Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Periosteal Dry Needling for Carpometacarpal Osteoarthritis: A Prospective Case Series

Background: Carpometacarpal (CMC) osteoarthritis (OA) of the thumb is a painful condition that affects over 15% of individuals above the age of 30 and up to 30% of post-menopausal women. Dry needling (DN) has been found to reduce pain and disability in a variety of neuromusculoskeletal conditions; however, DN in the management of CMC OA has not been well studied. Methods: Consecutive patients with clinical and radiographic evidence of CMC OA were treated with DN. The primary outcome measure was pain using the Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) at 12 weeks. Secondary outcome measures were the Upper Extremity Functional Index (UEFI-20) and the Global Rating of Change (GROC) scale. Outcome measures were collected at baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks. Results: Nine patients were treated for six sessions of periosteal DN over 3 weeks. Compared to baseline, statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements were observed in thumb pain (NPRS mean difference: 2.6; p = 0.029) and function (UEFI-20 mean difference: 21.3; p = 0.012) at 12 weeks. Conclusion: Statistically significant and clinically meaningful within-group improvements in thumb pain and function were observed at 12 weeks following six sessions of periosteal DN treatment. DN may be a useful intervention in the management of patients with CMC OA of the thumb.
Artificial neural network applications in ionospheric studies

The ionosphere of Earth exhibits considerable spatial changes and has large temporal variability of various timescales related to the mechanisms of creation, decay and transport of space ionospheric plasma. Many techniques for modelling electron density profiles through entire ionosphere have been developed in order to solve the "age-old problem" of ionospheric physics which has not yet been fully solved. A new way to address this problem is by applying artificial intelligence methodologies to current large amounts of solar-terrestrial and ionospheric data. It is the aim of this paper to show by the most recent examples that modern development of numerical models for ionospheric monthly median long-term prediction and daily hourly short-term forecasting may proceed successfully applying the artificial neural networks. The performance of these techniques is illustrated with different artificial neural networks developed to model and predict the temporal and spatial variations of ionospheric critical frequency, f0F2 and Total Electron Content (TEC). Comparisons between results obtained by the proposed approaches and measured f0F2 and TEC data provide prospects for future applications of the artificial neural networks in ionospheric studies.
A review on the effects of cracking and crack width on corrosion of reinforcement in concrete

It is widely known that corrosion is one of the main problems that reinforced concrete structures may endure during their life‐cycle. This problem is usually tackled in a prescriptive manner, by limiting the crack width allowed to occur during structures' service life. In an attempt to better understand the effect that cracking and crack width can have on the corrosion process, as well as systematize the existing work in the field, this paper presents a summary of an in‐depth literature review on the topic of reinforcement corrosion in concrete. The main focus is devoted to chloride‐induced corrosion since that is the most widely studied corrosion mechanism, even though carbonation‐induced corrosion is also relatively briefly discussed. The paper also presents an overview of the existing guidelines that have been used in the past to analyze and support decision‐making regarding corrosion in reinforced concrete structures.
International trade impediments in Africa: is terrorism also in the dock?

Abstract Despite the abundant literature on the consequences of terrorism, little is known about the relationship between terrorism and international trade, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The purpose of this article is to fill this literature gap by assessing how terrorism affects international trade using a panel data of 24 countries over the period 2000–2020. This article applies different techniques such as ordinary least squares, fixed effects, Quantile Regression and the System Generalised Method of Moments. The results show that terrorism is an important determinant of international trade in SSA. Across a number of specifications, the results reveal that terrorism is also guilty of trade delay. Furthermore, the results show that governance is a potential channel through which terrorism transits to exert its harmful effect on international trade in SSA countries.
Analysis of Organic Mulching on Soil Fertility and the Productivity of Sweet Corn (Zea mays saccharata Sturt L.)

One of the causes of the low productivity of sweet corn is decreased soil productivity due to the leaching of nutrients by rainwater, tillage, and continuous application of inorganic fertilizers. The function of mulching is to increase soil moisture, suppress weed growth, and prevent soil erosion to create optimal soil conditions for plant growth. This study aimed to determine the effect of organic mulching on soil fertility and the productivity of sweet corn (Zea mays saccharata Sturt). This study used a Split Plot Design consisting of two factors, Tillage (P) and Organic Mulch (M) which had 6 levels, M0 = No Mulch, M1 = Plastic Mulch, M2 = Rice Straw Mulch, M3 =Cocopeat Mulch, M4 = Sawdust Mulch, M5 = Rice Husk Mulch. The results show that the M2 treatment of Rice Straw Mulch tended to increase soil fertility and had a significant effect on the productivity of sweet corn.
Creep Behavior of Fiber Reinforced Mortars and Its Effect to Reduce the Differential Shrinkage Stress

This research aims to develop durable repair materials that can resist shrinkage cracking by exploring the role of creep in reducing shrinkage stress. In this regard, the creep effect can only be quantified if an accurate creep prediction model and theoretical analysis of the shrinkage stress in the patch repair system exist. For this purpose, the research was carried out in the following sequences: first, the research investigated the short-term creep of the patch repair materials containing accelerator and micro-synthetic fibers in the 0.00–0.12% volume fraction range. This short-term creep was measured on five-cylinder specimens (having a diameter of 75 mm and a height of 275 mm). Three specimens were used to determine the deformation of the repair material under unloading conditions, while those remaining were used to determine the total deformation under loading conditions. The amount of creep deformation was determined by taking away the unloaded (shrinkage) and instantaneous (elastic) deformations from the total deformation of the loaded specimens. Secondly, a modified prediction model of ACI 209R-08 is introduced to accurately capture the rate and magnitude of the observed creep of the repair materials. Finally, a formulated theoretical analysis of shrinkage stress in the patch repair system was proposed to examine how creep potentially reduces the repair material's cracking tendency. The results show that the asymptotic value of the creep curve is attained at an earlier age and that its magnitude is greater than that of most concrete. The modified ACI 209R-08 prediction model can closely estimate the repair materials' creep behavior. The best-fit line, residual values, and coefficient of error analyses confirm the modified model's prediction accuracy. The analysis of tensile stress development in the repair layer suggests that creep can reduce stress by up to 50%. With such a reduction, the repair material is expected to be durable in resisting shrinkage and cracking tendency. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2023-09-08-014 Full Text: PDF
Translation Studies Research Orientation of S1 & S2 Sinta-indexed Journal Publications

Abstract. This descriptive qualitative research examines the distribution of translation studies of Sinta-indexed journals (S1 and S2) through a dataset of 19 journals and 60 articles. The objective of this article is to offer a clear depiction of the current direction that research is taking within the field of translation. The empirical results derived from the study demonstrate a discernibly higher frequency of S2 journals in comparison to their S1 counterparts. This observed disparity can reasonably be attributed to the divergent criteria employed in the classification of these journals as well as the ongoing progress and expansion of the journal landscape. S1 journals exhibit a greater inclination toward prioritizing applied translation studies, whereas both categories demonstrate a prevailing prevalence of research centered around pure translation, thereby suggesting a possible imperative to advance the deployment of research with applied orientations. The results of this study demonstrate a prevalence of the qualitative methodology in translation studies across both S1 and S2 journals. Quantitative research is notably infrequent, constituting a minority fraction of the publications, whereas mixed-method approaches are also limited but present to some extent. Collaborative efforts are observed in S1 publications, with larger-scale projects, whereas S2 publications involve smaller, collaborative teams. Foreign researchers contribute more to S1, while S2 showcases predominantly Indonesian authors, but both display international collaboration. Thus, encouraging more applied translation research and industry collaboration can enhance the practical impact of translation studies. The above findings are significant not only for scholars engaged in translation studies but also for journal editors when making editorial judgments.Keywords: Translation Studies, Research Orientation, Sinta 1, Sinta 2
Structure and Development of Two Merged Rainbands along the Baiu Front and the "Water Vapor Front" over the East China Sea during X-Baiu-99

Over the East China Sea during the Baiu season, convective rainbands are often generated to the south of the synoptic-scale convergence of the Baiu front. During a field experiment of X-BAIU-99 (Fig. 1), development of two merged rainbands observed over the East China Sea. A northern rainband was located along the Baiu front, and a southern rainband was observed in southerly wind field. The formation mechanism of a rainband other than the convergence of the Baiu front still has not been understood over ocean where there are no land effects. In this study, structure and development of two merged rainbands are investigated to understand the formation mechanism of rainbands in the south of the Baiu front.
Default Risk and Transition Dynamics with Carbon Shocks

Climate mitigation policies are being introduced around the world to limit global warming, generating new risks to the economy. This paper develops a continuous time heterogeneous agents model to study the impact of carbon pricing policy shocks on corporate default risk and the consequent transition dynamics. We derive a closed-form solution to corporate default probability based on firms' intertemporal optimization decisions and explicitly characterize the transition speed. This allows for studying policy implications in an analytically tractable way. The model is calibrated to different US corporate sectors to quantify the heterogeneous effects of carbon price shocks. While carbon-intensive sectors face increased default risks, there are notable asymmetric effects within sectors. Higher carbon prices increase default risk but also induce faster transition towards the new post-shock steady state with a highly non-linear impact. Our results suggest that once a range of possible price shocks are accounted for, the increase in the cost of capital/risk premiums might be sharply different across sectors. RECOMMENDED CITATION: Lamichhane, S. 2023. “Default Risk and Transition Dynamics with Carbon Shocks. ” IMF Working Paper 2023174, Monetary Fund, Washington, DC. JEL Classification Numbers: G32, G12, E44, Q58
Lessons Learnt from Application of Farmer Field School Approach for Dissemination of Technologies to Seed Potato Farmers in Sri Lanka

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of the Farmer Field School Approach in disseminating technologies for improving Farmers’ knowledge and adoption of cultivation practices related to seed potato cultivations in Sri Lanka. The stratified purposive sampling technique was performed to select 40 seed potato farmers who participated in FFS programs (FFS group) and another 40 farmers who were not attended the same (NFFS Group) living in 5 Agricultural Instructor (AI) ranges in the Kandy district in Sri Lanka. A cross-sectional field survey was administrated using pretested questionnaire followed by focus group discussions to collect primary data on socio-economic status, knowledge and adoption level, yield and cost of production, etc., and also farmers’ attitude towards the FFS approach on 5 dimensions (Effectiveness, Efficiency, Relevance, Impact, Sustainability). The qualitative parameters of the above were measured using 5 points Likert scales and developing indexes and applying descriptive analysis, hypothesis testing, and inferential analysis using the Ordered Logistic Regression model to measure variables and explain the relationship among the tested parameters using SPSS statistical package. A significant difference was observed between FFS and NFFS seed potato growers in terms of knowledge, field practices adoption, land productivity, and production cost. The Ordered Logistic Regression model findings reveal that the model as a whole fit significantly at a 95% confidence level. Pseudo R square expresses that 26.75 % proportion of the variance in adoption level significantly improved the recommended potato cultivation practices as explained by seven independent variables (Education at 2 levels, Experience, Index of Social Participation, Group dynamic, Satisfaction, and Sustainability). Hence, this study proved that the Farmer Field School approach is effective as an agricultural innovation and dissemination platform in all dimensions for significantly improving farmers’ Knowledge and adoption level of cultivation practices leading to increased productivity and profitability.
“Exploring police officers’ perceptions of their female colleagues in Uttar Pradesh, India: a phenomenological analysis”

ABSTRACT This study aimed to explore Indian police officers’ perceptions of their female colleagues through Bourdieu and Chan’s framework of habitus, practice, field, and capital. We interviewed 12 police officers in Allahabad, India, who were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling. We translated, transcribed and coded their interviews from Hindi to English. Applying Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, we identified two major themes: (1) the work of women is consistently devalued in policing culture; and (2) patriarchal sentiments influence police officers’ views towards their female colleagues. This study expands our understanding of the prevalent gender bias against female police officers in India. Findings may assist in redesigning policies and interventions that reduce gender bias and discrimination within Indian police organisations.
Fast Opium Poppy Detection in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Imagery Based on Deep Neural Network

Opium poppy is a medicinal plant, and its cultivation is illegal without legal approval in China. Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is an effective tool for monitoring illegal poppy cultivation. However, targets often appear occluded and confused, and it is difficult for existing detectors to accurately detect poppies. To address this problem, we propose an opium poppy detection network, YOLOHLA, for UAV remote sensing images. Specifically, we propose a new attention module that uses two branches to extract features at different scales. To enhance generalization capabilities, we introduce a learning strategy that involves iterative learning, where challenging samples are identified and the model’s representation capacity is enhanced using prior knowledge. Furthermore, we propose a lightweight model (YOLOHLA-tiny) using YOLOHLA based on structured model pruning, which can be better deployed on low-power embedded platforms. To evaluate the detection performance of the proposed method, we collect a UAV remote sensing image poppy dataset. The experimental results show that the proposed YOLOHLA model achieves better detection performance and faster execution speed than existing models. Our method achieves a mean average precision (mAP) of 88.2% and an F1 score of 85.5% for opium poppy detection. The proposed lightweight model achieves an inference speed of 172 frames per second (FPS) on embedded platforms. The experimental results showcase the practical applicability of the proposed poppy object detection method for real-time detection of poppy targets on UAV platforms.
Chronic stress induces meiotic arrest failure and ovarian reserve decline via the cAMP signaling pathway

Chronic stress is suspected to be a causal factor of female subfertility; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we found that chronic stress inhibited the cyclic adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cAMP) signaling pathway, leading to ovarian reserve decline in mice. A chronic stress model was constructed using restraint stress for 8 weeks. An elongated estrous cycle and a significant increase in the number of atretic follicles were observed in the stress group. We identified a significant increase in meiotic arrest failure (MAF) in oocytes in the stress group, characterized by condensed metaphase chromosomes, assembled spindles, or polar bodies in the oocytes. Whole-mount ovarian reserve estimation at the single-oocyte level using the CUBIC method (clear, unobstructed brain/body imaging cocktails and computational analysis) revealed a significant decrease in quiescent oocytes from 2,261/ovary in the control group to 1,373/ovary in the stress group. The number of growing oocytes also significantly decreased from 220/ovary in the control group to 150/ovary in the stress group. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analysis of the meiotic arrest maintenance pathways revealed significant downregulation of Gpr3, Nppc, and Npr2 in the stress group. These results indicate that blocking cAMP production contributes to MAF and a decline in ovarian reserve. Overall, we present new insights into the mechanisms underlying chronic-stress-induced oocyte loss and potential targets for ovarian reserve preservation.
Responses of tree populations and forest composition to selective logging in Guyana.

Tropical rainforests in Guyana are characterised by small-scale disturbance regimes. As a result, tree communities are dominated by shade-tolerant climax species that are adapted to these low and infrequent disturbance events, while pioneers are hardly present. Selective logging in these forests increases the disturbance intensity and was expected to affect population dynamics of different species differently and to change species composition and increase diversity conform the predictions of the intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH) for forests with low disturbance intensity. We studied the responses in population dynamics of saplings (2-5 cm DBH) and poles (5-20 cm DBH) of three functional groups (pioneer, long-lived pioneer and climax) to logging in plots in Pibiri, Central Guyana. Additionally we examined effects of logging on functional group composition and tree diversity in Pibiri (6 years data) and Northwest Guyana (5 years data) in plots with harvest intensities ranging from 0 (control) to 16 trees ha. The classification of species into three functional groups was based on their wood density and seed mass. Wood density is shown to be a good predictor of a species’ potential maximum growth rate. In Pibiri, 6 years after logging light conditions were still positively related to harvest intensity. All groups showed increased growth rates with increased light availability. In the higher light classes the growth rates of pioneer poles and saplings were higher than for the other two groups. Especially, highly increased recruitment rates (47% yr) in high light climate resulted in fast net population gain rates for pioneer saplings (44 % yr) in high light conditions. In the Northwest, the abundance of pioneer saplings increased from 1% to 7% in logged plots and of pioneer poles from 2% to 8%, while in Pibiri only pioneer saplings increased from 0% to 6.2% with increasing harvest intensity. In all cases the increased relative abundance of pioneers was at the expense of relative abundances of climax species. In both forest areas, tree α-diversity of saplings, as measured by Fisher’s α, significantly increased with increasing harvest intensity. The results of this study are consistent with the predictions of the IDH for forests at the low intensity end of the disturbance range. Logging increased light availability and created more suitable habitat conditions for successful regeneration of pioneer species that were previously virtually absent. From the trends that we found we made predictions for longer-term effects of logging. Long-term monitoring studies or studies with simulation models are needed to test further hypotheses on the longterm effects of logging.
Research Progress of Model of Vacuum Arc and Anode Activity Under Axial Magnetic Fields

Modeling and numerical simulation is an important tool for the research of the physical mechanisms of the vacuum arc (VA). Compared with the experiments of the VA, numerical simulation is more efficient and economical. Axial magnetic fields (AMFs) are also the most popular control technology in vacuum interrupters and other application fields. First, the model of VA was reviewed from a relatively simple zero-order one to 2-D one, and then a 3-D one, which gives us a more comprehensive understanding of VA. Second, the influence of spatial distribution of magnetic fields on VA behavior is also studied. VA behavior under different commercial AMF contacts was simulated and compared based on 3-D magnetohydro-dynamic model. Influence of the radial slots and magnetic field generated by adjacent phase and bus bar on arc characteristics has been reviewed. Third, the VA modeling with active anode is reviewed and discussed. Anode vapor can cool arc plasma, and leads to changed distribution of current density and plasma parameters. Model and simulation technology of anode activity have also been reviewed in this paper, from 1-D, 2-D, to 3-D, and then the deformation of anode melting pool is considered. Deformation of anode melting pool will make anode temperature more reasonable. Finally, the challenge and research direction of VA modeling is also given and discussed.