Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PREVALENCE, IDENTIFICATION AND ANTIFUNGAL SUSCEPTIBILITY OF DERMATOPHYTES CAUSING TINEA CAPITIS IN A LOCALITY OF NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA

Background: Tinea capitis impacts negatively on the health of children, consequently affecting their education. Its prevalence is unknown in many African communities. Tinea capitis is faced with therapeutic challenges as resistance to all classes of antifungal agents continues to emerge. This study determined the prevalence, identified dermatophytes of Tinea capitis in Okelele community in North Central Nigeria; and evaluated the susceptibility of isolates to selected antifungal drugs. Materials and Methods: Three hundred and one pupils from seven primary schools in the locality who gave assent and those with parental consent were recruited into the study. Scalp scrapings and hairs were collected from participants and subjected to microscopy and culture. Isolates identified by colonial morphology and micromorphology were subjected to disk diffusion antifungal susceptibility testing. Results: Two hundred and twenty-eight of the participants had mycologically proven Tinea capitis giving a prevalence of 75.7%. The dermatophytes identified were T. rubrum (68.0%), M. ferrugineum (22.0%), T. mentagrophytes (8.0%) and T. verrucosum (2.0%). Resistance observed with these isolates was as low as 21.2% to as high as 100% while sensitivity ranged from 78.8% to 100%. Only large family size significantly influenced the occurrence of T. capitis among the risk factors. Conclusion: Prevalence of Tinea capitis from this study is high. T. rubrum being anthropophilic and the predominant dermatophyte identified corroborates large family size as an important risk factor. Antifungal resistance as a cause of therapeutic failure was demonstrated by some isolates in this study.
Associations between WTAP gene polymorphisms and neuroblastoma susceptibility in Chinese children

Background Previous studies have revealed that WTAP is related to multiple types of cancer. Recently, WTAP has been reported as an independent prognostic factor in patients with neuroblastoma. Methods To explore the association between three WTAP polymorphisms (rs9457712 G>A, rs1853259 A>G and rs7766006 G>T) and neuroblastoma susceptibility in Chinese populations, we performed this case-control study including 898 neuroblastoma cases and 1,734 controls. We genotyped these potentially functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) by TaqMan assays. The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) by logistic regression models were used to assess the relationship between WTAP SNPs and the risk of neuroblastoma. Results No significant associations were observed in the overall analysis between any of the three WTAP polymorphisms and the risk of neuroblastoma. However, in the age ≤18 months subgroup, we found that the rs1853259 AG/GG genotype exerted protective effects against neuroblastoma (adjusted OR =0.77, 95% CI: 0.59–0.998, P=0.048), whereas the presence of 1–2 combined risk genotypes significantly increased the risk of neuroblastoma (adjusted OR =1.32, 95% CI: 1.02–1.71, P=0.036). Conclusions WTAP gene polymorphisms only have a weak impact on the risk of neuroblastoma in the Chinese children. Further case-control studies, preferable on larger sample sizes, are needed to validate our results.
Psychological Distress in Urbanizing China: How Does Local Government Effectiveness Matter?

Despite growing literature identifying key individual, family, community, and environmental factors as causes for mental disorders during the process of urbanization, the role played by local government has not been taken into account. In this article, we investigate how the effectiveness of local government affects residents’ levels of psychological distress in areas of China undergoing urbanization. We measure the effectiveness of local governments according to their success in promoting access to the social security system through the distribution of social security cards among citizens. We hypothesize that higher local government effectiveness will reduce residents’ psychological distress by alleviating worries about medical expenses and elder care. Drawing on data from the 2018 Urbanization and Quality of Life Survey (N = 3229) conducted in 40 localities undergoing rural–urban transition, we estimate three-level mixed-effects regression models to test the research hypotheses, allowing random effects at the township/county and neighborhood levels while controlling for a series of individual attributes. The results demonstrate that local government effectiveness is negatively associated with residents’ psychological distress: effective local governments alleviate worries about medical expenses and elder care, and thereby reduce psychological distress. The findings indicate that, to reduce residents’ worries and psychological distress during the process of rural–urban transition, it is essential to improve local government effectiveness, particularly in promoting residents’ access to the social security system. Beyond demonstrating how local government effectiveness matters for residents’ psychological distress, our research also illustrates how to properly model locational parameters in analyses of individual well-being.
Face alignment based on fusion subspace and 3D fitting

The traditional face alignment approaches based on cascade regression have achieved satisfactory result on the frontal face, but for the face with large changes in posture and expression, a single initial shape will lead to the result falling into local optimum. In order to solve this problem, a two-stage cascade regression model for face alignment is proposed, which generates coarse initial shape from the aligned salient shape. The ﬁrst stage is used to align the salient shape that contains some prominent landmarks. To enhance the robustness of authors’ method, the fusion subspace is used to divide the samples, and each subset trains cascade regression model separately. The alignment results of the ﬁrst stage are used to generate the coarse initial shapes for the second stage through 3D ﬁtting. The second stage is still based on cascade regression, which is used to further predict the full shape. The experimental results demonstrate the proposed method can achieve state-of-art performance, especially in unconstrained conditions with various poses.
Finding common ground

Deliberative democrats have abandoned the ideal of consensus in favour of a range of different, more realistic alternatives. But these alternatives provide little anchorage to guide or even evaluate deliberative practice – something acutely problematic given the contemporary context of accelerating polarization in many advanced liberal democracies. In this article, we turn to Stalnaker’s account of the ‘common ground’ – the shared pool of information that is agreed upon by the parties to a discourse – to reassert a distinct ideal standard for democratic deliberation which remains malleable enough to apply across messy contexts of real-world political contestation and debate. Our account offers an appropriate normative yardstick by which to assess deliberative practices across different discursive contexts, as well as impetus for further experimentation and innovation in efforts towards democratic renewal and reform.
Hydrothermal waves in a liquid bridge subjected to a gas stream along the interface

Abstract In the presence of temperature gradients along the gas–liquid interface, a liquid bridge is prone to hydrothermal instabilities. In the case of a coaxial gas stream, in addition to buoyancy and thermocapillary forces, the shear stresses and interfacial heat transfer affect the development of these instabilities. By combining experimental data with three-dimensional numerical simulations, we examine the evolution of hydrothermal waves in a liquid bridge with $Pr=14$ with a gas flow parallel to the interface. The gas moves from the cold to the hot side with a constant velocity of $0.5\ \textrm {m}\ \textrm {s}^{-1}$ and its temperature is the main control parameter of the study. When the thermal stress ${\rm \Delta} T$ exceeds a critical value ${\rm \Delta} T_{cr}$, a three-dimensional oscillatory flow occurs in the system. A stability window of steady flow has been found to exist in the map of dynamical states in terms of gas temperature and applied thermal stress ${\rm \Delta} T$. The study is carried out by tracking the evolution of hydrothermal waves with increasing gas temperature along three distinct paths with constant values of ${\rm \Delta} T$: path 1 is selected to be just above the threshold of instability while path 2 traverses the stability window and path 3 lies above it. We observe a variety of dynamics including standing and travelling waves, determine their dominant and secondary azimuthal wavenumbers, and suggest the mathematical equations describing hydrothermal waves. Multimodal standing waves, coexistence of travelling waves with several wavenumbers rotating in the same or opposite directions are among the most intriguing observations.
Enumeration of closest-packings by the space group: a simple approach

Abstract The problem of enumerating the possible closest-packings of equal spheres having a period P for each of the possible space groups is solved by systematic exploitation of the properties of the two-color symmetry group of the cyclotomic representation of the Zhdanov symbol. No sophisticated combinatorial or group-theoretical techniques are required, and for some space groups, non-recursive, simple analytical expressions are obtained through the use of Möbius Inversion Formula. A corollary to Möbius theorem, used in the derivation, has been proved.
ULTRASOUND GUIDED CLOSED REDUCTION VERSUS OPEN REDUCTION OF ZYGOMATIC ARCH IN ZYGOMATICOMAXILLARY FRACTURES

Introduction: trauma of the zygomaticomaxillary complex (ZMC) has profound functional as well as aesthetic implications. Treatment of ZMC fractures remains one of the most controversial issues in maxillofacial trauma with regard to the classification, diagnosis, surgical approach and treatment.Precise management of the ZMC fractures needs accurate diagnosis, accessible exposure, and precise rigid fixation Objectives: To compare between ultrasound guided closed reduction and open reduction of zygomatic arch in cases of ZMC fracture. Materials and methods: This study was conducted on a sample of twenty patients who had fracture repair of ZMC. Ten of them (study group) were treated via direct peri-orbital approach with the use of intra-operative ultrasound to guide zygomatic arch reduction. While the other ten patients (control group) via coronal approach with open reduction of zygomatic arch. Postoperative patient evaluation was performed with specific attention paid towards zygomatic arch reduction, nerve function, wound healing, and postoperative ocular complications. Results: Radiographic follow up showed no statistical significant difference between normal side and reduced side of zygomatic arch which reflect satisfactory arch reduction among both groups. Conclusion: From the results of this study it was concluded that ultrasonography is an effective method for guiding zygomatic arch reduction with other minimal incisions in cases of ZMC fracture. On the other hand, coronal incisions have advantages of giving excellent access to ZMC fracture with direct reduction of zygomatic arch but with considerable disadvantages.
Emerging Mono‐Elemental Bismuth Nanostructures: Controlled Synthesis and Their Versatile Applications

Bismuth (Bi), as a nontoxic and inexpensive diamagnetic heavy metal, has recently been utilized for the preparation of a variety of nanomaterials, such as nanoparticles, nanowires, nanotubes, nanosheets, etc., with a tunable bandgap, unique structure, excellent physicochemical properties, and compositional features for versatile properties, such as near‐infrared absorbance, high X‐ray attenuation coefficient, excellent photothermal conversion efficiency, and a long circulation half‐life. These features have endowed mono‐elemental Bi nanomaterials with desirable performances for electronics/optoelectronics, energy storage and conversion, catalysis, nonlinear photonics, sensors, biomedical applications, etc. This review summarizes the controlled synthesis of mono‐elemental Bi nanomaterials with different shapes and sizes, highlights the state‐of‐the‐art progress of the desired applications of mono‐elemental Bi nanomaterials, and presents some personal insights on the challenges and future opportunities in this research area. It is hoped that the controllable manipulation techniques of Bi nanomaterials, along with their unique properties, can shed light on the next‐generation devices based on Bi nanostructures and Bi‐related nanomaterials.
State-of-the-Art of the Clinical use of Stem Cells from Deciduous Teeth: A Review

Introduction: In recent years, mesenchymal stem cells derived from dental tissue have gained popularity for applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Objective: To present the main considerations about stem cells of primary teeth, as well as the importance of their clinical application. Methods: Experimental and clinical studies were included (case reports, retrospective, prospective and randomized studies), following the rules of systematic review-PRISMA. The search strategy was performed on Medline / Pubmed, Web Of Science, ScienceDirect Journals (Elsevier), Cochrane Library, Harvard Library, Scopus, and OneFile (Gale). Major findings and Conclusion: Dental pulp stem cells from primary teeth have very promising properties and potential for bone TE; however, based on these findings and the well-known restrictions in stem cell research, it may be beneficial to at least standardize the methods currently used in animal models based on the bone defect to heal, in order to achieve a higher level of reliability results, enabling safe clinical use.
Corona Pandemia Times: The Export Credit Insurance as a Trade Finance Tool

It is expected that Great Lockdown caused by Covid-19 will cause the worst recession since the Great Depression, and far worse than the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. This paper aims to analyse the effectiveness of export credit insurance as a tool to mitigate the consequences of default in deferred international trade payments. A panel data analysis will be realized by using the data of 27 Berne Union member countries for 11 years in order to elaborate the effects of the export credit insurance commitments on exportation by taking into account other related economic factors such as export as a percentage of GDP, export volume, real effective exchange rate. The results of the analysis indicate that the export credit insurance schemes, mainly supposed to be provided by the public insurers, may mitigate the detrimental effects of Covid-19 on international trade.
Color of titanium nitride prepared by reactive dc magnetron sputtering

The color of titanium nitride films deposited by reactive dc magnetron sputtering has been investigated as a function of elemental composition obtained by Auger analysis. At an average target current density of 44 mA cm−2 the nitrogen flow rate was varied from 0.02 Pa m2 s−1 to 0.06 Pa m2s−1 while argon flow was fixed such that a flow rate of 0.11 Pa m3s−1 resulted in a system pressure of 1.33 Pa. Hence average film growth rates at the substrate plane 4.75 cm away varied from 3000 A/min to 600 A/min as the target surface changed from titanium to titanium nitride. The various colors obtained are specified in terms of dominant wavelength, purity, and brightness from results obtained by spectrophotometric measurements. The values are compared with sputtered 18 kt gold. It is found that changes in elemental composition as a result of incorporation of background reactive gases other than nitrogen as the metal sputtering rate and substrate bias is changed, has a profound effect on color and also on other proper.
Asset Pricing in the Middle East’s Equity Markets

This paper undertakes a comparison between five multifactor variants of the capital asset pricing model, where this is augmented by size, book to market value, momentum, liquidity and a new investor protection metric based on the product of institutional quality in a country and the proportion of free float shares, which captures the impact of controlling block holders. Using monthly returns of 909 blue chip firms from 16 Middle East & North African equity markets for 16 years, we show that a two factor CAPM augmented with a factor mimicking portfolio based on the investor protection metric yields the highest explanatory power. Analysis of Kalman filter time varying investor protection betas reveals investor protection premiums in Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and Tunisia and corresponding discounts in Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Promoting equity by illuminating academic roles and identities in teaching students from diverse backgrounds

ABSTRACT While university participation has widened, retention and success rates remain lower for some diverse Australian undergraduate cohorts, e.g. students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds, Indigenous students and students with disability. Institutional characteristics and culture are more important factors in attrition than student characteristics. This paper explores how universities could develop learning and teaching communities that are more inclusive through insights into some complex relationships between student diversity, academic roles and identities. Using a critical discursive psychology approach, we identified 12 different subject positions that Australian academics from 19 universities adopted in constructing their identities as teachers of students from diverse backgrounds. We critically discuss illustrative findings from one academic who adopted seven different subject positions to explore the impact of institutional context on social positioning and dynamics related to learning, teaching and student diversity. We conclude that a ‘students-as-partners’ approach could help universities to better recognise and value diversity.
TanDEM-X multiparametric data features in sea ice classification over the Baltic sea

ABSTRACT In this study, we assess the potential of X-band Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar imagery for automated classification of sea ice over the Baltic Sea. A bistatic SAR scene acquired by the TanDEM-X mission over the Bothnian Bay in March of 2012 was used in the analysis. Backscatter intensity, interferometric coherence magnitude, and interferometric phase have been used as informative features in several classification experiments. Various combinations of classification features were evaluated using Maximum likelihood (ML), Random Forests (RF) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifiers to achieve the best possible discrimination between open water and several sea ice types (undeformed ice, ridged ice, moderately deformed ice, brash ice, thick level ice, and new ice). Adding interferometric phase and coherence-magnitude to backscatter-intensity resulted in improved overall classification performance compared to using only backscatter-intensity. The RF algorithm appeared to be slightly superior to SVM and ML due to higher overall accuracies, however, at the expense of somewhat longer processing time. The best overall accuracy (OA) for three methodologies were achieved using combination of all tested features were 71.56, 72.93, and 72.91% for ML, RF and SVM classifiers, respectively. Compared to OAs of 62.28, 66.51, and 63.05% using only backscatter intensity, this indicates strong benefit of SAR interferometry in discriminating different types of sea ice. In contrast to several earlier studies, we were particularly able to successfully discriminate open water and new ice classes.
Transnational education zones: Towards an urban political economy of ‘education cities’

Prevalent notions of ‘education cities’ and ‘education hubs’ are vaguely defined, operate at blurry scales and tend to reproduce promotional language. The article contributes to theorising the geographies and spaces of globalising higher education by developing the concept of transnational education zones. Through an urban political economy lens, we review the relations between universities and cities, consider universities’ role in the political economy and understand universities as transnational urban actors. We exhaustively map the phenomenon of transnational education zones and empirically analyse cases from four cities (Doha, Dubai, Iskandar and Flic en Flac) with respect to their embeddedness in state-led projects for the ‘knowledge economy’, their vision for transnational subject formation and their character as urban zones of exception. The conclusion develops a research agenda for further critical geographic inquiries into the (re)making of cities through the development of transnational spaces of higher education that explores the relations between globalising higher education and material and discursive transformations at the urban scale.
A comparison study of alternative conceptions on impetus theory and projectile motion of adolescents with typical development and high functioning autism spectrum disorder

ABSTRACT The aim of the present study is to explore on the alternative conceptions of impetus theory and projectile motion of students with high functioning autism spectrum disorders and compare them with those of typical development. For this purpose, an experimental investigation was conducted with 19 students with high-functioning autism (age range: 12–16 yrs) and 55 typically development students (age range: 12–16 yrs). The two study groups were equivalent on both sex and non-verbal mental age. Drawing from theoretical approaches that emphasise the study of prior knowledge on the learning process, a structured, computerised tool was developed to explore the alternative conceptions of students with autism (T.E.A.I.A.). Research findings suggest that students with high-functioning autism use the same alternative conceptions with those used by students of typical development, on a different frequency thought. Moreover, they adopt impetus theory at a rate that is statistically different from that of typical development students. Findings of the current research study are likely to contribute to the basis for teaching projectile motion to students with autism spectrum disorder.