Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DOES INTERFERON (IFN)S EXIST IN CRUSTACEA

The wide exploration of interferon (IFN)s in vertebrates for medical purposes has attracted researchers to investigate the existence of a similar role of interferon in other organisms such as invertebrates, including insects, and crustacea. A review of the literature indicates that there is no evidence of interferon existing either in insects such as D. melanogaster and A. gambiae which have had their genomes fully sequenced or in crustacea. However, a nonspecific antiviral state in crustacean, such as P. monodon can be efficiently triggered by both dsRNA and siRNA. The evidence suggests that anonymous cytokines, similar to interferon and not identical to any vertebrate IFNs, related to antiviral protection, do exist in crustacea. However, how widely spread of interferon immune response inducer or interferon-like molecules in this group is an important issue that remains to be explored.
Microstructured gradient-index lenses for THz photoconductive antennas

A new type of substrate lens for photoconductive antennas (PCA’s) based on sub-wavelength microstructuring is presented and studied theoretically by the use of Greens function integral equation methods (GFIEM’s). By etching sub-wavelength trenches into a flat substrate, the effective dielectric constant can be designed to function like a gradient index (GRIN) lens. The proposed GRIN substrate lenses have sub-mm dimension, which is smaller than the dimensions of a typical hyper-hemispherical substrate lens (HSL), and could enable fabrication of arrays of closely packed PCA’s with individual lenses integrated directly into the PCA substrate. The performance of different GRIN lenses is compared to a HSL and shown to be comparable with regards to the terahertz radiation extraction efficiency, and it is shown that the collimating properties of these GRIN lenses can be tailored by changing the parameters used for microstructuring.
Searching for nuclear stellar discs in simulations of star cluster mergers

The nuclei of galaxies often host small stellar discs with scalelengths of a few tens of parsecs and luminosities up to 107 L�. To investigate the formation and properties of nuclear stellar discs (NSDs), we look for their presence in a set of N-body simulations studying the dissipationless merging of multiple star clusters in galactic nuclei. A few tens of star clusters with sizes and masses comparable to those of globular clusters observed in the Milky Way are accreted on to a pre-existing nuclear stellar component: either a massive super star cluster or a rapidly rotating, compact disc with a scalelength of a few parsecs, mimicking the variety of observed nuclear structures. Images and kinematic maps of the simulation time-steps are then built and analysed as if they were real and at the distance of the Virgo cluster. We use the Scorza–Bender method to search for the presence of disc structures via photometric decomposition. In one case, the merger remnant has all the observed photometric and kinematic properties of NSDs observed in real galaxies. This shows that current observations are consistent with most of the NSD mass being assembled from the migration and accretion of star clusters into the galactic centre. In the other simulation instead, we detect an elongated structure from the unsharp masked image, that does not develop the photometric or kinematic signature of an NSD. Thus, in the context of searches for a disc structure, the Scorza–Bender method is a robust and necessary tool.
Impact of Carbon Nanotubes on the Polymeric Membrane for Oil – Water Separation

In this research, the classical phase inversion method was used to produce the polysulfone (PSF) membrane by using three different solvents: N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF), chloroform (CHCL3) and tetrahydrofuran (THF). Furthermore, different concentrations of functionalized multi – walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were added to PSF membranes by the classical phase inversion method. MWCNTs were synthesized using chemical vapour deposition (C.V.D) then functionalized by acid treatment. The morphology and the structure of the membrane and MWCNTs were characterized by using the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The characterization of the functionalization of the MWCNTs was performed by using the Raman spectroscopy. It was found that the chemical, physical and mechanical properties of the polymeric membrane improve with the content in functionalized MWCNTs concentration in the polymeric membrane matrix. The membrane with the MWCNTS concentration of 0.4% w/w showed the highest flux of 117 L/m^2.h and solute rejection. The selectivity and permeate flux of the polymeric membrane were increased with functionalized MWCNTs content for the membranes produced with the three different solvents.
Evaluation of some spiral and sequential computed tomography protocols of adults used in three hospitals in Shiraz, Iran with American College of Radiology and European Commission guidelines

Purpose Use of computed tomography (CT) has increased considerably all over the world. In addition, there has been an increased demand for utilisation of CT scanning in Iran over the past decade, especially after introducing multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT). It should be considered that making a mistake in the selection of scan parameters leads to patients receiving higher doses and having increased risk of cancer. All of these facts prompted us to compare six routine CT protocols in three hospitals in the city of Shiraz, and to compare the results with American College of Radiology (ACR) practice parameters and European Commission (EC) guidelines for dual- and multi-detector CT. Material and methods In the studied hospitals, 10 adult patients were chosen randomly for every six protocols, taken by different technologists. Seven and 11 scan factors in sequential and spiral scans, respectively, were compared with ACR (2014) and EC guidelines (EC16262 & EC2004). Results The majority of scan factors in sequential and the spiral protocols that were scrutinised met the guidelines. The CTDIvol and DLPs for sequential and spiral scans were lower than the dose reference level (DRL) pronounced by ACR in three CT departments, and they were compatible with the recommended dose by EC (16262) in a private hospital. Conclusions Based on accordance of CTDIvol with ACR measurements and incompatibility with EC (2004) in teaching hospitals, we concluded that the recorded doses should be compared with different criteria. A regular review of protocols, using special protocols for different pathologic circumstances and continual education for technologists in the three CT departments, are recommended.
A New Technique to Fingerprint Recognition Based on Partial Window

Fingerprint verification is a well-researched problem, and automatic fingerprint verification techniques have been successfully adapted to both civilian and forensic applications for many years. This paper present a new technique to fingerprint recognition based a window that contain core point this window will be input ANN system to be model we can recognize another fingerprint , so we will firstly, A recognition algorithm needs to recover fingerprints pose transformation between the input reduce time computation. Our detection algorithm works in the field orientation of the adaptive smoothed with a varying area. The adaptive window is used to attenuate the noise effectively orientation field while maintaining the information of the detailed guidance in the area of ? high curvature. A new approach to the core point location that is proposed is based on hierarchical analysis orientation consistency. The proposed adaptation singular point detection method increases the accuracy of the algorithm. Experiments show that our algorithm developed consistently locates a reference point with high precision only for all fingerprints. And very faster for recognition process. Keywords: Fingerprint recognition; field orientation; neural networks; core point, neural networks.
Effects of Initial Public Offer on Performance of Companies Quoted at the Nairobi Stock Exchange

This study focuses on the effects of initial public offer on performance of companies quoted at the Nairobi Stock Exchange, by studying three variables i.e. liquidity, leverage and Profitability (earnings per share). The literature reviews the effects of initial public offer on performance of companies quoted at the Nairobi Stock Exchange between 2006 and 2011. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The target population was employees of the 56 listed companies at the NSE. Primary data was gathered using semi-structured questionnaires. Secondary data was gathered from past published scholarly articles explaining theoretical and empirical information on employee issues. Descriptive analysis was be used including the use of weighted means, standard deviation, relative frequencies and percentages.
Classification of Broadband Internet Plans by the Multicriteria Method TODIM

This work presents a case study of the evaluation of the various types of access to the Broadband Internet available to a small company, located in Volta Redonda, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. This small company needs to implement Broadband Internet in its establishment and sought an evaluation of the companies which work providing this type of service. With the aim of carrying out a technical evaluation of the provision of the Broadband Internet service and, considering the diverse points of view and needs of this small company, a Multicriteria Decision Aiding Method, the TODIM method, was used. By means of this research, the power of this Operational Research tool was verified in the search for the solution to the problem of ranking the services offered in the city, according to the criteria chosen by this small company.
Preparation of hydroxyapatite/calcium alginate composite gel and its release characteristics by pH

Bone filling materials made from hydroxyapatite are used for treating bone defects caused by disease or injury. This material promotes the reproduction of new bone by injection into bone cavities. Even though hydroxyapatite has been utilized as a bone-filling material, it requires a long time to be replaced with host bone after implantation. Composite materials composed of hydroxyapatite and hydro-gels would be suitable to fill large bone defects and would be easily absorbed by the patient’s body. Furthermore these materials could be used for drug carrier by stimulus response. In this study, a hydroxyapatite/calcium alginate composite gel containing VB12 was synthesized in one step and the release characteristics of hydroxyapatite/calcium alginate composite gels were evaluated. The amount of VB12 released from the gels was maximum at pH 5 and the release of VB12 was inhibited at other than pH 5. The amount of VB12 released from the composite gel increased with the content of hydroxyapatite because hydroxyapatite made the pore size of the composite gel larger. Therefore the release characteristics of the composite gel could be controlled by pH and the content of hydroxyapatite. It is estimated that the composite gels containing drugs are expected to be applied to bone filling materials which have the function of drug carrier.
The Recognition and Localization of Insulators Based on SIFT and RANSAC

The recognition and localization of insulators is a crucial process of insulators' failure detection, especially under the complex background. With unknown insulators in test image, a method of the recognition and localization of insulators based on SIFT and RANSAC is proposed as following: SIFT (Scale Invariant Feature Transform) is used to extract a set of feature points of each insulator template image and test image. Then use RANSAC (RANdom SAmple Consensus) to remove the outliers. And each template's matched inliers are accurate points which are used to compute affine transform matrix H and localize the template images in test image. Thus we can detect all the template images in test image correctly. Experimental results show that the proposed approach can obtain high precision in the recognition and localization of insulators under the complex background.
Identifying and Ranking the Barriers to Deployment of Accrual Accounting System in Kashan University of Medical Sciences

Background and purpose: Since the implementation of accrual accounting is an important contribution in promoting accountability and the realization of the objectives of financial reporting, so in this study, identifying barriers to the establishment of the accounting system and offering strategies for removing barriers are discussed. Materials and methods: This study is a descriptive survey that was in 2013. Community research is Esfahan university of Medical Sciences. According to the environment research activities, Kashan Medical University is selected as the sample. For data collection, the structured questionnaire with Likert rating is used. In this study to analyze findings, the single-sample t test parameters and ANOVA were used. Results: The mean scores obtained on the scale of management is (3.1), process (3.3), human resources (2.8), technical (3.2), regulations (3) 3 and Accounting (2.9). Conclusions: The study showed that the main obstacles to the effective implementation of accrual accounting system can be noted factors related to human resources, regulations and accounting factors related to the management. However, meanwhile management index, process and technology have been relatively good.
Role of Gait Training in Recovery of Standing and Walking in Subjects with Spinal Cord Injury

Gait training has an important role in rehabilitation of standing and walking in spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. There were different types of gait training in these subjects. Both the body weight support treadmill training and robotic-assisted and robotic exoskel- eton are effective and secure methods for gait training and improving the energy demand and metabolic cost in SCI patients in different level of injury. The powered exoskeletons can provide patients with SCI the ability to walk with the lowest energy consumption. The powered exoskeleton’s energy consumption and speed of walking depend on the training duration. Based on different types of gait training methods, training time, and other affected parameters, the aim of this chapter was to evaluate the role of gait training in recovery of standing and walking in SCI patients.
Processing Stabilization of Poly(3-Hydroxybutyrate)/Poly(Lactic Acid) Blends with Oligomeric Carbodiimide

Reactivity of five reactive agents with two biopolyesters, poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and poly (lactic acid) (PLA), was studied in situ during processing in laboratory kneader with simultaneous recording of a melt torque. Among them only Raschig, an oligomeric carbodiimide based additive, was proven to enhance melt viscosity of both. In order to find out the most efficient level of this additive for stabilizing of both polymers and PHB/PLA (70/30 w/w) blend, different concentrations were studied by means of melt torque monitoring, rheology time tests and gel permeation chromatography. Results showed the same trend for neat polymers and their blend. Addition of more than 0.5 % wt. did not have any further positive effect on molecular weight or complex viscosity of the melt. Higher amount is not consumed during the reaction and is left in the sample. Therefore, this amount was used for processing stability studies on PHB/PLA blends by subsequent extrusion cycles. Melt volume-flow rate of extruded samples was obtained and results showed lower values for all stabilized blends comparing to the first extrusion sample of non-stabilized blend. At the same, stability of the blends is secured up to the third extrusion cycle.
Sine-wave windowed synthesis

Speech can be understood even when a 3-tone replica of speech is presented to a listener. In tonal synthesis, called sine-wave synthesis (SWS), the output signal consists of number of time-varying sinusoids that follow center frequencies and amplitudes of the first number of formants of a natural utterance. In this paper we propose an alternative technique of speech synthesis. It is based on the number of dominant frequency components present in the original signal. In the proposed method, called sine-wave windowed synthesis (SWWS), the amplitudes and frequencies of tonal components are changed in discrete steps in subsequent time windows. Perceptual tests performed on Polish speech show that signals synthesized with the SWWS technique are judged as more natural and intelligible than SWS speech.
Revision of Flindersichthys denmeadi Longman 1932, a marine teleost from the Lower Cretaceous of the Great Artesian Basin, Queensland

Prepared and naturally exposed specimens of the large, fossil teleost, Flindersichthys denmeadi Longman, 1932, in the collections of the Queensland Museum, form the basis of a revision of this relatively common, carnivorous, Lower Cretaceous (latest mid to late Albian) marine fish. Originally described from a single specimen, this larger sample has enabled the skeletal morphology of the taxon to be amplified and, where necessary, clarified. Flindersichthys has been referred to the Order Elopiformes within the Superorder Elopomorpha but is considered incertae sedis at familial level. Nearly all referred specimens have been derived from marine sediments of the Toolebuc and Allaru Formations in the northern part of the Eromanga Basin, part of the Great Artesian Basin but rare occurrences are recorded from the Normanton Formation in the Carpentaria Basin. The morphological description remains incomplete, especially in the post-cranial area, with the material studied being almost exclusively cranial or from the very anterior of the body.  Teleostei, Elopomorpha, Elopiformes, Flindersichthys denmeadi; Lower Cretaceous (latest mid to late Albian); Great Artesian, Eromanga and Carpentaria Basins; Toolebuc, Allaru and Normanton Formations; Euroka Arch.
Numerical Investigation of Internal Wave-Vortex Dipole Interactions

Numerical Investigation of Internal WaveVortex Dipole Interactions Tyler D. Blackhurst Department of Mechanical Engineering, BYU Master of Science Three-dimensional linear ray theory is used to investigate internal waves interacting with a Lamb-Chaplygin pancake vortex dipole. These interactions involve waves propagating in the same (co-propagating) and opposite (counter-propagating) horizontal directions as the dipole translation. Co-propagating internal waves in the vertical symmetry plane between the vortices of the dipole can approach critical levels where the wave energy is absorbed by the dipole or where the waves are overturned and possibly break. As wave breaking cannot be simulated with this linear model, changes in wave steepness are calculated to aid in estimating the onset of breaking. Counterpropagating internal waves in the vertical symmetry plane can experience horizontal and vertical reflections, including turning points similar to waves in two-dimensional steady shear. Wave capture is also a possible effect of either type of interaction, depending on initial wave properties and positioning relative to the vortex dipole. Away from the vertical symmetry plane, a spanwise converging (focusing) and diverging (defocusing) of wave energy is observed in coand counterpropagating interactions as symmetric off-center rays interact with the dipole’s individual vortices. Some off-center rays experience multiple horizontal refractions similar to wave trapping.
Surface CDOM optical properties in the Bay of Marseilles

J. Para, P. G. Coble, B. Charrière, M. Tedetti, C. Fontana, and R. Sempéré Université de la Méditerranée, LMGEM, Centre d’Océanologie de Marseille, UMR 6117, Case 901, 13288 Marseille Cedex 9, France CNRS/INSU, UMR 6117, LMGEM, Case 901, 13288 Marseille Cedex 9, France College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, 140 7th Avenue, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701, USA Université de la Méditerranée, LOPB, Station Marine d’Endoume, Chemin Batterie des Lions, 13007 Marseille, France
Bright Be-shell stars

Echelle observations are presented and discussed for 23 of the 27 known "normal" shell stars brighter than about 6.5 mag. In addition to those typical cases, three stars with known transitions between emission & shell and pure emission line appearance, and three rapidly rotating B stars without records of line emission (Bn stars) are added to the sample. Long-term V/R emission-line variability and central quasi emission bumps (CQEs) in photospheric lines were found in 75% of all normal shell stars. This strongly suggests that the velocity law in most, if not all, disks of Be stars is roughly Keplerian. Both phenomena may occur in the same star but not at the same time. This is in agreement with the previous conclusion that CQEs only form in the presence of negligible line-of-sight velocities while long-term V/R variations are due to non-circular gas particle orbits caused by global disk oscillations. V/R variations associated with binary orbits are much less pronounced. Similarly, phase lags between different lines were detected in long-term V/R variable stars only. A binary fraction of only one-third is too low to support binary hypotheses as an explanation of the Be phenomenon. CQEs detected in 3 out of 19 Bn stars reveal the presence of disk-like equatorial concentrations of matter in B stars without emission lines. Accordingly, there seem to be intermediate cases between disk-free B stars and Be stars. Previous claims of the existence of shell stars with low v sin i could not be confirmed. Shell stars are Be stars viewed equator-on, and their observed rotational velocities are indistinguishable from the equatorial ones which are the same as in Be stars. The mean fraction of the critical rotation velocity is 81 ± 12%. The standard deviation is comparable to, or even less than, the observational uncertainties. Since this would require star-to-star differences to be negligible, which is unrealistic, the correlation between the widths of strong spectral lines and the stellar rotation velocities may be truncated or severely distorted at its extreme end. A number of not previously known facts about individual stars is also reported.