Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Electromyography Pattern Likelihood Analysis for Flexion-Relaxation Phenomenon Evaluation

The myoelectric activity of the back muscles can be studied to evaluate the flexion-relaxation phenomenon and find differences between electromyography patterns on different subjects. In this paper, we propose an algorithm able to provide a myoelectric silence evaluation based on the data acquired from a wireless body sensor network consisting of surface electromyography sensors in association with a wearable inertial measurement unit. From the study group was chosen a gold standard subject, a healthy control with the best regular patterns, as a reference to find a first validity range. Through the subsequent iterations, the range was modified to include the other healthy subjects who showed muscle relaxation according to the previous ranges. Through this likelihood analysis, we want to compare patterns on different channels, identified by the electromyography root mean squared values, to study and find with iterations a validity range for the myoelectric activity silence identification and classification. The proposed algorithm was tested by processing the data collected in an acquisition campaign conducted to evaluate the flexion-relaxation phenomenon on the back muscles of subjects with and without lower back pain. The results show that the submitted method is significant for the clinical assessment of electromyography activity patterns to evaluate which are the subjects that have patterns near or far from the gold standard. This analysis is useful both for prevention and for assessing the progress of subjects with low back pain undergoing physiotherapy.
New catalyst system for easy-care cotton finishing

A new catalyst system, based on a mixture of boron trifluoride–acetic acid complex (BF3·2CH3COOH) and magnesium chloride hexahydrate (MgCl2·6H2O), has been examined in cotton finishing treatment for producing easy-care properties. It provides strong catalysis in crosslinking cotton with a series of N-methylol finishing agents when the pad-dry-cure process is applied. Curing can be carried out at a temperature of 130–150°C for a period of 1–3 min, dependent on the temperature used. The resilience and abrasion resistance properties as well as the degree of polymerization (D.P.) of the crosslinked cotton so obtained were equivalent or slightly better than those of crosslinked cottons catalyzed by conventional catalysts. The influence of the new catalyst as well as a number of conventional catalysts, viz., ammonium chloride, ammonium dihydrogen phosphate, magnesium chloride hexahydrate, and zinc nitrate hexahydrate, on some properties of cotton fabrics was also investigated. The behavior of these catalysts in the presence of the N-methylol finishing agent was quite different from their behavior in its absence. With the exception of ammonium salts, the D.P. of crosslinked cotton was much higher than that of cotton treated with the catalyst only. The opposite holds true for the abrasion resistance.
Formative Assessment Practices of Physics Teachers in Pakistan

Formative assessment is an ongoing activity that helps to understand the gaps between a studentâ€™s current understanding and the objectives to achieve. If combined with appropriate feedback, it has powerful positive impact on studentsâ€™ learning. The objective of the study was to explore the quality of classroom assessment practices of physics teachers in Pakistan. One hundred fifteen (115) principals, one hundred thirty-nine (139) physics teachers and eight hundred (800) 10th class science students were selected randomly from 162 target schools. Three (03) validated and reliable 5-point Liker-type scales were developed to collect the perceptions of the respondents. Eighteen hundred checked class tests of 20 physics teachers were also analysed to explore the quality of assessment. It was concluded that the quality of formative assessment is poor, and teachers must be trained to improve feedback process given to the students to enhance their learning.
Microbial contamination correlated to hygienic habits attitudes and practices toward handling contact lens units

Introduction: Contact lenses (CLs) are medical or cosmetic devices, comfortable and more convenient alternative to eyeglasses. Eye infection will result when microbes are introduced onto CLs, because defense against microbial invasion in the anterior chamber of the eyes is weak due to the very poor blood supply. Method: The present study investigates hygienic habits, attitudes and practices of thirty CL wearers, toward lens care, that might yield to microbial contamination of CL units through examination of 120 samples (4 items of each CL units) to detect microbial growth and to understand associated factors through a structured questionnaire. Results: Microbial contamination was detected in at least one item of twenty-five CL units (83.3%). None of disinfecting care solutions in original bottles was found contaminated. Incidence of microbial contamination in storage case (Right and Left) and rims of solution bottles was 21 (70%), 17 (56.7%) and 6 (20%) respectively. Eye redness after CLs wearing was almost a statistically significant sign associated with contaminated CL units (p=0.088). Using water only to wash hands and CL storage cases has been incriminated for increased contamination. Conclusions: Impurities in CL storage cases have led to reduced efficacy of disinfectant care solutions. Value-added awareness of CL wearers should be improved by regular visit to eye care professionals.
Effects of school leadership in enhancing learners’ achievement in South African rural schools

Introduction: School leadership has increasingly been gaining attention from educational policymakers, and the entire educational society. Research has also confirmed that school principals are essential for developing and maintaining effective school systems. The role of school leadership in schools is highly complex and dynamic such that strategies are needed to change underperforming schools. This article reported on a small scale exploratory qualitative study that investigated the effects of school leadership in enhancing the learning outcomes of a cohort of schools in a rural setting in South Africa. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to analyse the role of principals in enhancing learning achievement in schools. Methodology: The study took a qualitative research approach with an interpretive epistemological and constructivist ontological perspective. Qualitative evidence was collected from six schools in the same district through semi-structured interview question with educators and school principals. Purposive sampling techniques were used to select information-rich cases from the schools and in selecting the schools. Results: Grounded in the accounts of our study participants, results from the study indicated that school principals are the cornerstones of achieving quality teaching and learning through motivating educators, training and providing distributed leadership Recommendations: From the study findings, it was recommended that there is need to improve the basic unit of the educational institution which include structural, cultural and agential conditions to enhance the effective operations of school principals. There is a need to motivate and enhance existing forms of agency in ways that expand learners’ achievement.
The dielectric properties prediction of the vegetation depending on the moisture content using the deep neural network model

In this paper, dielectric properties of citrus leaves are predicted with long short‐term memory (LSTM) which is one of the well‐known deep neural network (DNN) models and real‐time measurements for any moisture content (MC) values in the range of 4.90 to 7.05 GHz at a fixed temperature of 24°C for microwave applications, as a novelty. Firstly, S‐parameters of samples are measured with WR‐159 waveguide and Waveguide Transmission Line Method. In addition, the MCs of samples depending on their weights are calculated. Thus, the dataset depending on various MC and frequency is obtained with the measurement results to both training and testing the DNN model. Secondly, a total of 4000 datasets are obtained, 80% of which is used for training, and 20% for testing. The proposed DNN model consists of four inputs (f, MC, S11, and S21) and two outputs (ε′ and ε″). Finally, the dielectric parameters for the desired MC and f are displayed with the graphical user interface in real‐time. Success criteria for the prediction such as mean absolute error, root mean squared error, mean absolute percentage error, and R‐squared are calculated. The results indicated that there is good agreement between the measured and predicted ones. R‐squared are calculated as 0.962 and 0.968 for ε′ and ε″, respectively.
Comparing the Biochemical Effects of Oral Isotretinoin Vs Azithromycin in The Treatment of Moderate to Severe Acne Vulgaris

Background: The treatment selection in acne vulgaris (AV) is difficult due to challenging assessing severity; therefore, it should depend on a proper history, physical examination, previous treatment and response to treatment. Aims: The aim of this study is to investigate the differences in sebum composition and skin pH in patients with moderate to severe acne vulgaris to identify lipid markers in comparison with the apparently healthy group and to study the effects of isotretinoin or azithromycin on the level lipid profile, liver enzymes, in addition to sebum composition. Methods and Material: This study was conducted on sixty women patients with AV and thirty, apparently healthy individuals as a control group. The patients were allocated into two groups, A and B, group A was given 500 mg of azithromycin taken on alternative days for 3 months and group B was given 40mg/day isotretinoin for 3 months. Before and after therapy serum cholesterol, TG, ALP, ALT, GGT, creatinine additional to sebum cholesterol and squalene levels were measured. In the healthy control group, these parameters were assessed only once. Results:The results of the study showed significant differences (p
Methodology and experimental system for measuring and displaying I–V characteristic curves of PV facilities

This paper describes a methodology and the developed system for measuring, capturing, and displaying I–V and P–V characteristic curves of photovoltaic (PV) modules or arrays based on single‐ended primary inductance converters (SEPIC) in parallel connection, operating in interleaved mode. The proposed methodology and the developed system allow the real time capture and displaying of the I–V and P–V curves of a PV panel or array, and show several advantages with regard to classical methods: simple structure, scalability, fast response, versatility, direct display, and low cost. The measuring of the characteristic curves of PV modules includes high speed of response and high fidelity, with low ripple. An experimental prototype based on four SEPIC converters in parallel connection has been implemented to validate the proposed methodology. This new methodology and experimental system has been registered in the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office with the number P200930198. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Nonequilibrium Contributions to the Rate of Reactions. II. Isolated Multicomponent Systems

The nonequilibrium rates of reaction in multicomponent reactive systems are obtained by solving the Champman–Enskog equation. A Sonine polynomial expansion is used for the solution and its convergence is demonstrated for a wide range of system variables. It is found that the perturbation of the velocity distribution function for each reactive component depends on the deviation of the reactive collision frequency R(0)(cγ) from a special form R(0)(cγ). A model reactive system was examined with line‐of‐centers reactive cross sections and hard‐sphere elastic cross sections chosen to fit the available data for the reaction H2+Cl=HCl+H. The deviation of the ratio of the forward and reverse rate coefficients (kf / kr) from the equilibrium value (kf(0) / kr(0)) was shown to be much smaller than the experimental deviation; this suggests that translational nonequilibrium is not significant, but does not exclude vibrational effects which could be more important.
From children to seniors: is culture accessible to everyone?

Purpose The main objective of the study is to analyse the perception of accessibility to cultural for different age groups (children, teenagers, adults and seniors) in the city of Novi Sad (Serbia). Additional goals were to reveal which cultural contents in the city are the most important to which particular age group and to measure the level of compatibility with their needs. Design/methodology/approach The study sample consisted of 170 respondents of different age groups used for comparison purposes. Data were collected through an online questionnaire and analysed by IBM SPSS Statistics (descriptive statistical analysis and ANOVA test). Findings The results of this research showed that a gap is evident between the current cultural offer and the needs and preferences of visitors of different age groups. One of the significant obstacles that emerged is the inadequate promotion of cultural contents in the city to different age groups of visitors (children, teenagers, adults and seniors). The study also identified the age groups of visitors to whom the cultural offer was least adapted, as well as mapping the cultural institutions which are least accessible to audiences of different ages. Originality/value The paper addresses the knowledge gap related to accessibility to cultural for different generations. It focuses on topics that have not been previously researched – comparison of the needs of different generations concerning the actual offer in cultural institutions, addressing the importance of certain elements of a cultural offer to different age groups and the level of accessibility of such features to different age groups.
Unusual salt effect on the lower critical solution temperature of hyperbranched thermoresponsive polymers

Compared with linear thermoresponsive polymers hyperbranched ones having spheroid-like structure exhibited an unusual salt effect: a non-linear LCST decrease upon increasing the concentration of various salts such as NaCl, KCl or Na2SO4 has been observed. The LCST variation of such polymers was more sensitive to the presence of salt.
Fuel Analyses and Thermochemical Processing of Olive Residues

In this study, fuel properties, such as proximate analysis, ultimate analysis, higher heating value, and ash composition of three olive residues from olive oil plants (olive cake, olive kernel shell and olive kernel), were determined by analytical methods. Fuel properties for the combustion analysis of the residues can be conveniently grouped into physical, chemical, thermal, and mineral properties. The carbon content of selected samples varies from about 53% to 55%. The hydrogen content of the species varies from 6.5% to 6.9%. Oxygen content ranges from 35.5% to 36.5%, S is less than 0.1% and N ranges from 0.4–0.9%. This study indicates that olive residues could be used as pyrolizable and liquefiable materials. The yield of liquefaction increased with increasing temperature of liquefaction. In general, the liquid yields from pyrolysis and catalytic liquefaction processes are higher than those of the other thermochemical methods.
RETRACTED ARTICLE: Internet literacy and academic achievement among Chinese adolescent: a moderated mediation model

‘We, the Editors and Publisher of the Behaviour & Information Technology, have retracted the following article: Tian-Chang Miao, Chuan-Hua Gu, Shengyingjie Liu & Z. K. Zhou (2020) Internet literacy and academic achievement among Chinese adolescent: a moderated mediation model, Behaviour & Information Technology, DOI: 10.1080/0144929X.2020. 1831074 Since publication, significant concerns have been raised about the fact that this article has substantial overlap with the following article, particularly in the results and discussion sections: Yin, L. , Wang, P., Nie, J. et al. Social networking sites addiction and FoMO: The mediating role of envy and the moderating role of need to belong. Curr Psychol 40, 3879–3887 (2021). https://link.springer. com/article/10.1007/s12144-019-00344-4 Upon query, the author has not been able to provide a satisfactory explanation for this significant level of overlap. As this is a serious breach of our Editorial Policies, we are retracting the article from the journal. The authors do not agree with the retraction. We have been informed in our decision-making by our policy on publishing ethics and integrity and the COPE guidelines on retractions. The retracted articles will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but they will be digitally watermarked on each page as “Retracted”. ’
Association between comorbid diabetes mellitus and prognosis of patients with sepsis in the intensive care unit: a retrospective cohort study

Background Sepsis patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU) often have comorbid diabetes mellitus (DM). However, the clinical impact of DM on the clinical outcomes of critically ill sepsis patients has yet to be determined. Therefore, the current study aimed to analyze the association of comorbid DM with the prognosis of sepsis patients in the ICU. Methods Data of patients with sepsis and comorbid DM were obtained from a large-scale intensive care database. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality after ICU admission. Associations of comorbid DM with the primary outcome were assessed using a multivariable Cox regression model. Different adjusted models, such as the propensity score method, were used to determine the prognosis of the patients. Results Overall, 12,321 sepsis patients were enrolled, including 3,509 (28.48%) with comorbid DM. After adjusting and matching, we found that comorbid DM was not an independent risk factor for 28-day mortality in critically ill sepsis patients and was even associated with lower mortality. Propensity score matching showed a dramatically lower 28-day mortality for sepsis patients with comorbid DM in comparison to patients without comorbid DM [hazard ratio (HR): 0.86, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.77–0.97, P=0.0167]. The relationship of comorbid DM with 28-day mortality was broadly consistent for all subgroup variables. In the stratified analysis, a significant interaction was observed only for glucose concentration (P<0.0001). Patients with comorbid DM and a glucose level of 140–200 mg/dL (7.8–11.1 mmol/L) or ≥200 mg/dL (11.1 mmol/L) had a significantly lower 28-day mortality rate (HR 0.83, 95% CI: 0.71–0.98, P=0.0250 and HR: 0.49, 95% CI: 0.38–0.64, P<0.0001, respectively). Conclusions Critically ill patients with sepsis and comorbid DM were not found to have increased 28-day mortality compared to those without comorbid DM, and may even have a lower risk of mortality. Notably, this association remained in the setting of hyperglycemia.
Effects of socio-demographics, sense of control, and uncertainty avoidability on post-COVID-19 vacation intention

ABSTRACT Tourism industry is facing an unprecedented crisis due to the global spread of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19). However, due to the novelty of the phenomenon, there is a shortage of studies exploring the effects of the pandemic on tourists’ reactions and, to date, no study has examined how certain individual differences might impact vacation intention after COVID-19. To contribute to this area of inquiry, this research focuses on a series of socio-demographic variables – i.e. age, gender, education, income, health status, and number of children – to investigate their influence on individuals’ sense of control, ability to avoid the uncertainty derived from the current health crisis, and vacation intention. The research predicts a chain of relationships whereby the socio-demographic variables influence individuals’ sense of control, which is positively associated with their perceived ability to avoid uncertainty. This perception, in turn, is positively related to vacation intention. A survey study conducted in Italy shows that older respondents and those in poorer health conditions feel less in control and able to avoid the situational uncertainty related to the pandemic; this feeling, in turn, decreases their intention to take a vacation as soon as the pandemic is over. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
Encountering misinformation online: antecedents of trust and distrust and their impact on the intensity of Facebook use

PurposeThis study focused on the impact of misinformation on social networking sites. Through theorizing and integrating literature from interdisciplinary fields such as information behavior, communication and relationship management, this study explored how misinformation on Facebook influences users' trust, distrust and intensity of Facebook use.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed quantitative survey research and collected panel data via an online professional survey platform. A total of 661 participants in the USA completed this study, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the theoretical model using Amos 20.FindingsBased on data from an online questionnaire (N = 661) in the USA, results showed that information trustworthiness and elaboration, users' self-efficacy of detecting misinformation and prescriptive expectancy of the social media platform significantly predicted both trust and distrust toward Facebook, which in turn jointly influenced users' intensity of using this information system.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the growing body of literature on information and relationship management and digital communication from several important aspects. First, this study disclosed the underlying cognitive psychological and social processing of online misinformation and addressed the strategies for future system design and behavioral intervention of misinformation. Second, this study systematically examined both trust and distrust as cognitive and affective dimensions of the human mindsets, encompassed the different components of the online information behavior and enriched one’s understanding of how misinformation affected publics' perceptions of the information system where it appeared. Last but not least, this study advanced the relationship management literature and demonstrated that a trustful attitude exerted a stronger influence on the intensity of Facebook use than distrust did.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-04-2020-0130
“La patria somos todos”: trayectorias y disputas narrativas sobre ser emigrante en Cuba

The article studies the development of the image of Cuban emigrants through the narratives of the State and the government of Cuba from 1959 to the present. Analyzing the official documents and recent declarations by the Cuban government in the digital platforms Twitter and Facebook, we studied how these discourses have gone through a transformation from the consolidation of emigrants as an opposing party in the Cuban collective imaginary into the adoption, more recently, of an integration policy of the diaspora with the nation by the government of the island. We argue that, as of the 90’s, the official rhetoric that defined the Cuban emigrant figurehead as opposed to the nation, starts to display reconciliation strategies, perceptible through discursive changes in official channels in Twitter and Facebook. Cuban expats figurehead go from the status of difference towards an integration with the nation, even though the reconciliation proposed by the Cuban State clarifies ideological conditions that define the type of expats considered suitable for it.