Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bayesian validation of the seismic source models using the Wylfa Newydd site in the UK as a case study

In probabilistic seismic hazard assessment, the development of the seismic source characterization, especially the geometry of the seismic source models (SSMs), is controversial because it often relies on expert judgment with different interpretations of the available data from seismology, tectonics, and geology. Based on the same input datasets, different teams of experts may derive different SSMs. In this context, the verification of the models through the comparison against a set of observations is a crucial step. We present a statistical tool to compare the SSMs with the observed seismicity and rank these SSMs based on their ability to replicate the past seismicity. We simulate many synthetic catalogues derived from candidate SSMs and compare them with the observed catalogue of mainshocks using the Metropolis-Hastings Algorithm to select those that fit the observed catalogue. The candidate SSMs are then expressed by a probability density function (pdf) using the set of synthetic catalogues accepted by the Metropolis-Hastings Algorithm and the Bayesian inference. To help practitioners in earthquake and civil engineering understand how this tool works in practice, the proposed approach is applied to a proposed new nuclear site in the United Kingdom, Wylfa Newydd.
Patient Satisfaction with the Emergency Department Experience in the Era of COVID-19: A National Survey

Background: Patient satisfaction with an ED visit is often overlooked during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and requires further examination. Aim: We aim to investigate, on a national scale, patients’ satisfaction during their ED encounter, and to explore the determinants of such satisfaction. Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis conducted between January and February 2021 throughout Saudi Arabia. Result: The total number of patients was 508. The median satisfaction score for the clarity of information provided in the ED was 40 (SD=4.94), while satisfaction with the relationship with staff and ED routine revealed a median score of 39.9 (SD=5.08). We noted several determinants of ED satisfaction, including age, marital status, educational status, clarity of the treatment plan, improvement of their condition while in the ED, verbal and/or written discharge instructions, as well as a follow-up call two days after discharge. Conclusion: Patient satisfaction is an integral part of the patient-centred approach in the ED, and should be continuously evaluated.
The prevalence of physical activity and perceived barriers among health care professionals in Gaza Strip/Palestine

Background: Physical inactivity is public health problem in the world, it has been estimated that physical inactivity one of the main risk factors for worldwide mortality, and related to more than five million deaths annually. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of physical activity (PA) among Palestinian healthcare professionals and the main perceived barriers toward the practice of PA. Methods: A cross-sectional, snowball sampling technique, an online questionnaire was employed among healthcare professionals. The main perceived barriers to adherence to PA were assessed by the CDC questionnaire, adherence level assessed based on the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. Statistical analysis was performed using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 22. Results: There were 400 healthcare professionals included in the study, 17% were physicians, 43% were nurses, around 19% were lab-technicians, around 12% were X-ray-technicians, and around 9% were physiotherapists. Their mean (SD) age 32.6 (±8.4) years. Only 13.5% of the study participants reported that they were adherence to the practice of physical activity, the prevalence of regular physical activity among different healthcare professionals’ disciplines were reported as 6.5% for X-ray-technicians, 10.7% for lab-technicians,11.8% for physicians, 16.1% for nurses, and 18.9% for physiotherapist. The main reasons for being inactive were lack of energy, lack of willpower, lack of time, and lack of resources. Conclusions: The healthcare professional’s adherence to physical activity is suboptimal. Varied implementation strategies targeting the barriers are extremely required, public authorities should enhance the access to physical activity infrastructure, and reinforce the change toward healthy behaviors.
Preoperative use of gabapentin for pain reduction in open surgeries under local anesthesia for idiopathic bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome

This article aims to evaluate the preoperative use of gabapentin in the control of intra- and postoperative pain in patients with idiopathic bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). A prospective, randomised, double-blind study involving 45 subjects with severe CTS, 23 receiving treatment (gabapentin 600 mg) and 22 receiving placebo (control), who underwent an open surgical approach in one hand under local anaesthesia. Information related to the patients’ profile, safety of the surgical procedure, history of pain, adverse effects, numbness, and medications used were collected during the 14 days of the procedure and evaluated by Generalised Estimated Equations and Generalised Linear Mixed Models. The treatment and control groups were homogeneous regarding the patients’ profile and surgical procedure data. The patients who used gabapentin 600 mg had a better evaluation during surgery (d = 0.655), anaesthesia (d = 0.854), and on the first night of sleep (d = 1.323), and they reported a higher degree of satisfaction with the surgery after 14 days (d = 1.091). The treatment group reported decreased pain in the operated hand in a 24-hour period (r = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.223–0.457) and in the 14-day follow-up period (r = 0.412, 95% CI: 0.217–0.608). These results were not impacted by the medications used and remained consistent over time. The use of a single dose of gabapentin 600 mg in the preoperative period proved to be safe and effective in reducing postoperative pain, and the improvement was noticed by the patient.
Morphology-defined interaction of copper phthalocyanine with O2/H2O

Abstract. Copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) is an important hole transport layer for organic photovoltaics (OPVs), but interaction with ambient gas/vapor may lead to changes in its electronic properties and limit OPV device lifetimes. CuPc films of thickness 25 and 100 nm were grown by thermal sublimation at 25°C, 150°C, and 250°C in order to vary morphology. We measured electrical resistance and film mass in situ during exposure to controlled pulses of O2 and H2O vapor. CuPc films deposited at 250°C showed a factor of 5 higher uptake of O2 as detected by a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), possibly due to the formation of β-CuPc at T>200°C which allows higher O2 mobility between stacked molecules. While weight-based measurements stabilize after ∼10 min of gas exposure, resistance response stabilizes over times >1 h, suggesting that mass change occurs by rapid adsorption at active surface sites whereas resistive response is dominated by slow diffusion of adsorbates into the bulk film. The 25 nm films exhibit higher resistive response than 100 nm films after an hour of O2/H2O exposure due to fast analyte diffusion down to the film/electrode interface. We found evidence of decoupling of CuPc from the gold-coated QCM crystal due to preferential adsorption of O2/H2O molecules on gold.
Molecular Modeling of the Thermophysical and Transport Properties of Ionic Liquids

by Cesar Cadena Ionic liquids (ILs) are an exciting class of compounds with unique properties that makes them attractive for industrial applications. Among their valuable features, an immesurably low vapor pressure and a liquid state at or near ambient conditions are found at the top of the list. In this research dissertation, thermophysical and transport properties of ionic liquids are theoretically investigated by means of molecular simulation techniques. Quantum calculations are used as a supportive tool to force field development work. This research task is not done in the darkness but rather is guided and supported by colateral experimental studies. Cations studied include imidazolium-, pyridiniumand triazolium-based structures with different inorganic anions such as hexafluorophosphate, bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, nitrate and perchlorate. Static properties computed include gravimetric densities, volumetric expansivities, isothermal compressibilities, heat capacities, cohesive energy densities as well as the liquid structure. Analysis of the dynamic properties of ionic liquid systems is also carried out yielding information on the rotational dynamics and transport properties such as self-diffusivity. This work forms part of a national quest for an insight into the structureproperty relationship of energetic ionic liquids (EILs) headed by the US Air Force. Cesar Cadena EILs with a high nitrogen content offer several advantages over current technologies such as hydrazine. Applications may be found in armed conflict as well as in many other energetical needs provided that EILs are found to be hypergolic. Due to the fact that hypergolic fuels carry their own oxidizer, they are ideal for space applications. Triazolium-based ionic liquids are the starting class of energetic ionic liquids and are investigated as part of this dissertation. Not much experimental data is available for this class of compounds. This is partially due to the inherent danger of the experimental measurements. Therefore, a safe computer simulation can provide a great deal of insight into the property-structure relationship and the liquid structure of the system. Validation experience obtained with imidazoliumand pyridinium-based ionic liquids gives confidence in the static and dynamic property prediction of triazolium-based ionic liquids. In addition, a molecular modeling study of ethane-based hydrofluorocabons for vapor-liquid equilibria is presented. There exists industrial interest in applications of mixtures of these refrigerants with ionic liquids and thus, molecular modeling can help elucidating design problems. A force field for 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (R-134a) is proposed and validated against experimental liquid and gas densities, vapor pressures and heat of vaporizations using Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo simulations.
Important contributions of the Cambridge Equation to the role of political economy: from Pasinetti to our days

The theory of the long-run perspective aims to explain how economies grow. On the other hand, Kaldor developed a theory that concerns not only this objective but to build a model also considering the implications in the income distribution. This paper consists of a rigorous review of the evolution of Kaldor’s Theory, treating with government activities, the financial market, and so on, to show the importance of the theme in our days. One contribution of this paper is to lead the researchers to a solid understanding of Growth and Income Distribution Models derivate from the Cambridge School and to present a new vision of the relevance of the heterodox scientific world.
Monocular Depth Perception on Microcontrollers for Edge Applications

Depth estimation is crucial in several computer vision applications, and a recent trend in this field aims at inferring such a cue from a single camera. Unfortunately, despite the compelling results achieved, state-of-the-art monocular depth estimation methods are computationally demanding, thus precluding their practical deployment in several application contexts characterized by low-power constraints. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a lightweight Convolutional Neural Network based on a shallow pyramidal architecture, referred to as $\mu $ PyD-Net, enabling monocular depth estimation on microcontrollers. The network is trained in a peculiar self-supervised manner leveraging proxy labels obtained through a traditional stereo algorithm. Moreover, we propose optimization strategies aimed at performing computations with quantized 8-bit data and map the high-level description of the network to low-level layers optimized for the target microcontroller architecture. Exhaustive experimental results on standard datasets and an in-depth evaluation with a device belonging to the popular Arm Cortex-M family confirm that obtaining sufficiently accurate monocular depth estimation on microcontrollers is feasible. To the best of our knowledge, our proposal is the first one enabling such remarkable achievement, paving the way for the deployment of monocular depth cues onto the tiny end-nodes of distributed sensor networks.
The Role of Emotional Intelligence as a Mediating Variable in Predicting Intrinsic Motivation in Solving Mathematical Problems among Fourth-Grade Students in the Sultanate of Oman

This study aimed to investigate the role of emotional intelligence as a mediating variable in intrinsic motivation prediction of the ability to solve mathematical problems among fourth-grade students in the Sultanate of Oman. The study sample consisted of 183 male and female students from six schools of the first cycle of basic education. The study tools are: Goleman's Emotional Intelligence Scale, the Intrinsic Motivation Scale of Lepper, and a mathematical problem-solving test prepared by the researchers. The content validity, and internal consistency reliability of the three tools were measured. The results found a weak and negative correlation between the ability to solve mathematical problems and each of: emotional intelligence, intrinsic motivation, and weak and positive correlation between emotional intelligence and intrinsic motivation. The results of this study also indicated that there is no mediating role for emotional intelligence in predicting intrinsic motivation in the ability to solve mathematical problems. Received: 24 February 2021 / Accepted: 18 March 2021 / Published: 10 May 2021
Latinx Family Perspectives on Social Needs Screening and Referral during Well-Child Visits

Abstract Objective: To understand Latinx parent perspectives on screening and referral approaches to identify social determinants of health and address social and material needs during well-child visits and to identify techniques that promote their engagement with these approaches. Study Design: We investigated parent perspectives and engagement with social needs screening and referral practices during well-child visits using focus group methodology. Results: We conducted 17 focus groups (n = 134 parents and other primary caregivers) with families receiving care at sites operated by eight pediatric primary care clinics. Adding social needs screening and referral shifted the social context of well-child visits for Latinx parents. Participants reported greater engagement with the practices where they perceived an emotional connection with nurses and other clinicians and cultural brokering to ensure their screening responses accurately reflected family needs and priorities. Participants highlighted the importance of having a personal patient–provider relationship as many preferred to discuss social needs outside of the exam room. Clinical Implications: Nurses and other clinicians play a critical role in establishing systems needed to systematically screen and refer families for social needs. Future policy development should consider implications for nursing practice and leadership in adopting these approaches. In this study, Latinx parents' perspectives on screening and referral approaches to identify social determinants of health and address social and material needs during well-child visits were evaluated using focus groups. Parents were asked to identify techniques that promote their engagement with screening and referral. They reported greater participation and satisfaction when they perceived an emotional connection with nurses and other clinicians whose efforts to ensure their screening responses accurately reflected family needs and priorities.
Influence of initial water content and strain rate on remolded yield stress in marine clay

Abstract Fifteen constant rate of strain consolidation tests were performed on Wenzhou clay specimens under various strain rates and initial water contents using an advanced oedometer to investigate the remolded yield stress during compression. The results for different initial water contents indicated that the remolded clay compression curves could be expressed by a unique trend line using the void index. The porosity parameter was proposed based on existing strain rate parameters to qualitatively describe the relationship between porosity and remolded yield stress. It was observed that the greater the strain rate, the smaller the strain under the same vertical effective stress.
User acceptance of wearable intelligent medical devices through a modified unified theory of acceptance and use of technology

Background The acceptance of wearable intelligent medical devices and the factors influencing behavioral intention to use them have been scarcely studied. This study aimed to increase the current understanding of wearable intelligent medical devices and investigate the factors influencing their acceptance. Methods Integrating the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology and the theory of perceived risk, and based on the features of wearable intelligent medical devices, we proposed a modified unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model to identify factors influencing the acceptance of these devices. Using data collected from 2,192 respondents in China from an online survey, we used structural equation modeling to test the measurement and structural models. Results The findings suggested that facilitating conditions (path coefficient =0.942, P<0.001) were critical to the use of wearable intelligent medical devices. Behavioral intention significantly mediated the effects of perceived risk, perceived cost, health expectation, perceived ease of use, and social influence on user behavior (path coefficient =0.210, P<0.001). Health expectation (path coefficient =0.860, P<0.001), perceived ease of use (path coefficient =0.289, P<0.001), and social influence (path coefficient =0.153, P<0.001) were found to play essential roles in predicting behavioral intention. Perceived cost (path coefficient =0.034, P<0.05) and perceived risk (path coefficient =−0.031, P<0.05) had no significant effect on behavioral intention. People with underlying diseases had lower health expectations and perceived costs. Conclusions The modified unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model in our research is a reliable model to evaluate the user acceptance of wearable intelligent medical devices.
Green Bond Issuances and Corporate Cost of Capital

This study investigates the impact of issuing green bonds for environment protection initiatives on the corporate cost of capital. Accounting for nearly 2 percent of corporate bonds annual issuances during 2016-2020, in China, green bond issuance plays an essential role in sustainable development. By matching green bonds with conventional corporate bonds based on propensity matching scores, we find a 24.9 bps negative green premium on average. We hypothesize that green projects help lower the corporate cost of capital in three channels: (i) reducing information asymmetry, (ii) improving security liquidity, and (ⅲ) lowering bond issuers’ perceived risk. Our empirical findings are consistent with these expectations. Specifically, we find that the corporate cost of capital—regardless of whether it is measured by the implied cost of capital or by the weighted average cost of capital— is significantly lowered after the issuance of green bonds through these three channels. Collectively, the findings suggest a specific venue for environmental protection initiatives that affects s company’s value positively.
Comparison of Upper Extremity Physical Fitness Levels in Wheelchair Archery and Basketball Athletes

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between upper extremity physical fitness levels of wheelchair archery and wheelchair basketball athletes. Methods: Ten wheelchair basketball players and ten wheelchair archers, who met the inclusion criteria were included in the study. Athletes were divided into two groups according to their sports branch. Hand grip strength, shoulder flexibility, reaction time, trunk balance and upper extremity muscle strength were measured among the upper extremity physical fitness parameters. Measurements were repeated separately for both upper extremities. In addition, the demographic data of the individuals were recorded through the questionnaire. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of age, height, weight and body mass index (p>0.05). The years of disability and sports experience were significantly higher in basketball athletes, while weekly training hours were significantly higher in archery athletes (p<0.05). When the groups were compared, there was a statistically significant difference in right hand grip strength, trunk balance and all upper extremity muscle strength parameters in favor of wheelchair basketball athletes (p<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in left hand grip strength, shoulder flexibility and reaction time of all upper extremities between the two groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: According to results, it was thought that these differences between two different sports groups are due to the different nature of the two sports branches and the fact that individuals cannot be distributed homogenously between groups according to the types of disabilities.
Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activities of Essential Oil from the Leaves of Acalypha wilkesiana on Pathogenic Microorganisms

Acalypha wilkesiana is a tropical plant used to treat a wide range of medical conditions. The leaves of A. wilkesiana were tested for phytochemicals with microbicide activity against a variety of microorganisms known to cause severe human infections. Antimicrobial efficacy of essential oil extracts from pulverised dried leaves of A. wilkesiana was examined. Phytochemical and proximate assessments of the leaves were carried out using standard techniques. The essential oil was extracted using hydro-distillation and collected using two processes. The first form was extraction for four hours straight, and the second mode involve hourly collection for four times. A total of five fractions of the essential oil were extracted. The chemical constituent of the oil was separated with Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in accordance with standard procedures. The proximate composition of leaves showed low moisture and high carbohydrate (61.39%). Tannins, flavonoids, and alkaloids were among the secondary metabolites found in the leaves. Six bioactive compounds including n-Hexadecanoic acid and 6-Benzamido-4-benzoyl-1, 2, 4-triazine-3, 5 were identified in the GC–MS analysis. The oils from A. wilkesiana leaves have excellent broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity at various concentrations on Staphylococcus species, Bacillus coagulans, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella typhimurium and Candida albicans. It could not, however, inhibit the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Gardnerella vaginalis. The findings justify the usage of A. wilkesiana leaves in ethnomedicine for possible management of skin conditions, gastrointestinal problems as well as other related microbial infections.