Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association of bacterial vaginosis with the most common sexually transmitted infections

Introduction/Objective. Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common vaginal dysbiosis that enlarge a possibility of getting sexually transmitted infections (STI). The aims of this research is to examine association between BV and the nine most common causes of STIs (Chlamydia trachomatis, Mycoplasma genitalium, Mycoplasma hominis, Ureaplasma spp, Trichomonas vaginalis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, high-risk Human papilloma viruses and Herpes simplex virus type 1 and 2) and to determine if the presence of BV increase the probability of coinfection with any of the STIs microorganisms. Methods. This study involved 235 patients of reproductive age. One sample swab was collected each for vaginal and cervical testing. The vaginal swabs were used for detection of BV by RT-PCR test. The cervical swabs were used for the detection of the most common STIs which were tested by four different multiplex RT-PCR tests. Pearson? s ? 2 test and Fisher? s probability test were used for statistical analysis of the results. Results. Comparison of the total number of STIs and the condition of the vaginal flora has shown that STIs are the most common in patients with BV 80 (89.9%). Women with BV have a higher frequency of infections with Ureaplasma spp. and M. Hominis, 71 (78.9%) and 50 (44.4%), respectively. The presence of detected STI pathogens and relation with the state of vaginal flora indicate that mono infections are present most often in patients with normal flora 51 (42.1%), while coinfections are mostly present in BV patients 50 (55.6%). Conclusion. This study has confirmed the association of M. hominis and Ureaplasma spp with BV as well as an association of coinfections with this dysbiosis. Better understanding of the association between various STIs and the status of vaginal flora is necessary to enable better diagnosis, prevention of diseases and women? s health protection.
Statistical estimation of water distribution system pipe break risk

Statistical Estimation of Water Distribution System Pipe Break Risk. (August 2007) Shridhar Yamijala, B.E. , Government College of Engineering Pune, India Co-Chairs of Advisory Committee: Dr. Seth Guikema Dr. Kelly Brumbelow The deterioration of pipes in urban water distribution systems is of concern to water utilities throughout the world. This deterioration generally leads to pipe breaks and leaks, which may result in reduction in the water-carrying capacity of the pipes from tuberculation of interior walls of the pipe. Deterioration can also lead to contamination of water in the distribution systems. Water utilities which are already facing tight funding constraints incur large expenses in replacement and rehabilitation of water mains, and hence it becomes critical to evaluate the current and future condition of the system for making maintenance decisions. Quantitative estimates of the likelihood of pipe breaks on individual pipe segments can facilitate inspection and maintenance decisions. A number of statistical methods have been proposed for this estimation problem. This thesis focuses on comparing these statistical models on the basis of short time histories. The goals of this research are to estimate the likelihood of pipe breaks in the future and to determine the parameters that most affect the likelihood of pipe breaks. The various statistical models reviewed in this thesis are time linear and time exponential ordinary least squares regression models, proportional hazards models (PHM), and generalized linear models (GLM). The data set used for the analysis comes
Deriving Execution Effectiveness of Crowdfunding Projects from the Fundraiser Network

ABSTRACT Reward-based crowdfunding has become a popular fundraising marketspace for entrepreneurs. However, few studies take a process perspective and examine how fundraiser network influences the execution effectiveness of crowdfunding projects. Collecting the funding activities of all fundraisers on Kickstarter in 2017, we construct a fundraiser network and examine the effects of fundraiser network structural characteristics on project execution effectiveness. Employing endogenous stochastic frontier analysis, we show that reciprocity and accessibility in the fundraiser network increase project execution effectiveness. We also demonstrate that gaining network status by virtue of being an authoritative figure in the fundraiser network increases project execution effectiveness. In sum, our study identifies the effects of the fundraiser network characteristics on project execution effectiveness and introduces a process perspective for evaluating crowdfunding campaigns.
Reflecting on Anglophone (Post)Apartheid Literature Beyond 2000: A ‘World-Literary’ Perspective

Anglophone South African Literature after 2000 has, Michael Chapman, argues, both quantitatively and qualitatively departed from South Africa’s literary output in the preceding decade. This development has been tentatively labelled as the beginning of the ‘post-transitional’ phase within South African Literature by Ronit Frenkel and Craig MacKenzie. Conceiving of it as a temporal marker rather than an artistic movement, they describe the post-transitional writing as one ‘which is often unfettered to the past in the way that much apartheid writing was, but may still reconsider it in new ways. Equally it may ignore it all together’ (2010:2). While Frenkel and McKenzie identify an aesthetic/stylistic shift, Margaret Lenta observes that authors of this new wave have broadened the understanding of ‘South Africanness’ by not shying away from formerly tabooed topics, such as intercultural and same-sex relationships or the marginalisation of women. We suggest a more panoptic view by adopting a 'world-literary' approach. We opt for a (more) ‘distant close reading’, where ‘distant’, as suggested by Franco Moretti, involves the engagement with, or reading of, a greater number of texts under the auspices of various thematic and formal aspects. In order to do so, we follow the Warwick Research Collective in its theorisation of World-Literature as ‘the Literature of the world-system – of the modern capitalist world-system’ (2015: 8).
Impact of an Enterprise System Implementation on Job Outcomes: Challenging the Linearity Assumption

ABSTRACT Organizations usually have difficulty adjusting to technology-enabled changes. Recent research has examined the interaction between technology and the key job outcomes of employees. But this research stream has done so using a linear lens even though this interplay has been recognized to be dynamic and complex. We challenge here this linearity assumption. We theorized that enterprise system (ES) use influences post-implementation job scope, and the change from pre- to post-implementation job scope perceptions will have a complex effect on job outcomes that are best captured by a polynomial model. Drawing on the anchoring-and-adjustment perspective in decision-making research, our polynomial model highlights the dynamic nature of employee reactions to changes in job scope brought about by an ES implementation that cannot be captured by traditional linear models. We found support for our model using data collected in a longitudinal field study from 2,794 employees at a telecommunications firm over a period of 12 months. Our findings highlight the key role an ES implementation can have in changing the nature of jobs and how those changes can, in turn, drive job performance and job satisfaction. This research also extends classical job characteristics research by arguing for a more complex relationship between the scope and outcomes of technology-supported jobs.
City, University of London Institutional Repository City Resisting chocolate temptation using a brief mindfulness strategy on other measures of automaticity alongside other potential mediators

Objectives: We examined the effects of two mindfulness-based strategies on chocolate consumption amongst individuals who were trying to reduce the amount of chocolate they consumed. Methods: Participants (n = 137) were allocated to one of three conditions and employed either cognitive defusion, acceptance or relaxation (control) techniques to help them resist chocolate over five days. During this period they carried a bag of chocolates with them and recorded any chocolate or chocolate-related products they consumed. They also completed a questionnaire measure of the extent to which chocolate consumption was automatic, both before and after the five-day period. Results: Results showed that compared to controls, those in the cognitive defusion group ate significantly less chocolate from the bag (p = 0.046), and less chocolate according to the diary measure (p = 0.053). There was evidence that these changes were brought about by reductions in the extent to which chocolate consumption was automatic. There were no differences in chocolate consumption between the acceptance and control groups. Conclusions: Our results point to a promising brief intervention strategy and highlight the importance of disentangling the effects of different mindfulness-based techniques.
ColonizationPromotes Clearance of Pneumococcal Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor

Human genetic polymorphisms associated with decreased expression of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) have been linked to the risk of community-acquired pneumonia. Because Streptococcus pneumoniae is the leading cause of community-acquired pneumonia and nasal carriage is a precursor to invasive disease, we explored the role of MIF in the clearance of pneumococcal colonization in a mouse model. MIF-deﬁcient mice ( Mif 2 / 2 ) showed prolonged colonization with both avirulent (23F) and virulent (6A) pneumococcal serotypes compared with wild-type animals. Pneumococcal carriage led to both local upregulation of MIF expression and systemic increase of the cytokine. Delayed clearance in the Mif 2 / 2 mice was correlated with reduced numbers of macrophages in upper respiratory tract lavages as well as impaired upregulation of MCP-1/CCL2. We found that primary human monocyte–derived macrophages as well as THP-1 macrophages produced MIF upon pneumococcal infection in a pneumolysin-dependent manner. Pneumolysin-induced MIF production required its pore-forming activity and phosphorylation of p38-MAPK in macrophages, with sustained p38-MAPK phosphorylation abrogated in the setting of MIF deﬁciency. Challenge with pneumolysin-deﬁcient bacteria demonstrated reduced MIF upregulation, decreased numbers of macrophages in the nasopharynx, and less effective clearance. Mif 2 / 2 mice also showed reduced Ab response to pneumococcal colonization and impaired ability to clear secondary carriage. Finally, local administration of MIF was able to restore bacterial clearance and macrophage accumulation in Mif 2 / 2 mice. Our work suggests that MIF is important for innate and adaptive immunity to pneumococcal
Effects of Transcendental Meditation on Blood Pressure

Background The World Health Organization estimates that 1.13 billion people worldwide have hypertension. Although pharmaceutical management of blood pressure is available, there are reasons why people prefer not to take medications including costs, adverse effects, and lack of access. Nonpharmacological healthy lifestyle methods are needed. One alternative method is transcendental meditation (TM). Objective The purpose of this study was to quantitatively synthesize the effects of TM on blood pressure. In addition, we examined the moderator effects of participant, methods, and intervention characteristics. Methods We searched 19 electronic databases without date restrictions to March 2021 including the gray literature and specific journals for primary studies evaluating TM to reduce blood pressure in adults and written in English. We coded primary studies for 5 categories (source, method, intervention, participant characteristics, and outcomes). Results Across 18 primary studies (N = 1207), TM mildly improved systolic blood pressure by −3.3 mm Hg (P = .025) and diastolic blood pressure by −1.8 mm Hg (P = .008) compared with comparison groups, but the effects waned after 3 months. Transcendental meditation reduced systolic blood pressure in samples that were 65 years and older significantly more than in samples that were younger than 65 years (−1.44 vs −9.87, P = .021) but showed no differential effect on diastolic blood pressure. Conclusions Transcendental meditation mildly reduced blood pressure, but the effect waned after 3 months. Adults older than 65 years benefited more than younger adults. Transcendental meditation might be recommended as one aspect of a healthy lifestyle.
LIOUVILLE THEOREMS FOR GENERALIZED SYMPHONIC MAPS

In this paper, we introduce the notion of the generalized symphonic map with respect to the functional Φ ε . Then we use the stress- energy tensor to obtain some monotonicity formulas and some Liouville results for these maps. We also obtain some Liouville type results by assuming some conditions on the asymptotic behavior of the maps at inﬁnity.
Study of the relation between the surface loss and the field flatness in the EID

ABSTRACT The relationship between surface loss and field flatness in extended interaction device (EID) has been studied. The field flatness can influence the surface loss in the circuit and hence the efficiency of the device without changing the operation mode. A W-band nine-slot extended interaction circuit operating in the 2π mode has been used in this article. As an oscillator, the nine-slot interaction circuit has different surface loss regions when the field flatness is different. In the study of EID, the operation point is mainly determined by the slow wave structure, but the field flatness should also be studied carefully for it influences the surface loss in the circuit and hence the efficiency of the device.
Tracking of objects in a multi-sensor fusion system for border surveillance

In this work, we present a Fusion and Tracking system developed within the EU project FOLDOUT aimed to facilitate border guards work by fusing separate sensor information and presenting automatic tracking of objects detected in the surveillance area. The focus of FOLDOUT is on through-foliage detection in the inner and outermost regions of the EU. Fusing several sensor signals increases the effectiveness of detection, particularly in forested and other areas hidden by foliage. We use weighted maps (also called Heatmaps) to combine multi-sensor information; tracking is performed on the resulting fused objects; a track is created or updated based on cost calculation of associating fused detections temporally. We compare tracking results from individual sensors and from fused objects from data collected in a simulated border that is representative of actual EU borders in Bulgaria. The results show how tracking is enhanced if performed on fused data rather than from individual sensor information.
Spam Filter using Naïve Bayes

In today’s fast developing era, communication happens over SMSes,emails and chat messages with a blink of an eye. The cost of these services is also dropping day by day. Due to this reason, these services are being misused by spammers and conmen with malicious intent. In order to filter such messages as spam or ham, in this paper we propose a novel technique using the Naive Bayes Algorithm.
Pupil Detection and Segmentation for Diagnosis of Nystagmus with U-Net

Nystagmography is a common screening method for diagnosis of various vestibular disorders. To classify nystagmus pattern, precise examination of pupil movement is required. The aim of this study is to separate pupil from nystagmography video to obtain accurate trajectory of pupil. Eye movement video is recorded utilizing infrared video goggles. In this paper, segmentation of pupil was performed using U-Net architecture and the segmentation result was compared with deep-learning based pupil tracking model DeepEye from previous work. U-Net outperformed DeepEye with dice coefficient of 94.85%. The results of this study have shown potential for applying deep learning methods to support diagnosis of vestibular disorders.
How Medical Masks affect Emotion Recognition Development in Infants born during Covid-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on our daily lives. Proactive measures to prevent the spread of this virus include the implication of restrictions that limit inperson contact. In addition, these restrictions involve mandates requiring the use of medical masks, which inhibit our ability to process the lower half of another individual’s face. Consequently, the use of medical masks visually blocks our perception of the information needed to recognize facial expressions. Since infancy, individual’s have used facial cues in order to identify emotional expressions (Segal and Moulson, 2020). Previous studies on eye-gaze and facial expression recognition agree that infants refer primarily to the mouth and eyes when deciphering the facial expression of others (Segal and Moulson, 2020). This leads to the question of how infants born during COVID-19 develop their sense of emotion recognition considering the addition of medical masks. The aim of this paper is to examine the effects of medical masks on the development of infant’s facial expression recognition. First, a brief overview of infant facial expression recognition development will be given, followed by a discussion on social referencing. This paper will then discuss recent studies on how medical masks during the pandemic have lead to an inhibition to accurately recognize facial expressions in adults. Finally, a comparison between previous literature on infants facial expression recognition and current research on emotion recognition during the COVID-19 pandemic will be examined. This comparison will demonstrate how mask mandates during COVID-19 may lead to a change in how infants born during this pandemic recognize and process facial expressions.
Warwick-Monash Economics Student

This paper examines the subsidy in the retail electricity market from two perspectives: cash transfer and quantity–based subsidy. The cash transfer is measured by three dimensions: benefit incidence, beneficiary incidence, and materiality; The quantity-based subsidy is established under the increasing block rate pricing. Overall, both subsidies are not efficient in supporting the poor. To improve the quantity–based subsidy, three proposals, along with the proposal from the company running the market are examined. The welfare effect under these plans is measured by the change in consumer surplus. Findings from this paper show that the reform should let the first blocks reflect the full marginal cost. Moreover, the price structure should be changed in both marginal price and the intervals. To mitigate the reduction in the quantity–based subsidy, the government should improve the cash transfer by reducing the extortion and targeting more efficiently, especially to poor households who live in rented houses.
A Depth Camera-Based Intelligent Method for Identifying and Quantifying Pavement Diseases

In this study, a depth camera-based intelligence method is proposed. First, road damage images are collected and transformed into a training set. Then training, defect detection, defect extraction, and classification are performed. In addition, a YOLOv5 is used to create, train, validate, and test the label database. The method does not require a predetermined distance between the measurement target and the sensor; can be applied to moving scenes; and is important for the detection, classification, and quantification of pavement diseases. The results show that the sensor can achieve plane fitting at investigated working distances by means of a deep learning network. In addition, two pavement examples show that the detection method can save a lot of manpower and improve the detection efficiency with certain accuracy.
Career Planning and Self-Efficacy as Predictors of Students’ Career-Related Worry: Direct and Mediated Pathways

The current study seeks to shed light on social-cognitive resources that mitigate master students’ experience of dysfunctional career-related worry before graduation. Based on the career self-management model (CSM; Lent & Brown, 2013), we investigate concurrent and time-lagged direct and mediated relationships between career planning, career-related self-efficacy, and career-related worry among a sample of 482 students shortly before graduation. Using data collected at three time points, a negative relationship was found between career planning (T1) and career-related worry (T3) via career-related self-efficacy (T2). Our findings shed light on the role of career planning and career-related self-efficacy as malleable social-cognitive resources that diminish dysfunctional thinking before graduation in sequential order. These findings imply that career planning and career-related self-efficacy are relevant predictors of affective states and can be incorporated into the CSM.
University Students' Viewpoints: A Coping Mechanism amid the Covid-19 Pandemic

The crisis we encounter in the global community is paramount to all species of social interaction. COVID-19, previously known as 2019 nCoV has devastated our day-to-day lives from our financial capability to our emotional condition. According to Rubin and Wessely (2020), the widespread contagion will inevitably have a psychological effect. This study aims to explore the different coping mechanisms among university students with the current global crisis, determine the significant difference of coping among gender preferences, and identify to what extent university students have been able to cope. Data was collected through a researcher-made survey questionnaire and an instrument adapted from Carver (1997). The survey was administered to university students. Students who responded and gave their consent were included in the study. Based on the results, the top five coping strategies that the students use as per experience are “listening to music”, “sleeping”, “social media”, “movie/Netflix”, and “online games”. However, it is also notable that none of the students believed that using “prohibited drugs” or “substance use” is an option in coping with this pandemic. Moreover, there is no significant difference in coping among gender preferences which implies that regardless of your gender preference, orientation, and identity, all want to deal with their problems, hardships, or stresses in life. Hence, diverting one’s attention to other things somehow is the students’ best way of coping, armoured with positivity and faith.
Mycobiota of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius (Mill.) Phyllosphere

Aims: This study was conducted to determine the mycobiota of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius phyllosphere using metagenomics. The phyllosphere, which is the above-ground (aerial) part of plants, is colonized by different microorganisms some of which may be pathogenic to plants and also to humans and animals. Methodology: The mycobiota was determined by sequencing the 18S rRNA gene on Illumina MiSeq platform. The primer pair: ITS1F (5´-CTTGGTCATTTAGAGGAAGTAAT-3´)