Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Health and health-care utilisation in old age: the case of older men living alone

Abstract A growing number of older men are living alone. They are often referred to as an at-risk group in health-care systems. The purpose of this article is to establish an overview of these men's health and health-care utilisation. We do so by drawing on three sources: an online survey with health-care professionals, data from a national self-report health study and register-based data on health-care utilisation. The results show that older men living alone generally have lower health scores than older men co-habiting and that, among older men living alone, lower educational level is associated with lower health scores but also a greater use of free-of-charge health-care services. Health-care professionals conducting preventive home visits consider older men's social needs the most pronounced problem for the men's wellbeing and call for new services to be custom made for them. In this article, we discuss differences between older men living in rural and urban areas and between those who are single, divorced or widowed. We conclude that health and social care systems must differentiate between sub-groups of older men living alone when developing new services and that free-of-charge services, such as general practitioners and home care, should be considered as vehicles for addressing health inequities.
Diversity and Composition of Methanotroph Communities in Caves

Recent observations have shown the atmospheric greenhouse gas methane (CH4) is consumed by microorganisms (methanotrophs) in caves at rates comparable to CH4 oxidation in surface soils. Caves are abundant in karst landscapes that comprise 14% of Earth’s land surface area, and therefore may represent a potentially important, but overlooked, CH4 sink. ABSTRACT Methane oxidizing microorganisms (methanotrophs) are ubiquitous in the environment and represent a major sink for the greenhouse gas methane (CH4). Recent studies have demonstrated methanotrophs are abundant and contribute to CH4 dynamics in caves. However, very little is known about what controls the distribution and abundance of methanotrophs in subterranean ecosystems. Here, we report a survey of soils collected from > 20 caves in North America to elucidate the factors shaping cave methanotroph communities. Using 16S rRNA sequencing, we recovered methanotrophs from nearly all (98%) of the samples, including cave sites where CH4 concentrations were at or below detection limits (≤0.3 ppmv). We identified a core methanotroph community among caves comprised of high-affinity methanotrophs. Although associated with local-scale mineralogy, methanotroph composition did not systematically vary between the entrances and interior of caves, where CH4 concentrations varied. We also observed methanotrophs are able to disperse readily between cave systems showing these organisms have low barriers to dispersal. Lastly, the relative abundance of methanotrophs was positively correlated with cave-air CH4 concentrations, suggesting these microorganisms contribute to CH4 flux in subterranean ecosystems. IMPORTANCE Recent observations have shown the atmospheric greenhouse gas methane (CH4) is consumed by microorganisms (methanotrophs) in caves at rates comparable to CH4 oxidation in surface soils. Caves are abundant in karst landscapes that comprise 14% of Earth’s land surface area, and therefore may represent a potentially important, but overlooked, CH4 sink. We sampled cave soils to gain a better understand the community composition and structure of cave methanotrophs. Our results show the members of the USC-γ clade are dominant in cave communities and can easily disperse through the environment, methanotroph relative abundance was correlated with local scale mineralogy of soils, and the relative abundance of methanotrophs was positively correlated with CH4 concentrations in cave air.
Sedimentology of the Upper Pennsylvanian organic‐rich Cline Shale, Midland Basin: From gravity flows to pelagic suspension fallout

Although deep‐water fine‐grained sedimentary rocks comprise approximately two‐thirds of the stratigraphic record, the transportation and depositional processes are poorly understood compared with their shelf counterparts. This study reports the range of fine‐grained sedimentary rock lithofacies, transport, and depositional processes and cyclicities recorded in deep‐water deposits on the basis of three continuous cored wells from the Upper Pennsylvanian Cline Shale, Midland Basin, USA, with the goal of elucidating general principles that can inform synthesis depositional models for deep‐water fine‐grained sedimentary systems. A combination of sedimentological, petrographic and bulk geochemical analysis has defined seven lithofacies that stack in a repeated pattern to constitute ca 8 to 20 m thick composite cycle sets. The lower unit of each composite cycle set is characterized by basal siliciclastic‐rich lithofacies interpreted to record dilute, low‐density turbidity currents, potentially derived from hyperpycnal input which grade upward into carbonate‐rich lithofacies interpreted as debris‐flow deposits or pelagic suspension deposits. The upper unit of each composite cycle set is characterized by basal carbonate‐rich lithofacies interpreted as debris‐flow deposits or pelagic suspension deposits which grades upward into siliciclastic‐rich lithofacies interpreted to record dilute, low‐density turbidity currents, potentially derived from hyperpycnal input. The cyclicities recorded in the Cline Shale are believed to be controlled by high‐amplitude glacioeustatic sea‐level fluctuation (mean: ca 100 m). The siliciclastic‐rich lithofacies, potentially derived from hyperpycnal turbidity flows, were deposited during sea‐level lowstand, when siliciclastic sediment‐transport systems extended across the wide Eastern Shelf and deltas developed at the shelf margin. Carbonate‐rich lithofacies are interpreted to be deposited from debris flows or pelagic suspension fallout during sea‐level highstand when carbonate platforms were developed on the surrounding shelves. The prevalence of sediment density flow deposits, even in distal basin floor environments, challenges the conventional model that deep‐water fine‐grained sedimentary rocks are dominantly background sedimentation.
An intelligent ensemble of long‐short‐term memory with genetic algorithm for network anomaly identification

Cyberattacks are increasing rapidly with rapid Internet advancement and, the cybersecurity situation is not optimistic. Anomaly detection is one of the challenging sectors of network security, which shows a significant role in any organization. Many anomaly detection systems identify malicious activities by deploying machine learning and deep learning techniques. The major contribution of this research is to develop an anomaly detection model for networks using a homogenous ensemble of Long‐Short‐Term‐Memory integrated with Genetic Algorithm (GA) utilized for feature extraction. An extensive literature on anomaly detection, which utilizes deep learning algorithms, is studied. NSL‐KDD and UNSW‐NB datasets are deployed for evaluating the proposed network anomaly model. The experimental analysis shows that the proposed ensemble is superior to other ensembles with a maximum accuracy of 99.9% and a minimum false alarm rate of 1.56% on NSL‐KDD dataset and a maximum accuracy of 99.3% is obtained on UNSW‐NB15 dataset with false alarm rate of 1.7%. Hence, the proposed model performs fair on both the datasets.
Mass Transfer Correlation and Optimization of Carbon Dioxide Capture in a Microchannel Contactor: A Case of CO2-Rich Gas

This work focused on the application of a microchannel contactor for CO2 capture using water as absorbent, especially for the application of CO2-rich gas. The influence of operating conditions (temperature, volumetric flow rate of gas and liquid, and CO2 concentration) on the absorption efficiency and the overall liquid-side volumetric mass transfer coefficient was presented in terms of the main effects and interactions based on the factorial design of experiments. It was found that 70.9% of CO2 capture was achieved under the operating conditions as follows; temperature of 50 °C, CO2 inlet fraction of 53.7%, total gas volumetric flow rate of 150 mL min−1, and adsorbent volumetric flow rate of 1 mL min−1. Outstanding performance of CO2 capture was demonstrated with the overall liquid-side volumetric mass transfer coefficient of 0.26 s−1. Further enhancing the system by using 2.2 M of monoethanolamine in water (1:1 molar ratio of MEA-to-CO2) boosted the absorption efficiency up to 88%.
Effect of MWCNT carboxylation on mechanical, thermal and morphological behaviour of phenol formaldehyde nanocomposites

Phenol-formaldehyde resin is an inevitable polymer material because of their excellent properties like heat resistance, chemical resistance, creep resistance, and low water sorption. But the drawback associated with PF matrix is buckling and brittleness. The incorporation of nanofillers can effectively reduce these problems. Carbon nanotubes is one among the nanofiller which is widely used to enhance the mechanical, thermal, electrical properties of the host matrix.The present study deals with the synthesis and comparison of two Phenol-formaldehyde nanocomposites incorporated with pristine multiwalled carbon nanotubes and carboxylated multiwalled carbon nanotubes via in-situ polymerisation technique. The effect of filler loading (MWCNT, MWCNT-COOH) with different weight percentages (0.05 wt%, 0.08 wt%, 0.12 wt%, 0.15 wt%) has been investigated in this study. Pristine MWCNT was functionalised with carboxyl groups and confirmed by XRD, FT-IR, CHN analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, AFM and Raman spectra. All these analysis showed successful funtionalisation of pure MWCNT. The prepared nanocomposites were compared by mechanical, thermal and morphological analysis. The effect of both fillers on tensile strength, stress-strain, young’s modulus and elongation at break were also analysed. The addition of MWCNT and MWCNT-COOH have enhanced the mechanical and thermal properties of the prepared nanocomposite. The mechanical properties of PF-MWCNT nanocomposite showed a maxima for 0.12 wt% and for PF-MWCNTCOOH nanocomposite it was 0.08 wt%. Higher thermal stability was exhibited for 0.15 wt% MWCNT loading. The thermal stability enhanced by the addition of MWCNT COOH upto 0.12 wt% and then declined. Moreover the prepared nanocomposites were morphologically characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) and from the fracture analysis it is clear that the reinforcements brought plastic deformation of phenol-formaldehyde nanocomposite from brittle to more ductile material. From the TEM image it was clear that the presence of carboxyl groups attached on MWCNT reduced agglomeration in PF matrix. Halpin-Tsai modelling was done for comparing experimental and theoretical values of tensile modulus and it illustrates good correlation.
Production and Postproduction Performance of Uniconazole-Treated Bedding Plants

Abstract Growth and flowering responses of Pelargonium × hortorum L. H. Bailey ‘Ringo Deep Scarlet’, Tagetes erecta L. ‘Inca Orange’, Viola × wittrockiana Gams. ‘Blue Shades’, Impatiens × ‘Zenith’ and Salvia farinacea Benth. ‘Victoria Blue’ to uniconazole applied at the seedling stage were evaluated at the end of production and 5 to 7 weeks after transplanting into the landscape (geranium, impatiens and salvia only). A drought stress evaluation was also conducted. Response to uniconazole varied with species, sampling date and uniconazole concentration. Growth of all species was suppressed when measured 4½ to 8½ weeks after treatment (WAT), and stress tolerance of all species except marigold increased with increasing concentrations of uniconazole. Flowering generally was delayed with uniconazole. Impatiens and geranium treated with 10 ppm or less of uniconazole were similar in height to nontreated plants 5 to 7 weeks after being transplanted; at this time, uniconazole had no effect on plant height or shoot.
Increased red blood cell distribution width in patients with plaque psoriasis

Background Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is frequently increased in inflammatory disorders, and the magnitude of its elevation correlates with disease severity. This study was hence aimed to explore RDW values in patients with psoriasis. Methods The study population consisted of 366 adult patients with mild to severe plaque psoriasis and 366 age- and sex-matched blood donor controls. For each psoriatic patient, demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were regularly collected. Results RDW and MCV were significantly higher in psoriatic patients compared to controls (13.95 vs. 13.40% and 90.4 vs. 89 fL; both p<0.01). In order to assess whether RDW elevations were related to psoriasis severity, we divided our psoriatic patient population into two groups based on a PASI cut-off of 10. No significant differences were observed between the two groups (i.e., PASI>10 and 10) in terms of RDW (p=0.36). Adopting different PASI cut-offs (i.e. 3, 5, 7, 12) did not result in statistically significant differences (p=0.93, 0.48, 0.22, 0.42, respectively). In linear regression analysis, no significant correlation was found between RDW and PASI or CRP, nor with age, gender, or the psoriasis comorbidities listed in Table I. Furthermore, no significant difference in RDW values was noted between psoriatic patients with and without PsA (p=0.27). Conclusions The results of this study confirm that RDW is elevated in psoriatic patients, though the magnitude of its increase did not appear to be associated with disease severity.
Inducible clindamycin resistance and erm genes in Staphylococcus aureus in school children in Kathmandu, Nepal

Aim: Resistance to methicillin and Macrolide–Lincosamide and Streptogramins B and their association with erm genes in Staphylococcus aureus are unknown in Nepal. Materials & methods: Nonduplicate nasal swabs from 160 school children were collected from April to September 2018 and processed using standard microbiological procedures. Results: Out of 160 samples, 64 (40%) were S. aureus in which 17 (26.6%) were methicillin-resistance Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). D-test identified 15 (23.4%) as inducible clindamycin-resistant, which were more prevalent in MRSA (76.4%) than methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA; 4.2%). 18.7% of isolates harbored the ermC gene followed by ermA (15.6%) and ermB (3.1%), and were more in MRSA than MSSA. Conclusion: To prevent treatment failure by inducible resistance, D-test must be performed on erythromycin-resistant and/or clindamycin-sensitive isolates.
Relationships between circadian rhythms and ethanol intake in mice

This dissertation integrates methods from alcohol and circadian rhythms research to explore relationships between ethanol and circadian rhythms in mice. Ingesting alcohol at certain times of day differentially affects the body; circadian rhythms also impact preference for drinking alcohol at different times of day. The influence of circadian timing on development and maintenance of ethanol drinking patterns was studied in Chapter 2. This showed how establishing a history of ethanol exposure at preferred or non-preferred times of day can influence voluntary ethanol intake for several subsequent weeks. Chapter 3 asked if circadian period is causally related to alcohol intake and investigated this by creating non-24 hour light cycle and measuring ethanol intake in C57BL/6J as well as in high and low alcohol preferring (HAP and LAP) mice. Successful manipulations did not affect amount of ethanol drinking or preference indicating there is not a direct causal effect of circadian period on ethanol intake. Chapter 4 moved from circadian manipulations and voluntary ethanol intake to exploring the influence of chronic ethanol dependence and withdrawal on circadian rhythms. Daily body temperature and activity rhythms were recorded in mice exposed to repeated rounds of ethanol vapor. Ethanol vapor resulted in a reduction in amplitude of the core body temperature rhythm during withdrawal, an effect that was potentiated in subsequent vapor rounds. However, there were no lasting effects observed on body temperature or activity rhythms beyond the first 3 days following ethanol exposure. Together these studies have advanced knowledge about interactions between alcohol and the circadian system. They showed circadian scheduling of ethanol exposure can predict later ethanol intake, having implications that may be beneficial in the development of alcohol use disorder treatments. Experimentally induced changes to circadian period did not predict ethanol intake. This suggests that altering key aspects of the circadian system is not related to amount consumed or preference for ethanol. Finally, changes to circadian rhythms during withdrawal from ethanol signify changes to body function that are related to the degree of prior ethanol exposure; these might be useful in the future as indices of withdrawal or dependence severity.
The range of TOEFL scores predicted by TOEP

The Indonesian Testing Service Centre (ITSC) has developed an online standardized test called TOEP (Test of English Proficiency) as a fresh alternative for measuring the test takers’ listening and reading proficiency. To ensure its quality, the TOEP scores need to be validated against the scores obtained from another established standardized test, in this case the ITP-TOEFL. This study aimed at finding out to what extent the range of scores which are measured by TOEP can predict the scores obtained from ITP-TOEFL. A quantitative approach was applied in this study, focusing on the analysis of scores obtained by 1,048 people taking TOEP in 2016, 2017, and 2019 and 383 testees had taken both TOEP and ITP-TOEFL. A regression analysis was conducted to establish the prediction equation of TOEP to ITP-TOEFL. The range of scores of proficiency measured through TOEP was estimated using the advanced item response theory, especially the information function value. The results of analysis show that TOEP can predict test takers’ English proficiency in the range of minimum 310 and maximum 656.34 at the ITPTOEFL scales. It can be concluded that TOEP has a good predictive validity to ITP-TOEFL.
Using Seasonal Forecast as an Adaptation Strategy: Gender Differential Impact on Yield and Income in Senegal

The use of seasonal forecast has been demonstrated as a good option to reduce the effects of climate variability in sub-Saharan African countries. However, its use, benefits and interests may be different depending on gender. This paper aims at analyzing the gender differential impact of the use of seasonal forecast on the main crop yields (rice, maize, sorghum, millet and groundnut) and farm income in Senegal. We collected data from 1481 farmers (44% women) in four regions of Senegal. We applied the counterfactual outcomes framework of modern evaluation theory to estimate the local average treatment effect (LATE) of the use of the seasonal forecast on crop yield and farm income. The results showed a significant impact of the use of the seasonal forecast (SF) in the main crop yields and the agricultural income for farmers in Senegal. This impact varies according to the sex and the type of the crops. The users (men and women) of the seasonal forecast gained on average 158 kg/ha and 140 kg/ha more yield than the non-users, respectively, for millet and rice crops. The impact of the use of SF is greater for men on millet (202.7 kg/ha vs. 16.7 kg/ha) and rice (321.33 kg/ha vs. −25.3 kg/ha). However, it is greater for women on maize (210 kg/ha vs. −105 kg/ha). Potential users of seasonal forecast had also a positive and significant impact of 41$ per ha on the income. The additional income is more important for men (56$) than women (11$). These findings suggest that the use of seasonal forecast increases the productivity of rural communities and affects men and women differently. The access to and use of SF should therefore be widely promoted among farmers’ organizations; women’s associations should be particularly targeted.
Tenfold Bootstrap as Resampling Method in Classification Problems

In this research, we propose the bootstrap procedure as a method for train/test splitting in machine learning algorithms for classification. We show that this resampling method can be a reliable alternative to cross validation and repeated random test/train splitting algorithms. The bootstrap procedure optimizes the classifier's performance by improving its accuracy and classification scores and by reducing computational time significantly. We also show that ten iterations of the bootstrap procedure are enough to achieve better performance of the classification algorithm. With these findings, we propose a solution to the problem of how to reduce computing time in large datasets, while introducing a new practical application of the bootstrap procedure.
Genetic diversity of upland rice germplasm distributed in Latin America.

Narrow genetic base has been a concern in irrigated rice. Upland rice varieties in Latin America show a similar trend. The parentage of 2,061 upland crosses and 271 advanced lines that CIAT (Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical) distributed to partners was traced back to the immediate parents; the yearly percentage participation was estimated. The main objectives were to assess the genetic variability used and distributed by CIAT, to identify reasons why genetic diversity is eliminated, and to propose alternatives for broadening the genetic base. African germplasm contributed to 46.0% of the parents used in crosses and 34.6% in the advanced lines. A maximum of 12 and a minimum of 4 lines were necessary to make up 50% of the participation frequency in crosses every year; globally it required 16 lines. Intense selection pressure for agronomically important traits, such as plant type and blast resistance, eliminated between 17.6 and 69.0% of the early segregating lines every year. Sharing germplasm at early stages of development and population improvement through recurrent selection are alternatives that offer broad-base germplasm to Programs in Latin America.
Imazamox Absorption, Translocation, and Metabolism by Cereal Rye (Secale cereale) at Low Temperatures

Abstract Cereal rye (Secale cereale L.) control in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) can be difficult with existing selective herbicides. High phenotypic diversity within populations coupled with suboptimal herbicide application conditions leads to varying degrees of control with herbicide treatments. The following research focused on the consequence of low temperature on imazamox fate in S. cereale. A greenhouse study was conducted to determine the number of warm-temperature days required for imazamox to control S. cereale. Absorption, translocation, and metabolism of imazamox was evaluated under warm (22/18 C) and cold (4/4 C) temperatures to identify changes to the fate of imazamox under different environmental conditions. In greenhouse conditions, more than 5 d of warm temperature following herbicide application was required to achieve 80% S. cereale mortality. Absorption of imazamox was reduced 20% when S. cereale was subjected to cold compared with warm temperatures. Only 10% of applied imazamox was moved from the treated leaf in continuous cool temperatures compared with greater than 60% in warm conditions. In cold conditions, imazamox content increased in all tested plant parts evaluated for the duration of the study, whereas in warm conditions, imazamox concentrations decreased in root and crown tissues after 3 d. Imazamox behavior was affected more by temperature than S. cereale growth stage. Secale cereale metabolism of imazamox was reduced, but not stopped in cold temperatures. After 6 d, only a 10% difference in intact imazamox remained between temperature treatments. In cold temperatures, reduced absorption and translocation, coupled with continued metabolism, allow plants to recover from an otherwise lethal imazamox treatment.