Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The human capital from Cebu Technological University: An employment tracer inquiry

Based on the theory of standardising the academic approach and human capital theory, this study gauged how the respondents from Cebu Technological University-Daanbantayan Campus Graduate School fared in the work arena. It describes the human capital afforded to them by the university, their employment status, the effect of school-related factors on their employment, and the extent of work values and skills’ contribution. The researchers utilized the descriptive research design’s survey method. Using a validated, modified Graduate Tracer Study instrument, the researchers sourced data from 273 respondents. Findings reveal that majority are employed with permanent status that afforded the country a stable fraction of its workforce – majority of whom is impacting the local area’s education industry. Although respondents found that school-related factors moderately affected their employment, the set of work values and skills afforded to them were 'highly contributive'. CTU-Daanbantayan Campus Graduate School has therefore been remarkably instrumental in its graduates and students’ employment. Keywords: Graduate tracer study; higher education institutions; human capital; school-related factors; soft skills
Landslide Investigation Using Seismic Refraction Tomography Method: A Review

Since the early 1960s, near-surface seismic refraction tomography (SRT) has been extensively used as a non-invasive and cost-effective geophysical method to characterize complex geological structures for landslide investigation. This geophysical technique is able to characterize the slope material, the sliding surface's geometry, the landslide mass movement, the physical properties of media, and the water saturation effects on the slope. Therefore, this method has become an appropriate method due to the increasing progress of novel algorithms and the improvements of field-data collection systems. In this paper, we attempt to review the essential research that investigated various types of landslides influenced by water saturation and landslide materials and identified in various areas, since the year 2000. Significant conclusions obtained by applying different survey strategies and data processing algorithms in seismic refraction surveys are widely discussed concentrating on the advantages and disadvantages of this method. The main results obtained by the few available studies applying time-lapse SRT (TLSRT) are particularly analyzed.
Side Effects and Aftereffects of Immersion in Virtual Environments

Immersive Virtual Environment (VE) technology, also known as virtual reality, is being touted as an important new medium for education and training. Other potential applications involve communications, medicine, architecture, astronomy, data handling, teleoperation, and entertainment. A threat to the successful application of this technology is that some users of VE systems suffer unwanted side effects and aftereffects similar to, but not limited to, symptoms of motion sickness. These effects may degrade training effectiveness and jeopardize user safety and well-being. This paper describes the incidence and severity of symptoms we recorded during four different experiments which examined VE training applications. The experiments involved a variety of tasks, simulated environments, and VE systems. We administered a 28 item questionnaire that addressed symptoms related to nausea, eye strain, and dizziness. Significant variation was observed across individuals. In each experiment some users, between 4 and 16%, experienced discomfort to the extent that we terminated their participation. Most users enjoyed the VE experiment but reported some level of discomfort. Our findings indicated that sickness resulting from VE immersion is a potentially serious problem which may not be completely eradicated by improvements in equipment. This paper describes the patterns of effects we observed, discusses the challenges of measuring effects, and outlines future research.
An Analysis of “Sell in May and Go Away” Strategy in Latin American Stock Markets

Abstract We carry out an in-depth analysis of patterns in stock market returns in seven Latin American countries to identify the presence and persistence of the “sell in May and go away” strategy. We use a predictive ability test to consider data snooping problems and the statistical interference of rules based only on historical asset prices. In line with the efficient market hypothesis, our results show that a trading strategy based on the Halloween effect never offered a significantly superior investment strategy than a “buy and hold” benchmark strategy in Latin American countries.
Political Polarisation and Network Leaderships in the Catalan Parliamentarians' Twitter Network *

This article seeks to test if Twitter is opening communication flows between parties and paving the way for the appearance of network leaderships or if it is reducing them to representatives of the same party or ideology and empowering party leaders. The study is based on a dataset spanning from 1 January 2013 to 31 March 2014 which covers all relationships (4,516), retweets (6,045) and mentions (19,507) of Catalan parliamentarians. The data sustain that the political polarisation of Catalan parliamentarians’ Twitter flows is deeper in the relationship and retweet networks than it is in the mention and that even if party leaders are still at the centre of communication flows, other parliamentarians are taking the floor and becoming network leaders.
Recommendations for the management of diabetic macular oedema with intravitreal dexamethasone implant: A national Delphi consensus study

Purpose The intravitreal dexamethasone implant (DEX-I) is an alternative to anti-VEGF for the first-line treatment of diabetic macular oedema (DME). However, several questions remain regarding its routine use and its place in certain situations not always specified in current recommendations. A national consensus approach was, therefore, initiated by French retinal experts. Methods An iterative Delphi consensus approach was used. A steering committee (SC) of seven experts analysed data from the literature to formulate statements divided into five key areas of treatment. These statements were submitted to the independent and anonymous electronic vote of 87 French retina experts among whom 39 expressed their opinion and therefore constituted the voting panel. Results After two rounds of voting, 22 and 7 of 38 statements received a strong consensus and a good consensus, respectively. The consensus level was higher for statements regarding first-line indications and safety of DEX-I compared to those regarding efficacy assessment, reprocessing time or pathophysiological biomarkers. The panellists recommended the preferential use of DEX-I for patients with limited availability for multiple injections, those who needed to undergo cataract surgery or who had a recent cardiovascular history, and as a therapeutic alternative to anti-VEGF in patients with a history of vitrectomy, retinal serous detachment, hyper-reflective points or dry exudates in optical coherence tomography (OCT). However, some statements proposed by SC experts were not validated. Conclusion This study provides some key recommendations to clinicians treating diabetic macular oedema, which may be useful when using intravitreal dexamethasone implants in daily practice.
Comparison of the effects of general, spinal and epidural anesthesia on ureter access and surgical outcomes during flexible ureterorenoscopy for transurethral single stone removal surgeries: a monocentric retrospective study

Abstract Background In ureterorenoscopy, anaesthesiologists are preferring regional anaesthesia to avoid postoperative complications, while surgeons are preferring general anaesthesia to avoid ureteral trauma. China has not published its guidelines and not referring to the European Association of Urology guidelines. The objectives of study were to evaluate the effects of general, spinal, and epidural anaesthesia on ureter access and surgical outcomes of ureterorenoscopy. Methods Charts of a total of 392 patients with the American Society of Anaesthesiologists grade I or II, and underwent flexible ureterorenoscopy for removal of the proximal, middle, or distal ureteral single stone under general anaesthesia (GA group; n = 145) or spinal anaesthesia (SA group; n = 131) or epidural anaesthesia (EA group; n = 116) were reviewed retrospectively. Results The dilatation time for patients of GA group was fewer than those of SA (104.01 ± 12.77 sec/patient vs. 130.55 ± 22.53 sec/patient, p < .0001, q = 17.0350) and EA (104.01 ± 12.77 sec/patient vs. 147.03 ± 18.76 sec/patient, p < .0001, q = 26.7240) groups. The time to reach to stone for patients of GA group was fewer than those of SA (126.68 ± 12.59 sec/patient vs. 137.60 ± 17.84 sec/patient, p < .0001, q = 8.4510) and EA (126.68 ± 12.59 sec/patient vs. 149.44 ± 14.85 sec/patient, p < .0001, q = 17.0350) groups. The lithotripsy time (p = .359), operation time (p = .449), intraoperative complications (p = .058), and length of hospital stays (p = .057) of patients were same among groups. Visual analog scale pain scores of patients of the GA group found higher among groups. General anaesthesia caused nausea and vomiting. Conclusions This study suggests general anaesthesia for flexible ureterorenoscopy if there is no contraindication. KEY MESSAGE General anaesthesia facilitates early dilatation of ureters and access to the stone. No strong correlation of the anaesthesia method of choice with lithotripsy time, operation time, intraoperative complications, stone-free conditions, and length of hospital stays. Epidural and spinal anaesthesia have advantages of fewer postoperative pain and better postoperative outcomes for flexible ureterorenoscopy.
Borderline and Depression: A Thin EEG Line

In everyday clinical practice, there is an ongoing debate about the nature of major depressive disorder (MDD) in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). The underlying research does not give us a clear distinction between those 2 entities, although depression is among the most frequent comorbid diagnosis in borderline personality patients. The notion that depression can be a distinct disorder but also a symptom in other psychopathologies led our team to try and delineate those 2 entities using 146 EEG recordings and machine learning. The utilized algorithms, developed solely for this purpose, could not differentiate those 2 entities, meaning that patients suffering from MDD did not have significantly different EEG in terms of patients diagnosed with MDD and BPD respecting the given data and methods used. By increasing the data set and the spatiotemporal specificity, one could have a more sensitive diagnostic approach when using EEG recordings. To our knowledge, this is the first study that used EEG recordings and advanced machine learning techniques and further confirmed the close interrelationship between those 2 entities.
Inland Water Body Mapping Using Multitemporal Sentinel-1 SAR Data

Climate change studies require increasingly detailed information on land cover and land use, to precisely model and predict climate based on their status and changes. A fundamental land cover type that needs to be constantly monitored by the climate change community is water, but currently there is a lack of high-resolution water body maps at the global scale. In this article, we present a fully automated procedure for the extraction of fine spatial resolution (10 m) inland water land cover maps for any region of the Earth by means of a relatively simple k-means clustering model applied to multitemporal features extracted from Sentinel-1 SAR sequences. Indeed, due to heavy cloud coverage conditions in many locations, multispectral sensors are not suitable for global water body mapping. For this reason, in this work, we deal only with SAR data, and specifically with multitemporal Sentinel-1 data sequences. The experimental results, obtained for three geographical areas selected because of their wide diversity in terms of geomorphology and climate, show an almost complete consistency with existing datasets, and improve them thanks to their finer spatial details.
Updating the Pavement Design Catalog for the Washington State Department of Transportation

This paper describes the preparation of a revised pavement thickness design catalog for the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) that used the 1993 AASHTO Guide, the Mechanistic–Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG), and WSDOT historical pavement performance data. Selection of the design equivalent single-axle load levels and performance criteria are presented, followed by discussion about how the 1993 AASHTO Guide and MEPDG, version 1.0, results were used to guide thickness choices for the catalog. Importantly, the process also included historical pavement performance, the properties of new pavement materials, regional practices, and construction variability as equally valuable inputs. Emphasis was placed on observations and issues encountered by using the current 1993 AASHTO Guide and the MEPDG. The proposed design catalog has been implemented by WSDOT.
Implementation Manual — 3D Engineered Models for Highway Construction: The Iowa Experience

3D engineered modeling is a relatively new and developing technology that can provide numerous benefits to owners, engineers, contractors, and the general public. This manual is for highway agencies that are considering or are in the process of switching from 2D plan sets to 3D engineered models in their highway construction projects. It will discuss some of the benefits, applications, limitations, and implementation considerations for 3D engineered models used for survey, design, and construction. Note that is not intended to cover all eventualities in all states regarding the deployment of 3D engineered models for highway construction. Rather, it describes how one state—Iowa—uses 3D engineered models for construction of highway projects, from planning and surveying through design and construction.
Research on Surface Defect Detection of Rare-Earth Magnetic Materials Based on Improved SSD

In order to overcome the limitation of manual visual inspection of surface defects of rare-earth magnetic materials and increase production efficiency of traditional rare-earth enterprises, a detection method based on improved SSD (Single Shot Detector) is proposed. The SSD model is improved from two aspects for better performance in the detection of small defects. First of all, the multiscale receptive field module is embedded into the backbone network of the algorithm to improve the feature extraction ability of the model. Secondly, the interlayer feature fusion strategy of bidirectional feature pyramid in PANet (path aggregation network) is integrated into the model. In order to enhance the detection ability of the model, the high-level semantic information is strengthened by an efficient channel attention mechanism. The detection speed of the improved SSD algorithm is 55FPS, and the mAP (mean Average Precision) is up to 83.65%, which is 3.41% higher than of the original SSD algorithm, and the ability to identify small defects is significantly improved.
Epidemiology of hereditary anemias in Saudi Arabia

The prevalence rates of hereditary anemias in Saudi Arabia are remarkably high when compared to other countries. For instance, estimates show that the prevalence of thalassemia constitutes one of the highest rates globally. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that epidemiology significantly differs between the different regions across the Kingdom. Therefore, many epidemiological investigations were conducted. In this context, it has been demonstrated that the prevalence of thalassemia ranges from 0.4% to 5.9% in the Northern and Eastern regions, respectively. In the present literature review, we have discussed the different findings of epidemiological studies that studied the epidemiology of hereditary anemias in Saudi Arabia. We mainly discussed the epidemiology of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PD), sickle cell disease, and thalassemia. Recent evidence indicates that the trends of β-thalassemia are significantly decreasing over the past years. On the other hand, it has been demonstrated that the prevalence trends of sickle cell disease is constant over the past years. G6PD is also highly prevalent in Saudi Arabia. However, recent evidence is lacking in the literature and needs to be updated by future investigations. Consanguineous marriage has been reported to be an important risk factor for the high prevalence of β-thalassemia and sickle cell disease across the Kingdom.
Fuel Quality Effects on Particulate Matter Emissions from Light- and Heavy-Duty Diesel Engines

This paper gives an update of Shell`s ongoing research on correlations between diesel fuel quality and particulate emissions in both heavy and light duty applications. An exhaust oxidation catalyst selectively decreases the particulate hydrocarbon fraction, leaving the fixed carbon fraction unaffected. This overall particulates reduction mechanism explains why particulate emissions from catalyst vehicles are less sensitive towards changes in fuel quality. An attempt has been made to explain the differences observed between particulate emissions from heavy- and light-duty engines. It is tentatively concluded that differences originate mainly from intrinsic differences between the heavy- and light-duty test cycles. 27 refs., 14 figs., 5 tabs.
Anticipatory effects on lower extremity kinetics and kinematics during a land and cross step maneuver in female volleyball players

Anticipation has been previously shown to affect lower extremity mechanics during both landing and cutting maneuvers. However, little research has been conducted looking at the effects of anticipation on the lower body kinetics and kinematics during a land and cross step maneuver, which due to similar kinematics, may elicit injury. Twelve female, college-level volleyball players performed right and left cross step maneuvers following a landing under anticipated and unanticipated conditions. Kinetics and kinematics were measured for the ankle, knee and hip of the dominant limb during the landing phase of the various movement conditions. Both anticipatory and directional effects were seen for many of the variables including VGRF, ankle, knee and hip power absorption, peak ankle dorsiflexion, inversion and eversion angles, knee angles in all three planes, peak hip flexion and initial contact external rotation angles as well as all joint moments except for knee and hip abduction. However, higher order interactions were seen for knee flexion, abduction and internal rotation (all P < .001) at initial contact as well as maximum knee flexion and internal rotation (both P < .001). These interactions for the knee are important factors to consider when looking at knee injury. Other contributors to high risk landings including maximum ankle inversion (P < .001) and hip external rotation (P = .026) had significant interactions at initial contact. However, effects were not limited to unanticipated trials as high risk positions were recorded during the landing of anticipated trials as well. The findings from the current study suggest that both anticipation and direction played an important role in landing mechanics. Drills familiarizing players with unanticipated changes of direction along with strength training of the muscles required to effectively decelerate the body may help prevent injury.
Effects of short-wave ultraviolet light, ultrasonic and microwave treatments on banana puree during refrigerated storage

Enzymatic browning is a major problem in minimally processed banana puree; it reduces consumer's acceptability and affects nutritional quality. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects ultrasound (40 kHz/10 min), microwave (800 W/ 25 s) and UV-C radiation (1.97 kJ/m2) applied to banana puree. Colour parameters (L*, a*, b*, chroma and hue), browning index (BI), polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD) activities, total phenolic compounds (TPC), antioxidant capacity (AOC) and microbiological counts were monitored throughout storage at 4 °C. Ultrasound (US) and microwave (MW) treatments achieved a significant (p < 0.05) reduction in PPO activity and BI; moreover, ultrasound effectively retained phenolic compounds content (75% of initial value). The AOC was in coincidence with TPC values. POD activity was partially inhibited by UV-C while MW and US increase its activity. Although UV-C treatment was not effective to control browning development, it was effective to maintain microbiological stability after 20 days of storage (1.48 ± 0.01 log CFU/g). The evaluated treatments have the advantage of being less aggressive than conventional thermal treatments while maintaining fresh characteristics of the product.
DETERMINANTS OF MUDHARABAH FINANCING IN INDONESIA (PARTIAL ADJUSMENT MODEL APPROACH)

Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengetahui pengaruh Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), Return On Asset (ROA), tingkat bagi hasil, tingkat inflasi, dan nilai tukar terhadap pembiayaan mudharabah pada Bank Umum Syariah di Indonesia baik secara parsial ataupun simultan. Jenis data yang digunakan adalah data time series dimana periode waktunya dari tahun Januari 2017 sampai Oktober 2019. Metode analisis data yang digunakan untuk melihat pengaruh variabel independen terhadap variabel dependen yaitu metode Partial Adjustment Model (PAM) dengan menggunakan Eviews 7 serta melakukan uji asumsi klasik. Secara simultan hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa variabel Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), Return On Asset (ROA), tingkat bagi hasil, tingkat inflasi, dan nilai tukar berpengaruh terhadap pembiayaan mudharabah Bank Umum Syariah di Indonesia. Selanjutnya secara parsial dalam jangka panjang dan jangka pendek didapatkan hasil bahwa variabel Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) berpengaruh negatif signifikan terhadap pembiayaan mudharabah Bank Umum Syariah di Indonesia, variabel Return On Asset (ROA), tingkat bagi hasil, dan nilai tukar berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap pembiayaan mudharabah Bank Umum Syariah di Indonesia, sedangkan variabel tingkat inflasi berpengaruh tidak signifikan terhadap pembiayaan mudharabah Bank Umum Syariah di Indonesia.
Definitions, importance, and application of selective mutism questionnaire in the primary care setting

Children with selective mutism might suffer from less frequent involvement in school activities, reduced social and cognitive abilities, in addition to being at increased risk of subjective suffering and developing other associated morbidities. There is a lack of evidence regarding the assessment modalities that should be used to evaluate selective mutism. However, recent data show that the selective mutism questionnaire (SMQ) is validated among different investigations with well-established psychometric properties. In the present literature review, we have discussed the definition, uses, and importance of the SMQ for children with selective mutism in primary care settings. Our results show that the different included studies indicate the sensitivity and reliability of the tool to assess the severity of behavioral speaking among these children. Besides, evidence has shown that the tool can be used to assess the impact of treatment on the behavioral outcomes of these children. Based on these data, it has been demonstrated that the treatment of selective mutism can significantly enhance the scores and the behavioral speaking patterns. However, these scores were still relatively lower than the ones estimated for the typically developing children. The impact of more intensive treatment modalities has been suggested but was not adequately validated, and therefore, further research is a must for adequate interpretation and validation of the current findings to achieve better outcomes.