Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Control of Heterobasidion in Norway Spruce Stands: The Impact of Stump Cover on Efficacy of Urea and Phlebiopsis gigantea and Implications for Forest Management

This study investigated the efficacy of Rotstop®, a native Latvian Phlebiopsis gigantea strain and 35% urea solution in combination with a stump cover treatment to control against natural spore infection by Heterobasidion spp. upon precommercial thinning of Norway spruce in three stands growing on former agricultural lands. The major findings were that (i) infection rates of Heterobasidion spp. on stumps treated with the native P. gigantea strain, Rotstop® or urea are similar when stumps are uncovered, and (ii) stump cover promotes stump colonization by the Latvian P. gigantea strain and Rotstop®, leading to a significantly smaller relative area colonized by Heterobasidion spp. , as well greater efficiency against Heterobasidion in comparison with urea. Covering of stumps appears beneficial for controlling Heterobasidion stump colonization and may be valuable to forest owners if used in small-scale operations, but it is impractical in automatized thinnings, where managers should consider using regular Rotstop® without covering the stumps.
Systematic Multiscale Method for Studying the Structure–Performance Relationship of Drug-Delivery Systems

A systematic multiscale method is presented for studying the structure–performance relationship of drug-delivery systems (DDSs). The objective is to provide direction and guidelines toward the design and development of novel DDSs. Atomic simulation methods are used to evaluate the interactions between each pair of components in a DDS, from which the compatibility between drug and carriers can be well-predicted. Mesoscale simulation is applied to investigate the mesostructures of DDSs, from which the performances of products can be predicted. Finally, the drug-loaded nanoparticles can be prepared and evaluated through experiments involving loading efficiency, drug-release behaviors, and so on. The hydrophobic drugs doxorubicin and paclitaxel were considered as examples. The multiscale approach was used to investigate the structure–performance relationship of DDSs for these two drugs. All of the experimental results agreed well with the simulation results, indicating that the systematic multiscale method ca.
The postcode lottery of safety: COVID-19 guidance and shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) for UK police officers

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant changes to police working practices involving the enhanced wearing of personal protective equipment (PPE), and ways of working inside and outside of police stations. The safety guidance released by the various government agencies has been conflicting, confusing and unhelpfully flexible, and there are significant discrepancies between some of the 43 forces of England and Wales. This article draws on primary interview data with 18 police officers from 11 UK police forces to explore the problems that officers faced in accessing appropriate PPE and the difficulties in obtaining and understanding accurate coronavirus health and safety information.
Safety and Efficacy of Sofosbuvir Based Regimens in Treating Chronic ‎Hepatitis C Virus in Egyptian Patients: Real World Study: Single Center ‎Experience

Mohamed Abbasy, Tamer Abou Elela, Olfat Hendy, Omkolsoum Al-Haddad, Ehab Darwiesh, Tary Salman, Talat Zakareya 1 Department of Hepatology, National Liver Institute, Menoufia University, Egypt 2 Department of Gastroenterology, National Hepatology and Tropical Medicine Research Institute, Egypt 3 Department of Clinical Pathology, National Liver Institute, MenoufiaUniversity, Egypt. 4 Department of Tropical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Egypt .
Clientelism, Public Goods Provision, and Governance

It is widely believed that clientelism—the giving of material goods in return for electoral support—is associated with poorer development outcomes. However, systematic crosscountry evidence on the deleterious effects of clientelism on development outcomes is lacking. In this paper we examine the relationship between political clientelism, public goods provision, and governance quality using cross-country panel data for 161 countries for the period 1900–2017. We distinguish between two manifestations of political clientelism— whether vote buying exists, and whether political parties offer material goods to their constituents in exchange for political support (non-programmatic party linkages). We find negative effects of political clientelism on development outcomes, with increases in clientelism leading to lower coverage of welfare programmes, increased political corruption, and weaker rule of law. We also find that the deleterious effects of political clientelism are mainly through non-programmatic party linkages rather than the practice of vote buying.
Recognition of ischaemia and infection in diabetic foot ulcer: A deep convolutional neural network based approach

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) result in amputation of lower limbs or feet without timely assessment and treatment. The assessment of DFUs is performed by the diagnosis of DFU ischaemia and infection. In this work, a new deep convolutional neural network (CNN) based approach (ResKNet) is proposed to perform such assessment. The proposed network consists of a series of unique residual blocks of 2D convolution, batch normalization, and LeakyReLU with skip connections. It has been experimentally observed that a shallower network with 4 such unique residual blocks (Res4Net) can achieve promising results in ischaemia recognition, with an impressive AUC value of 0.9968. However in case of infection recognition, a network with 7 such residual blocks (Res7Net) achieved the best performance, with an AUC value of 0.8890. Such improvements to the current state‐of‐the‐art results suggests that the proposed approach can provide significant help to medical experts, for automatic assessment of DFU.
PEER INSTRUCTION IN A FLIPPED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT: EXAMINING ESL STUDENTS’ PARTICIPATION IN WRITING ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS

Over the years, peer instruction and flipped learning approach has indicated its usefulness in teaching and learning. However, studies on how peer instruction in a flipped learning environment encourage active student participation in writing remain limited in Malaysia. Therefore, this study examines ESL students’ participation during peer instruction in the flipped learning environment when composing argumentative essays. A total of 120 upper intermediate students undergoing an English proficiency course at a teacher education institution in Malaysia participated in this study. Qualitative data were gathered from student assessment forms (pair work and group work), lesson study logs, EdPuzzle video quizzes, and samples of student worksheets. Descriptive interpretations and thematic analysis were used to analyse textual data. The findings revealed that ESL students participated in this study by engaging themselves in interactions during in-class writing activities, contributing knowledge to others, getting prepared with the essential concepts and content before class, focusing on the task, and assessing the quality of argumentative writing. The findings implicate that teachers should consider the use of peer instruction in a flipped learning environment for students to engage actively in the teaching and learning of argumentative essay writing.
Students’ perceptions of and learning practices in online timed take-home examinations during Covid-19

Abstract Students’ perception and learning practices about online timed take-home examinations and the factors affecting students’ learning practices in the presence of Covid-19 have largely been unexplored. Nine students of arts, business and science sub-degree programmes participated in this study. Semi-structured interviews and reflective journals were used to collect data. Findings indicate students’ perceptions cover types and level of difficulty of examination questions, the use of online platforms, time spans, benefits and challenges of take-home examinations. The learning practices encompassed in-class online learning, after-class learning commitments and the responses during take-home examinations. The help of instructors, the participants’ personal characteristics, the assessment design and online platforms are factors that affected the participants’ learning practices. Pedagogical implications and future studies of take-home examinations are discussed.
Nutrient digestibility, nitrogen balance and rumen fermentation parameters of West African dwarf goats offered treated maize stover supplemented with Gmelina arborea

A large portion of agricultural crop residues are potential feed resources for ruminants in the tropics. This study therefore, investigated the intake, nutrient digestibility, nitrogen utilisation and rumen fermentation parameters of West African dwarf goats (WAD) fed treated and untreated maize stover supplemented with Gmelina arborea . Twenty male WAD goats (11.50 ± 0.45 kg body weight) were randomly allotted into four treatments with five animals each. Untreated maize stover (MS), urea treated maize stover (UT), molasses treated maize stover (MT) and urea-molasses treated maize stover (UMT) were supplemented with 300 g Gmelina arborea (G) and were offered to each group for three weeks. MS had highest dry matter (DM; 87.1%), neutral detergent fibre (76%), acid detergent fibre (45%) and acid detergent lignin (6%) contents (P<0.05). Crude protein content was high in UT (12.5%) and UMT (13%). Animals fed UMT+G recorded higher DM intake and digestibility, whereas crude protein digestibility was higher in animals on UT+G (72.8%) and UMT+G (76.2%). Nitrogen intake was more in goats fed UMT+G (P<0.05) and least in MS+G fed group. Higher nitrogen was absorbed and retained by goats on UMT+G. The pH of the ruminal fluid was not affected by the dietary treatments. Concentrations of ammonia‑nitrogen and total volatile fatty acids were higher in UMT+G fed animals. Thus, UMT+G is a good option for proper nutritional utilisation of maize stover which can easily be adopted by farmers given the availability of materials ( Gmelina arborea , maize stover, urea and molasses) and simplicity of the technology involved in the treatment of the stover.
Migrants’ Vulnerabilities and Their Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of Mobile Shoe Shine Boys in the Cape Coast Metropolis

Covid-19 pandemic has impacted socio-economic activities in sub-Saharan Africa and Ghana for that matter. Occupations in the informal sector such as shoe-shine business have been affected by the disease outbreak. This paper focuses on migrant vulnerabilities and their responses to Covid-19 with a specific focus on shoe-shine boys in Cape Coast Metropolis. The study is guided by the IOM determinants of migrant vulnerability model, empirical review on the shoe-shine business and conceptual framework on shoe-shine business within the informal sector. Using an interview guide, ten shoe-shine boys were interviewed in the Cape Coast Metropolis. Their responses were transcribed and a content analysis was employed to analyze the data. The main challenges caused by Covid-19 were the reduction in income, decrease in customer base and changes in the nature of work. The study concluded that the irregular nature of the shoe-shine business exacerbated the impact of the covid-19 on the occupation but individual coping strategies were key in ensuring the sustainability of the occupation.
Neutral Wind Profiles During Periods of Eastward and Westward Equatorial Electrojet

The equatorial electrojet (EEJ) is a band of zonal electric current flowing along the magnetic equator in the dayside E‐region ionosphere. The direction of the EEJ is often eastward but sometimes westward. The mechanism for generating westward EEJ is not fully understood. This study examines the relationship between the eastward/westward EEJ and equatorial neutral winds using simultaneous observations of the EEJ from the European Space Agency's Swarm satellite mission and thermospheric winds from the Michelson Interferometer for Global High‐resolution Thermospheric Imaging on NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer mission during December 2019–January 2021. Significant differences are found in the average zonal wind profiles between times of eastward and westward EEJ. The EEJ intensity correlates negatively (R = −0.54) and positively (R = 0.58) with the eastward wind velocities at ∼110 and ∼140 km, respectively. The results suggest that the modulation of the zonal electric field by the equatorial zonal wind plays a role in producing the westward EEJ.
The Optimal Reinsurance Strategy under Conditional Tail Expectation (CTE) and Wang’s Premium Principle

In this study, we take the conditional tail expectation (CTE) as the constraint condition and consider the optimal reinsurance issues under Wang’s premium principle in general insurance contracts. With the confidence level and the distortion function in Wang’s premium principle given by the insurer in advance, a threshold can be obtained. When the insurer’s risk tolerance level is greater than this value, the optimal reinsurance is a proportional reinsurance in which the deductible equals to this value, else the optimal form of reinsurance is a stop-loss reinsurance. Corresponding numerical examples and economic explanations are also given.
Empirical α–β runout modelling of snow avalanches in the Catalan Pyrenees

Abstract A variation in the α−β model which is a regression model that allows a deterministic prediction of the extreme runout to be expected in a given path, was applied for calculating avalanche runout in the Catalan Pyrenees. Present knowledge of major avalanche activity in this region and current mapping tools were used. The model was derived using a dataset of 97 ‘extreme’ avalanches that occurred from the end of 19th century to the beginning of 21st century. A multiple linear regression model was obtained using three independent variables: inclination of the avalanche path, horizontal length and area of the starting zone, with a good fit of the function (R2 = 0.81). A larger starting zone increases the runout and a larger length of the path reduces the runout. The new updated equation predicts avalanche runout for a return period of ~100 years. To study which terrain variables explain the extreme values of the avalanche dataset, a comparative analysis of variables that influence a longer or shorter runout was performed. The most extreme avalanches were treated. The size of the avalanche path and the aspect of the starting zone showed certain association between avalanches with longer or shorter runouts.
Employee
attitudes on TQM implementation and job satisfaction in public health sector

The quality of service in the public health sector is an essential aspect that influences patient satisfaction. Providing quality in public health sector means delivering health service in an affordable, safe and effective manner, with minimal risk and harm for patients. In other words, it means fulfilling patients’ needs and surpassing their expectations. In order to provide patients with good-quality and satisfactory service, many public health organizations implement quality standards that contribute with many benefits and advantages, among which employee satisfaction stands out. The objective of the research was to evaluate the attitude of employees in public health institutes towards the dimensions of job satisfaction and their perception of the level of TQM implementation, with regard to the employees’ sociodemographic characteristics. In order to achieve this objective, ANOVA was used to test the hypotheses and determine the difference between observed sociodemographic characteristics with regard to the dimensions of job satisfaction and the application of TQM principles in research. Beside that, correlation coefficient was used to test the connection between overall job satisfaction and the level of TQM implementation (overall TQM principles). The findings suggest that level of education and the length of service have a significant effect on the differences in assessments among employees, while position in the workplace affects within certain dimensions of job satisfaction, as well as within their perception of the TQM implementation. Results have also shown that there is a statistically significant relationship between job satisfaction and the level of implementation of TQM principles. The present study provides valuable guidelines for public health sector managers since the results of the research indicate the level of perception of the implementation of TQM principles and job satisfaction dimensions with which employees are the most and the least satisfied, thus pointing out to management in public health sector institutions the areas in which certain improvement measures should be implemented. As this study focuses specifically on Institutes of Public Health, future research could be expanded to encompass other public health institutions such as hospitals and private clinics as well as other sectors.
Political stability and economic growth in developing economies: lessons from Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt ten years after the Arab Spring

In 2011, the Arab region has seen an unprecedented popular uprising commonly referred to as the â€œArab Springâ€ . The objective of this paper is to analyze the economic performance and institutional changes that have taken place in Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco following the Arab Spring, and understand the interconnect between the socio-political context on the one side, and economic performance and growth on the other side, in a period marked by severe turbulences, especially in Tunisia and Egypt. The analysis covers the economic, institutional, competitiveness, business environment, infrastructural, and human capital aspects in the three countries. It is based on the authorâ€™s own research and knowledge of the region, the recent emerging literature on the topic, newspaper archives, and the publicly available economic and business data and reports provided by international organizations. Our analysis shows that Tunisia, the country that has ignited the Arab Spring, was the one most hit by its aftermath on the economic, social, and institutional levels. We argue that, although pure authoritarian regimes were historically a failure in the region, â€œWesternâ€ democracy has so far shown several limits when applied into the Arab region context as it led to neither socio-political stability nor economic growth.
The Analysis of Cost and Returns of Fish Farming in Kontagora Local Government Area of Niger State, Nigeria

The study examined analysis of costs and return of fish farming in Kontagora Local Government Area (LGA) of Niger State, Nigeria. A purposively sampling technique was used to select thirty five (35) active fish farmers from the study area, structured questionnaire was administered to sampled respondents. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics frequency and percentages, while budgetary and gross margin was used to determine net farm income (NFI). The study indicates that variable cost accounted for (98.27%) of the total cost while fixed cost of production accounted for 1.73%. The result shows that average total cost (TC) of ₦274,664.28 was incurred by the respondent per production cycle while average total revenue (TR) of ₦427,685.00 was realized with a returning gross margin (GM) of ₦157,761.23 and a net farm income (NFI) of ₦152,930.75 per production cycle, implying that fish farming is profitable in the study area. The study recommends capacity building for fish farmers in technical areas such as self-feed formulation and government should try to address the insecurity challenges affecting the study area.
Classification of Tree Functional Types in a Megadiverse Tropical Mountain Forest from Leaf Optical Metrics and Functional Traits for Two Related Ecosystem Functions

Few plant functional types (PFTs) with fixed average traits are used in land surface models (LSMs) to consider feedback between vegetation and the changing atmosphere. It is uncertain if highly diverse vegetation requires more local PFTs. Here, we analyzed how 52 tree species of a megadiverse mountain rain forest separate into local tree functional types (TFTs) for two functions: biomass production and solar radiation partitioning. We derived optical trait indicators (OTIs) by relating leaf optical metrics and functional traits through factor analysis. We distinguished four OTIs explaining 38%, 21%, 15%, and 12% of the variance, of which two were considered important for biomass production and four for solar radiation partitioning. The clustering of species-specific OTI values resulted in seven and eight TFTs for the two functions, respectively. The first TFT ensemble (P-TFTs) represented a transition from low to high productive types. The P-TFT were separated with a fair average silhouette width of 0.41 and differed markedly in their main trait related to productivity, Specific Leaf Area (SLA), in a range between 43.6 to 128.2 (cm2/g). The second delineates low and high reflective types (E-TFTs), were subdivided by different levels of visible (VIS) and near-infrared (NIR) albedo. The E-TFTs were separated with an average silhouette width of 0.28 and primarily defined by their VIS/NIR albedo. The eight TFT revealed an especially pronounced range in NIR reflectance of 5.9% (VIS 2.8%), which is important for ecosystem radiation partitioning. Both TFT sets were grouped along elevation, modified by local edaphic gradients and species-specific traits. The VIS and NIR albedo were related to altitude and structural leaf traits (SLA), with NIR albedo showing more complex associations with biochemical traits and leaf water. The TFTs will support LSM simulations used to analyze the functioning of mountain rainforests under climate change.
Randomized, single-dose, two-period, two-sequence crossover bioequivalence study evaluating two oral formulations of lamotrigine in healthy volunteers

Background: Lamotrigine is an anti-epileptic medicine used to treat epilepsy and bipolar disorder. The mechanism of action is to block voltage activated sodium channels. The aim of this study was to evaluate the bioequivalence of 2 oral formulations of lamotrigine 25 mg in healthy volunteers. Methods: A single-dose, two-period, randomized crossover study design in healthy Indian adult volunteers was conducted at Amaris Clinical, a division of Caplin Point Laboratories Ltd., Chennai. A validated high performance liquid chromatography in conjunction with mass spectrometry was used. Lamotrigine concentration in plasma. Adverse events were determined by measuring vital functions after dosing. A total of 24 subjects were included. Results: The mean and 90% confidence intervals of the test / reference ratios for these parameters were as follows: The mean Cmax and Tmax of the test were 758.606 (157.453) ng / ml and 1.17 (0.50-5.00) hours, respectively. The mean Cmax and Tmax of the reference were 775.993 (151.654) ng / ml or 0.88 (0.25-4.00) hours. The mean AUC0-72 was 24142. 031±3641.691 (ng.hr/mL) for the test formulation and 24202.099±3742.957 (ng. h / ml) for the reference formulation. The mean test / reference ratios for Cmax and AUC0-72 were 97.92 and 99.82 respectively. The 90% parametric CIs for Cmax and AUC0-72 were 90.17-105.68% or 97.87-101.81%. Conclusions: The 90% confidence intervals ranged from 80-125% and it was concluded that the test product was bioequivalent to the reference product in these healthy adult male volunteers.