Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Agile Beyond Teams and Feedback Beyond Software in Automotive Systems

In order to increase the ability to build complex, software-intensive systems, as well as to decrease time-to-market for new functionality, automotive companies aim to scale agile methods beyond individual teams. This is challenging, given the specifics of automotive systems that are often safety-critical and consist of software, hardware, and mechanical components. In this article, we investigate the concrete reasons for scaling agility beyond teams, the strategies that support such scaling, and the foreseeable implications that such a drastic organizational change will entail. The investigation is based on a qualitative case study, with data from 20 semistructured interviews with managers and technical experts at two automotive companies. At the core of our findings are observations about establishing an agile vehicle-level feedback loop beyond individual teams. First, we find that automotive original equipment manufacturers aim to decrease the lead time of development. Second, we also identify seven strategies that aim to enable scaled-agile beyond teams. Finally, we extract six foreseeable implications and side effects of scaling agile beyond teams in automotive. By charting the landscape of expected benefits, strategies, and implications of scaling agile beyond teams in automotive, we enable further research and process improvements.
Carbon Dots from Coffee Grounds: Synthesis, Characterization, and Detection of Noxious Nitroanilines

Coffee ground (CG) waste is generated in huge amounts all over the world, constituting a serious environmental issue owing to its low biodegradability. Therefore, processes that simultaneously aim for its valorization while reducing its environmental impact are in great demand. In the current approach, blue luminescent carbon dots (C-dots) were produced in good chemical yields from CGs following hydrothermal carbonization methods under an extended set of reaction parameters. The remarkable fluorescent properties of the synthesized C-dots (quantum yields up to 0.18) allied to their excellent water dispersibility and photostability prompted their use for the first time as sensing elements for detection of noxious nitroanilines (NAs) in aqueous media. Very high levels of NA detection were achieved (e.g., limit of detection of 68 ppb for p-nitroaniline), being the regioisomeric selectivity attributed to its higher hyperpolarizability and dipole moment. Through ground–state and time-resolved fluorescence assays, a static fluorescence quenching mechanism was established. 1H NMR titration data also strongly suggested the formation of ground–state complexes between C-dots and NAs.
Multichannel Intraluminal Impedance and pH Monitoring are Complementary Methods in the Diagnosis of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease in Children

Objective: Gastroesophageal reflux is considered to be a disease when reflux of gastric contents causes troublesome symptoms in infants and children. The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic value of the multichannel intraluminal impedance monitoring and only pH monitoring in the diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease in infants and children. Materials and Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study consisted of pediatric patients aged between 1 month and 18 years old with symptoms suggestive of gastroesophageal reflux disease. Patients were divided into 2 groups as younger than 24 months (group 1) and older than 24 months (group 2). Twenty-four hours multichannel intraluminal impedance-pH monitoring was performed on the patients. Results: This study included 50 pediatric patients. The mean age of the patients was 5.35 ± 4.92 years. In group 1, total reflux events were fewer than group 2 (P = .03) by pH monitoring. In group 1, the number of non-acid reflux events was higher than in group 2 and in group 2, the number of acidic reflux events was higher than group 1 (P = .04). Reflux was detected by multichannel intraluminal impedance-pH monitoring in 13 (40%) of 32 patients who were assessed as negative by pH monitoring. Conclusion: It was concluded that more reliable results were obtained when the 2 methods were used together in this study.
A Mild Method for Encapsulation of Citral in Monodispersed Alginate Microcapsules

Citral is a typical UV-irritation and acid-sensitive active and here we develop a mild method for the encapsulation of citral in calcium alginate microcapsules, in which UV irritation or acetic acid is avoided. Monodispersed oil-in-water-in-oil (O/W/O) emulsions are generated in a capillary microfluidic device as precursors. The middle aqueous phase of O/W/O emulsions contains sodium alginate, calcium-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA-Ca) complex as the calcium source, and D-(+)-Gluconic acid δ-lactone (GDL) as the acidifier. Hydrolysis of GDL will decrease the pH value of the middle aqueous solution, which will trigger the calcium ions released from the EDTA-Ca complex to cross-link with alginate molecules. After the gelling process, the O/W/O emulsions will convert to alginate microcapsules with a uniform structure and monodispersed size. The preparation conditions for alginate microcapsules are optimized, including the constituent concentration in the middle aqueous phase of O/W/O emulsions and the mixing manner of GDL with the alginate-contained aqueous solution. Citral-containing alginate microcapsules are successfully prepared by this mild method and the sustained-release characteristic of citral from alginate microcapsules is analyzed. Furthermore, a typical application of citral-containing alginate microcapsules to delay the oxidation of oil is also demonstrated. The mild gelling method provides us a chance to encapsulate sensitive hydrophobic actives with alginate, which takes many potential applications in pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic areas.
Effects of altitude on the chemical composition of grapes and wine: a review

Of the geographical parameters in a winegrowing site, altitude is an important determinant of wine composition and quality. Grape polyphenols and volatiles comprise a large and varied group of compounds that contribute considerably to the sensory and health-promoting properties of wine. This review surveys the impacts of altitude and its related climatic characteristics on the phenolic and aroma compounds of grapes and wine through the examination of existing literature. Furthermore, this review highlights the challenge of distinguishing the effects of parameters, such as air temperature, variety, vine water status, soil and UV radiation, from the altitude effect. Overall, high-altitude growing sites can favour an increase - albeit at different intensities - in content of many chemical compounds found in grapes and wine, such as total polyphenols, total monomeric anthocyanins, catechins, quercetin derivatives and cyanidin-derived anthocyanins, trihydroxylated flavonols, carotenoids, isoamyl acetate and ethyl hexanoate. However, the altitude factor seems to be cultivar-dependent; in fact, it can exert a positive effect on the concentrations of acylated anthocyanins and of total aroma compounds in some cultivars (e.g., Ekşikara and Glera) and a negative effect on the same components in other cultivars (e.g., Merlot and Cabernet-Sauvignon). Its influence on the polyphenol content can also differ between different parts of the same cultivar; for instance, an increase in skin tannins and a decrease in seed tannins have been found to be concomitant with an increase in altitude in Syrah grapes. Moreover, at higher altitude, the effect of an increase in UV-B radiation can lead to an enhancement in colour intensity due to an increase in the synthesis of anthocyanins, flavonols and tannins. Due to their cool climate, high-elevated winegrowing regions represent favourite cultivation sites under current and future global warming.
Numerical Investigations of Nanowire Gate-All-Around Negative Capacitance GaAs/InN Tunnel FET

We demonstrated a nanowire gate-all-around (GAA) negative capacitance (NC) tunnel field-effect transistor (TFET) based on the GaAs/InN heterostructure using TCAD simulation. In the gate stacking, we proposed a tri-layer HfO<sub>2</sub>/TiO<sub>2</sub>/HfO<sub>2</sub> as a high-K dielectric and hafnium zirconium oxide (HZO) as a ferroelectric (FE) layer. The proposed GAA-TFET overcomes the thermionic limitation (60 mV/decade) of conventional MOSFETs’ subthreshold swing (SS) thanks to its improved electrostatic control and quantum mechanical tunneling. Simultaneously, the NC state of ferroelectric materials improves TFET performance by exploiting differential amplification of the gate voltage under certain conditions. The most surprising discoveries of this device, which outperforms all previous results, are the very high <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$I_{ON}/I_{OFF}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ratio on the order of 10<sup>11</sup> and the enormous on-state current of 135 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{A}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. The incorporation of the NC effect with a 9 nm HZO results in the lowest <italic>SS</italic> of 20.56 mV/dec (52.38% lower than baseline TFET) and the highest voltage gain of 6.58. Furthermore, the output characteristics revealed a large transconductance (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$g_{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) of 7.87 mS (10<sup>3</sup> order higher than the baseline TFET), drain-induced barrier lowering (DIBL) of 9.7 mV, and a threshold voltage of 0.53 V (37.65% lower than baseline TFET), all of which are significant. Thus, all of the results indicate that the proposed device structure may lead to a new route for electronic devices, creating higher speed and lower power consumption.
Medicinal Plants Utilized for the Treatment of Gastrointestinal Parasitosis in Ethiopia

Background Nonhygienic living conditions give rise to parasitic infections. Intestinal parasitosis is a serious public health problem in Ethiopia. It is more common in the poor part of the population with low-income, poor personal, and environmental sanitation and limited clean water supply. This review is aimed at providing an overview of the medicinal plants used for the treatment of gastrointestinal parasitosis in Ethiopia. Methods International databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science) were systematically searched to access published original articles on medicinal plants used to treat gastrointestinal parasitosis without restriction on the year of publication and methodology. The validity of articles was checked before inclusion in the review by undertaking critical appraisal using tools adapted from JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist. The details of medicinal plants were extracted from the included studies using a standardized data extraction format in excel spreadsheet and analyzed using descriptive statistics to calculate frequency and percentage. Results A search for published articles produced a total of 205 papers, of which 23 met the inclusion criteria. Of the 85 medicinal plants identified, the majority (40.2%) were shrubs, and the common plant part used was leaf (28.2%). Family Asteraceae has the highest number of plant species. The majority of the plant remedies were given orally (96.9%). Taeniasis comprises the highest percentage of intestinal parasitosis treated followed by ascariasis. Conclusion Numerous plants have been utilized to treat gastrointestinal parasitosis. Information obtained from this review could serve as a guide to discover novel antiparasitic agents. Therefore, it is advisable for researchers to properly identify, document, conserve, and conduct safety and efficacy studies on such claimed medicinal plants.
Enhanced performance in uncooled n-CdSe/p-PbSe photovoltaic detectors by high-temperature chloride passivation

High-temperature chloride passivation (HTCP) was proposed to improve the crystalline quality and electrical properties of PbSe epitaxial films. The PL intensity of HTCP (111) PbSe epitaxial films exhibits a 14 times higher intensity than that of as-grown films, and a threefold increase in Hall mobility has been obtained after HTCP at 300 °C for 2 h. The improvement of optical and electrical properties is attributed to the high-temperature defect passivation induced by the HTCP process. The HTCP process of PbSe films was implemented in a CdSe/PbSe heterojunction PV detector, which exhibits a room temperature peak detectivity D* of 8.5 × 108 cm Hz1/2 W−1 in the mid-wavelength infrared region under blackbody radiation (227 °C), demonstrating potential applications in the fabrication of mid-infrared detectors and emitters.
Population density, cosmopolitanism, and undocumented immigrants in the United States

Abstract Most research on attitudes towards immigrants and immigration problematically conflates the documented and the undocumented. Previous studies also largely ignore the autonomous role of population density. Based on data drawn from two nationally representative surveys, this paper focuses on contemporary American attitudes towards undocumented immigration and immigrants. Contra the dominant view, we find that education and income have no effect. More important, population density, measured at the county level, significantly predicts favorable attitudes, controlling for factors often erroneously conflated with density: race, income, education, political affiliation, age, gender, and interaction with immigrants. In fact, interaction tends to decrease favorable attitudes. We explain these findings by proposing a novel account of cosmopolitanism, using favorable attitudes towards undocumented immigrants and immigration as an empirical indicator. Those who live in places with higher density are more used to see and be seen in everyday life by countless people with whom they share the same spaces without necessarily interacting with them. As a result, they are more likely to consider all them, including undocumented immigrants, in a superficial yet egalitarian way as generalized others to be ignored. It is this tolerance based on general indifference that is the basis of cosmopolitanism.
On the capacity for rapid adaptation and plastic responses to herbivory and intraspecific competition in insular populations of Plectritis congesta

A capacity for rapid adaptation should enhance the persistence of populations subject to temporal and spatial heterogeneity in natural selection, but examples from nature remain scarce. Plectritis congesta (Caprifoliaceae) is a winter annual that exhibits local adaptation to browsing by ungulates and hypothesized to show context‐dependent trade‐offs in traits affecting success in competition versus resistance or tolerance to browsing. We grew P. congesta from 44 insular populations historically exposed or naïve to ungulates in common gardens to (1) quantify genetic, plastic and competitive effects on phenotype; (2) estimate a capacity for rapid adaptation (evolvability); and (3) test whether traits favoured by selection with ungulates present were selected against in their absence. Plants from browsed populations bolted and flowered later, had smaller inflorescences, were less fecund and half as tall as plants from naïve populations on average, replicating patterns in nature. Estimated evolvabilities (3–36%) and narrow‐sense heritabilities (h2; 0.13–0.32) imply that differences in trait values as large as reported here can arise in 2–18 generations in an average population. Phenotypic plasticity was substantial, varied by browsing history and fruit phenotype and increased with competition. Fecundity increased with plasticity in flowering height given competition (0.47 ± 0.02 florets/cm, β ± se), but 23–77% faster in naïve plants bearing winged fruits (0.53 ± 0.04) than exposed‐wingless plants (0.43 ± 0.03) or exposed‐winged and naïve‐wingless plants (0.30 ± 0.03, each case). Our results support the hypothesis that context‐dependent variation in natural selection in P. congesta populations has conferred a substantial capacity for adaptation in response to selection in traits affecting success in competition versus resistance or tolerance to browsing in the absence versus presence of ungulates, respectively. Theory suggests that conserving adaptive capacity in P. congesta will require land managers to maintain spatial heterogeneity in natural selection, prevent local extinctions and maintain gene flow.
The sustainability of open source commons

ABSTRACT The sustainability of commons has benefited from Elinor Ostrom´s analysis of shared resources. In her work, sustainability was described in a univocal manner–successful or not–depending on the common’s long-term capacity to survive within an uncertain environment. In recent years, this view of sustainability has been applied to the study of digital commons, including open source. Building on more recent work on sustainability, this paper challenges this univocal conception of sustainability in open source. Through a critical review of the literature, it unveils the coexistence of multiple notions of sustainability in open source and proposes a typology of sustainabilities (resource-based, infrastructural, and interactional). We propose that the degree and quality of the interrelationship between these different types of sustainability need to be explored, leading to the theorisation of three possible scenarios (trade-offs, synergy, and independence). We discuss and put forward a research agenda.
Near Real-Time InSAR Deformation Time Series Estimation With Modified Kalman Filter and Sequential Least Squares

The current and planned synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors mounted on satellite platforms will continue to operate over the coming years, providing unprecedented SAR data for monitoring wide-range surface deformations. The near real-time processing of SAR interferometry (InSAR) data for the retrieval of ground-deformation time series is urgently required in the current era of big data. The state-of-the-art Kalman filter (KF) and sequential least squares (SLS) algorithms have been proposed to update an InSAR-driven ground-deformation time series. As a contribution of this study, we customize the conventional KF and SLS for big InSAR data for near real-time processing. The development of an accurate prediction model for KF-based InSAR processing is a challenge owing to the large scale of the targets for surface monitoring. We developed a modified KF algorithm, abbreviated as npKF, that does not require any prediction information, abbreviated as npKF. In this context, to avoid occupying a large storage space in SLS-based InSAR processing, we developed a modified SLS algorithm with a truncated cofactor matrix, abbreviated as TSLS. Using both simulated and actual SAR data, we evaluated the performance of these methods under three different aspects: accuracy, computation, and storage performance. With big data, the proposed method can estimate the deformation time series in near real time. It will be a reliable and effective tool for producing near real-time InSAR deformation products in the coming era of processing big SAR data and will play a part in the geologic hazard routine monitoring and early warning system.
Importanța corelațiilor între parametrii de laborator la pacienții diabetici- Studiu de caz | [The importance of correlation between laboratory parameters in diabetic patients - Case study]

Introduction: Diagnosis of diabetes mainly involves laboratory tests, which implies a high accuracy in accordance with good laboratory practices. There is a wide range of tests that shows valuable information about the patient’s glycemic curve, nutrition, insulin resistance, metabolic products, but also about the lipid status of patients. Objective: The present paper aims to highlight the importance of laboratory tests in non-insulin dependent (type II) Diabetes mellitus, but also to determine the correlations between these parameters (glycated hemoglobin, blood sugar, triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL and HDL cholesterol, lipids) byexploring a clinical case. Discussions: For most correlations, were obtained positive values, grater than 0.5 (direct correlations the value of one parameter decreases in time and manner with another). Following the analysis of thelaboratory parameters, resulted the direct relationship between the persistence of high values of glycated hemoglobin, blood sugar and LDL-cholesterol and, consequently, the treatment schedule was modified. Conclusions: From the perspective of the mentioned aspects, the study demonstrated that an extended approach in the management of diabetes mellitus is necessary, with an emphasis on personalized medicine, because the patients stand out by particularities towards to each other. The paper is also a useful teaching toolin exposing the pathology and medical approach of patients with diabetes. Rezumat Introducere: Diagnosticul diabetului presupune în principal teste de laborator, ceea ce implică ocalitate înaltă a acestora în conformitate cu bunele practici de laborator. Există o paletă largă de teste care ne conferă informații prețioase despre curba glicemică a pacientului, starea de nutriție, rezistența la insulină, produșii de metabolizare, dar și despre statusul lipidic al pacientului. Scop/Obiectiv: Lucrarea de față are ca scop evidențierea importanței analizelor de laborator în diabetul zaharat non-insulino-necesitant (tip II), dar și determinarea corelațiilor între acești parametrii (hemoglobină glicată, glicemie, trigliceride, colesterol total, LDL și HDL colesterol, lipide) prin expunerea unui caz clinic. Discuții: Pentru majoritatea corelațiilor s-au obținut valori pozitive și mai mari de 0,5 (corelații directe– valoarea unui parametru crește/scade în același timp și mod cu a altuia). In urma analizei parametrilor de laborator, se remarca raportul direct între persistența valorilor înalte ale glicemiei à jeun, a HbA1c, și a LDL colesterolului, în urma cărora schema de tratament a fost adaptată. Concluzii: Din perspectiva aspectelor menționate, studiul a demonstrat că este necesară o abordare extinsă în managementul diabetului zaharat, cu accent pe medicina personalizată, deoarece bolnavii se remarcă prin particularități unul față de celălalt. De asemenea, lucrarea este și un instrument didactic util în expunerea patologiei și abordării medicale a pacienților cu diabet zaharat.
Problems and Solutions in Researching Computer Game Assisted Dialogues for Persons with Aphasia

In this paper, we describe technological advances for supporting persons with aphasia in philosophical dialogues about personally relevant and contestable questions. A computer game-based application for iPads is developed and researched through Living Lab inspired workshops in order to promote the target group’s communicative participation during group argumentation. We outline some central parts of the background theory of the application and some of its main features, which are related to needs of the target group. Methodological issues connected to the design and use of Living Labs with persons with aphasia are discussed. We describe a few problems with researching development of communicative participation during group argumentation using an app assisted intervention for the target group and suggest some possible solutions.