Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A decade of teaching evidence-based management: initiatives and future directions

Practitioners who apply insights from organizational research to managerial decision-making can make better decisions, yet there remains a disconnect between research, teaching, and practice in management. This paper describes initiatives in the University of Prince Edward Island’s Faculty of Business to teach evidencebased management in our undergraduate and Executive MBA programs to help bridge those gaps.
Re-interpretation of USLE Datasets for Physically Based Erosion Models with Examples From Southern China and Northern Thailand

*B. Yu, C.W. Rose, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Griffith University, Nathan, Qld 4111, Australia; D. Yin , Guizhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guiyang 550006, P. R. China; C. Anecksamphant, Department of Land Development, Bangkok 10900, Thailand. *Corresponding author: B.Yu@mailbox.gu. edu.au ABSTRACT The Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) has a profound influence on the way in which soil conservation research is conducted around the world. Typically, standard or nearly standard USLE runoff plots are set up on different slopes, and rainfall, runoff and soil loss are measured for individual storm events for various treatments to represent different management practices. What is often missing from this type of experiment is data on the runoff rate. Runoff rate is one of the most important determinants of the rate of soil erosion, especially on sloping lands. Data on runoff rate are explicitly required to drive process-oriented soil erosion models such as WEPP and GUEST. In WEPP, for instance, the rate of soil erosion is related to the peak runoff rate. In GUEST, the sediment concentration at the transport limit is related to a weighted average runoff rate, known also as the effective runoff rate. Analysis of data on 1-min rainfall and runoff rates from several sites in Australia and Southeast Asia has shown that a one-parameter infiltration model is adequate to generate storm hydrographs given rainfall intensity and runoff total. One of the distinct advantages of using this simple infiltration model is that there is no need to select model parameter values for individual storm events. In this paper, we use this methodology to generate hydrographs for two sites in southern China and northern Thailand, respectively, and show how to apply the physically based model GUEST to these sites. In addition, we compare USLE and GUEST erodibility parameters using the same rainfall, runoff and soil loss data for the two sites.
Intraoperative dexmedetomidine sedation reduces the postoperative agitated behavior in elderly patients undergoing orthopedic surgery compared to the propofol sedation.

BACKGROUND Postoperative agitation or confusion is one of the symptoms of hyperactive delirium in elderly patients. We retrospectively evaluated the incidence of postoperative abnormal psychomotor behavior in elderly surgical patients according to the use of different intraoperative sedative agents: dexmedetomidine vs. propofol. METHODS The medical records of 855 elderly patients, who underwent orthopedic surgery with regional anesthesia between July 2012 and September 2015, were divided into two groups, the dexmedetomidine group (N.=263) and the propofol group (N.=592), and then evaluated. Agitated behavior was evaluated as the primary outcome, and patient-, surgery-, and anesthesia-related factors, as well as other postoperative complications, were investigated as secondary outcomes. To reduce the risk of confounder effects between the two groups, 263 patients were selected from the propofol group by propensity score matching. RESULTS In the propensity-score-matched groups, the incidence of agitated behavior was lower in the dexmedetomidine group compared with the propofol group (6 [2.3%] vs. 17 [6.5%], P=0.027). All pre- and postoperative laboratory values were comparable between the two groups, including hemoglobin, hematocrit, platelet count, C-reactive protein, electrolytes, creatinine, glomerular filtration rate, and albumin. Moreover, intraoperative propofol sedation, older age, higher Charlson comorbidity index, and hip surgery were found to be significant factors for the occurrence of agitation. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that intraoperative dexmedetomidine sedation, as compared with propofol sedation, may have a greater beneficial effect in reducing agitated behavior in elderly patients undergoing orthopedic surgery with regional anesthesia.
Improvement of Visual Functions and Fundus Alterations in Early Age-Related Macular Degeneration Treated with a Combination of Acetyl-L-Carnitine, n-3 Fatty Acids, and Coenzyme Q10

The aim of this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was to determine the efficacy of a combination of acetyl-L-carnitine, n-3 fatty acids, and coenzyme Q10 (Phototrop®) on the visual functions and fundus alterations in early age-related macular degeneration (AMD). One hundred and six patients with a clinical diagnosis of early AMD were randomized to the treated or control groups. The primary efficacy variable was the change in the visual field mean defect (VFMD) from baseline to 12 months of treatment, with secondary efficacy parameters: visual acuity (Snellen chart and ETDRS chart), foveal sensitivity as measured by perimetry, and fundus alterations as evaluated according to the criteria of the International Classification and Grading System for AMD. The mean change in all four parameters of visual functions showed significant improvement in the treated group by the end of the study period. In addition, in the treated group only 1 out of 48 cases (2%) while in the placebo group 9 out of 53 (17%) showed clinically significant (>2.0 dB) worsening in VFMD (p = 0.006, odds ratio: 10.93). Decrease in drusen-covered area of treated eyes was also statistically significant as compared to placebo when either the most affected eyes (p = 0.045) or the less affected eyes (p = 0.017) were considered. These findings strongly suggested that an appropriate combination of compounds which affect mitochondrial lipid metabolism, may improve and subsequently stabilize visual functions, and it may also improve fundus alterations in patients affected by early AMD.
Motivation-Hygiene Theory : Applicability on Teachers

The core objective of this study is to find out the applicability of Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory on private sector university teachers in district Peshawar. A job satisfaction questionnaire based on two dimensional variables i.e. hygiene and motivators proposed by Herzberg was developed to collect the relevant data from the respondents. It was found out that majority of the teachers expressed their “satisfaction” with hygiene variables like the nature of supervision in their universities, relations with their boss, with working conditions, and relations with co-workers. Teachers in highest number have responded to be satisfied from their relations with their coworkers as compared to other hygiene factors. Majority of teachers have also shown their satisfaction with motivators like achievement, recognition, work itself, responsibility and advancement. A significant percentage of teachers have revealed their satisfaction with achievement and work itself as compared to other motivators. This study shows dissatisfaction of teachers with policy of the university, pay they are receiving and the opportunities of growth on their job. In respect of hygiene factors, this study has yielded adverse results to the focused theory. This departure from the original theory seems to be due to socio-cultural differences in Pakistani perspective. On the other hand this study supported Motivation-Hygiene theory in respect of motivation factors. It is recommended that future study may be conducted on a large population so as to include various aspects of population to fulfill the requisites of making generalization of the findings to the whole country.
miR-144 promotes the proliferation and differentiation of bone mesenchymal stem cells by downregulating the expression of SFRP1

Osteoporosis (OP) seriously affects the health and quality of life of elderly individuals and postmenopausal women, and the need to identify drugs that can prevent or treat OP remains urgent. Recently, several miRNAs have been reported to be involved in the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells and osteoblasts; however, the role of miRNA (miR)-144 in regulating OP remains to be elucidated. In the present study, the expression levels of miR-144, secreted frizzled-related protein 1 (Sfrp1) and TNF-α in clinical samples were detected by the reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis and ELISA, respectively. 5-Ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine staining, Hoechst 33258 staining, flow cytometry, a clone formation assay and Alizarin red staining were used to assess the effects of miR-144 combined with or without Sfrp1 small interfering RNA on the proliferation, apoptosis and osteoblastic differentiation of primary mesenchymal stem cells isolated from rats. Western blot assays were performed to assess the relevant mechanisms, and a dual luciferase reporter assay was used to detect the interaction between miR-144 and Sfrp1. The results showed that the levels of miR-144, Sfrp1 and TNF-α in clinical serum samples obtained from patients with postmenopausal OP were higher than those in serum samples obtained from postmenopausal women with normal bone density. There was a significant positive correlation between miR-144 and Sfrp1. Functional experiments demonstrated that miR-144 promoted proliferation, inhibited apoptosis and induced the osteoblastic differentiation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells by targeting Sfrp1. It was also shown that miR-144 may help regulate OP by activating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. These data suggest miR-144 as a novel target for preventing and treating OP.
Analysis of current technologies for real time multidimensional map service

The Geospatial Information construction & service technology has shifted from 3D geospatial information to multidimensional geospatial information service. In fact, it has evolved into a service that covers up real time multidimensional geospatial information and invisible information. In addition, there have been a lot of studies on how to provide services with diverse contents by developing information linkage & integration technology as well as geospatial information construction technology. This study aims to select keywords on multidimensional real time map service technology and analyze current technologies.
Literacy improvement in a primary school : A case study

This paper describes a literacy intervention innovation in a primary school that was implemented on a whole school basis. The school had experienced comparatively low levels of literacy success for several years. Improvement required all staff to evaluate and, where necessary, modify literacy pedagogy. Whole school change that takes account of variation in staff knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and levels of commitment is frequently problematic.
Chasing Sets : How to Use Existential Rules for Expressive Reasoning IJCAI Submission

We propose that modern existential rule reasoners can enable fully declarative implementations of rule-based inference methods in knowledge representation, in the sense that a particular calculus is captured by a fixed set of rules that can be evaluated on varying inputs (encoded as facts). We introduce Datalog(S) – Datalog with support for sets – as a surface language for such translations, and show that it can be captured in a decidable fragment of existential rules. We then implement several known inference methods in Datalog(S), and empirically show that an existing existential rule reasoner can thus be used to solve practical reasoning problems.
Ambient Systems , Networks and Technologies ( ANT 2017 ) GTFS Bus Stop Mapping to the OSM Network

Due to budget constraints public transportation (PT) can no longer be deployed in regions where it attracts insufficient customers. Novel techniques like demand-responsive collective transportation (DRT) are evaluated to cut costs. This requires detailed simulations that are able to predict travel demand and include trip execution. Simulating facilities acting as feeder services to time-table based PT services requires detailed and accurate information about the PT infrastructure on a network. However, there are no public data sources that combine network and PT infrastructure data with the preferred level of detail. A newly developed bus stop mapping technique is presented. It uses the OpenStreetMap (OSM) and General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) open data sources, which are maintained independently. Merging the data into a single database requires alignment. Developing bus stop mapping algorithms is challenging due to (i) inaccurate location data, (ii) inconsistent data sources and (iii) the vastly interconnected PT network and services. Due to the inaccuracy in the GTFS stop locations and in the OSM network, pure geometric considerations might lead to multiple candidate solutions to map a stop to the network. The new technique handles all GTFS trips at once and operates under the assumption that PT operators minimize the total distance driven to complete all trips. c © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Peer-review under responsibility of the Conference Program Chairs.
The Challenges of Continuous Capture , Contemporaneous Analysis , and Customized Summarization of Video Content

Video information mining is enabled when there exist multiple perspectives of the same event, person, place or object, each adding some content or collateral information. The perspectives may vary by location and time, by resolution and color, by media and format. The result of continuous capture of multiple sources is lots of redundant as well as marginally relevant information. Whether the content is from the 48 million hours/year of unique broadcasts from the 33,000 tv stations operating simultaneously worldwide, or from 4.5 million hours/day of surveillance video from the 14,000 air terminals worldwide, the key to useful access and correlation of this information is the ability to index, search, and meaningfully summarize and visualize it as it is captured and queried. For a number of years, Carnegie Mellon’s Informedia project has been pursuing the development and integration of core technologies along with validating applications in order to approach these long-term goals.
Agamermis (Nematoda: Mermithidae) Infection in South Carolina Agricultural Pests

Abstract Native and invasive stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) and the closely related invasive Megacopta cribraria (Hemiptera: Plataspidae) are agricultural pests in the southeastern United States. Natural enemies, from various phyla, parasitize these pests and contribute to population regulation. We specifically investigated Nematoda infections in pentatomid and plataspid pests in one soybean field in South Carolina in 2015. Nematodes were identified through molecular and morphological methods and assigned to family Mermithidae, genus Agamermis. This study reports mermithid nematode infection in immature M. cribraria for the first time and provides the first mermithid host record for the stink bugs Chinavia hilaris, Euschistus servus, and another Euschistus species, and a grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acrididae) in South Carolina. The same Agamermis species infected all hosts. The broad host range and prevalence suggests that Agamermis may be an important contributor to natural mortality of pentatomid and plataspid pests. Previous mermithid host records for the Pentatomidae and Plataspidae worldwide are summarized. Further work is needed to assess the impact of infection on populations over a broader range of agricultural fields and geographic localities.
Neuregulin-1 impacting bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell migration is conducive to functional recovery following spinal cord injury

The present study was designed to investigate the effect of neuregulin-1 (NRG1) on the migration of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and evaluate the role of NRG1 in the functional recovery following spinal cord injury (SCI). Firstly, the effect of NRG1 on the mRNA expression of Snail in the BMSCs was detected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analysis; secondly, the BMSCs were transfected with a Snail-overexpression plasmid (pBabe-puro-Snail) and the expression levels of Snail and matrix metalloptoreinase-2 (MMP-2) were detected by RT-qPCR and western blot analyses; thirdly, the cell proliferation and migration of BMSCs modified with pBabe-puro-Snail were detected by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium and migration assays, respectively; finally, functional recovery of SCI was assessed using the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan rating scales. The results showed that NRG1 concentration-dependently promoted the expression of Snail with a peak at 40 ng/ml and 48 h; NRG1 enhanced the promoting effect of Snail on the expression of MMP-2; the overexpression of Snail did not enhance the cell growth of the BMSCs. The NRG1-modified BMSCs promoted the functional recovery of SCI. These results suggested that NRG1 significantly promoted the expression of MMP-2 by upregulating the expression of Snail, and enhanced cell migration of the BMSCs conducive to the functional recovery of SCI.
TRACTION USING DESCRIPTIVE KEYWORDS ONLY

Aspect extraction in online product reviews is a key task in sentiment analysis and opinion mining. Training supervised neural networks for aspect extraction is not possible when ground truth aspect labels are not available, while the unsupervised neural topic models fail to capture the particular aspects of interest. In this work, we propose a weakly supervised approach for training neural networks for aspect extraction in cases where only a small set of seed words, i.e., keywords that describe an aspect, are available. Our main contributions are as follows. First, we show that current weakly supervised networks fail to leverage the predictive power of the available seed words by comparing them to a simple bag-of-words classifier. Second, we propose a distillation approach for aspect extraction where the seed words are considered by the bag-of-words classifier (teacher) and distilled to the parameters of a neural network (student). Third, we show that regularization encourages the student to consider non-seed words for classification and, as a result, the student outperforms the teacher, which only considers the seed words. Finally, we empirically show that our proposed distillation approach outperforms (by up to 34.4% in F1 score) previous weakly supervised approaches for aspect extraction in six domains of Amazon product reviews.
ON FLIGHT DYNAMICS MODEL IDENTIFICATION AND OPTIMAL FLIGHT TEST PROTOCOL DESIGN

The flight dynamics models have many important applications in aircraft development which imply that their reliability must be high. To fulfill this objective, AIRBUS has developped for years an identification process but new requirements like building more accurate models in a shorter time lead to revisit this process. In this context, an optimization methodology of the flight test protocols based on the Genetic Algorithms (GA) technique has been developed. After a presentation of the current identification process at AIRBUS, this paper describes this new methodology and shows with some examples that it constitutes a viable alternative to the current procedure.
A comparative study of volar plate fixation versus percutaneous Kirschner wire fixation in the management of distal radius fracture in adults

Introduction: Fracture distal radius is the most common fracture treated; more than one sixth of all fractures that we treat are fracture of distal radius, that means 10% to 25% of all fractures seen at an emergency department and constitutes 17% of all the fractures and 75% of all forearm fractures. The distal ends of radius fractures continue to pose a therapeutic challenge.Aims and Objects: to compare the efficacy, functional and anatomical outcome of the volar locking compression plate and percutaneous k wire in the management of distal radius fracture in adults and various complications related to it.Methods: Hospital based study in the department of Orthopaedics, RIMS , Imphal, Manipur, Randomised controlled trial,conducted for a period of 2 years from August 2016 to August 2018.Results:Out of 62 patients, the study showed mean age of incidence to be 44.5 ±11.94 years in age group ranging from 30-65 years. In our study we found that the injuries were result of accidental fall constituting the commonest mode of injury (50%) followed by RTA (45.2%) and others injuries (4.8%). Females constituted the majority of the study population (64.52%). Age, sex, mode of injury, type of fracture, interval to surgery duration and associated co-morbidities were equally distributed between the two groups showing success of randomization. There was a highly significant diference in the operative time and blood loss between two groups, illustating that percutaneous fixation is much shorter procedure with mean operative time of 30 mins compared to 60mins of ORIF with volar locking plate and has less blood loss being 15-20ml to 155-200ml of ORIF with volar plating.Conclusion: ORIF with volar locking plate provide better radiological outcomes with more stable fixation thus lesser degree of loss of reduction in comparison to percutaneous pinning. However, K wiring remains a simple and inexpensive option for simple fracture patterns. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Date of Submission: 20-02-2019 Date of acceptance: 06-03-2019 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cationic Albumin‐Conjugated Chelating Agent as a Novel Brain Drug Delivery System in Neurodegeneration

The critical role of metal ions and in particular iron in oxidative stress and protein aggregation offers chelation therapy as a sensible pharmaceutical strategy in oxidative stress‐induced neuronal damages. In this research, we conjugated an iron‐chelating agent, deferasirox, to cationized human serum albumin molecules in order to develop a novel brain delivery system for the management of neurodegenerative disorders due to the significant role of oxidative stress‐induced neuronal injury in such diseases. Cationized albumin is known to be able to transport to brain tissue via adsorptive‐mediated transcytosis. The developed structures were molecularly characterized, and their conjugation ratio was determined. PC12 cell line was utilized to evaluate the neuroprotective features of these newly developed molecules in the presence of hydrogen peroxide neuronal damage and to identify the mechanisms behind the observed neuronal protection including apoptotic and autophagic pathways. Furthermore, a rat model of Alzheimer's disease was utilized to evaluate the impact of conjugated structures in vivo. Data analysis revealed that the conjugated species were able to hinder apoptotic cell death while enhancing autophagic process. The developed conjugated species were also able to attenuate amyloid beta‐induced learning deficits when administered peripherally.