Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Water Quality Assessment in a Less Anthropogenic Forest Stream in the Centre Region of Cameroon

A study was carried out in a less anthropogenic forest stream, the Abouda stream, an affluent of Nga stream in the Mefou watershed, to evaluate the health status of this lotic hydrosystem. Physico-chemical analysis showed that the water is slightly acidic, well oxygenated and poor in suspended solids, conditions which are favourable for a better development of benthic macroinvertebrates. Significant differences of dissolved oxygen, ammonium and phosphates were recorded. Benthic macroinvertebrates were sampled using the multi-habitat approach and the biological results revealed a total of 1951 individuals belonging to 5 phyla, 6 classes, 15 orders, 74 families, and 79 species. Most of the organisms sampled belonged to the phylum of Arthropoda, the class of Insecta and the order of Hemiptera. The Hierarchical Ascending Classification (HAC) showed a high similarity between stations Abouda 1 (A1) and Abouda 3 (A3). Furthermore, the Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA), which gives the level of affinity between physico-chemical and biological variables, divided the stations between groups according to their affinities. The diversity index of Shannon and Weaver and the equitability index of Piélou showed that, stations A2 and A3 are more diversified and therefore favourable to a better development of benthic macroinvertebrates. This high diversity is confirmed by S rensen s similarity coefficient whose values are above 60 % indicated a high resemblance between stations A2 and A3.
Home Blood Pressure Monitoring and Hypertension Control

Hypertension affects approximately 65 million individuals in the United States and it is a leading modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. It is an independent predictor of all-cause mortality. Despite recent improvement in the global trend of hypertension, high blood pressure (BP) still remains a huge public health and economic burden and the percentage of uncontrolled BP still remain high and unacceptable. Home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) is increasingly being recognized as having a significant contribution to BP control when compared to conventional BP monitoring. It has also been shown to have better reproducibility and prognostic predictive value, and reduce the cost of care associated with hypertension. It is therefore imperative to understand the barriers to successful adoption and implementation of HBPM and address such barriers through evidence-based interventions.
Outcome of Living Donor Liver Transplantation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: An Egyptian Experience

The aim of our study was to examine the outcome results and recurrence rates for patients with HCC who underwent LDLT. This study was conducted on 25 adult recipients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma who underwent living donor liver transplantation at Dar El-Fouad hospital from August 2001 to January 2007 aiming to evaluate the outcome of living donor liver transplantation for HCC including survival rates, recurrence of HCC. Mean duration of follow up was 709±669 days; 14 patients (56%) were alive at the end of follow up, there was recurrence of liver fibrosis due to HCV infection in 6 cases (24%), Mean time of recurrence of hepatitis was 6.3±2.9 months; range was 1-9 months. While there was HCC recurrence in 2 cases (8%). Mean time of recurrence of HCC was 3.2±1.1 months; range was 3-4 months. The cause of death in HCC patients was: A) Biliary obstruction, leakage and sepsis in 7 cases. B) Massive bleeding (haematemesis, haemoptysis), congestion of liver graft, sepsis in 2 cases. C) Fresh bleeding per rectum of unknown origin in 2 cases. There was no significant difference between cases inside and outside Milan criteria or between HCC and non-HCC patients as regard duration of survival. We concluded that living donor liver transplantation provides better prognosis and survival rates for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. The main findings in outcome are histological recurrence of HCV and HCC. Main causes of death were biliary obstruction, leakage and sepsis.
A Study on Anthropometric Dimension of the Foot amongst Undergraduate Students in Malaysia

Article History Received: 11.08. 2018 Accepted: 25.08. 2018 Published: 30.09. 2018 Abstract: The foot anthropometric data provides highly important information for anatomist, forensic scientist, physical anthropologist, health science, sports science &medical science professionals and also footwear industrial personals. The appropriate use of foot anthropometry data may aid in individual identification, assessment of health status, comfort and safety. The anthropometric variations not only depend on genetic inheritance, but also differs based on environment, geographical demarcations, ethnicities and cultures. Though some of the foot anthropometric studies are carried out in Malaysian population, but still a comprehensive foot anthropometry data among undergraduate students in Malaysia is limited. The study included 227 undergraduate students of AIMST University. Their age ranged from 18-25 years, with Malaysian citizenship. The data collection procedures followed was in accordance with the ethical standards of AIMST University committee. The FL measurements were carried out using digital sliding calliper (Mitutoyo, ABSOLUTE, Model No. CD-12” PSX, Serial No.0051322) with standard procedures and techniques. The FL measurement values were recorded in the nearest millimetre. All data were analyzed with SPSS trial version 22. The Independent T-test was used to analyze the difference in foot length between the right foot and the left foot of each gender. The socio-demographic data and the foot dimensions of the participants were described with descriptive analysis. The results showed that there were no significant differences between right foot length (FLR) with left foot length (FLL) in male feet but a significant different of right foot length (FLR) with left foot length (FLL) in female feet. The study showed no significant bilateral foot asymmetry in male foot but a significant bilateral foot asymmetry in female foot. The anthropometric data obtained in this particular study will not only help to establish the individual profile of the university student but also it will be of great value in practical applications and for further studies in this field.
Machine Learning Analysis of Individual Tumor Lesions in Four Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Clinical Studies: Linking Tumor Heterogeneity to Overall Survival

Total tumor size (TS) metrics used in TS models in oncology do not consider tumor heterogeneity, which could help to better predict drug efficacy. We analyzed individual target lesions (iTLs) of patients with metastatic colorectal carcinoma (mCRC) to determine differences in TS dynamics by using the ClassIfication Clustering of Individual Lesions (CICIL) methodology. Results from subgroup analyses comparing genetic mutations and TS metrics were assessed and applied to survival analyses. Data from four mCRC clinical studies were analyzed (1781 patients, 6369 iTLs). CICIL was used to assess differences in lesion TS dynamics within a tissue (intra-class) or across different tissues (inter-class). First, lesions were automatically classified based on their location. Cross-correlation coefficients (CCs) determined if each pair of lesions followed similar or opposite dynamics. Finally, CCs were grouped by using the K-means clustering method. Heterogeneity in tumor dynamics was lower in the intra-class analysis than in the inter-class analysis for patients receiving cetuximab. More tumor heterogeneity was found in KRAS mutated patients compared to KRAS wild-type (KRASwt) patients and when using sum of longest diameters versus sum of products of diameters. Tumor heterogeneity quantified as the median patient’s CC was found to be a predictor of overall survival (OS) (HR = 1.44, 95% CI 1.08–1.92), especially in KRASwt patients. Intra- and inter-tumor tissue heterogeneities were assessed with CICIL. Derived metrics of heterogeneity were found to be a predictor of OS time. Considering differences between lesions’ TS dynamics could improve oncology models in favor of a better prediction of OS.
Examining environmental influences on food choice with fake foods

Experimental research in behavioural nutrition is often limited by practical applicability. In the present study, we assess the reproducibility and validity of a new experimental method using food replicas. A total of fifty-seven people were invited on two separate occasions with an interval of 2 weeks to serve themselves a meal from a fake food buffet (FFB) containing replica carrots, beans, pasta and chicken. The external validity of the FFB was assessed in a second study by comparing meals served from replica foods (beans, pasta, chicken) with meals served from a corresponding real food buffet (RFB). For the second study, forty-eight participants were invited on two separate occasions; first to serve themselves a meal from the FFB or an RFB and 2 weeks later from the other buffet. The amounts of food items served and (theoretical) energy content were compared. Correlation coefficients between the amounts of fake foods served were 0.77 (95 % CI 0.68, 0.86) for chicken, 0.79 (95 % CI 0.68, 0.87) for carrots, 0.81 (95 % CI 0.69, 0.89) for beans and 0·89 (95 % CI 0.82, 0.93) for pasta. For the FFB meal and the RFB meal, the correlations ranged between 0.76 (95 % CI 0.73, 0.91) for chicken and 0.87 (95 % CI 0.77, 0.92) for beans. The theoretical energy of the fake meal was 132 kJ (32 kcal) lower compared to the energy of the real meal. Results suggest that the FFB can be a valuable tool for the experimental assessment of relative effects of environmental influences on portion sizes and food choice under well-controlled conditions. 2.
Consumer Trust Model: The Impact of Satisfaction and E-Service Quality toward Repurchase Intention in E-Commerce

This study aims to examine and analyze the effect of satisfaction and e-service quality on consumer trust towards repurchase intention in e-commerce industry. Research data is primary data derived from online questionnaires sent to consumers which at least had done transaction in Lazada E-commerce. Sampling numbers in this research are 180 respondents and the analysis method used is SEM (Structural Equation Modelling) with AMOS 24 Software. Trust is able to mediate satisfaction and e-service quality with repurchase intention in e-commerce industry. Repurchase intentions is key value of e-commerce success. The study provide evidence that trust can is built through customer satisfaction and e-service quality.
Analysis Earning Management Practice: Approach Discretionary Loss Loan Provision (Case Study of Islamic Banks di Indonesia tahun 2011-2016)

The purpose of the study is to analysis wheter management did Earning Management with approach discretionary loss loan provision and use 5 indicator of bank operation performance at bank sharia for the period 2011 – 2016. Based on empirical result from the bank sharia financial report, the study find: (1) the two earnings-related variables, namely earnings before loan loss provisions and one-year-ahead earnings, are significantly related to discretionary loan loss provision; (2) non-performing loans ratio is are not found to be significantly linked to discretionary loan loss provisions, but bad debts coverage ratio and capital adeuqcy ratio are significantly linked to discretionary loan loss provisions. Finally, our findings indicate that bank managers may use discretionary loan loss provisions to engage in earnings management when the earnings before loan loss provisions.
Prevalence and distribution of oral health knowledge according to sociodemographic, behavioural and clinical characteristics in selected coastal districts of Tanzania

Background: Having knowledge about health issues is necessary for making informed decisions related to practicing lifestyles conducive to good health. The aim of this study was to identify socio-demographic, behavioural and clinical covariates of knowledge related to the cause and prevention of oral diseases among older adults in Tanzania. Methods: A cross sectional household survey was conducted in two regions of Tanzania; Pwani and Dar es Salaam city. A total 1031 older adults aged 55 and above were personally interviewed, before undergoing a full mouth examination. Results: the proportion of older adults with knowledge (total knowledge score≥ 1) on dental caries and gum disease was 14.9% and 2.3%, respectively. Having low education level, belonging to a lower wealth quartile and lack of perceived need to see a dentist, were strongly associated with having no knowledge on dental caries. None of the covariates were significantly associated with knowledge on gum disease. Conclusion: Knowledge on the two oral diseases is low among older adults interviewed. Factors associated with knowledge demonstrate substantial socio economic disparities. Development of policies and health education programs that target behavioural and socio economic determinants is recommended.
209QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE TIMED UP AND GO IN ELDERLY PATIENTS POST HIP FRACTURE IN A SUB-ACUTE REHABILITATION SETTING

Background: The Timed Up and Go is a reliable and valid outcome measure to assess change in patients post hip fracture. Advances in technology have used inertial sensors for the quantitative analysis of the Timed Up and Go (QTUG) and enhanced the scope for harnessing information from the test. However, no studies have investigated their use in hip fracture patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of the QTUG in the assessment of hip fracture patients in a sub-acute geriatric rehabilitation setting. Methods: Sixteen participants post hip fracture admitted to an inpatient post-acute rehabilitation unit were assessed on admission and at discharge using the QTUG. Individual phases of QTUG (sit-stand, walk, turn and stand-sit time) were compared between admission and discharge, as well as spatiotemporal characteristics of gait. Results: There was a signi ﬁ cant improvement in the overall mean QTUG times between admission and discharge ( -9.3seconds; 95% CI 5.6 to 12.9, p<0.001). Each individual phase of the QTUG (sit-stand, walking, turning, stand-sit) also showed statistically signi ﬁ - cant improvements. There was no change in the proportion of overall time spent per-forming each phase of the QTUG between admission and discharge, demonstrating each component improved proportionally. When data were compared to normative data for community-dwelling elderly, 31% of participants remained greater than 2 SDs outside of normative data for overall TUG time, 25% for walk time and 13% for turn time. All participants had returned to normal ranges for sit-stand and stand-sit transitions. Conclusion: QTUG is a
Effect of preheating on the cytotoxicity of bulk-fill composite resins

Background. Due to the effect of pre-heating on the degree of conversion of composite resins and the possible effect on cytotoxicity, the effect of pre-heating of bulk-fill composite resins was investigated on cytotoxicity in this study. Methods. In this study, three different types of composite resin were used, including Tetric N-Ceram Bulk-Fil, Xtrafil, and Xtrabase. From each composite resin, 10 cylindrical samples (5 mm in diameter and 4 mm in height) were prepared, with five samples preheated to 68°C, and the other five samples polymerized at room temperature (25°C). Twenty-four hours after polymerization, cytotoxicity was assessed by MTT assay on human fibroblasts. Statistical analysis of data was carried out with two-way ANOVA and Sidak Post-Hoc. The significance level of the test was determined at 0.05. Results. There was no statistically significant difference between the mean percentage of cytotoxicity in terms of pre-heating (P>0.05), but the cytotoxicity of the studied composite resins was significantly different (P<0.001). The cytotoxicity of Tetric N-Ceram Bulk-fil composite resin was higher than that of the two other composite resins. Conclusion. Pre-heating of bulk-fill composite resin did not affect their cytotoxicity. In addition, the cytotoxicity of different bulk-fill composite resins was not the same.
Coagulase Negative Staphylococci as a Pathogen from Wound Infections in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Introduction: Wound infections are a common type of infections that may contribute to longer hospital stay. Most of these infections are superficial and readily treated with a regimen of local care and antibiotics. Determination of the etiologic agent is vital in the final choice of antibiotics. CoNS are previously considered as contaminants and non-pathogenic have been identified as the etiological agents in most hospital acquired infections. These were considered clinically significant when isolated in pure culture from infected sites and in repeated samples. Material and Methods: Retrospective statistical analysis from Jan – Dec 2015. 283 swabs from wound infections were processed by following standard operative procedures. All samples were subjected to direct microscopy (Gram staining) and culture. Culture positive samples were processed by doing Gram staing and Coagulase test. Coagulase negative staphylococcal isolates (CoNS) were subjected for antibiotic susceptibility testing. Results: Of total 283 samples, 159 were culture positive (56.18%). Among 159 isolates 55 were Coagulase negative staphylococci (34.59%). The isolates showed high susceptibility to vancomycin (85.45%). But 80% of CoNS were MRCoNS. Susceptibility to gentamycin was high (69.09%) followed by Amoxiclav (amoxicillin and clavulanic acid - 58.18%), ciprofloxacin (52.72%), ceftriaxone (38.18%), cefaperazone and penicillin (36.36%) and cotrimaxazole (27.27%). Conclusions: 1. CoNS should be considered as an emerging pathogen in wound infections. 2. CoNS is becoming resistant to commonly used antibiotics. 3. CoNS is developing resistance even to vancomycin. Key words: Antibiotic susceptibility testing, Methicillin resistance, Pathogen, Wound infections
Structural and Optical Properties of ZnO Thin Films Prepared by Molecular Precursor and Sol–Gel Methods

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a versatile and inexpensive semiconductor with a wide direct band gap that has applicability in several scientific and technological fields. In this work, we report the synthesis of ZnO thin films via two simple and low-cost synthesis routes, i.e., the molecular precursor method (MPM) and the sol–gel method, which were deposited successfully on microscope glass substrates. The films were characterized for their structural and optical properties. X-ray diffraction (XRD) characterization showed that the ZnO films were highly c-axis (0 0 2) oriented, which is of interest for piezoelectric applications. The surface roughness derived from atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis indicates that films prepared via MPM were relatively rough with an average roughness (Ra) of 2.73 nm compared to those prepared via the sol–gel method (Ra = 1.55 nm). Thin films prepared via MPM were more transparent than those prepared via the sol–gel method. The optical band gap of ZnO thin films obtained via the sol–gel method was 3.25 eV, which falls within the range found by other authors. However, there was a broadening of the optical band gap (3.75 eV) in thin films derived from MPM.
An Economic Model of Foreign Language Learning and Its Implications for Econometric Analysis

DOI: 10.21276/sjhss.2017. 2.12. 5 Abstract: In this paper, we build a formal, rigorous economic model for foreign language learning, taking language input and language output as two crucial factors working jointly to generate language competence. The central idea behind our model is that the learner, constrained by limited resources, is confronted with a tradeoff between input-oriented training and output-oriented training. First, one major contribution of our modeling lies in its effort to reconcile the Input Hypothesis with the Output Hypothesis in the literature by showing that one important aspect of the learner’s learning strategy, i.e. the input-output mix, is crucially dependent on the learning environment. Second, our modeling provides guidelines for data based empirical research, where the partial effects of the variables of interest can be estimated and hypotheses on the directions and magnitudes of the effects can be tested, econometrically. Third, our modeling also provides insights that can assist language instructors in making and fine-tuning teaching strategies.
To Determine the Correlation between D-Dimer and CD4+ T-Cell Count in HIV Treatment-Naive and Treatment-Experienced Patients in Port-Harcourt, Nigeria

Background: Reports suggest that HIV-infected patients have elevated D-dimer levels that may be related to chronic inflammation and coagulation abnormalities. Levels of D-dimer have also been reported to be higher in HIV treatmentnaïve patients compared to treatmentexperienced patients. HIV infection has also been associated with a decrease in the number of both CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells resulting primarily from a combination of increased apoptosis and decreased lymphopoiesis. Methods: Eighty (80) subjects attending HIV clinic at the University of Port-Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Rivers state who satisfied the inclusion criteria were enrolled into the study. A commercial assay kit; ELISA Kit for D-Dimer (D2D) (manufactured by Uscn Life Science Incorporated R USA) was used with a TC96+ ELISA microplate reader (manufactured by Ceco diagnostic R USA) to determine the D-dimer level. CD4 + T-cell count was evaluated using the Partec Cyflow counter-1, a single-platform, three-parameter (SSC plus two-colour fluorescence) desktop volumetric flow cytometer (manufactured by Sysmex Partec R Germany). Full blood count was carried out on the EDTA anticoagulated sample using the Horiba Abx Micros 60 Haematology Analyser (manufactured by Horiba instruments incorporated R USA). Results: The D-dimer level was found to be lower in HAARTexperienced subjects (288.35 ± 129.12 ng/ml) than HAART-naïve subjects (389.85 ± 217.61ng/ml.) (P= 0.013). The mean CD4+ T-cell count of HAART–naïve subjects was 379.33±287.25 cell/ul and for HAART–experienced subjects was 387.55±334.85 cell/ul. Their mean difference was not statistically significant (P=0.906). Conclusion: It was observed that there was no correlation between D-Dimer and CD4+ T-cell count in HAART-naive and experienced subjects.
Analysis and Improvement of Document Classification based on Word2vec and TF-IDF

Recently, deep learning approaches have been proposed for document classiﬁcation. A common approach is to combine word2vec embeddings with CNNs. However, there is no clear foundation how much of the success of the combination can be attributed to the word embeddings, and the choices of di ﬀ erent pre-trained vectors and classiﬁers. Meanwhile, word2vec embeddings ignore the importance of the word to a document among the corpus. To solve this problem, an improved weighting method based on TF-IDF is proposed in this paper. Several experiments are conducted in order to assess the robustness and e ﬀ ectiveness of di ﬀ erent variants including the proposed method.
Rising Longevity, Increasing the Retirement Age, and the Consequences for Knowledge‐based Long‐run Growth

We assess the long-run growth effects of rising longevity and increasing the retirement age when growth is driven by purposeful research and development. In contrast to economies in which growth depends on learning-by-doing spillovers, raising the retirement age fosters economic growth. How economic growth changes in response to rising life expectancy depends on the retirement response. Employing numerical analysis we find that the requirement for experiencing a growth stimulus from rising longevity is fulfilled for the United States, nearly met for the average OECD economy, but missed by the EU and by Japan.