Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Uptake of provider-initiated HIV and syphilis testing among Heterosexual STD Clinic attendees in Southern China: Results from a Cross-sectional Study

Background Provider-initiated HIV and syphilis testing and counseling (PITC) services are important components of HIV and syphilis prevention programs. However, PITC guidelines have neither been formalized nor widely implemented in China. Limited studies conducted to identify the barriers to offering PITC services from sexually transmitted diseases (STD) clinic attendees’ perspective. We conducted a cross-sectional survey on heterosexual STD clinic attendees to evaluate this in China.Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2016 in Southern China. Participants completed a validated questionnaire including social-demographic information, reasons for not conducting HIV and syphilis testing, and HIV and STD infection history. In this study, we limited the participants as individuals who self-identified as heterosexual.Results A total of 1943 participants were recruited in this study. Among those participants, 60.6% (1177/1943) and 74.3% (1443/1943) conducted HIV testing and syphilis testing during the study, respectively. Of whom, 2.2% (26/1177) and 21.5% (310/1443) are found to be HIV-positive and syphilis-positive, respectively. The most common barrier to HIV and syphilis testing is a lack of awareness of HIV and syphilis infection. Condom use in the last sexual act, having paid sex during the last 6 months, and receiving HIV and STD related knowledge were positively associated with uptake of both HIV and syphilis testing.Conclusions This study highlights the need and importance of promoting provider-initiated HIV and syphilis testing and counseling services in China. Future studies on exploring innovative methods to improve the knowledge and awareness of HIV and syphilis infection among STD clinic attendees is warranted.
Conducting PEEK Nanocomposites with Electrophoretically Deposited Bioactive Coating for Bone Tissue Regeneration and Multi-Modal Therapeutic Applications

The use of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) has grown exponentially in the biomedical field in recent decades due to its outstanding biomechanical properties. However, its lack of bioactivity/osteointegration remains an unresolved issue towards its wide use in orthopedic applications. In this work, graphene nanosheets have been incorporated into PEEK to obtain multifunctional nanocomposites. Due to the formation of electrical percolation network and the π-π* conjugation between graphene and PEEK, the resulting composites have achieved twelve order of magnitude enhancement in its electrical conductivity, and have enabled electrophoretic deposition of bioactive/anti-bacterial coating consisting of stearyltrimethylammonium chloride (STAC) modified hydroxyapatite (HA). The coated composite implant showed significant boosting of BMSC cell proliferation in vitro. In addition, the strong photothermal conversion effect of the graphene nanofillers have enabled laser induced heating of our nanocomposite implants, where the temperature of the implant can reach 45 oC in 150 s. The unique multi-functionality of our composite implant has also been demonstrated for photothermal applications such as enhancing bacterial (E. coli and S. aureus) eradication and tumor cell (MG63) inhibition, as well as bone tissue regeneration in vivo. The results suggest the strong potential of our multi-functional implant in bone repair applications as well as multi-modal therapy of challenging bone diseases such as osteosarcoma and osteomyelitis
PROPELLER EROSION AND PROTECTION METHODS USED IN FERRY TERMINALS IN THE PORT OF STOCKHOLM

The ferry service between Stockholm and Finland is operated with six of the largest car/passenger ferries in the world. The propeller jets generated by the powerful machinery of these ferries necessitate effective erosion protection. Hydraulic model studies have been performed where the jet velocities behind ships with one and two propellers, respectively, have been measured. The results are presented in diagrams that serve as a basis for the design of erosion protection. Such protection as that afforded by of gabions and heavy precast concrete slabs is described.
Advancing Design Activity: Catalysts for Sustained Innovation

This paper explores how practicing designers apply sustainability issues to design problems as catalysts for innovation. It was hypothesised that participants would integrate sustainability issues as part of the early design process only when prompted. The objective of this study was to observe the degree of variance between participants’ responses during a design task. In order to explore how designers apply sustainability issues an experimental approach was adopted. The pilot study experiment involved an initial interview, observation and concurrent and retrospective protocols. During the experiments verbal, visual and observational data were collected. All data were analysed and coded with the assistance of textual and observational analysis software. The preliminary findings suggest that including sustainability issues as part of the initial design problem affects design activity and prompts designers to consider more diverse ideas. The paper concludes by discussing the challenge for this research and future investigations.
Living well by letting go: Reliability and validity of a brief measure of nonattachment

There is a growing literature on nonattachment, defined as a flexible, balanced way of relating to experiences without clinging to or suppressing them. We developed a 7-item Nonattachment Scale (NAS-7) by shortening a previously validated 30-item measure (NAS; Sahdra, Shaver & Brown, 2010). NAS-7 was found to display strong psychometric properties in American and Australian samples (total N = 504), including a unidimensional factor structure and measurement invariance across different samples. The correlations of NAS-7 with other theoretically relevant constructs were virtually identical to the long-form NAS. Across different samples, NAS-7 assessed nonattachment was associated with greater autonomous regulation, self-actualization, psychological and subjective well-being, and reduced materialism and depressive symptoms. NAS-7 is a suitable alternative to the long-form NAS as it takes about half the time to complete than the long form without a substantial loss of information.
Effects of process and product-oriented innovations on employee downsizing

This study examines the role played by firm innovation on downsizing, an unexplored matter in the management literature. Drawing on economic and management views, we identify potential differences in firm downsizing behaviour depending on the specific innovation activities performed ? process versus product-oriented innovations. The empirical setting is a sample of Spanish manufacturing firms over the period 1994-2006. Results suggest that those process innovations associated with acquiring and deploying new production equipment are positively related to a diminishing probability of carrying out drastic cuts in workforce. However, a negative effect is found when process innovations are linked to the adoption of new methods of organizing the workforce. Regarding product-oriented innovations our findings also show a negative effect of such innovations on the probability of carrying out important reductions in workforce. Our study stresses the need to consider innovation as a key determinant when analyzing the causes of downsizing in future research.
Design and Analysis of a Preconcentrator for the μChemLab™

Preconcentration is a critical analytical procedure when designing a microsystem for trace chemical detection, because it can purify a sample mixture and boost the small analyte concentration to a much higher level allowing a better analysis. This paper describes the development of a micro-fabricated planar preconcentrator for the μChemLab™ at Sandia. To guide the design, an analytical model to predict the analyte transport, adsorption and desorption process in the preconcentrator has been developed. Experiments have also been conducted to analyze the adsorption and desorption process and to validate the model. This combined effort of modeling, simulation, and testing has led us to build a reliable, efficient preconcentrator with good performance.
A Method to Analyze and Optimize the Load Sharing of Split Path Transmissions

Abstract : Split-path transmissions are promising alternatives to the common planetary transmissions for rotorcraft. Heretofore, split-path designs proposed for or used in rotorcraft have featured load-sharing devices that add undesirable weight and complexity to the designs. A method was developed to analyze and optimize the load sharing in split-path transmissions without load-sharing devices. The method uses the clocking angle as a design parameter to optimize for equal load sharing. In addition, the clocking angle tolerance necessary to maintain acceptable load sharing can be calculated. The method evaluates the effects of gearshaft twisting and bending, tooth bending, Hertzian deformations within bearings, and movement of bearing supports on load sharing. It was used to study the NASA split-path test gearbox and the U.S. Army's Comanche helicopter main rotor gearbox. Acceptable load sharing was found to be achievable and maintainable by using proven manufacturing processes. The analytical results compare favorably to available experimental data.
In-hospital outcomes of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and COVID-19.

AIMS To assess clinical and prognosis differences in patients with Covid-19 and STEMI. METHODS AND RESULTS Using a nationwide registry of consecutive patients managed within 42 specific STEMI-care networks, we compared patient and procedure characteristics and in-hospital outcomes in 2 different cohorts, according to whether they had Covid-19. Among 1010 consecutive STEMI patients, 91 were identified as Covid-19 (10.9%). With the exception of smoking status (more frequent in non-Covid-19) and previous coronary artery disease (more frequent in Covid-19), clinical characteristics were similar between groups, but Covid-19 patients had more heart failure on arrival (31.9% vs 18.4%, p=0.002). Mechanical thrombectomy (44% vs 33.5%, p=0.046) and IIbIIIa inhibitors administration (20.9% vs 11.2%, p=0.007) were more frequent in Covid-19 patients, who had an increased in-hospital mortality (23.1% vs 5.7%, p<0.0001), that remained consistent after adjustment for age, sex, Killip class and ischemic time: OR (95% CI) = 4.85 (2.04-11.51); p<0.001. Covid-19 patients had an increase of stent thrombosis (3.3% vs 0.8%, p=0.020) and cardiogenic shock development after PCI (9.9 % vs 3.8%, p=0.007). CONCLUSIONS Our study revealed a significant increase in in-hospital, stent thrombosis and cardiogenic shock development after PCI in patients with STEMI and Covid-19 in comparison with contemporaneous non-Covid-19 STEMI patients.
The perceptions of teachers and heads of department on the roles of a formal mentor in a Zambian Secondary School

This paper reports on research work concerning the perceptions of newly qualified teachers (NQTs) and heads of department (HoDs) regarding the roles of formal mentors in helping newly qualified teachers in selected secondary schools in Zambia. These NQTs could be products of a conventional teacher preparation programme through fulltime study, part-time or parallel study, or an Open and Distance Learning Programme. The purpose of the study was to establish what NQTs and HoDs believed to be key areas in which NQTs needed to be mentored in order to help them adapt to the requirements of their teaching roles in schools. It uses quantitative data that were collected from the NQTs and HoDs using self-administered questionnaires guided by Kram’s Mentor Role Theory. Data were collected from a sample of 191 participants that comprised 92 NQTs and 99 HoDs. Quantitative data were analysed using the Chi Square test. Quantitative results suggest that there was a huge discrepancy in the perceptions of NQTs and HoDs regarding the roles of a formal mentor in helping NQTs in their work. The paper proposes the development of a policy on mentorship of NQTs and a mentorship framework to ensure harmonization of understanding of mentorship and its effective implementation.
The value of clinical examination in preterm newborns after neonatal sepsis: a case control study.

Background Neonatal sepsis is an important risk factor for lesions in the white matter of the brain of preterm newborns (PTNB) and the most effective strategies to minimize its deleterious effects are early detection and intervention. However, no studies were found to analyze the neurological behavior of PTNBs with neonatal sepsis. Thus, the objective of the present study was to investigate the presence of neurological abnormalities in PTNBs, after neonatal sepsis, by neonatal clinical evaluation. Methods This is a prospective cross-sectional study with 100 PTNBs selected at random, 50 of the study group (sepsis) and 50 of the control group (non-sepsis) of the university municipal hospital. PTNBs were evaluated at adjusted gestational age (37 to 42 weeks). The neurological evaluation protocol adopted was the Hammersmith Neonatal Neurological Examination (HNNE), which consists of 34 items grouped into six categories. Statistical analysis: Statistical analysis was performed using the Chi-square, Mann-Whitney and Binary Logistic Regression tests using the assumption of each statistical test. The statistical program used was Stata version 11.0. Results The PTNBs of the sepsis group had total HNNE scores lower than expected for normality in 86% of the cases, and the non-sepsis group in 26% (p<0.001). Higher prevalence levels of altered scores in tone category (p<0.001), tone patterns (p=0.026), reflexes (p=0.002), movements (p<0.001), abnormal signs (p<0.001) and behavior (p<0.001), were also found in the sepsis group, as well as in 26 of the 34 evaluation items. Conclusion The preterm neonatal sepsis showed significant frequency of neurological alterations. Thus, it is concluded that neurological dysfunctions in preterm newborns after neonatal sepsis can be identified by clinical neonatal neurological evaluation.
Oxidation-Reduction Potential – A Tool for Monitoring, Control and Optimization of Biological Nutrient Removal Systems

Oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) measurements were made in conjunction with monitoring of other process variables in biological nutrient removal systems to determine the suitability of using this parameter to monitor and characterize conditions in un-aerated bio-reactors. Results obtained over the course of a three year investigation indicate that ORP monitoring can provide a very meaningful indication of process and bio-reactor performance. Easy to make, ORP determinations are reliable and can be used to distinguish between different levels of respiratory activity and also to identify the onset on non-respiratory conditions. This has practical advantages in that it provides a rational basis for real time control and optimization of process nitrogen removal. In more highly anaerobic environments ORP was found to correlate with observed phosphorus release, thus providing a real time indication of this aspect of process performance. This investigation has concluded that ORP is a unique and very useful practical tool for process monitoring, control and optimization which holds great promise as a process control parameter in these and future applications, in particular as a sensor for continuous process monitoring and automated process control.
THE EFFECTS OF BODY ARMOR ON LOWER BACK AND KNEE BIOMECHANICS DURING BASIC AND MILITARY INSPIRED TASKS

OF DISSERTATION THE EFFECTS OF BODY ARMOR ON LOWER BACK AND KNEE BIOMECHANICS DURING BASIC AND MILITARY INSPIRED TASKS With increased military personal protection equipment, body armor, comes the addition of carried load. Such person protection in recent history has been instrumental in combating the imminent threats (e.g., improvised explosive devices) of hostile environments, preventing otherwise lethal injuries. However, body armor has been suggested to degrade warfighters’ performance and compound the risk of musculoskeletal injuries. Both performance and risk of injury are intensely related to joint biomechanics. Therefore the objective of this project was set to determine the immediate and prolonged effects of wearing body armor on biomechanics of the lower back and knee. A randomized cross-over study design, wherein 12 sex-balanced, physically fit, young participants completed a series of tests before and after 45 min of treadmill walking with and without body armor. Tests included two simple tests (i.e., toe-touch and two-legged squat), two military inspired tests (i.e., box drop and prone to standing) and four knee torque tests (i.e., maximum isometric contraction of knee flexors and extensors, and concentric and eccentric isokinetic contraction of knee flexors and extensors. During these tests, kinematic, kinetic and torque measurements were used to investigate the immediate and prolonged effects of exposure to body armor on several measures of knee and lower back mechanics related to performance and risk of injuries. For the simple tests, the immediate effects of body armor were an increase of > 40 ms (p ≤ 0.02) in flexion duration of the dominant joint and an ~1 s (p ≤ 0.02) increase in overall test duration as well as an ~18% (p = 0.03) increase in the lumbopelvic rhythm ratio near mid-range trunk flexion. For the military inspired tests, the immediate effects of body armor were an increase of ≥ 0.02 s (p ≤ 0.001) in temporal test durations and an increase of ~158 N (p = 0.01) box drop peak ground reaction force. Finally during the dynamometer testing, the BA condition was found to cause a greater reduction, ~10 N·m, in the maximum isometric strength of knee flexors (p = 0.04) and an increase (p ≤ 0.03) of strength ratios compared to the no armor condition. KEYWORD: Military Body Armor, Prolonged Walking, Performance, Risk of Injury, Military Ergonomics Megan P. Phillips Student’s Signature December 2, 2014 Date THE EFFECTS OF BODY ARMOR ON LOWER BACK AND KNEE BIOMECHANICS DURING BASIC AND MILITARY INSPIRED TASKS
Soft Inflatable Robots for Safe Physical Human Interaction

Robots that can operate in human environments in a safe and robust manner would be of great benefit to society, due to their immense potential for providing assistance to humans. However, robots have seen limited application outside of the industrial setting in environments such as homes and hospitals. We believe a very important factor preventing the cross over of robotic technology from the factory to the house is the issue of safety. The safety issue is usually bypassed in the industrial setting by separation of human and robot workspaces. Such a solution is clearly infeasible for robots that provide assistance to humans. This thesis aims to develop intrinsically safe robots that are suitable for providing assistance to humans. We believe intrinsic safety is important in physical human robot interaction because unintended interactions will occur between humans and robots due to: (a) sharing of workspace, (b) hardware failure (computer crashes, actuator failures), (c) limitations on perception, and (d) limitations on cognition. When such unintended interactions are very fast (collisions), they are beyond the bandwidth limits of practical controllers and only the intrinsic safety characteristics of the system govern the interaction forces that occur. The effects of such interactions with traditional robots could range from persistent discomfort to bone fracture to even serious injuries. Therefore robots that serve in the application domain of human assistance should be able to function with a high tolerance for unintended interactions. This calls for a new design paradigm where operational safety is the primary concern and task accuracy/precision though important are secondary. In this thesis, we address this new design paradigm by developing robots that have a soft inflat-
Cultural impact on e-service use in Saudi Arabia: The role of nepotism

This paper reports the results of a mixed method approach to answer: To what extent do cultural values impact on e-service use in Saudi Arabia, and if so how? This paper will firstly, introduce the importance of culture and define the aspects of Saudi culture. It will then describe the method used and present the questionnaire findings related to the role of nepotism. The review of the literature on nepotism indicates there is still much to be studied and learned. The legal aspects of nepotism, in addition to its impact on human resource management appear to be the more reported issues. However, nepotism’s impact on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has not been studied. This research aims to cover this gap by investigating to what extent nepotism, as one of Saudi Arabia’s cultural values, impacts on e-service use in Saudi Arabia. The tested hypothesis was found consistent with its predicted outcome: nepotism is a negative predictor of intention to use e- services in Saudi Arabia. It is evidenced that consideration of the impact of the cultural values will mainly contribute to the enhancement of social and organisational aspects of e-society research and practices, by deeply understanding them as of the influntials to e-service implementation.
The Role of Diffuse Electron Precipitation in the Formation of Subauroral Polarization Streams

The role of diffuse electron precipitation in the formation of subauroral polarization streams (SAPS) is investigated with the Multiscale Atmosphere‐Geospace Environment (MAGE) model. Diffuse precipitation is derived from the distribution of drifting electrons. SAPS manifest themselves as a separate mesoscale flow channel in the duskside ionosphere, which gradually merges with the primary auroral convection toward dayside as the equatorward auroral boundary approaches the poleward Region‐2 field‐aligned currents (FACs) boundary. SAPS expand to lower latitudes and toward the nightside during the main phase of a geomagnetic storm, associated with magnetotail earthward plasma flows building up the ring current and intensifying Region‐2 FACs and electron precipitation. SAPS shrink poleward and sunward as the interplanetary magnetic field turns northward. When diffuse precipitation is turned off in a controlled MAGE simulation, ring current and duskside Region‐2 FACs become weaker, but subauroral zonal ion drifts are still comparable to auroral convection. However, subauroral and auroral convection manifest as a single broad flow channel without showing any mesoscale structure. SAPS overlap with the downward Region‐2 FACs equatorward of diffuse precipitation, where poleward electric fields are strong due to a low conductance in the subauroral ionosphere. The Region‐2 FACs extend to latitudes lower than the diffuse precipitation because the ring current protons penetrate closer to the Earth than the electrons do. This study reproduces the key physics of SAPS formation and their evolution in the coupled magnetosphere‐ionosphere during a geomagnetic storm. Diffuse electron precipitation is demonstrated to play a critical role in determining SAPS location and structure.