value of children’s MT and prior life experiences support young children’s learning and the development of their identities as learners. Findings indicate MT-based instruction engaged and supported the cultivation of children’s funds of knowledge, identity, and social capital related to home and community relationships, resources and practices, classroom learning communities, bilingual development, and agency and empowerment.
A framework for the implementation of green certification of buildings in Ghana

Abstract Buildings are responsible for more than 40% of global energy use and one third of global greenhouse gas emissions both in developed and developing countries. A number of buildings are constructed every year but only a small number of them can be identified as ‘green buildings’. Despite the well-known benefits of green certification of buildings, it still remains in the state of infancy in Ghana, and adequate diffusion and implementation strategies should be put in place to ensure that they become more established. This paper sought to propose an implementation framework that can aid the certifying body in making decisions in relation to implementing the green certification of buildings in Ghana. The methodology was based on schedule interview with representatives of professional bodies with knowledge on the subject matter. The findings of this study indicate that while the knowledge of green certification of building exist in Ghana, some of the professional bodies in the built environment rarely use their influence to promote this green certification of buildings which does not help in its diffusion. The implication of the findings is to enable the certifying body for green buildings in Ghana to make decisions relating to its implementation.
A MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF OPTIMAL VACCINATION STRATEGIES IN EPIDEMIOLOGY. by Lutendo Nemaranzhe

A MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF OPTIMAL VACCINATION STRATEGIES IN EPIDEMIOLOGY. L. Nemaranzhe M.Sc thesis, Department of Mathematics, University of Western Cape. We review a number of compartmental models in epidemiology which leads to a nonlinear system of ordinary differential equations. We focus an SIR, SEIR and SIS epidemic models with and without vaccination. A threshold parameter R0 is identified which governs the spread of diseases, and this parameter is known as the basic reproductive number. The models have at least two equilibria, an endemic equilibrium and the disease-free equilibrium. We demonstrate that the disease will die out, if the basic reproductive number R0 < 1. This is the case of a disease-free state, with no infection in the population. Otherwise the disease may become endemic if the basic reproductive number R0 is bigger than unity. Furthermore, stability analysis for both endemic and disease-free steady states are investigated and we also give some numerical simulations. The second part of this dissertation deals with optimal vaccination strategy in epidemiology. We use optimal control technique on vaccination to minimize the impact of the disease. Hereby we mean minimizing the spread of the disease in the population, while also minimizing the effort on vaccination roll-out. We do this optimization for the cases of SIR and SEIR models, and show how optimal strategies can be obtained which minimize the damage caused by the infectious disease. Finally, we describe the numerical simulations using the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method.
Clinical Applications of Impulse Oscillometry

Impulse oscillometry is a noninvasive procedure that can be performed within few minutes. The purpose of the procedure is to measure the resistance of the small and large airways, as well as the reactants of the airways. It is gradually gaining popularity in evaluating lung function, particularly in patients with asthma and COPD. In contrast to spirometry, the test performs measurement during tidal breathing. In other words, forced exhalation is not required. Other advantages include, but are not limited to, evaluating COPD patients’ reversibility which is rarely noted on spirometry. IOS also is tool for chronic management of patients with asthma and COPD while on treatment. It can evaluate children with asthma even as young as 2 years old. Spirometry requires the child to cooperate and usually is of meaningful use beginning at the age of 5 years old. Other potential applications include early evaluation of transplant rejection, cystic fibrosis, and vocal cord disorder. In this chapter, we will explore the procedure itself, the settings, advantages and disadvantages, and comparative data with spirometry.
Mutual Coupling Reduction of DRA for MIMO Applications

In this paper, A multiple input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna using two Square Dielectric Resonators (SDRs) is introduced. The mutual coupling between the two SDRAs is reduced using two different methods; the first method is based on splitting a spiral slot in the ground plane, then filling the slot with dielectric material, "E. =2.2". The second method is based on inserting a copper parasitic element, having the same shape of the splitted Spiral, between the two SDRAs. The effect of replacing the copper parasitic element with Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) parasitic element "SOC12 doped long-MWCNT BP" is also studied. The antenna system is designed to operate at 6 GHz. The analysis and simulations are carried out using finite element method (FEM). The defected ground plane method gives a maximum isolation of l8dB at element spacing of 30mm (0.6λo), whereas the parasitic element method gives a maximum isolation of 42.5dB at the same element spacing.
Natural anti-phytopathogenic fungi compound phenol, 2, 4-bis (1, 1-dimethylethyl) from Pseudomonas fluorescens TL-1

A strain was isolated from tobacco phylloplane and preliminarily identified as Pseudomonas fluorescens TL-1, which had the visible inhibition against ten plant pathogenic fungi, viz., Curvularia lunata, Bipolaris maydis, Valsa mali, Rhizoctonia solani, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Botrytis cinerea, Alternaria alternate, Fusarium oxysporum and Verticillium dahlia in dual culture experiments. The ethyl acetate extract of nutrient broth seeded with Pseudomonas fluorescens TL-1 suspension was separated into fifty-nine fractions by the Sephadex LH-20 column and the antifungal activity of each fraction was tested with paper disc diffusion method against Curvularia lunata. The results showed that fraction 1 to 3 had the strongest inhibitory effects on Curvularia lunata. Furthermore, GC/MS analysis of the constituents of fraction 1 to 59 confirmed that phenol, 2, 4-bis (1, 1-dimethylethyl) was the active compound for the antifungal activity from Pseudomonas fluorescens TL-1.
Thermal stability of NDR-assisted anomalous Hall effect based magnetic device

Both semiconductor and magnetic material properties are highly dependent on the environment temperature, and this is one of the critical obstacles limiting the application of these materials at high temperatures. In this work, a negative differential resistance-assisted anomalous Hall effect-based magnetic device has been fabricated and its thermal stability has been studied. The magnetic device was found quite stable and gave a reliable output current ratio of >104% in the temperature range of 0 °C–100 °C. The load-line analysis was performed to study the mechanism of thermal stability of this device in 0 °C–100 °C. It was found that the magnetic device exhibits improved thermal stability, with resistance variation in the range of 0 °C–100 °C being reduced by ∼40% compared to semiconductor-only devices. This study suggests that integrating magnetic and semiconductor properties together not only offer flexibility to integrate a number of applications in one simple device but also possible to provide thermal stability.Both semiconductor and magnetic material properties are highly dependent on the environment temperature, and this is one of the critical obstacles limiting the application of these materials at high temperatures. In this work, a negative differential resistance-assisted anomalous Hall effect-based magnetic device has been fabricated and its thermal stability has been studied. The magnetic device was found quite stable and gave a reliable output current ratio of >104% in the temperature range of 0 °C–100 °C. The load-line analysis was performed to study the mechanism of thermal stability of this device in 0 °C–100 °C. It was found that the magnetic device exhibits improved thermal stability, with resistance variation in the range of 0 °C–100 °C being reduced by ∼40% compared to semiconductor-only devices. This study suggests that integrating magnetic and semiconductor properties together not only offer flexibility to integrate a number of applications in one simple device but also possible to provide therm.
If You Tweet, They Will Follow: CEO Tweets, Social Capital, and Investor Say-on-Pay Judgments

Chief executive officers (CEOs) are increasingly using social media to disclose information and communicate with investors. Although findings from archival research show some benefits to social media use, little is known about how the social nature of this disclosure channel affects individual investors. Accordingly, we develop a mediation model based on social capital theory that predicts social media disclosure channels lead investors to perceive enhanced feelings of connectedness (i.e., social capital) with the CEO, resulting in more positive judgments of the CEO. Specifically, our model predicts CEO disclosures via Twitter, versus web-based disclosures, lead to enhanced perceptions of social capital, which in turn positively impact investor recommendations for CEO compensation. Using an experiment with individual investors, our results provide robust support for our theoretical mediation model. Our findings enhance our understanding of how CEOs' social media use influences individual investors and have implications for standard setters, investors, and firms.
Structural Controller for Logical Expression of Linear Constraints on Petri Nets

Based on the P-type composition of Petri nets (PNs) defined in this paper, a framework for a structural control of discrete event systems (DESs) is constructed such that a closed-loop PN is obtained by composing a plant PN and a controller. As for a disjunction or conjunctive normal form (CNF) of linear constraints, a new approach is proposed to design a structural controller in this framework. First, a switching-net is defined for a disjunction of constraints, and an extended plant is obtained through the P-type composition of a plant PN and switching-net. Second, the disjunction of bounded constraints is transformed into a conjunction of switching-constraints on the extended plant. Third, a controller is synthesized by designing monitors for conjunctive switching-constraints according to a supervision-based-on-place-invariant method. Fourth, in a similar manner, a controller is also designed for a CNF of bounded constraints. The resulting controller is maximally permissive if each disjunction of constraints meets the jump-free condition, and its size grows polynomially with the number of constraints. Another advantage is that the closed-loop system is still a PN for many real DES since a CNF can describe not only convex but also nonconvex state regions.
AMOPE: Performance Analysis of OpenFlow Systems in Software-Defined Networks

In this paper, we address the problem of defining probabilistic bounds of packet flow through an OpenFlow switch in software-defined networks (SDNs). The problem is challenging, as OpenFlow is one of the popular southbound application programming interfaces, which enables controller-switch interaction. The related existing literature addresses the different aspects of OpenFlow and SDN-controller interactions. However, there is a need to analyze the performance of the OpenFlow switch, in order to determine the bounds of the performance measures. In this paper, we propose Markov chain-based analytical model, named AMOPE, for analyzing packet flow through an OpenFlow switch, while defining the probabilistic bounds on performance analysis. Additionally, in AMOPE, we propose a state diagram based on the OpenFlow specification version 1.5. 0, and calculate the theoretical probabilities of a packet to be in different states of the OpenFlow switch. Furthermore, AMOPE defines the theoretical bounds of OpenFlow performance measures such as the output action, packet drop, and send to the controller probabilities. Simulation-based analysis exhibits that approximately ${\text{60}}\%$ of the processed packets are sent to output action, ${\text{31}}\%$ of the processed packets are sent to the controller, and the remaining processed packets are dropped in an OpenFlow switch.
A Conceptual Model for Virtual Classroom Management

Classroom management refers to the actions and strategies that teachers use to maintain order in a classroom. A Virtual classroom is an asynchronous-based online learning environment that delivers course materials to learners and provides collaboration and interaction using an asynchronous-based forum as the main platform to support the learners’ independent study. In a physical classroom there is physical contact between the students and the instructor. This makes it easy for the instructor to enforce rules that are intended for effective classroom management. This physical contact is elusive in a virtual classroom and yet effective classroom management is desired. Virtual classroom is useful to the students for revision exercise; as a backup for physical classroom contact. This paper proposes a conceptual model using existing virtual tool to bring about an effective classroom management strategies in a Virtual classroom.
Three-dimensional virtual reality: Applications to the 12 grand challenges of social work

Abstract The American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (AASWSW) identified 12 Grand Challenges of Social Work to unify the profession with focused research, practice and policy applications for the most pressing social issues. Virtual Reality (VR), specifically three-dimensional immersive computer-generated environments, has a history of research and applications to address social and behavioral problems. VR is becoming more readily available, as the technology is becoming more common in mainstream platforms such as mobile technology. While social work interventions are often tailored for vulnerable populations that may not have access to VR computing, it appears that virtual reality is gaining accessibility with these advances. Within the framework of the 12 Grand Challenges of Social Work, researchers from three social work virtual reality laboratories in the United States, Texas State University, the University of Houston, and the University of Alabama, review applications previously tested and currently in development to focus future research and intervention in social work practice.