Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
LoRaCog: A Protocol for Cognitive Radio-Based LoRa Network

In this paper, we propose a new protocol called LoRaCog to introduce the concept of Cognitive Radio (CR) in the LoRa network. LoRaCog will enable access to a wider spectrum than that of LoRaWAN by using the unutilized spectrum and thus has better efficiency without impacting the end devices’ battery consumption. LoRa networks are managed by LoRaWAN protocol and operate on the unlicensed Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) band. LoRaWAN is one of thriving protocols for Low-Power Wide-Area Networks (LPWAN) implemented for the Internet of Things (IoT). With the growing demand for IoT, the unlicensed spectrum is expected to be congested, unlike the licensed spectrum, which is not fully utilized. This can be fairly balanced by applying CR to the LoRa network, where the End Devices (EDs) may change the operating channel opportunistically over the free/available licensed spectrum. Spectrum sensing, channel selection and channel availability relevance become essential features to be respected by the proposed protocol. The main objective of adding CR to LoRaWAN is reducing the congestion and maintaining LoRaWAN’s suitability for battery-operated devices. This is achieved by modifying LoRaWAN components such as the ED receive window RX2 rearrangement, spectrum sensing functionality by gateway (GW) for identifying unused channels, and reaching a decision on the unused channels by network server (NS). These changes will create LoRaCog meeting spectrum efficiency and maintain the same level of battery consumption as in LoRaWAN. Numerical simulations show a significant decrease in the rejected packet rate (more than 50%) with LoRaCog when more EDs use cognitive channels. As the results prove, LoRaWAN can reach above 50% rejected packets for the simulated environment versus 24% rejection for LoRaCog using only one additional channel (means total two channels). This means that the system can eliminate rejected packets almost completely when operating over the possible many channels. As well, these results show the flexibility in the system to utilize the available frequencies in an efficient and fair way. The results also reveal that a lower number of GWs is needed for LoRaCog from LoRaWAN to cover the same area.
Study on identification of rice varieties using computer vision

The rice variety has been identified exclusively by human inspection so far. The result of human inspection is subjective. A new method of identification was proposed based on Bayes decision theory using computer vision. Color features and shape features were used simultaneously as input of the Bayes classifier. Tests show that identification rate is up to 883%. This method is proved to be objective and consistent.
Effect of Escitalopram on the Number of DCX-Positive Cells and NMUR2 Receptor Expression in the Rat Hippocampus under the Condition of NPSR Receptor Blockade

Background: Neuropeptide S (NPS) is a multifunctional regulatory factor that exhibits a potent anxiolytic activity in animal models. However, there are no reports dealing with the potential molecular interactions between the activity of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and NPS signaling, especially in the context of adult neurogenesis and the expression of noncanonical stress-related neuropeptides such as neuromedin U (NMU). The present work therefore focused on immunoexpression of neuromedin U receptor 2 (NMUR2) and doublecortin (DCX) in the rat hippocampus after acute treatment with escitalopram and in combination with selective neuropeptide S receptor (NPSR) blockade. Methods: Studies were carried out on adult, male Sprague-Dawley rats that were divided into five groups: animals injected with saline (control) and experimental individuals treated with escitalopram (at single dose 10 mg/kg daily), escitalopram + SHA-68, a selective NPSR antagonist (at single dose 40 mg/kg), SHA-68 alone, and corresponding vehicle control. All animals were sacrificed under halothane anaesthesia. The whole hippocampi were quickly excised, fixed, and finally sliced for general qualitative immunohistochemical assessment of the NPSR and NMUR2 expression. The number of immature neurons was enumerated using immunofluorescent detection of doublecortin (DCX) expression within the subgranular zone (SGZ). Results: Acute escitalopram administration affects the number of DCX and NMUR2-expressing cells in the adult rat hippocampus. A decreased number of DCX-expressing neuroblasts after treatment with escitalopram was augmented by SHA-68 coadministration. Conclusions: Early pharmacological effects of escitalopram may be at least partly connected with local NPSR-related alterations of neuroblast maturation in the rat hippocampus. Escitalopram may affect neuropeptide and DCX-expression starting even from the first dose. Adult neurogenesis may be regulated via paracrine neuropeptide S and NMU-related signaling.
Multi-objective reference point techniques to optimize profitability, growth, and risk in the non-life insurance industry: international analysis

This paper combines reference point techniques and econometric analyses to provide the proﬁle of non-life insurers that simultaneously optimize the strategic growth, proﬁtability, and risk goals. The econometric analyses provide the relevant relations among the variables. Non-life insurers from 33 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries over a six-year period are analyzed. A cluster analysis allows forming groups of countries according to the non-life insurance penetration ratio. Several scenarios, which are characterized by the maturity of the market and the crisis/non-crisis situation, are studied. The results indicate that the highest level of proﬁtability (growth) is linked to scenarios with a medium (low) level of maturity and booming times. They also show that the lowest level of risk that is representative of good performance is associated with scenarios where markets have a high level of maturity and crisis times. We ﬁnd that a higher recommendable size is associated with more mature markets. The results also indicate that reinsurance utilization is linked to a crisis time. We additionally ﬁnd that the recommendable level of capitalization diﬀers signiﬁcantly among scenarios.
Vegetation diversity, structure and composition of three forest ecosystems in Angsana coastal area, South Kalimantan, Indonesia

Abstract. Nugroho Y, Suyanto, Makinudin D, Aditia S, Yulimasita DD, Afandi AY, Harahap MM, Matatula J, Wirabuana PYAP. 2022. Vegetation diversity, structure and composition of three forest ecosystems in Angsana coastal area, South Kalimantan, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 23: 2640-2647. Vegetation communities around coastal ecosystems play important roles in mitigating natural disaster and climate change. However, available information about vegetation communities in coastal areas is still limited despite being a requirement in developing strategies for environmental preservation. Angsana coastal area in South Kalimantan, Indonesia has unique characteristics in which it has three different forest ecosystems, namely heath forest (HF), beach forest (BF), and mangrove forest (MF). This study aimed to identify the vegetation diversity, structure and composition of the three forest ecosystems in Angsana coastal area. A field survey was conducted using transect line methods with a sampling plot size of 10 × 10 m and an interval of 20 m. Vegetation communities were assessed using species abundance, plant diversity, importance value index (IVI), and similarity level. Results showed that 37 species from 25 families were recorded at the study site. The highest species abundance was observed in HF (22 species), followed by BF (18 species) and MF (7 species). The same trend was found for vegetation diversity, in which HF had the highest richness (Dmg = 4.52), heterogeneity (H' = 2.86), and evenness (J' = 0.94). Hibiscus tiliaceus L. had the highest IVI in BF in all vegetation stages, and Rhizophora mucronata Lam. consistently had the greatest IVI in MF in all stages. Species thet exhibited the highest IVI in HF were Adina minutiflora Valeton (seedlings), Rhodedomia tomentosa and Premna serratifolia L. (saplings), Tristania maingayi Duthie (poles), and Vitex ovata Thunb. (trees). Our study also observed that species abundance in forest ecosystems gradually declined from seedlings to trees, except in MF. Among the three forest types, vegetation composition was highly similar between MF and BF, with a similarity level of 47.1%. Based on these results, this study concluded that the three forest ecosystems in Angsana coastal area exhibit a highly diverse vegetation structure, and each type of forest has specific characteristics as its entity.
Thermo-physiological comfort characteristics and blended yarn woven fabrics

Clothin g protec ts from cold or heat to ma in ta in body thermal comron throu ghout th e full range of human activit ies. Var ious typ es of tac tile . moisture and thermal interac tion s be tween the clothing ma te rial and the human skin determine th e comfo rt leve l of a perso n at a given enviro nm enta l condi ti on whil e engaged in a spec ific level of activity. The fabric type and its blend compositi on, th e ta ctil e and th erma l in sulation beha viour or th e fab ric assembly and th e moisture manag ement capabilities of th e clothin g can affec t th e comfort. This pnper discu sses the ro le of fib re properti es on comfort characte ri stics or fabric s and wh y th e bl endin g of fibre s at yarn mamtfacturing sta ge can lead to fabri cs hav in g the desi red characteri stics from comfort poi nt of vi ew. The detail s about the properti es of diffcrem fibres and their rel ationship to different co mfort auributes ha ve also been provided. The resu lt s o f experimentnl stud y of wnter vap our permeabilit y conduct of po lyester/ viscose (PlY) and pol yes ter/c otton (PIC) blended yarn fabric s show that the higher po lyester co ntent in P! V and PIC fabri cs is detrim enta l to water vapour tra nsmiss ion. The wa ter vapour u·an smi ss ion rate al so in creases with th e air now rate above th e fa bri c. Ke)'WOrds: Rl encl ed yarn. Comfort. Thermal insulation behav iour, Water vapour permeabilit y. Woven fabric IPC Code: Int. C l. 8 D03D 15/00 I Introduction Comfort may be defin ed as a pleasant state of psyc hological, phys iological and physical harmony between a human being and the env ironment. All three aspects are eq uall y import ant, sin ce people fe el uncomfortable if any one of th em is absent. Co mfort is not a propert y bu t a condition of mind. The human mind respo nds with various degrees of sat isfactio n to th e ever chang in g environment. This perceptio n in cl udes the effect of clothing between body and environment. A number of properties of fibres, yarns, fabrics and ga rmen ts are signifi cantly related to co mfort and must be take n in to account in producing sui tab le apparel items. Des igners of clot hin g can take care of psychological and phy sical aspects of comfort by suitable selection of co lour, des ign, texture, sty le, garment fit, etc. However, suitable fabrics from th e comfort point of view mu st be developed by textile technolog ists by proper se lection of fibre content, yarn and fab ri c co nstru ction techniques and fi ni shin g treatments as th ey influ ence physiological co mfort level through therm al retention or transmiss ion, moisture vapo ur permeability , water resis tance, static charge build-up, etc . Fabric properties depend on fibre properties, ,ya rn structure, fabr ic structure and th e mechanical and chemical fin ishin g treatments given to th e fabric . Of
Increased Arctic NO3− Availability as a Hydrogeomorphic Consequence of Permafrost Degradation and Landscape Drying

Climate-driven permafrost thaw alters the strongly coupled carbon and nitrogen cycles within the Arctic tundra, influencing the availability of limiting nutrients including nitrate (NO3−). Researchers have identified two primary mechanisms that increase nitrogen and NO3− availability within permafrost soils: (1) the ‘frozen feast’, where previously frozen organic material becomes available as it thaws, and (2) ‘shrubification’, where expansion of nitrogen-fixing shrubs promotes increased soil nitrogen. Through the synthesis of original and previously published observational data, and the application of multiple geospatial approaches, this study investigates and highlights a third mechanism that increases NO3− availability: the hydrogeomorphic evolution of polygonal permafrost landscapes. Permafrost thaw drives changes in microtopography, increasing the drainage of topographic highs, thus increasing oxic conditions that promote NO3− production and accumulation. We extrapolate relationships between NO3− and soil moisture in elevated topographic features within our study area and the broader Alaskan Coastal Plain and investigate potential changes in NO3− availability in response to possible hydrogeomorphic evolution scenarios of permafrost landscapes. These approximations indicate that such changes could increase Arctic tundra NO3− availability by ~250–1000%. Thus, hydrogeomorphic changes that accompany continued permafrost degradation in polygonal permafrost landscapes will substantially increase soil pore water NO3− availability and boost future fertilization and productivity in the Arctic.
Remediation of chlorpyrifos-contaminated soils by crude secondary metabolites of Trichoderma harzianum T213 and its effect on maize growth

Abstract. Soesanto L, Susanti RA, Mugiastuti E, Manan A, Sastyawan MWR, Maryanto J. 2022. Remediation of chlorpyrifos-contaminated soils by crude secondary metabolites of Trichoderma harzianum T213 and its effect on maize growth. Biodiversitas 23: 2464-2470. The study was conducted to determine the role of Trichoderma harzianum T213 crude secondary metabolites on the growth of maize plants and the reduction of chlorpyrifos on contaminated soils. A randomized block design was used in this study with four treatments. The treatments applied on chlorpyrifos contaminated soil were: without the application of secondary metabolites (0%) and the application of T. harzianum T213 crude secondary metabolites at the concentration of 50, 100, and 150%. Variables observed were residual levels of insecticide in maize, plant height difference, number of leaves, plant fresh weight, and root length. The results showed that the application of T. harzianum T213 crude secondary metabolites effectively increased plant growth, including plant height, the number of leaves, plant fresh weight, and root length compared to control on chlorpyrifos-contaminated soil. The highest percentage (99.54%) of the reduction of chlorpyrifos residue was the application of 100% T. harzianum T213 crude secondary metabolites. It was followed by applying 50 and 150% T. harzianum T213 crude secondary metabolites by 99.39 and 99.14%, respectively.
Laser ablation assisted synthesis of graphene/CuO nanocomposite: effect of laser fluence

ABSTRACT The role of laser fluence on the properties of graphene/CuO nanocomposite, prepared by pulsed laser ablation method was studied experimentally. Ablation processes were carried out with the fundamental wavelength of a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. First, the graphene nanosheets were synthesized by irradiation of a graphite target in distilled water. Then, a Cu target was irradiated by the same laser pulses in the graphene suspension. Three samples of graphene/CuO nanocomposites were formed by different fluences of laser pulse. Results indicate that decoration of graphene with CuO nanoparticles was performed in all nanocomposite samples. As the laser fluence increased, adhesion of graphene nanosheets was enhanced, and the size of CuO nanoparticles was decreased, while the rate of their production was increased. According to the results, it can be concluded that the laser fluence is an effective tool to control the characteristics of laser ablation produced nanocomposites.
Use of Multiple Perineural Adjuncts in Quadratus Lumborum Block and Lumbosacral Plexus Block to Provide Anesthesia for Hip Fracture Repair: A Case Report

Citation: LL Lee, A Chan, JTK Wong. Use of Multiple Perineural Adjuncts in Quadratus Lumborum Block and Lumbosacral Plexus Block to Provide Anesthesia for Hip Fracture Repair: A Case Report. Archives of Clinical and Medical Case Reports 6 (2022): 374-380. Abstract Introduction : Hip fractures are common among the elderly with multiple co-morbidities, and early surgery was shown to improve mortality and morbidity. Regional anesthesia is an attractive option for these patients especially when general or neuraxial anesthesia is contraindicated, but was not yet widely practised. We would like to discuss a case demonstrating how perineural adjuncts can help clinicians
Improving the Accuracy of Artificial Intelligence - Based Groundwater Quality Models Using Clustering Technique - A Case Study

In this study, the simulation performances of two artificial intelligence (AI) techniques - namely, artificial neural networks (ANNs) and support vector machine (SVM) - for groundwater quality modeling were improved by grouping input data into consistent clusters as a pre-modeling technique. AI techniques were applied to model the concentrations of chloride and n itrate using data fro m the Gaza coastal aquifer in Palestine, which is a very co mplex hydro-geological system. Research results indicated that developing separate AI models for each cluster reduced the mean absolute percentage errors (MAPE) of the ANNs' models by 20% and 37% for chlo ride and nitrate, respectively. Meanwhile, the MAPE of the SVM's models was reduced by 10% and by 13% for chlo ride and nit rate, respectively. Improving the simulation accuracy of AI techniques would lead to more rational and effective decisions for groundwater management.
On the Security Proof of CKO+21 Secret Sharing Scheme

On CRYPTO2021, Nishanth Chandran, Bhavana Kanukurthi, Sai Lakshmi Bha-vana Obattu, and Sruthi Sekar presented a novel secret sharing scheme, called CKO+21 scheme. This scheme makes use of Shamir secret sharing schemes and randomness extractors as its basic components, to generate a multi-layer encapsulation structure. The authors claimed that CKO+21 scheme satisfied “leakage resilience”, that is, the privacy still held under both “not enough revealing” and “appropriate leakage”. More important is that authors presented a bulky proof for the security of CKO+21 scheme. In this paper we only consider the simple case of ( n, t ) threshold secret sharing. We find following 5 facts about CKO+21 scheme, which are the basic reasons we negate the security proof of CKO+21 scheme. (1) In the expression of share of CKO+21 scheme, some bottom Shamir share is simply included, rather than encapsulated. (2) The leakage of the share is not a random leakage, but rather related to the inquiry of the attacker, that is, a chosen leakage. (3) The permitted leakage length of each share is proportional to the share length. (4) The bottom Shamir scheme has such special feature: when the length of the share l ∗ is kept unchanged, it can make the number of shares n , the threshold value t , and the difference value n − t + 1 any large, as long as t < n . (5) There is no additional assumption for the bottom Shamir scheme, especially no clear negating its “leakage recoverability” and “contaminated leakage irrecoverability”, defined in this paper. In
The Global E-waste Monitor 2017: Quantities, Flows and Resources

This report provides the most comprehensive overview of global e-waste statistics following the guidelines that were developed by the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development1. All the countries in the world combined generated a staggering 44.7 million metric tonnes (Mt), or an equivalent of 6.1 kilogram per inhabitant (kg/inh), of e-waste annually in 2016, compared to the 5.8 kg/inh generated in 2014. This is close to 4,500 Eiffel Towers each year. The amount of e-waste is expected to increase to 52.2 million metric tonnes, or 6.8 kg/inh, by 2021.
Pollution and Human Capital Accumulation: Explicitly Causal Evidence from the Barack Obama Sanctions on Iran

We use granular data from standardized assessments in Tehran to evidence a substantial impact of pollution in the vicinity of a school on how much children, especially boys, achieve academically. Causal identiﬁcation exploits that the 2010 US sanctions preventing the sale of reﬁned petroleum products to Iran diﬀerentially impacted air quality at schools in the city, depending on the location of each with respect to the road network. Relative performance dropped at more road-exposed (variously-measured) schools. Road mass upwind matters four times more than downwind, consistent with a prevailing wind 80% from the west, discouraging competing interpretations.
The Power of a web-enabled marketing eco-system The Power of a web-enabled marketing eco-system

In light of the increased adaptation of social media by consumers and businesses, guided by an evolving dynamic set of technologies and as the exponential growth derived by the development of new technologies promises even more reliance on social media as a marketing function. This paper, by focusing on the main reasons behind the wide acceptance of social media by consumers and businesses, examines the power of web-enabled marketing, which has made the marketplace more open and transparent than ever before. It also considers the opportunities that this situation creates. Several constructs of consumers’ perceived benefits were found to be enabled through the use of social media, mainly through the concept of value co-creation which enables empowerment, power, influence, input, ownership, engagement, accessibility, communication, connectivity and interaction. From a business perspective, several benefits were found to be enabled through the use of social media are co-creation, empowerment, power, connectivity, communication, enhanced innovation and knowledge management and data capture maximisation. Finally, the findings of this research suggest that the main reason for the adoption of social media amongst businesses and consumers is its user-friendly nature.
Code generation criteria for buffered exposed datapath architectures from dataflow graphs

Many novel processor architectures expose their processing units (PUs) and internal datapaths to the compiler. To avoid an unnecessary synchronization of PUs, the datapaths are often buffered which results in buffered exposed datapath (BED) architectures. This paper suggests a code generation technique for BED architectures from dataflow graphs that are used as intermediate program representations. Inspired by results on queue layouts in graph drawing, we determine in this paper constraints for the node and edge orderings of the dataflow graphs to ensure the first-in-first-out behavior of the buffers. Formalizing these constraints in propositional logic enables SAT solvers to compute optimal PU allocations. Moreover, future code generation techniques may develop heuristics based on the code generation criteria of this paper.