Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Explainable Machine Learning for Default Privacy Setting Prediction

When requesting a web-based service, users often fail in setting the website’s privacy settings according to their self privacy preferences. Being overwhelmed by the choice of preferences, a lack of knowledge of related technologies or unawareness of the own privacy preferences are just some reasons why users tend to struggle. To address all these problems, privacy setting prediction tools are particularly well-suited. Such tools aim to lower the burden to set privacy preferences according to owners’ privacy preferences. To be in line with the increased demand for explainability and interpretability by regulatory obligations – such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe – in this paper an explainable model for default privacy setting prediction is introduced. Compared to the previous work we present an improved feature selection, increased interpretability of each step in model design and enhanced evaluation metrics to better identify weaknesses in the model’s design before it goes into production. As a result, we aim to provide an explainable and transparent tool for default privacy setting prediction which users easily understand and are therefore more likely to use.
Research on the Spatial Distribution Pattern and Influencing Factors of Digital Economy Development in China

The spatial heterogeneity of the influences of various driving factors on the digital economy restricts the further development of regional coordination. This paper constructs an index system for measuring the development level of the digital economy from the three dimensions of infrastructure construction, digital application and digital industry development. Using the entropy method to measure the development level of the digital economy in each region in 2018 and based on the theory of economic growth and new economic geography, a theoretical model of the influences of input factors, technological progress and institutional changes on China’s digital economy is established. Combined with Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) model analysis, the spatial distribution pattern of China’s digital economy and its influencing factors are discussed. The results show that there is a large gap in the development level of the digital economy in the eight comprehensive economic regions, and the development level of the digital economy presents a significant spatial correlation in space. The driving patterns of input factors, technological progress and institutional changes to the spatial distribution of the digital economy show obvious spatial differentiation. This study provides important referential value for promoting the coordinated development of the regional digital economy.
The effect of curcumin ointment on the quality of life of older adults with knee osteoarthritis: A randomized placebo clinical trial

Background: Knee osteoarthritis (KO) is one of the most common health problems affecting the quality of life (QOL) in older adults. Objective: Because improving the QOL is one of the important therapeutic goals, this study aimed to investigate the effect of curcumin ointment on the QOL in older adults with KO. Methods: This double-blind randomized clinical trial was performed from February 20, to June 22, 2019, on 72 older adults with KO referring to the office of a physician in Kashan, Iran. The individuals with eligibility criteria were recruited sequentially and were randomly assigned to two groups of 36 to apply either curcumin 5% ointment or Vaseline ointment twice daily for 6 weeks around the knee. The Osteoarthritis Knee and Hip Quality of Life questionnaire was used to measure the patients' QOL at the beginning of the study, and at the end of the 4th and 6th weeks. The Fisher's exact test, independent samples t-test, Friedman test, and repeated-measures analysis were used for data analysis. Results: The mean baseline QOL scores in the intervention and the placebo groups were 55.98 ± 8.12 and 58.75 ± 7.86 (P = 0.160) which then changed to 59.21 ± 7.98 and 60.01 ± 8.23 at the end of the 4th week and to 65.83 ± 8.81 and 60.26 ± 7.25 at the end of the 6th week, respectively. Repeated-measures analysis showed that over time, the use of curcumin ointment could significantly increase the mean QOL score in the intervention group (P = 0.001). Conclusion: Topical administration of 5% curcumin ointment can significantly improve the QOL in older adults with KO. Therefore, this ointment might be considered a complementary therapy to improve the QOL of patients with KO.
Muslim American physicians’ views on brain death: Findings from a national survey

Abstract Background: Biotechnology has introduced a new physiological state, “brain death,” that continues to attract controversy and confusion. While variability in diagnostic criteria for, and physician practices regarding, “brain death” has been studied, few studies examine physicians’ normative views on the significance of “brain death” and how religiosity implicates these views. Objective: The objective is to assess how Muslim physicians’ views on death, and how their religiosity and acculturation, associate with their perceptions of “brain death. ” Methods: A randomized national sample of 626 American Muslim physicians completed a mailed questionnaire assessing sociodemographic characteristics, religiosity, and views about death. Measures of religious practice and acculturation were analyzed as predictors of physician views at the bivariate and multivariable levels. In conducting the multivariate analysis, P-values less than 0.05 were deemed statistically significant. Results: Two-hundred and fifty-five respondents completed the survey (41% response rate). Most participants agreed that death is the irreversible cessation of cardiac and respiratory function (90%), while half agreed or disagreed with other definitions of death, such as loss of personhood or the equivalence of cardiopulmonary and neurological criteria for death. Physicians who scored higher on the religious practice scale had significantly lower odds of agreeing with the statement; “brain death” signifies the departure of the soul from the body [odds ratio (OR) = 0.57, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.33–0.98]. Those who were born in the US, or immigrated to the US as a child, had greater odds of viewing death as the irreversible loss of personhood and consciousness [OR = 3.52, 95% CI: 1.62–7.63]. Conclusion: Physician characteristics such as religiosity and acculturation appear to influence their views on what constitutes death and how it should be diagnosed. In our sample of Muslim physicians, there appears to be significant reservation toward equating neurological and cardiopulmonary criteria to determine death and disquiet regarding the meaning of “brain death” in general.
Blood donation among university students: practices, motivations, and barriers in Saudi Arabia

Abstract Context: Blood transfusion is an essential medical procedure conducted with various purposes to provide patients with blood needed. The procedure saves patients’ lives, as blood cannot be manufactured artificially and can only be obtained from human blood sources. Aims: To assess the awareness of, perceptions of, motivations regarding, and barriers to blood donation among a sample of Jazan University students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Settings and Design: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted among the undergraduate students of Jazan University. Materials and Methods: Stratified random sampling was used to collect information from 440 students, and a predesigned, structured questionnaire was used to collect data on the study variables. Statistical Analysis: Involved descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. SPSS was used for data analysis. Results: The prevalence of blood donation was 29.0% (95% CI, 25.0–33.3), significantly higher for males at 44.3% (95% CI, 38.3–50.4) than for females at 10.5% (95% CI, 7.3–16.0; P < 0.001), and with odds ratio (OR) = 6.8; [95% CI, 4.1–11.2] than females. Students’ level of knowledge regarding blood donation was low. The main barriers to blood donation were identified as being unqualified for blood donation (57.5%) and risk of contracting infectious disease (48.7%) and the desire to donate in the future to a close friend (38.6%). The main motivations for donating blood were identified as religious reasons (77.5%), altruism (77.5%), and to serve the homeland and meet the call of need (77.5%). Conclusions: The prevalence of blood donation was found to be low, and students’ knowledge regarding blood donation appeared to be lacking. The development of awareness programs among the university’s students will address students’ misconceptions about blood donation and encourage them to join donation campaigns. Key Messages: Students’ knowledge regarding blood donation appeared to be lacking. The prevalence of blood donation was also not satisfactory. Being unqualified for blood donation and fear and misconceptions regarding blood donation were observed to be the main causes of non-donation. The development of awareness programs among the university’s students will encourage them to join donation campaigns.
A visual analog scale for the assessment of mild sleepiness in patients with obstructive sleep apnea and healthy participants

MOTIVATION: Studies have shown poor clinical effectiveness of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) due to its ambiguity of items and cultural applicability. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) to assess sleepiness, compared to ESS. METHODS: Thirty-two obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients and 32 healthy participants completed two visits, 1 month apart, during which they completed both ESS and VAS. Patients diagnosed with OSA were treated with Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) between visits. The agreement between the ESS and VAS scores in both patients with OSA and healthy participants was investigated using Pearson correlation and Area Under the receiver operating characteristics. RESULTS: The (mean ± standard deviation) Oxygen Desaturation Index for patients with OSA was 18.5 ± 5.7 events/hour and 1.7 ± 1.0 events/hour in the healthy participants. A reduction in sleepiness, following CPAP treatment occurred in patients with OSA, using the ESS (11.2 ± 5.5–4.7 ± 5.0 points, P < 0.001) and the VAS (50.2 ± 3.0–21.9 ± 26.5 mm, P < 0.001). There was no significant change in sleepiness, in healthy participants using the ESS (3.91 ± 3.14–3.34 ± 3.27 points (P < 0.48) or the VAS (15.58 ± 21.21–12.05 ± 14.75 mm, (P < 0.44). A Likert scale showed that the VAS was easier to use compared to ESS in visit 1 (VAS: 8.7 ± 1.9 points, ESS: 7.7 ± 2.6 points, (P < 0.001), and visit 2 (VAS: 9.5 ± 1.4 points, ESS: 8.6 ± 1.5 points, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: These preliminary results suggest that the VAS can detect a change in sleepiness after CPAP treatment in patients with OSA and that the VAS was also easier to use compared to ESS.
Clinical characteristics and outcomes in patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome-associated interstitial lung disease

BACKGROUND: Diagnosing primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS)-associated interstitial lung disease (ILD) is complex and can be very challenging. In addition, information about the prognostic factors is limited. AIMS: We aimed to determine the clinical characteristics and prognostic factors that impact pSS-ILD survival. METHODS: This retrospective review included 84 consecutive patients diagnosed with pSS-ILD. The information analyzed included the clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, and physiological and hemodynamic data. Prognostic factors were identified using a Cox proportional hazards regression model. RESULTS: The mean age was 60.5 years, and 61.9% were females. The mean time between the onset of symptoms and diagnosis was 21 months (range, 1–98 months). Minor salivary gland biopsy (MSGB) was positive for pSS in 92.3% of the cohort. Fifty percent of the patients had negative autoimmune serology related to pSS. Based on the available hemodynamic data, 40% had pulmonary hypertension (PH), and 20% had severe PH. During follow-up, acute exacerbation was noted in 38% of the cohort. The 5-year survival rate for all patients was 56%. Male sex, usual interstitial pneumonia pattern, and a reduced forced vital capacity were independent predictors of mortality in the pSS-ILD patients. CONCLUSIONS: A significant delay between the onset of symptoms and diagnosis was noted in our cohort. Importantly, our study highlights the importance of MSGB and emphasizes that clinicians should not rely solely on serological tests to diagnose pSS in ILD patients. The overall survival was poor, and more efforts are needed to diagnose pSS-ILD at an early stage and refer patients to experienced centers.
Improving ERS's Net Cash Income Forecasts using USDA Baseline Projections

USDA Economic Research Service’s (ERS) farm income forecasts play an important role in decision making and planning across the agricultural sector, yet recent studies suggest that ERS’s initial farm income forecasts are biased. This study examines the degree to which ERS’s initial forecast of net cash income and its components can be improved using information from USDA’s 10­year Agricultural Baseline Projections. We apply several forecast evaluation tools to a unique set of ERS forecasts, Baseline projections, and official estimates from 1997 through 2019. Our forecast encompassing tests show that Baseline provides important information for predicting livestock receipts, direct government payments, farm­related income, and cash expenses. Our findings are potentially useful for both ERS forecasters and a variety of farm income forecast users.
Impact of Corporate Reputation Dimensions on Consumer Trust

As global and local crises continue to destabilize stakeholders' trust in organizations, they need to find a long-term solution to the problem of declining trust. A critical marketing task for the sustainability of any business is to focus on the organization's reputation as a valuable, sustainable, and intangible asset of the organization. Growing trust in business is associated with corporate reputation that highlights company’s values and beliefs, shows the ways the company is trying to achieve its goals, to fulfil consumers’ expectations and its commitments. In some cases, a company does not even have to try to earn stakeholder trust as this function is performed by corporate reputation that develops positive stakeholders’ attitude towards the company as a reliable subject in the relationship. An analysis of the organization’s reputation and stakeholder trust in the organization revealed a lack of a systematic approach to how the reputation of one organization affects the trust of customers. The research focuses on the issue of consumer trust, consumer being one of the most important stakeholders. Differences in the impact of corporate reputation dimensions on consumer trust are noticed in different sectors, which creates the need for in-depth study of the issue. The aim of the article is to estimate the impact of corporate reputation on consumer trust and to determine which dimensions of corporate reputation affect different types of consumer trust. Empirical research findings are based on the case of pharmacy network in Lithuania. The pharmacy network is chosen for analysis due to the phenomenon that has appeared in the market, i.e., over the years decreasing trust in companies of one sector (pharmaceutical, in this case) has been unjustly identified with the situation in the other sector (pharmacy), which results in difficulties faced when building corporate reputation.
Normalize Cross Correlation Algorithm in Pattern Matching Based on 1-D Information Vector

All previous published study in pattern matching based on normalized cross correlation worked in 2-D image. In this study, we propose a pattern matching algorithm using 1-D information vector. The proposed algorithm consists of three main steps: First, the pattern image is scanned in two directions to convert the pattern image from 2-D image into 1-D information vector. Secondly, all blocks (having same size of pattern) in the reference image also are scanned in two directions to obtain 1-D information vector for each block in the reference image. Thirdly, the normalized cross correlation between 1-D information vector of pattern image and all 1-D information vectors in the reference images are established. Finally, we can determine the correct position of pattern in the reference image. Experimentally, we compared the proposed algorithm with three 2-D pattern matching algorithms. The results shown that, the proposed algorithm is more efficient and outperforms the others. Also, we examined the proposed under three different types of noise and we found that it is very robust against noise.
Influence of enzyme and probiotic supplementation on growth performance and gut health of broiler chicken

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of enzyme, probiotic or their combinations on growth response, microbiota and gut histopathological indices of broiler chicken. One hundred and fifty (150) one-day old unsexed Arbor Acre broiler chicks were weighed and randomly allotted to 5 dietary treatments; each diet had 5 replicates of 6 birds each in the study that lasted for 42 days. Treatment 1 consists of the basal diet (negative control; NC): Treatment 2 was NC+0.1% antibiotic (positive control), Treatment 3: NC+0.4% probiotic, Treatment 4: NC+0.1% enzyme and Treatment 5: NC+0.4% probiotic+0.1% enzyme. Performance indices were measured. On day 42, ileal digesta was collected from two birds per replicate for microbial count while about 5 cm of distal ileum was severed for histopathology. The results showed that diets had no significant (p>0.05) effect on the performance of birds at the starter and finisher phases. Total heterotrophic counts of birds fed with basal and probiotic diets were similar but significantly (p<0.05) higher than other diets. The highest Lactobacilli count was recorded in the mixture of probiotic + enzyme diet while least was observed in probiotic (2.58×105 cfu/ml) and enzyme supplemented diets (1.45×105 cfu/ml). Total coliform count of birds fed antibiotic diet was significantly (p<0.05) lower (14.12×105 cfu/ml) than for those on other diets. Total Escherichia coli count was highest in birds fed antibiotic while least was observed in birds fed mixture of probiotics + enzyme diet. Photomicrographs of the ileum of birds fed basal diet showed sloughed mucosa layer and degenerated villi. However birds fed antibiotic, probiotic, enzyme or probiotic+enzyme diets showed normal mucosa layer with normal villi, the lamina proprial showed normal tissues with mild infiltrate. In conclusion, feed supplements used in this study can serve as viable alternatives to antibiotics in broiler nutrition without compromising birds’ health.
University of Southern Denmark Geographical inequalities in acute myocardial infarction beyond neighbourhood-level and individual-level sociodemographic characteristics a Danish 10-year nationwide population-based cohort study

Citation for pulished version (APA): Kjærulff, T. M. , Bihrmann, K. , Andersen, I. , Gislason, G. H. , Larsen, M. L. , & Ersbøll, A. K. (2019). Geographical inequalities in acute myocardial infarction beyond neighbourhood-level and individual-level sociodemographic characteristics: a Danish 10-year nationwide population-based cohort study. BMJ Open, 9(2), [e024207]. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-024207
Use of Weather Information by Sri Lankan Paddy Farmers: An Application of Theory of Planned Behaviour

Use of weather information by the Sri Lankan farmers is based on two information sources: traditional knowledge and agromet advisories provided by the Department of Meteorology through the Department of Agriculture. In this context the weather information use behaviour of Sri Lankan paddy farmers was investigated by using the theory of planned behaviour. The necessary data were collected through a pretested structured questionnaire administered with a multi-stage random sample of 900 farmers representing six districts in Sri Lanka. Two structural equation models (SEM) were built with respect to the two information systems. For both SEMs, the use frequency of information was considered as the behaviour, while subjective norm, perceived behaviour control, attitude and intention were considered as the behaviour specific beliefs. The structural validity of the questions and sample adequacy were separately checked for both SEM models. Results of the two SEM models showed significant (p<0.05) relationships for (1) attitude and intention, (2) attitude and behaviour, (3) subjective norm and intention, (4) perceived behavioural control and intention, and (5) intention and behaviour. It was revealed that the behavioural beliefs are important to determine the use of information systems. Therefore, the correct intervention is required to change or improve the existing behavioural beliefs when promoting weather information systems which are specifically designed against future climate turbulences.
How Perception of Preventive Behaviors impacts Seasonal Influenza Outbreaks: An Agent Based Model

Individual perceptions about preventive behaviours against an infectious disease play an important role in taking appropriate actions to reduce the risk of infection. We developed a Health Belief Model (HBM) by survey instrument in order to understand student perceptions of the influenza virus and two preventive behaviours; hand-washing and vaccination. An educational program was delivered to the treatment group. This health education program was developed by a health promotion specialist and it aimed to increase preventive behaviours and awareness of influenza. The control group answered the questionnaire without receiving an educational program. The two groups were compared and the relationship between preventive behaviours and HBM variables were analysed. An Agent Based Model (ABM) was developed to simulate influenza transmission based on students’ health beliefs and how likely they are to apply preventive behaviours.
Digital Models and Orthodontic Diagnosis: What Degree of Reliability?

Background: Our study aims to evaluate, through a systematic review, the reliability of numerical models compared to conventional models on the main parameters of orthodontic diagnosis Method: four databases were consulted: PubMed; Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, and Ebscohost. The research included published studies since 2010, meta-analysis studies, randomized and non-randomized controlled trials, prospective and retrospective studies. Results: Among 3811 selected references, only five studies met our inclusion criteria. In the systematic review, there were statistical differences between the digital models and the plaster models. However, this difference is clinically acceptable. On the other hand, there are some limitations, relative to the types of the severity of the congestion, the elapsed time to digitize, and the numerical means. Conclusion: The results of our systematic review have shown that there is no clinically significant difference between the numerical and physical models for the majority of diagnostic parameters.