Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measuring hearing handicap for hearing impaired adults in the Philippines: A profound conundrum

Objective: The current study aimed to evaluate hearing handicap and its correlates in a Filipino population utilizing either the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (screening version) (HHIE-S) or Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adults (screening version) (HHIA-S) (dependent on age). An investigation of the psychometric properties of the questionnaires, including factor analysis to evaluate the subscales was also conducted. Study sample: Three hundred and nine participants (18–86 years) were recruited from a population attending a hearing aid donation program in Manila, Philippines. Results: The average hearing handicap (HHIE-S/HHIA-S) total score was high (26.28) consistent with the high mean hearing threshold (85.7 dB HL); however, simple correlation and regression analysis revealed no relationship between hearing threshold and HHIE-S/HHIA-S score. Subsequently, mild-to-severe and profound subgroups were delineated. In the mild-to-severe group, hearing handicap score correlated positively with hearing threshold and negatively with SES. This relationship was not seen in the profound group. MANOVA suggested different response patterns on the HHIE-S/HHIA-S for the two subgroups. Principal component analysis revealed two factors in the HHIE-S/HHIA-S that varied somewhat from the emotional and social subscales intended in the original questionnaire. Conclusions: This study suggests that the HHIE-S and HHIA-S questionnaires are not sensitive to the handicap caused by profound hearing loss. The cause of this lack of sensitivity is not clear but may reflect a ceiling effect. Alternatively, self-rated hearing handicap may be reduced in those exposed to manual communication, or in those who have a congenital hearing loss but who have received minimal intervention.
Cross‐cultural differences in eyewitness memory reports

Increasingly, investigators conduct interviews with eyewitnesses from different cultures. The culture in which people have been socialised can impact the way they encode, remember, and report information about their experiences. We examined whether eyewitness memory reports of mock witnesses from collectivistic (sub-Saharan Africa) and individualistic (Northern Europe) cultures differed regarding quantity and quality of central and background details reported. Mock witnesses (total N = 200) from rural Ghana, urban Ghana, and the Netherlands were shown stimuli scenes of crimes in Dutch and Ghanaian settings and provided free and cued recalls. Individualistic culture mock witnesses reported the most details, irrespective of detail type. For each cultural group, mock witnesses reported more correct central details when crime was witnessed in their own native setting than a non-native setting, though for different recall domains. The findings provide insight for legal and investigative professionals as well as immigration officials eliciting memory reports in cross-cultural contexts.
Emerging neuroimaging technologies: Towards future personalized diagnostics, prognosis, targeted intervention and ethical challenges. (Chapter ?)

Urs Ribary, Alex L Mackay, Alex Rauscher, Christine M Tipper, Deborah E Giaschi, Todd S Woodward, Vesna Sossi, Sam M Doesburg, Lawrence M Ward, Anthony Herdman, Ghassan Hamarneh, Brian G Booth, and Alexander Moiseev. Departments of Psychology, Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Computing Science, Medical Image Analysis Lab (MIAL), Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Institute (BCNI), at Simon Fraser University (SFU), Vancouver, Canada; Departments of Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Radiology, Physics and Astronomy, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Psychology, Audiology, UBC MRI Research Centre, Brain Research Centre, at University of British Columbia (UBC) Vancouver, Canada; Child & Family Research Imaging Facility (CFRIF) at BC Children’s Hospital, Vancouver, Canada; iMinds-Vision Lab, University of Antwerp, Belgium.
Research on the mechanism of heat transfer enhancement in microchannel heat sinks with micropin fins

In this paper, the pressure drop and heat transfer features of a microchannel applying micropin fins are investigated by numerical simulations and experiments. The microchannel, which is 20‐mm long, 2.7‐mm wide, and 0.3‐mm deep, is fabricated with copper and consisted of staggered diamond micropin fins. The visualization experiments, by means of the advanced technology micro‐particle image velocimetry (PIV), are conducted to discuss the mechanism of heat transfer by analysing the flow regimes. Meanwhile, 3D‐coupled numerical simulations are applied for the combination with experiments in this research. It is found that the vortex‐wake flow is stable at Reynolds number (Re) = 0 to 300, and a steady recirculating zone can be observed in the wake, where a pair of symmetrical vortices is formed. All the time, the vortex‐wake flow is unstable at Re = 300 to 650. Under this situation, it is due to the decrease of vorticity that the Nusselt number (Nu) is not significantly increased as it was expected. Thus, when Nu in the pin fin microchannel is predicted, the vorticity should be considered as well as turbulent kinetic energy (TKE). Furthermore, comparative study was carried out based on the mechanism proposed in this study among three kinds of microchannel with different fins, including staggered circular pin fins (CPF), square pin fins (SPF), and diamond pin fins (DPF).
Chemical blindness in Liolaemus lizards is counterbalanced by visual signals, the case of two species with different communication modalities

Animals employ a wide variety of communication tactics that rely on distinct sensory modalities. Lizards are characterized by their heightened dependence on chemical and visual communication. Some authors have proposed that a reduced number of chemical secretory pores may be associated with an increased visual dependence in some species. Here, we study two species of Liolaemus lizards with different chemical features to compare their visual and chemical communication. The first species, L. coeruleus, does not have precloacal pores in either sex, while L. albiceps has precloacal pores in both sexes. We expect that L. coeruleus will principally adhere to the visual modality, while L. albiceps will show greater chemical responses. We filmed the lizard’s response to different chemical and visual stimuli. In the trials, both species demonstrated chemical self-recognition, L. albiceps exhibited less total time in motion but more behavioural displays in the presence of conspecific scents, suggesting conspecific chemical recognition too. On the other hand, visuals results showed that L. coeruleus reacted more to the presence of conspecifics than L. albiceps. These observations suggest that L. coeruleus relies more on visual signalization, while L. albiceps has a greater dependence on chemical communication. Our results may indicate a correspondence between precloacal secretions and the response to these by conspecifics in both species studied.
Pé diabético e amputações em pessoas internadas em hospital público: estudo transversal Diabetic foot and amputations on people in a public hospital: cross-sectional study

Introduction: The diabetic foot is one of the most devastating chronic complications of diabetes mellitus. More than 60% of non-traumatic lower limb amputations occur in diabetic people. Objective: To characterize sociodemographic and clinically the hospitalized patients for diabetic foot by differentiating the profile between amputees and not amputated subjects. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a public hospital from January to June 2014. We have included patients hospitalized due to diabetic foot. A data form was used and completed through interviews with patients and medical record review. The sociodemographic and clinical data were analyzed according to the total sample and study groups: the amputees and not amputated patients. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was done, using the χ2 test of independence. Results: Forty-two people were hospitalized due to diabetic foot and there were, 26 amputees (61.9%). There was a prevalence of males among amputees and women among non-amputees. The predominant age was between 50 and 69 years in both groups. It was observed that there was a statistically significant association between classifications (Wagner and PEDIS) and frequency of amputation, and the higher the degree of classification, the higher the frequency of amputation. Conclusion: In general, data presented in this study are similar to the ones in literature. The classifications (Wagner and PEDIS) have shown to be useful to identify the severity of the diabetic foot.
Community-Based versus Statistical Targeting of Anti-Poverty Programs: Evidence from Burkina Faso

Targeting of governmental welfare programmes in low-income countries commonly relies on statistical procedures involving household-level data, while smaller-scale programmes often employ community-based targeting, where village communities themselves identify beneficiaries. Combining original data from community-based targeting exercises in Burkina Faso with a household survey we compare the targeting accuracy of community-based targeting with four common statistical targeting methods when the objective is to target consumption-poor households. We find that community-based targeting is substantially less accurate than statistical targeting in villages, while it is as accurate as the much more costly statistical methods in semi-urban areas. We show that this difference is due to differences in poverty concepts held by rural and urban communities. Its large cost advantage makes community-based targeting far more cost-effective than statistical targeting for common amounts of welfare programme benefits.
Development of an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Primary Care Telephone Clinic

Development of an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Primary Care Telephone Clinic This pilot project developed and implemented a telephone clinic based on established Veterans Affairs telephone policy and procedures and determined patient acceptability of this new visit type as an alternative to face to face visits. The review of the literature produced research that indicates telephone clinics are a viable visit option for patients. Telephone visits provide access to the primary care provider while being convenient and economical for patients. Research studies demonstrate that patients are satisfied with this visit option. The pilot project was successfully implemented in a Veterans Administration Community Based Outpatient Clinic. To evaluate the effectiveness of the project, cycle time measurements and patient satisfaction surveys for telephone visits and face to face visits were obtained. The telephone visits were found to have shorter provider visit wait times than patients having an in-clinic provider evaluation and also were found to have shorter provider visit durations than face to face visits. These findings did not affect patient satisfaction as patients who received telephone visits responded positively regarding their satisfaction with care. Overall, there was no statistical difference in patient satisfaction with patients who received telephone visits as compared to those who received a face to face provider visit. The telephone clinic improved clinic efficiency and provided more available appointment slots to care for more complex patients. APRN-led Telephone Clinic Kaiser, Linda, 2012, UMSL 6
Highly Efficient Fruit Mass and Size Estimation Using Only Top View Images

This paper presents a new methodology for the estimation of the mass and size of a common Vietnamese fruit, the cavendish-type banana. We only used top-view images. Most previous works focused on volume estimation using a plurality of cameras to infer the three-dimensional information. In this work, we only used a single camera mounted on top of the fruit. We have found that our proposal leads to a relatively small estimation error (approximately 6%) compared to the results obtained from the measurements using a water-displacement method and a static digital scale. The results indicate that our system shows a great potential to be used in a real industrial setting. Future work will aim to investigate other features such as ripeness and bruises to increase the effectiveness and practicality of the system.
Widely Targeted Metabolomic and Transcriptomic Analyses of a Novel Albino Tea Mutant of “Rougui”

Albino tea mutants with specific shoot colors (white or yellow) have received increasing attention from researchers due to their unique phenotypes, beneficial metabolites, and special flavor. In this study, novel natural yellow leaf mutants of the same genetic background of “Rougui” were obtained, and the transcriptome and metabolite profiles of the yellow leaf mutant (YR) and original green cultivar (GR) were investigated. A total of 130 significantly changed metabolites (SCMs) and 55 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in YR compared to GR. The leaf coloration of YR was primarily affected by pigment metabolism including of chlorophyll, carotenoids, and flavonoids, and the co-expression of three heat shock proteins (HSPs) and four heat shock transcription factors (HSFs) may also regulate leaf coloration by affecting chloroplast biogenesis. Of the 130 SCMs, 103 showed clearly increased abundance in YR, especially nucleotides and amino acids and their derivatives and flavonoids, suggesting that YR may be an ideal albino tea germplasm for planting and breeding. Our results may help to characterize the leaf coloration and metabolic mechanism of albino tea germplasm.
Health Status and Health Facility Utilization of Community-Dwelling Elderly Living Alone in the Philippines: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Increase of elderly people living alone has been a concern even in the Philippines where filial piety is widely practiced with the support of large number of young people. Objectives of this study were to examine the relationships between living alone with self-reported illness among community elderly and living alone with health facility utilization among sick community elderly in the Philippines. Methods: Data of 5577 elderly (aged ≥ 60 years) from the 2013 Philippines National Demographic and Health Survey were retrieved. Variables on living arrangements, self-reported illness, frequency of health facility visits, and admission to a health facility were used for analysis. Results: Among the elderly included in the analysis, 5.0% of them were living alone. Percentage of living alone was larger among rural elderly (6.0%) compared with urban elderly (3.6%); and among poor elderly (9.0%) compared with rich elderly (2.8%). Results of adjusted multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the elderly living alone were more likely to report suffering from common colds (AOR 2.12; 95% CI 1.57 - 2.86) or non-communicable diseases (AOR 2.18; 95% CI 1.55 - 3.06), regardless of their socioeconomic status or insurance coverage. Among those who reported illness, the elderly living alone were more likely to visit a health facility with non-communicable disease (AOR 1.95; 95% CI 1.22 - 3.14), after adjustment of other variables. Although elderly living alone who reported illness were likely to be admitted in a health facility, statistically significant association was not observed. Conclusion: Elderly living alone are more likely to report self-reported illness and use health facilities when they recognize their illness.
Legal Change and Water Market Transaction Costs in Colorado

Water markets are commonly described as failing to achieve efficient water management because of transaction cost barriers to trade. In the western United States, two sources of legal conflict frequently drive transaction costs: (1) negative externalities of trading and (2) uncertain property rights. Conflicts arise because water law applies a no‐injury rule that prevents water transfers from modifying water available to third‐party water rights and defines water rights by historical water use, among other reasons. Existing literature suggests many legal changes to reduce transaction costs, but no studies in the western United States quantify transaction costs under proposed future changes. Here we developed statistical models of transaction costs for water transfer proponents under four specific legal changes in the state of Colorado. Two legal changes would modify the no‐injury rule, and two aim to clarify property rights. Colorado hosts active markets and has recently experienced debate over such legal changes. By surveying 100 legal and hydrologic experts, we elicited transaction cost estimates and rankings of which legal changes were most likely to increase third‐party injury. The legal changes that aim to clarify property rights had significantly lower likelihoods of increasing injury. One of these legal changes, which would not limit transferable water to historical use in certain circumstances, also had the greatest reductions in proponents' transaction costs. Meanwhile, the legal changes that directly modify the no‐injury rule project substantial transaction cost savings but much higher likelihoods of increased injury. The results demonstrate trade‐offs between reducing transaction costs and increasing third‐party effects.
Business Performance and Heterogeneity among Islamic Microfinance Clients: Evidence from Pakistan

This paper explores the features and consequences of heterogeneity among clients of the largest Islamic microfinance institution in Pakistan, identifying differences in business and household outcomes between sub-groups of borrowers. The research is based on a longitudinal survey conducted between 2015 and 2017 of 500 new clients of the institution, providing a unique dataset of low-income entrepreneurs applying for interest-free microcredit loans. The data was analysed using t-tests to establish baseline differences between borrowers, and regression analysis to explore variations in business and household outcomes over the period. Evidence of significant heterogeneity was found among entrepreneurs at the time of the baseline survey. The longitudinal analysis shows that management experience was positively associated with business growth, but no significant association was found for gender, poverty level and credit experience and these variables were not found to associate with significant variation in employment creation. Nevertheless, the analysis does demonstrate a greater reduction in household poverty levels among those entrepreneurs that were poorer at the time of the baseline survey. Additionally, there was a general decrease of savings frequency over the sample period, particularly among female entrepreneurs.
Triple mesh technique in repair of recurrent lumbar incisional hernia

Lumbar hernias occur infrequently and can be congenital, primary (inferior or Petit type, and superior or Grynfeltt type), post-traumatic, or incisional. They are bounded by the 12 rib, the iliac crest, the erector spinae, and the external oblique muscle. Most postoperative incisional hernias occur in nephrectomy or aortic aneurysm repair incisions for which various surgical method in context of meshplasty are available. In this case 60 yr. male hypertensive patient presented to the outpatient clinic of institute with recurrent left side lumbar incisional hernia, patient was previously operated for left side nephrolithiasis 15 years back and onlay meshplasty 2 years back for incisional hernia. The patient was operated under high risk for recurrent incisional hernia repair by triple layered meshplasties in the same sitting. Lumbar incisional hernias are often diffuse with fascial defects that are usually hard to appreciate. Computed tomography scan is the diagnostic modality of choice with adjuvant clinical findings, which allows differentiating them from abdominal wall musculature denervation atrophy complicating flank incisions. Repairing these hernias is difficult due to the surrounding structures for which our surgical approach included a triple mesh repair consisting of underlay, inlay and onlay meshplasty thereby anticipating further such incidences of incisional hernia.
Species identification and genetic diversity of Aedes in Penang (Malaysia) based on Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit I

Abstract. Kamal MZM, Dangnga MS, Irmayani, Md. Naim D. 2020. Species identification and genetic diversity of Aedes in Penang (Malaysia) based on Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit I. Nusantara Bioscience 12: 6-12. Cases of dengue fever are expanding globally and recently it was identified as being notable in remote/rural regions in South-East Asia in spite of the previous belief that it is outbreak to urban areas, especially in Malaysia. In an effort to constraint, the extent of the virus, the most important thing is to know the distribution of the vector that causes the disease. This research aims to recognize all species of mosquitoes distributed in Penang utilizing DNA barcode method in which the mtDNA cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) as a gene marker. Approximately 497 larvae of mosquitoes were obtained from four regions in Penang, Malaysia namely Central Seberang Perai, North Seberang Perai, North East, and South West of Penang. All samples were extracted and PCR amplified. Sequences were employed in BLAST of GenBank and aligned with MUSCLE. The ABGD analysis was performed to partition all the samples and substitution saturation analysis was employed in DAMBE. Phylogenetic relationships among nucleotides were reconstructed utilizing Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Neighbor-Joining (NJ) calculated following Kimura 2-parameter. Intra and interspecific genetic variation among population were also conducted based on Tamura-Nei parameter and all analyses were employed in MEGA version 6.0. As a result, COI gene has successfully recognized all larvae obtained in this study. We found a total of six species (including outgroup sequence) as revealed by BLASTn, ABGD and phylogenetic analysis. Genetic distance test has further supported the results. This study revealed that there is no visible population structure and all species have a uniform distribution throughout all sampling locations in Penang. We also found that Ae. albopictus has occupied most areas in Penang, and this includes urban locations, hence, suggest that Ae. albopictus probably succeed Ae. aegypti as the main vector for dengue virus in Penang.
Noncooperative Gaming for Energy-Efficient Congestion Control in 6LoWPAN

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) provide a significant contribution to the advancement of the Internet of Things (IoT) as it can transfer massive volume of data to the Internet with the help of low-power and low-cost self-operating sensing devices. This article deals with the congestion problem which is one of the critical issues in IPV6 over low-power and lossy wireless personal area network (6LoWPAN)-based network as it causes significant packet loss that leads to degraded throughput and extra energy consumption. We propose a congestion control mechanism for 6LoWPAN by using the noncooperative game theory. The proposed method named noncooperative gaming for energy-efficient congestion control (NGECC) determines the optimal data transfer rate of all the source nodes (leaf nodes) to avoid congestion at the intermediate nodes. NGECC considers both the channel occupation and the buffer overflow as the main factors of the packet loss in the network. For the simulation of the NGECC method, we use Contiki OS and Cooja simulator, which operates based on the IEEE 802.15. 4 standard and implements the 6LoWPAN protocol stack. The performance of NGECC has been evaluated by comparing it with the analytical results, the default routing protocol for low-power and lossy network functioning, and two other existing methods. The simulation results show that the NGECC outperforms the existing methods in terms of sending rate of data packets, packet delivery ratio, throughput, weighted fairness index, energy consumption, and delay.