Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Qualitative and quantitative analysis of pawpaw (Carica papaya) leaf extract and its antimicrobial effect in animal production Omidiwura, B. R. O. Department of Animal Science, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

In order to improve livestock production and curb the losses from diseases occurrence in livestock, producers resort to the use of antimicrobials as growth promoters to inhibit the growth of disease-causing organisms. Freshly harvested pawpaw leaves were extracted using three solvents: ethanol, methanol and n-hexane and their phytochemicals determined using standard procedure. The inhibitory activities of the extracts at low (200ppm) and high (1000ppm) concentrations against Aspergillus niger and Escherichia coli were also determined. Results obtained showed that alkaloid, flavonoid, saponin, tannin and cardiac glycosides were present while anthraquinone was absent. The percentage yield of phenols using methanol (0.115%) and ethanol (0.214%) solvents were similar but lower than nhexane yield (0.450%). Also the yield of flavonoid using methanol (0.700%) is significantly (p<0.05) higher than the yield using other solvents. The yield of phenols using methanol (0.480%) and ethanol (0.470%) solvents were identical but higher than n-hexane yield (0.400%). At low concentration, it was observed that the inhibitory concentrations of pawpaw leaf extract against bacteria by control, streptomycin (1.2cm) was significantly (p<0.05) higher but similar to the extract from methanol solvent (1.1cm). Methanol extract inhibition was also similar to ethanol (1.0cm) but higher than n-hexane (0.0cm). At high concentration, the inhibitory activity of the ethanol extract (1.2cm) was significantly (p<0.05) higher than the control (0.7cm) and the least observed in n-hexane (0.0cm) extract. The inhibitory concentrations of pawpaw leaf extract against fungi Aspergillus niger at low (2.2cm) and high (2.2cm) concentrations, the methanol extract was observed to be significantly (p<0.05) higher than other extracts including control. The results suggest that using methanol-extracted pawpaw leaf as alternatives to synthetic antibiotic in animal production is effective against microbial organisms. Thus the occurrence of resistance to antibiotic or its residues on animal products will be reduced.
Quickest Detection Problems for Ornstein–Uhlenbeck Processes

Consider an Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process that initially reverts to zero at a known mean-reversion rate β0, and then after some random/unobservable time, this mean-reversion rate is changed to β1. Assuming that the process is observed in real time, the problem is to detect when exactly this change occurs as accurately as possible. We solve this problem in the most uncertain scenario when the random/unobservable time is (i) exponentially distributed and (ii) independent from the process prior to the change of its mean-reversion rate. The solution is expressed in terms of a stopping time that minimises the probability of a false early detection and the expected delay of a missed late detection. Allowing for both positive and negative values of β0 and β1 (including zero), the problem and its solution embed many intuitive and practically interesting cases. For example, the detection of a mean-reverting process changing to a simple Brownian motion ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]) and vice versa ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]) finds a natural application to pairs trading in finance. The formulation also allows for the detection of a transient process becoming recurrent ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]) as well as a recurrent process becoming transient ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]). The resulting optimal stopping problem is inherently two-dimensional (because of a state-dependent signal-to-noise ratio), and various properties of its solution are established. In particular, we find the somewhat surprising fact that the optimal stopping boundary is an increasing function of the modulus of the observed process for all values of β0 and β1.
Antibodies anti-SARS-CoV2 time-course in patients and vaccinated subjects: an evaluation of the harmonization of two different methods

The time-course of antibodies anti SARS-CoV2 is not yet well elucidated, especially in people who underwent a vaccination campaign. In this study we measured antibodies anti-S1 and anti-RBD with two different methods both in patients and in vaccinated subjects. 108 specimens from 48 patients diagnosed as COVID-19 affected (time from the onset of symptoms from 3 to 368 days) and 60 specimens from 20 vaccinated subjects (collected after 14 days from the first dose, 14 days and 3 months after a second dose of Comirnaty) were evaluated. We used an ELISA method that measure IgG against anti-Spike 1 and a chemiluminescence immunoassays that measure IgG anti-RBD. In the patients, antibodies concentrations tend to decline after a few months with both methods, but persist relatively high up to nearly a year after symptoms. In vaccinated subjects, antibodies were already detectable after the first dose, but after the booster they show a significant increase. However, the decrease is rapid, given that after 3 months after the second vaccination they are reduced to less than a quarter. The conversion of the results into BAU units improves the relationship between the two methods. However, in vaccinated subjects there was no evidence of proportional error after the conversion, while in the patients the difference between the two methods remained significant.
Anxiety and Fear of Falling in Older Adults With Fall-related Orthopedic Surgery

Objectives: Old age is associated with various health threats, including falls which have psychological, physical, and social consequences. One of these consequences is the fear of falling especially after orthopedic surgery. This study aims to evaluate the fear of falling and anxiety in older adults with a history of fall-related orthopedic surgery. Methods & Materials: In this descriptive-correlational study with cross-sectional design, 280 older people with a history of fall-related orthopedic surgery referred to the selected hospitals affiliated to Iran University of Medical Sciences were selected using a convenience sampling method. Data collection tools were a demographic form, the Abbreviated Mental Test (AMT), the Fall Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I), and the subscale of Anxiety from the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics such as independent t-test, Pearson correlation test, one-way ANOVA, and linear regression analysis in SPSS v. 20 considering a significance level of P≤ 0.05. Results: The Mean±SD age of participants was 69.50±4.29 years and 65% were female. Most of them (99%) reported a high fear of falling level; 47.9% reported moderate anxiety and 26% reported severe to very severe level of anxiety. Their Mean±SD anxiety score (11.88±4.18) was higher than the cut-off point (10). Anxiety was significantly correlated with gender, educational level, marital status, history of fallinh, and history of chronic diseases (P<0.05). According to the results of Pearson correlation test, There was a statistically significant direct correlation between fear of falling and anxiety (r= -0.254, P=0.001). According to the results of linear regression analysis, being female had the greatest effect on anxiety (β=0.183), while being female and single, having good economic status, and living with spouse had the greatest effect on the fear of falling (β=0.236, 0.545, 0.047, and 0.545, respectively). Conclusion: Fear of falling seems to be high in older adults with a history of fall-related orthopedic surgery. Given the adverse consequences of the fear of falling and the high prevalence of anxiety in these people, it is recommended that counseling programs be provided for them at the time of discharge from the hospital.
Are IFRS acceptable for a developing country with specific business culture: Sudanese accountants' attitudes

Like any other profession in its field of activity, accountants are the pillars of the quality improvement of financial reporting as their primary task. Depending on the legal system, business culture, tradition and other factors, the role accountants play can be active, i.e. direct in terms of creating accounting principles and standards, or passive, i.e. indirect through an adequate application of imposed rules and a critical review of justification for them as well, which can ultimately result in exerting an influence on regulators. The quality of financial statements is assessed from the user perspective (Cohen, 2003), which is a special challenge in the conditions of dynamic changes in ARE IFRS ACCEPTABLE FOR A DEVELOPING COUNTRY WITH SPECIFIC BUSINESS CULTURE? SUDANESE ACCOUNTANTS’ ATTITUDES
Association Between Systemic Immune-Inflammation Index and Diabetic Depression

Background: Depression is highly prevalent in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Diabetic depression has been shown to be associated with low-grade systemic inflammation. In recent years, the systemic immune-inflammation (SII) index has been developed as an integrated and novel inflammatory indicator. The aims of this study were to investigate the relationship between diabetic depression and SII levels, adjusting for a wide range of potential confounding factors, to examine the potential of SII in predicting diabetic depression. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted among adults with DM in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2009 and 2016, the SII level was calculated as the platelet counts × neutrophil counts/lymphocyte counts. Patient Health Questionnaire-9 was used to measure depression in patients with DM. Multivariable logistic regression and propensity score-matched analysis were used to analyze the association between SII levels and depression. Results: A total of 2566 patients with DM were included in the study, of which 370 (13.3%) were diagnosed with depression. Multivariable logistic regression showed that high SII level was an independent risk factor for diabetic depression (OR = 1.347, 95% CI: 1.031–1.760, P = 0.02882) after adjusting for covariates. The relationship between SII and diabetic depression was further verified by propensity score-matched analysis. Conclusion: Our data suggest that SII is a risk factor for depression in patients with DM. The SII may be an easily accessible and cost-effective strategy for identifying depression in patients with DM. More studies are warranted to further analyze the role of SII in depression in diabetic patients. for the analysis. Abbreviations: SII, systemic immune-inflammation index; NLR, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; PLR, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio; hs-CRP, high sensitive C-reactive protein.
Assessment of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies Post-Coronavac Vaccination in the Amazon Region of Brazil

The present study evaluated the frequency of seropositivity for anti-SARS-CoV-2 (S1 and S2) total antibodies and anti-SARS-CoV-2 (receptor binding domain-RBD-S1) neutralizing antibodies in individuals vaccinated with the immunizing agent Coronavac. This was a cross-sectional study involving 358 individuals divided into two groups. Group 1 consisted of 205 volunteers who were tested for anti-SARS-CoV-2 total antibodies; group 2 consisted of 153 individuals tested for the presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies. Seropositivity was greater than 70% in both groups, although 17.6% and 20.9% of individuals showed no neutralizing or total antibody reactivity, respectively. The frequency of anti-SARS-CoV-2 total antibodies displayed a significantly different distribution between the sexes but not according to age. The frequency of anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies was 93.3% (95% CI 68.1–99.8) in the age group from 21 to 40 years but significantly decreased with advancing age, and was 76.2% (95% CI 52.8–91.8) for 41 to 60 years, 72.5% (95% CI 62.8–80.9) for 61 to 80 years, and 46.7% (95% CI 21.3–73.4) for >80 years. Our results reveal a high prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 total antibodies and anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies in individuals who received both doses of the Coronavac vaccine, suggesting a lower effectiveness of the humoral immune response among those older than 60 years of age, which might be associated with senescence of the immune system.
COVID-19 testing strategies and objectives

This document outlines different testing strategies that could be applied by countries based on their epidemiological situation, available testing capacities, infrastructure and objectives. The testing approaches have been published in several previous ECDC documents, including the most recent (eleventh) update of the Rapid Risk Assessment, where ECDC recommends that testing efforts be maximised, with the aim of offering timely testing to all symptomatic cases in order to ensure isolation of the case and tracing and quarantine of their contacts. An expanded, but targeted testing approach is outlined, based upon active surveillance and early detection of all symptomatic cases, developed and adapted through ongoing assessment of the local epidemiological situation. Robust, easy-to-access testing is crucial in order to identify localised resurgence early on. This may facilitate the implementation of targeted mitigation measures rather than applying burdensome blanket mitigation measures for an entire population. Member States within the EU/EEA and the UK should maintain the core capacity to test all symptomatic cases and their symptomatic contacts, and focus on optimising testing strategies to ensure quick turnaround times and robust contact tracing efforts. ECDC also suggests taking a more comprehensive approach, with a low threshold for testing asymptomatic people in specific settings where there are known high-risk populations (e.g. in LTCFs and prisons). Consideration should be given to testing irrespective of symptoms for those in healthcare and social-care settings (staff, patients, residents) or for other vulnerable populations. If resources permit, people who have had a high-risk exposure to a confirmed case (close contacts) could also be included in this testing approach. Such testing should not compromise the accessibility or timeliness of testing for those who are symptomatic, and should be regularly evaluated to provide evidence on the effectiveness of the strategy. Testing strategies should remain flexible and should be adapted to the local epidemiological situation, population dynamics, and resources at the local level.
Selected Water Physico-Chemical Characteristics of Iloilo Batiano River, Philippines: A Baseline Study

Protecting our natural resources is one of the important thrusts of every organization. In this study, the waters of Iloilo Batiano River, Philippines is explored. This study was conducted because there is a dearth of information on the water physico-chemical characteristics of the river. Since this is an initial assessment, this study will serve as a baseline data and the results will serve as a basis for future reference for conservation measures of the river. The present study aimed to determine the selected water physico-chemical characteristics of the river such as the electrical conductivity (EC), temperature, pH, and calcium content; assess if these parameters exceed the limit set by the DENR Administrative Order No. 20F16-08 of the Republic of the Philippines and other available literatures; and to determine if there was no significant difference in the water physico-chemical characteristics among the six sampling stations. Results revealed that EC and calcium content of the river exceed their limits except for temperature and pH levels. Furthermore, EC and temperature were statistically different among the six sampling stations except for pH values. This study concludes that the river is saline due to the mixing of saltwater and surface water as the river is near to the sea and has high calcium content that can threaten the life of freshwater aquatic organisms.
A Sentiment Analysis of the PhD Experience Evidenced on Twitter

Aim/Purpose: This article explores the content of PhD student tweets. It has three main aims: (a) to examine what is discussed regarding the PhD process, (b) to evaluate whether tweets express primarily positive or negative sentiments, and (c) to uncover the key themes discussed in both positive and negative tweets. Background: Recent surveys of PhD students have raised concerns about their wellbeing by pointing to high prevalence rates of adverse mental health conditions. However, our understanding of which factors pose the highest risks is still evolving. Self-selection into surveys also raises the possibility of discounting positive aspects of the PhD experience. We use a different data source (Twitter) to explore both these issues. Methodology: Using 16,928 tweets with the Twitter hashtags #phdlife and #phdchat, we first conduct dictionary-based sentiment analysis in R to determine whether tweets are dominated by positive or negative sentiment. We then hand-code the dominant sentiment of a randomly selected subset of 1,994 tweets and qualitatively analyse positive and negative tweets separately to uncover the key themes in each category. Contribution: This article contributes to the emerging literature on the wellbeing and mental health of PhD students by using a novel data source (tweets). It highlights both positive and negative aspects of the PhD student experience. Findings: We find that most tweets express positive rather than negative sentiment, indicating that PhD students do enjoy many aspects of their experience. Negative tweets are dominated by mental health concerns. They also highlight problems with academic culture (especially the normalization of overwork) and the effects of the pandemic on students. Recommendations for Practitioners: Our results indicate that there is a need to change the academic culture of normalizing overwork, ensure adequate institutional provision of mental health support and ability to spot signs of emotional distress, devise strategies to combat the imposter phenomenon, and respond to the particular challenges that the pandemic has created for PhD students. Recommendation for Researchers: The authors recommend that future research explore the specific challenges and opportunities faced by PhD students in different disciplines and geographical locations. As the data used here were collected during the pandemic, it would be useful to track post-pandemic sentiments to observe changes. Impact on Society: Improving the graduate experience of PhD students and providing them adequate mental health support will help to ensure their continued productivity and wellbeing. Future Research: Future research in this area should focus on the efficacy of different interventions to address key problems, such as the imposter phenomenon, stress, anxiety, depression, and isolation.
THE BLOCK HESSENBERG PROCESS FOR MATRIX EQUATIONS∗

In the present paper, we first introduce a block variant of the Hessenberg process and discuss its properties. Then, we show how to apply the block Hessenberg process in order to solve linear systems with multiple right-hand sides. More precisely, we define the block CMRH method for solving linear systems that share the same coefficient matrix. We also show how to apply this process for solving discrete Sylvester matrix equations. Finally, numerical comparisons are provided in order to compare the proposed new algorithms with other existing methods.
To live and to learn: Practice-led learning through entrepreneurship education

The aim of this paper is to propose a matrix that could guide the approaches to entrepreneurship education at tertiary level bearing in mind binary constructs such as theory-led learning versus practice-led learning, as well as different contexts such as entrepreneurship in a formal programme versus entrepreneurship in a module only. A qualitative research approach was followed to compile the matrix, using data collected from 25 students who reflected on what an ideal programme or module could have entailed and what the most meaningful activities could be for such a programme or module. The matrix proposes some insightful approaches and activities that educators may consider when refining their module outcomes and assessments.
Balancing of a linear elastic rotor-bearing system with arbitrarily distributed unbalance using the Numerical Assembly Technique

In this paper, a new application of the Numerical Assembly Technique is presented for the balancing of linear elastic rotor-bearing systems with a stepped shaft and arbitrarily distributed mass unbalance. The method improves existing balancing techniques by combining the advantages of modal balancing with the fast calculation of an efficient numerical method. The rotating stepped circular shaft is modelled according to the Rayleigh beam theory. The Numerical Assembly Technique is used to calculate the steady-state harmonic response, eigenvalues and the associated mode shapes of the rotor. The displacements of a simulation are compared to measured displacements of the rotor-bearing system to calculate the generalized unbalance for each eigenvalue. The generalized unbalances are modified according to modal theory to calculate orthogonal correction masses. In this manner, a rotor-bearing system is balanced using a single measurement of the displacement at one position on the rotor for every critical speed. Three numerical examples are used to show the accuracy and the balancing success of the proposed method.
Development of institutional performance: Study on the secretariat of the Northern Borders region

The study aimed to identify the impact of governance on developing institutional performance in the secretariat of the northern border region, and using the descriptive analytical approach, and collecting theoretical information from office sources, through a questionnaire distributed to 309 individual officials and employees in the secretariat of the northern border region (the main center), 238 valid questionnaires were retrieved, The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze the data and test the hypotheses of the study, and the study reached several results, the most important of which is the availability of an adequate and acceptable amount of practices for the two variables of the study, in addition to the presence of a positive correlation between each of the governance with its various principles and institutional performance. The most substantial relationships between accountability were one of the principles of governance and overall institutional performance, and the lowest were the relationships between justice and equality as one of the principles of governance and overall institutional performance. Also, governance, with its various principles, explains its amount (66.2%) of the variance in the overall institutional performance. The study recommended working on the need to pay attention to deepening the understanding and awareness of everything related to the principles and mechanisms of governance in public organizations through the continuous improvement of human resources capabilities and knowledge, as well as providing an appropriate climate for their application and increasing the level of positive impact on the various dimensions of institutional performance.