Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
There is a time and a place for everything (and for everyone): Examining main socio-demographic and territorial differences in use of leisure time

There is a time and a place for everything (and for everyone): Examining main socio-demographic and territorial differences in use of leisure time There is a time and a place for everything for everyone): socio-demographic leisure There is time place for everything everyone): There is a time and a place for everything (and for everyone): Examining main socio-demographic and territorial differences in use of leisure time
Understanding how Designers Find and Use Data Visualization Examples

Examples are useful for inspiring ideas and facilitating implementation in visualization design. However, there is little understanding of how visualization designers use examples, and how computational tools may support such activities. In this paper, we contribute an exploratory study of current practices in incorporating visualization examples. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 university students and 15 professional designers. Our analysis focus on two core design activities: searching for examples and utilizing examples. We characterize observed strategies and tools for performing these activities, as well as major challenges that hinder designers' current workflows. In addition, we identify themes that cut across these two activities: criteria for determining example usefulness, curation practices, and design fixation. Given our findings, we discuss the implications for visualization design and authoring tools and highlight critical areas for future research.
Effect of dietary supplementation with linseed and organic selenium on plasma metabolic parameters in Holstein dairy cows

ABSTRACT Substantial metabolic and oxidative stress and a decrease in immune function have been associated with increased sensitivity to several diseases in dairy cows during the transition period (before and after calving). We investigated the effect of supplementation with linseed (LS), rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs), alone, or in combination with an organic source of selenium, on the plasma metabolic parameters during the transition (10 ± 3 days before to 42 days after calving). A portion of the total mixed ration (TMR) from the control group (C) was replaced with n-3 PUFA-rich LS in both experimental groups (LS and LS + Se), keeping the diets iso-energetic and iso-nitrogenous. In addition, in the LS + Se group, inorganic sodium selenite was replaced by organic selenium. On day 42, we found (a) higher (P < 0.05) LDL level and Sodium ion concentration in the LS group than in the LS + Se and C groups; (b) lower (P < 0.05) concentrations of triglycerides and lactate in the LS and LS + Se groups than in the C group; and (c) higher (P < 0.05) urea concentration in the LS + Se group than in the C and LS groups. In conclusion, n-3 PUFA supplementation acted positively on lipid profile and no adverse effect on plasma metabolic parameters were found.
Prevalence of Depression, Problematic Drinking and their Correlates among University Students in Southwest Nigeria

Aim: To determine the prevalence and correlations of depression and problematic drinking among undergraduates in a Nigerian University. Study Design: The study design was a descriptive cross-sectional survey Methodology: The study was conducted among 412 full-time undergraduates of LAUTECH, 18 years and above and apparently well without previous history of mental illness. Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) are instruments used for the study. Data analysis was done with the statistical package for social sciences version 21. Results: Approximately half (49.5%) of the respondents were depressed and 20.4% of them had major depression. The prevalence of problematic alcohol use in the study population was 10.4% mostly among males. There was no significant association between depression, alcohol use and problematic alcohol use (χ2 = 1.125, df = 1, P-value = 0.289) in the study sample. Conclusion: The increasing prevalence of depression and problematic drinking among university students is worrisome as this will not only adversely impact their academic performance but future productivity and the risk of other psychosocial and health problems.
Airborne Nanoparticles (PM0.1) in Southeast Asian Cities: A Review

PM0.1 (particles with a diameter ≤ 0.1 µm), nanoparticles (NPs), or ultrafine particles (UFPs) were interchangeably used in the scientific communities. PM0.1 originated from both natural and human sources; however, PM0.1 and its effects on the environment, visibility, and human health to understanding air pollution levels, sources, and impacts in Southeast Asia (SEA) countries continue to be challenging. The concentrations of PM0.1 in most SEA countries are much worse than in western countries’ environments. A further motivation of this reviewed article is to provide a critical synthesis of the current knowledge and study of ambient PM0.1 in SEA cities. The primary influence of characteristics of PM0.1 appears to be local sources, including biomass burning and motor vehicles. Continuous monitoring of PM0.1 in mass and number concentration should be further understood. A critical review is of great importance to facilitating air pollution control policies and predicting the behavior of PM0.1 in SEA.
Are Customers Willing to Pay More for Eco-Friendly Edible Insect Restaurants? Focusing on the Internal Environmental Locus of Control

This study examines the effect of the internal environmental locus of control, which includes green consumers, environmental activists, environmental advocates, and recyclers, in regard to the green image of edible insect restaurants. This study additionally investigates how the green image of edible insect restaurants affects the willingness to pay more. Lastly, this study explores the differences of the internal environmental locus of control, which were based on the demographic characteristics. A total of 448 samples were used for the final statistical analysis. The results of the data analysis indicate that two dimensions of the internal environmental locus of control, which include recyclers and environmental activists, have a positive influence on the green image of edible insect restaurants, and they in turn positively affect the willingness to pay more. In terms of difference analysis, all four concepts of INELOC indicated statistical differences according to age. In addition, significant differences of the mean value of recyclers and environmental advocates were found in age. There were also significant differences in the education level for the groups of green consumers. There were significant differences in green consumers, environmental advocates, and environmental activists based on marital status. Lastly, there were significant differences of the mean values of environmental advocates in monthly income.
Branched-Chain Amino Acids Are Neuroprotective Against Traumatic Brain Injury and Enhance Rate of Recovery: Prophylactic Role for Contact Sports and Emergent Use

Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are known to be neurorestorative after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Despite clinically significant improvements in severe TBI patients given BCAAs after TBI, the approach is largely an unrecognized option. Further, TBI continues to be the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in adolescents and adults. To date, no study has evaluated whether BCAAs can be preventive or neuroprotective if taken before a TBI. We hypothesized that if BCAAs were elevated in the circulation before TBI, the brain would readily access the BCAAs and the severity of injury would be reduced. Before TBI induction with a standard weight-drop method, 50 adult mice were randomized into groups that were shams, untreated, and pre-treated, post-treated, or pre- + post-treated with BCAAs. Pre-treated mice received BCAAs through supplemented water and were dosed by oral gavage 45 min before TBI induction. All mice underwent beam walking to assess motor recovery, and the Morris water maze assessed cognitive function post-injury. On post-injury day 14, brains were harvested to assess levels of astrocytes and microglia with glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (IBA-1) immunohistochemistry, respectively. Pre-treated and pre- +post-treated mice exhibited significantly better motor recovery and cognitive function than the other groups. The pre- + post-treated group had the best overall memory performance, whereas the pre-treated and post-treated groups only had limited improvements in memory compared to untreated animals. Pre- + post-treated brains had levels of GFAP that were similar to the sham group, whereas the pre-only and post-only groups showed increases. Although trends existed, no meaningful changes in IBA-1 were detected. This is the first study, animal or human, to demonstrate that BCAA are neuroprotective and substantiates their neurorestorative benefits after TBI, most likely through the important roles of BCAAs to glutamate homeostasis.
Development of SSR Markers Linked to Stress Responsive Genes along Tomato Chromosome 3 (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

This study aimed to develop novel SSR markers in tomato. Several BAC clones along chromosome 3 in tomato were selected based on their content. The criteria was the availability of genes, either directly or indirectly related to stress response (drought, salinity, and heat) in tomato. A total of 20 novel in silico SSR markers were developed and 96 important nearby genes were identified. The identified nearby genes represent different tomato genes involved in plant growth and development and biotic and abiotic stress tolerance. The developed SSR markers were assessed using tomato landraces. A total of 29 determinate and semi-determinate local tomato landraces collected from diverse environments were utilized. A total of 33 alleles with mean of 1.65 alleles per locus were scored, showing 100% polymorphic patterns, with a mean of 0.18 polymorphism information content (PIC) values. The mean of observed and expected heterozygosity were 0.19 and 0.24, respectively. The mean value of the Jaccard similarity index was used for clustering the landraces. The developed microsatellite markers showed potential to assess genetic variability among tomato landraces. The genetic distance information reported in this study can be used by breeders in future genetic improvement of tomato for tolerance against diverse stresses.
An Immersed Boundary Method Based on Parallel Adaptive Cartesian Grids for High Reynolds Number Turbulent Flow

In this paper, a set of parallelised adaptive hierarchical Cartesian-based immersed boundary methodology is developed for high Reynolds number compressible flow. First, a robust and efficient grid generation method based on the separation axis theorem for arbitrary geometry is presented for automatic Cartesian grid generation. Second, an immersed boundary method (IBM) is presented coupling with wall model for high Reynolds number flow. Third, a parallel strategy is implemented and special treatment is proposed to guarantee large-scale computing. Finally, cell-based adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) technology is used to capture fluid phenomena under different regimes including but not limited to shock waves and vortices. The overall performance of the methodology is tested through a wide range of regimes including transonic and supersonic flow with high Reynolds number in both two and three dimensions. Results are in good agreement with reference data and indicate the capability and robustness of the present methodology.
A Note on the Deformations of Hamiltonian Systems on Nilmanifolds

This note deals with the isospectral deformations of metrics on nilmanifolds from the view point of Hamiltonian dynamical systems. It is shown in some examples that the associated Hamiltonian system (the system of geodesic flow) is left invariant under such deformations without a nowhere dense subset of the phase space.
YouTube It Before You Buy It: The Role of Parasocial Interaction in Consumer-to-Consumer Video Reviews

Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) online reviews are important sources of information that help consumers decide which products and services to buy. Although C2C reviews in video format (e.g., on YouTube) have become increasingly popular, research remains focused primarily on textual reviews. This article emphasizes the importance of C2C video reviews in influencing consumer outcomes through parasocial interaction, a special—albeit one-sided—connection with reviewers. Interactivity and self-disclosure are suggested as online communication techniques reviewers can use to foster parasocial interaction with their viewers in a single encounter. Parasocial interaction is further established as a psychological mechanism that underlines the impacts of interactivity and self-disclosure on source credibility, leading to improved consumer purchase intentions. The authors also propose that strong parasocial interaction with reviewers exerts a particularly powerful influence on the purchase decisions of consumers who experience low levels of decision confidence, while arguing for the importance of C2C video reviews in guiding the decisions of various consumer groups. Research recommendations reveal how managers can encourage consumers to create and share video reviews on different platforms and offer guidance on the ways companies can foster parasocial interaction through firm-related marketing communications.
Graded Readers as an Effective Strategy in Elementary ESL Teaching in China

The current mode of teaching English in primary and secondary schools in China mainly revolves around reciting words and studying grammar, which are not only less efficient, but also very uninteresting to the students. This paper, by referring to the Input Hypothesis proposed by Stephen D. Krashen and some previous studies, discovers that introducing graded readers to elementary ESL classrooms in China can effectively build up the students’ language competence and spark their interest in learning this second language, which will be very beneficial to their future study.
Expression Profiles of Microsatellites in Fruit Tissues of Akebia trifoliata and Development of Efficient EST-SSR Markers

Akebia trifoliata, a member of the family Lardizabalaceae, has high exploitation potential for multiple economic purposes, so genetic improvements to meet requirements for commercial demand are needed. However, this progress is largely impeded by a lack of effective selection markers. In this study, we obtained 271.49 Gb of clean transcriptomic data from 12 samples (three tissues at four developmental stages) of A. trifoliata fruit. We identified 175,604, 194,370, and 207,906 SSRs from the de novo assembled 416,363, 463,756, and 491,680 unigene sequences obtained from the flesh, seed, and rind tissues, respectively. The profile and proportion of SSR motifs expressed in each fruit tissue and developmental stage were remarkably similar, but many trinucleotide repeats had differential expression levels among different tissues or at different developmental stages. In addition, we successfully designed 16,869 functional EST-SSR primers according to the annotated unigenes. Finally, 94 and 72 primer pairs out of 100 randomly selected primer pairs produced clear bands and polymorphic bands, respectively. These results were also used to elucidate the expression profiles of different tissues at various stages. Additionally, we provided a set of effective, polymorphic, and reliable EST-SSR markers sufficient for accelerating the discovery of metabolic and pathway-specific functional genes for genetic improvement and increased commercial productivity.
Multiple Solutions of a Nonlinear Elliptic Equation Involving Neumann Conditions and a Critical Sobolev Exponent.

In this paper we prove the existence of two solutions of the nonhomogeneous Neumann problem (1.1) involving a critical Sobolev exponent. It is assumed that the coefficient Q is positive and smooth on Omega and lambda > 0 is a parameter which does not belong to the spectrum of -Delta. We examine the common effect of the mean curvature of the boundary partial derivativeOmega and the shape of the graph of the coefficient Q on the existence of a second solution.
Analytical Modeling of Dual Winding Surface-mounted Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine for Hybrid Electric Vehicle Accessory Drive Systems

Abstract Fast and accurate electromagnetic torque calculation of unconventional Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machines (PMSMs) is very important in order to reduce design effort. Dual winding PMSMs (DWPMSMs) can be categorized as unconventional and commonly available fast design software that usually lacks predicting machine performance. In this study, an analytical modeling approach has been proposed to calculate electromagnetic torque of DWPMSMs, which has motor and generator windings in a single stator core. Conformal mapping is used for the calculation of flux levels at various locations in the machine. Radial and tangential components of flux densities due to magnet and winding are determined analytically. Instantaneous value of electromagnetic torque due to generator or motor windings is calculated by integrating the Maxwell stress tensor in the middle of the air gap. Accuracy of the proposed analytical solution is confirmed with finite element analysis results. For further validation, an experimental setup with a 24-slot 22-pole DWPMSM is used. Experimental results have close agreement with analytical results obtained by conformal transform-based modeling.
Experimental and Numerical Investigations for Combined Blade Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

In this paper, experimental and numerical investigations were carried out to evaluate the drag force of a combined frame with movable vanes. For this purpose, the combined frame model was developed from a flat plate with three movable vanes and one Darrieus straight bladed NACA0012. A straight-bladed Darrieus NACA0012 airfoil is attached at the tip of the model structure. The design increases the starting and total torque of the model on the side, which rotates to wind direction, hence increasing the drag coefficient and reduces the negative torque on the other side of the frame that rotates opposite to the wind. Combined frame in experimental work is tested in the subsonic wind tunnel to analyze the performance parameters like drag force and drag coefficient . The frame is tested under different wind speed ranging from 4 m/s to 28 m/s, test results show the reliable and efficient performance. The results indicated that the maximum drag force for the combine frame is 6 N at experimental work and 5.649 at numerical simulation under the same condition (wind speed V=28 m/s and azimuth angle θ = 90°). Computational Fluid Dynamic software (CFD) ANSYS FLUENT is used in this simulation which is carried out for the combined frame to investigate the drag force and drag coefficient, The finite volume method with Shear Stress Transport (STT), k- turbulence model is used, the predicted results show that the flow through the combined frame at the negative side when all the vanes are freely open. The static pressure drops across the combined frame when the combined frame rotates to the negative side and the resistance of the combined frame to the flow decreased. This case helps to increase turbine angular velocity and this leads to an increase in the power coefficient of the turbine.
Foundations of Biomedical Ultrasound

Foundations of Biomedical Ultrasound provides a thorough and detailed treatment of the underlying physics and engineering of medical ultrasound practices. It covers the fundamental engineering behind ultrasound equipment, properties of acoustic wave motion, the behavior of waves in various media, non-linear waves and the creation of images. The most comprehensive book on the subject, Foundations of Biomedical Ultrasound is an indispensable reference for any medical professional working with ultrasound imaging, and a comprehensive introduction to the subject for students. The author has been researching and teaching biomedical ultrasonics at the University of Toronto for the past 25 years.
Perbandingan Hybrid Algoritma Genetika dengan Multilayer Perception dan Geometric Brownian Motion untuk Memprediksi Harga Saham

Saham didefinisikan sebagai tanda kepemilikan investor atas investasi mereka atau sejumlah dana yang diinvestasikan dalam suatu perusahaan. Tujuan perusahaan menerbitkan saham yakni untuk memperoleh tambahan modal dari setiap lembar yang terjual. Semakin banyak saham yang dimiliki oleh para investor maka menunjukkan semakin tinggi tingkat kinerja perusahaan. Hasil prediksi dari pergerakan harga saham sangat penting untuk mengembangkan strategi perdagangan pasar. Prediksi harga saham dapat mengantisipasi kerugian investasi dan memberikan keuntungan optimal bagi para investor. Pada penelitian ini, akan dilakukan prediksi harga saham perusahaan Microsoft menggunakan metode hybrid algoritma genetika dan multilayer perceptron, serta dengan metode hybrid algoritma genetika dan geometric Brownian motion. Nilai MAPE yang dihasilkan dari hybrid algoritma genetika dan geometric Brownian motion adalah sebesar 0.0057139, sedangkan nilai MAPE yang dihasilkan oleh hybrid algoritma genetika dan multilayer perceptron adalah sebesar 0.05164. Nilai MAPE hasil prediksi menggunakan hybrid algoritma genetika dan geometric Brownian motion lebih baik dibandingkan dengan nilai MAPE hasil prediksi menggunakan hybrid algoritma genetika dan multilayer perceptron.
Gram-Scale Synthesis of Graphitic Carbon Nitride Quantum Dots with Ultraviolet Photoluminescence for Fe3+ Ion Detection

A method for gram-scale synthesis of graphitic carbon nitride quantum dots (g-C3N4QDs) was developed. The weight of the g-C3N4QDs was up to 1.32 g in each run with a yield of 66 wt%, and the purity was 99.96 wt%. The results showed that g-C3N4QDs exhibit a stable and strong ultraviolet photoluminescence at a wavelength of 365 nm. More interestingly, the g-C3N4QDs can be used as a high-efficiency, sensitive, and selective fluorescent probe to detect Fe3+ with a detection limit of 0.259 μM.
Tartary Buckwheat Flavonoids Improve Colon Lesions and Modulate Gut Microbiota Composition in Diabetic Mice

Tartary buckwheat flavonoids (TBFs) exhibit diverse biological activities, with antioxidant, antidiabetes, anti-inflammatory, and cholesterol-lowering properties. In this study, we investigated the role of TBFs in attenuating glucose and lipid disturbances in diabetic mice and hence preventing the occurrence of diabetes-related colon lesions in mice by regulating the gut microbiota. The results showed that TBFs (1) reversed blood glucose levels and body weight changes; (2) improved levels of serum total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TGs), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and fasting insulin; and (3) significantly reduced diabetes-related colon lesions in diabetic mice. In addition, TBFs also affected the diabetes-related imbalance of the gut microbiota and enriched beneficial microbiota, including Akkermansia and Prevotella. The TBF also selectively increased short-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria, including Roseburia and Odoribacter, and decreased the abundance of the diabetes-related gut microbiota, including Escherichia, Mucispirillum, and Bilophila. The correlation analysis indicated that TBFs improved metabolic parameters related to key communities of the gut microbiota. Our data suggested that TBFs alleviated glucose and lipid disturbances and improved colon lesions in diabetic mice, possibly by regulating the community composition of the gut microbiota. This regulation of the gut microbiota composition may explain the observed effects of TBFs to alleviate diabetes-related symptoms.