Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Machine Learning-Based Automated Diagnostic Systems Developed for Heart Failure Prediction Using Different Types of Data Modalities: A Systematic Review and Future Directions

One of the leading causes of deaths around the globe is heart disease. Heart is an organ that is responsible for the supply of blood to each part of the body. Coronary artery disease (CAD) and chronic heart failure (CHF) often lead to heart attack. Traditional medical procedures (angiography) for the diagnosis of heart disease have higher cost as well as serious health concerns. Therefore, researchers have developed various automated diagnostic systems based on machine learning (ML) and data mining techniques. ML-based automated diagnostic systems provide an affordable, efficient, and reliable solutions for heart disease detection. Various ML, data mining methods, and data modalities have been utilized in the past. Many previous review papers have presented systematic reviews based on one type of data modality. This study, therefore, targets systematic review of automated diagnosis for heart disease prediction based on different types of modalities, i.e., clinical feature-based data modality, images, and ECG. Moreover, this paper critically evaluates the previous methods and presents the limitations in these methods. Finally, the article provides some future research directions in the domain of automated heart disease detection based on machine learning and multiple of data modalities.
Fiscal Incentives and Tax Compliance Behaviour in Industrial Clusters: A Survey of Clusters in South-east Nigeria

ABSTRACT The study investigates the impact of fiscal incentives on the tax compliance behavior of firms in industrial clusters in Nigeria. Data from 800 firms drawn from three industrial clusters in South-East Nigeria were collected using a structured questionnaire through a multi-stage sampling procedure. Descriptive statistics and the logistic regression model were applied to estimate the survey responses. The major findings of the study show that regular tax audit, firm size, simplifying the communication on tax requirement, communicating deterrent messages, educational attainment of the firm owner and political legitimacy of the current government as well as fiscal incentives (tax credit, tax reduction, capital allowance, investment incentives) significantly influence the tax compliance behavior of firms in Nigeria’s industrial clusters. Similarly, the study finds that fiscal incentives significantly enhance firm performance in Nigeria’s industrial clusters. Implications and policy suggestions are presented for adoption by concerned stakeholders in the tax and industrial sectors.
‘Who introduced Granny to Facebook?’: An exploration of everyday family interactions in web-based communication environments

The aim of the study was to explore the reasons that Estonian three-generation families use different web-based platforms for family interaction. Semi-structured interviews ( N =13) were carried out with representatives of four Estonian families to study their motivations for communicating with each other through web-based communication channels. Furthermore, we were interested in learning how they had selected the platforms for communication, what topics they discussed and what information they exchanged while communicating online. The findings of our study suggest that web-based communication channels were firmly domesticated in the everyday family routines of our respondents. Our interviews revealed that the Internet and web-based communication channels play an enormous role in supporting and partly also re-establishing inter-generational communication and, thereby, strengthening family bonds.
Schematic Study of Mid-course Trajectories for the Boost-glide Missiles

The dimensionless equations of motion for mid-course of the boost-glide trajectory are presented and the trajectory optimization problems are solved with nonlinear programming method(NLP). Firstly,the maximum range trajectories with varied initial velocity,inclination of the velocity and maximum lift-to-drag ratio of the vehicle were generated.Then the minimal accumulated heating load and the maximum range trajectories with stagnation heating rate and load factor constraints were investigated.The numerical results of first kind trajectories show the influence of initial condition on the maximum range trajectories.The second kind of the optimal glide trajectory was compared with the pure ballistic trajectory under the same condition.The results show that the maximum heating rate of glide reentry declines while the heat load of the glide trajectory increases.Furthermore,the flight time of the glide is within the tolerance of the Thermo Protection System(TPS) of conical shape maneuver reentry vehicles.
Local expansion moves for stereo matching based on random sample consensus confidence

Abstract. We propose an innovative stereo matching algorithm using three constraints and collaborative optimization between pixels. First, to initialize a better disparity plane, the random points will be selected using matching energy stability, disparity stability, and left–right consistency as restrictions, instead of choosing the commonly used random sample consensus (RANSAC) method, which has certain randomness and affects the final optimization. Second, for the problem that the grid-based propagation method cannot effectively propagate the labels between adjacent similar pixels and its easiness to fall into local minimums, a cooperative competition mechanism between adjacent similar pixels is proposed, and the matching energy is minimized through collaborative optimization. Third, we iteratively optimize the parallax plane parameters and minimize the matching energy function, and thus improve the stereo matching accuracy. Finally, we test our method on Middlebury V3 test set, which achieves better performance against other state-of-the-art algorithms and ranks first in the matching error <1 pixel all metric, ranks second in the matching error <0.5 pixel all metric, and ranks third in the matching error <2 pixels all metric, and further the number of iterations is reduced and the processing speed was accelerated (recorded on May 3, 2021).
OVPD: Odor-Video Elicited Physiological Signal Database for Emotion Recognition

To explore the effects of different stimuli on human emotions, olfaction has been incorporated into stimulation materials that might trigger strong emotions. In this study, we designed a new stimulation experiment and established an odor–video physiological signal database (OVPD) of odor–video stimulation for emotion recognition. The database contained the electroencephalogram (EEG) data of ten subjects acquired when experimenting with video–odor stimuli and video-only stimuli. We selected 32 video clips and ten kinds of odors (i.e., orange, rose, alcohol, water, mint, vinegar, durian, foul, acetic, and myrtle) as elicitation materials. Each subject reported a self-assessment of arousal and valence levels after the experiment ended. By comparing the brain topographies associated with two types of stimuli, olfactory stimuli increased orbitofrontal cortex activity, which is consistent with the finding from the fMRI study. Simultaneously with three types of emotions, we presented the average classification accuracies of different features using the support vector machine (SVM) classifier. The optimal accuracies with or without olfactory stimuli were 99.03% and 97.92%, respectively. The superior results show that the olfactory stimulus can enhance emotional experiences.
Effects on calls for service of police ‘scarecrow’ cars

ABSTRACT Stationary patrol vehicles, also known as ‘scarecrow cars,’ have been linked with reductions in speeding, but little is known about their effects on crime and related measures. In response to this limitation, we examined the effect on daily dispatched calls for service of a 32-day scarecrow car deployment in a large retail parking lot in Mesquite, Texas. Estimated with 180 days of pre and post data, interrupted time series and Poisson regression models revealed, as expected, that there was a significant decrease in dispatched calls during deployment followed by an increase post-deployment. Limitations and implications are discussed.
Current affairs on TikTok. Virality and entertainment for digital natives

Since its appearance in 2018, TikTok has become one of the most popular social media platforms among digital natives because of its algorithm-based engagement strategies, a policy of public accounts, and a simple, colorful, and intuitive content interface. As happened in the past with other platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, various media are currently seeking ways to adapt to TikTok and its particular characteristics to attract a younger audience less accustomed to the consumption of journalistic material. Against this background, the aim of this study is to identify the presence of the media and journalists on TikTok, measure the virality and engagement of the content they generate, describe the communities created around them, and identify the presence of journalistic use of these accounts. For this, 23,174 videos from 143 accounts belonging to media from 25 countries were analyzed. The results indicate that, in general, the presence and impact of the media in this social network are low and that most of their content is oriented towards the creation of user communities based on viral content and entertainment. However, albeit with a lesser presence, one can also identify accounts and messages that adapt their content to the specific characteristics of TikTok. Their virality and engagement figures illustrate that there is indeed a niche for current affairs on this social network.
Windborne migration amplifies insect-mediated pollination services

Worldwide, hoverflies (Syrphidae: Diptera) provide crucial ecosystem services (ES) such as pollination and biological pest control. Although many hoverfly species exhibit migratory behavior, the spatiotemporal facets of these movement dynamics and their ES implications are poorly understood. In this study, we use long-term (16 yr) trapping records, trajectory analysis and intrinsic (i.e., isotope, genetic, pollen) markers to describe migration patterns of the hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus in China. Our work reveals long-range, windborne migration with spring migrants originating in northern China and exhibiting return migration during autumn. Given the substantial night-time dispersal of E. balteatus, this species possibly adopts a 'dual' migration strategy. The extensive genetic mixing and high genetic diversity of E. balteatus populations underscore its adaptive capacity to environmental disturbances e.g., climate change. Pollen markers and molecular gut-analysis further illuminate how E. balteatus visits min. 1,012 flowering plant species (39 orders) over space and time. By thus delineating E. balteatus trans-regional movements and pollination networks, we advance our understanding of its migration ecology and facilitate the design of targeted strategies to conserve and enhance its ecosystem services.
Modelling and Characterisation of Residual Stress of SiC-Ti3C2Tx MXene Composites Sintered via Spark Plasma Sintering Method

This article presents an attempt to determine the effect of the MXene phase addition and its decomposition during sintering with the use of the spark plasma sintering method on mechanical properties and residual stress of silicon carbide based composites. For this purpose, the unreinforced silicon carbide sinter and the silicon carbide composite with the addition of 2 wt. % of Ti3C2Tx were tested. The results showed a significant increase of fracture toughness and hardness for composite, respectively 36% and 13%. The numerical study involving this novel method of modelling shows the presence of a complex state of stress in the material, which is related to the anisotropic properties of graphitic carbon structures formed during sintering. An attempt to determine the actual values of residual stress in the tested materials using Raman spectroscopy was also made. These tests showed a good correlation with the constructed numerical model and confirmed the presence of a complex state of residual stress.
Experimental analysis of time-phase-shift flow sensing based on a piezoelectric peristaltic micropump

Flow rate sensing is a critical issue for piezoelectric-based micropump systems. This paper describes experimental analysis of flow rate sensing in a peristaltic micropump system. Sensing can be integrated with such a pump using piezoelectric actuators based on the time-phase-shift (TPS) method. To do this, an evaluation-window is added on the falling edge of the driving pulse to help detect the flow velocity without affecting the flow rate. We fabricate a prototype piezoelectric peristaltic micropump with three chambers and three piezoelectric actuators. The middle actuator works not only as an actuator for driving fluid but also as a transducer for sensing flow rate. An evaluation-window is performed to ascertain the relationship between the flow rate and the phase shift of output-signal responses from the transducer. The experimental results show that the evaluation-window response of flow rates in a piezoelectric peristaltic micropump has rates of from 5.56‒33.36 μl s−1. The results are extended to propose a practical flow rate sensor, the design of which can be realized easily in the piezoelectric peristaltic micropump system for sensorless responses that can detect flow rate without any sensors or circuits. The proposed TPS method is real-time, integrated, fast, efficient, and suitable for flow rate detection in piezoelectric peristaltic micropumps.
Affective arousal explains infant gaze following under various social context

Gaze following is fundamental to human sociocognitive development, such as language and cultural learning. Previous studies have revealed that infant gaze following is not a reflexive orienting to adult’s eye movement. Instead, infants adaptively modulate gaze following behaviour depending on social contexts. However, the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying contextual modulation of gaze following remain unclear. We tested whether contextual modulation of infant gaze following is mediated by the infants’ heart rate, which is hypothesised to indicate the calculation of action value. Forty-one 6- to 9-month-old infants participated in this study. Infants observed either a reliable face, which gazed toward the location of an object, or an unreliable face, which gazed away from the location of an object. Then, the infants watched a video of the same model making eye contact or not showing any ostensive signals, before shifting her gaze toward one of two objects. We revealed that reliability and eye contact independently increased heart rates, which then fully mediate the effect of these social cues on the frequency of infant gaze following. Results suggest that each social cue independently enhances physiological arousal which then accumulatively predicts the likelihood of infant gaze following behaviour.
A critical review of cost‐effectiveness research in children's social care: What have we learnt so far?

This article presents the findings from a critical review of cost-effectiveness research in children's social care. With a focus on the past 20 years (since 2000), the review aims to assess the use and consistency of definitions relevant to evaluating cost-effectiveness such as financial input (costs) and outcomes, and to review and summarise learnings from cost-effectiveness studies in the English children's social care system. We included both academic and grey literature and identified 61 relevant publications for inclusion. The results are organised according to three themes: costs, outcomes and cost-effectiveness. We identified that a large proportion of studies contained a discussion on cost, spend or unit cost, and an equal proportion of articles concerned outcomes of service, benefit to children or quality of service provided. The number of studies discussing cost-effectiveness, cost – benefit or economic evaluation was considerably smaller. The findings highlight substantial gaps in the literature, with a disproportionate focus on stating the problem in terms of cost pressures, and very little robust evidence about cost-effectiveness. Furthermore, the article sets out methodological limitations and indicates a lack of transparency in many of the report studies. We conclude that as a result of the gaps and limitations it is difficult for policymakers and other stakeholders in children's services to make evidence-informed decisions about the best use of their limited resources.
Integrating assisted tele-psychiatry into primary healthcare in Goa, India: a feasibility study

Abstract Background Tele-psychiatry is an increasingly acceptable and feasible platform to deliver mental health care with the potential to increase access to care in low-resource settings. We aim to examine the acceptability and preliminary impact of the delivery of assisted tele-psychiatry services in primary healthcare settings in Goa, India. Methods Before-after uncontrolled treatment cohort study. In total, 161 adults with either a mental or alcohol use disorder were provided tele-consultation by psychiatrists through a customised video conferencing platform, along with medication or counselling (via trained lay counsellors) or both as needed. Data on socio-demographics, clinical outcomes and process indicators were collected at baseline and 3 months post-baseline. Paired t tests were used to assess clinical outcomes pre- and post-treatment using the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) and World Health Organisation Disability Adjustment Schedule (WHODAS) 2.0, and logistic regression was used to find associations between changes in these scores and various factors. Results The most common diagnosis was depression (35%). Post-treatment, there was a significant reduction in both GHQ-12 and WHODAS 2.0 scores. Participants showed high satisfaction with the tele-psychiatry services and technology platform. Improvement in GHQ-12 score was associated with being employed [OR 8.74 (1.92–39.75, p = 0.005)] and being a homemaker [OR 6.42 (CI 1.61–25.57, p = 0.008)]. Conclusion Treatment of mental disorders through a tele-psychiatry platform appears to be highly acceptable and is associated with improved clinical outcomes. Considering its potential for scalability, a model of assisted tele-psychiatry integrated into primary care can be an important strategy to increase access to mental healthcare in low-resource settings.
Towards Standardization for Determining Dissolution Kinetics of Nanomaterials in Natural Aquatic Environments: Continuous Flow Dissolution of Ag Nanoparticles

The dissolution of metal-based engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in aquatic environments is an important mechanism governing the release of toxic dissolved metals. For the registration of ENMs at regulatory bodies such as REACH, their dissolution behavior must therefore be assessed using standardized experimental approaches. To date, there are no standardized procedures for dissolution testing of ENMs in environmentally relevant aquatic media, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) strongly encourages their development into test guidelines. According to a survey of surface water hydrochemistry, we propose to use media with low concentrations of Ca2+ and Mg2+ for a better simulation of the ionic background of surface waters, at pH values representing acidic (5 < pH < 6) and near-neutral/alkaline (7 < pH < 8) waters. We evaluated a continuous flow setup adapted to expose small amounts of ENMs to aqueous media, to mimic ENMs in surface waters. For this purpose, silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were used as model for soluble metal-bearing ENMs. Ag NPs were deposited onto a 10 kg.mol−1 membrane through the injection of 500 µL of a 5 mg.L−1 or 20 mg.L−1 Ag NP dispersion, in order to expose only a few micrograms of Ag NPs to the aqueous media. The dissolution rate of Ag NPs in 10 mM NaNO3 was more than two times higher for ~2 µg compared with ~8 µg of Ag NPs deposited onto the membrane, emphasizing the importance of evaluating the dissolution of ENMs at low concentrations in order to keep a realistic scenario. Dissolution rates of Ag NPs in artificial waters (2 mM Ca(NO3)2, 0.5 mM MgSO4, 0–5 mM NaHCO3) were also determined, proving the feasibility of the test using environmentally relevant media. In view of the current lack of harmonized methods, this work encourages the standardization of continuous flow dissolution methods toward OECD guidelines focused on natural aquatic environments, for systematic comparisons of nanomaterials and adapted risk assessments.
Genetic Evaluation of Juniperus sabina L. (Cupressaceae) in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions of China Based on SSR Markers

Juniperus sabina L. , a shrub distributed in patches in arid and semi-arid areas of the northern hemisphere, plays an important role in preventing land desertification and maintaining ecosystems. However, few studies have reported genetic diversity and genetic structure of widely distributed populations of J. sabina in northwest China. Here, we evaluated the genetic diversity and genetic structure and predicted the isolation barriers among 11 populations based on 20 simple sequence repeats (SSRs). A total of 134 alleles were generated and the average number of alleles per locus was 6.70. The Shannon diversity index ranged from 0.659 to 0.951, with an average of 0.825. Population structure analysis revealed that the populations were assigned into two genetic groups. The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated that 88% of genetic variation existed within populations. Moderate population differentiation was occurred with FST value of 0.090. Finally, we concluded that geographic isolation is the main factor affecting the genetic structure of J. sabina populations. The results of this study provide a foundation for the strategies for J. sabina genetic conservation and management.
WORK ENGAGEMENT AND ORGANISATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOUR AMONG NURSES IN LAUTECH HOSPITAL, OSOGBO, OSUN STATE

This study examined the relationship between work engagement and organisational citizenship behaviour among Nurses in LAUTECH Hospital, Osogbo, Osun State. The study was a survey which employed Expost-Facto survey design. A total of 150 Nurses were selected from LAUTECH Hospital, Osogbo in which 70 (46.7%) were male while 80 (53.3%) were female. Questionnaire format was employed for data collection. Collected data were analyzed by both descriptive and inferential statistics, using the application of statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 21.0. The results showed that there was a significant positive relationship between work engagement and organisational citizenship behaviour among Nurses in Lautech Hospital, Osogbo, Osun State [r (148) = . 26** P<. 01], there was a significant positive relationship between work engagement and altruism among Nurses in Lautech Hospital in Osogbo, Osun State [r (148) = . 13**, P<. 01],there was a significant positive relationship between work engagement and sportsmanship among Nurses in Lautech Hospital, Osogbo, Osun State [r (148) = . 74**, P<. 01],that there was a significant positive relationship between work engagement and conscientiousness among Nurses in Lautech Hospital, Osogbo, Osun State [r (148) = . 23*, P<. 01],there was a significant positive relationship between work engagement and civic virtue among Nurses in Lautech Hospital at Osogbo, Osun State [r (148) = . 36*, P<. 05]. It was concluded therefore that work engagement was significantly related to organisational citizenship behaviour among Nurses in Lautech Hospital, Osogbo, Osun State. It was recommended that Organisations should sensitize employees to exhibit courteous, conscientious and sportsmanship behaviours by instituting relevant policies, trainings and group discussions.