Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of urban walking environment on upper body control and illness behaviour in patients with balance problems

2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT . 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS . 6 LIST OF FIGURES . 9 LIST OF TABLES . 11 LIST OF ABBREVIATION . 12 CHAPTER 1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION . 14 1.1 Overview of adult human locomotion . 14 1.2 Requirements for successful gait . 16 1.3 Gait impairments . 21 1.4 Current approaches to balance and gait assessments . 30 1.5 Effects of psychological state on subjective symptoms and functional capacity . 37 1.6 Aims of the thesis . 40 CHAPTER 2 EFFECT OF URBAN WALKING ENVIRONMENTS ON POSTURAL CONTROL IN PATIENTS WITH A VESTIBULAR DISORDER. 42 2.
Physical attractiveness, same-sex stimuli, and male venture capitalists’ financial risk-taking

Financial risk-taking is central to venture capital decision-making, which is increasingly approached from a heuristics and biases perspective. While previous research has identified entrepreneurs’ physical attractiveness as an important heuristic cue in VCs’ investment decisions, this study addresses the role of VCs’ own physical attractiveness in relation to the financial risks they take. Using a dataset for a representative sample of 341 male entrepreneur and male VC dyads in the context of stage financing, this study finds that VCs of below-average attractiveness are more sensitive to the physical attractiveness of the entrepreneur when compared to VCs of average attractiveness. Also, the nature of this effect changes from the first to the second investment round for VCs of below-average attractiveness. Combined, these findings imply that VCs’ funding decisions may be subject to mechanisms that stem from their own physical attractiveness. Theoretical implications for VC decision-making and same-sex stimuli are discussed.
QIF-based GPS Long-baseline Ambiguity Resolution with the Aid of Atmospheric Delays Determined by PPP

The Global Positioning System (GPS) long-baseline set up has been widely employed to generate high-accuracy positioning, timing and atmospheric information. Bernese GPS software adopts two appropriate strategies for long-baseline Integer Ambiguity Resolution (IAR): Quasi Ionosphere-Free (QIF) and Wide-lane/Narrow-lane (WN). With the goal of reasonably shortening the time required for long-baseline IAR, we propose the Precise Point Positioning (PPP) method for estimating, on a per receiver basis, the Zenith Tropospheric Delays (ZTDs) and the Slant Ionospheric Delays (SIDs) from zero-differenced, uncombined GPS observables. We then reformulate these PPP-derived ZTDs and SIDs into two types of atmospheric constraints with proper uncertainties that could be readily assimilated into the process of IAR with the QIF. Our numerical tests based on five independent long-baselines (>1,000 kilometres) suggest that the empirical precision of PPP-derived ZTDs (SIDs) is always better than 2 (10) centimetres. The modified QIF would be able to correctly resolve at least 98% and 88% of the wide- and narrow-lane ambiguities for all the long-baselines relying on the very simple integer rounding method. However, under the same condition, the WN can only get the correct integers of 76·6% wide-lane ambiguities and 55·2% narrow-lane ones.
TL‐PBot: Twitter bot profile detection using transfer learning based on DNN model

Online social networks (OSNs) have reduced global boundaries, with Twitter enabling perspective sharing. Bot profile‐propagated false information misuse raises serious concerns. Considering this issue, we present our research on classifying Twitter accounts as “human” or “bot” using deep neural networks and transfer learning. Our proposed approach, TL‐PBot, stands for bot profile detection using transfer learning. The TL‐PBot framework utilizes Twitter account metadata such as follower count. Our TL‐PBot also incorporates text data from the Twitter description field as a feature. Word representation of the text data is achieved using Global Vectors (GloVe), a pre‐trained model. By employing user profile‐based features, we significantly reduce the overhead of feature engineering. The hybrid nature of the model enables it to effectively handle mixed‐type features, including text, binary, and numerical data. We design the network using long‐short‐term memory (LSTM) units. DNN model layers were trained, and the weights of the pre‐trained model layers were frozen to apply the transfer learning, resulting in reduced training time and improved bot profile detection accuracy. The performance of the proposed TL‐PBot is evaluated using publicly available datasets. The proposed approach is trained and tested on the same datasets and further evaluated on the validation datasets that were not used in the training phase, which is also a novelty in our approach. Comparative analysis with state‐of‐the‐art approaches demonstrates that the TL‐PBot approach achieves a higher accuracy of 98.07%, while excelling in precision of 99%, recall of 98%, f measure of 98.32%, and AUC of 0.99. Employing the transfer learning strategy resulted in an accelerated detection rate of 5.04 milliseconds, attesting to the effectiveness of this approach in enhancing computational efficiency.
Parallel Shear-Warp Volume Rendering on Shared Address Space Multiprocessors Dongming

This paper presents a new parallel volume rendering algorithm based on shear warp factorization on shared address space multiprocessors. Using a hierarchy of increasingly detailed performance measurements on real machines and simulators helps us understand the parallel programming and performance issues of the existing parallel shear warper and the algorithmic bottleneck. The debugging tools we used ended up leading us to a new parallel shear warp algorithm that substantially outperforms the old one and it behaves stably across very di erent shared address space platforms, from hardware cache-coherent machines with both centralized and physically distributed memory, to the page-based shared virtual memory systems totally supported by software. This work demonstrates that better integrated and easy-to-use tool hierarchies would be very useful to parallel algorithm and programming design. The high performance achieved by the new parallel shear warp algorithm on various shared memory platforms also demonstrates that real time volume rendering is promising on general purpose multiprocessors, and high performance can be achieved even on networks of commodity workstations and personal computers supported by shared virtual memory.
HIV Expression in Infected T Cell Clones

The principal barrier to an HIV-1 cure is the persistence of infected cells harboring replication-competent proviruses despite antiretroviral therapy (ART). HIV-1 transcriptional suppression, referred to as viral latency, is foremost among persistence determinants, as it allows infected cells to evade the cytopathic effects of virion production and killing by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) and other immune factors. HIV-1 persistence is also governed by cellular proliferation, an innate and essential capacity of CD4+ T cells that both sustains cell populations over time and enables a robust directed response to immunological threats. However, when HIV-1 infects CD4+ T cells, this capacity for proliferation can enable surreptitious HIV-1 propagation without the deleterious effects of viral gene expression in latently infected cells. Over time on ART, the HIV-1 reservoir is shaped by both persistence determinants, with selective forces most often favoring clonally expanded infected cell populations harboring transcriptionally quiescent proviruses. Moreover, if HIV latency is incomplete or sporadically reversed in clonal infected cell populations that are replenished faster than they are depleted, such populations could both persist indefinitely and contribute to low-level persistent viremia during ART and viremic rebound if treatment is withdrawn. In this review, select genetic, epigenetic, cellular, and immunological determinants of viral transcriptional suppression and clonal expansion of HIV-1 reservoir T cells, interdependencies among these determinants, and implications for HIV-1 persistence will be presented and discussed.
A Framework for Resilient, Transparent, High-throughput and Privacy-enabled Central Bank Digital Currencies

—Central bank digital currencies refer to the digitization of central bank money in a way that satisfies the classical requirements of privacy and regulation compliance, in addition to first-of-a-kind requirements of transparency, interoperability, and resilience that extends beyond failures. In this paper, we introduce a novel framework for central-bank digital currency settlement that yields a trusted system of record with high performance and resilience against partial compromise. This system of record acts as a truth anchor serving the purposes of interoperation, dispute resolution, and fraud detection. Our framework is also agnostic to the transaction validation logic running on top, in particular, to the cryptographic protocols used to meet the objectives of privacy, compliance and transparency. We evaluated the performance of our framework using an enhanced version of Hyperledger Fabric with Byzantine-fault tolerance, and observed throughput that is comparable to crash-fault tolerant systems. Our results show how transaction validation scales horizontally and how a throughput of more than 100 , 000 transactions per second can be achieved even with computation-heavy privacy-preserving protocols.
Is Action Research the Path to a Solid Research Culture in IS/SE for Costa Rica?

In Latin America there is a visible evidence of lack of research initiatives and a strong disassociation between Academia and Industry in the areas of Information Systems and Software Engineering. Despite the potential of Latin America, such situations hinder the opportunity to build up the required knowledge in order to participate competitively in the international market, holding back the possibility of a technology-based economy in these countries. We propose action research as a flexible and plausible research schema for bridging the gaps between Academia and Industry in Latin America. Action research can be seen as a plausible approach for promoting a research culture in Latin America (more specifically in the Costa Rican perspective), considering the current needs of the Industry and the current situation in the Academia for performing research in Information Systems and Software Engineering.
Implementing Online Tools for Improving English Competencies of Elementary EFL Students

The study aims to implement various online tools in an elementary English classroom and explore their impact on promoting students’ curriculum competencies. To achieve these objectives, the researcher derived principles for selecting appropriate online tools from literature review, selected two classes from a public elementary school each as a control group and an experimental group; and visualized the network among students and online tools based on Actor-Network Theory (ANT). The control group studied English with textbooks and worksheets, while the experimental group used online learning tools including Vita, AI Pengtalk, Wordwall, Padlet, and Kahoot! To identify the impact of using online learning tools on curriculum competencies, quantitative data from student survey results and qualitative data from a semi-structured interview were collected and analyzed. A map of the ANT network indicating how online tools affected students’ curriculum competencies was developed through this study. Results indicated that students actively interacted with online tools and the English competencies of the experimental group improved significantly. This study suggests teaching and learning methods using various online tools in EFL situations, which also could be applied in remote classrooms.
B2B Customer Journey: Axioms and Actor Roles

: The customer journey has been identified as one of the most promising concepts in understanding business-to-business (B2B) buying and selling processes in modern digital environments. Although the B2B marketing literature has recognised the potential of the concept, it still lacks a perspective approaching the characteristics of B2B markets. This paper aims to build theory by bringing the customer journey to the B2B field. The paper systematically reviews the customer journey literature and reflects on it from the B2B perspective. It then proposes four axioms for B2B customer journeys and introduces four roles for both suppliers and customers through which the customer journey manifests. The paper hopes to inspire further B2B customer journey research by contributing to the B2B marketing literature through proposing the basis for considering B2B characteristics from the perspective of customer journeys.
More biodiversity through organic farming

The loss of biodiversity has serious consequences for humans and for the environment. The extensive loss of biodiversity in many regions is increasingly impairing key ecosystem services such as the pollination of wild and cultivated plants. The avoidance of chemical pesticides and fertilisers and a high proportion of semi-natural areas on organic farms have a positive effect on (functional) biodiversity - not only in the fields, but in the agricultural landscape as a whole. High production intensity in agriculture is contributing to a massive decline in biodiversity in agricultural land [1] . The main causes are the high use of agrochemicals, high livestock numbers, narrow time-frames of crop rotations, the loss of valuable semi-natural areas such as dry meadows, hedges and trees, as well as overbuilding, fragmentation and homogenisation of the landscape. Climate change, invasive species and light pollution are also exacerbating the problem [2]
cor-Adoption and decision factors regarding selective treatment of clinical mastitis on Canadian dairy farms

As clinical mastitis (CM) treatments are responsible for a large portion of antimicrobial use on dairy farms, many selective CM treatment protocols have been developed and evaluated against a blanket treatment approach of CM cases. Selective treatment protocols use outcomes of diagnostic tests to exclude CM cases from antimicrobial treatment when they are unlikely to benefit. To tailor interventions to increase uptake of selective treatment strategies, a comprehension of current on-farm treatment practices and factors affecting treatment decisions is vital. Two questionnaires were conducted among 142 farms across 5 provinces participating in the Canadian Dairy Network for Antimicrobial Stewardship and Resistance in this cross-sectional study. Self-reported adoption of selective CM treatments by dairy farmers was 64%, with median of 82% of cows treated in those herds using selective treatment. Using logistic regression models, the odds to implement a selective CM treatment protocol increased with a decreasing average cow somatic cell count. No other associations were identified between use of a selective CM treatment protocol and farm characteristics (herd size, CM incidence, province, milking system, and housing system). Three subsets of farmers making cow-level CM treatment decisions were identified using a cluster analysis approach: those who based decisions almost exclusively on severity of clinical signs, those who used various udder health indicators, and farmers who also incorporated more general cow information such as production, age, and genetics. When somatic cell count was considered, the median threshold used for treating was >300,000 cells/mL at the last Dairy Herd Improvement test. Various thresholds were present among those considering CM case history. Veterinary laboratories were most frequently used for bacteriological testing. Test results were used to start, change, and stop treatments. Regardless of protocol, reasons for antimicrobial treatment withheld included cow being on a cull list, having a chronic intramammary infection, or being at end of lactation (i.e., close to dry off). If clinical signs persisted after treatment, farmers indicated that they would ask veterinarians for advice, stop treatment, or continue with the same or different antibiotics. Results of this study can be used to design interventions targeting judicious mastitis-related antimicrobial use, and aid discussions between veterinarians and dairy producers regarding CM-related antimicrobial use
Quantifying Urban and Agricultural Nonpoint Source Total Phosphorus Fluxes Using Distributed Watershed Models and Bayesian Inference

Despite decades of research, the water quality of many lakes is impaired by excess total phosphorus loading. Four studies were undertaken using watershed models to understand the temporal and spatial variability of diffuse urban and agricultural total phosphorus pollution to Hamilton Harbour, Ontario, Canada. In the first study, a novel Bayesian framework was introduced to apply Spatially Referenced Regressions on Watershed Attributes (SPARROW) to catchments with few long term load monitoring sites but many sporadic monitoring sites. The results included reasonable estimates of whole-basin total phosphorus load and recommendations to optimize future monitoring. In the second study, the static SPARROW model was extended to allow annual time series estimates of watershed loads and the attendant source-sink processes. Results suggest that total phosphorus loads and source areas vary significantly at annual timescales. Further, the total phosphorus export rate of agricultural areas was estimated to be nearly twice that of urban areas. The third study presents a novel Bayesian framework that postulates that the watershed response to precipitation occurs in distinct states, which in turn are characterized by different model parameterizations. This framework is applied to Soil-Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) models of an urban creek (Redhill Creek) and an agricultural creek iii (Grindstone Creek) near Hamilton. The results suggest that during the limnological growing season (May – September), urban areas are responsible for the bulk of overland flow in both Creeks: In Redhill Creek, between 90% and 98% of all surface runoff, and in Grindstone Creek, between 95% and 99% of all surface runoff. In the fourth chapter, suspended sediment is used as a surrogate for total phosphorus. Despite disagreements regarding sediment source apportionment between three model applications, Bayesian model averaging allows an unambiguous identification of urban land uses as the main source of suspended sediments during the growing season. Taken together, these results suggest that multiple models must be used to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of total phosphorus loading. Further, while urban land uses may not be the primary source of sediment (and total phosphorus) loading annually, their source strength is increased relative to agricultural land uses during the growing season.
International Journal of Multidisciplinary Comprehensive Research Lecturers’ attitude towards online learning and education at a tertiary institution in Guyana: A quantitative evaluation

The University of Guyana, which is a higher institution for learning utilizes the traditional physical environment for the delivery of education, although they had made a few strides towards the OLE and blended modes. The abrupt shift to OLE at UG began around the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. While online platforms like Moodle and Examsoft were already in use at UG, it was not entirely utilized and, in most cases, optional. The pandemic forced the administrative body at UG to apply several measures to facilitate OLE for learning and education to continue. This study examines lecturers’ attitudes toward OLE at UG. A cross-sectional quantitative study was employed. Lecturers were conveniently sampled and their ideas, notions, and thoughts related to OLE were explored. Two tools were developed, using a four-point Likert scale to determine lecturers’ attitudes towards OLE. Our study showed that most lecturers at UG have a positive attitude towards OLE. However, factors such as lack of ICT infrastructure, inadequate ICT training, difficulty in preparing examinations on Moodle, and issues in maintaining the integrity of exams precipitated their resistance to OLE. We recommended more stringent professional development and face-to-face proctoring for assessments conducted on Moodle.
INVENTARISASI DATA POTENSI SUMBERDAYA WILAYAH PESISIR KABUPATEN SUMENEP

Aim of this research is to inventory data of the coastal area resource potential in Sumenep residence (the use of land in coastal area, mangrove, coral reef). The variables collected comprise of physical variables and land ecology, topography (biometrics), coastal area ecosystem (the land utility, coral reef and mangrove), type of soil. The map of land utility obtained from the interpretation of satellite image (citra satelit) by Maximum Likelihood method to get surface area (6.632 ha), field (4.032 ha), dry field (131.223 ha), fishpond (4.143 ha), forest (21.761 ha), mangrove (11.742 ha), coral reef obtained by Lizenga Method (47.760 ha). The depth average of Sumenep waters 51.9 m. The height average of land 95.27 m. The length of river is 1,736 km. The dominant kind of land is Kompleks Mediteran Merah and Litosol. The road length is 4.160. 5 km. Keywords : Anguilla bicolor , artificial feed , Tubifex tubifex , protein retention, fat retention, energy retention.
Palindromic carbazole derivatives: unveiling their antiproliferative effect via topoisomerase II catalytic inhibition and apoptosis induction

Abstract Human DNA topoisomerases are essential for crucial cellular processes, including DNA replication, transcription, chromatin condensation, and maintenance of its structure. One of the significant strategies employed in cancer treatment involves the inhibition of a specific type of topoisomerase, known as topoisomerase II (Topo II). Carbazole derivatives, recognised for their varied biological activities, have recently become a significant focus in oncological research. This study assesses the efficacy of three symmetrically substituted carbazole derivatives: 2,7-Di(2-furyl)-9H-carbazole (27a), 3,6-Di(2-furyl)-9H-carbazole (36a), and 3,6-Di(2-thienyl)-9H-carbazole (36b) – as anticancer agents. Among investigated carbazole derivatives, compound 3,6-di(2-furyl)-9H-carbazole bearing two furan moieties emerged as a novel catalytic inhibitor of Topo II. Notably, 3,6-di(2-furyl)-9H-carbazole effectively selectively inhibited the relaxation and decatenation activities of Topo IIα, with minimal effects on the IIβ isoform. These findings underscore the potential of compound 3,6-Di(2-furyl)-9H-carbazole as a promising lead candidate warranting further investigation in the realm of anticancer drug development.
Characterisation of tectonic refractory gold ore

The present work investigates the mineralogical and chemical characteristics of a refractory gold (Au) ore (Eburnean Tectonic Province, Ghana) which sometimes display poor carbon-in-leach (CIL) Au extraction behaviour. Currently, the plant feed ores to the leach circuit is prepared by flotation concentrate treatment involving biological oxidation (BIOX), followed by BIOX product wash. To understand and diagnose the cause(s) of low Au recovery, detailed mineralogical (QXRD), optical, shape, size and phase discrimination (OM, laser diffraction and SEM), and bulk (XRF/laser ablation- MS, ICP-OES) and surface (EDTA) chemical characterisation of run-of-mine (ROM), flotation concentrate (FC), pre-wash BIOX product (BIOX U), low Au recovery post-wash (BIOX L), and high Au recovery post-wash (BIOX H) products were investigated. The results show that, the ore is complex sulphidic and comprises quartz (45%), chlorite group, plagioclase feldspar, dolomite, mica group, olivine group, pyrite, siderite, and rutile as major and minor minerals. Chemical analyses showed Au enrichment in sulphides (arsenopyrite, pyrite). Poor Au leach recovery from BIOX L could be ascribed to cyanicides (chalcopyrite, pyrite, etc.) and passivation (jarosite, beudantite, etc.).