Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparative Determination of Communicative Competence of Saudi Students of English for Tourism and Hospitality (SSETH) to Develop ESP Course Content

Development of tailor-made indigenous teaching content, after assessing the target learners’ needs and proficiency, is necessary to address to specific needs of specific learners, ensure optimum learning and motivation. This quantitative investigation attempted to determine the communicative competence of SSETH in English language skills to develop indigenous teaching content. A Likert-scale questionnaire was developed and administered to 289 participants to record their perceived proficiency in English language skills and sub-skills. Independent-samples T-test was run to generate descriptive statistics and determine whether any significant differences exited in their perceived proficiency level. The results revealed medium low English language proficiency by the participants. SSETH reported comparatively higher proficiency in the productive skills of writing and speaking as compared to the receptive skills of listening and writing. The cohort form College of Tourism and Hospitality, Taif (CTHT) reported slightly higher competence as compared to their counterparts from College of Tourism and Hospitality, Madinah (CTHM). Comparative results generated by Independent-samples T-test rejected the null hypotheses as no statistically significant differences were found in the perceived communicative competence of both groups. It is recommended that various stake holders should work in close coordination to develop and implement indigenous teaching content which should be periodically assessed and modified to suit the changing ESP needs of SSETH. This procedure may be followed as a model for other disciplines to develop indigenous teaching material.
Capacity value assessments of wind power

This article describes some of the recent research into the capacity value of wind power. With the worldwide increase in wind power during the past several years, there is increasing interest and significance regarding its capacity value because this has a direct influence on the amount of other (nonwind) capacity that is needed. We build on previous reviews from IEEE and IEA Wind Task 25a and examine recent work that evaluates the impact of multiple‐year data sets and the impact of interconnected systems on resource adequacy. We also provide examples that explore the use of alternative reliability metrics for wind capacity value calculations. We show how multiple‐year data sets significantly increase the robustness of results compared to single‐year assessments. Assumptions regarding the transmission interconnections play a significant role. To date, results regarding which reliability metric to use for probabilistic capacity valuation show little sensitivity to the metric. WIREs Energy Environ 2017, 6:e226. doi: 10.1002/wene.226
Acute and chronic effects of medium-chain triglyceride supplementation on metabolic parameters and working memory in rats

: Medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) have demonstrated a wide range of neuroprotective effects, although the mechanisms still remain poorly understood. Animal models are indispensable for such research. Metabolic effects of regular diet supplementation with fats must be considered. Male Wistar rats aged 2.5 months received (o/g) 3 g/kg/day of MCT oil, lard, or water (control) as a supplement to standard chow for 28 days. On the 17th day, the animals were tested in Y-maze. On the 28th day, blood was collected for biochemical testing (glucose, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), HDL cholesterol). In a separate experiment, animals received 3 g/kg MCT, or lard, or water, and were then sacrificed 30 or 120 min after. Blood was collected for biochemical testing (glucose, lactate, pyruvate, acetoacetate, β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), TC, TG, aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT)). In the Y-maze test, the MCT-fed rats demonstrated an increased frequency of spontaneous alterations compared to both the control and lard groups, indicating improved working memory. Chronic administration of neither fat affected the blood glucose, TG, TC, HDL cholesterol. Acutely, MCT supplementation elevated blood BHB, while lard did not. Lard increased blood TG, TC, and ALT, while MCT did not. Daily supplementation of standard feed with MCT led to mild intermittent ketosis and improved working memory in rats. Neither chronic nor acute MCT administration had any adverse effect on metabolic health markers. This animal model may be used to study the mechanisms of the cognitive-enhancing effects of MCT.
Changes in the Size Structure of Irish Dairy Farms

Past projections of dairy herd structure for a dairy co-operative society in Ireland using a modified Markov chains technique are compared with the actual outcome. Dairy herd structre for Ireland in total in the period prior to the introduction of EEC quotas is also compared with herd structure subsequently, using the matrix of transition probabilities as derived from the markov technique as a tool for comparison. Finally the size structure of Irish dairy farms in the future is considered.
Adaptive Radiotherapy in Head and Neck Cancer Using Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy

A dosimetric study was performed to show the importance of adaptive radiotherapy (ART) for head and neck cancer (HNC) patients using volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT). A total of 13 patients with HNC who required replanning during radiotherapy were included in this study. All plans succeeded to achieve the set objectives regarding target volume coverage and organ sparing. All target volumes presented a significant decrease with an average of 76.44 cm3 (p = 0.007) for PTVlow risk, 102.81 cm3 (p = 0.021) for PTVintermediate risk, and 47.10 cm3 (p = 0.003) for PTVhigh risk. Additionally, a positive correlation was found between PTV shrinkage and the number of fractions completed before replanning. Significant volume decrease was also observed for the parotid glands. The ipsilateral parotid decreased in volume by a mean of 3.75 cm3 (14.43%) (p = 0.067), while the contralateral decreased by 4.23 cm3 (13.23%) (p = 0.033). For all analyzed organs, a reduction in the final dose received after replanning was found. Our study showed that ART via rescanning, recontouring, and replanning using VMAT is essential whenever anatomical and positional variations occur. Furthermore, comparison with the literature has confirmed that ART using VMAT offers similar results to ART with intensity modulated radiotherapy.
Homologous COVID-19 BNT162b2 mRNA Vaccination at a German Tertiary Care University Hospital: A Survey-Based Analysis of Reactogenicity, Safety, and Inability to Work among Healthcare Workers

At the start of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, healthcare workers had an increased risk of acquiring coronavirus disease (COVID)-19. As tertiary care hospitals are critical for the treatment of severely ill patients, the University Hospital Erlangen offered BNT162b2 mRNA vaccination against COVID-19 to all employees when the vaccine became available in Germany. Here, we performed a survey to assess the age- and sex-dependent reactogenicity and safety of BNT162b2 in a real-life setting with a special emphasis on the rate of vaccine-related incapacity to work amongst the employees. All vaccinated employees were invited to participate in the survey and received access to an electronic questionnaire between 31 March and 14 June 2021, which allowed them to report local and systemic adverse effects after the first or second vaccine dose. A total of 2372 employees completed the survey. After both the first and second dose, women had a higher risk than men for vaccine-related systemic side effects (odds ratio (OR) 1.48 (1.24–1.77) and 1.49 (1.23–1.81), respectively) and for inability to work (OR 1.63 (1.14–2.34) and 1.85 (1.52–2.25), respectively). Compared to employees ≥ 56 years of age, younger vaccinated participants had a higher risk of systemic reactions after the first (OR 1.35 (1.07–1.70)) and second vaccination (OR 2.08 (1.64–2.63)) and were more often unable to work after dose 2 (OR 2.20 (1.67–2.88)). We also recorded four anaphylactic reactions and received two reports of severe adverse effects indicative of vaccine complications. After the first and second vaccination, 7.9% and 34.7% of the survey participants, respectively, were temporarily unable to work, which added up to 1700 days of sick leave in this cohort. These real-life data extend previous results on the reactogenicity and safety of BNT162b2. Loss of working time due to vaccine-related adverse effects was substantial, but was outweighed by the potential benefit of prevented cases of COVID-19.
The Impact of E-Commerce on the Labor Market

E-commerce is one of the industrial sectors created as a result of technological progress, and has created new jobs for the economy. However, this sector is conditioned not only by the level of digitalization of each state, but also by the speed of integration of technology in the business environment. The main purpose of the article is to present the impact of e-Commerce development on the labor market. It also considers impact on the labor market of human capital with advanced technological skills. It focuses on data from a particular period situated between two major crises (the economic crisis of 2008 and the health crisis of 2020). We want to know to what extent a technology-created sector can compensate for technological unemployment. To test the working hypothesis, we developed a panel regression model for a sample of 28 European states. The results indicate that 99.5% of the variation in the labor market activity rate of people aged 15 to 64 years in the selected sample of states is explained by the model. This confirms that the development of e-Commerce and an increase in the percentage of technology-specialized human resources contribute to the increase in activity rate in the labor market. As a result, the labor market must be assisted in keeping up with technology by restructuring the education system, or introducing courses that maintain competitiveness and continuous development.
Synthesis of a New Chelating Iminophosphorane Derivative (Phosphazene) for U(VI) Recovery

A new synthetic chelating N–hydroxy–N–trioctyl iminophosphorane (HTIP) was prepared through the reaction of trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) with N–hydroxylamine hydrochloride in the presence of a Lewis acid (AlCl3). Specifications for the HTIP chelating ligand were successfully determined using many analytical techniques, 13C–NMR, 1H–NMR, FTIR, EDX, and GC–MS analyses, which assured a reasonable synthesis of the HTIP ligand. The ability of HTIP to retain U(VI) ions was investigated. The optimum experimental factors, pH value, experimental time, initial U(VI) ion concentration, HTIP dosage, ambient temperature, and eluents, were attained with solvent extraction techniques. The utmost retention capacity of HTIP/CHCl3 was 247.5 mg/g; it was achieved at pH = 3.0, 25 °C, with 30 min of shaking and 0.99 × 10−3 mol/L. From the stoichiometric calculations, approximately 1.5 hydrogen atoms are released during the extraction at pH 3.0, and 4.0 moles of HTIP ligand were responsible for chelation of one mole of uranyl ions. According to kinetic studies, the pseudo–first order model accurately predicted the kinetics of U(VI) extraction by HTIP ligand with a retention power of 245.47 mg/g. The thermodynamic parameters ΔS°, ΔH°, and ΔG° were also calculated; the extraction process was predicted as an exothermic, spontaneous, and advantageous extraction at low temperatures. As the temperature increased, the value of ∆G° increased. The elution of uranium ions from the loaded HTIP/CHCl3 was achieved using 2.0 mol of H2SO4 with a 99.0% efficiency rate. Finally, the extended variables were used to obtain a uranium concentrate (Na2U2O7, Y.C) with a uranium grade of 69.93% and purity of 93.24%.
Influence of UAS Flight Altitude and Speed on Aboveground Biomass Prediction

The management of low-density savannah and woodland forests for carbon storage presents a mechanism to offset the expense of ecologically informed forest management strategies. However, existing carbon monitoring systems draw on vast amounts of either field observations or aerial light detection and ranging (LiDAR) collections, making them financially prohibitive in low productivity systems where forest management focuses on promoting resilience to disturbance and multiple uses. This study evaluates how UAS altitude and flight speed influence area-based aboveground forest biomass model predictions. The imagery was acquired across a range of UAS altitudes and flight speeds that influence the efficiency of data collection. Data were processed using common structures from motion photogrammetry algorithms and then modeled using Random Forest. These results are compared to LiDAR observations collected from fixed-wing manned aircraft and modeled using the same routine. Results show a strong positive relationship between flight altitude and plot-based aboveground biomass modeling accuracy. UAS predictions increasingly outperformed (2–24% increased variance explained) commercial airborne LiDAR strategies as acquisition altitude increased from 80–120 m. The reduced cost of UAS data collection and processing and improved biomass modeling accuracy over airborne LiDAR approaches could make carbon monitoring viable in low productivity forest systems.
Paediatric Partial-Thickness Burn Therapy: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review of Randomised Controlled Trials

Background: Paediatric second-degree burn injuries are a significant source of medical challenges to the population that may cause severe, lifelong complications. Currently, there are dozens of therapeutic modalities and we aimed to summarise their reported outcomes and determine their effectiveness, compared to the widely used silver sulphadiazine (SSD). Methods: We conducted the meta-analysis and systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs), which investigated the performance of dressings in acute paediatric partial-thickness burns. The evaluated endpoints were time until wound closure, grafting and infection rate, number of dressing changes and length of hospitalisation. Results: Twenty-nine RCTs were included in the qualitative and 25 in the quantitative synthesis, but only three trials compared SSD directly to the same intervention (Biobrane). Data analysis showed a tendency for faster healing times and a reduced complication rate linked to biosynthetic, silver foam and amnion membrane dressings. A substantial difference was found between the number of dressing changes associated with less pain, narcosis and treatment duration. Conclusions: Considerable between-study heterogeneity was caused by the unequal depth subcategory ratio and surface area of the injuries; therefore, no significant difference was found in the main outcomes. Further research is necessary to establish the most effective treatment for these burns.
Effect of the Standardization of Service Platforms for High-Involvement PropTech Services

In this study, we focus on the innovation resistance that has appeared in the process of accepting changed information technology services after the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on a survey of property technology (PropTech) service users in Korea, this study proposes an extended technology acceptance model that considers the antecedent variables of the information systems success model to implement a standard PropTech service platform, and analyzes the influence of the selected parameters. Service quality was applied as the antecedent variable to define system quality and service standards, considering the establishment of the service standards process suggested by the company. The selected parameters were the demand for the personalization of the service and the resistance to innovation, which implies the degree to which consumers refuse to accept new technologies. To this end, we conducted a questionnaire survey of 524 PropTech users from 11 October 2021 to 15 November 2021. This study analyzes the factors affecting consumers’ continued use intention in order to derive the service standardization of PropTech operations, and presents the mediating effects of innovation resistance and personalization to derive the implications for service standardization. The implications of this study are as follows: first, the possibility of innovation resistance in the PropTech service sector and its mechanisms are presented. Second, the necessity of redefining the quality dimension is proposed. Finally, we identify that additional research on innovation resistance to PropTech services is needed.
Preparation and Characterization of Polysaccharide-Based Hydrogels for Cutaneous Wound Healing

Natural hydrogels are growing in interest as a priority for wound healing. Plant polysaccharides have a variety of biological pharmacological activities, and chitosan hydrogels have proven strong antimicrobial effects, but hydrogels prepared with polysaccharides alone have certain deficiencies. Polysaccharides from flowers of Lonicera japonica Thunb. (LP) and the aerial parts of Mentha canadensis L. (MP) were extracted and oxidized by sodium periodate (NaIO4) and then cross-linked with oxidized-carboxymethylated chitosan (O-CCS) to develop oxidized plant- polysaccharides-chitosan hydrogels (OPHs). SEM observation showed that OPHs had porous interior structures with interconnecting pores. The OPHs showed good swelling, water-retention ability, blood coagulation, cytocompatibility properties, and low cytotoxicity (classed as grade 1 according to United States Pharmacopoeia), which met the requirements for wound dressings. Then the cutaneous wound-healing effect was evaluated in BALB/C mice model, after 7 days treatment, the wound-closure rate of OPHs groups were all greater than 50%, and after 14 days, all were greater than 90%, while the value of the control group was only 72.6%. Of them, OPH-2 and OPH-3 were more favorable to the wound-healing process, as the promotion was more significant. The plant polysaccharides and CS-based hydrogel should be a candidate for cutaneous wound dressings.
Epidemiology and Characteristics of Elizabethkingia spp. Infections in Southeast Asia

Elizabethkingia spp. is a ubiquitous pathogenic bacterium that has been identified as the causal agent for a variety of conditions such as meningitis, pneumonia, necrotizing fasciitis, endophthalmitis, and sepsis and is emerging as a global threat including in Southeast Asia. Elizabethkingia infections tend to be associated with high mortality rates (18.2–41%) and are mostly observed in neonates and immunocompromised patients. Difficulties in precisely identifying Elizabethkingia at the species level by traditional methods have hampered our understanding of this genus in human infections. In Southeast Asian countries, hospital outbreaks have usually been ascribed to E. meningoseptica, whereas in Singapore, E. anophelis was reported as the main Elizabethkingia spp. associated with hospital settings. Misidentification of Elizabethkingia spp. could, however, underestimate the number of cases attributed to the bacterium, as precise identification requires tools such as MALDI-TOF MS, and particularly whole-genome sequencing, which are not available in most hospital laboratories. Elizabethkingia spp. has an unusual antibiotic resistance pattern for a Gram-negative bacterium with a limited number of horizontal gene transfers, which suggests an intrinsic origin for its multidrug resistance. Efforts to prevent and further understand Elizabethkingia spp. infections and limit its spread must rise to this new challenge.
The association of pancreatic cancer incidence with smoking status and smoking amount in Korean men

OBJECTIVES Our study examined the dose-response relationship between smoking amounts (pack-years) and the risk of developing pancreatic cancer in Korean men. METHODS Of 125,743 participants who underwent medical health checkups in 2009, 121,408 were included in the final analysis and observed for the development of pancreatic cancer. We evaluated the associations between smoking amounts and incident pancreatic cancer in 4 groups classified by pack-year amounts. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of incident pancreatic cancer by comparing groups 2 (<20 pack-year smokers), 3 (20-≤40 pack-year smokers), and 4 (>40 pack-year smokers) with group 1 (never smokers). RESULTS During 527,974.5 person-years of follow-up, 245 incident cases of pancreatic cancer developed between 2009 and 2013. The multivariate-adjusted HRs (95% CIs) for incident pancreatic cancer in groups 2, 3, and 4 were 1.05 (0.76 to 1.45), 1.28 (0.91 to 1.80), and 1.57 (1.00 to 2.46), respectively (p for trend=0.025). The HR (95% CI) of former smokers showed a dose-response relationship in the unadjusted model, but did not show a statistically significant association in the multivariate-adjusted model. The HR (95% CI) of current smokers showed a dose-response relationship in both the unadjusted (p for trend=0.020) and multivariate-adjusted models (p for trend=0.050). CONCLUSIONS The risk of developing pancreatic cancer was higher in current smokers status than in former smokers among Korean men, indicating that smoking cessation may have a protective effect.
Rotaviruses: From Pathogenesis to Disease Control—A Critical Review

Since their first recognition in human cases about four decades ago, rotaviruses have remained the leading cause of acute severe dehydrating diarrhea among infants and young children worldwide. The WHO prequalification of oral rotavirus vaccines (ORV) a decade ago and its introduction in many countries have yielded a significant decline in the global burden of the disease, although not without challenges to achieving global effectiveness. Poised by the unending malady of rotavirus diarrhea and the attributable death cases in developing countries, we provide detailed insights into rotavirus biology, exposure pathways, cellular receptors and pathogenesis, host immune response, epidemiology, and vaccination. Additionally, recent developments on the various host, viral and environmental associated factors impacting ORV performance in low-and middle-income countries (LMIC) are reviewed and their significance assessed. In addition, we review the advances in nonvaccine strategies (probiotics, candidate anti-rotaviral drugs, breastfeeding) to disease prevention and management.
Growth Traits and Sperm Proteomics Analyses of Myostatin Gene-Edited Chinese Yellow Cattle

Chinese Yellow Cattle, an ancient and domesticated breed for draft service, provide unique animal genetic resources with excellent genetic features, including crude feed tolerance, good stress resistance, strong adaptability, and tender meat quality; however, their production performance and meat yield are significantly inferior. Herein, the myostatin gene (MSTN), a negative regulator of skeletal muscle development, was knocked out by CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Eight MSTN gene-edited bull calves (MT) were born, and six of them are well-developed. Compared with the control cattle (WT), the growth trait indexes of MT cattle were generally increased, and the hindquarters especially were significantly improved. The biochemical indexes and the semen characteristics demonstrated that MT bulls were healthy and fertile. Consistent with our conjecture, the wobble and beating of MT bull spermatozoa were significantly higher than that of WT. Nine sperm motility-related proteins and nineteen mitochondrial-related proteins were identified by up-regulation in MT bull spermatozoa using FLQ proteomic technique and act to govern sperm flagellum assembly, organization, and beating and provide sufficient energy for sperm motility. The current study confirmed that the MSTN gene-edited Chinese Yellow cattle have improved growth traits and normal fertility, which can be used for beef cattle production and breeding.