Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Retinal Degeneration in Patients with Wilson's Disease: An OCT Study in Asian Indian Population

Background: Wilson's disease (WD) is an autosomal recessive disorder of copper metabolism. We aimed to study the abnormalities in the retinal layers in patients with WD using optical coherence tomography (OCT). Methods: The study is a chart review of 16 patients with WD (six females) who underwent OCT at our hospital during follow-up visits. Spectral-domain OCT was performed in all subjects to assess the thickness of macula and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and the data was compared with 14 healthy controls (three females). Results: The mean age of the patients was 20.81 ± 7.47 years and controls was 26.86 ± 9.95 years. The mean age at the onset of the illness was 16.25 ± 5.57 years (range 11–28 years) with the mean duration of illness being 4.81 ± 3.31 years at the final follow-up examination. The mean macular thickness was found to be significantly reduced in patients (232.13 ± 19.39) when compared to controls (271.30 ± 17.32 μm; P = 0.01). There was a significant difference in the ganglion cell and inner plexiform (GCIP) layer between the patients (86.83 ± 8.20 μm) and controls (97.72 ± 5.31 μm; P = 0.01). In addition, the outer nuclear layer with the photoreceptor layer (ONL + PRL) thickness was also reduced in WD (93.90 ± 10.23 μm vs. 108.43 ± 10.00 μm; P = 0.01) There was no change in the RNFL thickness, between the two groups (P = 0.53). Conclusions: Abnormalities of the retinal layers were observed in the patients with WD. OCT is a non-invasive tool to identify and quantify the abnormalities of the retinal layers.
Bio-based sustainable composites from hazelnut shell and PP/SEBS blends

In this study, waste hazelnut shells (HNS) were powderized and used as the filler for the fabrication of sustainable polymeric composites. HNS based composites can be used for many applications because of their tunable intrinsic brown color for various indoor and outdoor applications including decking applications and furniture that require a natural esthetic appearance. Polypropylene (PP), styrene-b-(ethylene-co-butylene)-b-styrene (SEBS), and 50/50 PP/SEBS blends were used as the polymeric matrixes. HNS concentration was set to 2.5, 5, and 10 wt%. PP/SEBS blend and HNS filled granules were prepared by melt mixing in an extruder. Following that polymeric films were fabricated from the granules by compression molding. The morphological, structural, thermal, mechanical, contact angle, water absorption analyses were performed in order to characterize the composites. Matrix type and filler concentration were found significant for the properties. PP/SEBS blends showed homogeneous morphology. At low concentrations, fillers were well-dispersed. On the other hand, at 10 wt% HNS loading agglomerations were observed and mechanical properties showed a noticeable drop. PP-based composites showed the highest tensile strength and elastic modulus with the lowest tensile strain. SEBS-based composites showed the lowest tensile strength and elastic modulus with the highest tensile strain. PP/SEBS composites showed mechanical properties between PP and SEBS. The incorporation of SEBS into PP increased the flexibility of the composites and resulted in relatively higher strain at break.
Nurse’s knowledge toward oncology patients during chemotherapy management

Cancer is an international health problem with a growing occurrence. Chemotherapy is currently the standard of care for the majority of solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. Oncology nurses play a significant role in care delivery and patient education. Objective(s): This study aims at assessing the knowledge of nurses toward oncologic patients during chemotherapy management. In addition, to find out the relationship between nurses’ knowledge and their demographic variables. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional quantitative study has been conducted for the period between the 1st of November 2021 and 1st of June 2022. A non-probability sampling technique (total purposive sampling method) is conducted on (47) nurses. A self-administrated questionnaire have been used for data collection in the current study, which has included two parts; the first part deals with the nurse’s demographic information, and the second part includes the nurse’s knowledge about the chemotherapy management. Results: The majority of nurses have a pass level of knowledge with a Significant association found between the knowledge of nurses and (level of education and training section). Conclusions: The study concluded that the nurses with higher education degrees are the ones who have the most essential knowledge of chemotherapy management.
Review of near infrared hyperspectral imaging applications related to wood and wood products

Abstract Hyperspectral imaging is a technique that combines spectroscopy and imaging. Originally utilized in the 1980’s by the remote sensing community it is now utilized in a wide variety of applications. Spectral imaging was first used for the detection of compression wood in the late 1990’s and since that time research focused on wood and wood products has steadily increased with a variety of applications reported. While there are several reviews of wood related research utilizing near infrared spectrometers a comprehensive summary of wood—hyperspectral imaging research is lacking. Near infrared hyperspectral imaging systems (NIR-HSI) typically have a wavelength range of 900–1700 nm, whereas short-wave infrared hyperspectral imaging (SWIR-HSI) systems range from 1000 to 2500 nm. We provide a detailed account of the various studies that have been published utilizing both camera types.
A bibliometrics analysis of the visibility of library and information science research in Nigeria in the Web of Science, 2000-2014

This paper used bibliometrics to examine patterns of publication output in library and information science (LIS) research in Nigerian universities from 2000 to 2014 in terms of the trend in publication output in LIS research, the most visible (productive) universities and authors, the most cited universities and authors, and publication sources. The Web of Science was used as the source of the data. The findings of the study revealed a fluctuating and unpredictable trend in the annual publication output in LIS research in Nigeria. The University of Ibadan, University of Nigeria, and Delta State University were found to be the three most visible (productive) universities in LIS research. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that there should be increased investment in LIS research by Nigerian universities towards a steady increase in sustained quality publication output to support national development. Keywords: Bibliometric Analysis, Citation Analysis, Evaluation of Research, Library and Information Science Research, Publication Output, Nigerian Universities
The effect of institutional CSR on brand advocacy during COVID-19: the moderated mediation effect of CSR expectancy and value-driven motivation

Purpose This research aims to understand consumer responses to corporate social responsibility (CSR) during an unprecedented public health crisis. Specifically, two studies were conducted to investigate how companies’ different CSR initiatives in the early stage of COVID-19 would influence consumers’ advocacy intention according to their focus (i.e. targets of institutional CSR). The first study examined the moderating role of individuals’ CSR expectancy on the effects of companies’ CSR initiatives on consumers’ brand advocacy intention. The second study further extends the findings of Study 1 by examining the mediating role of perceived brand motive. Design/methodology/approach Two between-subject online experiments were conducted to explore the impact of three types of institutional CSR initiatives (i.e. community, employee and consumer-centered CSRs) on brand advocacy. Study 1 (N = 380) examined the moderating role of CSR expectancy in influencing consumer responses to institutional CSR initiatives. Study 2 (N = 384) explored the underlying mechanism through examining the mediating role of a company’s value-driven motivation in the process. Findings Study 1 indicated that institutional CSR, regardless of type, was more effective in generating a more significant brand advocacy intention than a promotional message, measured as a baseline. The impact of different kinds of institutional CSR on consumers’ brand advocacy intentions was significantly moderated by their CSR-related expectations. Specifically, individuals with moderate to high CSR expectancy showed higher brand advocacy intentions in both consumer- and employee-centered CSR initiatives than the promotional message. In comparison, those with low CSR expectancy only showed higher brand advocacy intentions in the community-centered CSR initiative. In addition, as individuals’ CSR expectations rose, the mediation effect of the perceived value-driven motivation became stronger. Research limitations/implications The current study includes guiding principles to help companies effectively respond to COVID-19 as corporate citizens by demonstrating the importance of individuals’ CSR expectancy across three CSR initiatives. This study used real-life examples of how leading companies were stepping up CSR efforts and suggested an approach that aligns CSR behaviors with the urgent and fundamental human needs of COVID-19. Originality/value In line with the CSR goal of maximizing benefits for stakeholders, this study’s findings signal that situational changes determine CSR expectations and that companies must be highly susceptible to the changes in consumers’ expectations of CSR and their appraisal process of CSR motives to maximize its CSR value.
Reconciling Work and Family Demands and Related Psychosocial Risk and Support Factors among Working Families: A Finnish National Survey Study

Working families commonly struggle with reconciling work and family demands. While the Nordic welfare states have been regarded as forerunners in family-friendly policies, worldwide trends threaten work–family reconciliation also in this context. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the associations between family interference with work (FIW)/work interference with family (WIF) and selected psychosocial risk and support factors in the work and family settings of Finnish working families. Data from the Finnish Quality of Work Life Survey 2018 collected by Statistics Finland were utilized to conduct binary logistic regression analyses (N = 1431). Risk factors in the work setting emerged as key covariates as all of them showed statistically significant associations with WIF or both WIF and FIW. Another key finding was that occasional conflicts within the family were beneficial in the context of both WIF and FIW. To conclude, both distinct and mutual psychosocial risk and support factors of FIW and WIF were identified, at the same time as two socio-demographic factors as well as one workplace factor were identified as covariates specifically of FIW. This study showed that work–family reconciliation is a considerable challenge among Finnish working families, and especially to women.
New species of the genus Molanna Curtis, 1834 (Trichoptera, Molannidae) in China inferred from morphology and DNA barcodes

﻿Abstract The male adult of Molannatruncata Ge, Peng & Sun sp. nov. is described and illustrated based on material collected in Si-chuan, China. It could be diagnosed by the subtriangular superior appendages when viewed dorsally, and by the mesal appendages each having a slender thorn and inferior appendages with a tiny inner process. Based on morphology of genitalia, we provide a dichotomous key to adult males of Molanna from the Oriental region. The DNA barcodes (partial mtCOI sequences) of M.truncatasp. nov. are generated and compared with existing sequences of Molanna species from Oriental and Palearctic regions. The mean intraspecific divergence of Molanna was 1.58% with a maximum of 8.50% in M.moesta. The Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery (ABGD) analysis of Molanna inferred 9 OTUs and thresholds of interspecific divergence of 10%. Divergence of M.truncatasp. nov. haplotypes from all other Molanna haplotypes ranged from 10.1% to 18%. We discuss distribution and potential groups of species within the Oriental Molanna species based on morphology.
Self‐decoupled compact metal‐frame LTE MIMO antennas for the smartphone

Two self‐decoupled, closely‐spaced, metal‐frame LTE MIMO antennas with compact frame lengths to fit in the short edge of the metal‐framed smartphone are presented. The 2 MIMO antennas include a first antenna covering the LTE low band (LB) in 824–960 MHz and LTE middle/high band (M/HB) in 1710–2690 MHz and a second antenna covering the LTE M/HB in 1710–2690 MHz. With a small ground clearance of 5 mm, the first antenna uses a radiating metal frame (frame 1) of length 47 mm to cover the LTE L/M/HB, while the second antenna uses a radiating metal frame (frame 2) of 23.4 mm for the LTE M/HB coverage. In addition, frames 1 and 2 are closely spaced with a gap of 2 mm only. Wideband decoupling between the 2 antennas for the 2 × 2 MIMO operation in the LTE M/HB is obtained with frame 2 serving as an inherent decoupling structure. That is, frame 2 not only functions as a radiator of the second antenna but also serves as a decoupling structure to attract the surface currents on the system ground plane which causes the coupling of the 2 antennas. Applications of applying another 2 MIMO antennas at the opposite short edge of the smartphone for the 4 × 4 LTE M/HB and 2 × 2 LTE LB MIMO operations are also addressed.
A Mindfulness-Based Intervention for University Students: A Feasibility Study

Background: Koru is a 4-week group mindfulness-based intervention that previously demonstrated psychological benefits in university students through its offering via a counseling center (Greeson, Juberg, Mayatan, James, & Rogers, 2014). Aim: This study examined the feasibility of Koru offered universally to students via collaborative outreach (i.e., student interest, attendance, adverse events, participant acceptability, and participant willingness to complete assessments). Method: Across five semesters, Koru was advertised via flyers, emails to student organizations and faculty and staff, and counseling center referrals at a southeastern public university with 29,000-students. Interested students were randomly assigned to Koru or a waitlist. In-person Koru groups took place in classrooms on campus. Assessments included practice logs, program evaluations, and pre- and post-intervention surveys measuring mindfulness and psychological symptoms. Results: Interest was sufficient to offer 2-3 groups per semester (171 students). Of those assigned to Koru, 44.4% completed 3-4 sessions and 34.9% did not attend any sessions. The adverse event rate was 2.9%. Evaluations were positive and all participants attending the last session completed them. The response rate was 29.0% for log completion and 17.9% for survey completion. Conclusion: Results support student interest in, and acceptability of Koru offered to all students on campus outside of a counseling center. Data collection was challenging.
The relationship between poststimulus pause, learner proficiency, and working memory in an Elicited Imitation Task

Abstract The Elicited Imitation Task (EIT) is a popular technique for efficiently measuring global proficiency in multiple languages, and accumulated evidence indicates high reliability and strong relationships with other proficiency measures. Nevertheless, several dimensions of EIT design remain open to investigation, including the assumption that a pause is required in between the aural stimulus and oral response, to ensure processing of the input and prevent so-called parroting. This study investigated the relationship between three poststimulus pause conditions, learners’ proficiency and working memory, and their EIT scores as well as their perceptions of task difficulty, mental effort, focus, and interest. Findings indicated no differences in performances or perceptions between the 0-second pause, 2-second pause, and 5-second pause conditions, and a weak relationship between EIT performance and working memory. Across all conditions, the EIT distinguished consistently among proficiency levels, correlated strongly with a criterion proficiency measure, and produced remarkably reliable scores.
Sequence-Specific Electrochemical Genosensor for Rapid Detection of blaOXA-51-like Gene in Acinetobacter baumannii

Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) are phenotypically indistinguishable from the Acinetobacter calcoaceticus–A. baumannii (ACB) complex members using routine laboratory methods. Early diagnosis plays an important role in controlling A. baumannii infections and this could be assisted by the development of a rapid, yet sensitive diagnostic test. In this study, we developed an enzyme-based electrochemical genosensor for asymmetric PCR (aPCR) amplicon detection of the blaOXA-51-like gene in A. baumannii. A. baumannii blaOXA-51-like gene PCR primers were designed, having the reverse primer modified at the 5′ end with FAM. A blaOXA-51-like gene sequence-specific biotin labelled capture probe was designed and immobilized using a synthetic oligomer (FAM-labelled) deposited on the working electrode of a streptavidin-modified, screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE). The zot gene was used as an internal control with biotin and FAM labelled as forward and reverse primers, respectively. The blaOXA-51-like gene was amplified using asymmetric PCR (aPCR) to generate single-stranded amplicons that were detected using the designed SPCE. The amperometric current response was detected with a peroxidase-conjugated, anti-fluorescein antibody. The assay was tested using reference and clinical A. baumannii strains and other nosocomial bacteria. The analytical sensitivity of the assay at the genomic level and bacterial cell level was 0.5 pg/mL (1.443 µA) and 103 CFU/mL, respectively. The assay was 100% specific and sensitive for A. baumannii. Based on accelerated stability performance, the developed genosensor was stable for 1.6 years when stored at 4 °C and up to 28 days at >25 °C. The developed electrochemical genosensor is specific and sensitive and could be useful for rapid, accurate diagnosis of A. baumannii infections even in temperate regions.
Coverage and Rate in MIMO Cellular Networks With Location-Aware Transmission Rank Selection

In this letter, we study the performance of a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) cellular network with location-aware transmission rank selection, where the number of transmit streams for every base-station (BS) and user equipment (UE) link is determined based on the average received power at the UE (hence, the link distance). We assume open-loop zero-forcing beam-forming (OL-ZFBF) at the receiver. We first develop a stochastic geometry based analytical framework for this setup by including the adaptive rank as a mark of each BS. Using this framework, we derive the coverage probability and spectral efficiency (SE) as a function of the rank selection threshold. Our analysis demonstrates that selecting transmission rank for each link on the basis of distance improves SE. We also investigate the tradeoff between coverage probability and SE.
Evaluation of Alfalfa and Grass Species in Binary and Complex Mixtures on Performance under Soil Salinity Conditions

The effect of synergies between saline-tolerant grass and legume species grown in saline soil, on yield, quality, composition, persistence, and weed suppression was studied in 2019–2021 in a moderately saline soil located in the dark brown soil zone near Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. ‘Halo’ alfalfa (ALF), a salt-tolerant cultivar of alfalfa, was seeded in binary mixtures with ‘Revenue’ slender wheatgrass (ALF-SWG), ‘Garrison’ creeping meadow foxtail (ALF-CMF), and ‘Radisson’ smooth bromegrass (ALF-SBG). A complex mixture (quaternary) with all three grasses was also included. Four replicated treatments (n = 4) were randomly allocated to 6.2 × 1.2 m plots in spring 2019. The binary mixtures had similar or slightly better stand establishment compared to the quaternary mixture over the two years (83.3 vs. 76.9%), the quaternary stand showed greater (p = 0.01) establishment in Yr 2 than in Yr 1 (85 vs. 68.8%). There was high weed infestation in all the stands, but ALF-SWG had less weed infestation (23.8 vs. 44.1%) than ALF-CMF, especially in Yr 2 (p = 0.05). There were no significant differences among mixtures in yield, nutritional composition, and nutrient uptake. The ALF-CMF and ALF-SWG binary mixtures had 9 to 23% greater mean total DMY than the other mixtures in the moderately saline soil. The cost of establishing forage mixtures on unproductive saline land can be up to 89% recovered after only two years. The results suggested that binary mixtures of ‘Halo’ alfalfa with ‘Revenue’ slender wheatgrass or ‘Garrison’ creeping meadow foxtail could be reasonable alternatives for adequate forage production and quality, high N-use efficiency, and ultimately livestock gain per hectare, as well as for controlling soil salinity and improving soil fertility in this saline area in the dark brown soil zone.
High capacity chipless RFID tags for biomass tracking application

Abstract The design of a low-cost, flexible, miniaturized, and a high code density chipless radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag is presented as a solution for tracking the transportation of biomass fuel pellets. The performance of the tag is presented and demonstrates the applicability of the design for different material systems, while maintaining a compact size of 5.06 cm2. The tag consists of nested concentric hexagonal elements and a central spiral resonator suitable for ID encoding. The tag presented demonstrates code density of 3.6-bits/cm2, possesses angular stability up to 60°, and high radar cross section (RCS). The tag performance was also observed for tracking 5 kg of fly-ash biomass. Additionally, as the tag mass mostly consists of FR4, PET, or Taconic TLX-0 with a minute mass of either copper, gold, or silver, the tag can be easily combusted and disposed of during biomass combustion. The novel features of this tag are the combination of hexagonal and spiral shape slots for maximum space utilization thereby achieving high RCS signatures along with high code density. All these properties of the proposed chipless RFID tag provide a pioneering pathway for a real-time biomass tracking application.
A Qualitative Research on Usage Intention and Platform Swinging Behavior of Anonymous Social Applications “Soul”

By iheriting online natural properties, anonymous social media (ASM) applications have become popular and have attracted large amounts of mobile users (e.g., the youth) who can construct new identities for role-play and show themselves in anonymous ways. In order to investigate the influencing factors toward usage intention (UI) and platform swinging (PS) behavior among anonymous social applications, we choose one of the most active ASM App “Soul” as the example in China and then conducte a semi-structured interview with 23 valid Soul users using qualitative methods. The results show that the factors, i.e., perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived privacy riskiness, perceived anonymity, subjective norms, emotional attachments, and perceived interactivity, indeed affect UI among Soul users via online communication. Moreover, we find that PS behavior is ubiquitous among interviewees and mainly depends on diversified needs, which consist of nine dimensions including different position and function among apps, usage comparison, friend migration, etc. Nearly 80% of interviewees believe that there exists a relationship between UI and PS, which can be described as a inverted U-shaped curve, i.e., the higher or lower UI, the less probability of PS. For the individuals’ social media usage behavior, a closed loop “Attitude–Intention–Behavior” is summarized. By conducting qualitative research, we intend to provide some insights and deepen the understanding of UI among ASM users in daily life.