Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Re-Examining the Importance of Pigs in the Transmission of Japanese Encephalitis Virus

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), a mosquito-borne flavivirus, is the leading cause of pediatric encephalitis in Southeast Asia. The enzootic transmission of JEV involves two types of amplifying hosts, swine and avian species. The involvement of pigs in the transmission cycle makes JEV a unique pathogen because human Japanese encephalitis cases are frequently linked to the epizootic spillover from pigs, which can not only develop viremia to sustain transmission but also signs of neurotropic and reproductive disease. The existing knowledge of the epidemiology of JEV largely suggests that viremic pigs are a source of infectious viruses for competent mosquito species, especially Culex tritaeniorhynchus in the endemic regions. However, several recently published studies that applied molecular detection techniques to the characterization of JEV pathogenesis in pigs described the shedding of JEV through multiple routes and persistent infection, both of which have not been reported in the past. These findings warrant a re-examination of the role that pigs are playing in the transmission and maintenance of JEV. In this review, we summarize discoveries on the shedding of JEV during the course of infection and analyze the available published evidence to discuss the possible role of the vector-free JEV transmission route among pigs in viral maintenance.
Short-Term Pre-Harvest Supplemental Lighting with Different Light Emitting Diodes Improves Greenhouse Lettuce Quality

Winter–spring greenhouse vegetable production is limited by low-level natural light, resulting in decreased growth and quality. To investigate whether short-term pre-harvest supplemental lighting (SL) with light emitting diodes (LEDs) can address this issue, a study was conducted in a greenhouse in Dallas, Texas. Red leaf lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. ‘Red Mist’) plants grown in a hydroponic system were treated with daytime or nighttime SL with red (R) and blue (B) LEDs (RB-LED), blue and UVA LEDs (B/UVA-LED), or white LEDs (W-LED) for three days before harvest and compared to those without SL (control). All SL treatments provided a photon flux density of 167 μmol·m−2·s−1 for 12 h daily. Compared with the control, SL treatments increased leaf thickness and greenness, antioxidant capacity, and concentrations of phytonutrients such as anthocyanins, carotenoids, and total phenolics; however, shoot fresh biomass and total leaf area were generally not affected by SL. There were no differences in all of the above traits among W-LED, RB-LED and B/UVA-LED. Compared with daytime SL, nighttime SL increased leaf greenness and carotenoid concentration. In summary, all three LEDs with different spectra were effective in improving lettuce quality as short-term pre-harvest SL sources and nighttime SL was more effective than daytime SL; however, plant fresh weight and total leaf area were not affected.
A study of Taylor bubbles in vertical and inclined slug flow using multiphase CFD with level set

Slug flow commonly occurs in gas and oil systems. Current predictive methods are based on mechanistic models, which require the use of closure relations to complement the conservation equations to predict integral flow parameters such as liquid holdup (or void fraction) and pressure gradient. These closure relations are typically developed either empirically or from semi-empirical models assuming idealized geometry of the interface, thus they carry the highest uncertainties in the mechanistic models. In this work, sensitivity analysis has determined that Taylor bubble velocity in slug flow is one such closure relation which significantly affects the calculation of these parameters. The main objective is to develop a unified higher-fidelity closure relation for Taylor bubble velocity. Here, we employ a novel approach to overcome the experimental limitations: validated 3D Computational Multiphase Fluid Dynamics (CMFD) with Interface Tracking Methods (ITMs) where the interface is tracked with a Level-Set method implemented in the commercial code TransAT®. In the literature, the Taylor bubble velocity is modeled based on two different contributions: (i) the drift velocity, i.e., the velocity of propagation of a Taylor bubble in stagnant liquid, and (ii) the liquid flow contribution. Here, we first analyze the dynamics of Taylor bubbles in stagnant liquid by generating a large numerical database that covers the most ample range of fluid properties and pipe inclination angles explored to date (Eo G [10, 700], Mo E [1 10-6, 5 103], and 6 E [00, 90']). A unified Taylor bubble velocity correlation, proposed for use as a slug flow closure relation in the mechanistic model, is derived from that database. The new correlation predicts the numerical database with 8.6% absolute average relative error and a coefficient of determination R2 = 0.97, and other available experimental data with 13.0% absolute average relative error and R2 = 0.84. By comparison, the second best correlation reports absolute average relative errors of 120% and 37%, and R2 = 0.40 and 0.17, respectively. Furthermore, two key assumptions made in the CMFD simulations are justified with simulations and experiments: (i) the lubricating liquid film formed above the bubble as the pipe inclines with respect to the horizontal does not breakup, i.e., the gas phase never
The development of Oyster - a shallow water surging wave energy converter

In 2005 Aquamarine Power Ltd. was formed to develop Oyster, a near shore flap which is hinge connected to the sea bed. With a combination of private equity and grant aid a 350kW Oyster module has been designed and it is planned to install a prototype module at the EMEC test site in Orkney when the nearshore test berth is available. In this version of Oyster high pressure sea water will be pumped ashore to drive a Pelton wheel. Ultimately it is envisaged that Oyster units will be arranged in clusters feeding power to a power take off unit of between 3.5 and 5 MW capacity. Arrays of clusters will form power stations of 20 to 100 MW capacity. An extensive research and development programme has produced a very efficient structural form, which gives Oyster one of the highest power to weight ratios of all current technologies combined with high capture factors in the most commonly occurring seas. The sea bed foundations and installation technique developed enables Oyster to be easily removed and reinstalled for major maintenance when required. This is a feature normally associated with moored devices. Although there are other bottom-hinged flap devices, Oyster is different in several ways and occupies a different part of the design space. For example, unlike the other systems it completely penetrates the water column from the water surface to the sea bed. Although it might be considered that such a system would be vulnerable in extreme seas, extensive wave tank modelling has shown that the flap intrinsically decouples from the wave as the oscillation increases and that the wave loads experienced are manageable in the three operational modes; generating, undamped and parked on the sea bed. However, model tests show that Oyster can remain generating in all sea-states including plunging breakers. This paper charts the evolution of Oyster presenting some of the research that has led to the current design. An outline of the impending sea trials of a prototype demonstration unit is given along with the projected outcomes.
Activity Detection for the Wellbeing of Dogs Using Wearable Sensors Based on Deep Learning

Among pets, dogs are very famous in the whole world. The owners of dogs are very cautious about the well-being of their dogs. The well-being of dogs can be ensured by continuous monitoring of their activities. Studies related to activity detection have gained much popularity due to the significant progress in sensor technology during the last few years. Automatic monitoring of pet applications includes real-time monitoring systems and surveillance which detect the pets with high accuracy using the latest pet activity classification techniques. The revolution in the domain of technology has allowed us to obtain better results using latest techniques. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) 1D recently become a cutting-edge approach for signal processing-based systems such as patient-individual ECG categorization, sensor-based health monitoring systems, and anomaly identification in manufacturing areas. Adaptive and compact 1D models have several advantages over their conventional 2D counterparts. A limited dataset is sufficient to train a 1D CNN efficiently while 2D CNNs require a plethora of data for training. Its architecture is not very complicated, so it is suitable for real-time detection of activities. The main goal of this study is to develop a state-of-the-art system that can detect and classify the activities based on sensors’ data (accelerometer, and gyroscope. We proposed a 1D CNN-based system for pet activity detection. The objective of this study was to recognize ten pet activities such as walking, sitting, down, staying, eating, sideway, jumping, running, shaking, and nose work respectively, using wearable sensor devices based on deep learning technique. The data collection procedure for this study was conducted with 10 dogs of different breeds, sex (male=7, female = 3), age (age = 4±3), and sizes (small, medium, large) in a healthy environment. After collecting the data, the following steps, namely data synchronization, and data preprocessing were considered to remove the irrelevant data from the dataset. To overcome imbalanced problems in the dataset we used the class-weight technique. Subsequently, we applied 1D CNN algorithm using the class-weight technique. The model with the class-weight technique showed 99.70% training accuracy and 96.85% validation accuracy. The 1D CNN approach will be helpful for real-time monitoring of activities and for tracing the behavior of dogs.
Transmission/Reflection Measurement and Near-Field Mapping Techniques for Passive Intermodulation Characterisation of Printed Lines

Printed circuit boards (PCB) represent one of the major technological bases for manufacturing packaged components, devices and systems. In many high frequency applications, low level of passive intermodulation (PIM) produced by PCB materials is an essential requirement. However, the nature of PIM generation in PCB laminates is not fully understood, and the experimental evaluation of PIM products in printed circuits still needs further elaboration.
STRUCTURAL DEFORMATION MONITORING OF KIRI DAM, ADAMAWA STATE, NIGERIA

Deformation of structures is a major hazard worldwide and has in recent years become a challenge to surveyors, civil engineers, geologist, and other professionals of geosciences and environmental engineers. In this paper, a study was conducted on Kiri Dam where monitoring data for 12 epochs were used for both vertical and horizontal displacements. These data were collected using heights leveling and offset distance measurements for the vertical oscillation and horizontal displacements respectively. Observation equation method of least squares adjustment was used for adjusting the heights difference and the offset distances were adjusted by arithmetic mean method. The study revealed the minimum and maximum vertical movement of -238mm and 131mm which occurred in 1998 and 1996 at chainages 800m and 1300m respectively. For the horizontal displacement, there was a minimum and maximum of -161mm and 186mm which occurred in 1996 and 1989 at chainages 1400m and 1500m respectively. The results of the adjustments were tested using the null hypothesis, H o at 5% significance level in which ANOVA method was used for both vertical and horizontal displacements. The results of the statistical test also revealed that the structure is experiencing small random movement in both vertical and horizontal sections which is not imposing significant force on the structure. It is recommended that the dam structures be monitored periodically to avert any catastrophic consequences.
Tourism Businesses’ Perceptions on Sustainable Practices and Barriers in Coastal North Carolina, USA

The objective of this study was to investigate tourism business owners’ and operators’ perceptions of sustainable practices which would facilitate the success of their tourism businesses in the long term, as well as their perception of barriers to implementation of these sustainable practices. The study area was the North Carolina coastal counties where tourism is a major economic driver. Data were collected from 90 tourism businesses in 20 coastal counties in North Carolina. The study profiled the tourism business segments using a factor-cluster grouping approach that identified tourism business clusters. Three clusters were identified representing different levels of tourism business owners’ and operators’ perceptions of sustainable practices: Advocators, Accepters, and Anticipators. Comparative analyses were then conducted among these three groups to profile them based upon perceived barriers that prevent them from implementing sustainable practices. The results showed that prevalent barriers to implementing sustainable techniques were lack of funds, lack of financial incentives, complexity of implementation and cost. These findings could provide informed guidance to tourism entities when considering their sustainable actions, as well as provide data which may influence the role that state tourism officials play in advocating best practices that maintain and present tourism products in a sustainable manner.
Learning Transfer Traits, Modes, and Challenges in the Distance Learning Modality in Promoting the Professional Productivity of the Elementary Teachers

The study aimed to determine how the learning transfer traits, modes, and challenges during modular distance learning affect the teacher’s professional productivity. Furthermore, this attempted to determine if there is a significant relationship between learning transfer traits, modes, and challenges and that professional productivity as to mentoring, personal leadership, and self-efficacy. Using a descriptive correlational method, it involved 145 teachers from the five big schools in Sariaya West District during the modular distance learning. A survey questionnaire was utilized to know how the learning transfer traits, modes, and challenges affect the professional productivity of the teachers. The results revealed that there is a significant relationship between learning transfer traits, modes, and challenges and that professional productivity as to mentoring, personal leadership, and self-efficacy. It showed that the transfer of learning traits of the respondents is observed as described as to their knowledge, skills, personality, and motivation. The teachers practiced learning transfer modes like overlooks, replicates, integrates, and innovates. The teacher-respondents during the distance learning often experienced challenges as to work environment, modalities, the opportunity to transfer, technical competency, and teacher’s readiness. Teacherrespondents are professionally described as productive in terms of mentoring, personal leadership, and self-efficacy.
Test of the beam effect on vacuum arc occurrence in a high-gradient accelerating structure for the CLIC project

A new generation of lepton colliders capable of reaching TeV energies is presently under development, and to succeed in this task it is necessary to show that the technology for such a machine is available. The Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) is a possible design option among the future lepton collider projects. It consists of two normal-conducting linacs. Accelerating structures with a gradient of the order of 100 MV/m are necessary to reach the required high energies within a reasonable machine length. One of the strictest requirements for such accelerating structures is a relatively low occurrence of vacuum arcs. CLIC prototype structures have been tested in the past, but only in absence of beam. In order to proof the feasibility of the high gradient technology for building a functional collider, it is necessary to understand the effect of the beam presence on the vacuum breakdowns. Tests of this type have never been performed previously. The main goal of this work is to provide a first measurement of the breakdown rate with beam in the accelerating cavity. The setup, the experimental procedure and the results of the tests executed on a prototype cavity for the Main Beam of CLIC are described. The test were executed at CERN in the CLIC Test Facility 3 (CTF3), which houses a 12 GHz X-band Test Stand (XBOX). The XBOX supplies the radio-frequency power to the cavity prototype, while the beam is provided by the electron linac of the CTF3, reconfigured to produce a Main Beam-like pulse. A comparison between results obtained without beam and with different beam configurations will be presented, in an attempt to understand the beam effect on the breakdown rate. Moreover, future developments to improve the experimental setup and the operation of the tests stand will be proposed, based on the experience gained on high gradient testing with beam. This will be useful in case the experiment is repeated to complement and extend the results of this work.
A comprehensive meta-analysis of character education programs

ABSTRACT This study represents a large meta-analytic investigation of character education studies. We identified 214 studies up until 2017 (NTotal = 307,512) with at least one computable effect size comparing a character education program to a control condition. Initial analyses indicated a small, significant average positive effect for character education (g = 0.24, 95% CI [0.19, 0.28]). Single-session interventions and mentoring programs were associated with larger effects. However, all treatment lengths were associated with significant treatment effects, and the number of single-session interventions was small. Three programs—Cognitive Problem-Solving, Kohlberg’s Moral Dilemma Discussion and Strong Kids—were associated with above-average effects in multiple assessments. Evidence emerged suggesting selection bias in published literature. Correcting this bias indicated lower estimates of mean effects while remaining positive and significant. We consider heterogeneity in reporting standards and discuss how to address biases.
Effect of aloe vera hydrogel on the scarring and healing of free gingival graft: Randomized controlled trial

Objective: Several studies have used aloe vera hydrogel to enhance various tissues regeneration to reduce scar formation in wounds. This study aimed to prepare a hydrogel specified for the oral cavity and observe scar formation and healing of free gingival graft after its application compared with the natural healing and scaring of the graft without any material.Design: This study is a randomized controlled clinical trial that included 22 patients with a width of attached gingiva less than 2 mm. after preparing the aloe vera hydrogel and completing the laboratory stage, the hydrogel was randomly applied for 11 patients after the free gingival graft procedure while the other 11 patients did not use any material after the same surgery. Landry’s scale was used to assess the healing index, scarring was evaluated using Mucosal Scarring Index.Results: The healing index was higher in the intervention group with a statistical difference P<0.05 than the control group after three weeks. Moreover, Scar formation in the intervention group was less in the intervention group with a significant difference P<0.05 after 1,2,3,6 months.Conclusion: Within the limitations of our study, the aloe vera hydrogel can be considered as a good topical treatment after oral surgery due to its ability to reduce scar formation and speeding up the healing in the receiving area in free gingival graft procedures.
Descriptive Analysis of Circulating Antimicrobial Resistance Genes in Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus (VRE) during the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 offers ideal premises for bacteria to develop antimicrobial resistance. In this study, we evaluated the presence of several antimicrobial resistance genes (ARG) in vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) isolated from rectal swabs from patients at a hospital in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Rectal swabs were cultivated on CHROMID® VRE (bioMérieux, Marcy—l’ Étoile, France) and positive isolates were identified using MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry (Bruker Daltonics, Bremen, Germany) and further analyzed using the PCR technique for the presence of the following ARGs: van A, van B, tet(M), tet(L), ermB, msrA, mefA, aac(6′)-Im, aph(2)-Ib, ant(4′)-Ia, sul1, sul2, sul3, and NDM1. We isolated and identified 68 isolates of Enterococcus faecium and 11 isolates of Enterococcus faecalis. The molecular analysis showed 66 isolates positive for the vanA gene and eight positive for vanB. The most frequent association of ARG in VRE was vanA-tet(M)-ermB. There was no statistically significant difference between Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis regarding ARGs. Our work proves that during the COVID-19 pandemic, highly resistant isolates of Enterococcus were present in patients in the intensive care unit; thus, better healthcare policies should be implemented for the management and control of these highly resistant isolates in the future.
Evaluation of IMERG satellite precipitation over the land-coast-ocean continuum – Part II: Quantification

To understand and manage water systems under a changing climate and meet an increasing demand for water, a quantitative understanding of precipitation is most important in coastal regions. The capabilities of the Integrated Multisatellite Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (IMERG) V06B product for precipitation quantification are examined over three coastal regions of the United States- the West Coast, the Gulf of Mexico, and the East Coast, all of which are characterized by different topographies and precipitation climatologies. A novel uncertainty analysis of IMERG is proposed, that considers environmental and physical parameters such as elevation and distance to the coastline. The IMERG performance is traced back to its components, i.e. passive microwave (PMW), infrared (IR), and morphing-based estimates. The analysis is performed using high-resolution, high-quality Ground Validation Multi-Radar/Multi-Sensor (GV-MRMS) rainfall estimates as ground reference at the native resolution of IMERG of 30 min and 0.1 deg. IMERG Final (IM-F) quantification performance heavily depends on the respective contribution of PMW, IR and morph components. IM-F and its components overestimate the contribution of light rainfall (<1 mm/h) and underestimate the contribution of high rainfall rates (>10 mm/h) to the total rainfall volume. Strong regional dependencies are highlighted, especially over the West Coast where the proximity of complex terrain to the coastline challenges precipitation estimates. Other major drivers are the distance from the coastline, elevation, and precipitation types, especially over the land and coast surface types, that highlight the impact of precipitation regimes.