Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Screening of colour vision deficiency in school children of Wardha District

Introduction: Colour vision in humans is trichromatic. Colour vision deficiency (CVD) occurs when one or more of cone types are absent, or present but defective. It is a common X-linked genetic disorder. However, most colour blind children remain undetected due to absence of proper screening. Therefore, this cross-sectional study was carried out to determine the prevalence of CVD, type of CVD and prevalence of each type among school children of Wardha District. Materials and Methods: 850 school children in the age of 10-15 years were screened for CVD using Ishihara’s pseudoisochromatic test 38 plate edition. Results: Of 850 school children, 18 children (2.1%) (95% confidence interval: 1.35-3.33) suffered from CVD. Prevalence rate for CVD was found to be higher in males (3.7%) than in females (0.4%). The overall trend of defects was: deuteranomaly > deuteranopia > protanomaly > protanopia. The prevalence of congenital dyschromatopsia in school children of Wardha District was comparable to prevalence rates across India. Conclusion: Early diagnosis of congenital dyschromatopsia would allow for minimization of these problems, improvement of adaptation of children to their dysfunction, and, most importantly, for better planning of their professional future.
The Current Workplace Experience of Further Education Lecturers and Managers: Still Restrictive After All These Years?

This thesis uses a single-case study design to provide a qualitative, in-depth exploration of the current workforce experience of managers and lecturers within ‘Redgrove’, a recently merged, inner-city Further Education (FE) college. Since the incorporation of colleges in 1993 the literature has been consistent in reporting FE settings as difficult, oppressive places to work. At present, the Sector is being radically restructured via merger processes and ongoing, significant qualification reform, whilst colleges are simultaneously reporting severe financial pressures after a decade of austerity measures. The fact that these are largely ‘top-down’ policy initiatives indicates, as the thesis attests, that FE continues to offer neo-liberal workplace environments in which lecturers and managers struggle to shape key processes. The research organises itself around the premise that three processes are particularly influential in seeking to understand this struggle: policy, professionalism and workplace learning. These are used as three, often integrated, lenses to guide exploration of the case. The in-depth nature of the case study is supported by the ‘insider’ status of the researcher, documentation review and seventeen semi-structured interviews. The interviews include narrative accounts from all four of Redgrove’s organisational levels: senior, middle and junior managers as well as lecturers. This allows relationships between the different points in the hierarchy to emerge and for a range of perspectives across the three research lenses to be represented. Findings confirm that the FE workplace is marked by recurring interrelated constraints which produce isolating and ‘intensive’ working days. The process of identifying such constraints is bolstered by application of an expansive-restrictive framework which then works to support recommendations for possible ‘ways forward’. These include: removing early plateaus for expert teachers; aligning individual and organisational goals; more intelligent accountability; and opening up workplace structures to provide protected spaces in which to learn and from which to build connections across internal and external boundaries.
Base Station Placement in Integrated Aerial and Terrestrial Wireless Cellular Networks

Base station (BS) location is an important problem in designing cellular networks since its solution has a profound impact on the overall network performance. An optimal BS location depends on the tra c distribution, propagation pathloss and many system parameters, which renders its analytical study di cult so that numerical algorithms are widely used instead. In this thesis, the problem is studied analytically from a fundamental perspective. By formulating the problem as a convex optimization problem, we can characterize the globally-optimum location and obtain a number of closed-form solutions and insights. Afterwards, we consider drones as aerial BSs that can enhance network coverage or capacity by moving supply towards demand when required. Utilizing drone-BSs (DBSs) is a promising approach to boost the agility and exibility of future wireless networks. The speci c attributes of drones such as mobility could be especially useful for future applications with extreme demands. DBSs can play a remarkable role as a communication network facilitator when the temporal and spatial variations in user densities and rates are expected to result in di cult-to-predict tra c patterns. However, deploying DBSs in a network presents several challenges. One important issue is nding the e cient 3D placement of DBSs to satisfy the dynamic requirements of the system. Another challenge is the limited wireless backhaul capacity of DBSs and consequently, higher latency incurred. This issue can be alleviated by providing content caching in DBSs to decrease backhaul congestion and latency. In this thesis, we nd locations of DBSs for various network objectives such as minimizing the number of DBSs or the transmit power, maximizing the number of covered users or total rate of the users in a wireless network, while considering the restrictions of the network such as nite backhaul capacity, disparate quality of service requirement of users, and limited access bandwidth into account. To this end, we propose various mathematical frameworks and e cient algorithms to design, optimize, and deploy drone-based communication systems. We also obtain user-BS associations and bandwidth allocations in di erent scenarios which is an involved problem due to mobility of DBSs. Extensive simulation results demonstrate the e ectiveness of the proposed algorithms and provide useful insights that can be used to develop design guidelines.
CT-guided Lung Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy: Analysis of Efficacy, Yield and Intricacies

Abstract Aim: This study aims to evaluate various factors that affect the cytological yield while performing computed tomography (CT) guided lung fine needle aspiration biopsy and to determine the complication rate of this procedure. Materials and Methods: In this cross sectional study, we analyzed 70 patients undergoing CT-guided transthoracic lung fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB). 22-gauge spinal needle was used in sixty patients and 20-gauge in ten patients. The presence and absence of an onsite cytopathologist affecting the adequacy of yield for a conclusive cytodiagnosis was compared in groups of 35 patients each. The incidence of complications such as pneumothorax, pulmonary hemorrhage was recorded. Results: Cytological yield was adequate for a conclusive cytodiagnosis in 59 cases (84.2%). Thirty-seven cases (52.8%) were malignant with adenocarcinoma (70.2%) being the most common, 22 cases (31.4%) had benign etiology. Cytological yield was adequate for a conclusive diagnosis in the group (n = 35) with an onsite cytopathologist (100%) compared with those cases without an onsite cytopathologist (68.6%) (P = 0.005). Pneumothorax was observed in 16 cases (22.8%), the incidence of pneumothorax was higher when there was an intervening parenchyma (P = 0.005). Conclusion: CT-guided transthoracic FNAB is an accurate method to rule out malignancy with a reasonable rate of complications. The presence of an onsite-cytopathologist significantly improves the adequacy of yield for a conclusive cytodiagnosis, and should be routinely employed. Pneumothorax and pulmonary hemorrhage are the most common complications as a result of FNAB. The incidence of pneumothorax is higher when there is intervening lung parenchyma.
COMPARISON BETWEEN ESTIMATION METHODS OF REFERENCE EVAPOTRANSPIRATION IN BOM JESUS ​​DA LAPA, BA

Among the reference evapotranspiration (ETo) equations, the FAO-56 Penman-Monteith (PM FAO-56) model is considered the most accurate, but this model requires a greater amount of meteorological data. On the other hand, there are other methods that require fewer variables and have shown good precision according to the location. The objective of this work was to evaluate the efficiency of four methods for estimation of daily ETo, comparing them with FAO-56 PM equation in Bom Jesus da Lapa, Bahia, Brazil. To do so, a dataset from 2010 to 2017, acquired at the National Institute of Meteorology (INMET), was used. The models were analyzed by means of statistical indicators: Willmott’s concordance index, root mean square error (RMSE), mean bias error (BIAS), coefficient of determination “R²”, correlation coefficient “r” and coefficient of confidence “c”, in addition to the classification of the coefficient of confidence. The results obtained show that Hargreaves and Samani equation was the only method classified as “good” and is recommended. While the models of Camargo, Priestley and Taylor and Benevides and Lopes are not recommended to calculate ETo in the municipality.
Do Advanced Degrees Matter? A Multiphase Mixed-Methods Study to Examine Teachers’ Obtainment of Advanced Degrees and the Impact on Student and School Growth

Recommended Citation CHANG, MEI-LIN Dr.; Jorrín Abellán, Ivan M. ; Wright, Jim; Kim, Jihye; and Gaines, Rachel E. (2020) "Do Advanced Degrees Matter? A Multiphase Mixed-Methods Study to Examine Teachers’ Obtainment of Advanced Degrees and the Impact on Student and School Growth," Georgia Educational Researcher: Vol. 17 : Iss. 1 , Article 5. DOI: 10.20429/ger.2020. 170105 Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern. edu/gerjournal/vol17/iss1/5
Analytical Derivation and Design of 20-MHz DC–DC Soft-Switching Resonant Converter

In this article, a novel 20-MHz high-frequency high-performance dc–dc resonant converter is analyzed, which owns the characteristics of soft-switching, low voltage stress, and small volume. The numerical analysis is conducted in time domain and the resonant parameters can be accurately calculated based on the corresponding expressions. A full resonant rectifier stage is adopted without using choke inductors, and the value and volume of inductors can be greatly reduced. A 12-V input, 5 V/5 W output prototype is proposed in the laboratory and the experimental results verify the feasibility of the proposed converter and numerical design methodology.
A multifactorial comparison of Australian youth soccer players’ performance characteristics

The current study aimed to investigate the performance characteristics that discriminate Australian youth soccer players according to their academy status. A total of 165 youth soccer players participated in this study and were sub-divided into either an early adolescence (n = 92, age = 13.0 ± 0.6 years) or mid-adolescence (n = 73 age = 14.8 ± 0.6 years) group. Players completed multifactorial assessments of anthropometry, motor competence, physical fitness, decision-making and psychological traits. Statistical significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. Multivariate analysis of variance identified dynamic balancing ability (both age groups), object manipulation (mid-adolescence), lateral jumping ability (both age groups), linear speed over 5 m (both age groups), change of direction skill (mid-adolescence), intermittent aerobic endurance (mid-adolescence) and total response time on a decision-making assessment (early adolescence) to discriminate academy status. Interestingly, a binomial logistical regression showed that a 0.1 s decrease in sprint time (i.e. running faster) increased the odds of a player belonging to a tier one academy by 19% and 47% for early and mid-adolescent players, respectively. Overall, performance in the motor competence and physical fitness assessments were in favour of the tier one academy players. These findings are indicative of a potential selection bias in the Australian talent pool or a training effect whereby tier one academy programmes emphasise the development of physical attributes. However, future research is required to further substantiate this in a larger sample of youth soccer players from other playing regions within Australia.
Issues and Challenges with Web-Based Distance Education Programs in Turkish Higher Education Institutes

This study aimed to examine the core issues and challenges with web-based distance education programs in Turkish higher education institutes. Formative research method, which is a qualitative research method in nature, was selected to analyze web-based distance education programs thoroughly. The study group comprised 4 higher education institutes, offering web-based distance education services, located in different provinces of different geographical regions in Turkey, and with varying experiences. The research used interview transcripts from semi-structured interviews, documents (weekly reports, meeting reports, presentations, organization chart, and implementation procedures) shared by the distance education centers, and information gathered from their web sites. Primary research data were compiled from interviews with representatives of the distance education centers managing and upholding distance education services while the documents acquired from these centers were used to verify the interview findings. The study resulted in 9 core issues related to (1) program launching process, (2) legislation, (3) program structure, (4) instructional design, (5) assessment and evaluation, (6) communication and interaction, (7) support, (8) technical issues, and (9) program evaluation.
Survival Benefits of Group Living in a Fluctuating Environment

Group living is predicted to arise only when the fitness benefits outweigh the costs of sociality. Group-living species—including cooperatively breeding and family-living birds and mammals—occur most frequently in environments where climatic conditions fluctuate unpredictably from year to year. The fitness consequences of group living are thus expected to vary with changing environmental conditions, though few studies have examined this possibility. We examined whether living in large social groups improves adult survivorship in cooperatively breeding superb starlings (Lamprotornis superbus). We also tested the hypothesis that larger groups buffer against harsh conditions by increasing survivorship most under periods of low rainfall. We found that group size was positively correlated with adult survival but in a sex-specific manner: female survival increased with group size across all environmental conditions, whereas male survival increased with group size only in wet years. Together with previous work in this system, our results suggest that larger groups confer survival benefits by reducing predation, rather than by improving access to food or buffering against physiological stress. Although group living does not appear to buffer against harsh conditions in adult starlings living in a fluctuating environment, living in larger groups does confer a survival advantage.
High-order moments in stock pricing: evidence from the Chinese and US markets

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to introduce an augmented high-order capital asset pricing model (AH-CAPM) as a new risk-based model to price stocks. Design/methodology/approach - The AH-CAPM is defined as a linear model with high-order marginal moments and co-moments from the joint distributions of the sorted stock portfolio returns and the market return. Findings - The performance of the AH-CAPM is tested in the Chinese and US stock markets. Empirical results show that the high-order marginal moments and co-moments from the joint distributions in AH-CAPM contain the risk and return information implied by the Fama–French factors, indicating it as a better risk measurement. Moreover, the AH-CAPM performs better than the Fama–French three-factor model and the Carhart four-factor model in both the Chinese and US stock markets. Originality/value - Overall, this study introduces a new asset pricing model with better measurements to incorporate risk information in the stock market.
Six-Lead Electrocardiographic Studies of the Pigeon (Columba livia) in Nigeria

In this study, the normal electrocardiogram of apparently normal, conscious pigeons was described. Standard bipolar and augmented unipolar limb leads were recorded in a total of apparently healthy 30 pigeons. Waveforms were analyzed in all the leads at 50 mm/s and 10 mm/mV. P-wave was monophasic and positive in leads I, II, III, aVL and aVF but negative in aVR. Heart rate ranged from 205 to 342 beats/min with a mean (± SD) of 276.0±42.9 beats/min. The MEA ranged between -99 to -90 degrees. The predominant QRS pattern in lead in lead I was rs while the rS was predominant in leads II, III and aVR. The r and Qr morphologies were observed in leads aVF and aVL respectively. ST slurring was found in all the leads. The ECG values and patterns recorded in these clinically healthy pigeons will facilitate better understanding of ECG changes that are seen in diseases and are expected to provide a comparison to aid clinical diagnosis Keywords : Electrocardiogram, Pigeons, Limb leads.
Accelerating Reinforcement Learning through GPU Atari Emulation

We introduce CuLE (CUDA Learning Environment), a CUDA port of the Atari Learning Environment (ALE) which is used for the development of deep reinforcement algorithms. CuLE overcomes many limitations of existing CPU-based emulators and scales naturally to multiple GPUs. It leverages GPU parallelization to run thousands of games simultaneously and it renders frames directly on the GPU, to avoid the bottleneck arising from the limited CPU-GPU communication bandwidth. CuLE generates up to 155M frames per hour on a single GPU, a finding previously achieved only through a cluster of CPUs. Beyond highlighting the differences between CPU and GPU emulators in the context of reinforcement learning, we show how to leverage the high throughput of CuLE by effective batching of the training data, and show accelerated convergence for A2C+V-trace. CuLE is available at this https URL .
Development of a Pneumatic Hand Training Device for Stroke Rehabilitation

DEVELOPMENT OF A PNEUMATIC HAND TRAINING DEVICE FOR STROKE REHABILITATION Gregory Jackson Advisor: University of Guelph, 2013 Hussein A. Abdullah, Ph.D., P.Eng A new hand training system has been designed and built to help clinicians administrate hand therapy to stroke patients. It uses pneumatics to actuate the fingers from the dorsal side of the hand in order to provide training for activities of daily living. Before the device is tested in a clinical trial, its safety, comfort and reliability needed to be established via trials on 30 healthy individuals. A comfort survey that was issued to the users indicated that they found the device comfortable regardless of age, gender, weight and hand length. The sensor data that was gathered during testing indicated that the readings were reliable and the device had minimal impact on the subjects’ normal range of motion. A biomechanical model, validated through experimentation, was also created to estimate joint angles of the index finger during the trials to ensure that the device put the joints of the finger in bio-mechanically safe angles. I’d like to dedicate this thesis to the people who have been there for me: To my parents, Bill and Lorri, your unconditional love and support in everything I do has helped me get through thick and thin. I owe you both so much and I can’t thank you enough. To my brother, Dave, for his support and advice as well as his ability to push me to be not only a better engineer, but a better person. To my partner, Diana, for her love and warmth. I look forward to the bright future we’ll have together.
A set of data bases to support intelligent agents in Internet Infrastructure routing domains

This paper presents a set of three data bases that make up the In- ternet Infrastructure Data Base (IIDB). IIDB has three data bases – iidb.rfc, iidb.person, and iidb.acronym – that are key pieces to support the development of machine learning techniques by the intelligent elements of the Autonomous Architecture Over Restricted Domains (A2RD). The data contained in iidb.rfc and iidb.person were created after processing the contents available at the RFC Index web page. While the data contained in the iidb.acronym was created after processing the contents of the files available at the Request for Comments (RFC) repository, produced and maintained by the RFC Editor. The data format of IIDB data is JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), whose templates are avail- able in the same site where the data bases are deposited, making them accessible through any programming language.
The Overlapped Electron‐Cloud Model for Electron Transfer in Contact Electrification

Contact electrification (CE) is one of the oldest topics in physics, which has been discussed for more than 2600 years. Recently, an overlapped electron‐cloud (OEC) model was proposed by Wang to explain all types of CE phenomena for general materials in which a deep overlapping of electron clouds belonging to two atoms results in a lowered potential barrier for electron transfer from one to the other by applying a compressive force, which is simply referred to as Wang transition for CE. Here, the degree of electron‐cloud overlap between two atoms is controlled by using tapping mode atomic force microscopy. A temperature difference and electric field are applied between atoms of two surfaces. It is found that electron transfer only occurs when the contact tip and sample interact in the repulsive‐force region, which corresponds to a strong overlap of the electron clouds. Such a fact even preserves if the tip is at a higher temperature than the sample for 120 K. Alternatively, by applying a bias, electron tunneling would occur when the tip is in the attractive‐force region within which normal electron transfer would not occur. These studies solidify the overlapped electron‐cloud model first proposed by Wang. Further, the temperature and bias effects on the CE are explained based on a modified OEC model.
Investigating Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (Ends) Use Amongst Telephone Quitline Participants

Introduction: Tobacco cessation quitlines are effective in helping smokers quit. With recent classification of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) as a tobacco product further investigation is needed to understand the impact of ENDS on quit attempts. ENDS products have increased in popularity for a variety of reasons including public policies aimed at protecting others from secondhand smoke and claims that they aid in cessation. This report compares the proportion of quitline participants using ENDS products from those that do not. Methods: National Jewish Health collected data from numerous state and corporate quitlines. Participants were separated into three groups including participants using only ENDS products (EcigO), participants using both ENDS and cigarettes (E&Cig) and participants using cigarettes but no ENDS products (CigO). Enrolled participants are eligible to receive up to 5 coaching sessions and 8 weeks of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT). Results: Both EcigO and E&Cig reported similar reasons for ENDS use, however, EcigO use ENDS more frequently compared to E&Cig (χ=317.619, p-value<.0001). EcigO completed more coaching calls (F-Value=86.85, p-value<.0001), had significantly higher proportion of males (χ=109.86, p-value<.0001) and were more likely to have a college education ( χ=1029.48, p-value<.0001) compared to E&Cig and CigO. Conclusions: These findings highlight the increased use of ENDS year over year within a telephonic quitline population. Furthermore it outlines how this population differs from the traditional tobacco users and may need tailored coaching to quit both traditional tobacco and ENDS products.