Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence and Risk Factors of High Risk Human Papillomavirus Infections among Women Attending Gynaecology Clinics in Kano, Northern Nigeria

Cervical cancer is the most common female cancer in northern Nigeria, yet the pattern of infection with human papillomavirus, the principal aetiologic agent is unknown. This was a preliminary study conducted in two referral hospitals in order to establish base-line data on the prevalence and risk factors for the infection in Kano state, Nigeria. Fifty (50) randomly selected women aged 18 years and above were recruited from gynaecology clinics in Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital and Aminu Kano teaching Hospital. Relevant sexual and socio-demographic information were obtained from each subject using a questionnaire. Exfoliated cervical cells were harvested and processed using Polymerase Chain Reaction to identify the DNAs of high-risk HPV types 16 and 18. The prevalence rate of HPV infection was 76% [(38/50) at 95% CI=61.8-86.9] with 60.5% (23/38) having co-infections with both HPV type 16 and 18. Risk factors of the infection include low literacy level; living in rural settlements; low parity; early menarche (<15 years of age); early onset of first sexual intercourse (≤16 years of age) and multiple sexual partners. There was however, no statistically significant association between oral contraceptive usage and acquisition of the infections. Findings of this study suggest a high prevalence of HPV types 16 and 18 among women attending gynaecology clinic in Kano and thus called for more elaborate community based study in order to establish the magnitude of the problem from wider perspective. Keywords : Human Papillomavirus; Prevalence; Risk Factors, Northern Nigeria
Acceptance of an Online Voting System at the Catholic University Institute of Buea

Increasingly, more software is developed locally, to address the needs of the developer’s immediate community and yet little research has been done regarding their acceptance. The technology acceptance model (TAM), which has greatly been used in literature, failed to consider some cultural particularities of such software. Furthermore, most research has focused on the acceptance of foreign technologies in Africa. The primary objective of this article, is to investigate the validity of TAM for locally developed software within a community. The article utilizes quantitative methodology based on data gathered using a modified version of a published survey instrument; as well as Short Message Service for the collection of qualitative data. The findings concur with previous studies on technology acceptance and the raises interests on the use of qualitative data for understanding the context of technology acceptance.
Prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus infection in brain glioma patients: Is the virus protective from gliomas?

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is associated with an increased prevalence of some malignancies. However, some observational studies have revealed an ever-decreasing prevalence of HIV in glioma patients. The relationship between HIV and brain gliomas has not been well established. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in sub-Sahara Africa, a high HIV prevalence setting, to determine the prevalence of HIV among all glioma patients over a 2-year period. Results: A markedly reduced prevalence of HIV was found in glioma patients (8.3%) in comparison to the general population (14.3%). The presumably “antiglioma effect” of HIV and/or its treatment resulted in a 42% decrease in glioma occurrence in HIV positive patients compared to HIV negative individuals. Age and sex-adjusted prevalence were also lower among glioma patients with the protective effect observed more in younger patients and female sex. Conclusion: Our results corroborate the protective effect of HIV positivity vis-à -vis gliomas. This “antiglioma effect” could be attributed to either the HIV, its treatment, or both. Future studies focused on this “effect” may help unveil better preventative and possible therapeutic avenues for gliomas.
A particle filter based compressive sensing method for tracking moving wideband sound sources

Tracking moving wideband sound sources is one of the most challenging issues in the acoustic array signal processing which is based on the direction of arrival (DOA) estimation. Compressive sensing (CS) is a recent theory exploring the signal sparsity representation, which has been proved to be superior for the DOA estimation. However, the spatial aliasing and the offset at endfire are the main obstacles for CS applied in the wideband DOA estimation. We propose a particle filter based compressive sensing method for tracking moving wideband sound sources. First, the initial DOA estimates are obtained by wideband CS algorithms. Then, the real sources are approximated by a set of particles with different weights assigned. The kernel density estimator is used as the likelihood function of particle filter. We present the results for both uniform and random linear array. Simulation results show that the spatial aliasing is disappeared and the offset at endfire is reduced. We show that the proposed method can achieve satisfactory tracking performance regardless of using uniform or random linear array.
Efficacy of Different Image Processing Programs in Detecting Small Artificial Caries Defects on Approximal Surfaces

Objectives: To compare the efficacy of different image processing algorithms of three digital x-ray software programs in detecting small artificial approximal caries defects. Methods: 75 extracted human maxillary and mandibular posterior permanent teeth were selected. The 0.5 millimeter diameter high speed diamond bur was used to prepare and simulate small dental caries on proximal surfaces of the teeth. The teeth were mounted in 25 plaster blocks. Each of them contained 2 premolars and 1 molar. A prominent part of proximal surfaces were placed at the same vertical level to simulate normal anatomical contacts. Bitewing radiographs were taken and viewed with Vixwin 200, Dimaxis and Dr. Suni plus. The radiograph was enhanced with emboss, gray-scale reversed and contrast-brightness tools. Three observers assessed the digital radiographs from each modality for a presence or an absence of small proximal carries. The sensitivity and specificity of 3 digital x-ray software programs were compared by McNemar test. The intraobserver and interobserver agreement were analyzed with Kappa statistic analysis. Results: The sensitivity and specificity of emboss enhancement of Vixwin 2000, Dimaxis and Dr. Suni plus were 50.00%, 68.00%, 42.00% and 92.00%, 86.00%, 96.00% respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of grayscale reverse enhancement from the same company were 89.00%, 89.00%, 89.00% and 92.00%, 92.00% 90.00% respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of contrast-brightness enhancement from the same company were 91.00%, 81.00%, 84.00% and 86.00%, 92.00%, 92.00%, respectively. Conclusions: The efficiency of Dimaxis’s emboss enhancement digital radiograph was higher than Vixwin 2000 and Dr. Suni plus (P 0.05).
The Role of Father Parenting in Children’s School Readiness: A Longitudinal Follow-Up

Mother autonomy support has been shown to predict child executive function (EF) and school readiness; however, little is known about the influence of father parenting on these child outcomes. The current study is a longitudinal follow-up examining the bidirectional relations between father parenting and child EF/school readiness across the preschool period. Eighty-nine father−child dyads participated at 2 time points (mean child ages of 38 and 58 months). The first time point was described in a previous article by Meuwissen and Carlson (2015). At the second time point, we observed fathers’ autonomy support in a dyadic puzzle task and quality of parenting during free play in an indoor playground. School readiness included a battery of EF, literacy, and math measures. We found that father autonomy support at Time 1 predicted child school readiness at Time 2, mediated by child language at Time 1. Additionally, child EF at Time 1 inversely predicted father overstimulation during play at Time 2, mediated by father control at Time 1 and child school readiness at Time 2. These results indicate that the relationship of father autonomy support to child EF is similar to what has been found with mothers and that physical play may be an important context for father influence on child outcomes.
Low Income Dynamics in 1990s Britain

Summary This article analyses low income dynamics in Britain using the first four waves of the British Household Panel Survey. There is much low income turnover; although there is a small group of people who are persistently poor, more striking is the relatively large number of low income escapers and entrants from one year to the next. Simulations using estimated low income exit and re‐entry rates demonstrate the importance of repeated low income spells for explaining a person's experience of low income over a given period. The authors also document the characteristics of low income stayers, escapers and entrants.
EH-mulSEP: Energy-harvesting enabled multi-level SEP protocol for IoT-based heterogeneous WSNs

In this paper, we propose an improved hierarchical clustering protocol called EH-mulSEP (Energy-Harvesting enabled Multi-level Stable Election Protocol) for green IoT-based heterogeneous WSNs. We study the impact of energy-harvesting techniques in the large-scale systems by adding a number of energy-harvesting relay nodes that receive the aggregated data from the elected cluster heads and transmit to the base stations layer. Besides, we introduce a general formula for multi-level weighted election probability that can support up to n levels of heterogeneous nodes with their respective amounts of initial energies. For this, we leverage a state of the art heterogeneity method that considers more than three types of heterogeneous nodes and provides general models for higher levels of initial energy in WSNs. EH-mulSEP aims to minimize the total energy usage of battery-powered sensor nodes in IoT-based systems so as to maximize energy conservation, extend the network lifetime and ensure a higher level of scalability. The simulation results show that EH-mulSEP highly enhances the network performance in terms of stability, network lifetime, energy consumption, and throughput compared to other versions of SEP protocol in all conditions and scenarios tested.
Naps Do Not Change Delay Discounting Behavior in Young Adults

When offered a choice of $40 today or $50 later, many would choose the immediate reward over the greater delayed reward. Such behavior is a result of future gains being discounted such that their value is rendered less than that of the immediate gain. Extreme discounting behaviors are associated with impulsivity and addiction. Given recent evidence of sleep’s role in decision making, we tested the hypothesis that sleep would reduce delayed discounting behavior. Twenty young adults (M = 20.19 years, SD = 0.98 years; 6 males) performed a hypothetical delay discounting task, making a series of choices between an immediate reward (from $0 to $50) or a larger reward ($50) available at a delay of 2, 4, 8, 14, or 22 weeks. Participants performed the task before and after a mid-day nap, and before and after an equivalent interval of wake (within subject, order counterbalanced, wake, and sleep conditions separated by 1 week). As expected, indifference points decreased with longer delays both prior to and following the nap/wake interval. However, the impact of a nap interval on discounting did not differ from the impact of a wake interval. Thus, while sleep has been shown to play an active role in some financial decision-making tasks, a nap is not sufficient to change delay discounting behavior.
Determinants of Willingness to Pay for Improved Solid Waste Management in Dunkwa-on-Offin , Ghana

This study sought to examine willingness to pay for improved solid waste management in Dunkwa-on-Offin. A double-bound choice contingent valuation was used to elicit households’ willingness to pay (WTP) for improved solid waste management. The data were subjected to logit regression technique analysis. The study also examined the existing solid waste collection systems in operation and household’s level of satisfaction with them. The results showed that households perceived the current solid waste collection services to have some level of inconsistencies. The majority (94%) of the respondents were satisfied with the current solid waste collection services. The results of the study also revealed that willingness to pay for improved solid waste management is significantly related to level of education, gender, household size and age of the household head. It is recommended that the current collection operators should maintain service charges with the WTP levels while striving to improve services to maintain and attract new clients.
Credible user-review incorporated collaborative filtering for video recommendation system

A system that recommends an item to a user that he/she is likely to be interested in is said to be a recommender system. Collaborative Filtering(CF) is a technique used to implement recommender systems. CF uses numeric ratings given by users to find the nearest neighbors to the target user and generates recommendations. An upgraded collaborative filtering algorithm that uses credible user-reviews to generate accurate recommendations is proposed in this paper. While in the earlier CF approaches, mere numerical ratings are used for making recommendations, but overall ratings alone cannot properly reflect user's opinion about an item. Another deficiency associated with the existing rating based CF approaches is sparseness in rating database. Data sparsity problem can be got rid of, only if we have an alternate way of filling up the empty ratings. The proposed approach tries to do this by inferring numeric ratings from text reviews. Rating inference involves a sentiment analysis problem of finding the sentiment orientation and strength of opinion words expressed in user-reviews. Some existing recommender systems have already incorporated user-reviews for making better recommendations, but they did not take into account the credibility of those reviews. The proposed CF approach grades the credibility of user-reviews by considering the factors such as reputation of the reviewer and quality of the contents in review. Experimentation of the proposed framework is done and results are validated.
Ion-neutral chemical reactions between ultracold localized ions and neutral molecules with single-particle resolution

Chemical reactions between ultracold $^{9}\mathrm{Be}^{+}$ ions and room-temperature molecular hydrogen isotopomers and between ultracold ${\mathrm{H}}_{3}^{+}$ ions and room-temperature ${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$ have been studied in a laser-cooling ion trap apparatus. For small Coulomb crystals of beryllium ions, reactions can be followed at the single-ion level. We demonstrate characterization of a chemical reaction in which neither one of the reactants nor the product is directly detectable. In this case molecular dynamics simulations were used for the determination of ion numbers from images of the $^{9}\mathrm{Be}^{+}$ ion ensemble. The observed reaction rates are in agreement with the Langevin ion-neutral reaction theory.
Single Image Haze Removal Using Dark Channel Prior

Haze brings troubles to many computer vision/graphics applications. It reduces the visibility of the scenes and lowers the reliability of outdoor surveillance systems; it reduces the clarity of the satellite images; it also changes the colors and decreases the contrast of daily photos, which is an annoying problem to photographers. Therefore, removing haze from images is an important and widely demanded topic in computer vision and computer graphics areas. The main challenge lies in the ambiguity of the problem. Haze attenuates the light reflected from the scenes, and further blends it with some additive light in the atmosphere. The target of haze removal is to recover the reflected light (i.e., the scene colors) from the blended light. This problem is mathematically ambiguous: there are an infinite number of solutions given the blended light. How can we know which solution is true? We need to answer this question in haze removal. Ambiguity is a common challenge for many computer vision problems. In terms of mathematics, ambiguity is because the number of equations is smaller than the number of unknowns. The methods in computer vision to solve the ambiguity can roughly categorized into two strategies. The first one is to acquire more known variables, e.g., some haze removal algorithms capture multiple images of the same scene under different settings (like polarizers). But it is not easy to obtain extra images in practice. The second strategy is to impose extra constraints using some knowledge or assumptions . All the images in this thesis are best viewed in the electronic version. This way is more practical since it requires as few as only one image. To this end, we focus on single image haze removal in this thesis. The key is to find a suitable prior. Priors are important in many computer vision topics. A prior tells the algorithm "what can we know about the fact beforehand" when the fact is not directly available. In general, a prior can be some statistical/physical properties, rules, or heuristic assumptions. The performance of the algorithms is often determined by the extent to which the prior is valid. Some widely used priors in computer vision are the smoothness prior, sparsity prior, and symmetry prior. In this thesis, we develop an effective but very simple prior, called the dark channel prior, to remove haze from a single image. The dark channel prior is a statistical property of outdoor haze-free images: most patches in these images should contain pixels which are dark in at least one color channel. These dark pixels can be due to shadows, colorfulness, geometry, or other factors. This prior provides a constraint for each pixel, and thus solves the ambiguity of the problem. Combining this prior with a physical haze imaging model, we can easily recover high quality haze-free images.
Children with Incarcerated Mothers: Relations among Risk Factors, Child Emotion Regulation, and Psychological Adjustment

Children who experience maternal incarceration are faced with many stressors and are at-risk for psychosocial maladaptation (Dallaire & Wilson, 2010). However, there is a dearth of research exploring the emotion regulation skills of this at-risk child population and how exposure to this unique risk factor (i.e., maternal incarceration) contributes to poor psychosocial and emotional outcomes. The present study compares the emotion regulation skills and symptoms of psychopathology in middle-childhood-age children (ages 7-12) with incarcerated mothers to those of a community sample of children not exposed to maternal incarceration. The high risk sample of children with incarcerated mothers (n = 74) and a community sample of children (n = 89) completed measures of emotion regulation, depressive symptoms, and anxious symptoms. The incarcerated mothers of the high risk sample (n = 82) and the mothers in the community sample (n = 92) completed measures of their child's externalizing symptoms and information regarding the mother-child relationship. Analyses reveal that older children in the high risk sample reported inhibiting their anger and sadness more than the community sample and incarcerated mothers reported more externalizing symptoms in their children than did mothers in the community sample. Across samples, anger coping negatively predicting externalizing symptoms for younger children and sadness dysregulation predicted externalizing symptoms for girls and older boys. Within the high risk sample, mother-child contact frequency of incarcerations and length of mother-child separation due to current incarceration was associated with adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation skills, along with internalizing and externalizing symptoms. These findings provide valuable insight regarding the socioemotional adaptation of children experiencing maternal incarceration. Future research is needed to examine potential longitudinal effects of maternal incarceration on child emotional development.
Reliability of HEARTSMAP as a Tool for Evaluating Psychosocial Assessment Documentation Practices in Emergency Departments for Pediatric Mental Health Complaints

OBJECTIVES The goal of this study was to assess the reliability of HEARTSMAP as a standardized tool for evaluating the quality of psychosocial assessment documentation of pediatric mental health (MH) presentations to the emergency department (ED). In addition, we report on current documentation practices. METHODS We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study of pediatric (up to age 17) MH-related visits to four EDs between April 1, 2013, and March 31, 2014. The primary outcome was the inter-rater agreement when evaluating the completeness of pediatric emergency psychosocial assessments using the HEARTSMAP tool. The secondary outcome was to describe the adequacy of documentation of emergency pediatric MH assessments, using HEARTSMAP as a guide for a complete assessment. RESULTS A total of 400 medical records (100 from each site) were reviewed. We observed near-perfect inter-rater agreement (κ = 0.99-1.00) regarding the presence of documentation and good-to-perfect agreement (κ = 0.71-1.00) regarding whether sufficient information was documented to score a severity level for every component of an emergency psychosocial assessment. Inter-rater agreement regarding whether referrals or resources were documented for identified needs was observed to be good to very good (κ = 0.62-0.98). Current psychosocial documentation practices were found to be inconsistent with significant variability in the presence of documentation pertaining to HEARTSMAP sections between medical centers and initial clinician assessor and whether specialized MH services were involved prior to discharge. CONCLUSIONS The HEARTSMAP tool can be reliably used to assess pediatric psychosocial assessment documentation across a diverse range of EDs. Current documentation practices are variable and often inadequate, and the HEARTSMAP tool can aid in quality improvement initiatives to standardize and optimize care for the growing burden of pediatric mental illness.