Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Secondary bacterial infections and antibiotic resistance among tungiasis patients in Western, Kenya

Tungiasis or jigger infestation is a parasitic disease caused by the female sand flea Tunga penetrans. Secondary infection of the lesions caused by this flea is common in endemic communities. This study sought to shed light on the bacterial pathogens causing secondary infections in tungiasis lesions and their susceptibility profiles to commonly prescribed antibiotics. Participants were recruited with the help of Community Health Workers. Swabs were taken from lesions which showed signs of secondary infection. Identification of suspected bacteria colonies was done by colony morphology, Gram staining, and biochemical tests. The Kirby Bauer disc diffusion test was used to determine the drug susceptibility profiles. Out of 37 participants, from whom swabs were collected, specimen were positive in 29 and 8 had no growth. From these, 10 different strains of bacteria were isolated. Two were Gram positive bacteria and they were, Staphylococcus epidermidis (38.3%) and Staphylococcus aureus (21.3%). Eight were Gram negative namely Enterobacter cloacae (8.5%), Proteus species (8.5%), Klebsiellla species (6.4%), Aeromonas sobria (4.3%), Citrobacter species (4.3%), Proteus mirabillis(4.3%), Enterobacter amnigenus (2.1%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (2.1%). The methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolated were also resistant to clindamycin, kanamycin, erythromycin, nalidixic acid, trimethorprim sulfamethoxazole and tetracycline. All the Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria isolates were sensitive to gentamicin and norfloxacin drugs. Results from this study confirms the presence of resistant bacteria in tungiasis lesions hence highlighting the significance of secondary infection of the lesions in endemic communties. This therefore suggests that antimicrobial susceptibility testing may be considered to guide in identification of appropriate antibiotics and treatment therapy among tungiasis patients.
A novel coding method for correcting soft error in Parallel Filter

Digital filters are widely used in signal processing and communication systems. In this achievement of the reliability of those systems is critical. So the fault tolerant filter implementations are needed. There are many techniques that exploit the filters’ structure and properties to achieve fault tolerance in order to reduce the complexity in the filter. In those complex systems, it is common that some of the filters operate in parallel to provide the error free output to the filters by using hamming code in redundant module. It is one of the error correction code type. It is using correction as single fault correction. The existing scheme allows more efficient protection when the number of parallel filters is large. The technique is evaluated using parallel finite impulse response filters showing the effectiveness in terms of protection and implementation cost. In proposed scheme weight coding technique is used to find the faults in digital filters with minimum number of parallel filters in the redundant module.
Performance evaluation of PASER — An efficient secure route discovery approach for wireless mesh networks

In emergency and rescue operations, wireless mesh networks are attracting increased attention as a high-performance and low-cost solution for ubiquitous network access. In this paper, we evaluate the novel secure mesh route discovery protocol PASER, which has been designed to address the mesh network security in such critical environments. The protocol aims to set up reliable ad-hoc routes between network nodes and to combat unauthorized nodes of manipulating the route look-up process. Especially, its lightweight symmetric authentication scheme is noteworthy. The protocol is investigated together with the well-established routing protocols AODV, DYMO, BATMAN and OLSR under various scenario conditions and different attacks. In contrast to its counterparts, the results show that PASER is able to secure the network without noticeable computational overhead. On top of that, the paper reveals that PASER outperforms its counterparts in many cases in terms of packet delivery ratio and maximum end-to-end delay.
Nonparametric Tests for Evaluation of Biosimilarity in Variability of Follow-on Biologics

As more biologic products are going off patent protection, the development of follow-on biologic products (also known as biosimilars) has gained much attention from both the biotechnology industry and regulatory agencies. Unlike small molecules, the development of biologic products is not only more complicated but also sensitive to a small change in procedure/environment during the manufacturing process. In practice, biologics are expected to have much larger variation, which will potentially impact the product quality and potency. Thus, it is suggested that the assessment of biosimilarity between biologic products should take variability into consideration, in addition to average biosimilarity of endpoints of interest. In this article, we propose the use of nonparametric tests for evaluation of biosimilarity in variability between the follow-on biologic product and the reference product. Extensive simulations are conducted to compare the relative performance of the proposed methods with the adapted parametric F-test in terms of correctly concluding biosimilarity in variability. Under normality assumption, the proposed nonparametric tests are found to be comparably well with the adapted F-test. However, the proposed methods are more robust when the assumption is violated.
Sensitivity analysis to model parameter errors of MPPT by model predictive control for photovoltaic applications

Due to variability of solar energy resources, maximum power point tracking (MPPT) of photovoltaic (PV) is required to ensure continuous operation at the maximum power point (MPP) and maximize the energy harvest. This paper presents a digital model predictive control technique to employ the MPPT for flyback converter for photovoltaic applications. The MPP operating point is determined by using perturb and observe (P&O) technique. The proposed two-steps predictive model based MPPT presents significant advantages in dynamic response and power ripple at steady state. A characteristic of MPC is the use of system models for selecting optimal actuations, thus evaluating the effect of model parameter mismatch on control effectiveness is of interest. In this paper the load model is eliminated from the proposed MPC formulation by using an observer based technique. The sensitivity analysis results indicate a more robust controller to uncertainty and disturbances in the resistive load.
Field anaesthesia of three Australian species of flying fox

THE field capture and restraint of flying foxes (Pteropus species) is becoming increasingly necessary given the role that these bats play in the epidemiology of emerging zoonoses and because of attempts to better understand recent worldwide declines in their numbers and distribution (Hall and Richards 2000). While it is possible to collect samples of venous blood from restrained, conscious flying foxes, for reasons of occupational health and safety and animal welfare, prolonged examination or invasive sampling require deep sedation or surgical anaesthesia. Surprisingly, there has been only one study reporting the use of isoflurane (Forthane; Abbott Australasia) anaesthesia in a limited number of individuals of
Ensemble-based estimation of wind power forecast uncertainty

Wind power prediction tools promote secure energy supply with large wind energy integration, which is fundamental for achieving a low-carbon economy. While deterministic forecasts provide a time-series, probabilistic forecasts provide interval predictions, thus enabling the perusal of forecast uncertainty for decision-making. This work presents a new nonparametric statistical approach to model the uncertainty in wind power forecasts. The methodology leverages an ensemble of deterministic forecasts using order statistics and linear quantile regression, thus providing an efficient distribution-free probabilistic power forecast system, with sample size and coverage error controlled by the required coverage rate. Experiments include daily data from three months and forecast horizons complying with market applications. The performance is evaluated using the reliability/calibration and the sharpness metrics. The results show competitive reliability, with coverage and sharpness characteristics that compare favorably with reference methods.
Pushing versus pulling: division of labour between tarsal attachment pads in cockroaches

Adhesive organs on the legs of arthropods and vertebrates are strongly direction dependent, making contact only when pulled towards the body but detaching when pushed away from it. Here we show that the two types of attachment pads found in cockroaches (Nauphoeta cinerea), tarsal euplantulae and pretarsal arolium, serve fundamentally different functions. Video recordings of vertical climbing revealed that euplantulae are almost exclusively engaged with the substrate when legs are pushing, whereas arolia make contact when pulling. Thus, upward-climbing cockroaches used front leg arolia and hind leg euplantulae, whereas hind leg arolia and front leg euplantulae were engaged during downward climbing. Single-leg friction force measurements showed that the arolium and euplantulae have an opposite direction dependence. Euplantulae achieved maximum friction when pushed distally, whereas arolium forces were maximal during proximal pulls. This direction dependence was not explained by the variation of shear stress but by different contact areas during pushing or pulling. The changes in contact area result from the arrangement of the flexible tarsal chain, tending to detach the arolium when pushing and to peel off euplantulae when in tension. Our results suggest that the euplantulae in cockroaches are not adhesive organs but ‘friction pads’, mainly providing the necessary traction during locomotion.
New Insight Into the Genes Susceptible to Asthma

There is considerable worldwide interest in identifying genes related to susceptibility to asthma. Progress has been slow in part because of the complexity and heterogeneity of the disease. Although at least 170 genes located on 10 chromosomes have been associated with or in linkage with asthma and asthma-related phenotypes, the majority of the reports have either been preliminary or the results have been controversial. In order to overcome the problems with the inherent complexity of asthma and methodological issues, the authors propose a strategy for identification of asthma susceptibility genes based on theories of systems biology and bioinformatics and candidate gene approach.
Correlates of weight instability across the lifespan in a population-based sample.

OBJECTIVE Research from overweight/obese clinical samples links weight instability to poor health. This study investigated whether negative health outcomes were associated with weight instability in a population-based sample. METHOD One thousand five hundred ten women and 1,111 men from the Mid-Atlantic Twin Registry completed questionnaires assessing demographics, body size in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, health satisfaction, and disordered eating. Noneating disorder psychiatric diagnoses were assessed via clinical interviews. RESULTS Weight instability was related to lower health satisfaction and self-esteem, and higher body dissatisfaction, dieting, and binge eating for both sexes. Weight unstable women were more likely to meet criteria for lifetime major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and eating disorders. Weight stable women were more likely to abuse alcohol; however, two of these associations [e.g. weight instability and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and weight stability and alcohol abuse] became nonsignificant once lifetime binge eating was accounted for, indicating that these forms of psychopathology are more strongly related to binge eating than weight instability itself. No associations between weight stability and psychiatric diagnoses were found in men. DISCUSSION Weight instability is related to mental and physical health concerns for both sexes. It was also specifically associated with depression and eating pathology in women.
“Poppies Are Democracy!” a Critical Geopolitics Of Opium Eradication And Reintroduction In Turkey*

Historical scholarship in traditional geopolitics often relied on documents authored by states and by other influential actors. Although much work in the subfield of critical geopolitics thus far has addressed imbalances constructed in official, academic, and popular media due to a privileging of such narratives, priority might also be given to unearthing and bringing to light alternative geopolitical perspectives from otherwise marginalized populations. Utilizing the early‐1970s case of the United States' first “war on drugs,” this article examines the geopolitics of opium‐poppy eradication and its consequences within Turkey. Employing not only archival and secondary sources but also oral histories from now‐retired poppy farmers, this study examines the diffusion of U.S. antinarcotics policies into the Anatolian countryside and the enduring impressions that the United States and Turkish government created. In doing so, this research gives voice to those farmers targeted by eradication policies and speaks more broadly to matters of narcotics control, sentiments of anti‐Americanism, and notions of democracy in Turkey and the region, past and present.
Factors associated with rapid neurological improvement 24 h following intra-arterial thrombolytic treatment for acute ischemic stroke

Background and Purpose Significant 24 h improvement is the strongest indicator of functional recovery following thrombolytic treatment for acute ischemic stroke. This study sought to analyze factors contributing to rapid neurological improvement (RNI) following intra-arterial thrombolytic treatment (IATT). Methods Angiograms and clinical information derived from consecutive patients receiving treatment initiated within 6 h of stroke onset were retrospectively reviewed. RNI was defined as at least 50% 24 h improvement on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score. Logistic regression analysis identified factors associated with RNI. Variables tested included: age, gender, serum glucose, platelet count, pial collateral formation, presenting National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, time to treatment, extent of reperfusion, site and location of occlusion, treatment agent and systolic blood pressure. Results Greater than 50% reperfusion of the involved territory, time to treatment within 270 min and good pial collateral formation (large penumbra zone) significantly predicted RNI. RNI occurred in 31% of the 112 patients studied. RNI occurred in 21/26 (80.8%) patients exhibiting all three favorable variables whereas patients with only one favorable variable had a 6.5% chance of RNI. 94% of patients displaying RNI had a modified Rankin Scale score of 2 or less at 3 months compared with 28.6% without RNI. Conclusions RNI following IATT for stroke is more likely when at least two of the following are present: good reperfusion, good pial collateral formation and treatment within 4.5 h of symptom onset, and is strongly predictive of 3 month outcomes. Important to clinical management, IATT may need to be reconsidered in patients with poor pial collateral formation if time to treatment exceeds 4.5 h.
Hatching Order and Seasonal Timing of Development Predict Bill Morphology of Nestling and Adult Lincoln's Sparrows

Abstract. Traits under strong directional or stabilizing selection can nonetheless vary considerably if the selective forces impinging on them vary in strength or direction. Although such variation is commonly manifested between unrelated individuals, some of the largest differences occur between siblings because of differences in their developmental experience. This is exemplified by the broods of altricial birds, in which asynchronous hatching produces a competitive hierarchy that influences an individual's developmental rate and fitness. Using Lincoln's Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii), I examined whether the order of hatching or the seasonal timing of development (another factor that influences offspring fitness and estimated as the date of initiation of the clutch from which an individual hatched) predicted variation in bill shape, a trait often under strong natural and sexual selection. I measured individuals as nestlings and as adults for a metric of bill shape (height/width) that is associated with an adult male Lincoln's Sparrow's song performance. I found that an individual's bill shape during the nestling stage positively correlated with its bill shape during the adult stage. Nestling bill shape declined (became wider and flatter in cross-section) with hatching order, and the bill shape of both nestlings and adults declined with the individual's seasonal timing of development. These findings raise the possibility of a trade-off between life stages in the optimization of songbird bill morphology and may explain the persistence of suboptimal bill shapes among adult songbirds in the presence of strong stabilizing or directional selection.
Discrimination of Corporate Governance Principles by Agents in Turkish SMEs Assoc . Prof . Dr

The main purpose of this study is to investigate whether managers and owners of SMEs have different levels of interest towards corporate governance principles. Specifically, we aim to reveal which corporate principles discriminate owners from managers in SMEs. In order to investigate this, we collected data from owners and managers of 147 firms. Our analyses results revealed that one variable in discriminating between owners and managers was the most significant, which was namely accountability.
Experiment-based simulation for distortion behavior in LV networks for microgrid modeling

This paper presents the results of experiment-based simulation aimed at analyzing the harmonic distortion behavior of nonlinear loads and the background voltage distortion of power supply in building low-voltage (LV) distribution network. The procedure of constructing experiment-based simulation model and harmonic monitoring at various points of common coupling (PCCs) in LV network are introduced for analyzing voltage and current harmonic distortion behavior due to attenuation effect. The model is proposed for future microgrid modeling analysis at different PCCs in LV networks. The simulation model was constructed from captured harmonic data and the corresponding LV network topology. The simulation model has been verified by comparing with field measurement results. The VTHD and ITHD relationship curve and the attenuation effect curve for personal computers (PC) have been proposed by using the simulation model. In particular case study has been conducted to compare the conventional and state-of-art switch mode power supply (SMPS) used in PCs.
A new Danish Listeria monocytogenes phage typing system

A phage typing system was developed for Listeria monocytogenes. Phages were released from clinical and from food strains of L. monocytogenes by mitomycin C induction. The system consists of two subsystems, one of which is used to type L. monocytogenes serotype 1 strains, containing 12 phages, and a second which is used to type serotype 4 strains, containing 14 other phages. For the serotype 1 subsystem, the reproducibility was ≥90%, the typability 92%, and the discriminatory power, as judged by the discriminatory index, 80%. The corresponding figures for the serotype 4 subsystem were: reproducibility ≥94%, typability 87%, and discriminatory index 87%. The performance of the whole typing system is sufficient for it to be used for screening purposes.
Control Applied to a Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engine Test Bench under Transient Operation: Impact on Engine Performance and Pollutant Emissions

This work presents a methodology to adjust the electronic control system of a reciprocating internal combustion engine test bench and the effect of the control parameters on emissions produced by the engine under two extreme situations: unadjusted and adjusted, both under transient operation. The aim is to provide a tuning guide to those in charge of this equipment not needed to be experts in control engineering. The proposed methodology covers from experimental plant modelling to control parameters determination and experimental validation. The methodology proposed includes the following steps: (i) Understanding of test bench and mathematical modeling; (ii) Model parameters identification; (iii) Control law proposal and tuning from simulation and (iv) Experimental validation. The work has been completed by presenting a comparative experimental study about the effect of the test bench control parameters on engine performance profiles (engine speed, engine torque and relative fuel air ratio) and on regulated gaseous emissions (nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons concentrations) and the profile of number of particles emitted. The whole process, including experimental validation, has been carried out in a test bench composed of a turbocharged, with common rail injection system, light duty diesel engine coupled to a Schenck E-90 eddy current dynamometric brake and its related Schenk X-act control electronics. The work demonstrates the great effect of the test bench control tuning under transient operation on performance and emissions produced by the engine independently of the engine accelerator position demanded before and after the test bench tuning.
Construcción y validación psicométrica de una Escala de Intención de Meta

Se presenta la metodologia para construir y para validar un conjunto de subescalas que miden la Intencion de Meta. Su construccion fue inductiva. Los participantes fueron estudiantes de doctorado de una universidad publica de Mexico. Se trato de un estudio prospectivo, sustentado en las teorias de establecimiento de metas, socio-cognoscitiva de la motivacion y el modelo de fases de accion. Se comprobaron 12 subescalas, en su mayoria unifactoriales que presentaron una confiabilidad acorde con el area de medicion. Se sugiere aumentar el numero de participantes y probar la escala en poblacion general para mejorar los niveles de confiabilidad.