Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Accidental Pathological Findings in Asymptomatic Maxillary Sinuses in Patients Referred for Head and Neck Cone-Beam Computed Tomography: A Cross-sectional Study Analysis

Background: The aim of the present study was to detect the prevalence of accidental pathological findings in asymptomatic maxillary sinuses in patients referred for head and neck cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) examination for varied reasons. Methods: The present cross-sectional study included a detailed analysis of CBCT scans of 150 patients aged between 18 and 70 years reporting for varied dental complaints for detecting accidental pathological findings in maxillary sinuses while the patients did not have any complaint pertaining to sinuses. Results: The findings of the present study revealed 58% patients to have pathological findings in maxillary sinuses while they were asymptomatic for sinuses. Furthermore, the prevalence of mucosal thickening was found in 29.3% of the patients while 36.7% patients presented with polypoidal mucosal thickening. Conclusion: Higher prevalence of pathologies in asymptomatic maxillary sinuses found in the present study emphasized significance of a thorough examination of routine dental patients by dento-maxillofacial radiologists with necessary investigations to be advised in the form of higher imaging modalities like CBCT, if necessary.
The Impact of Improving the Quality of the Port’s Infrastructure on the Shippers’ Decisions

Important attributes of a transportation chain are the costs of their operation, the security of supply they provide, and reducing carbon emissions throughout the chain. When making managerial decisions about the chain configuration, shippers consider the optimal choice of means of transport, carriers, or ports. Seaports, as transport nodes, determine the functioning of supply chains they serve. A constant process observed in the world shipping is the consistent increase in the average size of ships. Adapting the port and port access infrastructure to the changes observed in the world shipping is a prerequisite for maintaining the competitive position of the port, and consequently of the entire transport chain. Adequate hydrological conditions ensuring safe access to ports for increasingly larger ships are necessary for the stable functioning and development of a port and the entire region. For shippers, the certainty that the handling of larger vessels is assured regardless of any fluctuating hydro-meteorological conditions and temporary vessel entry permits is a guarantee of security of supply. This study aims to demonstrate the impact of fairway deepening on port-oriented supply chain costs and security of supply, as well as verification of the importance of these factors for cargo shippers' decision-making. The article used the case study method based on the port of Szczecin, for which the investment of deepening the fairway to 12.5 m is being implemented. The article estimates the transport costs of five transport chains served by the port of Szczecin. Our research showed that a 2.5 m increase in the permissible draught of ships results in a decrease of up to 25% in transport costs resulting mainly from the reduction in specific fuel consumption throughout the chain. The analysis of the results showed that a secondary benefit of deepening the fairway can change the structure of the port’s foreland. This conclusion was validated by means of in-depth interviews held with selected shippers cooperating with the port of Szczecin. An additional outcome of the interviews was identification of the remaining conditions that should be met to take full advantage of improved port accessibility. The research is the first step to broader studies assessing whether improving quality of port infrastructure can contribute to a reduction in emissions from ships in a port and thus facilitate the transition to zero-emission ports.
Observations on food and feeding habits of the common smooth hound shark, Mustelus mustelus in the Mediterranean Sea at Alexandria coast, Egypt

The present study aimed to provide information on the food and feeding of common smoothhound shark, Mustelus mustelus in Egyptian Mediterranean waters at Alexandria, Egypt. A total of 306 specimens of M. mustellus were monthly collected from the commercial catch at Alexandria coast of Mediterranean Sea, during June 2020 - May 2021. Results revealed that the annual average of feeding activity of the whole population of M. mustelus constitutes 65.40% of the total examined stomachs. According to season, the highest recorded feeding activity was noted during summer (73.86%) and spring (71.01%), and the lowest value (55.56%) occurred during winter. According to life stages, the annual average value of heavy, good, and medium stomachs constitutes 64.77%, 71.57% and 60.92% of the total examined stomachs in juveniles, sub-adult and adult fish, respectively. Results showed that M. mustelus is essentially a predator shark, consumed a wide range of aquatic food. The major recorded animal foods are crustaceans and fish. The other minor items included Mollusca and Nemertia. In the whole population of M. mustelus , crustaceans were the most preferred food items (52.58%) followed by fishes (33.53%); they displayed seasonal fluctuation in fish’s diet. The diet of the fish showed considerable variations in different-sized groups and during consecutive seasons within the same-sized group. This study concluded that Mustelus mustelus in the Egyptian Mediterranean waters at Alexandria is considered a moderately feeder active fish, with considerable differentiation in their diet during different life stages, and seasons.
The Mediating Effect of Audit Delay on the Relationship between Standard Audit Report and Firm’s Access to Finance: Evidence from Egypt

Firms are seeking different sources of finance to run their businesses and acquire more assets to grow and expand. To reach these sources of finance, firms try to convey positive messages to outsiders, related to their earnings quality, operations, and sustainability in the future. One of the most important messages might be in the form of high-quality audits. The objective of this research is to study and investigate how firms’ access to finance is affected by standard audit report in Egypt, and whether audit delay (or audit report lag interchangeably) mediates the relationship between standard audit report and firm’s access to finance. To fulfil the research objective and test the research hypotheses, a sample of 246 firm-year observations was selected from non-financial firms listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX hereafter) during the period from 2016 to 2019, and regression models were developed. Statistical results indicate that issuing financial statements, accompanied with standard audit report, will reduce capital constraints and lead to greater access to finance. Additionally, empirical evidence revealed that audit report lag mediates the relationship between standard audit report and firms’ access to finance. This research adds empirical evidence to the limited literature of audit quality, information asymmetry and financial constraints in developing countries. It provides valuable insights to financial managers and helps them to understand how capital providers respond to standard audit report content and audit report lag. Finally, this research will help finance seekers to understand the importance of offering timely financial information to access finance.
Value of Non-Invasive Scores and Modalities in Predicting the Presence of Esophageal Varices in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis

Background : Esophageal varices (EVs) represent the main complication of portal hypertension and carry a significant risk of morbidity and mortality. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) is the gold standard test for screening of esophageal varices in patients with cirrhosis, but many studies explored noninvasive modalities in order to overcome its cost and invasiveness. Objective : The aim of the current work was to assess the potential role of five non-invasive scoring systems/modalities (AST to platelet ratio index {APRI} score, ALT/AST ratio {AAR}, fibrosis – 4 {FIB-4} index, King’s score, and platelet count/ spleen diameter {PC/SD ratio}) in detection of esophageal varices in patients with liver cirrhosis. This prospective study according of patients with EVs. group II were further subdivided according to the grade of esophageal varices (EVs) into three subgroups. The following noninvasive scores and indices were calculated for all patients: APRI score, AAR, FIB-4 index, King’s score, and PC/SD ratio. Results : Among the five scores studied, AAR at a cut off value >0.88 showed the greatest sensitivity (86.49%) and accuracy (92.8 %), followed by PC/SD ratio at a cut off value <668.97 with an 86.49% sensitivity and 90.1% accuracy and FIB-4 index at a cut off value >5.1 with an 83.78% sensitivity and 90.1% accuracy. While the least sensitive scores were APRI and King’s score with a 70.27% and 67.57% sensitivity respectively. Conclusion : It could be concluded that AAR and PC/SD ratio are the most sensitive scores that can predict the presence of esophageal varices (EVs) in cirrhotic patients with acceptable accuracy. Being cheap and applicable they could be used as an initial screening tests to detect esophageal varices in patients with liver cirrhosis.
An efficient Hybrid approach for diagnosis High dimensional data for Alzheimer's diseases Using Machine Learning algorithms

: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most familiar type of dementia, a well-known term for memory loss and other cognitive disabilities. The disease is dangerous enough to interfere with ordinary life. Identifying AD in the early stages remains an extremely challenging task, meanwhile, the progression of it develops several years before observing any symptoms. The fundamental issue addressed during diagnosis is the high dimensionality of data. However, not all features are relevant for solving the problem, and sometimes, including some irrelevant ones may deteriorate the learning performance. Therefore, it is essential to do feature reduction by selecting the most relevant features. In this work
Thermal requirement of wheat crop in different agroclimatic regions of Punjab under climate change scenarios

The experiment was conducted at two zones of the Punjab state (i.e., Central plain zone, Ludhiana and South-Western zone, Bathinda) to study the phenological behaviour of wheat cultivars under different environments. The two wheat varieties, viz., V1: PBW 343 and V2: PBW 621, were evaluated under three sowing dates (D1: November 15, D2: November 25 and D3: December 5) and four irrigation levels I1 (irrigation at CRI, Jointing and Milking), I2 (irrigation at CRI, Tillering, Booting and Milking), I3 (irrigation at CRI, Tillering, Jointing, Booting and Milking) and I4 (irrigation according to weather forecast) during rabi 2011-12. The Growing Degree Days (GDD), Heliothermal units (HTU), Photo thermal units (PTU) and Heat use efficiency (HUE) were calculated. It was found that the wheat crop sown in central zone i.e., Ludhiana station acquired more number of days to reach physiological maturity and utilize heat more efficiently resulting in more grain yield as compared to south western zone i.e., Bathinda station grown wheat crop. The results also showed that the variety PBW 621 took significantly less time for initiation and completion of the various phenological stages than PBW 343. PBW 621 acquired less growing degree days, heliothermal units and photothermal units but was more efficient user of heat as compared to the variety PBW 343. The number of days required to attain different phenological stages decreased with late sowing condition. Irrigation levels failed to produce significant difference for days required for initiation and completion of various growth stages of crop as well as heat unit requirements for occurrence of the phenological events. It is concluded that timely sown crop exhibit best growth and yield as the favourable environmental conditions coincided with heat unit requirement of different phenophases of wheat in the central zone of Punjab.
Comparing SFA and DEA methods on measuring production efficiency for forest and paper companies

In this study, stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) and data envelope analysis (DEA) are introduced to measure and compare the technical efficiency scores for 79 forest and paper companies. To recognize the environmental effects on the DEA technical efficiency scores, the two-stage DEA was also applied in order to compare any differences in the rank order. The average technical efficiency scores were 0.788 and 0.706 by SFA and DEA, respectively. The highest average efficiency scores, using these two methods, were 0.884 and 0.919 in Japan, respectively. Moreover, the lowest average efficiency scores were 0.608 and 0.396 in Latin America. Although slight differences exist in the scores obtained from these two methods, the highest and lowest relative efficiency ranking for forest and paper companies remain the same. The tests of the rank order correlation were all statistically significant among the SFA, the DEA, and the two-stage DEA methods. The results suggest that policy makers and analysts can be at ease when employing these methods to identify the relative efficiency scores for forest and paper companies.
Serial memory mechanisms in monolingual and bilingual speakers

Aims and objectives: Recent findings suggest enhanced phonetic and phonological learning ability in bilinguals compared with monolinguals. While other cognitive differences between these two groups have been identified in the past, the most frequently investigated mechanism potentially underlying them has been executive function. When considering phonetic and phonological learning, however, we are faced with greater involvement of sensorimotor mechanisms, since audition, perception, and articulation are all important components in the learning of new patterns of pronunciation. The present study investigates memory mechanisms, with a focus on auditory sensory memory, in these two groups of speakers. Methodology: An adaptive digit span task with suffix effect was administered to two groups of speakers (bilinguals and monolinguals). Data and analysis: The two groups were compared in terms of accuracy rates (overall and by serial position), maximum digit span reached, and the proportion of participants who reached the highest list length. Findings/conclusions: The results show that bilinguals have longer digit spans and demonstrate higher accuracy compared with monolinguals for all serial positions inside every list length, suggesting an advantage not only in terms of recently heard items (i.e., recency effect, attributable to auditory sensory mechanisms) but also for the items heard in the beginning of longer list lengths (i.e., primacy effect, attributable to working memory). Originality: The role of sensory mechanisms in language learning, in particular auditory sensory (echoic) memory, was posited to have been underestimated to date. The current study addresses this gap by investigating alternative mechanisms that could support differences in behavior resulting from language experience of various types. Significance/implications: The connection between auditory sensory memory and linguistic experience suggests that sensory mechanisms are involved in some of the observed cognitive differences between bilinguals and monolinguals. In particular, sensorimotor mechanisms might at least partially account for more effective phonetic and phonological learning in bilinguals. The current study thus sheds more light on the coupling between cognitive and sensory functions.
Pathogens associated with houseflies from different areas within a New York State dairy

Graphical Abstract Summary: Houseflies in dairy farms can be a concern since they could play a crucial role in increased bacterial counts in milk and the potential occurrence of transmitted diseases that affect public and animal health. This study evaluated the bacterial communities associated with houseflies captured on a dairy farm in New York State. A total of 101 flies were collected at 3 farm sites: hospital pen, calf hutches, and milking parlor. Each housefly was tested by bacteriological analysis for microbial identification, and a total of 304 bacterial isolates were obtained. Twelve percent of the identified organisms are well known to affect dairy farms. We identified 26 bacterial species with implications for animal health since these are mastitis-causing pathogens; 5 bacteria are considered foodborne pathogens and, for this reason, represent a concern for human health, and last, but not least, we identified 5 milk spoilage bacteria species that affect the quality of dairy products.
PRODUCTIVE AND REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE OF BARKI EWES FED ON CASSAVA, ACACIA OR ATRIPLEX AS AN ALTERNATIVE OF BERSEEM HAY

SUMMARY he comparative evaluation of different less-well researched forages will yield promising candidates to overcome the limitations of feed sources in most sub-tropic areas during drought. These resources may provide enough supply for animals’ growth and milk production. Therefore, the main objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of using the viability of complete replacement of berseem hay in the diet of Barki ewes with cassava, or Acacia neloitca or Atriplex halimus leaves on ewes and their lambs' performance. For this berseem hay, “BH” in the diets of sheep was substituted with leaves of cassava, acacia or Atriplex. Forty late pregnant Barki ewes (43.2±1.1 Kg body weight) were divided into four groups in this evaluation trial. Animal groups fed either control diet (900 g concentrate feed mixture “CFM” + 600 g BH), or the tested diets, in which substituted BH with 600 g leaves of cassava, acacia, or Atriplex. Biweekly live body weight of ewes was recorded in the morning before feeding, while their lambs were weighed at the birthing then biweekly until weaning. Digestibility trials and nitrogen balance were implemented for the tested diets. Milk yield and its composition as well as blood analysis were also carried out. The economic efficiency was calculated for the experimental groups. Data of the studied parameters were statistically analyzed using the General Linear Model's procedures of SAS GLM (SAS, (2004). Cassava recorded the highest (P<0.05) values of most digestibility coefficients and feeding value parameters as well as dry matter intake and nitrogen balance. Both cassava and acacia were the best ones in maintaining the body weight and weight gain for both ewes and their lambs compared to the control and Atriplex groups. Milk yield was increased (P<0.01) in the cassava diet and milk protein, fat, ash, and solid not fat were increased (P<0.05) in the substituted forage diets compared with the control. Somatic cell count was almost similar in all tested groups. Cassava group had higher (P<0.05) serum total protein and the lowest A/G ratio, urea, and creatinine concentrations when compared to the control. Cassava increased (P<0.05) lambs weaning weights and daily weight gain compared to other treatments. It could be concluded that cassava, acacia and Atriplex are valuable alternatives to berseem hay in Barki ewe diets. Ewes fed cassava tended to have high body weight, milk yield and their lamb’s daily gain compared with that fed acacia or Atriplex.
Observed trends and variations in rainfall events over Ratnagiri (Maharashtra) during southwest monsoon season

The observed trends and variations in rainfall during southwest (SW) monsoon season (June to September) of individual station Ratnagiri, have been analyzed by using 30 years (1980-2009) daily rainfall data. The analysis revealed decreasing but not significant trend in total amount of rainfall and number of rainy days, with increasing but not significant trend in average intensity of rainfall during rainy days of monsoon season. To verify this increase in average intensity of monsoon rainfall over the region, the trends in frequency of occurrence of rainfall events and percentage (%) contribution of rainfall events, to total monsoon rainfall in different categories of rainfall event, along with decadal variation during monsoon season are analyzed. The trend shows that frequency of occurrence of rainfall events and % contribution of rainfall events to total monsoon rainfall in category of light, moderate, rather heavy and heavy rainfall events decreased (but not significantly), whereas frequency of occurrence of rainfall events and % contribution of rainfall events to total monsoon rainfall in category of very heavy to exceptionally heavy rainfall events increased (but not significantly) during 30 years (1980-2009) over Ratnagiri indicating that increase in average intensity of monsoon rainfall is contributed by very heavy to exceptionally heavy rainfall events.Decadal analysis also shows that frequency of occurrence of rainfall events and % contribution of rainfall events to total monsoon rainfall in category of light, moderate, rather heavy and heavy rainfall events have decreased per decade. Whereas in category of very heavy to exceptionally heavy rainfall events it has increased per decade. This increased frequency of very heavy to exceptionally heavy rainfall events over the region may lead to an increase in frequency of floods, landslides and spoil agricultural crops and hence requires attention.
Towards the Numerical Modelling of Residual Seabed Liquefaction Using OpenFOAM

Knowledge of the interaction between free surface waves and the seabed is required for the reliable design of marine structures, preventing severe structural failures. To that end, this paper presents the numerical modelling of wave-induced residual liquefaction of seabed soil. An OpenFOAM® finite volume solver is developed to simulate the behaviour of pore pressure and shear stress in the soil and is validated against analytical reference data. The soil is considered as a poro-elastic solid and an additional equation is solved for the pore pressure buildup. The governing equations are valid only up to the onset of liquefaction. A criterion based on the accumulated pore pressure is applied in order to predict the onset of residual liquefaction. The results show that the pore pressure and shear stresses are in good agreement with the analytical results and the relative errors are less than three percent. Also, the numerical results indicate that the wave induced residual liquefaction originates from the mudline and progresses slowly down the soil which is consistent with the analytical results. The pore pressure buildup for a seabed with stone columns shows that the liquefaction potential is very low near the stone column.