Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intestinal Parasitic Infection and Its Associated Factors Among Primary School Students in Ethiopia; a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Intestinal parasitic infection (IPI) remains a major public health concern affecting both children and adolescents in Ethiopia. However, little attention has been given to intestinal parasitic infection within primary school children. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis was done to determine pooled prevalence and associated factors of intestinal parasitic infection in this target group.Method: We systematically retrieved available articles on the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection in primary school children in Ethiopia. PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and Science Direct between September 1 and December 27, 2019. Two authors independently extracted all relevant data using a standardized Microsoft™ Excel data extraction form. Heterogeneity among included studies was assessed with the Higgins I2 tests. The pooled estimates and associated factors of primary school children’s intestinal parasitic infection were assessed with a random-effects model using Stata/se Version 14.Result: We have retrieved 30 eligible articles with pooled sample size of 14,445 primary school children with response rate of 97.8%. Entamoeba spp (16.11%), Ascaris lumbricoides (13.98%), Hookworm (12.51%) and Giardia lamblia (9.98%) were among the top four causes of intestinal parasitic infection among primary school children. The pooled prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection was found to be 46.09 (95% CI: 38.50, 53.68). Heterogeneity was assessed by doing subgroup analysis by study province/region, with the highest prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection being 66.6 % (95% CI: 55.5, 77.7) in Tigray region, followed by Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region at 50.8% (95% CI: 33.1, 68.5). Latrine availability (OR=4.39: 2.50,7.73), fingernail hygiene (OR= 2.37: 1.67, 3.35), place of defecation (OR=1.67:1.64,4.36), maternal education (OR=2.02: 1.18,3.47), residence (OR= 1.88: 1.46, 2.41), habit of wearing shoes (OR= 2.66: 1.79, 3.96), source of drinking water (OR=1.99: 1.42,2.76), hands washing practices (OR= 3.45:1.85,6.47), and habit of washing fruits and vegetables (OR=1.59:1.01,2.49) were found to be significantly associated with intestinal parasitic infection. Conclusions: The prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection was high (46%) in the study population. Therefore, this finding warrants the need to design school children hygiene and sanitation service and expand school children deworming programs to decrease intestinal parasitic infections and improve academic performance in the country. In addition, attention should be given to promoting personal hygiene, latrine utilization, wearing shoes, avoiding eating raw food, and creating awareness for those mothers who lack formal education. Moreover, the researchers try to conduct research on province/regions which have no prior research.
Sediment Export from a Highway Construction Site in Central North Carolina

Sediment export and turbid runoff from active construction sites continue to be a source of impairment to surface water resources. Few studies have been published that include monitoring data from construction sites, particularly highway construction sites. In this study, water quality monitoring of runoff originating from three sections of a highway construction corridor was conducted during a 4.5-year period. Two unnamed tributaries, referred to as Tilly and Ellery for this study, were monitored at two locations downstream of the highway corridor, and one tributary, referred to as King's Mill, was monitored upstream and downstream of the highway corridor. At each station, discharge was continuously monitored and flow-proportional samples were collected. Samples were analyzed for total suspended solids, total solids, and turbidity. A recording raingauge was also maintained at one of the highway monitoring stations. Monitoring data at all stations documented increased sediment export and turbidity levels during the construction period as compared to the pre- and post-construction periods. During construction, sediment export rates ranged from 2.7 to 17.7 Mg ha-1 year-1, while mean turbidity levels ranged from 466 to 1,607 NTU for the five stations downstream of the highway corridor. For the station with the greatest sediment export, about 32% of the export occurred during two back-to-back tropical storms. At this time, one section of the highway was particularly susceptible to erosion because more than 6 m of fill material had recently been added to bring the road surface to near grade and vegetation had not yet been established. Increases in sediment export and turbidity at the other four downstream stations during highway construction were less pronounced. Mean turbidity levels during construction at all downstream stations were greater than 50 NTU. Post-construction mean turbidity levels were much less than during construction but were still greater than pre-construction at four of the five stations. Post-construction turbidity levels on the King's Mill tributary downstream of the highway were not significantly different from upstream.
Enhancement of Finger-Vein Image by Vein Line Tracking and Adaptive Gabor Filtering for Finger-Vein Recognition

Biometrics is the technology to identify a user by using the physiological or behavioral characteristics. Among the biometrics such as fingerprint, face, iris, and speaker recognition, finger-vein recognition has been widely used in various applications such as door access control, financial security, and user authentication of personal computer, due to its advantages such as small sized and low cost device, and difficulty of making fake vein image. Generally, a finger-vein system uses near-infrared (NIR) light illuminator and camera to acquire finger-vein images. However, it is difficult to obtain distinctive and clear finger-vein image due to skin scattering of illumination since the finger-vein exists inside of a finger. To solve these problems, we propose a new method of enhancing the quality of finger-vein image. This research is novel in the following three ways compared to previous works. First, the finger-vein lines of an input image are discriminated from the skin area by using local binarization, morphological operation, thinning and line tracing. Second, the direction of vein line is estimated based on the discriminated finger-vein line. And the thickness of finger-vein in an image is also estimated by considering both the discriminated finger-vein line and the corresponding position of finger-vein region in an original image. Third, the distinctiveness of finger-vein region in the original image is enhanced by applying an adaptive Gabor filter optimized to the measured direction and thickness of finger-vein area. Experimental results showed that the distinctiveness and consequent quality of finger-vein image are enhanced compared to that without the proposed method.
Do Pedestrian Countdown Signals Influence Vehicle Speeds?

The effects of pedestrian countdown signals on speeds of approaching vehicles as a function of the distance of the vehicle upstream of the intersection and the signal display are reported here. The analyses used mean speeds of vehicles on two segments immediately upstream of the stop bar and also during different indications of the pedestrian signal head (pedestrian “Walk” and pedestrian flashing “Don't Walk” signal with the time remaining in seconds to cross the street for the following intervals: greater than 15 s, 15 s to 10 s, 10 s to 5 s, and less than 5 s). Appropriate tests were performed to determine the statistical significance of the differences in observed mean speeds for each of these scenarios. Vehicle speeds were greater on the segment closer to the intersection than on the segment farther away. The speeds were also greater during the pedestrian countdown timer and flashing “Don't Walk” displays on the pedestrian signal head than when the pedestrian “Walk” signal and the countdown timer were displayed. All results were statistically significant at a 95% level of confidence except one, which had a 93% level of confidence. Results do not indicate that speeds are affected by the actual numeric displays on the countdown timer.
Eficiência no uso da água na cana-de-açúcar sob diferentes lâminas de irrigação e níveis de zinco no litoral paraibano

The study was conducted in an experimental area of the Capim II Farm, located in the municipality of Capim - PB, Brazil, with the objective of determining the efficiency in the use of the water (WUE) for the sugarcane crop (Saccharum officinarum L.), cultivar SP 79-1011. The experimental design consisted of randomized blocks, with three replications in a 5 x 5 factorial design. The irrigation treatments were: rainfed; 25; 50; 75 and 100% of the ETc (1,026.57 mm) with the respective effective precipitations of 780.06; 713.31; 487.54; 243.71 and 194.51 mm. The levels of zinc studied were 0; 1; 2; 3 and 4 kg ha-1. The irrigation equipment used in the study was a central pivot with irrigation frequency of nine days. The water use efficiency (WUE) of sugarcane crop in terms of cane production and of sugar increased with the depth of water applied. For the Coastal Table Lands of northern Paraiba, the maximized WUE for sugarcane and sugar production is 7.12 and 0.67 kg m-3, respectively.
Phenology-based delineation of irrigated and rain-fed paddy fields with Sentinel-2 imagery in Google Earth Engine

ABSTRACT Paddy rice agriculture is practiced in both rain-fed and irrigated ecosystems in the Philippines. However, small farms are prevalent in the region, and current satellite-based mapping techniques do not distinguish between the two ecosystems at farm scales. This study developed an approach to rapidly map irrigated and rain-fed paddy rice in Iloilo, Philippines at 10 m resolutions using Google Earth Engine. This approach used an ensemble of classifiers based on time-series vegetation indices to produce dry and wet seasonal maps for the entire province. Results showed a predominance of rain-fed rice areas in both seasons, with irrigated rice making up only one-fourth of the total rice area. The overall accuracy was achieved at 68% for the dry season and 75% for the wet season based on ground-acquired points and very high-resolution imagery. The two types of paddies were classified at accuracies up to 87%. Furthermore, the land cover maps showed a strong agreement with the municipal statistics. The resultant maps complement current official statistics and demonstrate the prowess of phenology-based mapping to create paddy inventories in a timely manner to inform food security and agricultural policies.
Health Risks to the Russian Population from Temperature Extremes at the Beginning of the XXI Century

Climate change and climate-sensitive disasters caused by climatic hazards have a significant and increasing direct and indirect impact on human health. Due to its vast area, complex geographical environment and various climatic conditions, Russia is one of the countries that suffers significantly from frequent climate hazards. This paper provides information about temperature extremities in Russia in the beginning of the 21st century, and their impact on human health. A literature search was conducted using the electronic databases Web of Science, Science Direct, Scopus, and e-Library, focusing on peer-reviewed journal articles published in English and in Russian from 2000 to 2021. The results are summarized in 16 studies, which are divided into location-based groups, including Moscow, Saint Petersburg and other large cities located in various climatic zones: in the Arctic, in Siberia and in the southern regions, in ultra-continental and monsoon climate. Heat waves in cities with a temperate continental climate lead to a significant increase in all-cause mortality than cold waves, compared with cities in other climatic zones. At the same time, in northern cities, in contrast to the southern regions and central Siberia, the influence of cold waves is more pronounced on mortality than heat waves. To adequately protect the population from the effects of temperature waves and to carry out preventive measures, it is necessary to know specific threshold values of air temperature in each city.
Aerodynamic Design Optimization of an Axial Flow Compressor Rotor

Design optimization of a transonic compressor rotor (NASA rotor 37) using the response surface method and three-dimensional Navier-Stokes analysis has been carried out in this work. The Baldwin-Lomax turbulence model was used in the flow analysis. Three design variables were selected to optimize the stacking line of the blade. Data points for response evaluations were selected by D-optimal design, and linear programming method was used for the optimization on the response surface. As a main result of the optimization, adiabatic efficiency was successfully improved. It was found that the optimization process provides reliable design of a turbomachinery blade with reasonable computing time.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Frequency-dependent grounding impedance of the counterpoise based on the dispersed currents

When surges and electromagnetic pulses from lightning or power conversion devices are considered, it is desirable to evaluate grounding system performance as grounding impedance. In the case of large-sized grounding electrodes or long counterpoises, the grounding impedance is increased with increasing the frequency of injected current. The grounding impedance is increased by the inductance of grounding electrodes. This paper presents the measured results of frequency-dependent grounding impedance and impedance phase as a function of the length of counterpoises. In order to analyze the frequency-dependent grounding impedance of the counterpoises, the frequency-dependent current dissipation rates were measured and simulated by the distributed parameter circuit model reflecting the frequency-dependent relative resistivity and permittivity of soil. As a result, the ground current dissipation rate is proportional to the soil resistivity near the counterpoises in a low frequency. On the other hand, the ground current dissipation near the injection point is increased as the frequency of injected current increases. Since the high frequency ground current cannot reach the far end of long counterpoise, the grounding impedance of long counterpoise approaches that of the short one in the high frequency. The results obtained from this work could be applied in design of grounding systems.
Safety Effectiveness of Actuated Advance Warning Systems

Driver behavior within the dilemma zone can be a major safety concern at high-speed signalized intersections. The Nebraska Department of Roads (DOR) has developed and implemented an actuated advance warning dilemma zone protection system. This paper investigates the impact that system has had on safety at high-speed signalized intersections. The operating algorithm has been designed such that the system continually monitors an upstream detector, as well as traffic at the intersection, to predict the onset of the yellow signal indication. Flashing beacons are used to warn drivers of the impending end of the green indication. Although these systems have received positive reviews from the public—and commercial vehicle operators in particular—there has been no comprehensive analysis of their effect on safety. The focus of this research was to address this evaluative need and provide answers about the effectiveness of the Nebraska DOR system in improving safety. Crash records from before and after the implementation of the system at 26 intersections were compared. In addition, 29 control intersections were used to compare crash rates over time, and a fully Bayesian technique was employed to ensure that no exogenous variables affected the study. Results of the analysis were promising (an overall crash reduction rate of 8%) and suggested that the use of the system should be encouraged as an effective safety treatment for the dilemma zone problem at high-speed signalized intersections.
Primary Teachers and Students Images of Teachers and Learning Environments

Introduction The aim of the study was to reveal the learning environments created by primary teachers in science classes and their teaching styles and compare them with the learning environments and teaching styles that their students dream of. Qualitative survey research design was used to find an answer to the research problem. In this study, the Draw-A-Science –Teacher-Test Checklist (DASTT-C) was used to collect the data. The DASST-C was developed by Thomas et al. (2001) and a useful tool to show how science teaching environment is and how teacher behaviors in the science teaching environment are. A total of 50 primary teachers and 120 primary school students (third and fourth graders) participated in this study. The DASST-C score sheet was used to analyze the data and the criteria proposed by Şahin-Kalyon (2020) were used to evaluate the learning environment. The findings revealed that the images of the participating teachers about themselves showed that they have almost adopted each teaching style equally. In other words, the teachers have adopted student-centered, teacher-centered, and both teacher and student-centered teaching equally. In the drawings of the participating primary school students, the most frequently depicted image of teacher was the teacher with an explicit teaching style, followed by the exploratory teaching style, and conceptual teaching style. In other words, most of the students depicted a teacher adopting the teachercentered teaching in their drawings. The analyses revealed that the students of the teachers with the exploratory and conceptual teaching styles largely illustrate teachers in their drawings with the exploratory teaching style. The students of the teachers with the explicit teaching style also largely illustrated teachers in their drawings with the explicit teaching style. The study showed that the teaching style teachers have and the learning environments they adopt are similar to the teacher images students have and the learning environments they portrayed.
Study of carrier transport effects on quantum well lasers using a SPICE simulator

The effects of carrier transport time across a separate confinement heterostructure on the characteristics of quantum well (QW) lasers are investigated through the equivalent circuit model derived from Nagarajan's rate equations. Turn-on delay and frequency modulation of QW lasers are obtained using a SPICE simulator. It is shown that turn-on delay is linearly proportional to the transport time corresponding to the cladding layer thickness under high prebias conditions. The modulation bandwidth and peak magnitude both decrease while the transport time increases.
Detection and evaluation of I/Q impairments in RF digital transmitters

Troubleshooting of radio-frequency (RF) digital transmitters is considered. A new digital signal-processing method is developed, which is capable of both detecting and evaluating the most recurrent impairments in the I and Q paths of the transmitter. Only the acquisition of either or intermediate-frequency (IF) or RF output signal is needed, thus avoiding any difficulty connected with the inaccessibility of baseband and/or IF section in a fully assembled transmitter. Moreover, the method has the required features of automation and effectiveness, granted by the use of RLS-based algorithms and proved by the results obtained in many experiments on actual IF and RF output signals. Even though the experiments presented in the paper refer to wideband code-division multiple-access technology, the method shows itself suitable for troubleshooting any digital transmitter implementing quadrature-amplitude modulation.
New Design Method to Evaluate the Seismic Stress of Single Deck Floating Roof for Storage Tanks

Liquid sloshing causes severe damage to the floating roofs of storage tanks. Liquid–roof interaction imposes a complicated distribution of out-of-plane deformation in a single deck floating roof (SDFR), which is the primary source of high seismic stress. This paper proposes a new seismic design procedure for evaluating the seismic stress of an SDFR. This method revises the relationship between vertical deformation of the deck plate and the radial shrinkage of the pontoon, and estimates the nonlinear behavior of the free surface. Moreover, the attenuation of the sloshing wave height attributable to the presence of an SDFR is analytically evaluated. A design flowchart according to the new method is suggested. This method emphasizes the nonlinear effects of large amplitude wave for smaller capacity tanks, and the seismic stress caused by the second sloshing mode for broad tanks.
Reducing building waste at construction sites in Hong Kong

The building industry is using a considerable amount of resources, but if the life cycle of the material on site is closely examined, it is generally known that there is a relatively large portion of the materials being wasted because of poor material control on building sites. The problem of material wastage is not an isolated issue on construction sites. It is also an environmental concern. Hong Kong is running out of both reclamation sites and landfill space for the disposal of construction & demolition (C&D) waste. Many resources can be conserved and the amount of C&D waste required to be disposed of should be greatly reduced if better management of materials is practiced on building sites. This paper reports on a recent study conducted in Hong Kong relating to material control on construction sites with high‐rise multi‐storey buildings. In the paper, the causes of building waste are identified and the wastage levels of various trades for public housing and private residential projects in Hong Kong are quantified. The role of material control in reducing building waste is then discussed in details under three headings, namely design, material procurement and handling, and site management and practices.
The Cross‐level Moderating Effect of Team Task Support on the Nonlinear Relationship between Proactive Personality and Employee Reflective Learning

Reflective learning is a fundamental part of human learning and development and has attracted attention from management scholars as well as practitioners. In this study, we build on trait activation theory and investigate how proactive personality and team task support jointly influence employee reflective learning. Using a questionnaire survey, we collected data at two time points from 154 participants nested in 37 teams in five organizations in the United Kingdom. The results from multilevel analyses showed that proactive personality had a positive effect on reflective learning up to a certain point. Over and above this inflection point, this positive effect ceased to further increase. In addition, the nonlinear effect of proactive personality on reflective learning was much stronger when team task support was weak than when it was strong. The finding regarding the nonlinear relationship extends our understanding of the effect of proactive personality. The cross-level moderating effect of team task support suggests a complementary perspective to appreciate the interactions between proactive personality and its relevant situational characteristics. Practitioners can use these findings to design effective intervention plans and facilitate employee reflective learning in specific settings and in workplace learning in general.