Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Point-of-care serological assays for SARS-CoV-2 in a UK hospital population: potential for enhanced case finding

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become a global pandemic, causing over 3,600,000 reported cases and 250,000 deaths worldwide.1 Case identification has predominantly been made by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) during the acute phase and largely restricted to healthcare laboratories. Serological assays are emerging but independent validation is urgently required to assess their utility. Where a plurality of point-of-care (POC) SARS-CoV-2 antibody test kits have become available, we will therefore aim to evaluate a range of kits against the current available gold-standard diagnostic test of PCR in an initial, exploratory study. We will then proceed to carry out testing with 200 hospital inpatients using the OrientGene COVID-19 IgG/IgM Rapid Test Cassette against PCR in order to undergo a preliminary evaluation of POC serological test performance characteristics within a hospital inpatient cohort.
Distance Learning – the Current Status and Directions for Further Research

The article aims to discuss current research trends in the field of Distance Learning (DL). It consists of the following parts: (1) the definitions and characteristics of DL; (2) current directions of research in the field of DL, among others: measuring transactional distance in Web-Based Learning Environments, Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in DL, development of learning content and the task for MOOCs, effects of online course efficiency perceptions on Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) measures, new technologies for the DL, the use of metacognitive and affective model Self-Regulated Learning (MASRL), questionnaire (Constructivist Learning on a Scale Higher Settings of Education [CLHES]) as a method of research of constructivist learning environment in higher education, Transactional Distance (TD) theory in DL and online community culture; (3) summary and conclusions with a particular focus on the use of DL methods in higher education. The article is based on the study of literature registered in the databases ERIC, LISA, and LISTA.
Securing Land Transactions with Biometric data in Ghana

There is a gap between land tenure and the physical land giving room for impersonation, multiple allocation and sale of plots, loss of possession, land racketeering and fraud through forgery. Hence, the need to identify unambiguously parties involved in land transactions so that the root of title can be traced to ensure tenure security. This paper explores innovative ways of filling the gap with biometric data to secure land transactions. Through interviews and self-administered questionnaire with google forms, and snowball sampling technique, perception of participants across Ghana were assessed on what constitutes secure land transaction. The researchers also assessed participants’ knowledge of biometric systems and their acceptability in recording biological traits of grantors and grantees in land transactions. Most participants were conversant with the use of biometric systems and were optimistic that its use might bring sanity in land transactions and enhance the security of tenure in Ghana.
On the Partition Method of Frictional Pressure Drop for Dispersed Two-Phase Flows in the RELAP5/MOD3, TRACE V5, and SPACE Codes

Abstract Frictional pressure drop (also called wall drag) for a two-phase flow has been investigated for several decades. However, the two-phase frictional pressure drop models in the state-of-the-art thermal-hydraulic system codes are significantly different from each other, especially in the way to partition the wall friction force of liquid and vapor phases in the two-fluid momentum equations. This may lead to unphysical results in some flow conditions. In this technical note, the two-phase wall frictional pressure drop models in the RELAP5/MOD3, TRACE V5, and SPACE codes are discussed in terms of the wall friction partition into the liquid and vapor momentum equations. To show the effect of different partition methods in the three codes, we simulated air-water bubbly flows in a horizontal pipe. The results of the calculations show that the partition method has a direct effect on the relative velocity of the two phases, and it may lead to unphysical behaviors of dispersed bubbles and droplets. It is strongly recommended to revisit the two-fluid formulation and the partition method of two-phase wall drag in the state-of-the-art system codes.
Climatic Disasters and Distracted Analysts

Using a sample of 30,270 forecasts by 2,280 analysts under a stacked difference‐in‐differences framework involving 22 major climatic disasters in the United States, we exam the effect of climatic disasters on information production by security analysts, who play a crucial role in the financial market as information intermediaries. We find that earnings forecasts by analysts who experienced a major climatic disaster become less accurate than those by the unaffected analysts within three months after the disaster, due to distracted attention. Disaster‐zone analysts are more likely to allocate their attention to firms of greater importance or salience, and they tend to reiterate their previous forecasts to maintain the quantity and timeliness of their forecasts. Overall, we document the real impact of cognitive bias on financial professionals’ performance.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Antibiotic resistant gene of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from non-clinical environment: public health implications in Mthatha, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Background Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) are Gram-negative bacilli that are ubiquitous in nature particularly plentiful in soils and in aquatic milieu because they thrive well in humid or wet environments. It has extensive metabolic versatility, ability to thrive well and colonize diverse ecological habitats such as soil, rhizosphere, wastewaters that, enhances its potential threat to public health. Abattoirs, aquatic ecosystem including generated wastewaters are latent sources of pathogenic bacteria, serve as reservoirs and contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistant genes. Several studies have focused on clinical environment while scarce data exist from non-clinical environments, which sometimes are hotspots of antibiotic resistance. Thus, the present investigation aimed to identify antibiotic resistant gene of P. aeruginosa from non-clinical sources in Mthatha, Eastern Cape and evaluate its public health implications. Results Fifty-five (55) Pseudomonas species and other organisms recovered from effluent and surface water samples included P. aeruginosa (65.4%), P. fluorescens (27.3%), Burkholderia gladioli (5.5%) and Burkholderia cepacia (1.8%). The P. aeruginosa isolates showed high resistance to aztreonam (86.1%), ceftazidime (63.9%), piperacillin (58.3%) and cefepime (55.6%); with moderate resistance displayed to imipenem (50%), piperacillin/tazobactam (47.2%), meropenem (41.7%) and levofloxacin (30.6%). Twenty out of thirty-six (36) P. aeruginosa displayed multidrug resistance profiles and were classified as multidrug resistant (MDR) (55.6%). Most of the bacterial isolates exhibited a high Multiple Antibiotic Resistance (MAR) Index of > 0.2 ranging from 0.08–0.69 with a mean MAR Index of 0.38. PCR analysis of fifteen (15) P. aeruginosa isolates detected 14 (93.3%) harbored blaSHV, 6 (40%) harbored blaTEM with the least occurring ESBL as blaCTX−M at 3 (20%). Conclusions Results of the current study indicating resistance of environmental P. aeruginosa isolates to front-line clinically relevant antipseudomonal drugs is concerning and poses risk to the environment and receiving water bodies. Given the public health relevance, the results of this study highlight the importance and urgent need of monitoring multidrug-resistant pathogens in effluent environments. These non-clinical environments are potential reservoirs of resistance genes that would further serve as avenues for the dissemination of multidrug resistant bacteria in the community.
Credit Risk and Equity Returns: An Augmented Fama-French Five-Factor Model in the Chinese Market

Whether the credit risk should be priced has been widely debated. We study this issue in the Chinese context, where the financial market has been long dominated by indirect financing. We employ the Merton’s (1974) model to measure the credit risk of firms listed on Chinese A-share market monthly. We document a positive relationship between credit risk and subsequent returns. Following a high-minus-low strategy, we construct a credit risk factor DMU, which is then incorporated into Fama-French models. By comparing the performance of 6 competing models, we find that the credit risk factor helps improve the description of portfolio returns while the investment factor makes little contribution. The conclusions are further confirmed by regression details including adjusted-R2, AIC tests and intercepts. Meanwhile, the slopes on DMU are significant for most tested portfolios and present monotonic patterns when the credit risk increases, implying that the credit risk factor can well explain the variation in the cross section of portfolio returns. Our findings show that in the Chinese context, the credit risk factor is relevant and the DMU-augmented Fama-French five-factor model is a preferred model.
Performance of Half-Sib Progenies Developed from an Early Maturing Maize (Zea mays L.) Population in a Rain-Forest Location

Problem: Half-sib progenies were developed in a maize breeding program of the Department of Crop Production and Protection of Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, Nigeria but have not been evaluated for further improvements. Aims: Therefore, this study was undertaken to evaluate the performances of the half-sib progenies, as well as estimate and determine the association among selected traits. Study Design: 160 half-sib progenies each developed in the late planting seasons of 2013 and 2014 from an early maturing maize population were used for this study. Each of the field trials were laid out in a 16 x 10 incomplete block design and replicated twice. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted during the early and late planting seasons of 2015 at the Teaching and Research Farm, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife (7o28’N 4o33’E and 244 m above sea level). Methodology: All data collected were subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and means were separated using Least Significant Difference (LSD) at 0.05 probability level. Genotypic and phenotypic variances were generated to calculate heritability estimates for all traits taken. Results: The results observed showed highly significant differences (P < 0.01) between seasons Original Research Article Fadahunsi et al.; IJPSS, 32(6): 58-68, 2020; Article no.IJPSS. 55778 59 and among half-sib progenies from both years of development for all traits. Half-sib progenies developed in 2014 were also observed to perform better than those developed in 2013 for all traits studied. Heritability was high (72%) for ear height for the 2013 developed half-sib progenies and moderate at 45% for the 2014 half-sib progenies and this trait had highly significant and positive correlations with yield. Conclusion: It was concluded that sufficient genetic variability existed among the progenies that could be exploited to improve the population. However, it was recommended that these progenies could also be evaluated in multiple locations to ascertain their adaptability and performance.
Transalpine dispersal: Italian barred grass snakes in southernmost Bavaria—This far but no further!

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. © 2021 The Authors. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research published by WileyVCH GmbH. Contributing authors: Marika Asztalos (marika.asztalos@senckenberg.de), Frank Glaw (glaw@snsb.de), Michael Franzen (franzen@snsb.de), Carolin Kindler (carolin.kindler@gmail.com) 1Museum of Zoology (Museum für Tierkunde), Senckenberg Dresden, Dresden, Germany 2Zoologische Staatssammlung München (ZSMSNSB), Munich, Germany
Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilization in 'Cricket Ball' sapota (Manilkara achras)

An experiment was conducted during 1996-2001 at Kaul, Haryana, to study the effect of different levels ofN, P and K on growth, yield and quality of 7-year-old 'Cricket Ball' cultivar of sapota (Manilkara achras Mill.). The treatments were 3 levels of N (400, 800 and 1 200 g/tree) and 2 of each of P 2 O 5 and K 2 O (200 and 400 g/tree). Per cent increase in tree height and stem girth was higher with the higher levels ofN,P and K application. However, the increase was non-significant with higher K level. Application of 800 gN/tree gave the highest pooled yield (38.81 kg/tree) as well as during all the years of study, with maximum fruit weight (76.8 g) and total soluble solids (19.3°B). Higher levels of P and K also increased the fruit yield significantly. Different levels of P and K had non-significant effect on fruit weight and total soluble solids of the fruits. None of the nutrient elements could affect the fruit acidity. Interaction effects of N, P and K on pooled fruit yield and fruit weight were significant. A combination of 800 g N, 400 g each of P 2 O 5 and K 2 O/tree resulted in the maximum fruit yield (43.88 kg/tree) of heaviest fruits (78.50 g).
Effects of Nutrition Education Supported by Mobile Application on Weight Loss and Quality of Life: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Obesity is a growing health problem which affects people from all age groups all over the world. Obese people do not feel motivated enough to change their lifestyle behaviors. Mobile applications can be used to motivate people.Objective To evaluate effect of nutrition education supported by MOtiVE mobile application on weight loss and quality of life (QoL). Methods In this randomized-controlled study, 79 overweight/obese adult patients who presented to University Hospital Outpatient Clinic between March-September 2018 to consult a dietitian were included. All the participants were provided a weight-loss diet program by the dietitian. Then, participants were randomized to experimental and control groups. During the first interview, all participants completed the questionnaire and anthropometric measurements were done. BMI, the scores obtained from different Quality of Life scales and Healthy Eating Index (HEI) were the dependent variables. The participants in the experimental group were provided with daily messages for 3 months via MOtiVE mobile application designed solely for this study. All the participants were asked to present three months later for a follow-up appointment. Using SPSS 25.0, change in BMI, QoL scores and other variables within both groups was assessed via Wilcoxon signed-rank test and McNemar chi-square test. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results Although 39 cases and 40 controls took the first test, 20 cases and 18 controls participants completed the study. The mean BMI decreased significantly in both groups being more predominant in cases as from 33.8 ± 6.0 kg/m2 to 32.8 ± 5.8 kg/m2(p = 0.001) in cases and from 33.3 ± 5.0 kg/m2 to 32.2 ± 4.7 kg/m2 (p = 0.006) in controls. Moreover, waist circumference decreased (p = 0.029), self-esteem (p = 0.035) and healthy eating scores (p = 0.007) increased only in cases significantly.Conclusions Nutrition education supported by MOtiVE mobile application improved anthropometric measurements, self-esteem, quality of life and healthy eating habits of the overweight/obese participants. Free mobile applications can be used in increasing motivation to adopt new behaviors in order to tackle obesity.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04026971
Effect of heavy metal co-contamination on the biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in an urban soil with high organic carbon content

Biodegradation is a commonly used approach for the removal of organic contaminants from soil, relying on naturally present microorganisms that utilise the pollutants as an energy source. Often these sites are co-contaminated with heavy metals and the aim of the current research was to investigate how this affects the biodegradation of 16 US EPA priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), both in terms of removal rates and the overall functioning of the soil microbial community. Soil samples were obtained from a Greenfield site in Newcastle upon Tyne. The soil had a high organic content (11.0 %) and also contained elevated lead concentrations as a result of past atmospheric deposition from adjacent industrial activities. PAHs were applied to the soil using a coal tar source dissolved in acetone, giving a total PAH concentration in the spiked soil of 2166 mg kg-1. Individual PAH concentrations ranged from 1.44 mg kg-1 (acenaphthylene) to 325 mg kg-1 (benzo[b]fluoranthene); the benzo[a]pyrene concentration was 255 mg kg-1. The effect of heavy metal co-contaminants on the biodegradation was investigated using separate amendments of cadmium and lead to give respective total concentrations ranging from 133 to 620 mg kg-1 and 340 to 817 mg kg-1. Mercury amendment was used to give an abiotic control. The study was carried out over 40 weeks. For all treatments, the degradation of PAHs was observed to be biphasic. A novel kinetic model was developed to explain this dependence. In the absence of metal amendment, it was found that PAHs comprising two and three benzene rings generally degrade at a faster rate than four- five and six-membered rings. In the presence of metal amendments, overall % biodegradation after 40 weeks is relatively unaffected for two to four-ring PAHs but shows significant impairment for five and six-ring PAHs. Nevertheless, degradation rates generally decrease with increasing metal concentration, as do soil respiration rate, Shannon Diversity Index, and microbial biomass content. Lead appears to exert the greatest inhibitory effect. The novelty of this study arises from the integrated approach to investigating the effect of metal co-contaminants on the biodegradation of all 16 US EPA priority PAHs together with parameters relating to the functioning and diversity of the soil microbial community.
Understanding Public Willingness to Participate in Local Conservation Initiatives of Urban Trees in Benin City, Nigeria

As global populations become increasingly urban, public participation has emerged as a new and more direct initiative for the conservation of urban trees and ecosystem services (ES). However, little effort has been made to understand the willingness of residents to participate in conservation programs for trees and ES in Benin City, Nigeria. To fill this gap, a survey to understand residents’ knowledge of ES and their perceptions around ES conservation, i.e., personal willingness to participate in voluntary conservation initiatives (VCIs), was conducted. Unlike the general misconception that trees are not appreciated in African cities, this study showed that most residents had a positive appreciation for the ES provided by urban trees in Benin City. Additionally, irrespective of respondents’ demographics, the findings from this study indicated a growing importance of the ES that trees provide, such as regulation of excess heat, scenic beauty, flooding and erosion control, and provision of shade. Hence, willingness to participate in VCIs was related to the growing importance of ES in the study area. Respondents’ knowledge of ES, education, and years of residency increased the probability of an individual’s participation in VCIs in the city. Other sociodemographic factors commonly related to urban forest participation (e.g., gender, marital status, income, profession, and residential location) did not significantly influence the willingness to participate in the conservation programs. Findings from this seminal study could assist future planning and emphasize to city developers, government (at all levels), resource managers, and decision makers the need to consider public values and perceptions towards enhancing conservation initiatives for urban trees in Benin City.
Guided Cooperative Flipped Classroom Approach in Learning Molecular Orbital Theory

The purpose of the study is to investigate whether innovative approach called Guided Cooperative Flipped Classroom can be accepted by students during the learning of Molecular Orbital. Molecular Orbital theory is one of the topics teach in Inorganic Chemistry. This course is enrolled by pre-service science teacher major or minor in chemistry. Although Flipped Classroom has been widely accepted, this is the first time the approach experienced by the students. Unlike other courses, students always have a negative perception toward chemistry course, for example chemistry subject is difficult to understand and is not easy to pass. Case study approach was adopted to discover students’ acceptance on the approach through survey and informal interview. The study was carried out with four guided learning steps: Intentional Content Approach, Higher Order Thinking Activities, Sharing and Feed-Forward Feedback Session and Reflection Session. In general, majority of the students perceived positive direction towards the approach and belief that the approach support and engage them in learning inorganic chemistry much better compare to traditional way of learning. Some of the students feel that, this is the first time that they learn chemistry meaningfully. It can be concluded that the Guided Cooperative Flipped Classroom is acceptable as an alternative approach in understanding Molecular Orbital Theory.
End-to-end COVID-19 screening with 3D deep learning on chest computed tomography

The outbreak of an acute respiratory syndrome (called novel coronavirus pneumonia, NCP) caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus has now progressed to a pandemic, and became the most common threat to public death worldwide[i],[ii]. COVID-19 screening using computed tomography (CT) can perform a quick diagnosis and identify high-risk NCP patients[iii]. Automated screening using CT volumes is a challenging task owing to inter-grader variability and high false-positive and false-negative rates. We propose a three dimensional (3D) deep learning convolutional neural networks (CNN) that use a patient’s CT volume to predict the risk of COVID-19, trained end-to-end from CT volumes directly, using only images and disease labels as inputs. Our model achieves a state-of-the-art performance (95.78% overall accuracy, 99.4% area under the curve) on a dataset of 1,684 COVID-19 patients, nearly twice larger than previous datasets3, and performs similarly on an independent clinical validation set of 121 cases. We tested its performance against six radiologists on clinical confirmed patient’ CT volumes, our model outperformed all six radiologists with absolute reductions of 7% in false positives and 35.9% in false negatives, demonstrating artificial intelligence (AI) capable to optimize the COVID-19 screening process via computer assistance and automation with a level of competence comparable to radiologists. While the vast majority of patients remain unscreened, we show the potential for AI to increase the accuracy and consistency of COVID-19 screening with CT.