Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interaction Between Home and School

This study undertaken as part of the project AHIC (Addressing Challenging Health Inequalities of Children and Youth between two Karelias 2013-2014), aimed to explore the interaction between home and school from a cross-cultural perspective. The study sample comprised 60 parents and 18 teachers from two schools in North Karelia, Finland, and 154 parents and 51 teachers from two schools in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, in May 2013 using questionnaires. The results indicated that teachers on both sides of the border had quite similar views about the interaction between home and school. Parents’ views, instead, differed more between the countries, since Finnish parents viewed the characteristics of home-school collaboration more positively than Russian parents did. Comparisons within the countries reveal that parents and teachers in both countries held several contradictory views about home-school collaboration, mainly in the areas of communication and parents’ participation (Finland), and in the areas of parents’ role and participation in the school community (Russia). The findings underline that in-service training for teachers is recommended to help them recognise the different characteristics for efficient home-school collaboration and include them into their everyday work. School procedures involving parents in the school community needs to be clarified.
Strenght and Durability Properties of Granite Powder Mixed Concrete

An enormous amount of stone dust is produced as a sluggish waste material from the granite stone industry and various operations of stones. It has become a serious problem to the society and environment. Presently, use of river sand confirming to IS 383-1970 has become difficult because of unavailability and costly due to complicated rules and regulations. To overcome this difficulty, an economical alternative can be developed by partial replacement of sand with granite powder (GRP) in concrete.In this paper, a study is conducted to investigate the viable use of granite residue (GRP) in concrete mixes. Sand is replaced with GRPat 0%, 10%, 20% & 30% by weight for M20 grade of concrete. To study strength and durability properties of concrete, test on fresh and hardened concrete are conducted for all the mixes. The results show that GRP assimilation results enhancements in the compressive strengths of concrete by replacement up to 20% of GRPwithout affecting significant characteristics of the mix. The analysis confirmed that GRP are non-reactive materials and can act as filler in concrete. They can be used as a sustainable replacement for cement and fine aggregate.
Surface texture differentiation using synthetic bat echolocation calls: implications for reducing bat fatalities at wind turbines

SURFACE TEXTURE DIFFERENTIATION USING SYNTHETIC BAT ECHOLOCATION CALLS: IMPLICATIONS FOR REDUCING BAT FATALITIES AT WIND TURBINES by Brad Rhett Yuen, M.S., 2015 School of Geology, Energy, and the Environment Texas Christian University Thesis Advisor: Dr. Victoria J. Bennett, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science Committee Members: Dr. Amanda M. Hale, Associate Professor of Biology Dr. Brenton G. Cooper, Associate Professor of Psychology Large numbers of bats are killed annually at wind energy facilities. The patterns of these fatalities suggest attraction to wind turbines. One reason bats may be attracted to wind turbines is that they misperceive the smooth, painted surfaces of wind turbine towers to be water. In 2014, we conducted an ultrasonic playback experiment using synthetic bat echolocation calls to determine if texturing wind turbine paint could reduce the acoustic similarity between wind turbine tower surfaces and water. Our playback experiment revealed measurable intensity, spectral, and temporal differences between ultrasonic echoes reflecting off of smooth and textured surfaces. These differences were most pronounced at shallower angles of incidence, at higher call frequencies, and for textures with larger particle sizes. If water misperception is contributing to bat fatalities at wind turbines, then our results tentatively suggest that texturing wind turbine towers with coarse textures (1.4 – 2.0 mm) could be a mitigating strategy.
Exclusive Enteral Nutrition Orchestrates Immunological Balances as Early as Week 4 in Adult Patients of Crohn’s Disease: A Pilot, Open-Lable Study

Background and aims: The efficacy and underlying mechanisms of exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) in adult patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) remain controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the role of EEN in adult patients with CD and to explore the mechanisms from the perspective of immunoregulation. Methods: This is a prospective, open-label pilot study. Active patients with CD were enrolled and prescribed an amino-acid-rich elemental diet for 12 weeks. Dynamic changes in immune cells, including neutrophils, monocytes, T cells and B cells, were detected by flow cytometry. Plasma cytokines were evaluated by ELISA. Results: Twenty adult patients with CD were enrolled. Among them, 1 discontinued treatment due to poor compliance, and 19 patients were included for final analysis. Clinical remission was achieved in 47.37% (9/19), 63.16% (12/19), and 73.68% (14/19) patients at weeks 4, 8, and 12, respectively. Endoscopic remission and transmural healing were achieved in 52.63% (10/19) and 15.79% (3/19) patients at week 12. Notably, there was no significant difference in clinical remission between week 4 and week 8 (p = 0.33) or week 12 (p = 0.09). Furthermore, we observed a rapid reconstitution of immunologic homeostasis as early as week 4. At week 4, both the frequency and activation of neutrophils and monocytes were decreased after EEN therapy. Significant decreases in Th17 cells and naïve B cells, increases in memory B cells, and regulatory B cells were also detected. These changes remained stable at weeks 8 and 12. Conclusions: EEN with an amino-acid-rich elemental diet orchestrated immunological balances and induces clinical remission in adult CD patients as early as week 4, suggesting a 4-week EEN therapy may be feasible and practicable in clinical practice.
Using student personas when developing digital mathematics learning resources to improve teacher training

Abstract In this study, we discuss how the use of student personas can support pre-service teachers developing digital mathematics learning resources and improve mathematics teacher training programs. The use of modern technologies in schools requires that pre-service teachers prepare for new challenges, including the development of digital learning resources. To be able to develop such resources during teacher training, pre-service mathematics teachers without direct contact with students need insights into particular characteristics of mathematics students. We argue that personas, a tool and approach adopted from user experience research, can provide such insights. For this purpose, we interviewed four pre-service mathematics teachers who were developing digital learning resources in the span of a semester. We analyzed the data using grounded qualitative content analysis approaches and identified the following key aspects of personas usage for mathematics teacher training: (A) personas can act as an information tool, (B) personas can act as a planning and feedback tool, (C) the use of personas can trigger reflection processes for pre-service teachers, and (D) sustained work with personas may increase its impact. Our results indicate that personas can offer pre-service teachers support when developing digital learning resources and contribute to their professional development.
The comparison between fixed versus degressive doses of medroxyprogesterone acetate combined with letrozole in patients of progestin-primed ovarian stimulation protocol: a propensity score-matched study

Objective To explore the cycle characteristics and pregnancy outcomes of progestin-primed ovarian stimulation (PPOS) using fixed versus degressive doses of medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) in conjunction with letrozole (LE) in infertile women by propensity score matching (PSM) analysis. Design A retrospective cohort study. Setting Tertiary-care academic medical center. Population A total of 3173 infertile women undergoing their first in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) treatment within the period from January 2017 to December 2020. Methods A total of 1068 and 783 patients who underwent a fixed dose of MPA combined with LE and a degressive dose of MPA combined with LE protocols, respectively, were enrolled in this study. The freeze-all approach and later frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) were performed in both groups. Propensity score matching (1:1) was performed. Main outcome measures The primary outcomes were the dosage of MPA and the incidence of premature luteinizing hormone (LH) surges. The secondary outcomes were the number of oocytes retrieved, the cumulative live birth rate (CLBR) and the fetal malformation rate. Results We created a perfect match of 478 patients in each group. The dosage of MPA, the LH serum level on the eighth day of stimulation, progesterone (P) level and LH level on the hCG trigger day were significantly higher in the LE + fixed MPA group than in the LE + degressive MPA group (52.1 ± 13.1 mg vs. 44.9 ± 12.5 mg; 5.0 ± 2.7 IU/L vs. 3.7 ± 1.7 IU/L; 0.9 ± 0.5 ng/ml vs. 0.8 ± 0.5 ng/ml; 3.3 ± 2.4 IU/L vs. 2.8 ± 1.9 IU/L; P < 0.01). The duration of Gn, the number of follicles with diameter more than 16 mm on trigger day, the estradiol (E2) level on the hCG trigger day were lower in the LE + fixed MPA group than in the LE + degressive MPA group (9.7 ± 1.7 days vs. 10.3 ± 1.5 days; 5.6 ± 3.0 vs. 6.3 ± 3.0; 1752.5 ± 1120.8 pg/ml vs. 1997.2 ± 1108.5 pg/ml; P < 0.001). No significant difference was found in the incidence of premature LH surge, the number of oocytes retrieved, the number of top-quality embryos, clinical pregnancy rate (CPR), CLBR or fetal malformation rate between the two groups. Conclusion The combination of a degressive MPA dose with LE proved effective in reducing the total MPA dosage with comparable premature LH surge and pregnancy outcomes in women undergoing the PPOS protocol.
Velocity and Color Estimation Using Event-Based Clustering

Event-based clustering provides a low-power embedded solution for low-level feature extraction in a scene. The algorithm utilizes the non-uniform sampling capability of event-based image sensors to measure local intensity variations within a scene. Consequently, the clustering algorithm forms similar event groups while simultaneously estimating their attributes. This work proposes taking advantage of additional event information in order to provide new attributes for further processing. We elaborate on the estimation of the object velocity using the mean motion of the cluster. Next, we are examining a novel form of events, which includes intensity measurement of the color at the concerned pixel. These events may be processed to estimate the rough color of a cluster, or the color distribution in a cluster. Lastly, this paper presents some applications that utilize these features. The resulting algorithms are applied and exercised thanks to a custom event-based simulator, which generates videos of outdoor scenes. The velocity estimation methods provide satisfactory results with a trade-off between accuracy and convergence speed. Regarding color estimation, the luminance estimation is challenging in the test cases, while the chrominance is precisely estimated. The estimated quantities are adequate for accurately classifying objects into predefined categories.
The Impact of Maternal Hypothyroidism during Pregnancy on Minipuberty in Boys

Minipuberty is a period of increased reproductive axis activity in infancy, which seems to be implicated in the postnatal development of male genital organs. Impaired thyroid function during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal complications. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the presence of hypothyroidism during pregnancy modulates the course of male minipuberty. We compared three matched groups of male infants: sons of women with hypothyroidism uncontrolled or poorly controlled during pregnancy (group A), male offspring of women treated over the entire pregnancy with adequate doses of levothyroxine (group B), and sons born to women with no evidence of thyroid disease (group C). Salivary levels of testosterone, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, estradiol, progesterone, and 17-hydroxyprogesterone, as well as urine concentrations of FSH and LH, were assessed once a month in the first 6 months of life, and once every two months between months 6 and 12. Gonadotropin and testosterone levels during the first 6 months of life were lower in group A than in groups B and C. Differences in testosterone and gonadotropin levels were accompanied by similar differences in penile length and testicular volume. Concentrations of the remaining hormones did not differ between the study groups. The obtained results suggest that untreated or undertreated maternal thyroid hypofunction in pregnancy has an inhibitory effect on postnatal activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis and genital organ development in their male offspring.
Understanding the Determinants of Suicidal Behaviours Among People in Southwest Nigeria

Suicide is a prominent cause of mortality worldwide, and it is happening at an alarming rate in Nigeria, especially among young people. It is estimated that 800,000 individuals commit suicide each year. Previous research has found a number of factors, such as mental illness, financial hardships, marital issues, and social pressures that lead to suicidal behaviour. The causes of suicidal behaviour in Southwest Nigeria, however, have received little attention. In this study, the causes of suicidal behaviour among people in southwest Nigeria are examined. The study uses a qualitative methodology and gathers its data from secondary sources such as academic journals, books, newspapers, theses, and dissertations. The data demonstrate that major risk factors for suicide behaviour in Southwest Nigeria included sadness, anxiety, and hopelessness. Significant factors in suicide behaviour included social pressure, relationship issues, and financial hardships. The report also emphasises the role that stigma around mental health conditions and a lack of access to quality medical care play in escalating suicidal conduct. In order to encourage economic growth and development, the article advises the supply of mental health resources, the development of awareness campaigns, the construction of psychological and emotional support groups, overcoming financial obstacles, and collaboration with private organisations. The prevalence of suicidal conduct in Southwest Nigeria would decrease with the use of these approaches. Keywords: suicide, mental health disorders, physical illness, poverty, relationship issues.
Biosynthesis of the Inner Core of Bordetella pertussis Lipopolysaccharides: Effect of Mutations on LPS Structure, Cell Division, and Toll-like Receptor 4 Activation

Previously developed whole-cell vaccines against Bordetella pertussis, the causative agent of whooping cough, appeared to be too reactogenic due to their endotoxin content. Reduction in endotoxicity can generally be achieved through structural modifications in the lipid A moiety of lipopolysaccharides (LPS). In this study, we found that dephosphorylation of lipid A in B. pertussis through the heterologous production of the phosphatase LpxE from Francisella novicida did, unexpectedly, not affect Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-stimulating activity. We then focused on the inner core of LPS, whose synthesis has so far not been studied in B. pertussis. The kdtA and kdkA genes, responsible for the incorporation of a single 3-deoxy-D-manno-oct-2-ulosonic acid (Kdo) residue in the inner core and its phosphorylation, respectively, appeared to be essential. However, the Kdo-bound phosphate could be replaced by a second Kdo after the heterologous production of Escherichia coli kdtA. This structural change in the inner core affected outer-core and lipid A structures and also bacterial physiology, as reflected in cell filamentation and a switch in virulence phase. Furthermore, the eptB gene responsible for the non-stoichiometric substitution of Kdo-bound phosphate with phosphoethanolamine was identified and inactivated. Interestingly, the constructed inner-core modifications affected TLR4-stimulating activity. Whereas endotoxicity studies generally focus on the lipid A moiety, our data demonstrate that structural changes in the inner core can also affect TLR4-stimulating activity.
Predicting and understanding residential water use with interpretable machine learning

Predicting residential water use is critical to efficiently manage urban water resource systems. Simultaneously, understanding the factors driving residential water use is required to plan for future urban change and achieve effective water resource management. Current approaches examining residential water use identify the drivers of household water use through parametric or non-parametric statistical approaches. Parametric approaches have high predictive errors and lack the ability to accurately capture interactions between features but allow for easy interpretation. Non-parametric approaches have lower predictive errors and can capture non-linear feature interactions but do not allow for easy interpretation. We use non-parametric statistical models of household water use and recent advances in interpretable machine learning to understand the drivers of residential water use. Specifically, we use post-hoc interpretability methods to examine how drivers of water use interact, focusing on environmental, demographic, physical housing, and utility policy factors. We find all four categories of factors are important for estimating water use with environmental and utility policy factors playing the largest role. Additionally, we identify non-linear interactions between many variables within and across these classes. We show this approach provides both high predictive accuracy and identification of complex water use factors, offering important insight for urban water management.
A Review of the Impact of Bush Burning on the Environment: Potential Effects on Soil Chemical Attributes

Bush burning, whether the result of a wildfire or a controlled burn, has been shown to affect not only the appearance of the landscape, but the quality of the soil as well. Uncontrolled bush fires impact the soil in a variety of ways with the magnitude of the disturbance largely dependent upon the fire intensity, duration and recurrence, fuel load, and soil characteristics. The impact on soil properties is intricate, yielding different results based on these factors. Whereas burning off the vegetation during land clearing for cultivation is a common farming practice among farmers in many parts of the tropics, yet little is known by perpetrators of this practice about its impacts on the soil and its dwellers. This paper reviews research findings from a number of works conducted across the globe with the aim of gaining an insight the effects of wildfire and prescribed fire on the soil chemical and biological attributes. The knowledge of soils response in terms of these two properties to fire events can help in proper implementation of rehabilitation and restoration strategies at the short term, medium term, and long term.
Antithrombotic Management for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation

Background: There have been significant changes in the optimal antithrombotic regimen post transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) after the results of major clinical trials in the past few years. Given the clinical importance of the optimal antithrombotic therapy post TAVI, we performed a narrative description of the major clinical trials behind the scientific evidence supporting these changes, as well the current guideline recommendations and knowledge gaps. Methods: We performed a narrative description of the major clinical trials behind the scientific evidence supporting these changes. We used PubMed as a major source to collect the major clinical trials including the following key words: “transcatheter aortic valve replacement”, “transcatheter aortic valve implantation”, “antithrombotic”, “antiplatelet” and “anticoagulation”. We selected the major clinical trials on this topic. This is not a systematic review or meta-analysis. Results: We describe the results of the major clinical trials on antithrombotic therapy post TAVI: POPULAR-TAVI A, POPULAR-TAVI B, ENVISAGE-TAVI AF, GALILEO, ATLANTIS and ADAPT-TAVR trials. Based on the results of these trials, single antiplatelet therapy is recommended post TAVI in patients without concomitant indication for oral anticoagulation or dual antiplatelet therapy, especially in elderly patients. In younger patients, it is advised to evaluate the patient’s bleeding and thrombotic risk, and dual antiplatelet therapy may be reasonable in patients with a high thrombotic risk and low bleeding risk. In patients with a concurrent indication for oral anticoagulation or dual antiplatelet therapy, it is recommended to continue oral anticoagulation or dual antiplatelet therapy post TAVI. Conclusion: In most patients without concomitant indication for oral anticoagulation, single antiplatelet therapy is recommended post TAVI.
Impact of Co-Channel Interference on Two-Way Relaying Networks with Maximal Ratio Transmission

Amplify-and-forward (AF) two-way relay networks (TWRNs) have become popular to provide spectrally efficient communication when range extension or energy efficiency is needed by utilizing a simple relay. However, their performance can be significantly degraded in practice due to co-channel interference (CCI) which is increasing due to growing number of wireless devices and recent cognitive and non-orthogonal multiple access techniques. With the motivation of improving the performance of AF-TWRNs, the use of maximal ratio transmission (MRT) is investigated to achieve high reliability while requiring low receiver complexity for the relay. First, the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) expression is formulated and upper bounded. Then, tight lower bound expressions of outage probability (OP), sum symbol error rate (SSER), and upper bound ergodic sum rate (ESR) for each source and for the overall system are obtained. Besides, array and diversity gains are provided after deriving the asymptotic expressions of OP and SSER at high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Furthermore, the impact of channel estimation errors on the performance is also included. Finally, Monte Carlo simulation results which corroborate our theoretical findings are illustrated.