Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Poncet's Disease (Reactive Arthritis Associated with Tuberculosis)

An 82-year-old man with miliary tuberculosis was admitted to our hospital. Approximately six weeks after starting anti-tuberculosis treatment, he complained of pain in the fingers, wrists, and ankles. A histopathological examination of the synovial biopsy revealed nonspecific chronic inflammation with no granulomas. Culture of the biopsy specimen yielded no acid-fast bacilli. Poncet's disease was diagnosed based on the clinical presentation, with no findings suggestive of other diseases. His joint pain rapidly improved with steroid therapy. Tuberculosis can cause arthritis through immune-mediated mechanisms without direct invasion in an entity known as Poncet's disease.
Cultural Intelligence in EFL and ESP Learners: Metacognitive, Cognitive, Motivational, and Behavioral Knowledge

One of the most significant current discussions in language learning is cultural intelligence. This research aims to study cultural learning determinants in EFL and ESP learners concerning their metacognitive, cognitive, motivational, and behavioral knowledge toward cultural intelligence in Iran. The studies so far indicate that cultural intelligence in EFL and ESP learners has not received as much attention as warranted. Moreover, rare studies have been done in this regard in the Iranian context. In this descriptive study, a nonrandom sampling method was applied to 323 university students who were 116 EFL learners (M.A and B.A English language students of Zanjan and Islamic Azad University) and 207 ESP (from the Zanjan University of Medical Sciences). The questionnaire was valid because it was standardized, and its reliability was checked via Cronbach’s alpha ( p < 0.000). The result of data analysis showed that EFL students have more cultural intelligence compared to medical students. Thus, based on the results, the teachers should consider the importance of cultural factors in their classes. Regarding pedagogical implications, the findings of this study can be of great help to book designers, schoolteachers, and university lecturers.
Thermal and Mechanical Properties of the Recycled and Virgin PET—Part I

In various countries, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) represents one of the plastics with a very high recycling rate. Since currently there is no analytical method enabling direct distinction between recycled PET (rPET) and virgin PET (vPET), there are various attempts to differentiate these materials indirectly. One of these approaches claims that the recycling of PET leads to polymer chain degradation, which is reflected in changed thermal, mechanical and crystalline properties, and testing of these properties can therefore be used to distinguish rPET and vPET. However, there are many sources leading to changes in the molecular structure and consequently to the changes of the above-mentioned properties of the PET. The purpose of this study is to analyze the glass transition and melting temperature, degree of crystallinity as well as bending and impact properties of 20 different commercially available PET recyclates from 14 suppliers and evaluate the results with respect to the literature values for vPET. The main results of this study show that the range of vPET properties is so broad that all of the corresponding properties of the tested rPET lie within this range.
Entrepreneurs’ Views on the Effectiveness of the Adult Skills Development for Self-Employment in the National Literacy Programme of Namibia

The Adult Skills Development for Self-employment in the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture is a partnership venture between the Directorate of Adult Education and the First National Bank of Namibia, which provides a Credit Guarantee Scheme as the common element of contract between these institutions. The aim of this paper is to report on the participating entrepreneurs’ views regarding the effectiveness of the Adult Skills Development for Self-employment in the National Literacy Programme in the Khomas Education Region of Namibia. The results show that the project held some benefits for these entrepreneurs in terms of profits generated as well as enabling them to meet living expenses. The training enabled them to record income and calculate expenditure on rent, telephone, water and electricity bills, savings, loan payments, salaries and other cost-related issues. However, knowledge pertaining to how to write a business proposal and conduct market research was still lacking as these issues were not addressed during the training provided. The challenges hampering the effectiveness of the self-employment project are the existence of red-tape; poor communication between the Ministry of Education and First National Bank of Namibia; the long route taken to process loans; screening procedures and delays caused by the bank. The possible support measures proposed to improve the effectiveness of the Adult Skills Development for Self-employment relate to the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, Ministry of Gender and Child Welfare and the possible involvement of other financial institutions. The recommendations to improve the project’s effectiveness involve the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, the Directorate of Adult Education and First National Bank of Namibia. These entities need to revisit some of their strategies taking into account the views outlined in this paper.
Urban alternative cultural production in Turin: An ecological community approach

From the ashes of the creative city paradigm, there is a growing awareness of the urban creative economy as an adaptive complex system of intertwined actors and institutions. Yet, especially in the European context, little attention has been given to understanding informal and alternative art spaces and venues that contribute to the vibrancy of the urban cultural scene. Drawing on the emerging creative and cultural ecology literature, the article proposes a conceptual and empirical framework to analyze alternative cultural production as an ecological community. After providing a conceptualization of distinct types of alternative cultural organizations, we investigate the economic, spatial, and relational structure of more than 50 art spaces in Turin, Italy, an industrial city that has experienced a radical urban transformation based on culture-led development strategies. Using both a quantitative and qualitative approach, our findings unveil a distinction between centers pursuing artistic specialization and those more oriented toward aggregating diversified cultural activities. The two types of organizations coexist within the community, but the difference in their mission and operation influences the organizational structure, the involvement in neighborhood revitalization, and features of the local network of collaborations. From a spatial perspective, while the centers tend to cluster in the main peripheral areas of social and urban transformation, the analysis points out possible different locational choices and spatial dynamics for the two types of organizations in distinct areas of commercial and real-estate-led transformation.
Effects of domestication on quality control parameters of the Queensland fruit fly Bactrocera tryoni (Diptera: Tephritidae)

The Queensland fruit fly (Q‐fly), Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt), is a major horticultural pest in Australia. Sterile insect technique (SIT) is increasingly used in area‐wide integrated management of Q‐fly, as well as for eradication of outbreaks in Q‐fly‐free regions. Quality control (QC) procedures are important to monitor and maintain high standards of mass‐reared insects for SIT. Effective use of QC procedures, and the setting of meaningful standards, requires a clear understanding of the short‐term factors that can cause changes in key parameters, such as failures in production systems, and also of the longer‐term effects of domestication on the performance of mass‐reared colonies. Artificial rearing conditions impose substantial selection pressures that can lead to changes in performance, and hence changes in the expected baseline values in QC assays. We investigated the effects of domestication on QC parameters of old and young Q‐fly colonies originating from three distant geographical locations in Australia: Sydney (Generation >100 and 7), Brisbane (Generation 59 and 14) and Cairns (Generation 29 and 9). Standard QC parameters including development time, pupal recovery, pupal weight, adult emergence, sex ratio, flight ability, fecundity, egg hatchability and longevity were assessed. Regardless of their origin, older Q‐fly colonies had lower egg hatchability, shorter developmental time, higher fecundity, higher survival under stress and greater longevity. We emphasize the importance of understanding the effects of continued domestication on QC measures when setting standards for assessment of fruit fly strains used in SIT programmes, particularly when using strains that are regularly replaced or infused with wild stock.
In Hospital Mortality and Adverse Events in High-risk Patients Undergoing Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for St Elevation Myocardial Infarction

Objective: To determine frequency of in hospital mortality and adverse events in high-risk patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI). Study Design: Descriptive case series study Setting: The Department of Adult Cardiology, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Karachi. Duration: From 5thJanuary 2019 To 4thJuly 2019 Material and Methods: All the patients of acute myocardial infarction (MI), age between18 to 80 years, and undergoing Primary PCI of either gender were included. Study outcomes such as in-hospital mortality, cardiogenic shock, heart failure, no reflow phenomenon, and ventricular arrhythmia were recorded. Data was collected via study proforma and analysis was done by using SPSS version 26. Results: There were 81.9% males and 18.1% females. 16.7% cases diabetic, 42.7% were hypertensive, 38% with family history, 24.7% with smoking and 74% with obesity. Mortality was 14.7%, cardiogenic shock was 12.0%, heart failure was 18.7%, no reflow phenomenon was 28% and ventricular arrhythmia was 16%. Significant association of mortality was found with age and obesity. Cardiogenic shock and ventricular arrhythmia were significant according to gender and heart failure findings were significantly linked to hypertension (p-<0.05). Conclusion: Mortality rate was high among STEMI patients who underwent primary PCI. No reflow phenomenon was the most observed event among these patients.
Introduction of mechanistic-empirical pavement design into pavement carbon footprint analysis

Abstract Transportation authorities and industrial organisations are currently faced with the need to incorporate greenhouse gas (GHG) impacts into pavement designs. GHG emissions have been evaluated for individual projects with unique external environments. These estimates cannot be applied to future projects with different external environments. This paper presents a GHG estimation method to assist in low-carbon design for future pavement construction. The method uses mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide to create comparable structures with different pavement techniques, traffic volumes, climate conditions, etc. The method is illustrated using the Maryland Intercounty Connector (ICC) project, which was paved with hot mix asphalt. The results show that if the ICC’s asphalt base layer was paved with foam stabilised base, GHG emissions would be reduced by up to 18.8 thousand metric tons, an equivalent to 56.5% of the total pavement construction emissions. The GHG savings would generate $111,200 of carbon offsets, which compensate approximately 5.7% of the pavement costs.
Remote Consulting in Primary Health Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Feasibility Study of an Online Training Program to Support Care Delivery During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background Despite acceleration of remote consulting throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many health care professionals are practicing without training to offer teleconsultation to their patients. This is especially challenging in resource-poor countries, where the telephone has not previously been widely used for health care. Objective As the COVID-19 pandemic dawned, we designed a modular online training program for REmote Consulting in primary Health care (REaCH). To optimize upscaling of knowledge and skills, we employed a train-the-trainer approach, training health workers (tier 1) to cascade the training to others (tier 2) in their locality. We aimed to determine whether REaCH training was acceptable and feasible to health workers in rural Tanzania to support their health care delivery during the pandemic. Methods We developed and pretested the REaCH training program in July 2020 and created 8 key modules. The program was then taught remotely via Moodle and WhatsApp (Meta Platforms) to 12 tier 1 trainees and cascaded to 63 tier 2 trainees working in Tanzania’s rural Ulanga District (August-September 2020). We evaluated the program using a survey (informed by Kirkpatrick's model of evaluation) to capture trainee satisfaction with REaCH, the knowledge gained, and perceived behavior change; qualitative interviews to explore training experiences and views of remote consulting; and documentary analysis of emails, WhatsApp texts, and training reports generated through the program. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically. Findings were triangulated and integrated during interpretation. Results Of the 12 tier 1 trainees enrolled in the program, all completed the training; however, 2 (17%) encountered internet difficulties and failed to complete the evaluation. In addition, 1 (8%) opted out of the cascading process. Of the 63 tier 2 trainees, 61 (97%) completed the cascaded training. Of the 10 (83%) tier 1 trainees who completed the survey, 9 (90%) would recommend the program to others, reported receiving relevant skills and applying their learning to their daily work, demonstrating satisfaction, learning, and perceived behavior change. In qualitative interviews, tier 1 and 2 trainees identified several barriers to implementation of remote consulting, including lacking digital infrastructure, few resources, inflexible billing and record-keeping systems, and limited community awareness. The costs of data or airtime emerged as the greatest immediate barrier to supporting both the upscaling of REaCH training and subsequently the delivery of safe and trustworthy remote health care. Conclusions The REaCH training program is feasible, acceptable, and effective in changing trainees’ behavior. However, government and organizational support is required to facilitate the expansion of the program and remote consulting in Tanzania and other low-resource settings.
Bis Hexanoyl (R)-1,3-Butanediol, a Novel Ketogenic Ester, Acutely Increases Circulating r- and s-ß-Hydroxybutyrate Concentrations in Healthy Adults.

BACKGROUND Ketosis has been reported to benefit healthspan and resilience, which has driven considerable interest in development of exogenous ketones to induce ketosis without dietary changes. Bis hexanoyl (R)-1,3-butanediol (BH-BD) is a novel ketone di-ester that can be used as a food ingredient that increases hepatic ketogenesis and blood beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) concentrations. METHODS Here, we provide the first description of blood ketone and metabolite kinetics for up to five hours after consumption of a beverage containing BH-BD by healthy adults (n = 8) at rest in three randomized, cross-over conditions (25 g + Meal (FEDH); 12.5 g + Meal (FEDL) ; 25 g + Fasted (FASTH)). RESULTS Consumption of BH-BD effectively raised plasma r-BHB concentrations to 0.8-1.7 mM in all conditions, and both peak r-BHB concentration and r-BHB area under the curve were greater with 25 g versus 12.5 g of BH-BD. Urinary excretion of r-BHB was <1 g. Plasma concentration of the non-physiological isoform s-BHB was increased to 20-60 µM in all conditions. BH-BD consumption decreased plasma glucose and free fatty acid concentrations; insulin was increased when BH-BD was consumed with a meal. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate that consumption of BH-BD effectively induces exogenous ketosis in healthy adults at rest.
Impacts of Indoor Radon on Health: A Comprehensive Review on Causes, Assessment and Remediation Strategies

Indoor radon exposure is raising concerns due to its impact on health, namely its known relationship with lung cancer. Consequently, there is an urgent need to understand the risk factors associated with radon exposure, and how this can be harmful to the health of exposed populations. This article presents a comprehensive review of studies indicating a correlation between indoor radon exposure and the higher probability of occurrence of health problems in exposed populations. The analyzed studies statistically justify this correlation between exposure to indoor radon and the incidence of lung diseases in regions where concentrations are particularly high. However, some studies also showed that even in situations where indoor radon concentrations are lower, can be found a tendency, albeit smaller, for the occurrence of negative impacts on lung cancer incidence. Lastly, regarding risk remediation, an analysis has been conducted and presented in two core perspectives: (i) focusing on the identification and application of corrective measures in pre-existing buildings, and (ii) focusing on the implementation of preventive measures during the project design and before construction, both focusing on mitigating negative impacts of indoor radon exposure on the health of populations.
A Structure-Tensor Approach to Integer Matrix Completion in Indivisible Resource Allocation

Indivisible resource allocation motivates us to study the matrix completion concerning the class of (0,1)-matrices with prescribed row/column sums and preassigned zeros. We illustrate and generalize the (0,1)-matrix completion in the following two scenarios: a demand-response application involving nonnegative integer matrices with different bounds across rows and an edge caching matching problem allowing row and column sums to vary within separately designated bounds. The applications require analytic characterizations of the supply adequacy and cause large-scale matrix completion instances. Remarkably, we derive a structure tensor and use its nonnegativity to establish a necessary and sufficient condition under which the considered matrix class is nonempty. The tensor condition can characterize the adequacy of a supply for a prescribed demand and facilitate identifying the minimum supplement to the supply so that the augmented supply becomes adequate when the adequacy gap is nonzero. Notably, we design a tensor-based combinatorial algorithm to construct a required matrix, representing a feasible resource allocation. Numerical simulations justify the efficiency of our approach.
Corrigendum

In the paper by Chapman & Gray (2012) the author identified that some model simulations were performed with an incorrect input parameter value, meaning that a few of the reported results were incorrect. This has affected the quantitative results, but not their original interpretation, and therefore we republish the relevant table and figures below, along with point 4 of the Summary which has updated coefficients of determination.
Challenges in the Development of Drugs for Sarcopenia and Frailty - Report from the International Conference on Frailty and Sarcopenia Research (ICFSR) Task Force

Sarcopenia and frailty represent two burdensome conditions, contributing to a broad spectrum of adverse outcomes. The International Conference on Frailty and Sarcopenia Research (ICFSR) Task Force met virtually in September 2021 to discuss the challenges in the development of drugs for sarcopenia and frailty. Lifestyle interventions are the current mainstay of treatment options in the prevention and management of both conditions. However, pharmacological agents are needed for people who do not respond to lifestyle modifications, for those who are unable to adhere, or for whom such interventions are inaccessible/unfeasible. Preliminary results of ongoing trials were presented and discussed. Several pharmacological candidates are currently under clinical evaluation with promising early results, but none have been approved for either frailty or sarcopenia. The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped how clinical trials are conducted, in particular by enhancing the usefulness of remote technologies and assessments/interventions.
Application of Next-Generation Sequencing in Microbiology

High throughput sequencing has been proposed as a one-stop solution for diagnostics and molecular typing directly from patient samples, allowing timely and appropriate implementation of measures for treatment, infection prevention and control. However, it is unclear how the variety of available methods impacts the end results. We applied shotgun metagenomics on diverse types of patient samples using three different methods to deplete human DNA prior to DNA extraction. Libraries were prepared and sequenced with Illumina chemistry. Data was analyzed using methods likely to be available in clinical microbiology laboratories using genomics. The results of microbial identification were compared to standard culture-based microbiological methods. On average, 75% of the reads corresponded to human DNA, being a major determinant in the analysis outcome. None of the kits was clearly superior suggesting that the initial ratio between host and microbial DNA or other sample characteristics were the major determinants of the proportion of microbial reads. Most pathogens identified by culture were also identified through metagenomics, but substantial differences were noted between the taxonomic classification tools. In two cases the high number of human reads resulted in insufficient sequencing depth of bacterial DNA for identification. In three samples, we could infer the probable multilocus sequence type of the most abundant species. The tools and databases used for taxonomic classification and antimicrobial resistance identification had a key impact on the results, recommending that efforts need to be aimed at standardization of the analysis methods if metagenomics is to be used routinely in clinical microbiology.
Social Networks Marketing and Consumer Purchase Behavior: The Combination of SEM and Unsupervised Machine Learning Approaches

The purpose of this paper is to reveal how social network marketing (SNM) can affect consumers’ purchase behavior (CPB). We used the combination of structural equation modeling (SEM) and unsupervised machine learning approaches as an innovative method. The statistical population of the study concluded users who live in Hungary and use Facebook Marketplace. This research uses the convenience sampling approach to overcome bias. Out of 475 surveys distributed, a total of 466 respondents successfully filled out the entire survey with a response rate of 98.1%. The results showed that all dimensions of social network marketing, such as entertainment, customization, interaction, WoM and trend, had positively and significantly influenced consumer purchase behavior (CPB) in Facebook Marketplace. Furthermore, we used hierarchical clustering and K-means unsupervised algorithms to cluster consumers. The results show that respondents of this research can be clustered in nine different groups based on behavior regarding demographic attributes. It means that distinctive strategies can be used for different clusters. Meanwhile, marketing managers can provide different options, products and services for each group. This study is of high importance in that it has adopted and used plspm and Matrixpls packages in R to show the model predictive power. Meanwhile, we used unsupervised machine learning algorithms to cluster consumer behaviors.