Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Physical computing in computer science education

Physical computing covers the design and realization of interactive objects and installations and allows students to develop concrete, tangible products of the real world, which arise from the learners' imagination. This can be used in computer science education to provide students with interesting and motivating access to the different topic areas of the subject in constructionist and creative learning environments. The aim of the doctoral thesis is to analyze the phenomenon of physical computing in order to situate possible new contents within the field of computer science education. It will be analyzed what effects physical computing has on student's motivation, creativity, learning success, growth in competences and their understanding of computer science and computing systems.
An Explicit GTS allocation algorithm for IEEE 802.15.4

The IEEE 802.15. 4 standard provides appealing features to simultaneously support real-time and non realtime traffic, but it is only capable of supporting real-time communications from at most seven devices. Additionally, it cannot guarantee delay bounds lower than the superframe duration. Motivated by this problem, in this paper we propose an Explicit Guaranteed time slot Sharing and Allocation scheme (EGSA) for beacon-enabled IEEE 802.15. 4 networks. This scheme is capable of providing tighter delay bounds for real-time communications by splitting the Contention Free access Period (CFP) into smaller mini time slots and by means of a new guaranteed bandwidth allocation scheme for a set of devices with periodic messages. At the same the novel bandwidth allocation scheme can maximize the duration of the CFP for non real-time communications. Performance analysis results show that the EGSA scheme works efficiently and outperforms competitor schemes both in terms of guaranteed delay and bandwidth utilization.
Clonal resistance analyses of HIV type-1 after failure of therapy with didanosine, lamivudine and tenofovir

Background The rapid failure of initial therapy with combinations of nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) that exclude zidovudine has not been fully explained by standard virus population analyses of HIV type-1 (HIV-1) drug resistance. We therefore investigated HIV-1 genotype and phenotype at the single genome level in samples from patients on a failing regimen of tenofovir (TNV), didanosine (ddI) and lamivudine (3TC). Methods Single genome sequencing was performed on 9 failure samples containing both K65R and M184V mutations by standard genotype, either as wild-type/mutant mixtures (6/9) or as mutant only (3/9). Recombinant clones with different combinations of observed mutations were generated and tested for NRTI susceptibility. Results Of the 204 single genome sequences analysed, 50% were K65R/M184V double mutants, 38% were M184V single mutants, 10% were M184I single mutants and only 1% (2 sequences) were K65R single mutants. Phenotypic testing of recombinant clones showed a significant increase in resistance for double mutants: mean fold resistance to abacavir, ddI and TNV was 6.5, 4.3 and 1.6 for K65R/M184V double mutants versus 2.5, 1.9 and 0.6 for M184V single mutants, respectively (P<0.001). Conclusions Mutants with K65R and M184V linked on the same genome were the most common HIV-1 variants in samples analysed from patients failing TNV, ddI and 3TC with both mutations detected by standard genotype. The double mutant exhibited reduced susceptibility to all three NRTIs in the regimen. This resistant phenotype, resulting from just two linked point mutations, likely contributes to rapid failure of NRTI combinations that exclude zidovudine.
Research on the Issues of Resource Allocation Efficiency of Multimodal Transport in Yangtze River Economic Zone

Yangtze River Economic Zone shoulder strategic missions of regional economic development as well as eco-civilization improvement. There for its multi-modal transportation system should be stressed in terms of high efficiency operation. High lighted by the first theorem of welfare economics, the paper works out the technical model of efficient allocation of multimodal transport resources in the Yangtze River Economic Zone by applying the transportation optimization method. As the findings of the paper, there are al least 6 categories of the resolutions in improving the transport efficiency, namely reducing the institution cost, improving the transportation demand, reducing the freight rate, shortening the transfer time, shortening the transit time, breaking the bottleneck of transportation between the two dams. The results of the research are respected to reduce the negative impact of the unfavorable shipping conditions as well as the blocks of river dams on the smooth operation of multimodal transport turnover in the region.
Darwin 200: special feature on brain evolution

This year (2009) commemorates both Charles Darwin's 200th birthday and the 150th anniversary of the publication of the first edition of On the origin of species ([Darwin 1859][1]). To celebrate these events, Biology Letters is publishing a number of special features on topics related to evolution.
Persistence and Differential Survival of Fecal Indicator Bacteria in Subtropical Waters and Sediments

ABSTRACT Fecal coliforms and enterococci are indicator organisms used worldwide to monitor water quality. These bacteria are used in microbial source tracking (MST) studies, which attempt to assess the contribution of various host species to fecal pollution in water. Ideally, all strains of a given indicator organism (IO) would experience equal persistence (maintenance of culturable populations) in water; however, some strains may have comparatively extended persistence outside the host, while others may persist very poorly in environmental waters. Assessment of the relative contribution of host species to fecal pollution would be confounded by differential persistence of strains. Here, freshwater and saltwater mesocosms, including sediments, were inoculated with dog feces, sewage, or contaminated soil and were incubated under conditions that included natural stressors such as microbial predators, radiation, and temperature fluctuations. Persistence of IOs was measured by decay rates (change in culturable counts over time). Decay rates were influenced by IO, inoculum, water type, sediment versus water column location, and Escherichia coli strain. Fecal coliform decay rates were significantly lower than those of enterococci in freshwater but were not significantly different in saltwater. IO persistence according to mesocosm treatment followed the trend: contaminated soil > wastewater > dog feces. E. coli ribotyping demonstrated that certain strains were more persistent than others in freshwater mesocosms, and the distribution of ribotypes sampled from mesocosm waters was dissimilar from the distribution in fecal material. These results have implications for the accuracy of MST methods, modeling of microbial populations in water, and efficacy of regulatory standards for protection of water quality.
An Investigation into the Critical Success Factors for E-Banking Frauds Prevention in Nigeria

E-Banking frauds is an issue experienced globally and continues to prove costly to both banks and customers. Frauds in e-banking services occur due to various compromises in security, ranging from weak authentication systems to insufficient internal controls. Although some security frameworks to address this issue of fraud have been proposed, the problem of e-banking fraud remains due to the inability of these framework to deal with organisational issues. With limited research in this area, the study sets out to identify the organisational Critical Success Factors (CSF) for E-Banking Frauds Prevention in Nigeria by applying CSF theory. A framework is proposed to help improve security from an organisational perspective. The study adopted a mixture of philosophical paradigms which led to the triangulation of research methods; Literature Review, Survey and Case Studies. The Literature Review involved the synthesis of existing literature and identified potential CSF for frauds prevention in e-banking. A total of 28 factors were identified and a conceptual framework was proposed. A 5-point Likert scale survey questionnaire was sent to retail bank staff in Nigeria to rate the criticality of the factors. A total of 110 useable responses were received at a response rate of 23.9%. Similar interrelated factors were grouped using a Principal Component Analysis. Finally, case studies with 4 banks in Nigeria were carried out to deepen our understanding. The study identified a total of 10 CSF which spanned across strategic, operational and technological factor categories. These included ‘Management Commitment’, ‘Engagement of Subject Matter Experts’ and ‘Multi-Layer Authentication’ amongst others. In addition, new CSF such as ‘Risk-Based Transactional Controls’, ‘People Awareness & Training’ and ‘Bank Agility via Data Driven Decision Making’ were identified. Finally, these CSF were grouped into an e-banking frauds prevention framework. This study is a pioneer study that extends theory to propose a CSF-based frauds prevention framework for banks in Nigeria.
Stabilization of the robotic arms

The main contributions of this paper are as follows: 1) a proportional-derivative controller with inverse dead-zone is addressed for the regulation of robotic arms, where the inputs dead-zone is cancelled with the inverse dead-zone, 2) stability of the mentioned technique is assured, and 3) the considered strategy is validated by two examples.
Differential Requirement for a Cellular Type-1 Immune Response in Tumor-Associated Versus Alloantigen-Targeted GvT Effects

Background. The major obstacles that impair successful outcome after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for hematologic malignancies remain graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) and tumor relapse. Improved survival after allogeneic HSCT therefore requires more effective control of GvHD while preserving graft-versus-tumor (GvT) effects. Methods. Allogeneic parent-into-F1 murine transplant models (BALB/c or C57BL/6 → F1[BALB/c×C57BL/6]) were used to evaluate the interrelation of GvHD and GvT effects targeting tumor-specific antigens or alloantigens on MethA tumor cells. Results. Compared with syngeneic F1-into-F1 controls (F1[H-2b/d] → F1: MethA[H-2d]), significant T cell-mediated GvT effects occurred in both allogeneic transplant models, even in the absence of histoincompatibilities between donor cells and host tumor (BALB/c[H-2d] → F1: MethA[H-2d]). Selective inhibition of type-1 (Th-1/Tc1) immune responses with TAK-603 after HSCT nearly abolished GvHD in both allogeneic transplant models. While GvT effects directed against alloantigens (C57BL/6[H-2b] → F1: MethA[H-2d]) remained unaffected during type-1-immune suppression, GvT effects targeted against tumor-associated antigens (BALB/c[H-2d] → F1: MethA[H-2d]) were not evident. Conclusions. Our data show that GvHD and GvT effects are in principle separable from each other by selective type-1 inhibition in transplantation models with major histocompatibility complex disparities between tumor, host, and donor. In contrast, in situations that only allow for GvT effects that exclusively target tumor-associated antigens (TAAs), type-1 inhibition results in complete abrogation not only of GvHD but also desired GvT reactions. These differences in GvT effects targeting alloantigens or TAAs and their interrelation to GvHD should be considered in future studies aimed at separating GvT reactions from GvHD.
Consumer’s Buying Decision-Making Process in E-Commerce

The e-commerce growth and development in Indonesia is very rapid as well as the internet grows, but it is not well-balanced with the number of online buying transaction which is still relatively low. Even the today’s biggest B2C e-commerce people in Indonesia, Lazada, has continually decreased online purchasing. This research is aimed to describe factors affecting online buying decision- making in the e-commerce Lazada. The type of this research is confirmatory research. The variable used is following conceptual model i.e. Electronic Word of Mouth (EWOM), social identity, risk perception, trust, and purchase intention. The data were obtained through the questionnaire with Likert scale 1-5. There are 104 people researching sample who meets the criteria as Lazada consumer that, at least do a transaction in recent six months. Data analyzing were done using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) method by Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) software. The results showed that the purchase intention has positively related to the purchase decision. Variable EWOM toward trust has positive relation, variable social identity and risk perception have no any significant relation to trust. Variable risk perception toward purchase intention has no significant relation, while the variable trust has significant positive relation to purchase intention.
Screening Programs to Identify Children At Risk for Diabetes Mellitus: Psychological Impact on Children and Parents

Screening programs to identify persons atrisk for diabetes mellitus (DM), before disease onset, are considered essential to understanding the natural history of the disease and for prevention program development. However, screening programs are complicated by imprecise markers of disease risk, the absence of a known effective prevention method, the use of children, and a wide variety of psychological, social, and educational challenges. Research relevant to four issues is presented: (1) parent and child anxiety in response to at-risk notification as well as how participants cope with this news; (2) accuracy of mothers' understanding of their babies' risk status; (3) predictors of participant recruitment and retention in longitudinal studies of this type; and (4) protocol compliance in prevention trials for type 1 DM. Integration of behavioral research into screening and prevention trials would help address the ethical concerns raised by such trials and improve their scientific quality.
TbSmee1 regulates hook complex morphology and the rate of flagellar pocket uptake in Trypanosoma brucei

Trypanosoma brucei uses multiple mechanisms to evade detection by its insect and mammalian hosts. The flagellar pocket (FP) is the exclusive site of uptake from the environment in trypanosomes and shields receptors from exposure to the host. The FP neck is tightly associated with the flagellum via a series of cytoskeletal structures that include the hook complex (HC) and the centrin arm. These structures are implicated in facilitating macromolecule entry into the FP and nucleating the flagellum attachment zone (FAZ), which adheres the flagellum to the cell surface. TbSmee1 (Tb927.10.8820) is a component of the HC and a putative substrate of polo‐like kinase (TbPLK), which is essential for centrin arm and FAZ duplication. We show that depletion of TbSmee1 in the insect‐resident (procyclic) form of the parasite causes a 40% growth decrease and the appearance of multinucleated cells that result from defective cytokinesis. Cells lacking TbSmee1 contain HCs with aberrant morphology and show delayed uptake of both fluid‐phase and membrane markers. TbPLK localization to the tip of the new FAZ is also blocked. These results argue that TbSmee1 is necessary for maintaining HC morphology, which is important for the parasite's ability to take up molecules from its environment.
INSTITUTIONAL REFORM IN JAPAN AND KOREA: WHY THE DIFFERENCE?

all this. For them, we have reached the point in time where no ideology is relevant and no utopia is pertinent. We have reached the final equilibrium of capitalist liberal democracy, and no learning or discovery [are] possible. Second, the difficulty in achieving reform is not limited to resistance grounded in distributional conflict. The difficulty in changing enduring expectations brought about by cognitive and ideological factors exacerbates the problems of social reform.
Effects of Roads on Movements by Understory Birds in Mixed‐Species Flocks in Central Amazonian Brazil

Abstract: Roads through tropical forest create linear disturbances that have unknown consequences for forest birds. We studied how a narrow, rarely used road through otherwise undisturbed Amazonian forest affected the movements and area requirements of understory birds that form mixed‐species flocks. Differences in road maintenance led to two distinct treatments along the same road. Trees along the “closed” road formed a partial canopy connecting the two sides of the road, although the roadway itself was kept open. The “open” road was regularly maintained, making a complete opening 10–30 m wide.We followed 15 flocks, 5 each in interior forest, along the open road, and along the closed road. These flocks were led by Thamnomanes antshrikes, and each flock had a discreet, permanent territory. Flock territory size (mean = 8.5 ha) did not differ among the three locations. The open road formed the territorial boundary for all five flocks, although birds moved within a few meters of the edge of the road. The closed road was less of a barrier: 2 of 5 flocks used both sides of the closed road. Playback experiments showed that flocks readily crossed the closed road to approach agonistic vocalizations. Along the open road, even though birds responded to playback by becoming agitated and moving to the extreme edge of the roadside vegetation, they were less likely to cross the road and did so only after a longer duration of playback. Our results suggest that flocks respond to a road as they would to a long linear gap. They use the vegetation along the edges of the road, but because they are unwilling to cross the open area, it becomes a flock territory boundary. Similarly, as in forest gaps, successional change along the closed road produced suitable habitat for flocks. Although this suggests that roads are a trivial problem, we caution that this result applies only to narrow roads that are not accompanied by deforestation or other disturbance.
TARP γ-2 and γ-8 Differentially Control AMPAR Density Across Schaffer Collateral/Commissural Synapses in the Hippocampal CA1 Area

The number of AMPA-type glutamate receptors (AMPARs) at synapses is the major determinant of synaptic strength and varies from synapse to synapse. To clarify the underlying molecular mechanisms, the density of AMPARs, PSD-95, and transmembrane AMPAR regulatory proteins (TARPs) were compared at Schaffer collateral/commissural (SCC) synapses in the adult mouse hippocampal CA1 by quantitative immunogold electron microscopy using serial sections. We examined four types of SCC synapses: perforated and nonperforated synapses on pyramidal cells and axodendritic synapses on parvalbumin-positive (PV synapse) and pravalbumin-negative interneurons (non-PV synapse). SCC synapses were categorized into those expressing high-density (perforated and PV synapses) or low-density (nonperforated and non-PV synapses) AMPARs. Although the density of PSD-95 labeling was fairly constant, the density and composition of TARP isoforms was highly variable depending on the synapse type. Of the three TARPs expressed in hippocampal neurons, the disparity in TARP γ-2 labeling was closely related to that of AMPAR labeling. Importantly, AMPAR density was significantly reduced at perforated and PV synapses in TARP γ-2-knock-out (KO) mice, resulting in a virtual loss of AMPAR disparity among SCC synapses. In comparison, TARP γ-8 was the only TARP expressed at nonperforated synapses, where AMPAR labeling further decreased to a background level in TARP γ-8-KO mice. These results show that synaptic inclusion of TARP γ-2 potently increases AMPAR expression and transforms low-density synapses into high-density ones, whereas TARP γ-8 is essential for low-density or basal expression of AMPARs at nonperforated synapses. Therefore, these TARPs are critically involved in AMPAR density control at SCC synapses. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Although converging evidence implicates the importance of transmembrane AMPA-type glutamate receptor (AMPAR) regulatory proteins (TARPs) in AMPAR stabilization during basal transmission and synaptic plasticity, how they control large disparities in AMPAR numbers or densities across central synapses remains largely unknown. We compared the density of AMPARs with that of TARPs among four types of Schaffer collateral/commissural (SCC) hippocampal synapses in wild-type and TARP-knock-out mice. We show that the density of AMPARs correlates with that of TARP γ-2 across SCC synapses and its high expression is linked to high-density AMPAR expression at perforated type of pyramidal cell synapses and synapses on parvalbumin-positive interneurons. In comparison, TARP γ-8 is the only TARP expressed at nonperforated type of pyramidal cell synapses, playing an essential role in low-density or basal AMPAR expression.
Contribution à l’étude des architectures de radiocommunications à références d’horloges hautes fréquences : application des résonateurs BAW à la génération de fréquence de référence dans les systèmes de communication mobile

Ces travaux de these portent principalement sur la generation de signal d'horloge haute frequence. Dans un premier temps, la faisabilite d'un oscillateur a base de BAW y est demontree par la conception d'un circuit en technologie CMOS 65 nm. Les deux principales innovations sont les performances en terme de stabilite (bruit de phase de -128dBc/Hz a 100kHz de la porteuse) et en precision (implementation d'une banque de capacites ayant un pas de 0.4ppm) de l'oscillateur. Sa consommation est optimisee (0.9mW). Il est suivi d'un diviseur faible bruit (-140dBc/Hz a 100kHz de la porteuse) delivrant un signal a 500MHz. Dans un second temps, les imperfections des resonateurs BAW sont analysees. Une procedure de calibration comprenant une calibration initiale et une calibration en boucle ouverte est alors proposee. Cette derniere repose sur l'identification et l'utilisation d'un modele comportemental du dispositif, regulierement mis a jour grâce a un filtre de Kalman. Une precision de 0.4 ppm est atteinte
Applications of Microplasmas and Microreactor Technology

During the last decade a number of microcavity plasma devices have been developed. Examples are microhollow cathode (MHC) discharges and cathode boundary layer (CBL) discharges proposed by Schoenbach, capillary plasma electrode (CPE) discharges proposed by Kunhardt and Becker, and micro‐structured electrode arrays (MSEs) introduced by Gericke and Penache. Arrays of microplasmas based on silicon, ceramic, or metal/polymer structures were investigated by Eden, Frame, Park and coworkers. A breakthrough in the life expectancy of such devices was achieved when all metal electrodes were covered by dielectrics, thus combining dielectric‐barrier discharge technology with microcavity plasma devices.
CLASSIFICATION OF MUNICIPALITIES BY THE AMOUNT AND STRUCTURE OF BUDGET REVENUES

Summary: The structure of municipal revenues is one of the elements of their financial independence assessment, and thus their ability to implement a wide range of local tasks resulting from the needs and specificity of a particular area and community. Two methods of identifying municipal classes were used in the article, which allowed assessing the diversity of revenue models and their spatial characteristics. The applied methods are the median based classification and the Global Moran’s I statistics. They allowed to indicate municipal classes presenting a similar revenue structure with distinction of three basic groups of receipts (own revenues, general subsidies and earmarked subsidies). The analysis was carried out in 2016 and covered municipal budgets (excluding cities with poviat status). The analysis shows that the tendency for creating clusters of neighbouring municipalities featuring a similar level of revenues in terms of total and own revenues is small and concerns only selected locations with high economic potential, such as e.g. the vicinity of large cities.