Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New testing guidelines for community-acquired pneumonia

Purpose of review The purpose of this article is to review diagnostic testing recommendations outlined in the current American Thoracic Society (ATS)/Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) guideline and the 2021 ATS guideline for noninfluenza respiratory viruses. Recent findings Diagnostic testing in CAP with gram stain, lower respiratory and blood cultures, Streptococcal and Legionella urinary antigens are not routinely recommended unless identified as severe CAP or with risk factors for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. Influenza virus testing remains a strong recommendation during periods of community viral spread. An additional 2021 ATS clinical practice guideline reviewed the use of molecular testing for noninfluenza viral pathogens in adults with suspected CAP and recommended testing in those hospitalized with severe CAP and/or various immunocompromising conditions. Summary Diagnostic testing remains an important component of confirming and treating CAP. The CAP guideline includes recommendations surrounding diagnostic testing with lower respiratory gram stain and culture, blood cultures, Legionella and Pneumococcal urinary antigen, influenza viral testing and serum procalcitonin. There is a strong recommendation to obtain influenza virus testing during periods of community spread. However, the use of other diagnostics such as gram stain, lower respiratory and blood culture, and urinary antigen testing are dependent on severity of illness and whether a patient has been identified as having strong risk factors for MRSA or P. aeruginosa infection. The 2021 ATS clinical practice document did not routinely recommend testing noninfluenza respiratory viruses unless identified as having severe CAP and/or various immunocompromising conditions.
Trajectories of muscle quantity, quality and function measurements in hospitalized older adults

Acute sarcopenia is defined by the development of incident sarcopenia (low muscle quantity/quality and function) within 6 months of a stressor event. However, outcome measures for clinical trials have not been validated. This study aimed to characterize changes in muscle quantity, quality, strength, and physical function during and after hospitalization.
Ensuring Environment, Social & Financial Sustainability during a Pandemic: The Story of a Singapore Mosque

Abstract Singapore is a cosmopolitan city-nation in Southeast Asia which has a Muslim minority population. Mosques in Singapore play a crucial role in various aspects of the local Muslims’ life and have great potential in ensuring the welfare of the surrounding society. Therefore, it is of utmost importance for the mosque management to continue uplifting and to sustain its multi-functionality in this era of modernization. This study focuses on three main aspects of sustainability, which are environment and facilities, social as well as financial and economic. The research aims to explore approaches taken by a mosque to ensure its sustainability in the foreseeable future. Interviews were carried out among the mosque management committee members.
Predictive Analytics for Students' Quantitative Class Performance and Its Impact on Classroom Operations

The application of predictive modeling in the field of education has steadily gained interest and acceptance in recent years. In this study, students’ course grade is predicted with variables controllable by instructors in the class setting. The best predictive model found is a stepwise regression model, and it accounts for 57% of the variability of a student’s course grade based on a sample size of 182 students. The results showed that a student’s clarity in career direction is most significant in predicting the semester grade, followed by his or her interest in the course. In addition, the results suggest that predictive models hold great promise for improving classroom operations in a way that will enhance students’ learning experience and, ultimately, their performance.
Iris Indexing and Ear Classification

Iris Indexing and Ear Classification by Ravindra B Gadde Master of Science in Electrical Engineering West Virginia University Arun A. Ross, Ph.D., Chair To identify an individual using a biometric system, the input biometric data has to be typically compared against that of each and every identity in the existing database during the matching stage. The response time of the system increases with the increase in number of individuals (i.e., database size), which is not acceptable in real time monitoring or when working on large scale data. This thesis addresses the problem of reducing the number of database candidates to be considered during matching in the context of iris and ear recognition. In the case of iris, an indexing mechanism based on Burrows Wheeler Transform (BWT) is proposed. Experiments on the CASIA version 3 iris database show a significant reduction in both search time and search space, suggesting the potential of this scheme for indexing iris databases. The ear classification scheme proposed in the thesis is based on parameterizing the shape of the ear and assigning it to one of four classes: round, rectangle, oval and triangle. Experiments on the MAGNA database suggest the potential of this scheme for classifying ear databases.
High-Frequency InP-InGaAsP Heterojunction Phototransistor Employing a UTC Structure

In this paper, the working mechanism and high characteristics of an InP/InGaAsP uni-traveling-carrier (UTC) double hetero-junction phototransistor (DHPT) has been analyzed. The UTC-DHPT employs a heavy doping base and two hetero-junctions to realize UTC structure to ease the contract between HPT responsivity and HPT working speed. Optical responsivity and optical transit frequency are analyzed physically through illustrated several kinds of paramistic capacitors in BE junction and BC junction under different electrical bias, optical bias and combined electrical and optical bias in this work. The results show that three-terminal (3T) working mode with combined electrical bias and optical bias in base achieves a highest maxim fT of 120GHz at collector current of 30mA and keeps the same optical responsivity (37.5A/W) compared with two-terminal (2T) working mode.
Optimal placement of static compensators for multi-objective voltage stability enhancement of power systems

Static compensators (STATCOMs) are able to provide rapid and dynamic reactive power support within a power system for voltage stability enhancement. While most of previous research focuses on only an either static or dynamic (short-term) voltage stability criterion, this study proposes a multi-objective programming (MOP) model to simultaneously minimise (i) investment cost, (ii) unacceptable transient voltage performance, and (iii) proximity to steady-state voltage collapse. The model aims to find Pareto optimal solutions for flexible and multi-objective decision-making. To account for multiple contingencies and their probabilities, corresponding risk-based metrics are proposed based on respective voltage stability measures. Given the two different voltage stability criteria, a strategy based on Pareto frontier is designed to identify critical contingencies and candidate buses for STATCOM connection. Finally, to solve the MOP model, an improved decomposition-based multi-objective evolutionary algorithm is developed. The proposed model and algorithm are demonstrated on the New England 39-bus test system, and compared with state-of-the-art solution algorithms.
Diversity and Multiplexing Tradeoff Analysis of Fractional Cooperative Networks

Abstract In this paper, we analyze the diversity and multiplexing tradeoff (DMT) performance of fractional cooperative networks with three users in Rayleigh fading channels. We derive the precise DMT of both coded cooperation and space-time cooperation analytically. The DMT provides an upper bound for the achievable diversity gain corresponding to certain multiplexing gain. Our analysis reveals that both fractional cooperative schemes have the same DMT and the DMT performance varies with the exchange ratio defined as the ratio of the first phase to the entire transmission phase. A golden split exchange ratio of 0.618 is found to perform well from a practical implementation point of view.
Impact of the Implementation of the Water Demand Management Strategy on Social, Economic and Political Development and Stability in the Context of the Participatory Development Theoretical Framework in South Africa: The Case of Kabokweni Municipality Residence

The research was aimed at investigating the impact of the Water Demand Management (WDM) on social, economic and political development in the City of Mbombela Local Municipality Township of Kabokweni in Mpumalanga province. This was an attempt to address challenges associated with water delivery service challenges because of lack of compliance to their rights to access enough clean water and sanitation. Qualitative research by means of face to face interviews was used to collect data. The population comprised of 8 purposefully selected respondents from the community of Kabokweni Township comprising of 2 councillors, 2 WDM officials from the City of Mbombela and 4 community leaders. The findings indicated that there is a negative impact of the WDM implementation strategy on socio-economic and political development and stability of Kabokweni Township. Results finally indicated that the participatory development theory was a possible innovative strategy of effectively implementing the WDM policies in order to address these water related challenges. It was then recommended that the WDM officials adopt the Participative development theoretical approach by involving all the community members in planning, designing and implementing WDM policies in order to ensure social, economic and political development in the Kabokweni Township.
Zeta converter operating in continuous conduction mode using the unity power factor technique

Several topologies have been researched in search of a structure which not only is able to fulfil the requirements of the power factor and the amount of harmonics injected in a line foreseen in the norms, but which would also show the best ensemble of characteristics. Although being the most frequently employed and studied structure, the boost converter presents some limitations in its application, for it is not a naturally isolated structure and because it only operates as step up voltage. As an alternative to these limitations the Zeta converter operating in discontinuous mode applied to the power factor correction was proposed (D.C. Martins, 1994). The Zeta converter showed itself as very attractive because it operates as step up as well as step down voltage, beside the fact of being a naturally isolated structure and processing power at one single stage. But in applications which imply high power, the operation of a converter in discontinuous mode is not attractive because it results in high RMS values of the currents causing high levels of stress in the semiconductors. Aiming to extend the alternative by use of the Zeta converter in power factor correction to applications in higher powers, and having in mind the main characteristics and advantage of this converter in face of the limitations of the boost converter, this paper presents the study of the Zeta converter operating in continuous conduction mode for power factor correction by using the average current mode control.
Cross-Country Analysis of the Impact of Covid-19 on Share Markets

The negative effects on the macroeconomic indicators of the countries during the pandemic process that started with the Covid 19 epidemic made it necessary for individuals, investors, institutions, and governments to create a new policy. To determine the right policies, the effects of Covid 19 on the country's economy have been the subject of research by scientists. This study, it is aimed to investigate the effect of the pandemic on the stock market together with its sub-sectors. For this reason, in this study, the volatility of BIST100, known as the Turkish Stock Exchange, and its sub- indices, finance, service, and industry indices during the pandemic process were investigated. Working day data obtained from the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey between 1/02/2020 10/11/2020 periods were used in the study. First, logarithmic transformation of the data was provided. Then, it was converted into a return series and included in the analysis.In order to obtain a consistent estimate, the series should not contain unit-roots. For this purpose, using the ADF unit root test, it was investigated whether the series contain unit root or not. According to the findings obtained from the study, it was determined that the most suitable variance model for BIST100 and Industrial indexes was the GARCH (1,1) model. It was found that the most suitable variance model in financial and services indices was the TARCH (1,1) model. In addition, while it is estimated that there is symmetrical volatility in BIST100 and Industrial indices, it is concluded that there are asymmetric and leverage effects in financial and services indices.
Worldwide Research on Open Innovation in SMEs

Research on open innovation (OI) has increased in recent years, showing its potential in various areas of knowledge. Its relation to small and medium-sized enterprises has attracted the attention of academics. This article aims to evaluate the intellectual structure of the scientific study of OI, and its close relationship with various scientific fields, through a bibliometric analysis of this academic field using the Scopus database and the application of the VOSviewer software. The methodology comprises a rigorous systematic and transparent process divided into four phases: (i) the establishment of search criteria for the research field, through a literature review for its selection; (ii) the selection of the database, the establishment of the search equation and extraction of information; (iii) the application of inclusion and exclusion criteria for the selected documents and an explanation of the usefulness of the software; and (iv) the analysis of the results through the approaches of scientific output performance and bibliometric mapping. The results show an increasing trend of IO publications in SMEs, consolidated in 396 articles with contributions from 65 countries and 947 authors. The intellectual structure shows seven themes related to firm performance, R&D networks, business management, business models, capabilities and knowledge transfer. This study contributes to the field by providing an overview of IO in SME contexts. It also provides insightful information to policymakers for developing policies for firm economic growth.
Survival Impact of Long-Term Tramadol Use on Breast Cancer for Patients with Chronic Pain: A Propensity Score-Matched Population-Based Cohort Study

Purpose: The impact of tramadol analgesic use before breast cancer diagnosis on survival in patients with chronic pain is unclear. Therefore, we designed a propensity score-matched population-based cohort study to compare the breast cancer-related survival of patients with chronic pain who received long-term tramadol analgesic treatment with that of those who did not receive such treatment. Patients and Methods: We included patients with chronic pain and categorized them into two groups according to their analgesic use, comparing their breast cancer-related survival; patients with breast cancer and chronic pain who were prescribed ≥180 defined daily doses (DDDs) of tramadol analgesics per year >3 months before breast cancer diagnosis comprised the case group, and those who were prescribed non-tramadol analgesics before breast cancer diagnosis comprised the control group. Patients in both groups were matched at a ratio of 1:5. Results: The matching process yielded a final cohort of 624 patients (104 and 520 in the case and control groups, respectively) who were eligible for further analysis. According to both univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses, the adjusted hazard ratio for all-cause death in the case group compared with in the control group was 3.45 (95% confidence interval = 2.36–5.04; p < 0.001). Conclusion: Long-term tramadol analgesic use prior to breast cancer diagnosis might be associated with poor overall survival in patients with chronic pain compared with such patients that did not receive long-term tramadol analgesic treatment.
Herbarium phylogenomics: Resolving the generic status of the enigmatic Pseudobartsia (Orobanchaceae)

The millions of herbarium specimens in collections around the world provide historical resources for phylogenomics and evolutionary studies. Many rare and endangered species exist only as historical specimens. Here, we report a case study of the monotypic Pseudobartsia yunnanensis D. Y. Hong (=Pseudobartsia glandulosa[Bentham] W. B. Yu & D. Z. Li: Orobanchaceae) known from a single Chinese collection taken in 1940. We obtained genomic data of Pseudobartsia glandulosa using high‐throughput short‐read sequencing, and then assembled a complete chloroplast genome and nuclear ribosome DNA region in this study. We found that the newly assembled three plastid DNA regions (atpB‐rbcL, rpl16, and trnS‐G) and nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (nrITS) of Pseudobartsia glandulosa were more than 99.98% similar to published sequences obtained by target sequencing. Phylogenies of Orobanchaceae using 30 plastomes (including 10 new plastomes), using both supermatrix and multispecies coalescent approaches following a novel plastid phylogenomic workflow, recovered seven recognized tribes and two unranked groups, both of which were proposed as new tribes, that is, Brandisieae and Pterygielleae. Within Pterygielleae, all analyses strongly supported Xizangia D. Y. Hong as the first diverging genus, with Pseudobartsia D. Y. Hong as sister to Pterygiella Oliver + Phtheirospermum Bunge (excluding Phtheirospermum japonicum [Thunberg] Kanitz); this supports reinstatement of Pseudobartsia and Xizangia. Although elements of Buchnereae‐Cymbarieae‐Orobancheae and Brandisieae‐Pterygielleae‐Rhinantheae showed incongruence among gene trees, the topology of the supermatrix tree was congruent with the majority of gene trees and functional‐group trees. Therefore, most plastid genes are evolving as a linkage group, allowing the supermatrix tree approach to yield internally consistent phylogenies for Orobanchaceae.
Botanical origin, physicochemical characterization, and antioxidant activity of bee pollen samples from the northeast of Portugal

Abstract Bee pollen is a beehive product that has increased the attention of both researchers and consumers. The main goal of the present study was to evaluate 69 heterofloral dried bee pollen samples harvested in two regions of the northeast of Portugal (Mogadouro and Vimioso). For such, the botanical origin of the samples and several physicochemical parameters (moisture, pH, water activity, reducing sugar, proteins, lipids, ash, fibers, carbohydrates, energy, total phenolic, and flavonoids) were evaluated and the antioxidant potential was studied. The average percentage of pollen grains from Erica spp. and Cytisus spp. was higher (p < 0.05) in samples from Mogadouro, while Cistus spp. , Castanea spp. , and Echium spp. were more abundant in Vimioso samples. The pollen harvested in Vimioso presented higher values on proximate parameters as compared to other samples:moisture (4.61 ± 0.84%), lipids (4.94 ± 0.94%), ash (3.28 ± 0.93%), fiber (3.55 ± 1.11%), and carbohydrates (66.60 ± 3.52%). On the other hand, higher values were obtained on Mogadouro samples regarding water activity (0.41 ± 0.11), protein (26.09 ± 2.86%), total phenols (26.71 ± 6.19, expressed as mg of Gallic acid equivalents GAE/g), and antioxidant activity (assessed by β-carotene bleaching [3.35 ± 1.17 mg/mL] or the free radical scavenging assay [2.98 ± 0.63 mg/mL]). All bee pollen samples had a great botanical similarity, yet the dominant pollen types were different between the two regions allowing the classification of the samples according to the geographical origin.
Information vs Competition: How Platform Design Affects Profits and Surplus

We study the design of online platforms that aggregate information and facilitate transactions. Two different designs can be observed in the market: revealing platforms that disclose the identity of transaction partners (e.g. Booking) and anonymous platforms that do not (e.g. Hotwire). To analyse the implications of this design choice for profits and surplus, we develop a model in which consumers differ in their location as well as their preferred product variety. Sellers offer their products for sale both directly (‘offline’) and indirectly via the platform (‘online’) but are unable to credibly disclose the product variety they offer when selling offline. The model gives rise to a novel trade-off associated with the anonymous platform design: offline, consumers observe location but not variety; online, they observe variety but not location. While the revealing design leads to more informed consumers and better matches, the anonymous design allows sellers to price discriminate and introduces competition between sellers whose markets would otherwise be segmented. We show that the comparison between the designs depends crucially on the relative importance of information about location vis-à-vis information about variety. For an intermediate range, the anonymous design outperforms the revealing design in terms of both profits and welfare. JEL Classification: D02, D21, D43, D61, D83, L11, L13, L15
UxV-Based Deep-Learning-Integrated Automated and Secure Garbage Management Scheme Using Blockchain

This article presents a deep learning (DL) model integrated automated and secure garbage management scheme using unmanned any vehicle (UxV) to minimize the human effort in terms of the traditional garbage management system. Different kinds of UxV (unmanned aerial vehicles, automated guided vehicles, unmanned surface vehicles, unmanned underwater vehicles, etc.) are utilized to establish an automated garbage management scheme to collect and place the garbage both from the ground and sea surfaces. However, due to the limited battery capacity and inadequate resources of different UxV, a lightweight DL model is developed to detect the garbage successfully with a higher accuracy rate. The proposed lightweight DL model uses two activation functions named MISH and rectified linear unit to enhance the feature extraction and detect the garbage. Moreover, a multiaccess edge computing (MEC) server is allocated in the proposed scheme to improve the Quality of Service (QoS) (i.e., reduce latency and improve security). Furthermore, a blockchain-based secure hazardous garbage (e.g., infectious, toxic, or radioactive materials) tracking technique is concluded in this scheme to identify the individual and reduce the potential harm to the environment. Experimental results demonstrate that the UxV can successfully detect the garbage using the proposed lightweight DL model within a minimum time frame and the obtained accuracy is higher than the other existing DL models. Besides, QoS has been investigated to verify the efficacy of the proposed scheme. Finally, a private blockchain network is established to demonstrate the performance of the proposed hazardous garbage tracking technique.