Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rheumatoid arthritis activity and severity in relation to commonly used contraceptive methods in a cohort of Egyptian female patients

Background: Objective: To study the impact/effect of commonly used contraceptive methods on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease activity, severity, and damage in a cohort of Egyptian female RA patients. Methods: Two hundred female RA patients were enrolled and divided into two groups; non-contraception users (50 patients) and contraception users (150 patients). The latter group was further subdivided according to the method of contraceptive method used into: 89 intrauterine device (IUD)-users; 45 combined oral contraceptives (COC)-users; 16 injectables-users. All patients underwent thorough history taking with special emphasis on contraception history, clinical examination, and assessment by routine laboratory tests, rheumatoid factor (RF) and antibodies to citrullinated protein antigens (ACPA). Rheumatoid arthritis disease activity was assessed using Disease Activity Score 28 using CRP (DAS28/ CRP), while RA disease severity was assessed using Rheumatoid Arthritis Severity Scale (RASS). Bilateral hand x-rays were done and interpreted by the Short Erosion Scale (SES). Results: The percentage of ACPA seropositivity among IUD-users was 75.3%; the highest among all studied subgroups. IUD-users showed significantly higher ACPA titers (p=0.020), as well as longer disease duration (p=0.021) compared to other methods-users. The RASS was significantly higher in injectables-users in comparison to other methods-users followed by the IUD-users (p=0.008). COC-users had the least RASS. However, there were no significant differences regarding DAS28/CRP or SES between different contraceptive methods-users. There was positive correlation between ACPA titers and RASS. Conclusion: The increased ACPA positivity as well as higher ACPA titers in women who are currently IUD-users suggests a possible etiopathogenic role for IUD in onset and perpetuation of RA disease. Mechanisms by which IUD could increase RA-related autoimmunity risk were discussed. Whether cessation of IUD use in RA patients might improve their current state of disease need further study.
Stakeholder perspectives on the business potential of digitalization in the wood products industry

Digitalization is reshaping traditional industries by interconnecting products, processes and services, and by transforming business models. The businesses that are able to leverage digitalization to improve customer value are in a better position to differentiate from rivals. The development also provides opportunities for the wood products industry, whose competitiveness has deteriorated throughout the 2010s. However, there is an apparent research gap in understanding how this industry could utilize digitalization to apply customer-oriented business strategies, and what are the development needs to achieve this goal. The present study aims to narrow this gap. The study was carried by qualitative interviews. The data consist of wood suppliers, sawmills, secondary wood processors, and the construction industry. The results show a seamless link between digitalization, improved customer orientation, and the functionality of wood value chains. Most of the business development ideas focused on improving process efficiency with digitalization. However, more knowledge is needed to unleash the potential related to new offerings (products and services) and completely new ways to conduct business in the knowledge-based wood products industry.
DECISION SUPPORT FOR AGRICULTURAL WATER MANAGEMENT

Irrigation water use is the major pressure limiting the availability of fresh water resources in the Mediterranean. Efficient irrigation scheduling programs (IRSPs) are able to reduce water consumption; however, their selection and placement in large agricultural landscapes depend on location specific characteristics and economic indicators. Towards this end, a novel and efficient Decision Support Tool (DST) is developed in MATLAB-programming, able to assess the effectiveness of different IRSPs in reducing total agricultural water use at the catchment scale along with their impact on crop yields. The DST integrates a look-up table with data on irrigation water amounts and crop yields at different locations within a catchment, populated by a hydrological and crop growth estimator: the process-based SWAT model, into a multi-objective Genetic Algorithm, which serves as the optimization engine for the allocation of measures across the agricultural land. The optimization scheme leads rapidly to the optimal trade-off frontier between the conflicting objectives providing spatial allocations of IRSPs. The tool was implemented in the Ali Efenti catchment demonstrating optimal solutions that could save more than 10% of water by reducing cotton yields less than 5% from the baseline. The study highlights the potential of the tool to assist in the development of cost-effective water saving plans at the catchment level in order to reduce the risk of desertification in intensively cultivated areas.
Interaction Between Object Detection and Multi-Target Tracking

Object detection and target tracking are two basic tasks in video analysis and understanding. Though both of them were studied widely and deeply, interaction between them worth more efforts. We give an interaction framework between PNN based object detection and meanshift target tracking. Detection results were used to accelerate tracking speed by decrease search steps, and tracking results were used to guide the updating of background model for motion detection. Performances of both multi-object tracking and motion detection were improved. Keywords-Object detection, Target tracking, Background model, Meanshift, Neural network
Interspecies Communication in Homo Sapiens and Canis Lupis Familiaris: A Meta Analysis

Interspecies communication is a fundamental aspect of many creatures. Knowing what another animal is saying could not only prove interesting, it could quite literally save a life. For humans, human-canine communication is arguably the most prevalent form of interspecies communication, and is important not only because of the close proximity of humans to dogs, but also because of the co-evolutionary aspects that have driven humans closer to “man’s best friend”. While there are some sources that allow for a consistent analysis of results in this field, it is still developing and constantly changing. A meta-analysis was performed to identify sources and causes of bias in articles, and to determine whether genetics and psychology were major influences on these articles. Small sample size and large variability of subjects negatively influences the impact that such studies have, but there are some that have been replicated and are more reliable. Review articles are the least biased, provide a good starting point for research, and are more likely to identify topics such as genetics and psychology in their analysis and discussion. Future scientists in this field should identify a standardized method of measurement, increase sample size, and repeat experiments multiple times to improve and refine the pool of data that is available.
Pain Assessment Using Facial Expressions By Human And Machine

PAIN is the most common reason that patients go to visit doctors. Pain is not an easy sensation which will be simply accessed and could be directly measured. To make the right diagnosis and determine the most effective treatment plan for patients presenting with pain, systematic and precise pain assessment is required. The visual changes reflected on the face of a person in pain may be apparent for only a few seconds and occur instinctively. Tracking these changes is a time-consuming and difficult process in a clinical setting. This is often why it's motivating researchers and experts from medical, psychology and computer fields to conduct inter-disciplinary research in capturing facial expressions. The facial expressions of children's (0-2 years) in pain and in non-communicative patients need to be recognized as they are of utmost importance for proper diagnosis. The direct measurement of pain is related to the computation approach whereas indirect measurement is by observers ratings. The aim of this study is to correlate the results obtained from the observer, practitioner, and machine. The results showed that the experts often underestimated pain intensity in comparison to the observer and computational approaches used. This will cover both spheres of psychological vulnerability and resilience to pain along with the advanced techniques used in machine learning thereby improving the quality of care by increasing its accessibility to physicians.
Runtime-Based Behavior Dynamic Analysis System for Android Malware Detection

The most serious threats for Android users is come from application, However, the market lack a mechanism to validate whether these applications are malware or not. So, malware maybe leak users private information, malicious deductions for send premium SMS, get root privilege of the Android system and so on. In the traditional method of malware detection, signature is the only basis. It is far enough. In this paper, we propose a runtime-based behavior dynamic analysis for Android malware detection. The new scheme can be implemented as a system. We analyze 350 applications come from third-party Android market, the result show that our system can effectively detect unknown malware and the malicious behavior of malware.
A New Educational Marketing Mix: The 6ps for Private School Marketing in Iran

This study aims to present a new marketing mix for private schools based on parents' attitudes of non-public school students in Tehran. Each institution needs to survive is to provide marketing services. Educational institutions such as private schools to attract more students who are among the main goals of these institutions need to use Principles of Marketing. The type of hotels or restaurants services varies with educational services. Hence the educational sector particularly private schools need a new marketing model. This study seeks to present a model to be able thereby to increase Students enrollment. Research method of this study was the combination of exploratory, descriptive - survey and analytical. Gathering techniques of data were through both questionnaire and interview. First results obtained from factor analysis, showed that 3 factors obtained from the 6 factors, which are among the traditional marketing mix include: ＂Price＂, ＂promotion＂ and ＂product＂ and three new factors with the ＂Parent Teacher Communication,＂ professor ＂and＂ privilege ＂. So the effect of each 6 factors on increasing the enrollment students rate were evaluated by test the hypotheses. The current study took nearly one year to be completed (Feb. 2011 to Dec. 2011). This study also was conducted in Tehran city, Iran.
Influence of sodium dodecyl sulfonate on the formation of ZnO nanorods from ε-Zn(OH) 2

The influence of sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDSN) on the formation of ZnO nanorods from e-Zn(OH)2 was investigated in this paper. The e-Zn(OH)2 precursor was prepared at room temperature using ZnSO4 and NaOH as the reactants and then converted to ZnO nanorods after aging at 80°C in NaOH solution containing a minor amount of sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDSN). The experimental results and the molecular simulation revealed that the influence of SDSN on the formation of ZnO from e-Zn(OH)2 should be attributed to the adsorption of SDSN on e-Zn(OH)2 surfaces, which inhibited the dissolution of e-Zn(OH)2 in NaOH solution, leading to the formation of the ZnO nanorods with a diameter of 50-200 nm, a length of 3.0-15.0 µm, and an aspect ratio of 30-100.
A Numerical Study of Aerodynamic Forces on a Square Cylinder in Oscillating Flows

ABSTRACT: The unsteady forces on a square cylinder in sinusoidally oscillating flows with nonzero mean velocities are investigated numerically in a two-dimensional sense. The major parameters in the analysis of flows around a cylinder with a sinusoidal motion are the Keulegan-Carpenter number (KC) and the ratio (AR) between the variation and the mean of the approaching-flow velocities, which vary respectively from 1 to 30 and 0.1 to 0.7. The resulting unsteady forces on the cylinder for various KC and AR values are analyzed systematically to examine the flow effect of the cylinder. Based on the numerical results, additionally, the Morison equation is used as a basis to describe the variations of resulting drag and lift.
The Effect of Core Exercise Program on Motoric Skills in Young People

Purpose: The objective of this study was to determine the effects of an 8-week core exercise programme performed on Swiss ball and BOSU ball that on dynamic balance, flexibility, spinal Range of Motion (ROM), back muscle endurance, back muscle strength, abdominal muscle strength, and body composition for healthy young males. Methods: Twenty-two young males (Age: 20.68 ± 2.27 years, height: 175.23 ± 5.17 cm, body weight: 66.81 ± 7.85 kg) volunteered for the study. Prior to the training period, all participants completed anthropometric measurements, body composition measurement, back muscle strength and endurance tests, sit-up test, lateral bending and spinal ROM measurements, Y Balance Test (YBT). After measurements, the participants were divided into randomly two groups. The exercise group (N:12) performed the core exercise 3 days per week for 8 weeks. The control group (N:10) did not participate in any type of exercise. “Indepented t-test” and “Paired-Samples T test” were used for analysis of all parameters between the pre and post training measurements for exercise and control groups. Results: The present findings show that there were significant increases between pre and post-training values for back muscle strength, abdominal muscle strength, spinal ROM and dynamic balance in the exercise group compare with control group. Following the core strength training programme, back muscle strength (+10%) (p < 0.05) and endurance (+18.61%) (p < 0.00), abdominal muscle strength (+20.39%) (p < 0.03), leg strength (+12.66%) (p < 0.01), spine ROM, lateral flexibility and dynamic balance values of the exercise group showed a significant increase when compared with the pre test values. The control group did not show any significant changes pre and post training values when compared with exercise group. Conclusions: The results demonstrated that the 8-week a core training programme with Swiss ball and BOSU ball was effective to increase flexibility, dynamic balance, strength and muscular endurance, but not effective to decrease body fat. In this context, it can be said that this strength and flexibility training program may be a pleasurable alternative training type by coaches and physiotherapists that increased the above-mentioned physical fitness parameters for athletes or sedanter individuals.
Leadership Challenges In Today’s Academia

Starting from the anecdotic hypothesis that “leading academics is like trying to herd cats”, the paper reviews the main challenges and barriers to present academic leadership. The context is that of the on-going Bologna transformation of the university, and of the renewed quest for competitiveness. The method employed is that of the individual case-study, with a single-embedded design. The case study is exploratory, as we don’t know from sure which the effects of leadership in the university are, and to what degree are they alike, across sub-units of study. The case study is also intrinsic, as its main outcome is not theory-building, but understanding the particularities of a phenomenon strongly tied to its context. Our unit of study is the largest business university in the country, with its faculties and departments. The main data sources are short structured interviews with members of the academic staff. The analysis implies both explanation-building and cross-case synthesis. The results of the study give insights on the context of leadership, enablers and barriers, as well as on the content of leadership, in the particular setting of the academia. Conclusions connect our research with similar endeavours, outlining the particularities and patterns of educational transition in a transition country.
FEM Simulation of Microfluidic Devices

The flow through two microfluidic pumps is simulated using FEMLab. The fluidstructure interaction is handled by the arbitrary Lagrange-Eulerian (ALE) method. The simulation can easily be adopted to various geometries and pump configurations, allowing to analyze the behaviour of the flow in a wide range of microfluidic devices. The pumps simulated are a) a valveless micropump driven by an oscillating membrane and b) a pressure driven pump with two check valves. First results show a dependency of the fluid flow through the valveless pump on the driving frequency, confirming results from literature.
Site U1481

L.C. McNeill, B. Dugan, K.E. Petronotis, J. Backman, S. Bourlange, F. Chemale, W. Chen, T.A. Colson, M.C. G. Frederik, G. Guèrin, M. Hamahashi, T. Henstock, B.M. House, A. Hüpers, T.N. Jeppson, S. Kachovich, A.R. Kenigsberg, M. Kuranaga, S. Kutterolf, K.L. Milliken, F.L. Mitchison, H. Mukoyoshi, N. Nair, S. Owari, K.T. Pickering, H.F. A. Pouderoux, S. Yehua, I. Song, M.E. Torres, P. Vannucchi, P.J. Vrolijk, T. Yang, and X. Zhao2
Analysis of satellite images to track deforestation

1 Resum . 2 Resumen . 3 Acknowledgements . 5 Revision history and approval record . 6 Table of contents . 7 List of Figures . 9 List of Tables . 10
The Influence of Gestation Age on the Performance of Adaptive Algorithms Used for Fetal ECG Signal Extraction

The main aims of this paper are to study the influence of the Gestation Age (GA) on the quality of recorded abdominal ECG (aECG) signals and to evaluate the performance of the LMS and RLS adaptive signal processing algorithms in the extraction of the fetal ECG (fECG) signal component from such signals. This influence is quantified as a function of the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR). Our research shows that these adaptive algorithms with optimized settings can successfully be applied to extract fECG signals from the maternal aECG signals as early as the 30th week of GA, hence addressing a limitation (37 weeks or labor) in commercially available monitoring systems. We demonstrate that before this gestational age, the SNR of the maternal aECG signal is too low for these adaptive algorithms to work effectively and produce satisfactory
Influence of morphometry and biomechanics on diet selection in three portunid crabs

r\/lorphometrlc and biomechanical characteristics [size, mechanical advantages (MAs), muscle mass ratio (MR)] of the chel~peds of Necora puber, Ljocarclnus depurator and Liocarcjnus arcuatus (Crustacea, Decapoda, Portunidae) were analyzed to investigate their relation to diet selection patterns observed from gut content analysis of crabs from the Ria d e Arousa (Galicia, NW Spain). The size of the chelipeds relative to body size is similar in the 3 species, but there are important differences In biomechanlcal parameters. Both males and females demonstrate an interspecific morphometric gradient where there is an inverse relationship between IMA and MR of the chelipeds. The prey consumed by portunids in the K a d e Arousa was classified according to its mobility and presence of a hard exoskeleton. The diet ot L. depurator had a high morphological diversity a s the functional structure of the chelipeds is more versatile than in the othcr species. Chelipeds of L depurator are highly mobile because the MAs are relatively low, but the decrease in force produced is compensated by a relative increase in muscle mass. L. arcuatus has a lower h4R but the highest MA, hence the force produced depends more on the design of the chelipeds. These characteristics give rise to appendages with little mobility, which is reflected in a diet made up mainly of sedentary prey wlthout a n exoskeleton. N. puber has intermediate trophic and biomechanical characteristics; its prey are primarily mobile and have hard exoskeletons Ontogenetlc changes are the main factor reponsible for life history variation in the diet, and they are related to biomechanical factors due to the absolute growth of the chel~peds . Growth gives access to prey with hard exoskeletons, especially in the case of L. depurator, whereas the changes in relative growth are associated with the onset of sexual maturity and reproductive behavlour. Within a species, the morphometric patterns observed may be attributed to non-trophic selection processes, and they have no major influence on the diet, which is conditioned mainly by the absolute growth of the chelipeds and muscle mass. O n a longer evolutionary scale, the interspecific diversity in feeding habits and morphometry are correlated, although the causal mechanism could not be determined.
Wasta! The long-term implications of education expansion and economic liberalisation on politics in Sudan

By tracking the changing nature of wasta, or personal intermediation, in the Khartoum labour market, this paper examines the impact of Islamist policies on state–society relations in Khartoum, Sudan. It argues that economic liberalisation and higher education expansion weakened sectarian control over the economy, replacing the former institutionalised system of privilege with a much more decentralised, private and transnational structure. The conclusion asks whether these policies have laid the groundwork for long-term political transformation. While education expansion and liberalisation should theoretically allow a regime to broaden patronage networks, they may also reduce the capacity of both the regime and the private sector to exercise power and establish predictability outwards.
The NOAA IOOS Data Integration Framework: Initial implementation report

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) integrated ocean observing system (IOOS) program office has begun the implementation of a data integration framework (DIF) to improve management and delivery of an initial subset of ocean observations. The DIF establishes a Web service layer atop key NOAA data providers, including the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC), the Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS), and CoastWatch. Standardized service types and encodings for in situ and gridded data have been selected; this standardization allows a single client to access data from multiple sources with the same code. The DIF services will provide integrated access to data from both NOAA and regional partners. The standards and protocols used are broadly applicable, though specific decision-support tools and models relevant to harmful algal blooms, integrated ecosystem assessments, hurricane intensity, and coastal inundation have been targeted as initial customer focus areas for the DIF. The data access services are expected to be active shortly before the Oceans 2008 conference. This paper discusses the service layer, the data encoding specifications used, and the status of the implementation effort.
Estimation of Treatment Effect for the Right Censored Data

In this article, we propose an estimation procedure for the treatment effect for the right censored data. We apply the least square method for deriving the estimation equation and obtain an explicit formula for an estimation. Then we consider some asymptotic properties with derivation of the asymptotic normality for the estimate. Finally we illustrate our procedure with an example and discuss some interesting aspects for the estimation procedure.