Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dispersion of gyrotactic micro-organisms in pipe flows

The transport of motile micro-organisms exhibits rich and complex phenomena, of significance to various biological and environmental applications. For dilute suspensions of gyrotactic algae dispersing in vertical pipe flows, previous studies obtained only approximate values for the overall drift and dispersivity in the longitudinal direction, using two-step averaging methods with the Pedley–Kessler (PK) model and the generalized Taylor dispersion (GTD) model. These two-step methods impose restrictive assumptions: both the swimming Péclet number and the variation of shear rates relative to swimming must be sufficiently small. Thus, it is difficult to analyse the gyrotactic dispersion process in the ‘breakdown’ parameter region. Following a recent study of Jiang & Chen (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 877, 2019, pp. 1–34), this paper applies the integrated and precise one-step GTD method to study the overall dispersion process and performs a quantitative test for the applicability of two-step methods. An appropriate function basis for series expansions in the GTD method is proposed to deal with reflective boundary conditions imposed at the tube wall. Detailed results for Chlamydomonas nivalis are presented to illustrate the influence of the gyrotactic focusing on the overall dispersion process, for both downwelling and upwelling flows. The overall drift above the mean flow increases monotonically with the flow rate. However, the overall dispersivity will first decrease, then increase, and finally saturate as the flow rate increases, due to a combined effect of gyrotaxis, swimming and convection. Shear alignments of prolate cells will weaken the focusing, and thus reduce the drift and enhance the dispersivity. The predictions by two-step methods with the PK and GTD models are found to be successful inside their required parameter region. Within the ‘breakdown’ region, the two-step GTD method still gives reasonable results for the local distribution and the drift, but fails in the predictions of dispersivity.
Predictive Modelling of Extreme Values in Unbalanced Panel Data

This thesis aims at predictive modelling of a two-sided, heavy-tailed data under a mixture model setting. A robust regression method is used to fit the main body, while the peaks-over-threshold method is employed to select the tails or the extreme events. Based on the extreme value theory, the tails are modelled with Pareto or exponential distributions. For the estimation of the tail distributions, the Bayesian maximum a posterior estimation (MAP) with conjugate priors is used to smooth the maximum likelihood estimates (MLEs). With regard to each of the two tail, the MAP approach leads to two optimization problems for the estimation of tail parameters: the tail decay rate and the tail quantile level. This filter tuning process provides stability and efficiency in computation and prediction. Several constrained, non-convex optimization problems have been converted to unconstrained, convex problems by quadratic approximation and variable changes. Newton’s iteration method is employed to solve the optimization problems numerically. This formulated methodology is applied to a large, multi-period, unbalanced data
Percentage of Patient with Celiac Disease among Children with Short Stature

Background: Clinical features of celiac disease vary considerably. Intestinal symptoms are common in children whose disease is diagnosed within the 1st 2 years of life. As the age at presentation of the disease shifts to later in childhood, and with the more liberal use of serologic screening tests, extra-intestinal manifestations and associated disorders, without any accompanying digestive symptoms, have increasingly become recognized, including short stature. We aim in this study to determine the percentage of celiac disease among patients with short stature. Objectives of the Study: (1) to show the percentage of patient with celiac disease in short stature children. (2) to show the effect celiac disease on treatment of short stature children. Methodology: A cross sectional study that carried out at the Endocrine Pediatrics Clinic at A Zahraa Teaching Hospital for a period in 1st of January 2013 to end of October 2013; a total of 167 children and adolescents, aged range of 2 to 18 years were registered with short stature . 91 children of them only have been enrolled in this study according to inclusion criteria. Enzyme immunoassay (Biosystems, Spain) was used to determine IgA tTG using microplate tests. Samples with concentrations >20U/mL were defined as positive. Patients with positive anti-tTGserology were referred to the gastroenterology clinic to continue investigation of celiac disease by endoscopy and biopsy. Data were analyzed by SPSS software in IBM version 20 using chi square and paired T-test. Result: A total of 167 patients were evaluated 91 of them only have been enrolled in our study according to inclusion criteria; 59 (65%) were female and 32 (35%) were male. Median age was 9 years (of 2 - 18 years). The anti-tTG assays were positive in 16.5% of patients (15/91). Out of 15 patient whose diagnosed as anti-tTG positive, 11 (73%) have been diagnosed as celiac disease by endoscopy and biopsy according to modified marsh classification. All children diagnosed to have celiac disease were kept on a gluten-free diet. Patients were followed-up for six months and showed improvement in growth rate. Conclusion: Celiac disease a cause of short stature that should be included in diagnostic investigations of short stature.Recommendation: anti-tTG antibody as routine test recommended for all patients with short statures. All patients with idiopathic short statures and anti-tTG test positive with normal IgA level should be subjected to intestinal biopsy to prove the diagnosis of celiac disease.
Determination of Frequency of Bacterial Agent Causing Ventilator Associated Pneumonia in the Patients Hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit of Tonkabon Shahid Rajaei Hospital by PCR Sequencing

Background: Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) is the most prevalent hospitalized infection in the intensive care unit (ICU) causing increase of the therapeutic costs and mortality. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to determine the bacterial agents causing VAP in the patients hospitalized in the ICU of Tonekabon Shahid Rajaei hospital. Methods: From April to March of 2015, out of 35 patients hospitalized in ICU of Tonekabon Shahid Rajaei hospital and infected withVAP,samplingwascarriedoutfromsplintpipe,andthesamples,followingthetransfertothetransportculturemedium,were transferredtolaboratoryandincubatedin37°Cfor72hours. Inordertoisolatethebacteria,thestandardculturetechniquewasused for assistance. After appearance of colony on the blood agar medium, DNA extraction was enforced by use of phenol-chloroform technique, and identiﬁcation of the bacterium was accomplished using sequencing PCR technique. Results: Atotalof 35patients,16patients(45.7%)arewomenand19patients(54.3%)aremen,andagerangeof thepatientsisfrom15 to 88 years. totally, 53 bacteria were isolated out of which 28 bacteria (52.8%) were Gram-positive and 25 bacteria (47.2%) were Gram-negative. In the present study, the most prevalent identiﬁed bacterial agents included bacteria belonging to family of Enterobacteriaceae (35.4%), Staphylococcus aureus (20.7%), other species of Staphylococcus (14.7%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (11.3%), Acinetobacter bumani (9.4%) and Corynebacterium (7.5%). 7 individuals (20%) of the patients with pneumonia resulted from ventilator were died. Conclusions: The obtained ﬁndings showed that various factors play a role in the occurrence of VAP. Cause if diﬀerence in the outbreakof VAPintheICUisduetodiﬀerenceintypeof disease, accompanimentof thevarioussusceptible-makingfactorsintheir background diseases. Therefore, observance of infection control standards to prevent form VAP is advised.
Integrated system for an automated insulin therapy for type 1 diabetes : real time evaluation of the effect of physical exercise and adjustment of the insulin dosage.

Type1 diabetes (T1D) is an immune disease characterized by the destruction of the beta cells of the pancreas responsible for the production of insulin, a hormone that plays a primary role in blood glucose regulation. People with T1D are faced with daily challenges of optimization since they require multiple daily infusions of optimal insulin doses. One of the major disturbances of glycemic control is physical activity. Despite its benefits, exercise is usually associated with higher risks of low glucose levels. The fear of hypoglycemia results in either avoidance of engaging in a physical activity or over- compensatory treatment behaviors that lead to a worse metabolic control.This dissertation project focuses on enabling physical activity for T1DM patients by generating real time feedback of the current risks associated with exercise and advising on insulin dose adjustments and carbohydrate intakes.Using linear statistics techniques, we identified the major factors predictive of the post exercise glycemic response in a relatively large dataset of T1D patients. Based on this analysis, we developed a classification method able to warn T1D patients in advance of a high risk for hypoglycemia associated with physical activity, potentially allowing patients to delay exercise or take preventive actions.The linear statistical models were the foundation in the design and implementation of a decision support system (DSS) for people with T1D to safely engage in a physicalactivity. The DSS has built-in optimized strategies to mitigate the risk of exercise- induced low glucose levels. The system has been validated in the University of Virginia/University of Padova FDA approved T1D simulator and will be deployed in clinical trials in the near future.
Wildland fire reburning trends across the US West suggest only short-term negative feedback and differing climatic effects

Wildfires are a significant agent of disturbance in forests and highly sensitive to climate change. Short-interval fires and high severity (mortality-causing) fires in particular, may catalyze rapid and substantial ecosystem shifts by eliminating woody species and triggering conversions from forest to shrub or grassland ecosystems. Modeling and fine-scale observations suggest negative feedbacks between fire and fuels should limit reburn prevalence as overall fire frequency rises. However, while we have good information on reburning patterns for individual fires or small regions, the validity of scaling these conclusions to broad regions like the US West remains unknown. Both the prevalence of reburning and the strength of feedbacks on likelihood of reburning over differing timescales have not been documented at the regional scale. Here we show that while there is a strong negative feedback for very short reburning intervals throughout wildland forests of the Western US, that feedback weakens after 10–20 years. The relationship between reburning intervals and drought diverges depending on location, with coastal systems reburning quicker (e.g. shorter interval between fires) in wetter conditions and interior forests in drier. This supports the idea that vegetation productivity—primarily fine fuels that accumulate rapidly (<10 years)—is of primary importance in determining reburn intervals. Our results demonstrate that while over short time intervals increasing fires inhibits reburning at broad scales, that breaks down after a decade. This provides important insights about patterns at very broad scales and agrees with finer scale work, suggesting that lessons from those scales apply across the entire western US.
Do Oceanic Hypoxic Regions Act as Barriers for Sinking Particles? A Case Study in the Eastern Tropical North Atlantic

In oxygen minimum zones (OMZs), the attenuation rates of particulate organic carbon (POC) fluxes of large particles are known to be reduced, thus increasing the efficiency with which the biological carbon pump (BCP) transfers carbon to the abyss. The BCP efficiency is expected to further increase if OMZs expand. However, little is known about how the POC fluxes of small particles—a significant component of the BCP—are attenuated inside OMZs. In this study, data collected by two BGC‐Argo floats deployed in the hypoxic OMZ of the eastern tropical North Atlantic were used to estimate net instantaneous fluxes of POC via small particle during 3 years. This information was analyzed together with meteorological data and published POC fluxes of large particles and allowed us to conclude that (1) major pulses of surface‐derived small particles toward the OMZ interior coincided with seasonal changes in wind stress and precipitation; (2) a permanent layer of small particles, presumably linked to microbial communities, was found in the upper section of the OMZ which might play a key role attenuating POC fluxes; and (3) fluxes of large particles were attenuated less efficiently inside this poorly oxygenated region than above it, while attenuation of small‐particle fluxes were equivalent or significantly higher inside the OMZ. These results highlight that more information about the processes controlling the fluxes of small and large particles in hypoxic OMZs is needed to better understand the impact of hypoxic OMZs on the BCP efficiency.
Open-label Phase II study of everolimus plus endocrine therapy in postmenopausal women with ER-positive and HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer (Chloe trial)

Background: This is a randomized, multicenter, open-label, Phase II study designed to evaluate the efficacy of everolimus added to continuous aromatase inhibitor (AI) administration in patients who had maintained stable disease or a better response for at least 5 months. Patients and methods: Patients will be randomized to everolimus and standard therapy groups (1:1 ratio). In the everolimus group, patients will receive everolimus in addition to the AI agent. The standard therapy group will continue AI alone treatment. The primary endpoint is progression-free survival. Target accrual is 130 patients with a two-sided type I error rate of 10% and 80% power to detect 35% risk reduction. Conclusion: The Chloe trial will provide important information about the efficacy and safety of adding everolimus to AI in patients with estrogen receptor-positive and human epidermal growth factor 2-negative metastatic breast cancer.
Structural Evolution During Perovskite Crystal Formation and Degradation: In Situ and Operando X‐Ray Diffraction Studies

This review provides an update on the progress in understanding formation and degradation mechanisms in halide perovskites for photovoltaic applications, as supported by in situ and operando X‐ray scattering techniques. The value of these real‐time analyses is particularly high for gaining insights into the structural evolution during crystal formation and decomposition upon exposure to external stress factors. This type of analysis reveals the pathways between starting and end points of a process rather than being limited to comparing states before and after the process. Special attention is put on the successful efforts toward upscaling including deposition techniques that are compatible to roll‐to‐roll processing. These processes are realized using fast annealing procedures. The development of these processes strongly benefited from in situ studies exploring the direct transition from precursor to perovskite without going through observable crystalline intermediate phases. A particular focus of this review is the benefit of using in situ and operando X‐ray scattering techniques to better understand and ultimately improve device stability. The difference between structural stability of thin films and structural stability under device operation is highlighted, convincingly demonstrating the indispensability of operando studies.
The research cost of adapting agriculture to climate change: A global analysis to 2050

Investments in agricultural research and development (R&D) made over the next few decades will likely prove critical in offsetting adverse climate change impacts on the global food system. In this study, we offer cost estimates of public R&D‐led adaptation to climate change grounded in an explicit framework relating the flow of annual R&D expenditures to building knowledge capital and thereby raising productivity in agriculture. Our research uses a comprehensive collection of historical public agricultural R&D expenditure and a literature review of elasticity estimates linking knowledge stocks to agricultural productivity growth for key world regions. Given climate‐driven crop yield projections generated from extreme combinations of crop and global circulation models, we find that offsetting crop yield losses projected by climate and crop models over 2006–2050 would require increased R&D adaptation investments of between $187 billion and $1,384 billion (in 2005 $PPP) if we invest between 2020 and 2040. This is 16–118% higher than global R&D investment if present spending trends continue. Although these costs are significant, worldwide R&D‐led climate adaptation could offer favorable economic returns. Moreover, R&D‐led adaptation could deliver gains in food security and environmental sustainability by mitigating food price increases and slowing cropland expansion.
Investing in the Education of Children for Better Returns: A Case of Community Secondary Schools at Bariadi District in Simiyu Region, Tanzania

of externalities or spill-overs. These educational externalities also known as spill-overs constitute what is termed as public benefits of education because they benefit existing and forthcoming generations in terms of democracy, human rights, better governance, trade, political stability, longevity (Sackey and Harry, 2008) among others. Education has an important role in transforming a nation’s living standards. The educational outcomes are directly linked to labour market productivity and human capital accumulation, which directly contribute to shaping the Abstract: The study was conducted at Bariadi, Simiyu region in Tanzania to ascertain the importance of investing in education for better returns. Selection of the area of study was based on the unique characteristics of the community to neglect investing in education of their children because of having no good examples of those who benefitted from education. This problem led to have communities that live in extreme poverty. When the government of Tanzania declared to provide free basic education for early eleven years, some members of the community, and particularly parents, leave the entire responsibility of education funding on the hands of the government. It was established that, in average, in every month, each student is allocated with Tshs 2,343/= which is equivalent to one USD. The study applied non-probability sampling. Purposive sampling was then used to collect data from head of schools to respond to the prepared instrument (questionnaires) that aimed at identifying amount of funds released by the government every month and determine whether they sufficed for daily operation in the school or not. This technique was used to obtain fifty percent of schools to be included in the study by simple random sampling with replacement. Data collected was analyzed and then conclusion was made through that analysis. The findings indicated that the more one invests in education, the more affluence one becomes. Community and the government need to invest wisely in education for better returns. Spill-over effects on the investment in education were seen in the entire community when educated people influence their community in various ways of life.
27 W 2.1 µm OPCPA system for coherent soft X-ray generation operating at 10 kHz.

We developed a high power optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) system at 2.1 µm harnessing a 500 W Yb:YAG thin disk laser as the only pump and signal generation source. The OPCPA system operates at 10 kHz with a single pulse energy of up to 2.7 mJ and pulse duration of 30 fs. The maximum average output power of 27 W sets a new record for an OPCPA system in the 2 µm wavelength region. The soft X-ray continuum generated through high harmonic generation with this driver laser can extend to around 0.55 keV, thus covering the entire water window (284 eV - 543 eV). With a repetition rate still enabling pump-probe experiments on solid samples, the system can be used for many applications.
DEXMEDETOMIDINE VERSUS ORAL PREGABALIN TO ATTENUATE HEMODYNAMIC RESPONSE TO LARYNGOSCOPY AND OROTRACHEAL INTUBATION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

INTRODUCTION: The airway instrumentation of direct laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation are powerful noxious stimuli that should be attenuated by appropriate premedication, smooth induction and rapid intubation. The present study compared the efficacy intravenous dexmedetomidine and oral pregabalin premedication for attenuation of haemodynamic pressor response to laryngoscopy and intubation. METHODS: A total of 60 patients of age group 20-50 years scheduled for elective surgeries under general anaesthesia with ASA physical status I and II were divided into two groups each of 30. Group D received intravenous dexmedetomidine 1mcg/kg over 10 minutes before induction and group P received oral pregabalin 150 mg one hour prior to intubation. Parameters observed were heartrate and mean arterial pressure at baseline, after induction, immediately after intubation and then 5, 10, 15 and 30 minutes thereafter. RESULTS: Attenuation of heartrate in group dexmedetomidine (78.12 ± 10.0 / min) immediately after intubation was statistically significant than group pregabalin (89.76 ± 10.45 / min). Mean arterial pressure significantly (p < 0.05) decreased after intubation with dexmedetomidine. As compared to oral pregabalin, attenuation of heartrate and mean arterial pressure was statistically significant till 30 minutes after intubation with intravenous dexmedetomidine . CONCLUSION : Intravenous dexmedetomidine 1µg/kg is more effective than oral pregabalin 150 mg in attenuating hemodynamic response to laryngoscopy and orotracheal intubation.
The study of the senses and the impact on the built environment : a proposed rehabilitation centre for the visually impaired.

To anadult who has lost their sense of sight, finding one’s way in the built environment is stressful as the surroundings are filled with many uncertainties. It is due to the sensory detachment of modern architecture that the process of perception is mainly focused on the sense of sight. This dissertation will analyse the theoretical works of Sven Hesselgren, Forrest Wilson and Juhani Pallasmaa to understand the theories of Phenomenology, Gestalt and Ocularcentrism respectively. These theories investigate the relationship between architecture, perception and the human senses. The understanding of these relationships will reveal how architecture can play a meaningful and supportive role in the rehabilitation of the newly blind.