Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
COVID-19 Outcomes in Kidney Transplant Recipients in a German Transplant Center

Kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) show higher morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 than the general population and have an impaired response to vaccination. We analyzed COVID-19 incidence and clinical outcomes in a single-center cohort of approximately 2500 KTRs. Between 1 February 2020 and 1 July 2022, 578 KTRs were infected with SARS-CoV-2, with 25 (4%) recurrent infections. In total, 208 KTRs (36%) were hospitalized, and 39 (7%) died. Among vaccinated patients, infection with the Omicron variant had a mortality of 2%. Unvaccinated patients infected with the Omicron variant showed mortality (9% vs. 11%) and morbidity (hospitalization 52% vs. 54%, ICU admission 12% vs. 18%) comparable to the pre-Omicron era. Multivariable analysis revealed that being unvaccinated (OR = 2.15, 95% CI [1.38, 3.35]), infection in the pre-Omicron era (OR = 3.06, 95% CI [1.92, 4.87]), and higher patient age (OR = 1.04, 95% CI [1.03, 1.06]) are independent risk factors for COVID-19 hospitalization, whereas a steroid-free immunosuppressive regimen was found to reduce the risk of COVID-19 hospitalization (OR = 0.51, 95% CI [0.33, 0.79]). This suggests that both virological changes in the Omicron variant and vaccination reduce the risk for morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 in KTRs. Our data extend the knowledge from the general population to KTRs and provide important insights into outcomes during the Omicron era.
Efficacy of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation for Treating Depression in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury: A Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression of Randomized Controlled Trials

Objective: This meta-analysis aimed to ascertain the efficacy of non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS)—comprising repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)—for depression in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. Methods: Comprehensive searches were conducted in PubMed, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials up to 28 January 2023. Random-effects models assessed the treatment effects, and heterogeneity was evaluated through I2 statistics and funnel plot inspection. Results: From 10 trials (234 participants; 8 rTMS, 2 tDCS), NIBS was found significantly more effective than sham in alleviating depressive symptoms (SMD: 0.588, 95% CI: 0.264–0.912; p < 0.001). rTMS, specifically, showed higher efficacy (SMD: 0.707, 95% CI: 0.306–1.108; p = 0.001) compared to sham, whereas tDCS outcomes were inconclusive (SMD: 0.271, 95% CI: −0.230 to 0.771; p = 0.289). Meta-regression found no correlation with the number of sessions, treatment intensity, or total dose. Notably, while post-treatment effects were significant, they diminished 1–2 months post intervention. Adverse events associated with NIBS were minimal, with no severe outcomes like seizures and suicide reported. Conclusions: rTMS emerged as a potent short-term intervention for depression in TBI patients, while tDCS findings remained equivocal. The long-term efficacy of NIBS is yet to be established, warranting further studies. The low adverse event rate reaffirms NIBS’s potential safety.
The nexus between social media advertising and customers’ purchase intention with the mediating role of customers’ brand consciousness: evidence from three South Asian countries

PurposeThis empirical paper is an endeavor to explore the relationship between social media advertising (SMA) and customers' purchase intention (CPI) in three South Asian countries. SMA was further divided into three relevant dimensions: perceived relevance (PR), perceived informativeness (PI) and perceived credibility (PC). Furthermore, the authors incorporated a single mediator: customers' brand consciousness (CBC) to test the mediating effects on the direct relationships.Design/methodology/approachThe authors purposively selected 1937 fashion-conscious individuals based on a cross-sectional survey design. The authors applied SPSS 25 for explanatory statistics and structural equation modeling (SEM) (through AMOS 25) for testing the hypothesized relationships.FindingsBased on the responses and the application of statistical measures, the authors revealed that all of the three dimensions of SMA have significant positive relationships with CPI. CBC is also significantly and positively related to CPI. Regarding the mediating effects, CBC was identified to have full mediation effects on the relationships between PR and CPI and PI and CPI. On the contrary, the same variable was found to have partial mediation on the relationship between PC and CPI.Originality/valueSouth Asia is a growing business hub and the largest consumer market in terms of population. This empirical study was undertaken to reveal the role of SMA on CPI in the three highly populated South Asian countries, which is rare in academia. The outcomes of this empirical study are expected to be useful for further research attempts regarding SMA and consumer behavior. Businesses and policymakers are also expected to benefit from formulating SMA-related strategies to retain present buyers as well as attract the prospective ones.
Examining Neural Dynamics During Dimensional Label Comprehension and Production as a Function of Dimensional Attention

ABSTRACT Previous research suggests that children’s ability to label visual features (e.g. “red”) and dimensions (e.g. “color”) impacts attention to visual dimensions. The goal of this study is to investigate variations in the quality of the neural system supporting dimensional label comprehension and production in relation to children’s dimensional attention skills. The current study recruited 3- to 4-year-old from the East Tennessee area to complete dimensional label tasks for color labels while recording functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in order to measure hemodynamic changes in left frontal, left parietal, and left temporal cortices previously implicated in dimensional attention. Different aspects of dimensional attention were evaluated using the dimensional priming task (measuring attentional stability), the dimensional change card sort (DCCS) task (measuring flexible dimensional attention), the triad classification task (measuring selective attention), and the matching task (measuring dimensional understanding). Dimensional label learning was measured using a color Production and color Comprehension task. Results indicated that the temporal cortex was activated during the dimensional label tasks. Further, we found that activation in parietal cortex during the dimensional label tasks increased with better performance on the dimensional attention tasks. On the other hand, activation in the temporal cortex and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex during the dimensional label tasks decreased with better performance on the dimensional attention tasks. These results suggest that dimensional attention skills can reveal variations in the quality of neural representations supporting dimensional label learning.
Greenlandic children placed in out-of-home care: The lack of involvement and participation in one’s own life

In Greenland, more than four times as many children are placed in out-of-home care (OHC) as in comparable countries in the Nordic region. This article is based on qualitative interviews with 38 children placed in residential institutions and shows the children’s own experiences of this and the degree to which they were involved in decisions concerning their own lives. The results of the article point to five main findings. First, the interviewed children usually didn’t know why they were placed in institutional care. Secondly, they didn’t know how long they could stay where they lived. Thirdly, the children expressed a wish for more committed staff. Fourthly, the children missed their families, not least because they were often placed far away from home and only had the opportunity to see their families a few times a year. And finally, around half of the children were satisfied to live in the residential institution they’d been placed in. The results are analysed and discussed in a phenomenological framework of recognition theory and participation theory.
Investigation of structure and optical characteristics of irradiated PVP/CMC nanocomposite films based on ZnS/SnO2 nanofillers

PVP/CMC/50%ZnS‐50%SnO2 blends were formed by solid state reaction, sol‐gel methods and casting technique. The structure and the crystallite size of the nanofillers (ZnS and SnO2) were examined using x‐ray diffraction technique (XRD). The effect of laser irradiation energies compared to the proportions of loaded nanofillers on the films internal structure and morphology was studied using XRD. The high miscibility among blends has been confirmed through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The energy dispersive x‐ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis proved the presence of the nanocomposite polymer blends constituent atoms. The blends surface morphology has been investigated through scanning electron microscope (SEM). The dual effect of both different laser energies and oxygen atoms content simultaneously, on the linear and nonlinear optical parameters of nanocomposite films were explored as well. Results showed that, the laser irradiation energy process has the highest enhancement on the optical properties. The optical band gap (Eg) values were reduced from 4.8 eV (in the case of unirradiated blend) to 3.5 eV (for blends irradiated with 150 mJ/cm2) for allowed direct transitions, but for allowed indirect transitions Eg decreased from 3.3 eV (for unirradiated) to 2.2 eV (for irradiated with 150 mJ/cm2).
Multi-Source Remote Sensing Based Modeling of Vegetation Productivity in the Boreal: Issues & Opportunities

Abstract Understanding the processes driving terrestrial vegetation productivity dynamics in boreal ecosystems is critical for accurate assessments of carbon dynamics. Monitoring these dynamics typically requires a fusion of broad-scale remote sensing observations, climate information and other geospatial data inputs, which often have unknown errors, are difficult to obtain, or limit spatial and temporal resolutions of productivity estimates. The past decade has seen notable advances in technologies and the diversity of observed wavelengths from remote sensing instruments, offering new insights on vegetation carbon dynamics. In this communication, we review key current approaches for modeling terrestrial vegetation productivity, followed by a discussion on new remote sensing instruments and derived products including Sentinel-3 Land Surface Temperature, freeze & thaw state from the Soil Moisture & Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission, and soil moisture from the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission. We outline how these products can improve the spatial detail and temporal representation of boreal productivity estimates driven entirely by a fusion of remote sensing observations. We conclude with a demonstration of how these different elements can be integrated across key land cover types in the Hudson plains, an extensive wetland-dominated region of the Canadian boreal, and provide recommendations for future model development.
Assessing the physical vulnerability of the coastal area of Nigeria to climate change

This study assessed the physical vulnerability of the coastal area of Nigeria to climate change effects using indices generated from a group of factors including relief, rock types, landforms, and erosion/deposition rates. Results show the very-high vulnerability class covering the largest proportion, about 53% of the area, amounting to about 23,850 km2, largely found in the Niger Delta region. The next, high-vulnerability class covers 17%, about 7650 km2, found mostly in Lagos State and the northern fringes of the Niger Delta region. The other classes i.e., moderate, low, and very-low vulnerability extend over 10% (4500 km2), 13%, (5850 km2) and 7% (3150 km2) of the coastal area, respectively. While the moderate-vulnerability class is found only in the western part of the coastal area, the low and very-low vulnerability classes dominate the extreme eastern flank and some northern edges of the western part. The low-vulnerability class is found mainly in Ondo, Ogun, Akwa Ibom and the Cross River States. The very-low vulnerability class is found covering the Ewen community of Cross River State only. Given that 70% of Nigeria’s coastal environment falls within very-high and high vulnerability classes, the region is evidently very vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
Global eurolinguistics : European languages in North America : migration, maintenance and death

Focus is on the world-wide phenomenon of linguistic migration to North America. Most treatments of linguistic transfer of European languages to the North American Continent have so far been written within a narrow national-philological framework for each language emigrated, although there are great similarities in the overall history of the migrating languages, both from a micro-linguistic and macro-linguistic point of view. Formal-linguistic phenomena such as for instance borrowing, mixing and code switching occur everywhere in a similar typology of interference and transference which is exemplified in every article of this book. Also the socioethnic development of most north-western European languages in North America demonstrate the same pattern: cultural convergence and loss of distinct ethnic markers in the course of time and change of generations under concomitant loss of the Old World languages. This lack of globality in dealing with the languages emigrated to North America is due to one-sided training in linguistics and is to be seen as an outcome of national upbringing not only in the national philologies but also the nationally-centred type of structural and generative linguistics.
CO2 injection and reservoir characterization : an integrated petrographic and geochemical study of the Frio Formation, Texas

2 LIST OF FIGURES 5 LIST OF TABLES 7 LIST OF APPENDICES 8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 9 INTRODUCTION 11 GEOLOGIC BACKGROUND 13 STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY OF THE FRIO FORMATION 17 PREVIOUS PETROGRAPHIC ANALYSES OF THE FRIO FORMATION 18 Framework Mineralogy Geographic Variation: Lower, Middle & Upper Frio Formation Source Frio Formation: Upper Stratigraphic Unit Diagenesis & Authigenic Minerals Quartz Overgrowths Calcite Clays Feldspar Overgrowths & Dissolution Pyrite Porosity & Permeability FRIO PILOT STUDY 29 Site Selection Well Location & Installation Pilot Experiment Fluid Sampling & Geochemical Results METHODS 34 Sample Collection & Preparation Petrological Analysis Thin Section Analysis Scanning Electron Microscope Geochemical Analysis X-Ray Diffraction Analysis RESULTS 39 Framework Mineralogy of the Upper Frio Formation Diagenesis & Authigenic Mineralogy Compaction Authigenic Mineralogy Clays Pyrite Distribution Frequency in Frio
Improving feeding skills and transition to breastfeeding in early preterm infants: a randomized controlled trial of oromotor intervention

Introduction Oromotor therapy exercises used for preterm infants in the NICU might promote oral-motor skills and shorten discharge day. This study investigates the impact of an oral-motor therapy program on the successful transition to breastfeeding (BF) and the enhancement of feeding skills in preterm infants below 30 weeks of gestational age who experience feeding intolerance. Methods The intervention group received oral-motor therapy programme for one month, while the control group did not. The feeding skills were evaluated by Early Feeding Skills Assessment Tool (EFS) and Preterm Oral Feeding Readiness Scales (POFRAS). Results There was a significant difference in EFS and POFRAS scores, transition to bottle feeding at discharge and transition to BF after discharge between babies given oral-motor therapy programme and controls (p < 0.05). While the transition time to full enteral feeds did not vary significantly between the groups, noteworthy outcomes were observed in the intervention group, including differences in feeding type at discharge, the nature of feeds at discharge, and the success of transitioning to breastfeeding after discharge. Discussion We conclude that the oromotor therapy exercises in NICU improves the quality of sucking, contributes to better oromotor skills and promotes transition to enteral feeding and BF in preterm babies. Clinical Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier (NCT05845684).
Explainable deep learning in plant phenotyping

The increasing human population and variable weather conditions, due to climate change, pose a threat to the world's food security. To improve global food security, we need to provide breeders with tools to develop crop cultivars that are more resilient to extreme weather conditions and provide growers with tools to more effectively manage biotic and abiotic stresses in their crops. Plant phenotyping, the measurement of a plant's structural and functional characteristics, has the potential to inform, improve and accelerate both breeders' selections and growers' management decisions. To improve the speed, reliability and scale of plant phenotyping procedures, many researchers have adopted deep learning methods to estimate phenotypic information from images of plants and crops. Despite the successful results of these image-based phenotyping studies, the representations learned by deep learning models remain difficult to interpret, understand, and explain. For this reason, deep learning models are still considered to be black boxes. Explainable AI (XAI) is a promising approach for opening the deep learning model's black box and providing plant scientists with image-based phenotypic information that is interpretable and trustworthy. Although various fields of study have adopted XAI to advance their understanding of deep learning models, it has yet to be well-studied in the context of plant phenotyping research. In this review article, we reviewed existing XAI studies in plant shoot phenotyping, as well as related domains, to help plant researchers understand the benefits of XAI and make it easier for them to integrate XAI into their future studies. An elucidation of the representations within a deep learning model can help researchers explain the model's decisions, relate the features detected by the model to the underlying plant physiology, and enhance the trustworthiness of image-based phenotypic information used in food production systems.
Modification of Acorn Starch Structure and Properties by High Hydrostatic Pressure

Despite being rich in starch, over half of acorn production is undervalued. High hydrostatic pressure was used to modify the properties of Q. pyrenaica (0.1 and 460 MPa for 20 min) and Q. robur (0.1 and 333 MPa for 17.4 min) acorn starches to obtain high-valued ingredients. Pressure significantly altered the span distribution and heterogeneity of the acorn starch granules depending on the species, but their morphology was unaffected. Pressurization increased the amylose/amylopectin ratio and damaged starch contents, but the effect was more prominent in Q. pyrenaica than in Q. robur. However, the polymorphism, relative crystallinity, gelatinization temperatures, and enthalpies were preserved. The pressure effect on the starch properties depended on the property and species. The solubility, swelling power, and acorn gels’ resistance towards deformation for both species decreased after pressurization. For Q. pyrenaica starch, the in vitro digestibility increased, but the pseudoplastic behavior decreased after pressurization. No differences were seen for Q. robur. Regarding the commercial starch, acorn starches had lower gelatinization temperatures and enthalpies, lower in vitro digestibility, lower resistance towards deformation, superior pseudoplastic behavior, and overall higher solubility and swelling power until 80 °C. This encourages the usage of acorn starches as a new food ingredient.
Strategies Used by Malaysian ESL Primary School Teachers in Vocabulary Teaching

The effectiveness of vocabulary instruction on language development has been of interest in the field of language teaching, especially with the rise of the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach. Effective vocabulary instruction should balance both explicit and incidental learning. However, the strategies employed by teachers in teaching vocabulary remain under-explored, particularly in the Malaysian context. To address this gap in research, this study aimed to investigate the strategies used by Malaysian ESL primary school teachers in teaching vocabulary, using a survey instrument based on the Taxonomy of Vocabulary Learning Strategies (VLS). A total of 57 teachers participated in the online survey. The high reliability of the survey items, as indicated by a Cronbach's Alpha value of 0.92, confirms the usefulness of the survey instrument in future research. The results of the study showed that teachers predominantly rely on explicit teaching methods, such as rote memorization, to teach vocabulary. Although the teachers perceived these methods as effective, they may limit students' language development. Hence, the findings suggest a need for teachers to adopt a more diverse and implicit approach to vocabulary teaching. In conclusion, this preliminary study highlights the reliability and feasibility of using the VLS survey instrument in examining vocabulary teaching strategies in the Malaysian classroom. Further research is needed to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the strategies used by teachers and the impact of these strategies on students' vocabulary development.
Synthesis of High Entropy and Entropy-Stabilized Metal Sulfides and Their Evaluation as Hydrogen Evolution Electrocatalysts

High entropy metal chalcogenides are materials containing five or more elements within a disordered sublattice. These materials exploit a high configurational entropy to stabilize their crystal structure and have recently become an area of significant interest for renewable energy applications such as electrocatalysis and thermoelectrics. Herein, we report the synthesis of bulk particulate HE zinc sulfide analogues containing four, five, and seven metals. This was achieved using a molecular precursor cocktail approach with both transition and main group metal dithiocarbamate complexes which are decomposed simultaneously in a rapid (1 h) and low-temperature (500 °C) thermolysis reaction to yield high entropy and entropy-stabilized metal sulfides. The resulting materials were characterized by powder XRD, SEM, and TEM, alongside EDX spectroscopy at both the micro- and nano-scales. The entropy-stabilized (CuAgZnCoMnInGa)S material was demonstrated to be an excellent electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction when combined with conducting carbon black, achieving a low onset overpotential of (∼80 mV) and η10 of (∼255 mV).
Dispersive shocks and spectral analysis for linearized Quantum Hydrodynamics

In this paper we perform the analysis of spectral properties of the linearized system around constant states and dispersive shock for a 1-D compressible Euler system with dissipation--dispersion terms. The dispersive term is originated by the quantum effects described through the Bohm potential, as customary in Quantum Hydrodynamic models. The analysis performed in this paper includes the computation of the linearized operator and the spectral stability through the Evans function method.