Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Replication and Adaptation of Incentivized Peer Outreach: From Tuberculosis in India to COVID-19 in Zambia

We replicate the test of a theoretical framework put forward and tested by Goldberg et al. (2022) on financial incentives to send peers information about health behaviors. The study we replicate validated the theory in the context of tuberculosis testing in India. We adapt the intervention to preventative COVID-19-related behaviors in Zambia. Similar to the India study, individuals respond favorably to the suggestion to pass messages to peers;however, unlike in India, financial incentives neither generate further passing of messages nor cause changes in health behaviors. We discuss the contextual differences that may explain why key results failed to replicate.
A Hybrid Spiking Recurrent Neural Network on Hardware for Efficient Emotion Recognition

In recent years, neuromorphic engineering based on spiking neural networks (SNNs) for real-time and low-power artificial intelligence (AI) tasks has attracted a lot of interest. However, most of the previous implementations on hardware of these algorithms concentrate on traditional feedforward fully-connected/convolutional neural network (CNNs) architectures which are used for vision image processing. Their applications in temporal text tasks using recurrent neural networks (RNNs) is less discussed. In this paper, we point out main difficulties of RNNs implementation on conventional neuromorphic systems and propose a hardware-oriented spiking RNN architecture for emotion recognition, which absorbs the external dynamics of traditional RNN and internal dynamics of SNN. Experimental results on two emotion recognition datasets show our spiking RNNs achieve comparable accuracies with other deep learning models and efficient run-time performance.
Ethnic Diversity and Inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa: Do Institutions Reduce the Noise?

Studies on the causes of income differences between the rich and the poor have received an extensive attention in the inequality empirics. While ethnic diversity has also been identified as one of the fundamental causes of income inequality, the role of institutions as a mediating factor in the ethnicity-inequality nexus has not received the scholarly attention it deserves. To this end, this study complements the existing literature by investigating the extent to which institutional framework corrects the noisy influence originating from the nexus between “ethnic diversity” and inequality in 26 sub-Saharan African countries for the period 1996–2015. The empirical evidence is based on pooled OLS, fixed effects and system GMM estimators. The main findings reveal that the mediating influences of institutional settings are defective, thus making it extremely difficult to modulate the noisy impacts of ethno-linguistic and religious heterogeneity on inequality. In addition, the negative influences orchestrated by ethno-linguistic and religious diversities on inequality fail to attenuate the impact of income disparity even when interacted with institutions. On the policy front, institutional reforms tailored toward economic, political and institutional governances should be targeted.
Open clusters in the Gaia-ESO Survey tracing the chemical history of the Milky Way

The Gaia-ESO Survey (GES) is a large public spectroscopic survey that aims at observing with FLAMES@VLT the main stellar components of our Galaxy. The study of the population of open clusters is one of the main objectives of GES. We present some results from the first 18 months of observations, among them, a preliminary view of the radial metallicity gradient as traced by open cluster data and a comparison of the chemical patterns of clusters located in different parts of the Galactic disk.
THE INFLUENCE OF BRAND AMBASSADOR JOE TASLIM AND TRUST IN SHOPEE INDONESIA’S PURCHASING DECISIONS

The purpose of this study is to see if there is a significant influence between Brand Ambassadors, Trust in Purchasing Decisions in students of Riau Islamic University. The sample in this study was a student of Riau Islamic University who had worked at Shopee Indonesia and knew that one of Shopee Indonesia's Brand Ambassadors was Joe Taslim as many as 100 respondents with the Lemeshow formula (1997). The sampling technique in this study used Porpusive Sampling and Snowball Sampling Techniques. Methods for data processing using data collection scale techniques, Multiple Liner Regerence, Determination Efficiency, Partial T test, and simultaneous test F. From the results of the tests that have been carried out, it can be shown that the Brand Ambassador has a positive and significant effect on the purchase decision, Trust has a positive and significant effect on the purchase decision, and the Brand Ambassador and Trust have a positive and significant influence on the purchase decision.
Determinants of Information Security Awareness and Behaviour Strategies in Public Sector Organizations among Employees

—In this digital era, protecting an organisation's sensitive information system assets against cyberattacks is challenging. Globally, organisations spend heavily on information security (InfoSec) technological countermeasures. Public and private sectors often fail to secure their information assets because they depend primarily on technical solutions. Human components create the bulk of cybersecurity incidents directly or indirectly, causing many organisational information security breaches. Employees' information security awareness (ISA) is crucial to preventing poor information security behaviours. Until recently, there was little combined information on how to improve ISA and how investigated factors influencing employees' ISA levels were. This paper proposed a comprehensive theoretical model based on the Protection Motivation Theory, the Theory of Planned Behaviour, the General Deterrence Theory, and Facilitating Conditions for assessing public sector employees' ISA intentions for information security behaviour. Using a survey and the structural equation modelling (SEM) method, this research reveals that the utilised factors are positively associated with actual information security behaviour adoption, except for perceived sanction certainty. The findings suggest that the three theories and facilitating conditions provide the most influential theoretical framework for explaining public sector employees' information security adoption behaviour. These findings support previous empirical research on why employees' information on security behaviours vary. Consistent with earlier research, these psychological factors are just as critical as facilitating conditions in ensuring more significant behavioural intention to engage in ISA activities, ensuring information security behaviour. The study recommends that public-sector organisations invest in their employees' applied information security training.
Impact of Diffusion–Perfusion Mismatch on Predicting Final Infarction Lesion Using Deep Learning

We report a study that validates the impact of diffusion-perfusion mismatch in a deep learning (DL) model predicting the final infarction lesion from baseline magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). From 472 consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke, we gathered baseline and follow-up MRI having intervals of 3–7 days, and initial and final infarction lesions were segmented. Four U-Net-based DL models from baseline MRI with different combinations of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), perfusion-weighted imaging (PWI) maps, and initial diffusion-restricted lesion prediction map ( $\text {Pred}_{\text {init}}$ map) were trained to predict the final infarction lesion. Five-fold cross-validation was used for training and testing. As an external test set, 55 patients from another institution were analyzed. Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) was compared between the models and subgroups according to the presence of lesion growth and/or diffusion-perfusion mismatch. The model using the PWI maps and $\text {Pred}_{\text {init}}$ map showed the best mean DSC (0.422 and 0.486 for internal and external test set, respectively). This model showed better performance in predicting rapid lesion growth compared with the baseline model (mean DSC difference, 0.040; 95% confidence interval: 0.018–0.062). Using the PWI map with initial diffusion-restricted lesion prediction improved the performance of DL model in predicting the final infarction lesion from baseline MRI.
Swift transition and knowledge cycling

The prominent shifts towards greater flexibility in work arrangements as well as in organizational forms have had profound effects on the labor market for engineers, and given rise to the technical consulting industry. The technical consulting firm is becoming increasingly important in many technology-based industries, as a growing number of technology-based firms rely on technical consulting firms to produce their outputs. In that respect, the technical consulting firm is an important actor for the organization and development of engineering knowledge, as well as for the transfer of knowledge to and among technology-based firms. However, despite its growing importance, the technical consulting firm has received scant scholarly attention. Hence, the purpose of this thesis is to enhance the understanding of the roles of the technical consulting firm and the technical consultants for the transfer of knowledge among problem-solving contexts and client
Evaluating the Intercropping of Millet with Cowpea for Forage Yield and Quality

A field study was scheduled to estimate the impact of intercropping of pearl millet with cowpea on forage yield and quality at Agronomy Research Farm, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. It was done in kharif season 2016. Randomized complete block design was used to conduct this experiment. It has three replications. The size of net plot is 3.6 m × 6 m. It comprised of five treatments (T1 = one row of millet alternating with one row of cowpea (1M:1C), T2 = two rows of millet alternating with one row of cowpea (2M:1C), T3 = one row of millet alternating with two rows of cowpea (1M:2C), T4 = sole millet, T5 = sole cowpea). We found that intercropping significantly effected the yield and quality of forage. Intercropping system had significant effects on nutritive value of forage crop. Within various treatments of intercropping, it is evident that treatment T2 (two rows of millet alternating with one row of cowpea) gives maximum total dry matter yield (9.68 t ha-1). It was then tracked by treatment T1 (one row of millet alternating with one row of cowpea) and treatment T3 (one row of millet alternating with two rows of cowpea) producing dry matter yield (9.07 t ha-1 and 8.33 t ha-1, respectively). Based on high grain and suitable environmental condition, intercrop productivity compared to sole crop could be selected for improving the productivity of millet/cowpea mixture in the Punjab.
Optimal interface error estimates for the mean curvature flow

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Evaporation progress of macroscopic-scale droplets on heated substrates

Evaporation progress of a macroscopic-scale sessile droplet with the pinned triple line on heated isothermal substrates has been experimentally investigated in the terrestrial gravity, in order to study the interface effect, heat and mass transfer behaviours during the phase change process. The experiments were carried out in a closed chamber in which the environment temperature and pressure were regulated. The contact radius, liquid volume and contact angle during evaporating were observed to study the influence of the gravity effect on the drop shape. The instant evaporation rate was calculated and compared with the theoretical prediction to analyse the coupling influence of diffusion and thermal convection. The effect of substrate temperature on the heat flux were also focused on. It was found that the evolution of heat flux density could be separated into four stages, began with the rapid increase and warm up, then switched to the long-time stable stage and ended up with the final rapid decrease stage.
Survey on usage of single use plastic bags in Nepal

The rapid urbanization and economic growth have caused increase of plastic products globally. The least developed countries (LDCs) have been facing severe problems with solid waste due to lack of people’s awareness, lack of skilled manpower to handle waste and necessary equipment to manage in sustainable manner. Nepal, a LDC in South Asia, lacks source segregation leading the maximum plastic items reaching to the landfill site. It is even difficult for the planning authorities to make effective plans for sustainable management of plastic waste due to lack of waste generation data. Nepal has made many rules and directives to ban plastic bags till date but has failed in its implementation. This study is the first of its kind to capture the perception of youths towards single use bags in Nepal. This study was conducted among 569 Nepalese youths of age between 18-40 years. A closed ended self-administered questionnaire was distributed among the respondents and responses were collected for three weeks. The questionnaire was prepared using google form and distributed via Facebook. A snowball method was used where the respondents were asked to share the questionnaire in their network. It was found that majority of Nepalese youths have been practicing the source segregation at their houses. The use of single use plastic is very common in Nepal with an individual using at least 208 plastic bags in a year. The gender and source segregation of waste was statistically significant with p-value of 0.02 (<0.05). The main reason of using plastic bags was its easy availability. There is lack of alterative to the plastic bags in Nepal. However, the youths are ready to support the government plastic ban policy and have asked the alternatives to the plastic bags. The result has shown that the Nepalese people have negative perception towards single use plastics and are in search of alternatives. The government need to implement heavy penalty for producing plastic bags greater than 30 micron and deploy tax with shop keepers and customer if found using it.
Normal forms of real surfaces under unimodular transformations near elliptic complex tangents

in which q(zi, ) is a convergent power series in z and l starting with the terms of the third order. The 7 in (1.1) is a unimodular invariant and I1 is the Bishop invariant [1]. The complex tangent is said to be elliptic, parabolic, or hyperbolic according to 0 < I1 < 1/2, I11/2 or 1/2 < I1 < . In [4], J. K. Moser and S. M. Webster investigated systematically the normal forms of real analytic surfaces in the form (1.1) under the biholomorphic change of coordinates. The problem of normal forms of real analytic surfaces under holomorphic unimodular transformations was further studied in [2], where the Moser-Webster normal form played an important role. In particular, it was shown that a real analytic surface near an elliptic complex tangent with nonvanishing Bishop invariant can be transformed into a normal form under holomorphic unimodular transformations. In this paper, we discuss the normal form of surfaces near an elliptic complex tangent with y 0.
Pregabalin improves axon regeneration and motor outcome in a rodent stroke model

Abstract Ischaemic stroke remains a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Surviving neurons in the peri-infarct area are able to establish novel axonal projections to juxtalesional regions, but this regeneration is curtailed by a growth-inhibitory environment induced by cells such as reactive astrocytes in the glial scar. Here, we found that the astroglial synaptogenic cue thrombospondin-1 is upregulated in the peri-infarct area, and hence tested the effects of the anticonvulsant pregabalin, a blocker of the neuronal thrombospondin-1 receptor Alpha2delta1/2, in a mouse model of cortical stroke. Studying axonal projections after cortical stroke in mice by three-dimensional imaging of cleared whole-brain preparations, we found that pregabalin, when administered systemically for 5 weeks after stroke, augments novel peri-infarct motor cortex projections and improves skilled forelimb motor function. Thus, the promotion of axon elongation across the glial scar by pregabalin represents a promising target beyond the acute phase after stroke to improve structural and functional recovery.
High-circulating gut microbiota-dependent metabolite trimethylamine N-oxide is associated with poor prognosis in pulmonary arterial hypertension

Abstract Aims We aimed to examine the hypothesis that circulating trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) levels serve as a biomarker in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), and to determine whether 3,3-dimethyl-1-butanol (DMB), a TMAO inhibitor, exerted a protective effect in monocrotaline (MCT)-induced PAH rats. Methods and results In-patients with PAH were prospectively recruited from the Fuwai Hospital. Fasting blood samples were obtained to assess the TMAO levels and other laboratory values during the initial and second hospitalization. In a MCT-induced PAH rat, a normal diet and water supplemented with or without 1% DMB were administered for 4 weeks. The TMAO levels, haemodynamic examinations, changes in organ-tissue, and molecular levels were evaluated. In total, 124 patients with PAH were enrolled in this study. High TMAO levels were correlated with increased disease severity and poor prognosis even after adjusting for confounders. The TMAO levels in the rats decreased in the MCT + DMB group, accompanied by improved haemodynamic parameters, decreased right ventricular hypertrophy, and amelioration of pulmonary vascular remodelling. The decrease in abnormal apoptosis, excessive cell proliferation, transforming growth factor-β expression, and restoration of endothelial nitric oxide synthase after DMB treatment further explained the amelioration of PAH. Conclusion Increased TMAO levels were associated with poor prognosis in patients with PAH, and DMB played a protective effect in MCT-induced PAH rat.
Intra-Subject Variability in Mathematical Learning Difficulties

Objective: Mathematical learning difficulties (MLD) are characterized by difficulties in the understanding and processing of numbers and quantities. While MLD is related mainly to numerical deficits, studies show that this population has several other cognitive difficulties. The current study examined whether the cognitive deficits consisting of cognitive instability in the form of intra-subject variability (ISV) will also characterize the performance of individuals with MLD. Method: Female adults with MLD and a matched control group performed numerical and non-numerical tasks and various ISV measures were compared between the two groups. Results: Overall, the results showed that participants with MLD had higher ISV measures, including SD, sigma, and tau, only when performing numerical tasks. Conclusions: It appears that the cognitive system of MLD participants is less consistent and noisier when performing these numerical tasks. However, this inconsistency is not a general deficiency but rather a numerically specific one, as this inconsistency does not seem to characterize the performance of individuals with MLD in tasks that do not involve numerical processing. These findings have unique importance for understanding the difficulties characterizing individuals with MLD and possible future interventions.
A Generalized Model of Nonlinear Dynamics in Combined Frequency-Amplitude Modulators

Research in the area of communications systems, and more in general in the field of information theory, is constantly pursued since new physical mechanisms for the excitation of stable microwave oscillations, such as those based on spin-transfer effects, have been demonstrated to be feasible, demanding in turn for a deeper understanding of the underlying nonlinear dynamics. Here we formulate a generalized theoretical model to describe the behavior of combined frequency-amplitude modulators whose characteristic parameters exhibit a nonlinear dependence on the input modulating signal. The derived analytical solution may give a satisfactory explanation of recent laboratory observations on magnetic oscillators, indicating that those dynamics cannot be ascribed to a pure frequency modulation process. The model agrees with results of micromagnetic calculations. Because the theory has been developed independently of the mechanism causing the nonlinearities, it encompasses the description of modulation processes occurring in analog modulators of any physical nature.
Mathematical Model of Ball Lightning \\ Математическая модель шаровой молнии

Based on the Maxwell's equations and on the understanding of the electrical conductivity of the body of ball lightning, a mathematical model of ball lightning is built; the structure of the electromagnetic field and of electric current in it is shown. Next it is shown (as a consequence of this model) that in a ball lightning the flow of electromagnetic energy can circulate and thus the energy obtained by a ball lightning when it occurs can be saved. Sustainability, luminescence, charge, time being, the mechanism of formation and physical modeling of ball lightning are briefly discussed. \\ На основе уравнений Максвелла и представления об электропроводности тела шаровой молнии строится математическая модель шаровой молнии, показывается структура электромагнитного поля и электротоков в ней. Далее показывается (как следствие этой модели), что в шаровой молнии может циркулировать поток электромагнитной энергии и таким образом может сохраняться энергия, полученная шаровой молнией при ее возникновении. Кратко рассматриваются также устойчивость, свечение, заряд, время существования, механизм образования, физическое моделирование шаровой молнии.
Optical activity in extrinsically chiral metamaterial

We demonstrate optical activity in an intrinsically non-chiral anisotropic planar metamaterial. The phenomenon is due to extrinsic chirality resulting from the mutual orientation of the metamaterial structure and the incident electromagnetic wave. The polarization effect, which has a resonant nature, features a spectral band where linear birefringence is practically absent and can be easily tuned by tilting the plane of the metamaterial relative to the incident beam.