Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rapid Assessment of Indirect Effect of Handwashing Campaign during COVID 19 Risk Communication and Community Engagement on Diarrhoea and Respiratory Illness among Children under Five in Jijiga Town of Somali Region of Ethiopia

Aims: Diarrhoea and pneumonia are serious global public health problems affecting child survival especially in the developing countries. The study aimed to assess the indirect effect of hand washing campaign during COVID risk communication and community engagement on diarrhoea and respiratory infection among children under five. Study Design: This was both cross sectional survey and retrospective chart review. Place and Duration of Study: Jijiga Town of Somali Region, Ethiopia between November 2019 and 30 th June 2020. Original Research Article Oladeji et al.; JAMMR, 32(19): 11-19, 2020; Article no.JAMMR. 61246 12 Methodology: Handwashing practices among the households and the reported number of diarrhoea and acute respiratory infection in the District Health Information System (DHIS) database 4 months before and 4 months during COVID 19 risk communication handwashing campaign was assessed and paired t test used to determine the effect of the campaign on diarrhoea and respiratory illness at a significant level of 5%. Results: 255(44%) of the 580 households had basic hand washing facilities, however 171 (67.1%) of the 255 households with hand washing facilities demonstrated appropriate hand washing techniques. The percentage mean reduction in the number of children under five treated for acute respiratory infection and diarrhoea before and during the campaign was 6.49% and 11.5% though not statistically significant with p value = 0.778 and 0.3952 respectively. Conclusion: The study reaffirmed the effect of proper hand washing practices on the reduction of episodes of diarrhoea and acute respiratory infection among children which ultimately will contribute to reducing child mortality and shows that COVID interventions and investment could be used to support and strengthen non COVID routine health services.
Enhanced biological phosphorus removal in membrane bioreactors

Enhanced biological phosphorus removal (Bio-P) in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) promises several advantages but was never attempted as not compatible with high sludge ages. This article includes description and results of bench-scale investigations on Bio-P removal in an MBR. An MBR bench-scale plant (210 L) was operated in parallel to a conventional WWTP under comparable process conditions. The results show that Bio-P removal is possible in MBR. The effluent qualities of the plants were comparable. The effluent P-concentration was always lower than 0.2 mg PT/L. In the MBR bench-scale plant P-uptake occurred mainly in the anoxic zone. Investigations with P-spiking showed higher Bio-P potential as P-removal increased up to 20-25 mg/L while P/TS rose up to >6%.
Static infographics effects on the receptive knowledge of idiomatic expressions

Idiomatic expressions are essential components of EFL learners’ linguistic repertoire. Nevertheless, learning such inherently perplexing language constructs poses a challenge to learners. Therefore, the present study was motivated by examining a modern tool (infographics) that is relatively under-researched in EFL settings and potentially conducive to fruitful vocabulary learning. Grounded in dual coding (DCT) and cognitive load (CLT) theories, this study aims to examine the effectiveness of visualizing English idioms via static infographics. Data were collected using three instruments (a pre-/post-test, an attitude questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews) in a mixed-method design. The participants consisted of 78 Arabic speaking students at a Saudi university. Divided equally into two groups, these participants were instructed to learn 60 idioms in five computer-mediated sessions. Students in the control group studied the target idioms via online texts, whereas those in the experimental group studied them via online static infographics. The findings show that despite the significant increase in the post-test scores of both groups, the treatment group outperformed the control group as indicated by the statistically significant difference in scores. Consequently, the findings signify a high potential of static infographics to foster receptive knowledge of idioms. Moreover, the participants show positive attitudes toward the utility of static infographics on learning idioms. Meanwhile, the qualitative findings reveal a number of compelling factors induced by productive constituents and adequate content of the infographics. Those factors are conducive to effective learning and retention, triggering motivation and interests, promoting autonomous and efficient learning, and attracting learners’ attention.
PRINCIPALS' LEADERSHIP STYLES AND BUSINESS STUDIES TEACHERS' PRODUCTIVITY IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN AWKA EDUCATION ZONE, ANAMBRA STATE

The study was carried out to ascertain the principals' leadership style and business studies teachers' productivity in secondary schools in Awka education zone, Anambra State. Four research questions guided the study and two null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. A correlation research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study consisted of 427(122 principals and 305 business studies teachers) who have worked for more than five years in their respective institutions in South - East Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by three experts in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The reliability of the instru ment was ensured using pilot test technique Data collected were analyzed with Cronbach Alpha reliability to ascertain the internal consistency of the questionnaire items and the computation yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.86. Data related to the res earch questions 1 and 2 were analyzed using mean and standard deviation while research questions 3 and 4 with the null hypotheses were analyzed using Pearson Product Moment correlation analysis to test the degree of relationship at 0.05 level of significan ce. Findings revealed that there is a negligible negative relationship between principals' transformational leadership style and productivity of business studies teachers and a significant positive relationship between principals transactional leadership s tyle and productivity of business studies teachers in secondary schools in Awka education zone, Anambra State. It was also recommended that principals should adopt a transactional leadership style rather than transformational styles to enhance business stu dies teachers' motivation consistently and efficiently; which will in turn generate higher quality performance on the employees' part and boost educational performance among others.
Shall We Talk? The Role of Interactive Investor Platforms in Corporate Communication

Between 2010 and 2017, Chinese investors used an online platform to ask publicly-listed firms over 2.5 million questions, the vast majority of which received a reply from management within two weeks. Our analyses show that: (a) most questions reflect difficulties in integrating information that is already in the public domain; (b) the level of platform activity varies by market condition and company performance; and (c) higher platform activities are associated with decreases in firms’ cost-of-capital and increases in their market liquidity. Collectively, our results suggest interactive investor platforms (IIPs) can mitigate information processing costs and improve market price formation.
Gold Nanoparticles for Stem Cell Delivery in Myocardial Infarction: Analysis of Toxicity and Development of a Cell Culture Platform for use in an In-Vitro model of MI-associated Ischemia/Reperfusion

In this work, the potential for PEGylated gold nanoparticles for use as a platform for stem cell delivery in treatment of myocardial infarction (MI) is preliminarily investigated. Cardiovascular disease is currently the leading cause of death worldwide, with majority of mortality resulting from coronary artery disease and associated MI. The ensuing ischemic conditions resulting from MI cause substantial heart muscle tissue loss and scarring in the heart. Adverse tissue remodeling creates a significant loss in heart function that can result in the formation of cardiac hypertrophy, ventricular dilation and arrythmias. The long-term prognosis of patients who have suffered MI is poor, with conditions developing into chronic heart failure. Nanotechnology based stem cell delivery could be used as a novel method to alleviate these conditions. The heart possesses poor regenerative capacity and the ability to deliver stem cells to the infarcted myocardium has already been shown to return limited functionality to the heart. Current methods, although promising have yet to show significant long-term results improving patient prognosis. Herein we present a novel idea for the use of gold nanoparticles as a means of directing stem cell delivery in-vivo through targeted and specific delivery with the hopes of improving patient conditions over current methodologies. The work involved in this THESIS is related to the establishment of protocols, investigation into particle toxicity, and the development of a perfusion bioreactor system capable of testing such a platform in-vitro.
Rules, Institutions, or Both? Estimating the Drivers of Telecommunication Investment in Latin America

This paper analyzes the link between regulation, institutions, and telecommunications investment in Latin America. The investment levels of the region lag behind those of advanced economies and are impeding substantial progress on digital transformation. Using a database built for this analysis, which covers nearly 90% of Latin American countries for 2007-2017, we confirm the relevance of regulatory and institutional frameworks to explain investment trends in the sector. We also show that a “good” institutional quality contributes significantly to counteract partially a “bad” regulatory environment, and vice versa. Moreover, their impact is significantly stronger when good regulation and institutions interact, suggesting that joint reforms to improve institutions and the regulatory environment would pay off. In particular, improving cybersecurity and piracy control regulation, and fighting corruption and undue influence stand out as the priorities to increase telecommunication investment in Latin America.
Genotyping of Vibrio cholera for Virulence Factors in Diwaniyah City - Iraq

Cholera is one of the most important epidemic diseases globally. It is causing of morbidity and mortality in the world. Severe watery diarrhea causes a composite process involving several component that help them reach the lining of the small intestine, form colonies and generate bacterial toxins. This survey was carried out to discover the genetic patterns of clinical isolates according to the presence or absence of toxic genes for the city of Diwaniyah in southern Iraq. Sixty isolates were isolated from patients with cholera. The isolates included the center of the city and the surrounding rural areas. Biochemical and serological diagnosis. All the isolates were V. cholera serogroup O 1 of the serotyping Ogawa in biotype El Tor. Genetic testing was carried out using PCR technique and base on the presence or absence of toxin genes. Three genotypes were identified for the region.
Prevalence, healthcare costs and management of non-communicable diseases in people living with human immunodeficiency virus: A scoping review

Background Coexistence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is an important public health issue of increasing concern. However, the prevalence, healthcare costs and management protocols for NCDs in people living with HIV (PLHIV) remain unclear in most settings. Aim To scope evidence on prevalence, healthcare costs and disease management protocols associated with NCDs in PLHIV from studies published before July 2019. Methods Electronic databases were searched for published articles, and reference lists were checked for relevant studies. Key terms included were HIV/AIDS, co-morbidity or multi-morbidity, NCDs, healthcare costs, treatment protocols, diabetes mellitus, hypertension in various combinations. Results A total of 152 records were assessed, and thereafter 25 studies were included in the final review after all the elimination. Twelve of the 25 studies mostly reported prevalence of NCDs in PLHIV, 4 reported impact of HIV–NCD co-morbidity on healthcare costs and 1 reported management protocols and capacity of antiretroviral therapy (ART) sites to manage HIV–NCD co-morbidity. Conclusions Results showed higher prevalence rates of diabetes mellitus and hypertension in PLHIV compared with HIV-negative people. However, there was inconsistency in NCD prevalence data from studies conducted in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, and limited research evidence on capacity of ART sites to manage NCDs in PLHIV. Low prevalence rates of NCDs reported in SSA countries could be an indication of limited capacity to screen for NCDs because of the influence of health system and/or patient-level factors. Most studies were generally limited to cross-sectional studies, with very few interventional, longitudinal studies.
RCTs in Development Economics, Their Critics and Their Evolution

The use of RCTs in development economics has attracted a consistent drumbeat of criticism, but relatively little response from so-called randomistas (other than a steadily increasing number of practitioners and papers). Here I systematize the critiques and discuss the difficulty in responding directly to them. Then I apply prominent RCT critic Lant Pritchett’s PDIA framework to illustrate how the RCT movement has been responsive to the critiques if not to the critics through a steady evolution of practice. Finally, I assess the current state of the RCT movement in terms of impact and productivity. * Thanks to Jonathan Morduch, David McKenzie, Lant Pritchett and Isabelle Guerin for helpful discussions in developing this chapter, as well as the participants in the AFD Workshop Randomized Control Trials in the Field of Development: The Gold Standard Revisited (Paris, March 2019). Also thanks to Cynthia Kinnan, Jessica Goldberg, Johannes Haushaufer, Cyrus Samii, and Bruce Wydick for helpful pointers, and the three editors of the book, Florent Bédécarrats, Isabelle Guérin, and François Roubaud, for valuable comments and discussions.
The relationship between social media use, eating attitude and body mass index among nutrition and dietetic female students: A cross-sectional study

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between media using habits, frequency and duration, and body mass index on eating attitudes. Material and methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted with female students who received nutrition and dietetics education in Istanbul. A questionnaire consisting of a socio-demographic questionnaire, Eating Attitude Test (EAT-40), and Social Media Attitude Scale was applied to 1248 female volunteers by the face-to-face interview method.Results: It was found that 35.7% of the participants had abnormal eating attitudes and 89.6% showed a positive attitude towards social media. 93.7% of the group with abnormal eating attitudes indicated a positive attitude towards social media, 0.4% had a negative attitude and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.001). It was observed that a significant difference between EAT-40 and thought of an eating problem, having a social media membership, and spending time on social media (p<0.05). Conclusions: Social media have an effect on nutrition dietetics students on abnormal eating attitude; it did not show a significant effect on BMI.
Shelf-life of fresh-cut pears processed after harvest and storage in controlled atmosphere

The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of different agents on shelf-life of fresh-cut pears Packham’s Triumph variety. Treatments were obtained with pear fruits after harvest and after six months of controlled atmosphere storage. Colour and texture measurements, as well as visual evaluation of untreated and samples treated with different agents, during sixteen days of storage at 4 °C, were carried out. Fresh-cut pear slices were dipped for 2 minutes in water solution of hydrogen peroxide (HP), potassium sorbate (PS), ascorbic acid (AA), calcium ascorbate (CA), sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP), calcium chloride (CC), and combinations of AA with SHMP (2 % AA + 1 % SHMP, 2 % AA + 2 % SHMP, 3 % AA + 1 % SHMP, 3 % AA + 2 % SHMP) and calcium chloride (2 % AA + 0.2 % CaCl2, 3 % AA + 0.2 % CaCl2). The shelf-life of fresh-cut pears (prepared from pears after harvest) could be prolonged, depending on treatment, on about 12 to 16 days (the best treatment was 2 % AA + 0.2 % CaCl2). Shelf-life of samples, prepared from fruit stored in controlled atmosphere for 6 months was approximately 8 days, except for samples treated with 1 % calcium ascorbate (12 days). Addition of calcium (calcium ascorbate) significantly prevented tissue breakdown of samples during storage at 4 °C. Quality of minimally processed fruits depends on fruit (raw material) quality during prolonged storage.
BOLD activity during emotion reappraisal positively correlates with dietary self-control success

We combined established emotion regulation and dietary choice tasks with fMRI to investigate behavioral and neural associations in self-regulation across the two domains in human participants. We found that increased BOLD activity during the successful reappraisal of positive and negative emotional stimuli was associated with dietary self-control success. This cross-task correlation was present in medial and lateral prefrontal cortex as well as the striatum. In contrast, BOLD activity during the food choice task was not associated with self-reported emotion regulation efficacy. These results suggest that neural processes utilized during the reappraisal of emotional stimuli may also facilitate dietary choices that override palatability in favor of healthfulness. In summary, our findings indicate that the neural systems supporting emotion reappraisal can generalize to other behavioral contexts that require reevaluation of rewarding stimuli and outcomes to promote choices that conform with the current goal.
Effects of constant and fluctuating temperatures on development and reproduction of Megoura crassicauda and Aphis craccivora (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

The influence of fluctuating temperatures on the development and fecundity of two aphids, Megoura crassicauda Mordvilko and Aphis craccivora Koch, were determined by collecting life table data at a constant temperature (22 °C) and two fluctuating temperatures (22 ± 3 °C and 22 ± 5 °C). The longevity of M. crassicauda decreased significantly at 22 ± 3 °C and 22 ± 5 °C, while there was no significant difference in the longevity of A. craccivora among the three treatments. The fecundity and intrinsic rate of increase (r) of M. crassicauda decreased significantly at both fluctuating temperatures, while A. craccivora showed the opposite tendency. These results showed that the fluctuating temperatures had negative impacts on the life history traits of M. crassicauda, but were beneficial for A. craccivora. Data obtained under constant temperatures may not reveal accurately enough the biotic responses of pests in the field.
How Strategic Conformity Interacts with Innovation: An Empirical Study on Korean Manufacturing Firms from the Perspective of Optimal Distinctiveness

Whether to have a similar or different strategy than firms in same industry is the fundamental question for firms that want to build a competitive advantage. Recent literature, such as the new institutional theory and the perspective of optimal distinctiveness, has emphasized the configuration of competing forces that make firms simultaneously similar by conforming to industry norms and different by implementing innovation, leading to high performance. The primary rationale is that firms can exploit their high status of conformity as a stock of capital to differentiate themselves when required. Upon this rationale, we conducted research to test the hypotheses for optimal distinctiveness in the strategies of manufacturing firms in Korea. The results show that Korean firms have higher performance when they are mutually involved in higher conformity and innovation. It also suggests that firms in the industry with high volatility have difficulties in managing optimal distinctiveness of strategic conformity with innovation.
Winter use of wet pine savannas by Yellow Rail (Coturnicops noveboracensis) along coastal Alabama and Mississippi

ABSTRACT With the exception of sites along coastal Texas, southeast Oklahoma, and coastal South Carolina, the winter distribution and abundance of Yellow Rail (Coturnicops noveboracensis) is poorly understood. Along the northern Gulf Coast region, winter occurrence is suspected based on a scattered collection of museum specimens and anecdotal observations, although the extent of this species' distribution is uncertain. To address this lack of information, we performed systematic rope-dragging surveys at night targeting Yellow Rails at 17 wet pine savanna patches (size range 1.9–83.3 ha) and one high salt marsh site (13.1 ha) located along coastal Alabama and Mississippi during the winter/spring seasons (Dec–Apr) of 2011–2013. For all sites combined, we flushed 123 Yellow Rails over 117.4 survey hours, yielding 1.0 rail/h. Of these, we captured and banded 61 rails (50%). The sex ratio for birds, discernable through morphometric measurements (n = 40 ind.), was ∼1:1 male-to-female. The relative abundance of Yellow Rails increased in relation to the size of the area surveyed and was higher at sites burned within 3 years. Across sites, each additional hour of survey effort increased the number of birds detected by 0.66 rails/h. Our findings indicate Yellow Rails overwinter in wet pine savanna habitats along the northern Gulf Coast region, providing additional information supporting the ecological importance of these dynamic coastal communities for this and other imperiled grassland obligate species.