Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of Uncorrected Refractive Errors Among Pre-school Children in Madinah City, Saudi Arabia: A pre-school based cross-sectional study

Background and objectives: Refractive errors (RE) is one of the most common causes of vision impairment among children,but little is known about its prevalence among pre-school children in certain Saudi regions, including Madinah city. This study aimed to measure the prevalence of uncorrected RE among pre-school children attending kindergartens in Madinah city, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A pre-school -based cross-sectional study was carried out in Madinahcity during the study year 2016/2017. A clusterrandom sample was taken and included 800pre-school children (3-6years) from12Kindergartens. The studied pre-school children were screened to diagnose uncorrected RE using auto-refractometer. The prevalence of different types of uncorrectedREwere estimated among the studied children. Appropriate statistical analyses, including logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: The response rate was 94% (750 out of 800). The prevalence of uncorrected RE in the studied 750 children was (8%; 95% CI= 6.1%-9.9%) with significant differences by age group. The prevalence was 3.6% for myopia, 3.3% for astigmatism, and 1.1% for hypermetropia. Risks for uncorrected RE among studied pre-school children were positively associated with age and this was marked in myopia and astigmatism. Myopia was associated more with girls, while hypermetropia was associatedmore with boys. Conclusions: The prevalence of uncorrected RE was high among pre-school children aged 3-6years attending kindergartensin Madinah city. Establishment of vision screening programs for pres-school children attending kindergartensin Madinahis crucial to reduce the undesirable future effects of uncorrected RE among them.
CEO scanning behaviors, self-efficacy, and SME innovation and performance: An examination within a declining industry

ABSTRACT Studying the CEOs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the US metalcasting industry—an industry that has been steadily declining for several years—we develop a theoretical model to examine how CEO scanning behaviors in the form of scanning intensity and proactiveness influence self-efficacy, which in turn influences firm innovation and performance. We extend theory and research by (a) demonstrating of the role and influence of SME CEOs over firm innovation and performance in declining industries, (b) illustrating how scanning provides social learning opportunities for CEOs that enhance their levels of self-efficacy, and (c) showing that self-efficacy mediates the effects of scanning on firm innovation and performance.
ESTIMATION OF MAIZE BIOMASS USING UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are a promising tool for technology development and transfer and for the economic success of the agricultural sector. The objective of this study is to assess the validity of biomass estimation in a commercial maize plantation using aerial images obtained by a UAV. The proposed methodology involved analyzing images acquired in scheduled flights, processing orthophoto (georeferenced image) data, evaluating digital terrain elevation models, and assessing the quality of dense point clouds. Data were collected using two cameras, one with a 16-megapixel flat lens and the other with a 12-megapixel fish-eye lens coupled to a UAV, at two flight altitudes (30 and 60 meters) over hybrid maize (AG1051) crop irrigated by center pivot in the municipality of Limoeiro do Norte, Ceará, Brazil. Crop biomass was estimated in 1 m plots sampled randomly, and data were validated by interpreting aerial images of target areas. The measurements of biomass using UAV-based aerial images were promising. The estimated values were more accurate using the fish-eye lens at 30 m altitude, corresponding to 2.97 kg m, which is very close to the values measured in the field (2.92 kg m).
PENGARUH KEJELASAN SASARAN ANGGARAN, PENGENDALIAN AKUNTANSI DAN SISTEM PELAPORAN TERHADAP AKUNTABILITAS KINERJA PEMERINTAH KABUPATEN PATI

The purpose of this study is to knowing the effect of clarity of budget targets, effectiveness of accounting controls and reporting systems on the performance accountability of government agencies in Semarang city. This study took a sample with convenience sampling techniques in 24 service offices of semarang city with multiple linear regression analysis method. Based on the results of the analysis it can be concluded that the variables of budget target clarity significantly influence the performance accountability of government agencies, the effectiveness of accounting control variables have a significant effect on the performance accountability of government agencies and the reporting system has a significant effect on the performance accountability of government agencies.
Currently Observed Trend in the Resistance of Malaria to Artemisinin Based Combination Therapy in Nigeria – A Report of 5 Cases

Malaria is a life threatening disease caused by parasites transmitted through the bite of an infected female mosquito. About 3.2 million (about half of the world’s population) are at risk of malaria; it affects all age group from young to old. Between 2002 – 2015, Sub-Saharan Africa was home to 88% of malaria cases and 90% of malaria deaths most of which were under-five years old. Plasmodium falciparum – transmitted by female Anopleles mosquito (one of the five parasites that cause malaria in humans) is the most prevalent malaria parasite in the African continent and is responsible for most malaria-related deaths globally [1]. Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) resistance is rare in Sub-Saharan Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies monitoring and surveillance using day – 3 parasitaemia post treatment as the standard test for identifying suspected artemisinin resistance [2]. Early treatment failure due to possible ACT resistant Plasmodium falciparum has been identified in 5 cases across different age group, race, sex and gender. All cases managed showed significant clinical and parasitological responses to further treatment with combined Artesunate (intravenous) and Arthemeter (intramuscular), Arthemeter only (IM) or Artesunate tablets. Case Report Wundermann and Osiki; IJTDH, 21(2): 1-5, 2017; Article no.IJTDH. 30914 2 This study seeks to emphasize the need for a re-evaluation of the malaria treatment protocol and to throw more light on the increasing resistance of Plasmodium falciparum to the commonly used Artemisinin – based combination therapy agents in Nigeria.
The effect of financial development on energy consumption in the case of Kazakhstan

ABSTRACT This study investigates the relationship between energy consumption, financial development, economic growth, and energy prices in Kazakhstan, utilizing VECM technique to the data spanning from 1993 to 2014. Estimation results reveal that there is a positive and statistically significant impact of financial development and economic growth on the energy consumption while, energy prices proxied by CPI has a negative effect on energy consumption in the long run for the Kazakhstani case which are in line with the expectations and with the theoretical findings. This finding also shows that a 1% increase in financial development and economic growth increases energy consumption by 0.11 and 0.39%, respectively.
How do patients spend their time in stroke rehabilitation units in England? The REVIHR study

Abstract Aim To examine how patients spend their time in stroke rehabilitation units in England. Methods We recruited 144 patients within a month after stroke from four stroke rehabilitation units and observed their activity type, interactions and location. Each participant was observed for 1 min every 10-minutes, for a total of 20 h, over three consecutive days. Multilevel modelling was performed to assess differences across sites. Results Across the four sites a total of 12,248 observations were performed. Patients spent on average 37% of the observed time inactive and 60% alone. A health care professional was present for 18% of the observations and patients’ most frequent contact was with family members (19%). Patients were mainly physically active in the presence of therapists, but they practiced self-care activities of daily living most frequently in the presence of nursing staff. There were limited opportunities for activity away from the bedside. Significant differences were found between the units, including patients’ level of contact with rehabilitation assistants and nursing staff, but not in their time with occupational therapists and physiotherapists. Conclusions Stroke patients in England spend a large proportion of their day inactive and alone. Opportunities to promote a rehabilitation focused environment may include: a) enhancing the role of rehabilitation assistants, b) supporting nursing staff in maximising opportunities for the practice of activities of daily living and c) involving family members in the rehabilitation process. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Clinicians need to consider stroke patients’ activity levels and rehabilitation experience outside formal therapy. The role of rehabilitation assistants and nursing staff can be key in promoting patient activity and practice of self-care ADL tasks. Pragmatic strategies to encourage family involvement in the rehabilitation process need to be developed.
Macro financial linkages in a SVAR model with application to Denmark

We analyse macro financial linkages in the Danish economy by estimating a structural VAR model using Bayesian techniques and construct a new financial condition index for the Danish economy. We measure financial conditions as the aggregate impact of financial variables on real activity from the historical shock decomposition of GDP. We find that financial conditions have been an important driver of GDP in the Danish economy in recent years. Financial conditions stimulated GDP before the financial crisis and deepened the subsequent recession. Financial conditions have also contributed to the current expansion in the Danish economy. We compare the model properties with the properties of Danmarks Nationalbank's two other macroeconometric models and find striking similarities between the estimated VAR model and other models. The financial conditions index resembles the overall narrative of the Danish economy. Resume Vi analyserer makro finansielle links i dansk økonomi ved at estimere en strukturel VAR model ved hjælp af bayesiske teknikker og konstruerer et nyt indeks for finansielle forhold for dansk økonomi. Vi måler finansielle forhold som den samlede effekt af finansielle variable på den reale aktivitet fra en historisk dekomposition af BNP. Vi finder, at de finansielle forhold i de senere år har været en vigtig drivkraft for BNP i dansk økonomi. Finansielle forhold stimulerede BNP før finanskrisen og gjorde den efterfølgende recession dybere. Finansielle forhold har også bidraget til det nuværende opsving i dansk økonomi. Vi sammenligner modelegenskaberne med egenskaberne i Nationalbankens to andre makroøkonometriske modeller og finder slående ligheder mellem den estimerede VAR-model og andre modeller. Indekset for finansielle forhold genfinder den overordnede fortælling om dansk økonomi. Macro financial linkages in a SVAR model with application to Denmark Acknowledgements The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily correspond to those of Danmarks Nationalbank. The authors thank Kim Abildgren, Søren Lejsgaard Autrup, Troels Kromand Danielsen, Martin Nygaard Jørgensen, Simon Juul Hviid, Andreas Kuchler, Morten Spange and Morten Werner for useful comments and suggestions. The authors alone are responsible for any remaining errors.
17-AAG Mediated HSP90 Inhibition as an Effective Therapy for Lymphoma Stem Cells

Peripheral T-Cell lymphomas (PTCL) encompass a complex and typically aggressive set of cancers. The response to treatment is usually poor in patients with these diseases, resulting in low survival rates. Patient relapse and metastasis provide the greatest hurdles in improving rates of long-term survival, since very few effective treatments exist in the advanced stages of disease. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are implicated in many solid and hematological cancers as mediators of tumor recurrence and metastasis. Therefore, new strategies are needed to effective eliminate CSCs if improvements in survival are to be achieved. In the present study, we used our TGB mouse model of lymphoma to demonstrate that previously characterized CSCs are susceptible to 17-AAG mediated HSP90 inhibition. We found that dramatically low concentrations of 17-AAG reduced both the number and self-renewal capacity of these CSCs, in addition to CSCs present in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). While the committed, mature lymphoma cells were also susceptible to 17-AAG treatment, higher concentrations were required to elicit this effect, suggesting a selective sensitivity within the CSC population. These results were recapitulated in vivo, as a near dose-dependent increase in survival is achieved with 17-AAG treatment, while also reducing the CSC capacity to initiate tumor growth in reimplantation assays. Our study demonstrates the
Phonological Features of Philippine English Spoken by Tourism Service Providers

Abstract - English, as an international language, is used in the Philippines as official language on communication and instruction in addition to Filipino irregardless of culture, regional origin, dialect, among others. This study determined phonological features in Philippine English used by the tourism service providers who have direct contact to tourists in their locality. Questionnaire, in sentences form, was used in data gathering, which were read by the respondents to elicit their segmental and suprasegmental features and was documented through video/audio recording. Transcribed words from sentences were rated through International Phonetic Alphabet symbols and for suprasegmetal features those were focused on intonation in answering WH/Yes-No questions, and sentences in statement form. Results showed some mispronounced or replaced or interchanged in consonant and vowel sounds. Their suprasegmental features sounded somewhat similar to native speaker. Factors such as age, educational attainment, and geographical location somewhat affect their phonological features. It is a realization as English as a Second Language (ESL) Teacher that it is not to push sounding like an English native speaker, but to use the learned English as second language, counting this as our own Philippine English with our own phonological features, noting that there is no extreme communication breakdown. Data of the study can be used by State Colleges and Universities, and other higher education institutions in partnership with the tourism department to design intervention programs as part of their extension program on capability building to tourism service providers. Keywords - Philippine English, Phonological Features, Segmental, Suprasegmental
Transcriptome analysis of Brucella abortus S19∆per immunized mouse spleen revealed activation of MHC-I and MHC-II pathways

The mouse (Mus musculus) has been extensively used for studying brucellosis, regarding pathogenesis, immunity and the evaluation of vaccines and therapeutics. In this work, RNA-seq was applied to explore the immunological potential of a live Brucella abortus S19∆per, a perosamine synthetase gene mutant of B. abortus S19. Comparison of transcriptome data was carried out for identifying differentially expressed genes among PBS (control) and B. abortus S19∆per immunized mice at 15 days post-immunization. Functional analysis revealed 545 significant differentially expressed genes related to mouse immunity. Specific activation of MHC-I and MHC-II antigen-processing pathways were identified as the highly enriched pathways based on Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes annotation. Other major immune response pathways regulated within the host were NF-kappa B signalling, chemokine signalling, T-cell receptor pathway, apoptosis, TNF signalling and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor signalling. These data provided new insights into the molecular mechanisms of B. abortus S19∆per-induced immune response in mice spleen that might facilitate the development of a highly immunogenic vaccine against brucellosis.
Intergranular Clay Films Control Inelastic Deformation in the Groningen Gas Reservoir: Evidence From Split‐Cylinder Deformation Tests

Production of oil and gas from sandstone reservoirs leads to small elastic and inelastic strains in the reservoir, which may induce surface subsidence and seismicity. While the elastic component is easily described, the inelastic component, and any rate‐sensitivity thereof remain poorly understood in the relevant small strain range (≤1.0%). To address this, we performed a sequence of five stress/strain‐cycling plus strain‐marker‐imaging experiments on a single split‐cylinder sample (porosity 20.4%) of Slochteren sandstone from the seismogenic Groningen gas field. The tests were performed under in situ conditions of effective confining pressure (40 MPa) and temperature (100 °C), exploring increasingly large differential stresses (up to 75 MPa) and/or axial strains (up to 4.8%) in consecutive runs. At the small strains relevant to producing reservoirs (≤1.0%), inelastic deformation was largely accommodated by deformation of clay‐filled grain contacts. High axial strains (>1.4%) led to pervasive intragranular cracking plus intergranular slip within localized, conjugate bands. Using a simplified sandstone model, we show that the magnitude of inelastic deformation produced in our experiments at small strains (≤1.0%) and stresses relevant to the Groningen reservoir can indeed be roughly accounted for by clay film deformation. Thus, inelastic compaction of the Groningen reservoir is expected to be largely governed by clay film deformation. Compaction by this mechanism is shown to be rate insensitive on production timescales and is anticipated to halt when gas production stops. However, creep by other processes cannot be eliminated. Similar, clay‐bearing sandstone reservoirs occur widespread globally, implying a wide relevance of our results.
Adaptation to Rare Natural Disasters and Global Sensitivity Analysis in a Dynamic Stochastic Economy

This paper aims to investigate rare natural disasters and studies adaptation decisions in a dynamic stochastic economy. We examine the optimal balance between investment in productive capital and adaptive capital stock, which is inherently non-productive but alleviates the damage caused by a rare natural disaster. We present a modeling way to include uncertain rare natural disasters in discrete time and solve the model by using the time iteration collocation with the adaptive sparse grid. We perform a global sensitivity analysis to screen which uncertain parameters should be primary calibrated based on the Sobol' indices and compute the univariate effects to identify in which parametric region the model outcomes are most sensitive. To speed up the solving processes, our implementations are massively parallelized on high-performance computing architecture in a distributed memory fashion. We claim that the optimal adaptation to rare natural disasters is to advance our economic development; however, when the economy is developed enough, the growth rate of the adaptive capital stock exceeds that of productive capital stock to precautionary prepare for the future uncertainty.
On Shaky Ground: Black Authenticity at Predominantly White Institutions

This study investigates the ways in which social context affects processes of black authenticity, resulting in shaky ground for authentic blackness among black college students at predominantly white institutions (PWIs). Because of normalized whiteness, black PWI students are negotiating authentic blackness in social contexts that limit black expression and identity through external pressure from nonblack students, in addition to experiencing intraracial pressures from black peers. These students must walk a thin line: they have to avoid being labeled as either “too black” or “inauthentically” black by nonblack students while simultaneously working to be seen as “black enough” by black peers, which highlights the precarity of black authenticity at PWIs. I use interviews and qualitative surveys of 44 black students at two PWIs and one historically black university (HBCU); the data from the HBCU are used to highlight contrasts between two school types. Results indicate that, as a result of tighter boundaries around blackness drawn by both black and nonblack peers, black PWI students experience behavioral constraints, limited options for ethnic identification, and believe that HBCU students see them as less authentically black. Conversely, HBCU students did not describe similar behavioral constraints or ethnic exclusion, and made no claims of inauthentic blackness for black PWI students. Overall, results suggest that the social contexts of PWIs significantly affect black students’ experiences with black authenticity.
Visual preference of flower‐visiting crab spiders (Ebrechtella tricuspidata) for host flowers

1. Crab spiders (Thomisidae) are common flower‐visiting spiders that ambush prey on inflorescences. As such, they require specific flowers or substrates for hunting, which are most often selected using sensory cues (e.g. vision). However, few studies have examined the visual preference of crab spiders for particular flowers. In this study, the visual preferences of the crab spider Ebrechtella tricuspidata for different inflorescence characteristics (e.g. colour and shape) were investigated.
Integration of New Information in Memory: New Insights from a Complementary Learning Systems Perspective

According to complementary learning systems theory, integrating new memories into the neocortex of the brain without interfering with what is already known depends on a gradual learning process, interleaving new items with previously learned items. However, empirical studies show that information consistent with prior knowledge can be integrated very quickly. We use artificial neural networks with properties like those we attribute to the neocortex to develop a theoretical understanding of the role of consistency with prior knowledge in putatively neocortex-like learning systems, providing new insights into when integration will be fast or slow and how integration might be made more efficient when the items to be learned are hierarchically structured. The work relies on deep linear networks that capture the qualitative aspects of the learning dynamics of the more complex non-linear networks used in previous work. The time course of learning in these networks can be linked to the hierarchical structure in the training data, captured mathematically as a set of dimensions that correspond to the branches in the hierarchy. In this context, a new item to be learned can be characterized as having aspects that project onto previously known dimensions, and others that require adding a new branch/dimension. The projection onto the known dimensions can be learned rapidly without interleaving, but learning the new dimension requires gradual interleaved learning. When a new item only overlaps with items within one branch of a hierarchy, interleaving can focus on the previously-known items within this branch, resulting in faster integration with less inter-leaving overall. The discussion considers how the brain might exploit these facts to make learning more efficient and highlights predictions about what aspects of new information might be hard or easy to learn.