Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PERFORMANCE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The Small and Medium play a vital role in different economies across the globe. SME's performance is very important for the growth and development of the economy. The purpose of this study was to review the literature on the role of social media on SMEs performance to highlight the knowledge gaps suitable to form a basis for future research work. Therefore, the specific objective were to review the existing conceptual and theoretical literature on the construct of social media usage and SME performance; to review the relevant empirical literature on the construct of social media usage and SME performance; and to identify emerging conceptual, theoretical, and empirical gaps from the reviewed literature. The research is anchored on three theories; namely, the social network theory, social penetration theory, and technology acceptance model. The theories shed light on the importance of social networks which can be employed in business to enhance performance. Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) conceptual Framework guided the study. The study established that social media plays a positive role in enhancing SME's performance. The adoption of social media by SMEs is important to their performance. However, the effectiveness of using social media to enhance SMEs’ performance is dependent on the role played by the SMEs management and the government.
Leakage Current Reduction of Three-Phase Z-Source Three-Level Four-Leg Inverter for Transformerless PV System

Leakage current reduction is one of the important issues for transformerless photovoltaic (PV) systems. Many interesting solutions have been reported to reduce the leakage current for three-phase PV inverters. However, most of them are limited to two-level inverters. Moreover, there is a potential risk of the overcurrent phenomenon. In order to solve the problem, a Z-source three-level four-leg inverter with a new modulation strategy is proposed in this paper. First, the mathematical modeling of the three-level four-leg Z-source inverter for leakage current reduction is established for the first time. Second, a new carrier-based modulation strategy is proposed by utilizing the effective large, medium, small, and zero vectors, instead of the invalid vectors, to achieve the constant common-mode voltage, as well as the leakage current suppression. Finally, the proposed solution is carried out on the Texas Instruments TMS320F28335 DSP + Xilinx XC3400 field-programmable gate array digital control hardware platform. The experimental results verify the effectiveness of the proposed solution.
Substantial transition to clean household energy mix in rural China

Abstract The household energy mix has significant impacts on human health and climate, as it contributes greatly to many health- and climate-relevant air pollutants. Compared to the well-established urban energy statistical system, the rural household energy statistical system is incomplete and is often associated with high biases. Via a nationwide investigation, this study revealed high contributions to energy supply from coal and biomass fuels in the rural household energy sector, while electricity comprised ∼20%. Stacking (the use of multiple sources of energy) is significant, and the average number of energy types was 2.8 per household. Compared to 2012, the consumption of biomass and coals in 2017 decreased by 45% and 12%, respectively, while the gas consumption amount increased by 204%. Increased gas and decreased coal consumptions were mainly in cooking, while decreased biomass was in both cooking (41%) and heating (59%). The time-sharing fraction of electricity and gases (E&G) for daily cooking grew, reaching 69% in 2017, but for space heating, traditional solid fuels were still dominant, with the national average shared fraction of E&G being only 20%. The non-uniform spatial distribution and the non-linear increase in the fraction of E&G indicated challenges to achieving universal access to modern cooking energy by 2030, particularly in less-developed rural and mountainous areas. In some non-typical heating zones, the increased share of E&G for heating was significant and largely driven by income growth, but in typical heating zones, the time-sharing fraction was <5% and was not significantly increased, except in areas with policy intervention. The intervention policy not only led to dramatic increases in the clean energy fraction for heating but also accelerated the clean cooking transition. Higher income, higher education, younger age, less energy/stove stacking and smaller family size positively impacted the clean energy transition.
Cryogenic 1.2 to 116 GHz Receiver for Large Arrays

Current and future large arrays for radio astronomy are compared and the Next Generation Very Large Array, ngVLA, is introduced. Receiver requirements are described and a 4-feed system covering 1.2 to 116 GHz, in a single vacuum cryogenic enclosure is presented followed by description of the reflector optics, the wide-band feeds, and the expected system performance
Safety, feasibility, and effectiveness of implementing supervised exercise into the clinical care of individuals with advanced cancer

Objective To evaluate the safety, feasibility, and preliminary effectiveness of implementing supervised exercise programming into the clinical care of individuals with advanced cancer. Design Single group implementation feasibility study using a pre–posttest design. Setting Exercise Oncology Unit of the Spanish Cancer Association (a cancer-specific community facility outside the hospital setting). Participants Adult individuals with advanced cancer profile involving advanced local cancer or distant metastases. Intervention A 12-week, twice-weekly, supervised, clinic-based multi-component exercise program. Main Measure Paired t-tests were used to assess pre–post changes and analyses of covariance were used to compare effects based on selected participant characteristics. Results Eighty-four individuals with advanced cancer completed the baseline assessment, with six participants withdrawing prior to the start of the program. Of the 78 participants, 17 dropped out, thus, a total of 61 completed the final assessment. Mean adherence was 82.5%. No serious adverse events occurred. Exercise significantly improved VO2max by 5.2 mL·kg·min (p < 0.001), chest strength (p < 0.001), leg strength (p < 0.001), lean body mass (p = 0.003), skeletal muscle mass (p < 0.002), % body fat (p = 0.02), quality of life by 5.3 points (p = 0.009), fatigue by 3.2 points (p = 0.012), and physical activity by 1680 METs/week (p < 0.001). Conclusions Our clinically supervised and tailored exercise program involving moderate to vigorous intensity exercise was found to be feasible, safe, and effective for individuals with advanced cancer. Implications for Cancer Survivors With proper screening and supervision, individuals with advanced cancer can benefit from tailored exercise oncology support as part of an overall therapeutic care plan.
Evaluating the Use of Video Modeling With Voiceover Instructions to Train Therapists to Deliver Caregiver Training Through Telehealth

Caregiver training is an important component of behavioral intervention; however, many barriers exist for in-person training. Alternatively, behavioral therapists may use telehealth as a service delivery method. To effectively train caregivers through telehealth, therapists should receive explicit training, but there has been limited research on effective methods for teaching this skill. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate video modeling with voice-over instruction (VMVO) to train therapists to implement 11 component skills of caregiver training through telehealth to teach confederate caregivers to implement a guided compliance procedure. We measured the therapist’s implementation of the component skills during a scripted role-play before and after video-model training within a multiple baseline design across participants. We also conducted maintenance and generalization probes to a novel skill. All seven therapists learned the skill, but three therapists required a feedback component in addition to the VMVO. The results suggest that VMVO may be an efficient and effective method for training therapists to conduct caregiver training via telehealth. Furthermore, results indicate that component skill analyses may be valuable to monitor skills that require remediation.
Profiles of behavioral, social and psychological well-being in old age and their association with mobility-limitation-free survival

Introduction: Successful aging is a multidimensional construct covering behavioral, social, and psychological domains of well-being. We aimed to identify well-being profiles and their association with mobility-limitation-free survival. Methods: A total of 1488 healthy individuals aged 60+ from the Swedish National study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen (SNAC-K) were followed-up for 15 years. Mobility limitation was defined as a walking speed <0.8m/s and vital status information was obtained from the National Cause of Death Register. Well-being profiles were derived from different behavioral, social and psychological indicators using latent class analysis among men and women. Cox and Laplace regression models were applied to examine the association with the incidence of a composite endpoint of mobility limitation or death. Results: At baseline, three well-being profiles (i.e., worst, intermediate, best) were identified, which followed a clear gradient in all behavioral, social and psychological indicators. Compared to those in the worst profile, men and women in the intermediate profile had 27% (HR 0.73; 95% CI 0.56-0.94) and 23% (HR 0.77; 95% CI 0.59-1.00) lower hazard of developing mobility limitation/death. An even greater protective effect was seen among individuals in the best versus worst profile (HR 0.47; 95% CI 0.31-0.70 in men; HR 0.60; 95% CI 0.46-0.78 in women). Men in the intermediate and best profiles survived 1 and 3 years longer without mobility limitation, respectively; these figures were 2 and 3 years for women. Conclusions: Better profiles of behavioral, social and psychological well-being may prolong mobility-limitation-free survival by at least one year among older adults. Our findings strengthen the evidence-base to achieve successful aging through multi-domain interventions.
Effect of 4% Albumin Solution vs Ringer Acetate on Major Adverse Events in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery With Cardiopulmonary Bypass: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance In cardiac surgery, albumin solution may maintain hemodynamics better than crystalloids and reduce the decrease in platelet count and excessive fluid balance, but randomized trials are needed to compare the effectiveness of these approaches in reducing surgical complications. Objective To assess whether 4% albumin solution compared with Ringer acetate as cardiopulmonary bypass prime and perioperative intravenous volume replacement solution reduces the incidence of major perioperative and postoperative complications in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Design, Setting, and Participants A randomized, double-blind, single-center clinical trial in a tertiary university hospital during 2017-2020 with 90-day follow-up postoperatively involving patients undergoing on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting; aortic, mitral, or tricuspid valve surgery; ascending aorta surgery without hypothermic circulatory arrest; and/or the maze procedure were randomly assigned to 2 study groups (last follow-up was April 13, 2020). Interventions The patients received in a 1:1 ratio either 4% albumin solution (n = 693) or Ringer acetate solution (n = 693) as cardiopulmonary bypass priming and intravenous volume replacement intraoperatively and up to 24 hours postoperatively. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was the number of patients with at least 1 major adverse event: death, myocardial injury, acute heart failure, resternotomy, stroke, arrhythmia, bleeding, infection, or acute kidney injury. Results Among 1407 patients randomized, 1386 (99%; mean age, 65.4 [SD, 9.9] years; 1091 men [79%]; 295 women [21%]) completed the trial. Patients received a median of 2150 mL (IQR, 1598-2700 mL) of study fluid in the albumin group and 3298 mL (IQR, 2669-3500 mL) in the Ringer group. The number of patients with at least 1 major adverse event was 257 of 693 patients (37.1%) in the albumin group and 234 of 693 patients (33.8%) in the Ringer group (relative risk albumin/Ringer, 1.10; 95% CI, 0.95-1.27; P = .20), an absolute difference of 3.3 percentage points (95% CI, -1.7 to 8.4). The most common serious adverse events were pulmonary embolus (11 [1.6%] in the albumin group vs 8 [1.2%] in the Ringer group), postpericardiotomy syndrome (9 [1.3%] in both groups), and pleural effusion with intensive care unit or hospital readmission (7 [1.0%] in the albumin group vs 9 [1.3%] in the Ringer group). Conclusions and Relevance Among patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass, treatment with 4% albumin solution for priming and perioperative intravenous volume replacement solution compared with Ringer acetate did not significantly reduce the risk of major adverse events over the following 90 days. These findings do not support the use of 4% albumin solution in this setting. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02560519.
Reliability and validity of the trunk position sense and modified functional reach tests in individuals after stroke

Abstract ABSTRACT The psychometric qualities of the proprioception and dynamic trunk control tests have rarely been studied in individuals after stroke. Objective To investigate the reliability and validity of the Trunk Position Sense Test (TPS) and Modified Functional Reach Test (MFRT) in persons after stroke. Methods Thirty-two participants were included. The TPS and MFRT were assessed by two physiotherapists during a first session. After resting, a second session was conducted. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated to assess the test–retest (ICC3,k) and inter-rater reliability (ICC2,k). Pearson correlations coefficients were calculated between TPS/MFRT performances and clinical tests (trunk strength, Timed Up and Go and Balance Assessment in Sitting and Standing Positions – BASSP). Results The TPS inter-rater reliability was good for vertical error (ICC = 0.75 [0.50–0.88]) while it was moderate for horizontal error (ICC = 0.48 [0.10–0.75]) as well as for test–retest reliability (0.39 ≤ ICC ≤ 0.59). As for the MFRT, inter-rater (0.76 ≤ ICC ≤ 0.90) and test–retest reliability (0.71 ≤ ICC ≤ 0.91) were good to excellent for anterior, paretic et non-paretic displacements. Horizontal errors for the TPS (−0.26 ≤ r ≤ −0.36) and anterior MFRT (0.38 ≤ r ≤ 0.64) values correlated moderately with trunk strength. Conclusion The MFRT is a reliable test for persons after stroke with trunk control impairments. The TPS does not appear to be relevant for post-stroke individuals. This can be explained by the fact that its procedure is not easily applied for individuals after stroke – who may have significant motor and cognitive impairments.
Teaching socio-cultural impacts of technology in advanced technical courses: a case study

ABSTRACT Engineering education has traditionally focused on the development of technical skills and knowledge. Nowadays, the need for educating engineers in non-technical skills, such as reflective thinking, is being recognised internationally. This paper proposes that socio-cultural impacts of technology be studied together with the technology itself through the integration of social awareness modules into advanced technical courses, providing a venue for students to exercise their reflective thinking skills in the context of technologies that are of interest to them. The paper presents an exploratory study of the essays of senior year engineering students on the socio-cultural impacts of computer vision technologies. It provides insights on the themes that are of interest to the students and on the students’ strengths and weaknesses relating to their reflective thinking abilities. Similar modules would apply well to other advanced courses in the engineering curriculum, to help contextualise technology and enhance the reflective abilities of engineering graduates.
A Bayesian piecewise exponential phase II design for monitoring a time‐to‐event endpoint

A robust Bayesian design is presented for a single‐arm phase II trial with an early stopping rule to monitor a time to event endpoint. The assumed model is a piecewise exponential distribution with non‐informative gamma priors on the hazard parameters in subintervals of a fixed follow up interval. As an additional comparator, we also define and evaluate a version of the design based on an assumed Weibull distribution. Except for the assumed models, the piecewise exponential and Weibull model based designs are identical to an established design that assumes an exponential event time distribution with an inverse gamma prior on the mean event time. The three designs are compared by simulation under several log‐logistic and Weibull distributions having different shape parameters, and for different monitoring schedules. The simulations show that, compared to the exponential inverse gamma model based design, the piecewise exponential design has substantially better performance, with much higher probabilities of correctly stopping the trial early, and shorter and less variable trial duration, when the assumed median event time is unacceptably low. Compared to the Weibull model based design, the piecewise exponential design does a much better job of maintaining small incorrect stopping probabilities in cases where the true median survival time is desirably large.
The protocol for assessing olfactory working memory capacity in mice

Working memory capacity (WMC) is the ability to maintain information over a few seconds. Although it has been extensively studied in healthy subjects and neuropsychiatric patients, few tasks have been developed to measure such changes in rodents. Many procedures have been used to measure WM in rodents, including the radial arm maze, the WM version of the Morris swimming task, and various delayed matching and nonmatching‐to‐sample tasks. It should be noted, however, that the memory components assessed in these procedures do not include memory capacity.
Optimized self-microemulsifying drug delivery system improves the oral bioavailability and brain delivery of coenzyme Q10

Abstract Our study aimed to develop a self-microemulsifying drug delivery system for the poorly aqueous-soluble drug Coenzyme Q10, to improve the dissolution and the oral bioavailability. Excipients were selected based on their Coenzyme Q10 solubility, and their concentrations were set for the optimization of the microemulsion by using a D-optimal mixture design to achieve a minimum droplet size and a maximum solubility of Coenzyme Q10 within 15 min. The optimized formulation was composed of an oil (omega-3; 38.55%), a co-surfactant (Lauroglycol® 90; 31.42%), and a surfactant (Gelucire® 44/14; 30%) and exhibited a mean droplet size of 237.6 ± 5.8 nm and a drug solubilization (at 15 min) of 16 ± 2.48%. The drug dissolution of the optimized formulation conducted over 8 h in phosphate buffer medium (pH 6.8) was significantly higher when compared to that of the Coenzyme Q10 suspension. A pharmacokinetic study in rats revealed a 4.5-fold and a 4.1-fold increase in the area under curve and the peak plasma concentration values generated by the optimized formulation respectively, as compared to the Coenzyme Q10 suspension. A Coenzyme Q10 brain distribution study revealed a higher Coenzyme Q10 distribution in the brains of rats treated with the optimized formulation than the Coenzyme Q10 suspension. Coenzyme Q10-loaded self microemulsifying drug delivery system was successfully formulated and optimized by a response surface methodology based on a D-optimal mixture design and could be used as a delivery vehicle for the enhancement of the oral bioavailability and brain distribution of poorly soluble drugs such as Coenzyme Q10.
Transcriptome analyses unveiled differential regulation of AGO and DCL genes by pepino mosaic virus strains

Abstract Pepino mosaic virus (PepMV) is a single‐stranded (ss), positive‐sense (+) RNA potexvirus that affects tomato crops worldwide. We have described an in planta antagonistic interaction between PepMV isolates of two strains in which the EU isolate represses the accumulation of the CH2 isolate during mixed infections. Reports describing transcriptomic responses to mixed infections are scant. We carried out transcriptomic analyses of tomato plants singly and mixed‐infected with two PepMV isolates of both strains. Comparison of the transcriptomes of singly infected plants showed that deeper transcriptomic alterations occurred at early infection times, and also that each of the viral strains modulated the host transcriptome differentially. Mixed infections caused transcriptomic alterations similar to those for the sum of single infections at early infection times, but clearly differing at later times postinfection. We next tested the hypothesis that PepMV‐EU, in either single or mixed infections, deregulates host gene expression differentially so that virus accumulation of both strains gets repressed. That seemed to be the case for the genes AGO1a, DCL2d, AGO2a, and DCL2b, which are involved in the antiviral silencing pathway and were upregulated by PepMV‐EU but not by PepMV‐CH2 at early times postinfection. The pattern of AGO2a expression was validated by reverse transcription‐quantitative PCR in tomato and Nicotiana benthamiana plants. Using an N. benthamiana ago2 mutant line, we showed that AGO2 indeed plays an important role in the antiviral defence against PepMV, but it is not the primary determinant of the outcome of the antagonistic interaction between the two PepMV strains.
Non-Contact Supervision of COVID-19 Breathing Behaviour With FMCW Radar and Stacked Ensemble Learning Model in Real-Time

A respiratory disorder that attacks COVID-19 patients requires intensive supervision of medical practitioners during the isolation period. A non-contact monitoring device will be a suitable solution for reducing the spread risk of the virus while monitoring the COVID-19 patient. This study uses Frequency-Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar and Machine Learning (ML) to obtain respiratory information and analyze respiratory signals, respectively. Multiple subjects in a room can be detected simultaneously by calculating the Angle of Arrival (AoA) of the received signal and utilizing the Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) of FMCW radar. Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and some signal processing are implemented to obtain a breathing waveform. ML helps the system to analyze the respiratory signals automatically. This paper also compares the performance of several ML algorithms such as Multinomial Logistic Regression (MLR), Decision Tree (DT), Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Machine (SVM), eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGB), Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LGBM), CatBoosting (CB) Classifier, Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), and three proposed stacked ensemble models, namely Stacked Ensemble Classifier (SEC), Boosting Tree-based Stacked Classifier (BTSC), and Neural Stacked Ensemble Model (NSEM) to obtain the best ML model. The results show that the NSEM algorithm achieves the best performance with 97.1% accuracy. In the real-time implementation, the system could simultaneously detect several objects with different breathing characteristics and classify the respiratory signals into five different classes.