Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Approaches to Intellectual Property of Robotics Industry

The purpose of this study is to identify common approaches to obtaining rights to various intellectual property objects in the field of robotics through a qualitative and quantitative assessment of applications and received protection certificates. As a result of researching the activities of eleven well-known companies, we identified filed and active trademarks, patent applications, and copyright certificates. A qualitative analysis of the documents showed that, with a significant preference for patents, companies are not too interested in registering copyright, despite the fact that every four out of five inventions implement information and communication technologies and services and are carried out using software developments, which is copyright according to various national and international regulations. While patent protection has significant advantages, software algorithms can be more comprehensively protected with additional tools. The results of this study can be useful to various SMEs and startups for building strategies for obtaining intellectual property rights and practical activities.
Decolonizing Conflict Journalism Studies: A Critical Review of Research on Fixers

ABSTRACT This paper offers a critical review of scholarly research on fixers, the local collaborators of foreign correspondents, in conflict reporting. Based on a thematic analysis of work that addresses news fixing, we summarize what we know about fixers in conflict zones while using postcolonial lens to further develop some critical arguments that are already present in the body of research. Existing studies well describe what fixers do, who they are, and the inequalities in safety, in authority over the content of reporting, and in the distribution of money that haunt conflict reporting. However, we argue that most of the research too readily accepts as a starting point the division between West and non-West, which assumes that fixers are fundamentally different from and unequal to Western correspondents and emphasizes these disparate identities without questioning them, thus reproducing fixers’ otherness and exoticism. To gain a better position for promoting creative justice, we suggest that future research practices and questions could be recalibrated in line with the postcolonial move and the current reconfiguration of the political and epistemic relations between the world’s regions.
Ageism and moral distress in nurses caring for older patients

ABSTRACT This study explored the influence of healthcare ageism on nurses’ moral distress. Episodic interviews were conducted on 25 Romanian nurses in 2020. Thematic analysis revealed that all moral distress sources reported reflected macro-, meso- and micro-level ageism, benevolent and hostile, self- or other-directed, including stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination of older patients. The COVID-19 pandemic-related ageist measures increased healthcare ageism and transformed nurses’ representations of older patients accordingly. Nurses felt moral conflict both when passively witnessing ageist acts and when perpetrating them to adhere to group norms, highlighting the need to combat ageism for both patients’ and nurses’ well-being.
The Role of Microorganisms in Appendiceal Pseudomyxoma Peritonei: A Review

Pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) is a rare clinical syndrome. It originates from neoplasms of the appendix and leads to the formation of peritoneal implants and the accumulation of mucinous ascites. PMP represents a spectrum of low to high-grade disease. Despite aggressive management, many PMP patients recur, leading to debilitating symptoms and few treatment options. Therefore, scientists have continued to look for ways to improve treatment and further understand disease pathogenesis. Microorganisms were previously hypothesized to play a role in PMP progression and development. Hence, antibacterial treatment was suggested by some authors, but the data were limited. In this paper, we review the current data on the role of bacteria in PMP, discuss the significance, and suggest possible solutions to the inherent challenges in these studies. Given the limitations of the discussed studies, we remain skeptical about introducing novel antibacterial treatment into clinical practice at this time; however, the available data are valuable and indicate that more research into the molecular mechanisms of PMP is needed.
Asynchronous Learning Initiatives: Case Study during COVID-19

Disruption to education and the havoc of a health crisis have been common trends found in every region of the globe as a consequence of the COVID-19 epidemic. This pandemic has interrupted educational activities worldwide. Countries have taken significant measures to continue education via asynchronous learning. Cases were selected to explore “how have countries taken initiatives in switching from synchronous learning to asynchronous learning during the critical time of the COVID-19 pandemic? ” Secondary data was collected from existing literature and published reports. Yin explanatory, embedded case study design was employed and thematic analysis was carried out using NVIVO 12. It is observed that 95 percent of countries of the world have taken steps toward asynchronous learning in the emergency period for each level of education, and some common emerging tools for asynchronous learning are also identified in the study. This study was first conducted to investigate the trend of countries in a state of emergency providing a continuation of educational activities utilising their available resources. The study is believed to be helpful for countries of different regions wanting to modify the existing asynchronous learning infrastructure. Post emergency measures may be considered for further studies.
Genotoxicity Associated with 131I and 99mTc Exposure in Nuclear Medicine Staff: A Physical and Biological Monitoring Study

Nuclear medicine staff are constantly exposed to low doses of ionizing radiation. This study investigated the level of genotoxic effects in hospital employees exposed to routinely used 131I and 99mTc in comparison with a control group. The study compared the results of physical and biological monitoring in peripheral blood lymphocytes. The effects of confounding factors, such as smoking status and physical activity, were also considered. Physical dosimetry monitoring revealed differences in the individual annual effective dose as measured by finger ring dosimeter and whole-body dosimeter between the 131I- and 99mTc-exposed groups. The DNA damage studies revealed differences between the groups in terms of excess premature chromosome condensation (PCC) fragments and tail DNA. Physical activity and smoking status differentiated the investigated groups. When assessed by the level of physical activity, the highest mean values of tail DNA were observed for the 99mTc group. When assessed by work-related physical effort, excess PCC fragments were significantly higher in the 131I group than in the control group. In the investigated groups, the tail DNA values were significantly different between non-smokers and past or current smokers, but excess PCC fragments did not significantly differ by smoking status. It is important to measure exposure to low doses of ionizing radiation and assess the potential risk from this exposure. Such investigations support the need to continue epidemiological and experimental studies to improve our understanding of the mechanisms of the health effects of radionuclides and to develop predictive models of the behavior of these complex systems in response to low-dose radiation.
Cascaded Channel Estimation Using Full Duplex for IRS-Aided Multiuser Communications

To achieve huge passive/reflect beamforming gain by intelligent reflecting surface (IRS), channel state information (CSI) on IRS is essential but challenging to obtain in IRS-aided systems due to the lack of signal transmitting/receiving/processing capabilities of IRS passive elements as well as the massive channel coefficients to be estimated. In this paper, we propose a new channel estimation scheme using the full-duplex technique for estimating the CSI of all users’ cascaded channels in an IRS-aided multiuser communication system. Specifically, one arbitrarily selected reference user is equipped with the full-duplex technique in the channel estimation phase to estimate the element-wise squared channel between it and the IRS via its pilot transmission together with the IRS’s time-varying reflection. Meanwhile, the base station (BS) and non-reference users estimate the CSI of their respective IRS-reflected channels, based on which the users-IRS-BS cascaded channels of the non-reference users are recovered by utilizing the fact that the IRS-BS channel is common to all users. As such, the proposed channel estimation scheme significantly reduces the required minimum training overhead for estimating all users-IRS-BS cascaded channels, which is determined by the number of IRS reflecting elements only, and is irrelevant to that of IRS-served users. Numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.
Impostor Syndrome and its association with depression and burnout among medical students

Abstract: Introduction: The Impostor Syndrome (IS) is characterized as inability to internalize success and tendency to attribute success to external causes such as luck, error or ignorance of other people. Despite the recent increase in the number of IS publications, studies on this condition in undergraduate medical students and the impact on mental health are scarce. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of IS and its association with Burnout Syndrome (BS) and depression. Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive and quantitative study was carried out with undergraduate medical students at a university center in Northeast Brazil. A sociodemographic questionnaire, the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS), the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Student Survey (MBI-SS) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) were used. Results: Of the 425 students assessed, 47 (11.06%), 151 (35.53%), 163 (38.35%) and 64 (15.06%) had mild, moderate, severe and very severe IS symptoms, respectively. Not being married, having a low level of physical activity and not contributing to family income were associated with severe or very severe IS symptoms (p < .001, p = .032 and p = .025, respectively). Previous medical diagnosis of depression, anxiety and use of antidepressants are also associated with severe or very severe IS symptoms (p = .019, p = .006 and p = .011, respectively). In addition, there was a positive correlation between the CIPS and PHQ-9 scale scores (p = .459, p < .001), and an association between BS (Emotional Exhaustion and Cynicism dimensions) and IS (p < .001). Conclusion: This study identified an association between IS and BS and depression among undergraduate medical students. Further studies with interventions against IS may show a positive impact on mental health.
Faroese children’s first words

Abstract Research has shown the importance of vocabulary development in relation to other parts of language development, e.g. grammar and reading development. Cross-linguistic research has shown similar as well as dissimilar tendencies regarding content in different languages. This study examines, for the first time, the characteristics of Faroese children’s early productive vocabulary utilizing a Faroese adaptation of the MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventories (MB-CDI). The study participants were 415 children aged 8 to 20 months. The results provide information on the composition and characteristics of lexical development in Faroese children and demonstrate that nouns are dominant among first words, as are onomatopoetic words and words describing family relationships. Faroese children are comparable to children learning other languages with respect to rate of acquisition and composition of words, with a somewhat higher share of words describing family members as stable words in the emerging language.
Consideration on punching shear strength of steel-fiber-reinforced concrete slabs

The flat plate slab system is widely used in construction fields due to its excellent constructability and savings in story height compared to the conventional beam-column moment-resisting system. Many researchers are, however, concerned about the punching shear failure that can happen in a two-way flat plate slab system, for which many shear-strength-enhancement techniques have been suggested. One of the effective alternatives is the application of steel-fiber-reinforced concrete. However, most previous studies on the punching shear strength of steel-fiber-reinforced concrete flat slabs had presented empirical formulas based on experimental results. On the other hand, theoretical models proposed in previous studies are difficult to be applied to practical situations. Therefore, in this study, a punching shear strength model of the steel-fiber-reinforced concrete two-way flat slab is proposed. In this model, the total shear resistance of the steel-fiber-reinforced concrete flat slab is expressed by sum of the shear contribution of steel fibers in the cracked tension region and that of intact concrete in the compression zone. A total of 91 shear test data on steel-fiber-reinforced concrete slab–column connection were compared to the analysis results, and the proposed model provided a good accuracy on estimating the punching shear strength of the steel-fiber-reinforced concrete flat slabs.
Comparing Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia and Caregiver Distress Caused Between Older Adults With Dementia Living in the Community and in Nursing Homes

Objectives To investigate differences in behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) and caregiver distress caused between older adults with dementia living in the community and in nursing homes. Design A comparative cross-sectional study. Setting and Participants Participants were recruited from outpatient clinics of a tertiary psychiatric hospital and dementia units of a nursing home in Guangzhou, China. Methods Neuropsychiatric Inventory was used to assess symptoms and caregiver distress. Dementia severity was determined using the Clinical Dementia Rating. Results This study included 157 community and 112 nursing home residents with dementia. Clinically significant symptoms (item score ≥ 4) were found in 88.5% of the former and 75% of the latter. Caregivers of 79.6% of the former and 26.8% of the latter reported that at least one of these caused them moderate-to-severe distress (distress score ≥ 3). Among the community patients, anxiety was the most frequent “very severe” symptom, while sleep disorders and agitation caused the most frequent “very severe” caregiver distress. After controlling for dementia severity and medication use, family caregiving remained an independent risk predictor for clinically significant symptoms and moderate-to-severe caregiver distress. The prediction of caregiver distress based on symptom scores varied across caregiver types and individual symptoms (R2 0.36–0.82). Group differences in clinically significant symptoms and moderate-to-severe caregiver distress showed at the stage of moderate-to-severe dementia. Conclusions and Implications Tailored management strategies to relieve family caregivers’ BPSD-induced distress are needed, especially at the stage of moderate-to-severe dementia. An effective service system should be established for supporting family caregivers to cope with BPSD.
Science Competency Assessment Tool for On- the- Job Training Students of the College of Industrial Technology Batangas State University

The science curriculum in the College of Industrial Technology (CIT) program is a significant component of the academic requirement of the students and is believed to be vital for the development of skills and potentials of students. The objective of the study was to develop a science competency assessment tool for the OJT students of the CIT, Batangas State University, Batangas City, Philippines. The different science competencies were classified as technical, behavioral, communicative and managerial competencies. The descriptive method of research was utilized in this study with the questionnaire as the data gathering instrument. The data were analyzed and tested using weighted mean and T-test. The faculty and OJT students very strongly agreed that these science competencies were offered and developed in the department. The science competencies were developed in the objectives in Physics to a very great extent as assessed by both faculty and OJT students. Likewise, to a great extent, the science competencies were developed in the objectives in chemistry. With regards to the instructional strategies' science competencies were developed to a great extent. Based on the development of science competencies relative to the learning infrastructures, science competencies were developed to a very great extent as assessed by faculty, while the students' assessments revealed that they were developed to a great extent. Further, as to the evaluative measures, for faculty science competencies were developed to a very great extent, while student respondents revealed that to a great extent. It was recommended that the objectives of the science subjects, instructional strategies, learning the infrastructure, and evaluative measures must be made congruent with the competencies of the students; discussion of the relevance of science and other academic subjects in the regular conduct of the industry advisory committee meeting. Moreover, the proposed science competency assessment tool must be evaluated, and pilot tested before it can be administered to OJT students.
Evaluating the Feasibility and Reliability of Remotely Delivering and Scoring the North Star Ambulatory Assessment in Ambulant Patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Objective: The North Star Ambulatory Assessment (NSAA) is a validated 17-item functional rating scale and widely used to assess motor function in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and subsequent Government ‘lockdown’ resulted in no face-to-face clinic visits hence the motor abilities were not monitored. The aim was to investigate whether the NSAA was feasible and reliable by video assessment. Method: Ten ambulant DMD boys were selected from the electronic hospital records. Two physiotherapists scored the boys’ NSAA independently and the intraclass correlation coefficient was used to assess agreement. The video scores were compared to two previous NSAA in-clinic scores. Results: Mean scores (SD) for clinic visit one were 22.6 (4.19) and clinic visit two 21.8 (5.3). The two physiotherapists video mean scores were 20.6 (5.66) for physiotherapist 1 and 20.6 (6.53) for physiotherapist 2. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.98 (95% CI 0.93–1.00) for the total NSAA and 1.00 (95% CI 1.00 to 1.00) for the rise time. The mean decline in score from clinic visit one (−12 months) to video assessment was 2.0 (2.8SD). Conclusion: The results from the study suggest that video NSAA is partially feasible and reliable.
Distribution of Phlebotomine Sand Flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in the Lombardy Region, Northern Italy

Simple Summary Pathogens transmitted to humans and animals by Phlebotomines are relatively neglected, as they cause infectious diseases which represent an underestimated burden in most European countries. Several sand fly species are competent vectors of Leishmaniasis, an endemic disease that has spread widely throughout the Mediterranean region in conjunction with sand flies’ movements. In the Lombardy region, information on sand flies is poor and/or outdated. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to preliminarily ascertain the species composition, distribution, and diversity in representative Lombardy localities. The sampling took advantage of regional surveillance plans namely, West Nile virus and leishmaniasis monitoring plans. A focused sampling was also performed in areas identified as favorable for vector presence. Sampling was conducted using CO2–CDC traps conducted every two and/or three weeks. From trapping for the West Nile monitoring plan, 21 out of 44 capture sites were positive for sand flies, while for the leishmaniasis monitoring plan, 11 out of the 40 trapping sites detected sand flies’ presence. Specimen identification was conducted by identifying morphological features. Phlebotomus perniciosus was the most abundant species (87.76% of specimens collected). Adequate and well-structured monitoring of sand fly populations is essential to provide information about distribution patterns of vector species present in defined geographical areas, as they could enhance pathogen circulation. Abstract This study investigated the species composition and density of sand flies in the Lombardy region (Northern Italy). Sand flies were collected using CDC traps baited with CO2 (CO2–CDC traps) between June and August 2021. A total of 670 sand flies were collected. The specimens were identified as seven species belonging to two genera, Phlebotomus and Sergentomyia, namely, S. minuta, Ph. perniciosus, Ph. perfiliewii, Ph. neglectus, Ph. mascitti, Ph. papatasi, and Ph. ariasi. Phlebotomus perniciosus was the most abundant species (87.76%), followed by Ph. perfiliewii (7.31%), Ph. neglectus (3.13%), S. minuta (0.75%), Ph. mascitti (0.6%), Ph. papatasi (0.3%), and Ph. ariasi, for which only one specimen was identified. Among these identified species, five are considered vectors of Leishmania, which causes cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis. As vector presence increases the risk of vector-borne leishmaniasis, these results suggest that Northern Italy could be a potential area of pathogen circulation over the next few years. These preliminary results suggest that the risk of borne leishmaniasis is high in this region of Northern Italy. Monitoring the distribution of sand fly species in areas suitable for their persistence is important for control programs aimed at reducing the risk of leishmaniasis infection.
Hierarchical Knee Image Synthesis Framework for Generative Adversarial Network: Data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative

Medical images synthesis is useful to address persistent issues such as the lack of training data diversity and inflexibility of traditional data augmentation faced by medical image analysis researchers when developing their deep learning models. Generative adversarial network (GAN) can generate realistic image to overcome the abovementioned problems. We proposed a GAN model with hierarchical framework (HieGAN) to generate high-quality synthetic knee images as a prerequisite to enable effective training data augmentation for deep learning applications. During the training, the proposed framework embraced attention mechanism before the 256 × 256 scale in generator and discriminator to capture salient information of knee images. Then, a novel pixelwise-spectral normalization configuration was implemented to stabilize the training performance of HieGAN. We evaluated the proposed HieGAN on large scale knee image dataset by using Am Score and Mode Score. The results showed that HieGAN outperformed all relevant state-of-art. Hence, HieGAN can potentially serve as an important milestone to promote future development of more robust deep learning models for knee image segmentation. Future works should extend the image synthesis evaluation to clinical-related Visual Turing Test and synthetic data augmentation for deep learning segmentation task.