Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Importance of Artificial Intelligence in Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Recently, there has been a growing interest in the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine, especially in specialties where visualization methods are applied. AI is defined as a computer’s ability to achieve human cognitive performance, which is accomplished through enabling computer “learning”. This can be conducted in two ways, as machine learning and deep learning. Deep learning is a complex learning system involving the application of artificial neural networks, whose algorithms imitate the human form of learning. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy allows examination of the esophagus, stomach and duodenum. In addition to the quality of endoscopic equipment and patient preparation, the performance of upper endoscopy depends on the experience and knowledge of the endoscopist. The application of artificial intelligence in endoscopy refers to computer-aided detection and the more complex computer-aided diagnosis. The application of AI in upper endoscopy is aimed at improving the detection of premalignant and malignant lesions, with special attention on the early detection of dysplasia in Barrett’s esophagus, the early detection of esophageal and stomach cancer and the detection of H. pylori infection. Artificial intelligence reduces the workload of endoscopists, is not influenced by human factors and increases the diagnostic accuracy and quality of endoscopic methods.
The relationship between ischemia-modified albumin/albumin ratio levels and disease severity in COVID-19 patients

Objectives: In COVID-19 infection, oxidative stress occurs with the abnormal release of proinflammatory cytokines and the disruption of the balance between oxidants and antioxidants. In our study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between ischemia-modified albumin (IMA), a biomarker of oxidative stress, and the severity of the disease in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Methods: One hundred and twenty-four hospitalized patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19 were included in the study. These patients were divided into critical and non-critical groups. Serum IMA levels were measured by the colorimetric albumin cobalt-binding method. The IMA-albumin ratio (IMAR) was calculated by dividing IMA values by albumin values. Results: The IMA and IMAR values of the critical COVID-19 group were statistically significantly higher than the non-critical group. In the multivariate analysis, the two variables IMAR and glucose were found to have the most important role in the severity of COVID-19 disease. For IMAR, the area under the ROC curve had a value of 0.725 (95% confidence interval 0.636–0.803). Conclusion: IMA and IMAR levels of the critical group were found to be higher than the non-critical group in COVID patients. We have observed that IMAR levels are associated with the severity of the disease and that IMAR is an independent prognostic risk factor for the disease.
Transcranial Photosensitizer-Free Laser Treatment of Glioblastoma in Rat Brain

Over sixty years, laser technologies have undergone a technological revolution and become one of the main tools in biomedicine, particularly in neuroscience, neurodegenerative diseases and brain tumors. Glioblastoma is the most lethal form of brain cancer, with very limited treatment options and a poor prognosis. In this study on rats, we demonstrate that glioblastoma (GBM) growth can be suppressed by photosensitizer-free laser treatment (PS-free-LT) using a quantum-dot-based 1267 nm laser diode. This wavelength, highly absorbed by oxygen, is capable of turning triplet oxygen to singlet form. Applying 1267 nm laser irradiation for a 4 week course with a total dose of 12.7 kJ/cm2 firmly suppresses GBM growth and increases survival rate from 34% to 64%, presumably via LT-activated apoptosis, inhibition of the proliferation of tumor cells, a reduction in intracranial pressure and stimulation of the lymphatic drainage and clearing functions. PS-free-LT is a promising breakthrough technology in non- or minimally invasive therapy for superficial GBMs in infants as well as in adult patients with high photosensitivity or an allergic reaction to PSs.
Navigating Power Dynamics in Virtual Interviews with Sex Workers during COVID-19: A Researcher-Participant Perspective

Sex workers may show extreme sensitivity to power relations during qualitative research due to the previous experiences of stigmatization and marginalization. The purpose of this article is to analyze how technologically mediated communication between researchers and participants during an interview may influence the scope of control exercised by the interactional partners. During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, I conducted 16 qualitative phone and videoconference interviews with female sex workers in Poland discussing the social stigmas they encounter. Each interview was followed up with extensive field notes that were analyzed using the procedures of grounded theory methodology. These very field notes serve as the basis for the paper herein. As a result of the analysis, I distinguished areas of power negotiated by the interviewer and interviewees in successive phases: before, during, and after the interview. The sense of control over the respective aspects of a study may contribute to the establishment of a more democratic power relationship between the researcher and the participants who belong to a population bearing a stigma.
ESTUDO EXPERIMENTAL DE MICRORRESERVATÓRIOS PARA CONTROLE DO ESCOAMENTO SUPERFICIAL

The uncontrolled expansion of the majority of the cities has been generating many infrastructure problems and environmental impacts. Concerning to water resources, problems of provisioning, pollution and floods are more and more frequent. As the city is urbanized and it is made waterproof, there are several impacts that to cause or worsen the urban floods. In urban drainage systems it is necessary to rethink the usual procedures, looking for alternatives to the traditional solutions. A possible solution for these problems is the application of source control, mainly on-site stormwater detention (OSD). This work has the main objective of experimentally verifying the performance of OSD in the run-off control. An experimental module was built at the IPH, composed by an OSD with volume of 1m3, monitored by linigraphs that register the inflow and outflow, from a contributing area of 337,5m2. The gauging period began in August of 2000 and extended to January of 2001. The collected data allowed an analysis of the efficiency of this device in the run-off control, as well as a study of the real need for maintenance of the structure. It was also made an analysis of the impact of the sediments (foliages) in the performance of the outflow devices. The work also makes a contribution to design criteria of OSD. Finally, it was possible to observe that the OSD is efficient to control pick outflows, but the system did not allow an increase in the response time of the basin.
Visual navigation for mobile robots using the Bag-of-Words algorithm

Robust long-term positioning for autonomous mobile robots is essential for many applications. In many environments this task is challenging, as errors accumulate in the robot’s position estimate over time. The robot must also build a map so that these errors can be corrected when mapped regions are re-visited; this is known as Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping, or SLAM. Successful SLAM schemes have been demonstrated which accurately map tracks of tens of kilometres, however these schemes rely on expensive sensors such as laser scanners and inertial measurement units. A more attractive, low-cost sensor is a digital camera, which captures images that can be used to recognise where the robot is, and to incrementally position the robot as it moves. SLAM using a single camera is challenging however, and many contemporary schemes suffer complete failure in dynamic or featureless environments, or during erratic camera motion. An additional problem, known as scale drift, is that cameras do not directly measure the scale of the environment, and errors in relative scale accumulate over time, introducing errors into the robot’s speed and position estimates. Key to a successful visual SLAM system is the ability to continue operation despite these difficulties, and to recover from positioning failure when it occurs. This thesis describes the development of such a scheme, which is known as BoWSLAM. BoWSLAM enables a robot to reliably navigate and map previously unknown environments, in real-time, using only a single camera. In order to position a camera in visually challenging environments, BoWSLAM combines contemporary visual SLAM techniques with four new components. Firstly, a new Bag-of-Words (BoW) scheme is developed, which allows a robot to recognise places it has visited previously, without any prior knowledge of its environment. This BoW scheme is also used to select the best set of frames to reconstruct positions from, and to find efficient wide-baseline correspondences between many pairs of frames. Secondly, BaySAC, a new outlierrobust relative pose estimation scheme based on the popular RANSAC framework, is developed. BaySAC allows the efficient computation of multiple position hypotheses for each frame. Thirdly, a graph-based representation of these position hypotheses is proposed, which enables the selection of only reliable position estimates in the presence of gross outliers. Fourthly, as the robot explores, objects in the world are recognised and measured. These measurements enable scale drift to be corrected. BoWSLAM is demonstrated mapping a 25 minute 2.5km trajectory through a challenging and dynamic outdoor environment in real-time, and without any other sensor input; considerably further than previous single camera SLAM schemes.
Determinants of Economic Growth, Poverty, and Unemployment: A Path Analysis Study

The main objective of this study is to reveal the role of regional own-source revenues, development spending, and regional minimum wages for economic growth, poverty, and unemployment in this research. A quantitative approach with path analysis was used in this study, which was in Cities and Regencies in Bali Province for the 2015-2021 period. A sample of 62 was analyzed using multiple linear regression methods. The results of the study state that Original Local Government Revenue (PAD), development expenditures, and regional minimum wages have a significant and positive effect on economic growth. PAD and regional minimum wages have a significant and positive effect on poverty, and development spending has a significant and negative effect. PAD does not affect unemployment. Development spending and regional minimum wages significantly and positively affect unemployment.
The Implementation of Using Schoology in Foreign Language Teaching Media Class: Students’ Perception

This study aims to investigate students’ perceptions towards the use of Schoology platform in Foreign Language Teaching Media class. The participants of this study consist of 26 students from the students of Foreign Language Teaching Media class A in the fifth semester of the academic year 2019/2020. The qualitative data were analyzed by students’ reflection. The results of the research revealed that the students’ responded positively to the use of Schoology in the Foreign Language Teaching Media Class. The students also find out the use of Schoology in Foreign Language Teaching Media Class beneficial for them. The benefits of Schoology is it can help students to access the material or tasks easily and they can send assignments whenever and wherever. The use of Schoology in the classroom still has a weakness that are network connection and need quota. This study implies that, the use of Schoology in the Foreign Language Teaching Media class should be encouraged in order to improve the students’ motivation in learning and the students can understand the material easily when the teacher explains the material in classroom.
Comparative Study on Normal and Nubbin Fruits of Some Mango Cultivars

This study was carried out during 2007 and 2008 seasons on 20 years old trees of Ewais, Hindi Bisinnara, Hindi Khassa and Bullocks Heart mango cultivars. The study aimed to compare between normal and nubbin fruits of the studied cultivars. Results indicated that the highest percentage of nubbin fruits was recorded with Bullocks Heart cultivar followed by Ewais and Hindi khassa cultivars. Meanwhile the lowest percentage was achieved with Hindi Bisinnara cultivar. Number of normal fruits was higher than the nubbin fruits for all tested cultivars. Ewais trees produced the maximum number of nubbin fruits comparing to the other tested cultivars. Trees of the four tested cultivars produced higher significant yield of normal fruits than nubbin fruits. Bullocks Heart and Ewais trees produced higher yield of normal and nubbin fruits than the other tested cultivars. Fruit length, width and thickness were significantly of grater values for normal fruits than for nubbin fruits. Normal fruits recorded higher fruit and pulp weight than the nubbin fruits. Meanwhile, the pulp stone ratio was higher in nubbin fruits than the normal fruits. The normal fruits contained higher acidity than the nubbin one. The nubbin fruits were higher in their TSS, total sugars and TSS/ acid ratio than the normal fruits. Nubbin fruits recorded higher weight loss and decayed earlier than the normal fruits when kept at room temperature for two weeks. Analysis of endogenous hormones revealed that, the normal fruits contained higher concentrations of gibberellins and cytokinins and lower concentrations of auxins and abscissic acid comparing to the nubbin fruits. These findings explain the reasons of making mango nubbin fruits have a slower growth rate than the seeded one and small in size, and most of these fruits dropped and fail to reach full size.
The Bengal Delta : ecology, state and social change, 1840-1943

Tables, Maps and Illustrations Preface and Acknowledgements Abbreviations Glossary Introduction Ecology and Agrarian Relations in the Nineteenth Century Economy and Society: The Myth and Reality of 'Sonar Bangla' Political Ecology of the Peasant: The Faraizi Movement Between Revolution and Passive Resistance Return of the Bhadralok: Agrarian Environment and the Nation The Railways and the Water Regime Fighting With a Weed: Water Hyacinth, the State and the Public Square Between Food Availability Decline and Entitlement Exchange: An Ecological Prehistory of the Great Bengal Famine of 1943 Reflections Notes Appendixes Bibliography Index
Effects of Perceived Value and Customer Service on Brand Satisfaction

Abstract In the current environment, consumers increasingly make demands of brands, forcing them to adapt to consumers’ needs. As a consequence, it is important to study the variables that influence customer satisfaction when buying their favorite brands. This study analyzes three constructs as follows: perceived value, customer service and satisfaction. A questionnaire built on validated scales was completed by 1,521 individuals using the PLS-SEM model. The results reveal that perceived value and customer service positively influence brand satisfaction. Thus, perceived value acts as a complementary mediating variable and high levels of customer service directly increase satisfaction.
Consumer dining duration and spending: The role of emotional labour practice in the restaurant industry

This paper centres on examining the link between emotional labour and dinning duration within the restaurant industry. In this study emotional labour practice was modelled as one of the crucial predictors of dining duration. This study adopted a multiple case study using a cross sectional design approach. The target population was 480 dyads encounters in 6 of the most popular fast food restaurant chains in Harare. Some 214 seat-in customers were the unit of analysis while wait staff were the unit of observation. In terms of responses, 200 responses were attained and were deemed sufficient for meaningful Structural Equation Modelling. The quantitative approach employed a self-completed structured questionnaire in collecting data. A structural equation modelling was run to test the direct effects, a multi-group structural equation modelling was run to test the moderating effects of categorical variables, and a moderated multiple regression was run to test the moderation effects of the latent variables. The study revealed various factors that influence the connection between emotional labour and dinning duration such as the gender factor of the people involved, the rate and strength of the interaction between restaurant employees and the clients. The outcome directed that emotional labour is positively associated with consumer dining duration. The consumer dining duration is in turn associated with consumer expenditures within the restaurant. However, all the hypothesised moderators had no statistically significant effect. The study recommended the use of emotional labour as one of the predictors for increased revenue in the restaurant industry through increased consumer spending as mediated by the dining duration under the scenario of excess capacity and limited demand.
Differences in Creative Thinking Ability of Vocational High School Students in Solving Contextual Mathematical Problems

In learning activities, various problems that are often encountered include students who still do not understand the material, or students abilities that are not yet clear, so that teachers find it difficult to apply appropriate learning. In this study, the aim was to obtain information about several aspects of students creative thinking skills in solving contextual mathematics problems for class XI SMK Islamic Center Cirebon. The population is 750 students, with a sample of 238 students. The type of research used in this research is quantitative, by analyzing the results in the form of numbers that are processed by statistical analysis. The findings of this study indicate that the students creative thinking ability shows that contextual mathematical problem solving is still in the very low category with an average value of 37,78. But in it there is an aspect of Elaboration with an average value of 61,13 which is in the medium category. Thus, in solving contextual mathematical problems, especially in Three Dimensional Geometry, the ability to think in detail is sufficient when making image objects that are easier to understand from the illustrations provided. Therefore, the ability to think in the Elaboration aspect must be maintained and the Fluency, Flexibility, and Originality aspects must be further improved. The results showed that there were significant differences between the ability to think creatively with each major, including the best major is Accounting and Financial Institutions (AKL). Teachers can maintain relationships with fellow teachers and establish better communication so that mathematics learning is achieved even though students come from different majors
Unleashing the Potential: An Integrated Analysis of Human Resource and Marketing Strategies in Empowering East Java's Tourism SMEs

This study examines the implementation of human resource management (HRM) and marketing strategies in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within East Java's tourism sector. The imperative for examination arises from the observation that tourism SMEs in Indonesia have not yet fully regained their pre-COVID-19 pandemic level of recovery. There is also a lack of holistic research of HRM and marketing strategies implementation in SMEs in the tourism sector in East Java. The research involves 1320 respondents from 440 tourism SMEs and utilizes the Path Analysis method. The findings highlight significant relationships between spiritual marketing, innovation culture, quality of work life, and rewards within SMEs. These factors positively influence the market orientation of SMEs, facilitating the development of products and services that meet market demands, enhance customer experiences, and foster competitive advantage. Additionally, the study reveals that the interplay of spiritual marketing, innovation culture, quality of work life, and rewards directly impacts individual performance, consequently leading to enhanced overall SME performance, as measured by marketing performance.This research contributes to the existing body of knowledge in business research, offering valuable insights into the current dynamics of tourism SMEs in the region. Moreover, it provides strategic solutions to address the decline in tourist arrivals post the COVID-19 pandemic.
Impact of Eggshell Powder on the Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Lightweight Geopolymer

Adopting proper waste management technology in the place of the construction industry to the extent possible to lower the production of new materials and intern reduces the environmental impact pertaining to the industry. In this work, eggshell powder (ESP; waste from the poultry industry) and fly ash (FA; waste from combustion of coal) were utilized as precursors for producing geopolymer and to substitute conventional cement-based construction materials. Three different weight percentage ratios of precursors, namely, 90FA:10ESP, 80FA:20ESP, and 70FA:30ESP were reinforced with two different weight percentages, namely, 15 and 30 wt% of paddy straw in the presence of suitable combinations of sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide to obtain lightweight geopolymer panels. Results received from different analytical tests, namely, density, water absorption, compressive strength, and flexural strength infer that the incorporation of ESP enhances the performance of the geopolymer products to a considerable extent. The specimen sample made using 70FA:30ESP in the absence of paddy straw reinforcement possesses a compressive strength value of 15.64 MPa, which is higher than that of paddy straw reinforced panels. It was observed that there was a reverse trend noticed in the case of flexural behavior on reinforcement of paddy straw, namely, 15 wt% possesses a higher value than that of the panel (70FA:30ESP) made using in the absence of reinforcement. The lowest thermal conductivity value was observed at 0.0633 W/m·K for the sample 90FA:10ESP reinforced with 30% paddy straw. Data from different studies infer that using ESP and paddy straw reinforcement influences strength properties and thermal conductivity. The present study indicates valid information related to the using biowastes for the production of insulation materials and environmental preservation and energy conservation.