Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors affecting the profitability of Nepalese insurance companies

This study examines the factors affecting profitability in the context of Nepalese insurance companies. Return on assets and return on equity are selected as the dependent variables. The selected independent variables are liquidity, tangibility, premium growth, firm age and firm size. The study is based on secondary data of 21 insurance companies with 168 observations for the period from 2011/12 to 2018/19. The data is collected from the reports published by Beema Samiti and Annual Reports of selected insurance companies. The regression models are estimated to test the factor affecting the profitability of Nepalese insurance companies. The study showed that firm size has a positive impact on return on assets and return on equity. It indicates that larger firm size leads to increase in return on assets and return on equity. Likewise, premium growth has a positive impact on return on assets and return on equity. It indicates that higher the premium growth, higher would be the return on assets and return on equity. Moreover, firm age has a positive impact on return on assets. It indicates that an increase in firm age leads to increase in return on assets and return on equity. Moreover, assets tangibility has a positive impact on return of assets and return on equity. It means that higher the assets tangibility, the higher would be the return of assets and return on equity. Likewise, there is a negative impact of liquidity ratio on return on assets and return on equity. It means that an increase in liquidity ratio leads to decrease in return on assets and return on equity.
Quality appraisal of clinical practice guidelines on physical restraints in ICU: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND Physical restraint has been regarded as a protective measure in the intensive care unit (ICU) in order to avoid unexpected events. But a great number of researches have proven that physical restraints can cause bad influences on patients' mental health, such as language delays of children, sense of uncertainty, loss of trust, etc. However, it is unclear whether there are currently high-quality clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) to guide clinical practice in physical restraints. So we aim to analyze available CPGs on physical restraints in ICU with Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II (AGREE II) evaluating methodological quality and Reporting Items for Practice Guidelines in Healthcare (RIGHT) evaluating reporting quality. METHODS We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CINAHL, CNKI (Chinese database), Wanfang data (Chinese database), relevant websites (GIN, NICE, SIGN, RNAO, AHRQ, AACN), and Google from their inception to Nov 21, 2021. Two reviewers independently use the AGREE II tool and RIGHT checklist to evaluate methodological and reporting quality of included guidelines on physical restraints in ICU. The number and proportion of reported items of RIGHT checklist and the scores of each domain of AGREE II were calculated. We also evaluated the consistency among the reviewers via use of the intragroup correlation coefficient. RESULTS A total of six guidelines were included. The mean AGREE II score for the included guidelines was 39.56% with a range of 30.27-69.85%. No guideline was "high quality", and only one guideline was "moderate quality" with 69.85% mean AGREE II score. The mean RIGHT reporting score for guidelines was 41.0% with a range of 24.7-77.7%. Only one guideline was "moderate-reported" with a mean reporting score of 77.7%. DISCUSSION In general, the methodological and reporting quality of physical restraints guidelines is low, and future development or updating of high-quality guidelines to guide clinical practice is needed.
Host Factors Impacting the Development and Transmission of Bovine Digital Dermatitis

This review provides insight on potential host-specific factors that increase individual susceptibility to infection and transmission of bovine digital dermatitis. Digital dermatitis is increasing in prevalence within herds worldwide and yields economic losses for producers and welfare issues for animals. A total of 34 relevant studies were reviewed based on the inclusion criteria. A decrease in susceptibility to disease was found in animals with specific genomic and hoof characteristics, thus citing the importance of sire selection when designing a breeding program. Animals with superior health status that lacked co-morbidities and mounted immune responses to infection were less likely to develop disease. Primiparous cattle and those in peak production were more likely to develop lesions, as were over-or-under-conditioned Holstein–Friesian breeds. Cattle with superior hoof conformation and gait were poor hosts for bacteria and therefore less likely to develop and spread infection. The lowest risk of transmission of digital dermatitis occurred during the dry period and post peak lactation and cattle with advanced lesions contributed to the persistence of the disease within a herd. It is hoped that this review will help producers design breeding and management programs for their herds, and help veterinarians advise clients on the subject.
Image Encryption Methods in Deep Joint Source Channel Coding: A Review and Performance Evaluation

With the introduction of the deep learning (DL), joint source and channel coding (JSCC) has achieved great success and has been demonstrated to have better performance especially in the case of low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) and limited bandwidth. As a promising wireless transmission technology, DL based JSCC (DJSCC) can serve different kinds of applications. However, some applications (e.g., biomedical, surveillance, financial and military) have strict requirements on data privacy and data security. Traditional image encryption methods are based on the shuffle operation and changing the intensity of each pixel in the plain image, which changes the ambient structure of the picture and degrades the reconstruct performance of the DJSCC. Perceptual image encryption methods for deep neural networks (DNNs) have been demonstrated to have similar classification accuracy in comparison to the DNNs trained on plain images. However, it is unknown how to conduct image encryption methods in the DJSCC framework. In this paper, we investigate different image encryption methods at first and compare their reconstruction performance. This research work provide a guidance for selecting the image encryption method suitable for DJSCC transmission.
Association of Night-Time Screen-Viewing with Adolescents’ Diet, Sleep, Weight Status, and Adiposity

Night-time screen-viewing (SV) contributes to inadequate sleep and poor diet, and subsequently excess weight. Adolescents may use many devices at night, which can provide additional night-time SV. Purpose: To identify night-time SV patterns, and describe differences in diet, sleep, weight status, and adiposity between patterns in a cross-sectional and longitudinal manner. Methods: Adolescents (10–16 y) reported devices they viewed at night and completed food recalls. Accelerometry, anthropometrics, and imaging were conducted to measure sleep, weight status, and adiposity, respectively. Latent class analysis was performed to identify night-time SV clusters. Linear regression analysis was used to examine associations between clusters with diet, sleep, weight status, and adiposity. Results: Amongst 273 adolescents (12.5 ± 1.9 y, 54% female, 59% White), four clusters were identified: no SV (36%), primarily cellphone (32%), TV and portable devices (TV+PDs, 17%), and multiple PDs (17%). Most differences in sleep and adiposity were attenuated after adjustment for covariates. The TV+PDs cluster had a higher waist circumference than the no SV cluster in cross-sectional analysis. In longitudinal analysis, the primarily cellphone cluster had less change in waist circumference compared to the no SV cluster. Conclusions: Directing efforts towards reducing night-time SV, especially TV and PDs, may promote healthy development.
The Language Attitudes of the Community Members Towards Their Local Language, Konjonese of Bulukumba, Indonesia

The study reported here aims to figure out the language attitudes of the community members of the Konjonese language, a minority language in the Bulukumba Regency of South Sulawesi Indonesia. It involves three villages of sub-district Bonto Tiro; Batang, Bonto Bulaeng, and Tamalanrea. The study is descriptive quantitative assigning two independent variables; the age group comprising three categories; teenagers, adults, and the olds. The educational background consists of two groups; the less-educated, and well-educated groups. Data were obtained from 45 respondents through questionnaires and additional data were obtained from field observation and interviewing the villages figures such as the village heads, teachers, and religious leaders. The study identified four contributing factors as the skeletal bones of language attitudes; high appreciation to their local language, pride in using their local language, open-mindedness to everyone, and modesty. The study then concluded that the Konjonese language is developed and growing and as such it is relatively safe from endangerment due to the positive attitudes of the community members. A language shift is occurring in the community because of the increased use of the Indonesian language in the community. However, this is not alarming as the community members possess those skeletal bones protecting them from shifting their local language to the other language, including the Indonesian language, from their genuine and natural domains like homes, neighborhood, and the likes. Rather, it results in a stable bilingual for the community
Perspectives from Journalism Professionals on the Application and Benefits of Constructive Reporting for Addressing Misinformation

The proliferation of misinformation in contemporary information environments contributes to increasing polarization and decreasing trust in institutions and experts, both of which encourage further proliferation of misinformation. Increasing attention has been brought to the role of news media in the spread and uptake of misinformation, and to the role of journalists and news organizations in combatting this spread. Constructive journalism is a relatively new approach to reporting which, among other aims, looks to increase audience engagement, reduce polarization, and provide a more accurate view of events. In early 2020, we interviewed 16 journalism professionals from Europe (UK inclusive), Australia, Africa, and North America across a range formats to explore their perceptions of the use ‘constructive’ reporting strategies to address the spread of misinformation. We used thematic analysis to produce three themes and six subthemes in journalists’ responses, ‘apathy against the machine’, with subthemes ‘journalism as a moderator’, and ‘news and mental health’; ‘standards as shared reality’, with subthemes, ‘pluralism not postmodernism’, and ‘this means information war’; and ‘truth, trust, and the turn to transparency’, with subthemes, ‘facts necessary but not sufficient’, and ‘principles not particulars’. Constructive journalism was thought to address misinformation by increasing engagement with news and institutions, reducing polarization, providing a sense of shared reality amidst increasingly diverse perspectives, increasing trust, and reducing misperceptions encouraged by selection and reporting strategies. Constructive journalism may be a promising approach to addressing the spread and consequences of misinformation, however, empirical work is needed to evaluate the efficacy of the approach.
Design and Evaluation of a Lactate Microbiosensor: Toward Multianalyte Monitoring of Neurometabolic Markers In Vivo in the Brain

Direct in vivo measurements of neurometabolic markers in the brain with high spatio-temporal resolution, sensitivity, and selectivity is highly important to understand neurometabolism. Electrochemical biosensors based on microelectrodes are very attractive analytical tools for continuous monitoring of neurometabolic markers, such as lactate and glucose in the brain extracellular space at resting and following neuronal activation. Here, we assess the merits of a platinized carbon fiber microelectrode (CFM/Pt) as a sensing platform for developing enzyme oxidase-based microbiosensors to measure extracellular lactate in the brain. Lactate oxidase was immobilized on the CFM/Pt surface by crosslinking with glutaraldehyde. The CFM/Pt-based lactate microbiosensor exhibited high sensitivity and selectivity, good operational stability, and low dependence on oxygen, temperature, and pH. An array consisting of a glucose and lactate microbiosensors, including a null sensor, was used for concurrent measurement of both neurometabolic substrates in vivo in the anesthetized rat brain. Rapid changes of lactate and glucose were observed in the cortex and hippocampus in response to local glucose and lactate application and upon insulin-induced fluctuations of systemic glucose. Overall, these results indicate that microbiosensors are a valuable tool to investigate neurometabolism and to better understand the role of major neurometabolic markers, such as lactate and glucose.
Shigella Outer Membrane Vesicles as Promising Targets for Vaccination

The clinical symptoms of shigellosis, a gastrointestinal infection caused by Shigella spp. range from watery diarrhea to fulminant dysentery. Endemic infections, particularly among children in developing countries, represent the majority of clinical cases. The situation is aggravated due to the high mortality rate of shigellosis, the rapid dissemination of multi-resistant Shigella strains and the induction of only serotype-specific immunity. Thus, infection prevention due to vaccination, encompassing as many of the circulating serotypes as possible, has become a topic of interest. However, vaccines have turned out to be ineffective so far. Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are promising novel targets for vaccination. OMVs are constitutively secreted by Gram-negative bacteria including Shigella during growth. They are composed of soluble luminal portions and an insoluble membrane and can contain toxins, bioactive periplasmic and cytoplasmic (lipo-) proteins, (phospho-) lipids, nucleic acids and/or lipopolysaccharides. Thus, OMVs play an important role in bacterial cell–cell communication, growth, survival and pathogenesis. Furthermore, they modulate the secretion and transport of biomolecules, the stress response, antibiotic resistance and immune responses of the host. Thus, OMVs serve as novel secretion machinery. Here, we discuss the current literature and highlight the properties of OMVs as potent vaccine candidates because of their immunomodulatory, antigenic and adjuvant properties.
Novel CropdocNet Model for Automated Potato Late Blight Disease Detection from Unmanned Aerial Vehicle-Based Hyperspectral Imagery

The accurate and automated diagnosis of potato late blight disease, one of the most destructive potato diseases, is critical for precision agricultural control and management. Recent advances in remote sensing and deep learning offer the opportunity to address this challenge. This study proposes a novel end-to-end deep learning model (CropdocNet) for accurate and automated late blight disease diagnosis from UAV-based hyperspectral imagery. The proposed method considers the potential disease-specific reflectance radiation variance caused by the canopy’s structural diversity and introduces multiple capsule layers to model the part-to-whole relationship between spectral–spatial features and the target classes to represent the rotation invariance of the target classes in the feature space. We evaluate the proposed method with real UAV-based HSI data under controlled and natural field conditions. The effectiveness of the hierarchical features is quantitatively assessed and compared with the existing representative machine learning/deep learning methods on both testing and independent datasets. The experimental results show that the proposed model significantly improves accuracy when considering the hierarchical structure of spectral–spatial features, with average accuracies of 98.09% for the testing dataset and 95.75% for the independent dataset, respectively.
Fatal chytridiomycosis in the Moroccan midwife toad Alytes maurus and potential distribution of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis across Morocco

ABSTRACT Multiple threats, including emerging infectious diseases, are contributing to the extinction of amphibians worldwide. One of the most devastating diseases is the fatal amphibian skin disease chytridiomycosis caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). The presence of Bd in North Africa was described in 2011 and this included the distribution range of the endemic Moroccan midwife toad (Alytes maurus). Here we report new Bd positive occurrences across several distant regions of Morocco, augment the known number of infected species, and describe the first evidence of lethal chytridiomycosis in A. maurus. Although population declines in this species were not recorded, the family Alytidae has been identified as the most susceptible taxonomic group to chytridiomycosis of the Palearctic. An environmental niche model, taking into account new records of Bd in the country, confirms the Mediterranean coast and the Rif and Middle Atlas Mountains as very favourable areas for Bd. Our results suggest that the real impact of chytridiomycosis in North Africa is poorly understood, and that this continent cannot be identified as a region less impacted by chytridiomycosis, as was previously proposed.
The Impact of CEO Duality and Financial Performance on CSR Disclosure: Empirical Evidence from State-Owned Enterprises in China

This paper studies the effects of a firm’s financial performance (FP) and chief executive officer’s (CEO) duality on the quality of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in the context of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) among Chinese A-share-registered companies. The results depict a negative relationship between CEO duality and CSR disclosure. Our results demonstrate that better-performing firms disclose CSR information more frequently and of higher quality compared with firms with poor financial performance. This role of financial performance in the quality of CSR disclosure is generally valuable in public enterprises; however, it is relatively sluggish in state-owned enterprises the outcomes indicate that the dual leadership structure reduces assessments and renders CEOs less liable to their stakeholders. Therefore, this study offers valuable information and details for regulators to improve corporate governance and CSR from the perspective of stakeholder theory.
PROV-GEM: Automated Provenance Analysis Framework using Graph Embeddings

Data provenance graphs, detailed traces of system behavior, are a popular construct to analyze and forecast malicious cyber activity like advanced persistent threats (APT). A critical limitation of existing analysis techniques is the lack of an automated analytic framework to predict APTs. In this work, we address that limitation by augmenting efficient capture and storage mechanisms to include automated analysis. Specifically, we propose PROV-GEM, a deep graph learning framework to identify malicious anomalous behavior from provenance data. Since data provenance graphs are complex datasets often expressed as heterogeneous attributed multiplex networks, we use a unified relation-aware embedding framework to capture the necessary contexts and associated interactions between the various entities manifest in the data. Furthermore, provenance graphs by nature are rich detailed structures that are heavily attributed compared to other complex systems that have been used traditionally in graph machine learning applications. Towards that end, our framework uniquely captures “multi-embeddings” that can represent varied contexts of nodes and their multi-faceted nature. We demonstrate the efficacy of our embeddings by applying PROV-GEM to two publicly available APT provenance graph datasets from StreamSpot and Unicorn. PROV-GEM achieves strong performance on both datasets with a 99% accuracy and 97% F1-score on the StreamSpot dataset, and a 97% accuracy and 89% F1-score on the Unicorn dataset, equaling or outperforming comparable state-of-the-art APT threat detection models. Unlike other frameworks, PROV-GEM utilizes an efficient graph convolutional approach coupled with relational self-attention to generate rich graph embeddings that capture the complex topology of data provenance graphs, providing an effective automated analytic framework for APT detection.
Effects of Hypoxic Environment on Periodontal Tissue through the ROS/TXNIP/NLRP3 Inflammasome Pathway

There is low evidence for the possible association between obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) and periodontitis, necessitating further research. This study was aimed at investigating this association. For the in vitro study, 8-day-old Wistar rats were divided into the unilateral nasal obstruction group (UNO) and the sham surgery group (SHAM). Rats in the former group were subjected to UNO by cauterization of the external nostril at the age of 8 days. Immunofluorescence analysis, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, and western blot were performed to assess the expression of thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP), NLR family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome-associated factors, and interleukin-1β (IL-1β). Throughout the experimental period, the weights of rats in the two groups were similar. The mRNA and protein expression of TXNIP and IL-1β was significantly higher in the UNO than in the SHAM groups. Compared with SHAM, NLRP3 inflammasome-associated factors were activated in the UNO group. For the in vitro study, a cellular hypoxia model was established by treating human periodontal ligament cells (HPDLCs) with cobalt chloride. The studies showed that hypoxia can induce an excessive production and accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in HPDLCs and induce abnormal expression of TNXIP, NLRP3 inflammasome-related factors, and IL-1β. More importantly, N-acetylcysteine induced reduction of ROS in HPDLCs, downregulated TXNIP expression, inhibited the expression and aggregation of NLRP3 inflammasome-related factors, and abrogated the inflammatory response to hypoxia. In conclusion, hypoxia-induced ROS can activate the TXNIP/NLRP3 inflammasome signaling pathway in response to oxidative stress, resulting in the increased expression of inflammatory factors in HPDLCs. Our findings provide evidence for the mechanism underlying the possible association between OSAHS and periodontal disease.
Wireless Ad Hoc Network of MANET, VANET, FANET and SANET: A Review

— Over the past few years, technology has progressed and developed rapidly, where ad hoc networks have contributed a significant part to innovative development. There are four varieties of ad hoc networks such as mobile (MANET), vehicular (VANET), flying (FANET), and sea (SANET). Due to the variation of specifications, these four ad hoc networks have to turn into an alternative for providing connectivity in areas where infrastructure-based networks cannot be deployed. Therefore, this paper sets out a review of these four ad hoc networks, particularly focusing on the characteristics such as routing, density, and mobility. In addition, the variances between the four ad hoc networks are discussed with related works. This paper also outlines the challenges to be addressed in the deployments of these ad hoc networks.