Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis and O-D Demand Estimation of a Public Bike-Sharing Program in Las Vegas

Bike-share systems are an effective way of mitigating congestion on the road. In addition, bike-share systems have been built in universities to serve for trips to work/commuting as well as the trips on campus. In Las Vegas, a bike-share system was proposed at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. This study analyzed factors that influence the usage of bike-share program and estimated the origin-destination demand. To achieve these objectives, first, a literature review was conducted on university bike-sharing systems in the U.S. and abroad. Then, a survey with a questionnaire was distributed to UNLV to obtain the users’ preferences to the locations of the proposed bike-share stations and their likelihood and frequency to use the bike-share program. In total, 241 faculty, staff, and students responded to the survey. About 50% of those participating in the survey expressed willingness to use the bike-share system for commuting and 60% said they are willing to use bike share for on-campus travel. Commuting and on-campus travel are two different types of travel, and the factors to determine whether an individual would use the bike-share system are quite different for each. It was estimated that there would be 3450 members for a bike-share program at UNLV, each making bicycle trips with varying frequencies, producing 1966 trips per day.
Acyl-CoA Binding Domain Containing 4 Polymorphism rs4986172 and Expression Can Serve as Overall Survival Biomarkers for Hepatitis B Virus-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients After Hepatectomy

Background The aim of our study was to evaluate the potential of expression and single nucleotide polymorphism of Acyl-CoA binding domain containing 4 (ACBD4) gene as prognosis biomarkers in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after hepatectomy. Methods HBV-related HCC patients from the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University and GSE14520 were included in the current study, as well as The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) HCC verification cohort. Prognostic analysis and multiple functional enrichment analysis methods were used to evaluate the prognostic value and potential biological functions of the ACBD4 gene in HBV-related HCC. Results We found that ACBD4 gene is highly expressed in normal liver tissues and markedly down-regulated in HBV-related HCC tissues. ACBD4 gene was significantly related to overall survival (OS) of HCC in TCGA and GSE14520 cohorts, and patients with low ACBD4 expression were markedly related to poor OS. Rs4986172 was observed as an OS biomarker after hepatectomy in the Guangxi HBV-related HCC cohort. The OS of rs4986172 GG genotype was worse than that of HCC patients with A allele (AA and AG genotypes). Multifunctional enrichment analysis suggested that ACBD4 gene is closely related to the metabolic, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor and cytochrome P450 pathway. Through connectivity map, we also identified eight compounds that may be used as targeted therapeutic agents for ACBD4 gene in HBV-related HCC; these compounds were scopoletin, alfaxalone, bephenium hydroxynaphthoate, apramycin, 4,5-dianilinophthalimide, DL-thiorphan, aminohippuric acid and quinidine. Immune microenvironment analysis revealed that there were significant differences in immune scores of HBV-related HCC tumor tissues with different ACBD4 expression levels. Conclusion Our study reveals that ACBD4 expression and rs4986172 can be serve as biomarkers of OS in HBV-related HCC patients after hepatectomy.
Heartache in Young Adulthood: Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of a Spanish Version of the Breakup Distress Scale

Romantic breakups are considered one of the most stressful events experienced by young adults. Although the Breakup Distress Scale (BDS) is one of the most widely used instruments to measure breakup distress, there is limited evidence regarding its psychometric properties. Thus, we sought to adapt and validate a Spanish version of the BDS. The sample consisted of 179 Dominican young adults (78% female, 87% heterosexual, and 94% currently single), between the ages of 18 and 30 who experienced at least one breakup in the last 5 years. Parallel analysis and confirmatory factor analysis provided support for a robust one-factor structure. Additionally, the BDS scores exhibited high internal consistency reliability and item-rest correlations. Moreover, structural equation modeling indicated that those who initiated the breakup experienced less breakup distress than non-initiators, congruent with the literature. These combined findings suggest that the Spanish version of the BDS has good psychometric and validity properties.
Phytochemical Contents and in Vitro Antioxidant Activities of Aqueous, Hydroalcoholic and Methanolic Extracts of Shankhapushpi (Clitoria Ternatea. L) Plant Cultivated under Polyhouse and Open Field Conditions

ABSTRACT Shankhapushpi (Clitoria ternatea) grown under polyhouse and open-field conditions were investigated for physicochemical parameters of their powdered samples, qualitative and quantitative analysis of phytochemicals, antioxidant capacities and development of chemical profiles using solvent extracts in methanol, hydroalcoholic and water. The two samples were similar in their physicochemical parameters except for the higher extractive yield from the open-field grown plants. Although the primary metabolites were equal in the polyhouse and field-grown, the secondary metabolites were higher in the polyhouse-grown plant samples. Methanolic extract of polyhouse-grown samples was richer in phenolics, flavonoids, tannins, and triterpenoids than the open-field-grown ones. The DPPH radical and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, ferric reducing activity, and total antioxidant activity, values were higher in methanolic extract of polyhouse-grown plant sample. There was a positive correlation between phytochemicals and antioxidant capacities: in the polyhouse-grown samples the total phenol content correlated with DPPH assay, while in the open-field-grown plant samples it correlated with hydroxyl radical assay.
New piperazine-based bis(thieno[2,3-b]pyridine) and bis(pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridine) hybrids linked to benzofuran units: Synthesis and in vitro screening of potential acetylcholinesterase inhibitors

Abstract Two series of piperazine-based bis(thieno[2,3-b]pyridines) and bis(pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridines) were prepared, in good yields, utilizing the appropriate bis(pyridinethione). The first series was obtained by reacting the previous synthon with different α-halogenated reagents, whereas the second series was produced by reacting the synthon with various hydrazonyl chlorides, and then cyclizing the resulting bis(hydrazonothioates). At 50 and 100 µM concentrations, the two series were screened as potential acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. The reference donepezil had inhibition percentages of 90.7 and 93.5 at the tested concentrations. Generally, bis(thieno[2,3-b]pyridine) series was found to be more effective than the other series of bis(pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridine). Bis(thieno[2,3-b]pyridine-2-carbonitrile) inhibited acetylcholinesterase the best, with inhibition percentages of 55.2 and 88.4 at 50 and 100 µM concentrations, respectively. Furthermore, when tested at a concentration of 25 µg/mL, the prior hybrid demonstrated the best DPPH antioxidant activity, with an inhibition percentage of 81.5 when compared to the reference ascorbic acid (inhibition percentage of 88.7). Graphical Abstract
High-Order Mode Resonant Planar Dual-Sense Bidirectional Circularly Polarized Antenna with Arbitrary Orthogonal Polarization Flared Angles

A design approach to a planar dual-sense bidirectional circularly polarized (CP) antenna is advanced. The resultant antenna can exhibit orthogonal CP radiations in arbitrary directions between 90° to 180°, i.e., the flared angle formed by pure left-handed CP (LHCP) and right-handed CP (RHCP) directions could be set in a wide range from 90° to 180°. The operational principle is revealed by an equivalent source model at first. Then, prototype antennas are advanced by incorporating a high order mode resonant, V-shape dipole to a planar magnetic dipole and a parasitic electric dipole. As numerically simulated and experimentally validated, the flared angle formed by LHCP and RHCP directions can be adjusted as 90°, and 135°. In the 90° case, the presented bidirectional CP antennas can exhibit impedance bandwidth of 6.6%, 3dB axial ratio (AR) bandwidth of 13.0% in +x-axis and 8.9% in +z-axis. The advanced low-profile (height < 0.05-wavelength) antenna can simultaneously provide spatial and polarization diversity ability in one principal-cut elevation plane. Therefore, it would be a promising colocated, spatial/polarization diversity antenna in future wireless systems.
Smart-Solutions for Handling Overtourism and Developing Destination Resilience for the Post-Covid-19 Era

ABSTRACT The article addresses perspectives to mitigate overtourism through introduction of the integrative concept of destination resilience and its innovative implementation with the help of smart-solutions applied to management of Covid-19-related risks, as well as to overall destination governance, regionally-based networking, destination infrastructure and entrepreneurial resilience for tourism businesses. This solution is justified through empirical study based on 104 expert-discussions (research sample is in Europe) which were implemented under the methodology of Delphi-analysis. The results of the study appeal to the idea of integrative application of intelligent solutions within tourism cooperative networks and destination governance. The research contributes to resilience knowledge in tourism with the model of application of smart-technologies to prevent overtourism and to develop destination resilience in the post-Covid-19 era. The research argues that the technology-driven application of multi-dimensional resilience knowledge represents a way of overcoming the impacts of mass-tourism for meaningful life of local communities and tourists.
Changes in Health-Related Behaviours and Mental Health in a UK Public Sample during the First Set of COVID-19 Public Health Restrictions

Public health restrictions, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, have had potentially wide-ranging, unintended effects on health-related behaviours such as diet and physical activity and also affected mental health due to reduced social interactions. This study explored how health-related behaviours and mental health were impacted in a sample of the UK public during the first set of COVID-19 public health restrictions. Two online surveys were administered in the UK, one within the first three months of the restrictions (Timepoints 1 (T1—involving pre-pandemic recall) and 2/T2) and another ten weeks later (Timepoint 3/T3). Moderate–vigorous physical activity (MVPA), outdoor time, sitting time, screen time and sexual activity were self-reported. Diet was assessed using the Dietary Instrument for Nutrition Education questionnaire. Mental health was measured using the short-form Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale and Becks’ Anxiety and Depression Inventories. Differences between timepoints were explored using the Friedman, Wilcoxon signed-rank, McNemar and McNemar–Bowker tests. Two hundred and ninety-six adults (74% under 65 years old; 65% female) provided data across all timepoints. Between T1 and T2, MVPA, time outdoors and sexual activity decreased while sitting, and screen time increased (p < 0.05). Between T2 and T3, saturated fat intake, MVPA, time outdoors, and mental wellbeing increased while sitting, screen time and anxiety symptoms decreased (p < 0.05). This study found that depending on the level of COVID-19 public health restrictions in place, there appeared to be a varying impact on different health-related behaviours and mental health. As countries emerge from restrictions, it is prudent to direct necessary resources to address these important public health issues.
Improvement in automatic food region extraction based on saliency detection

ABSTRACT In this paper, we propose a method for extracting pixel-wise food regions on the basis of saliency detection using the multi-scale information network (MSI-Net), which includes convolutional layers at different dilated rates, and GrabCut, which can revise food regions on the basis of graph theory. Our comparative experiment, which used 241 actual food images, clarified that the proposed method significantly increased the F-measure, which was used as a comprehensive metric of the food-extraction accuracy, by 3.76% or more compared with conventional methods using saliency detection. The proposed method tended to preserve the contour structure of the food regions better than the conventional methods. In addition, the F-measure was significantly increased by 6.72% compared with the low-cost SegNet, which was trained with a publically available dataset. However, the experiment suggested that the proposed method can be further improved by revising its algorithm for determining food and background candidates. Further discussion and implications are provided herein.
The Ethics of Gatekeeping: How Guarding Access Influences Digital Child and Youth Research

Digital child and youth research is often conducted in schools involving minors. Corresponding research designs raise two related sets of problems: Ethical issues with regard to working with vulnerable groups like children and adolescents and access to these groups. The latter pertains to the concept of gatekeeping which is an ethical issue in and of itself if certain groups or areas of research are systematically excluded from empirical research and, consequently, from the resulting benefits. Thus, our study examines how perceived ethical challenges influence gatekeepers’ decisions to grant or deny access to investigate a potentially problematic topic: pupils’ group communication. We addressed this research question empirically via semi-structured in-depth interviews with eight educational gatekeepers in Germany inquiring their attitudes on research in schools in general and on the specific topic of pupils’ group communication via instant messaging as an exemplar of digital child and youth research. Approaching the question from two perspectives (procedural ethics and ethics in practice), we identified hierarchical power structures within multiple levels of gatekeeping and revealed rationales to deny access based on ethical considerations with regard to the given scenario of pupils’ group communication.
In-hospital complications following total knee and hip arthroplasty in patients with human immunodeficiency virus

Objectives This study aims to analyze the in-hospital complication rates in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) following primary total knee (TKA) and total hip arthroplasty (THA). Patients and methods This retrospective study included a total of 37 patients including 11 patients undergoing TKA (11 males; mean age: 60.8±16.0 years; range, 48 to 80 years) and 26 patients undergoing THA (23 males, 3 females; mean age: 49.9±11.5 years; range, 35 to 70 years) between January 2010 and December 2019. The patients were evaluated in terms of body mass index (BMI), American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) scores, preand postoperative blood tests, indications for surgery, operative time, length of hospital stay, and in-hospital complications. Results The overall in-hospital complication rate following primary TKA (n=2, 18.2%) and THA (n=2, 7.7%) was 10.8%. Following TKA, one patient had deep vein thrombosis and one patient developed acute renal failure. In the THA group, postoperative delirium and trochanteric fracture were noted. Conclusion The in-hospital complication rates increased in HIV-positive patients following TKA and THA. The risk of complications can be mitigated with the aid of a better interdisciplinary cooperation and thorough surgical planning.
An Experimental Study on the Effects of Base Motion on the Aeromechanic Performance of Floating Wind Turbines

An experimental study was conducted to investigate the effects of the wave-induced base motions experienced by floating wind turbines sited in offshore wind farms on their aeromechanic performance and wake characteristics, in comparison with those of a bottom- fixed wind turbine. The experimental study was performed in a large-scale atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) wind tunnel with a scaled wind turbine model placed in a turbulent boundary layer flow with similar mean and turbulence characteristics as those over a typical offshore wind farm. During the experiments, a scaled wind turbine model was mounted on a translational and rotational stage, which can generate translation and/or rotation motions to simulate the dynamic wave-induced motions (i.e., surge, pitch and heave motions) experienced by floating wind turbines in offshore wind farms. In addition to measuring dynamic wind loadings (both forces and moments)acting on the model turbine, a high-resolution Particle Image Velocity (PIV) system was also used to conduct detailed flow field measurements to characterize the turbine wakes with the turbine base in motion. The detailed flow field measurements were correlated with the dynamic wind load data to elucidate underlying physics for higher total power yield and better durability of floating offshore wind turbines.
The role of finance in the literature of entrepreneurial ecosystems

ABSTRACT Financial access is considered a crucial element of entrepreneurship. Much of the literature focuses on how individual actors demand or supply finance, but rarely within the context of systemic entrepreneurship. The current entrepreneurial finance literature is fragmented and rooted in various traditions. However, the entrepreneur’s perceived role in aggregated wealth creation is currently being strengthened, most recently by the emerging entrepreneurial ecosystem perspective. This calls for exploring the role of finance in systemic entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial ecosystems. By conducting a systematic literature review of financial determinants, sources and effects, the study synthesizes debates across the different research fields, i.e. finance, entrepreneurship and regional development. As the entrepreneurial ecosystem concept is considered a pre-paradigmatic approach, the paper argues that the role of finance depends on how we regard and define ecosystems. The state of knowledge is also underdeveloped due to the obstacles of acquiring longitudinal data. Such issues keep us from achieving a better evolutionary and processual understanding of the financial dynamics in ecosystems and, therefore, presents a promising avenue for future research.
An FED-Based Cluster Head Selection and Power Control Scheme for Massive MTC Networks

In cluster based massive machine type communications (MTC) networks, cluster heads (CHs) consume more energy than cluster members (CMs) to forward all data in the cluster. Therefore, inappropriate CHs will certainly aggravate the unevenness of the network energy distribution, intensively shortening the network lifetime. A well designed CH selection and subsequent power control scheme has been demonstrated to be effective in coping with this challenge. Different from the existing schemes in which the network status information of only a single round was considered to select CHs, in this article, all transmission rounds before the first death of MTC devices are taken into account to determine a CH index table. Specifically, considering that the first energy drain (FED) lifetime is a key indicator for the network to capture complete information, an FED-based CH selection scheme is proposed to optimize network lifetime, where the CH index table is obtained to predetermine the index of the CH in every round. Then, a power control scheme is also proposed to further extend the network lifetime with the constraint of transmission time. Finally, extensive simulations verify the superiority of the proposed scheme in terms of FED lifetime and successfully delivered packets in the absence and presence of the cochannel interference.
Experimental and Numerical Study of Effects of the Application of Hydrofoil on Catamaran Ship Resistance

: The use of hydrofoil on a catamaran can reduce the ship's resistance at a certain speed. The reduction of ship resistance occurs because of the lifting force that lifts the ship's hull above the waterline to reduce the wet surface area. This research aims to study the effect of adding hydrofoil in the hull of a catamaran on the ship's total resistance using experimental and numerical CFD methods. A 44m passenger catamaran was considered with two variations of hydrofoil: one hydrofoil on the bow section and two hydrofoils (one on the bow section and one on the stern section). The hydrofoil is rectangular NACA 641-212 section and aspect ratio of 16,34. The results indicate increasing ship resistance instead of decreasing on the catamaran with the hydrofoil. At service speed (Fr=0,7), the Total resistance value occurs in case 1 (catamaran without hydrofoil) is 114.59 kN, case 2 (catamaran with added one foil on the bow section), and case 3 (catamaran with added foil on both bow and stern section) are respectively 31% and 59% higher than the catamaran without hydrofoil. These data show that not all existing catamaran vessels can be added hydrofoil between the demihulls.
Renin-Angiotensin Blockade Reduces Readmission for Acute Chest Syndrome in Sickle Cell Disease

Rationale Acute chest syndrome (ACS) is a life-threatening complication of sickle cell disease (SCD). Current treatment is supportive-supplemental oxygen, transfusions, and antibiotics. Prevention of ACS may reduce morbidity and mortality in patients with SCD. Acute chest syndrome appears similar to pulmonary fat embolism (PFE), a complication of severe skeletal trauma or orthopedic procedures from pulmonary micro-vessel blockage by bone marrow fat. Vascular obstruction and bone marrow necrosis occur in PFE and ACS. Pulmonary fat embolism rat models have shown that angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARB) mitigate damage in PFE. These medications could work similarly in ACS. We hypothesize that time to readmission after one hospitalization for ACS will be reduced in patients taking ACEI or ARB compared to patients who are not. Methods This is a retrospective cohort study. Inclusion criteria are adults (18 to 100 years) with sickle cell anaemia (HbSS), hemoglobin SC (HbSC) disease, sickle cell thalassemia (HbSβThal), hospitalized with ACS over 16 years (January 1, 2000, to March 31, 2016); patients who take and don’t take ACEI or ARB. Children (<18 years old), elderly adults (>100 years old), pregnant patients, and patients with sickle cell trait were excluded. Data was collected from the Health Facts database, which contains de-identified information from the electronic medical records of hospitals in which Cerner© has a data use agreement. Kaplan-Meier estimates explored a time-to-event model of ACS readmission. Multivariable analysis (age, gender, smoking history) was conducted using Cox proportional hazards regression. Results were reported around a 95% confidence interval. Results There were 6972 patients in total. Of which, 9.6% (n = 667) reported taking ACEI or ARB. Results for the covariates were: average age of 38 years old; 63% female (n = 4366/6969); 16% smokers (n = 1132). Readmission rates were higher for patients not taking ACEI/ARB than those who did: 0.44 (95% CI 0.43, 0.46) versus 0.28 (95% CI 0.24, 0.31) at one year, and 0.56 (95% CI 0.55, 0.58) versus 0.33 (95% CI 0.29, 0.37) at two years. Age had the strongest effect on readmission rates for patients taking ACEI/ARB (adjusted hazards ratio 0.78 [95% CI 0.68, 0.91]). Conclusion Patients with SCD who reported taking ACEI or ARB had lower readmission rates for ACS; age was the strongest covariate. Our results may have a significant impact on the prevention of ACS. Prospective studies comparing ACEI or ARB therapy versus placebo are needed to confirm this preventative effect.