Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cloud systems associated with western disturbances : A preliminary study

During the winter season cloud and precipitation belts are seen to move from west to east over northern India. The cause of these cloud and precipitation systems came to be referred to as 'western disturbances'. In this study the cloud systems have been classified into five broad categories. Typical examples of these cloud patterns and synoptic conditions most commonly associated with each category of cloud systems are presented in this paper.
A panel study of water recirculation in manufacturing plants

Manufacturing plants routinely recirculate water to meet their process and cooling needs. This ability and willingness to recirculate water distinguishes manufacturing plants from most households and agricultural producers. The motivation for this research is to investigate the factors influencing manufacturing plants’ water recirculation decisions. The paper analyses a unique, balanced panel dataset of 2725 manufacturing plants that responded to the 1986, 1991 and 1996 Industrial Water Use Surveys. Investigation of the raw data shows that manufacturing plants routinely start and stop recirculation activities. Building on previous analysis based on only the 1996 dataset, a statistical model is developed to explain observed variations in the volume of water recirculated and water recirculation intensity (recirculation relative to intake) across the three time periods. Specifically, this paper applies a Heckman two-stage estimation procedure that jointly considers two facets of firms’ recirculation behaviour: first, the discrete decision of whether to recirculate and, second, the decision of how much to recirculate. Potential endogeneity of internal input costs is addressed through instrumental variables. Explanatory variables include the scale of operations, water-use costs and dummy variables that account for plants’ location and technology. Results indicate that water use costs, the scale of operations and the need to treat water prior to its use are important determinants of water recirculation decisions. This paper concludes by considering the policy implications of the empirical findings.
Towards wearable stress measurement

Chronic psychological stress carries a wide array of pathophysiological risks, including cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, diabetes, and immune dysregulation. An important step in managing stress, before it becomes chronic, is recognizing precisely when and where it occurs. This thesis creates and evaluates new methods to improve the measurement of stress by leveraging state-of-the-art wearable devices. The first part of the thesis systematically compares gathering self-reported stress levels with head and wrist-worn devices, and compares them to the traditional cellphone in the pocket. In particular, 15 participants were asked to carry these devices during five days of their regular work day and to self-report their emotional state several times a day with our custom experience sampling application. We found that both head and wrist-worn devices significantly outperformed the phone in terms of the amount of answered prompts and the speed to start answering. However, different factors such as interaction types, screen size, and familiarity with the devices affected users' experience and responses. The second part of the thesis develops novel methods to comfortably capture physiological signals associated with the stress response. In particular, 36 participants were asked to carry either a head-worn device, a smartwatch or a smartphone while performing different "still" body postures in a controlled laboratory study. Using the proposed methods, we demonstrated that wearable motion-sensitive sensors inside these devices can capture heart and breathing rates as accurately as FDA-cleared devices from traditional body locations. Furthermore, using the data collected from the 15 participants, we demonstrated that our methods can be opportunistically used in real-life when people are relatively "still. " In our study, for instance, the head-worn device provided accurate heart rate assessments around 20% of the work day. Finally, the third part of the thesis uses supervised learning methods to automatically infer self-reported stress levels from different types of wearable data, including physiological, contextual and behavioral signals. While there is not a one-size-fits-all solution, we found that electrodermal activity, head motion and atmospheric pressure were the more relevant signals across the 15 participants. Furthermore, we characterized many of the challenges that plague the task of real-life stress recognition.
Humoral and Cellular Responses to COVID-19 Vaccines in SARS-CoV-2 Infection-Naïve and -Recovered Korean Individuals

In the face of a global COVID-19 vaccine shortage, an efficient vaccination strategy is required. Therefore, the immunogenicity of single or double COVID-19 vaccination doses (ChAdOX1, BNT162b2, or mRNA-1273) of SARS-CoV-2-recovered individuals was compared to that of unvaccinated individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection at least one year post-convalescence. Moreover, the immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2-naïve individuals vaccinated with a complete schedule of Ad26.CoV2. S, ChAdOX1, BNT162b2, mRNA-1273, or ChAdOX1/BNT162b2 vaccines was evaluated. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S1 IgG antibody (S1-IgG), pseudotyped virus-neutralizing antibody titer (pVNT50), and IFN-γ ELISpot counts were measured. Humoral immune responses were significantly higher in vaccinated than in unvaccinated recovered individuals, with a 43-fold increase in the mean pVNT50 values. However, there was no significant difference in the pVNT50 and IFN-γ ELISpot values between the single- and double-dose regimens. In SARS-CoV-2-naïve individuals, antibody responses varied according to the vaccine type: BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 induced similar levels of S1-IgG to those observed in vaccinated, convalescent individuals; in contrast, pVNT50 was much lower in SARS-CoV-2-naïve vaccinees than in vaccinated recovered individuals. Therefore, a single dose of ChAdOX1, BNT162b2, or mRNA-1273 vaccines would be a good alternative for recovered individuals instead of a double-dose regimen.
The Relationship between Creative Thinking, Problem Solving Skills, and Self Efficacy with Work Readiness

Studentâ€™s work readiness is related to individual abilities such as creative thinking, problem solving skills, and self-efficacy. However, the readiness is sometimes not matched by the expected requirements from industrial world. Hence, this study strived to analyze the relationship between creative thinking, problem solving skills, and self-efficacy with the work readiness of Public Vocational High School students in Semarang City. Regarding sample, this study involved 372 students in 6 Public Vocational High School in Semarang City chosen using Cluster Random Sampling. The sample data were collected through the instruments of creative thinking scale, Problem Solving Inventory (PSI), General Self-Efficacy (GSE), and work readiness scale. The findings showed that; creative thinking, problem solving skills and self-efficacy had positive relationships with work readiness. In details, self-efficacy variable owned the strongest relationship among other variables. Thus, the higher the creative thinking, problem solving skills, and self-efficacy students have, the higher work readiness in facing the industrial world and the world of work would be.
Extended Line Defect Graphene Modified by the Adsorption of Mn Atoms and Its Properties of Adsorbing CH4

Extended line defect (ELD) graphene is a two-dimensional (2D) topologically defective graphene with alternate octagonal and quadrilateral carbon rings as basic defective units. This paper reports on the CH4 adsorption properties of ELD graphene according to the first principles of density functional theory (DFT). The effects on the CH4 adsorption of ELD graphene when modified by a single Mn atom or two Mn atoms were investigated, respectively. An ELD-42C graphene configuration consisting of 42 C atoms was first constructed. Then, the ELD-42C graphene configuration was used as a substrate, and a Mn-ELD-42C graphene configuration was obtained by modifying it with a single Mn atom. The results showed that the most stable adsorption site for Mn atoms was above the quadrilateral carbon ring. This Mn-ELD-42C graphene configuration could only stably adsorb up to 30 CH4 molecules on each side, with an average adsorption energy of −0.867 eV/CH4 and an adsorption capacity of 46.25 wt%. Three 2Mn-ELD-42C graphene configurations were then obtained by modifying the ELD-42C graphene substrate with two Mn atoms. When the two Mn atoms were located on either side of a 2Mn-ELD-42C graphene configuration and above the two octagonal carbon rings adjacent to the same quadrilateral carbon ring, it was able to adsorb up to 40 CH4 molecules on each side, with an average adsorption energy of −0.862 eV/CH4 and a CH4 adsorption capacity of 51.09 wt%.
Threshold Visibility Levels Required for Nighttime Pedestrian Detection in a Modified Adrian/CIE Visibility Model

Abstract Adrian's Visibility Model is a useful tool for assessing the visibility of an object at night. However, it was developed using test data under laboratory conditions. Thus, it is necessary to determine the visibility levels which are required for target detection under nighttime driving conditions. The author has previously presented a study in which experimental data from Olson and others were applied to the Adrian Visibility Model to determine visibility levels at target detection for alerted and unalerted drivers. However, a limitation in the model's handling of glare (valid for 1.5° to 30°) limited the useable data. A modified Visibility Model is proposed which incorporates the CIE General Disability Glare Equation. This widens the available glare range to 0.1° to 100° and allows for a more robust analysis than had been presented previously. Age, headlight beam pattern, and target reflectivity were all found to have a significant effect on visibility level at target detection for alerted drivers. Target size and position did not significantly affect visibility level at target detection. Average threshold visibility levels between 0.1 and 18 were calculated for alerted drivers. For unalerted drivers, average threshold visibility levels between 14 and 89 were calculated.
Deep ancestry of collapsing networks of nomadic hunter–gatherers in Borneo

Abstract Abstract Theories of early cooperation in human society often draw from a small sample of ethnographic studies of surviving populations of hunter–gatherers, most of which are now sedentary. Borneo hunter–gatherers (Punan, Penan) have seldom figured in comparative research because of a decades-old controversy about whether they are the descendants of farmers who adopted a hunting and gathering way of life. In 2018 we began an ethnographic study of a group of still-nomadic hunter–gatherers who call themselves Punan Batu (Cave Punan). Our genetic analysis clearly indicates that they are very unlikely to be the descendants of neighbouring agriculturalists. They also preserve a song language that is unrelated to other languages of Borneo. Dispersed travelling groups of Punan Batu with fluid membership use message sticks to stay in contact, co-operate and share resources as they journey between rock shelters and forest camps. Message sticks were once widespread among nomadic Punan in Borneo, but have largely disappeared in sedentary Punan villages. Thus the small community of Punan Batu offers a rare glimpse of a hunting and gathering way of life that was once widespread in the forests of Borneo, where prosocial behaviour extended beyond the face-to-face community, facilitating successful collective adaptation to the diverse resources of Borneo's forests.
Impacts of different maturity stages and storage on nutritional changes in raw and cooked tubers of orange-fleshed sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) cultivars.

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), the seventh most important food crop of the world is rich in β-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A. Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes have emerged as an important biofortified crop in many developing countries to alleviate vitamin A malnutrition and thereby combating night blindness. But the stage of harvest maturity with optimum yield and nutritive value differs among cultivars. In addition, consumer acceptability, cooking quality and storability of the tubers should be taken into account for selecting new cultivars of orange-fleshed sweet potato. The present study evaluated fifteen orange-fleshed sweet potato cultivars harvested at 90, 105 and 120 d after planting (DAP). Dry matter (17.21-26.52%), starch (4.97-17.38%) and total sugar content (1.74-2.79%) of tubers of different cultivars linearly increased throughout the harvesting period, while β-carotene content tended to increase (2.75-11.57 mg 100 g -1) only up to 105 DAP. Ascorbic acid content tended to decline (32.34-13.75 mg 100 g -1 ) with tuber maturation. Although some of the cultivars were early maturing, it is worthwhile to harvest the tubers of most cultivars at around 105 DAP considering productivity, nutritional quality and consumer acceptability. During cooking β-carotene content of tubers slightly declined along with significant cultivar-specific differences in nutrient composition of cooked tubers. Consumption of some of the orange-fleshed cultivars with high retinol equivalents can make a significant contribution in alleviating vitamin A malnutrition.
Current approaches for executing big data science projects—a systematic literature review

There is an increasing number of big data science projects aiming to create value for organizations by improving decision making, streamlining costs or enhancing business processes. However, many of these projects fail to deliver the expected value. It has been observed that a key reason many data science projects don’t succeed is not technical in nature, but rather, the process aspect of the project. The lack of established and mature methodologies for executing data science projects has been frequently noted as a reason for these project failures. To help move the field forward, this study presents a systematic review of research focused on the adoption of big data science process frameworks. The goal of the review was to identify (1) the key themes, with respect to current research on how teams execute data science projects, (2) the most common approaches regarding how data science projects are organized, managed and coordinated, (3) the activities involved in a data science projects life cycle, and (4) the implications for future research in this field. In short, the review identified 68 primary studies thematically classified in six categories. Two of the themes (workflow and agility) accounted for approximately 80% of the identified studies. The findings regarding workflow approaches consist mainly of adaptations to CRISP-DM (vs entirely new proposed methodologies). With respect to agile approaches, most of the studies only explored the conceptual benefits of using an agile approach in a data science project (vs actually evaluating an agile framework being used in a data science context). Hence, one finding from this research is that future research should explore how to best achieve the theorized benefits of agility. Another finding is the need to explore how to efficiently combine workflow and agile frameworks within a data science context to achieve a more comprehensive approach for project execution.
Direct Advancement of Balloon-Guide Catheter Distal to the Carotid Free-Floating Thrombus Achieves Smart Mechanical Thrombectomy

A 68-year-old man with bladder cancer developed sudden dysarthria and left hemiplegia. MRI revealed occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery (MCA). Cerebral angiography revealed a large carotid free-floating thrombus (CFFT) at the origin of the right internal carotid artery (ICA) and right M1 occlusion. A balloon-guide catheter (BGC) was directly guided distal to the CFFT. Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) was performed on the M1 occlusion while the balloon was inflated to block antegrade blood flow, and good recanalization was achieved. To continue processing the CFFT, the deflated BGC was pulled to the common carotid artery, and the thrombus dispersed into the external carotid artery (ECA). Subsequently, the patient’s symptoms improved. Directly advancing a BGC distally to a CFFT may be a useful treatment strategy for tandem lesions with carotid free-floating thrombi.
Forward Osmosis (FO) Membrane Fouling Mitigation during the Concentration of Cows’ Urine

FO membrane fouling mitigation during the concentration of cows’ urine was investigated. In particular, the effects on the permeability recovery of cleaning methods such as membrane washing with deionized (DI) water, osmotic backwash, and chemical cleaning were studied. The characterization of foulants that accumulated on the membrane surface was found to be rich in sugars and proteins. The foulants were effectively removed by de-ionized water circulation (washing) and osmotic backwash. While osmotic back was more effective, it did not fully recover the permeability of the membrane. The foulants absorbed in the membrane pores were found to be mainly composed of sugars. Soaking the membrane in a solution of NaClO enabled the removal of foulants absorbed inside the membrane. It was revealed that soaking in 1% NaClO solution for 30 min achieved the best results (83% permeability recovery), while soaking for a longer time (10 h) using 0.2% NaClO resulted in counterproductive results.
Food Captures Attention, but Not the Eyes: An Eye-Tracking Study on Mindset and BMI’s Impact on Attentional Capture by High-Caloric Visual Food Stimuli

Obesity is a worldwide pandemic and theories propose that attentional bias (AB) for food triggers craving and overeating, especially for people with obesity. However, empirical evidence is inconsistent, which may be due to methodological diversity and the double-sided nature of high-caloric palatable foods. That is, these foods simultaneously have a high hedonic and a low health value. So, depending on context and/or emotional state, people’s mindset while viewing foods may alternate between hedonic (taste) and health (calories) values, possibly affecting AB for food in opposite directions. This study tests how mindset and BMI (Body Mass Index) influences AB and food intake. We expect greater AB for food and more food intake in the hedonic compared to the health mindset, especially for people with obesity. Mindsets were induced using short video-clips in two sessions in counterbalanced order. Participants (35 with a healthy-weight-category BMI, 31 with obesity) performed a modified Additional Singleton paradigm where they searched for a neutral target among neutral fillers. On 90% of the trials, either a food or a neutral distractor appeared. Response latencies to the target and eye-movements to the distractor were recorded. Dependent variables included: response latencies, and eye-movement variables on the distractor: fixations (%), 1st fixation duration, dwell-time. Food intake was assessed in a bogus taste test. No significant effects emerged from the eye-movements analysis, whereas the analysis of response latencies showed an AB for food, not significantly moderated by BMI or mindset. Food intake was affected by mindset partly as expected, as participants ate more in the hedonic than in the health mindset when the hedonic mindset was induced in the second session. One AB measure (fixations) correlated positively with food intake. Finally, food captured attention – but not the eyes – and mindset affects food intake partly as expected.
The Effect of High- and Moderate-intensity Endurance Training on Some Anabolic/Catabolic Osteokines in Old Male Wistar Rats

Background: Bone-related osteokines are crucial for bone function and metabolic response to physical activity. The present study aimed to shed light on the effect of different intensities of continuous and interval endurance training on the serum levels of some osteokines that are associated with wingless-related integration site (WNT) signaling pathway and Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor (NF)-κB Ligand (RANKL) in old male Wistar rats. Materials and Methods: A total of 24 old male Wistar rats (mean age: 23 months, mean weight: 437.93 g) were randomly assigned to three groups: interval endurance-training group (n=8), continuous endurance-training group (n=8), and control group (n=8). The continuous and interval training interventions comprised 8 weeks of treadmill exercise, 5 days a week. The continuous endurance-training group started to exercise at 60% of velocity at maximal oxygen uptake (vVO2max) for 16 min during the first week. It continued with 70% of vVO2max for 45 min from the fourth week onward. In contrast, the interval endurance-training group switched on exercise with 40%-80% of vVO2max from the first week and persisted with 30%-110% of vVO2max from the fourth week onward. As the exercise bout was completed, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was applied to measure the study dependent variables. Statistical analysis was further performed using 1-way analysis of variance, considering the significance level of P≤0.05. Results: The study results demonstrated a significant difference in the levels of Oteoprotegerin (OPG) (P=0.036) and RANKL (P=0.001) in the experimental (namely, interval and continuous training) groups compared with the controls following the exercise bout. However, the level of sclerostin was not significantly changed (P=0.549). Conclusion: High-intensity endurance training in the RANKL/OPG and WNT pathways decreased sclerostin and RANKL levels, but this decrease was significant at the RANKL level. It was effective with regard to the intensities of different types of endurance exercise.
The Lived Experience of Primary Family Caregivers of Patients on Hemodialysis Treatment in Southern Ethiopia: A Phenomenological Study

Background Primary family caregivers of hemodialysis patients are the “hidden patients” who shoulder extraordinary care burdens. However, there is a dearth of studies in Ethiopia. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of primary family caregivers of hemodialysis patients in Southern Ethiopia. Methods Qualitative phenomenological study design was employed in February 2021. A homogeneous purposive sampling technique was applied to select study participants. An in-depth interview using an interview guide and field notes were used to collect the required data. All interviews were recorded using a digital audio recorder. Data coding was assisted by Open code software version 4.03. Inductive thematic analysis was used to develop the emerged themes and sub-themes using Colaizzi’s 1978 seven-step phenomenological analysis method. The themes and sub-themes are described in detail in the respective heading and sub-headings. Results A total of twelve participants were involved in the present study. Bio-psychological experience, socio-economic impact, and healthcare provider-primary family caregiver relationships are the major themes that emerged from the data. The emotional responses, coping mechanisms, consequences on the family caregivers’ health, care fatigue, lifestyle change, economic burden, impact on social responsibility, social support, the role of the primary family caregiver, and trust and confidence in the service providers are the sub-themes defining primary family caregivers caring experience. Conclusion In this study, emotional instabilities and reactions, care fatigue, distortion of caregiver’s health, multiple economic and social damages are the major challenges faced by primary family caregivers.