Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mathematics of a multigroup model for assessing the combined impact of masks and a potential COVID-19 vaccine

A novel coronavirus emerged in December of 2019 (COVID-19), causing a pandemic that continues to inflict unprecedented public health and economic burden in all nooks and corners of the world. Although the control of COVID-19 has largely focused on the use of basic public health measures (primarily based on using nonpharmaceutical interventions, such as quarantine, isolation, social-distancing, face mask usage and community lockdowns), a number of exceptionally-promising vaccines are about to be approved for use in humans by the U.S. Food and Drugs Administration. We present a new mathematical model for assessing the population-level impact of the candidate vaccines, particularly for the case where the vaccination program is complemented with a social-distancing control measure at a certain compliance level. The model stratifies the total population into two subgroups, based on whether or not they habitually wear face mask in public. The resulting multigroup model, which takes the form of a compartmental, deterministic system of nonlinear differential equations, is parametrized using COVID-19 cumulative mortality data. Conditions for the asymptotic stability of the associated disease-free equilibrium, as well as expression for the vaccine-derived herd immunity threshold, are derived. This study shows that the prospect of COVID-19 elimination using any of the three candidate vaccines is quite promising, and that such elimination is more feasible if the vaccination program is combined with social-distancing control measures (implemented at moderate to high level of compliance).
p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and transcription factor GATA-4 in the regulation of cardiomyocyte function

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of death in the developed countries and their incidence is not expected to decrease in the future. There is a lifetime risk of one in five of developing heart failure, which still has poor prognosis and current treatments only cover part of the pathophysiology behind this syndrome. Pathological processes contributing to heart failure include cardiac hypertrophy and remodeling, which involves neurohumoral activation, reactivation of fetal genes, impaired Ca2+ cycling, increased apoptosis, and increased fibrosis. Intracellular signalling pathways and transcription factors mediating the response to various extracellular stresses have a key role in the regulation of myocardial remodeling and they are investigated in order to develop new approaches for the treatment of heart failure. The aim of this thesis was to elucidate roles of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and transcription factor GATA-4 in the regulation of cardiomyocyte function in cell cultures, and in hearts ex vivo and in vivo. The main findings were that (i) Inhibition of p38α MAPK enhanced function of sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ -ATPase and thus cardiac contractility by increasing phosphorylation of protein phosphatase inhibitor-1 and phospholamban, (ii) p38 MAPK isoforms p38α and p38β regulated promoter activity of B-type natriuretic peptide via distinct pathways, (iii) p38α and p38β MAPKs also had different effects on gene expressions related to fibrosis and hypertrophy, and (iv) p38 and ERK1/2 MAPKs mediated stretch-induced activation of GATA-4 by phosphorylation at Ser 105. GATA-4 also seems to be regulated by ubiquitination. This study provides novel data of p38 MAPK and GATA-4 in the regulation of cardiomyocyte function. Inhibition of p38α MAPK could be beneficial in the treatment of heart failure. Also GATA-4 is a potential target for treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
Effects of potassium fertilization on yield,quality and sucrose metabolism of sweet maize

A field experiment was carried out to study the effects of potassium fertilization on yield,quality and key enzyme activities of sucrose metabolism of sweet maize.In this experiment,Dongtian3 and Dongtian4 were utilized as materials,and five treatments of potassium fertilization(K2O 0,50,100,150,200 kg/ha) were designed.The results indicate that the fresh ear yields of sweet maize are significantly increased under the potassium fertilization,and the fresh ear yield of the treatment with K2O 150 kg/ha is the highest one among the 5 treatments,which is increased by 14.06% compared with the control treatment.Furthermore,compared with the control treatment,the contents of soluble sugars,sucrose,protein and lysine are improved under the potassium fertilization.The dynamic changes of activities of sucrose synthase(SS,synthesis) and sucrose-phosphate synthase(SPS) are similar to the sucrose content in grains of sweet maize after anthesis.There are positive correlations between activities of the two synthases and sucrose content(P0.05 or 0.01). Therefore,potassium application can increase the activities of SS and SPS,and sucrose accumulation.According to the regression model of fresh ear yield and quality,the optimum amounts of potassium fertilizer(K2O) are 133-140 kg/ha for harvesting the high yield,and 140 kg/ha for the high quality of sweet maize in practices,respectively.
Specific COVID-19 Symptoms Correlate with High Antibody Levels against SARS-CoV-2

Lasting immunity will be critical for overcoming COVID-19. However, the factors associated with the development of high titers of anti–SARS-CoV-2 Abs and how long those Abs persist remain incompletely defined. In particular, an understanding of the relationship between COVID-19 symptoms and anti–SARS-CoV-2 Abs is limited. To address these unknowns, we quantified serum anti–SARS- CoV-2 Abs in clinically diverse COVID-19 convalescent human subjects 5 wk (n = 113) and 3 mo (n = 79) after symptom resolution with three methods: a novel multiplex assay to quantify IgG against four SARS-CoV-2 Ags, a new SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain-angiotensin converting enzyme 2 inhibition assay, and a SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing assay. We then identified clinical and demographic factors, including never-before-assessed COVID-19 symptoms, that consistently correlate with high anti–SARS-CoV-2 Ab levels. We detected anti–SARS-CoV-2 Abs in 98% of COVID-19 convalescent subjects 5 wk after symptom resolution, and Ab levels did not decline at 3 mo. Greater disease severity, older age, male sex, higher body mass index, and higher Charlson Comorbidity Index score correlated with increased anti–SARS-CoV-2 Ab levels. Moreover, we report for the first time (to our knowledge) that COVID-19 symptoms, most consistently fever, body aches, and low appetite, correlate with higher anti–SARS-CoV-2 Ab levels. Our results provide robust and new insights into the development and persistence of anti–SARS-CoV-2 Abs.
Possibility of Reinforcement the Functional Potential of Vegetable Juices with the use of Novel Strain Lactiplantibacillus Plantarum EK11 Isolated from an Unconventional Fermented Food Matrix

Abstract The study investigated the suitability of a novel strain Lactiplantibacillus plantarum EK11 for obtaining fermented tomato and beetroot juices with improved functional potential. EK11 had the capability of dynamic acidification of pasteurized vegetable beverages. The lowest values of pH were noted in juices after 48 h of fermentation with the probiotic L. plantarum 299v (pH=3.72±0.01 in beet juice and pH=3.43±.0.01 in tomato juice). The fermentation increased the lycopene content in tomato juices from 27.90±0. 31µg mL−1 (after 24-h fermentation by strain EK11) to 116.86 ±0.19 µg mL−1 (final products obtained using strain 299v after 7-day cold storage). The process contributed to changes in the betanin and vulgaxanthin-I concentration in beetroot beverages. All fermented products exhibited antioxidative activity, i.e. 50% inhibition of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radicals. Moreover, three genes involved in the biosynthesis of bacteriocins were detected in the novel strain EK11, which exhibits functional and technological potential for the production of fermented foods.
Design and Evaluation of a Head-Worn Display Application for Multi-Patient Monitoring

Supervising anesthesiologists oversee junior anesthesiologists in several operating rooms to instruct and provide advice, and hence ensure high patient safety. Supervisors benefit from good situation awareness but accessing information about multiple patients can be challenging. In a user-centered design process, we have developed an interface concept for a head-worn display (HWD) to support multi-patient monitoring. The design includes data about the patients’ physiology, vital status, vital trends, and medications. We conducted an exploratory evaluation of a prototype in a high-fidelity medical simulation with six supervising anesthesiologists. Our results show that the supervisors’ situation awareness of all simulated operations improved because participants noticed and responded to multiple events over the course of the scenario. However, the supervisors reported increased mental workload due to the constant availability of patient data. We discuss insights about the HWD display, the design process, and the experience and views of staff on using the HWD.
Removal of direct dye from aqueous solutions with an adsorbent made from tamarind fruit shell, an agricultural solid waste

Removal of a direct dye, Congo Red, has been carried out using tamarind fruit shell (TFS) as an adsorbent. Parameters like agitation time, adsorbent dosage and pH effect have been studied. Adsorption followed the first-order rate expression. The equilibrium data fit well with both Langmuir and Freundlich models of adsorption. Desorption experiments confirmed that major mode of adsorption is ion-exchange for the dye.
Collection of Metaphors for Human-Robot Interaction

The word “robot” frequently conjures unrealistic expectations of utilitarian perfection: tireless, efficient and flawless agents. However, real-world robots are far from perfect—they fail and make mistakes. Thus, roboticists should consider altering their current assumptions and cultivating new perspectives that account for a more complete range of robot roles, behaviors, and interactions. To encourage this, we explore the use of metaphors for generating novel ideas and reframing existing problems, eliciting new perspectives of human-robot interaction. Our work makes two contributions. We (1) surface current assumptions that accompany the term “robots,” and (2) present a collection of alternative perspectives of interaction with robots through metaphors. By identifying assumptions, we provide a comprehensible list of aspects to reconsider regarding robots’ physicality, roles, and behaviors. Through metaphors, we propose new ways of examining how we can use, relate to, and co-exist with the robots that will share our future.
“I thought you were okay”: Participatory Design with Young Adults to Fight Multiparty Privacy Conflicts in Online Social Networks

Although sharing multimedia content on online social networks (OSNs) has many benefits, publishing photos or videos of other people—without obtaining permission—can cause multiparty privacy conflicts (MPCs). Early studies developed technical solutions and dissuasive approaches to address MPCs. However, none of these studies involved, in the design process, the OSN users who have experienced MPCs. Hence, they possibly overlooked the valuable experiences these individuals have accrued. To fill this gap, we recruited participants specifically from this population of users, and we involved them in participatory design sessions to find solutions to reduce the incidence of MPCs. To frame the activities of our participants, we borrowed terminology and concepts from a well-known framework used in the justice systems. Over the course of several design sessions, our participants designed 10 solutions to mitigate MPCs. The designed solutions are based on different mechanisms, including preventing MPCs from occurring, dissuading users from sharing, resolving the conflicts, and educating users about community standards. We discuss the open design and research opportunities suggested by the designed solutions and contribute an ideal workflow that synthesizes the best of each solution. We contribute to the innovation of privacy-enhancing technologies to limit the incidence of MPCs in OSNs.
Anomaly Identification using Multimodal Physiological Signals on the Edge

Anomaly detection is a challenging data mining task in the field of healthcare. The majority of the proposed models generally rely on an abundance of well-labeled data, which is not always available outside a laboratory environment. This paper proposes the use of multiple autoencoders to detect anomalies using multimodal data (Electrocardiography and Electrodermal Activity signals) in an unsupervised manner. The proposed method provides an insight into features of the input signals that make the anomalous segments stand out and provide better explainability for the anomalous behaviours. The proposed method was able to classify anomalies with an accuracy of 91.5% as well as identify the most commonly changing features during anomalous behaviour. The method was tested and evaluated on a low resource device to be run as an edge application and found to have an overall accuracy of 86.3%.
Large-eddy simulation on the similarity between wakes of wind turbines with different yaw angles

Abstract This work is dedicated to studying the similarity between wakes of wind turbines with different yaw angles and tip speed ratios under different turbulent inflows using large-eddy simulations with actuator surface models. Simulation results show that wake characteristics from cases with different yaw angles overlap with each other when normalized properly, which include the streamwise variations of the wake deflection, the centreline velocity deficit, the widths of the wakes, the standard deviations of instantaneous wake centre positions and the instantaneous wake widths. Different scalings are proposed for the streamwise velocity deficit and the transverse velocity. The similarities observed between cases with different yaw angles and the different scalings suggest that it is proper to decompose the wake of a yawed wind turbine into a streamwise wake and a lateral wake deflection, which is critical for developing analytical models. The mean of the instantaneous wake widths and the mean of the instantaneous centreline streamwise velocity are observed as being smaller than those of the time-averaged wake. These quantities are then related by using two analytical expressions proposed in this work. The observed similarities together with the proposed analytical expressions provide a better understanding of wakes of yawed wind turbines and can be employed to develop physics-based dynamic wake models.
The impact on key indicators of reproductive and child health after changes in program modalities in Sierra Leone, 2019

In 2018, the transition to routine vitamin A supplementation (VAS) was integrated with caregivers' preparation of nutritious complementary food from local produce and confidential counseling and provision of modern contraceptives. In 2019, funding for complementary food ceased and Community Health Workers (CHWs) were trained to track defaulters, while national efforts to improve Health Management Information Systems, supply chains and reduce teenage pregnancies were intensified. We report on key indicators after these changes and in comparison, to those previously published.
Predicting engineering students’ desire to address climate change in their careers: an exploratory study using responses from a U.S. National survey

Abstract More engineering students are needed to address climate change in their careers. These students are necessary because engineering includes designing and building machines, structures, and components that contribute large portions of society’s carbon emissions. We surveyed a national sample of undergraduate engineering students (n = 4605) in their last semester of college about their desire to address climate change in their careers and the factors that predicted these responses. Possible variables for wanting to address climate change in their career included course topics, co-curricular experiences, climate knowledge, political affiliation, religion, and other demographics. The strongest factors that predicted engineering students’ desire to address climate change in their career were related to a feeling of personal responsibility to deal with environmental problems, recognizing climate change as a technical (not social) issue, believing climate change is caused by burning fossil fuels and livestock production, and their engineering discipline. Students majoring in environmental and architectural engineering were more likely to want to address climate change in their careers than others. Previous known factors to increase motivation for climate action like course topics, political affiliation, student organization participation, undergraduate research experience, and environmental volunteering were not strong predictors among engineering undergraduate students.
Towards signature assessment and feedback practices: a taxonomy of discipline-specific elements of assessment for learning

ABSTRACT Through an extended commentary on the empirical articles in this special issue ‘Signature Assessment and Feedback Practices in the Disciplines’ we elaborate the concepts of signature assessment and signature feedback practices by developing a new taxonomy of their elements. We propose that signature assessments focus on conceptual, epistemological, social, material and/or moral dimensions of the discipline. We also propose four discipline-specific sources of feedback information, particularly highlighting what we are calling consequential feedback, which can be generated by users of disciplinary knowledge or objects. Finally, we identify three levels of feedback timings that can support students’ use of feedback information: rhythms, cycles, and spirals. Based on gaps in the literature in relation to this taxonomy, we identify areas for further empirical research that will advance understanding and application of signature assessment and signature feedback practices.
Buckling and vibro-acoustic characteristics of the trapezoidal corrugated sandwich plate in thermal environment

Abstract The present study is concerned with the buckling, vibration and sound transmission characteristics of the simply supported sandwich plate with trapezoidal corrugated core in thermal environment based on the hyperbolic tangent parabola shear deformation theory (HTPSDT). The displacement field of the present theory is chosen based on nonlinear variations in the in-plane displacements through the thickness of the plate. The theoretical models of the buckling, vibration and sound transmission loss of the sandwich plate are derived from Hamilton’s principle and acoustic theory. Numerical results for the natural frequencies and sound transmission loss of the trapezoidal corrugated sandwich plate under different temperature variations are presented. The accuracy of the present theory is verified by comparing the obtained results with solutions available in the literature and the FEM results. Furthermore, parametric studies are taken up to investigate the influences of material types, core thickness, width-length ratio of the plate on the critical buckling temperature, fundamental frequency and sound transmission loss of the trapezoidal corrugated sandwich plate.
How has India’s economic growth and development affected its gender inequality?

Abstract The basic characteristics are outlined of the UN’s Gender Inequality Index (GII) and its Gender Development Index (GDI). Their trends in relation to India’s real Gross National Income (GNI) per capita indicate a decline in its gender inequality with its economic growth. However, these trends give a distorted and incomplete picture of changes in Indian gender inequality. Several assumptions underlying GII and GDI are questioned in the Indian context, for example, within India more education of females is not associated with a reduced wage gap between males and females, and greater access of females to the labour market can raise gender inequality. The effects of economic growth (absent in the above indices) are assessed on Indian male–female ratios and on violence against women. Variations in gender inequality in India within households are also considered. New data results in the questioning of several existing hypotheses.
Inhaled Corticosteroids and the Pneumonia Risk in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Background: Whether all types of inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) would increase the pneumonia risk in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains controversial. We aimed to assess the association between ICSs treatment and pneumonia risk in COPD patients, and the impact of medication details and baseline characteristics of patients on the association. Methods: Four databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Clinical Trials.gov) were searched to identify eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing ICSs treatment with non-ICSs treatment on the pneumonia risk in COPD patients. Pooled results were calculated using Peto odds ratios (Peto ORs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: A total of 59 RCTs enrolling 103,477 patients were analyzed. All types of ICSs significantly increased the pneumonia risk (Peto OR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.34–1.53). Subgroup analysis showed that there was a dose-response relationship between ICSs treatment and pneumonia risk (low-dose: Peto OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.22–1.45; medium-dose: Peto OR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.28–1.76; and high-dose: Peto OR, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.45–1.85). Subgroup analyses based on treatment durations and baseline characteristics (severity, age, and body mass index) of patients were consistant with the above results. Subgroup analysis based on severity of pneumonia showed that fluticasone (Peto OR, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.44–2.14) increased the risk of serious pneumonia, while budesonide and beclomethasone did not. Conclusions: ICSs treatment significantly increased the risk of pneumonia in COPD patients. There was a dose-response relationship between ICSs treatment and pneumonia risk. The pneumonia risk was related with COPD severity.