Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Can current design and development management pedagogy respond better in reflecting industry needs

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How the blockchain technology can

Today, sustainability is considered as a high priority and it is on the management agenda for major corporations. It has experienced an increase in customer demand, pressuring corporations to act in a more sustainable way to stay relevant and competitive. One industry that is experiencing an increased request to act sustainable is the construction industry. The construction industry differs quite a lot from other industries since it is project based and built on temporary relationships. Subcontractors are temporarily engaged in the projects, often by a main contractor, to perform tasks which they are specialized in. The subcontractors additionally engage their own respective subcontractors. This makes it harder to control and ensure that all involved actors are acting in a sustainable way due to the multiple tiers of contractors and complex nature of the projects. A technology that recently has gotten a lot of attention is the blockchain technology. It can be described as a shared, distributed ledger technology, which was created as an enabler for the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. The technology has, in the recent years, been widely discussed as a potential business enhancer. It can for example provide immutable record-keeping; enables the usage of smart contracts; and enhance transparency within the network. The blockchain technology has the potential to disrupt current business practices and decrease the required amounts of trust needed in business relationships. Because of the increasing demand of sustainability practice within the construction industry, technologies that can enhance it becomes of interest for further investigation. Therefore, this thesis has been investigating if the blockchain technology can enhance sustainability for contractors within the construction industry. To achieve the purpose, data has been gathered from literature, interviews as well as benchmarking of existing blockchain solutions in business. The empirical gatherings resulted in identifying seven issues related to sustainability within the construction industry, and relevant information regarding blockchain that is not mentioned in the literature. The issues found in the empirical data were analysed by a framework which consist of three blocks. The first one concerns whether the issues found are within the scope of sustainability. The second block concludes, using a proposed blockchain decision tree, if the issues have a potential blockchain solution. The final block is a SWOT analysis, where the blockchain solution for each issue is evaluated in isolation. The issues of non-sustainable material used by the contractor, undeclared work, accidents, employee payment and limited contractor base where concluded to potentially be prevented, or mitigated, with a blockchain solution. It is, however, still a immature technology that needs to be further developed and understood in order to bring out its true potential. Several of these issues can be prevented, or mitigated, by the same kind of blockchain setup, which makes it to a more profitable alternative than separately evaluating them.
Policy, practice and regulatory issues in mobile technology treatment for forensic clients

This article examines developments in mobile technologies that target the treatment and support needs of offenders in the community, and sets out three challenges that must be addressed if these interventions are to become part of the correctional programs environment. These are: how to identify good quality mobile applications that will yield genuine benefits for practitioners and service users; how to adapt forensic treatment approaches to work effectively in a mobile application environment, and how to make mobile applications available to forensic clients and motivate people to use them. Until these challenges are addressed the potential value of mobile technologies in providing greater access to forensic treatment will not be realised.
Electronic Disclosure Venues and Regulation Fair Disclosure

Among U.S. corporations, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, StockTwits, Instagram, YouTube, Google+, firm websites, and blogs are the most popular platforms for sharing information with stakeholders. As other chapters in this volume demonstrate, social media usage has significant benefits to participating firms. However, the executives and employees of SEC registrants should be aware that Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg FD), which requires widespread public disclosure of investor information through recognized channels, also applies to disclosures through electronic platforms. A recent case sent shock waves through the investment community as the SEC took the position that a CEO’s personal Facebook posts could violate Reg FD, potentially leading to injunctions or fines against the company and the executive. On July 3, 2012, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings disclosed through his personal Facebook account that Netflix had streamed more than one billion hours for the first time during the preceding month of June. A simultaneous press release or an 8-K filing or a post on Netflix’s own web site or Facebook page did not accompany this posting so this information was initially only available to Mr. Hastings Facebook followers. In December, the SEC alleged that Netflix violated Reg FD and issued a Wells Notice letter. A Wells Notice is a notification that the SEC intends to file civil action against a firm or a person and offers the respondent an opportunity to refute the charges by providing additional information. Eventually, the SEC’s Division of Enforcement did not pursue enforcement action against Netflix or CEO Hastings and chose to use this as an example of disclosure that would not satisfy Reg FD. In an SEC ruling on April 2, 2013, George Canellos, Acting Director of the Division of Enforcement, stated that communicating financial information through social media is acceptable as long as access to such outlets is unrestricted and that the investors are aware of them. The SEC report also made it clear that personal social media sites of corporate officers are unlikely to qualify as acceptable disclosure venues (Securities and Exchange Commission, 2013).
Complete characterization of piezoceramic materials by means of two block-shaped test samples

We present an approach enabling entire characterization of piezoceramic materials. Contrary to the IEEE/ CENELEC Standard on Piezoelectricity, which is commonly applied for material characterization, the so-called inverse method requires only two block-shaped test samples. The method is based on a comparison of numerical simulations and measurement results for the frequency-resolved electrical impedance. Thereby, the aimed material parameters are iteratively updated so that simulations match measurements as well as possible. We utilize the identification procedure to characterize the piezoceramic material PIC255 as well as PIC155 from PI Ceramic, both of crystal class 6mm. In contrast to the parameters provided by the manufacturer, the identified data set leads to accurate simulation results for electrical and mechanical quantities of piezoceramic materials. This also holds if one predicts the behavior of geometrical shapes (e.g., disk) that are not considered within the inverse method. Moreover, we exploit the identification procedure to determine temperature dependences of the material parameters in the temperature range of -35°C to 130°C. To some extent, the parameters of PIC255 and PIC155 strongly depend on temperature. Nevertheless, the resulting electromechanical coupling factors for both materials remain nearly constant in the investigated temperature range.
Quality Concerns in Assisted Living Facilities

ASSISTED living facilities are the long-term care choice of approximately 1 million older Americans.1 Assisted living facilities provide personal care assistance and supportive services in a homelike environment to older adults who are no longer able to live independently, but who do not require the care provided in skilled nursing facilities.2 The number of assisted living facilities in the United States grew rapidly in the 1990s to approximately 30,000 to 40,000,1 but because standards and regulations have not kept pace with that growth, there are concerns for the quality of care in assisted living facilities. Unlike skilled nursing facilities where federal regulations define the rights of residents and the standards of care, assisted living facilities lack a federal regulatory standard that would apply throughout the United States. Instead, each state has developed regulations and a licensure mechanism for this level of care. Among the states there are considerable differences within the sets of regulations, differences that begin with the very names applied to these facilities. Although some states used the name assisted living facility, other states’ regulations use names such as resi-
Measurement of earnings management before and after applying IFRSS using jones' modified method an applied research in a sample of banks listed in the Iraqi stock exchange

In the year 2016, all commercial banks in Iraq were obliged to switch from the application of the local unified accounting system to the application of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) to improve the quality of accounting information and make it relevant for decision-making. The objective of the research is to measure earnings management in a number of banks which applied IFRSs at the end of the financial year 2016 through their application on a sample of banks for the years (2012-2013, 2014, 2015, 2016). The results were compared with the measurement of earnings management under the application of the unified accounting system (before the adoption of IFRSs) and after the application of the (IFRSs). The researcher concluded that the percentage of earnings management in the years in which the banks applied the unified accounting system is very close to its percentage in the case of the application of IFRSs, which shows that the application of IFRSs did not change the percentage of earnings management in banks.
A Coordination Model and Framework for Developing Distributed Mobile Applications

How to coordinate multiple devices to work together as a single application is one of the most important challenges for building a distributed mobile application. Mobile devices play important roles in daily life and resolving this challenge is vital. Many coordination models have already been developed to support the implementation of parallel applications, and LIME (Linda In a Mobile Environment) is the most popular member. This thesis evaluates and analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of the LIME, and its predecessor Linda coordination model. This thesis proposes a new coordination model that focuses on overcoming the drawbacks of LIME and Linda. The new coordination model leverages the features of consistent hashing in order to obtain better coordination performance. Additionally, this new coordination model utilizes the idea of replica mechanism to guarantee data integrity. A cross-platform coordination framework, based on the new coordination model, is presented by this thesis in order to facilitate and simplify the development of distributed mobile applications. This framework aims to be robust and high-performance, supporting not only powerful devices such as smartphones but also constrained devices, which includes IoT sensors. The framework utilizes many advanced concepts and technologies such as CoAP protocol, P2P networking, Wi-Fi Direct, and Bluetooth Low Energy to achieve the goals of high-performance and fault-tolerance. Six experiments have been done to test the coordination model and framework from different aspects including bandwidth, throughput, packages per second, hit rate, and data distribution. Results of the experiments demonstrate that the proposed coordination model and framework meet the requirements of high-performance and fault-tolerance.
An Algorithm for Circle Filter Based Multi Scale Application for Enhancement of Pulmonary Nodules

The detection of lung nodules is a difficult problem in the field of medical aided diagnosis, due to the noise and the disturbance of blood vessels and tracheas. According to this problem, this paper brings forward a Circle filter algorithm based on the anisotropy smoothing equations. Firstly, a circle smoothing equation is deduced by means of the anisotropy smoothing equations and Hessian matrix of the circle in the Gaussian model. Secondly, analyzing the characters of eigenvalues of the Hessian matrix, we present a function for the circle enhancement filtering. Finally, the circle enhancement filter is then used to enhance the nodule image, which is smoothed in different scales. The experiment result shows that this algorithm has effectively suppressed the non-circle disturbance; hence enhanced images are obtained, which will be beneficial for the feature extraction and classification of nodules.
Molecular interaction between human tumor marker protein p150, the largest subunit of eIF3, and intermediate filament protein K7

The human tumor marker protein p150 was identified as the largest subunit of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 (eIF3) (also known as p170/p180). Its expression level is not only upregulated in many transformed cell lines, but also in several human cancers including breast, cervical, esophageal, and stomach carcinomas. The function of p150 in cancer and initiation of translation are not well understood. Using the yeast two‐hybrid genetic screen, we found that a portion of p150 interacts with hPrt1, another subunit of eIF3, and cytokeratin 7, an intermediate filament protein. The interactions between p150 and hPrt1, and between p150 and cytokeratin 7 were verified both in vivo and in vitro. The interaction site for hPrt1 was mapped to the carboxyl half of the coiled‐coil region of the p150 protein between amino acids 664–835. The expression of hPrt1 was clearly upregulated in cancer tissue, similarly to that of p150. By contrast, no substantial difference in the expression level of cytokeratin 7 was observed between cancer and normal breast tissue, suggesting that cytokeratin 7 expression is not co‐regulated with p150. Taken together, our studies suggest a new role for p150 in translation initiation, possibly by acting as an adapter molecule between the translation initiation apparatus and the cytoskeleton structure in the cell. J. Cell. Biochem. 80:483–490, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
INTERACTION OF VITAMIN C AND IRON *

Food iron is absorbed by the intestinal mucosa from two separate pools of heme and nonheme iron. Heme iron, derived from hemoglobin and myoglobin, is well absorbed and relatively little affected by other foods eaten in the same meal. On the other hand, the absorption of nonheme iron, the major dietary pool, is greatly influenced by meal composition. Ascorbic acid is a powerful enhancer of nonheme iron absorption and can reverse the inhibiting effect of such substances as tea and calcium/phosphate. Its influence may be less pronounced in meals of high iron availability--those containing meat, fish, or poultry. The enhancement of iron absorption from vegetable meals is directly proportional to the quantity of ascorbic acid present. The absorption of soluble inorganic iron added to a meal increases in parallel with the absorption of nonheme iron, but ascorbic acid has a much smaller effect on insoluble iron compounds, such as ferric oxide or ferric hydroxide, which are common food contaminants. Ascorbic acid facilitates iron absorption by forming a chelate with ferric iron at acid pH that remains soluble at the alkaline pH of the duodenum. High cost and instability during food storage are the major obstacles to using ascorbic acid in programs designed to combat nutritional iron deficiency anemia.
Molecular neuro-oncology and development of targeted therapeutic strategies for brain tumors. Part 1: growth factor and Ras signaling pathways

Brain tumors are a diverse group of malignancies that remain refractory to conventional treatment approaches, including radiotherapy and cytotoxic chemotherapy. Molecular neuro-oncology has now begun to clarify the transformed phenotype of brain tumors and identify oncogenic pathways that may be amenable to targeted therapy. Growth factor signaling pathways are often upregulated in brain tumors and may contribute to oncogenesis through autocrine and paracrine mechanisms. Excessive growth factor receptor stimulation can also lead to overactivity of the Ras signaling pathway, which is frequently aberrant in brain tumors. Receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors, antireceptor monoclonal antibodies and antisense oligonucleotides are targeted approaches under investigation as methods to regulate aberrant growth factor signaling pathways in brain tumors. Several receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors, including imatinib mesylate (Gleevec®), gefitinib (Iressa®) and erlotinib (Tarceva®), have entered clinical trials for high-grade glioma patients. Farnesyl transferase inhibitors, such as tipifarnib (Zarnestra®), which impair processing of proRas and inhibit the Ras signaling pathway, have also entered clinical trials for patients with malignant gliomas. Further development of targeted therapies and evaluation of these new agents in clinical trials will be needed to improve survival and quality of life of patients with brain tumors.
A Study on Energy Use Pattern for Banana Production in Erode District of Tamil Nadu

The energy consumption of banana production has been in Erode district of Tamil Nadu, India. Results showed that highest share of energy was recorded in nitrogen fertilizer (33.38 %) and planting material sucker (21.21%). The overall value of energy input use was 52955.4 MJ.ac-1 and output as produced 136172 MJ.ac-1. The impacts of indirect and non-renewable energy on banana production were higher than direct and renewable energy. Energy input-output ratio, specific energy, energy productivity, energy intensiveness and net energy were 2.56 MJ.ac-1, 4.59 MJ.kg-1, 0.21 Kg.MJ-1, 0.68 MJ.Rs-1 and 83216.60 MJ.ac-1, respectively. Total cost of cultivation of banana was Rs.77, 800/ac. The results suggested that farmers should use only recommended fertilizers at recommended dose. As energy conservation measure, the farmers are advised to increase their economic productivity of banana farms by efficient use of energy.
The interplay between the immune system and chemotherapy: emerging methods for optimizing therapy

Preclinical studies have revealed an unexpected ability of the immune system to contribute to the success of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Anticancer therapies can trigger immune system activation by promoting the release of danger signals from dying tumor cells and/or the elimination of immunosuppressive cells. We have, however, recently discovered that some chemotherapies, such as 5-fluorouracil and gemcitabine, exert conflicting effects on anticancer immune responses. Although 5-fluorouracil and Gem selectively eliminated myeloid-derived suppressive cells in tumor-bearing rodents, these chemotherapies promoted the release of IL-1β and the development of pro-angiogenic IL-17-producing CD4 T cells. The ambivalent effects of chemotherapy on immune responses should thus be carefully considered to design effective combination therapies based on chemotherapy and immune modulators. Herein, we discuss how the initial findings underscoring the key role of the immune system in mediating the antitumor efficacy of anticancer agents could begin to translate into effective therapies in humans.
Analyse en ondelettes de l'auto-similarité de signaux en turbulence pleinement développée

Nous nous sommes interesses au phenomene d'intermittence en turbulence pleinement developpee ; pour cela, nous nous sommes appuyes sur l'analyse en ondelettes de differents champs turbulents tels que les champs de vitesse, de pression et de dissipation. L'ensemble de nos resultats montre que la description multifractale generalement admise pour rendre compte de ce phenomene dans les flots a tres grands nombres de reynolds n'est pas valide. En particulier, la recherche d'un processus de cascade a mis en evidence une absence d'invariance d'echelle des champs de vitesse et de dissipation. Nous avons de plus montre que ce dernier ne presente pas un caractere auto-similaire. Cette observation remet en cause, non seulement la plupart des modeles de cascade d'energie, mais aussi la validite de l'hypothese de similarite locale formulee par kolmogorov et obukhov (ko62) reliant la statistique des fluctuations des champs de vitesse et de dissipation. L'etude des statistiques des coefficients de la transformee en ondelettes restreinte aux maxima de son module, revele la nature log-normale a toute echelle des fluctuations de ces champs. Neanmoins, contrairement au modele log-normal de kolmogorov et obukhov, les parametres des gaussiennes n'evoluent pas de maniere logarithmique dans les echelles mais de maniere plus complexe. L'utilisation de la transformee en ondelettes pour la detection et la caracterisation des filaments de vorticite dans le champ de pression nous a permis de montrer que ces evenements ne sont pas correles et suivent une loi de poisson. La contribution statistique de ces filaments ne suffit pas a rendre compte totalement du phenomene d'intermittence
Use of contraception by women treated with leflunomide due to rheumatic arthritis

A total of 46 premenopausal patients treated with leflunomide (LMF) for rheumatic arthritis (RA) and 107 women of reproductive age free from chronic diseases were investigated to evaluate methods of contraception. Among 31 LMF-treated women using contraception, 48.4% chose oestrogen-progesterone hormonal contraception (E-PHC); 16.1% condoms; 3.2% had an intrauterine device and 32.0% preferred natural methods. These methods differed significantly from women in the control group, who mostly used condoms (56.8%) and E-PHC (35.3%) and rarely, natural methods (3.95%) or progesterone injections (3.95%). As many as 32.6% LMF-treated patients did not use any method of birth control. The choice of contraception among RA patients with LFM therapy was significantly dependent on the experience with methods used prior to the LFM therapy introduction (p < 0.001). Compared with women free from chronic diseases, LMF-treated patients use E-PHC significantly more often but still as many as 33% do not use any contraceptive method, despite strong recommendations.