Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Metabolic Hormones Leptin, Adiponectin and Troponin T in Type 2 Diabetes Patients and Athletes in Jamaica

Diabetes mellitus, the metabolic disease which affects millions is increasing in prevalence. Type 2 diabetes mellitus results from genetic predisposition and lifestyle. Physically fit individuals such as athletes, even with a genetic predisposition tend to have a low incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Several metabolites are associated with the disease and can provide insights regarding its development. The study sought to determine the association between type 2 diabetes mellitus and the metabolic hormones: leptin, adiponectin and troponin and to evaluate these hormones in athletes. Individuals ranging from 18 to 50 years of age were screened for diabetes using fasting glucose and HbA1c. Participants were classified into 6 groups: male athletes (MA), female athletes (FA), male diabetes patients (MD), female diabetes patients (FD), male controls (MC), female controls (FC). Leptin, adiponectin and troponin were determined for each group. Leptin levels were significantly higher in MD and FD while adiponectin was significantly lower in MD and FD. Skeletal muscle troponin T was not significantly different among the groups studied. Adiponectin and leptin may be used to distinguish between persons with diabetes and normoglycemia however levels of physical activity may not result in higher adiponectin concentration or lower leptin concentration in the non-diabetes state.
Spatio-temporal pattern of water quality in the Saigon-Dong Nai river system due to waste water pollution sources

ABSTRACT This paper studies the current status of water quality, using both statistical and modelling approaches, in the waterways of the Saigon-Dong Nai river basin in relation to the nature of its environment and the effect of point and diffuse pollution sources. These sources are located mainly in the urban and industrial areas of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and Dong Nai province. The statistical analysis of monitoring data allows us to determine the state of water quality while the modelling approach provides the means to manage the pollution sources. Both approaches are used in this work. Our statistical analysis of the water quality data collected at many stations from the upper reach of the Saigon and Dong Nai rivers to the urban waterways and the lower end of the rivers near the sea shows a contrast of water quality in different basin areas. These differences are consistent in both dry and rainy seasons and during the high tide and low tide. The results show that several hot spots of some water quality variables require management focus, such as organic waste water pollution at Binh Dien and Thay Cai in HCMC mainly due to local sources. Moderately and highly degraded water quality occurs at Binh Phuoc, Phu An and Cat Lai which are downstream from the industrial areas of Binh Duong (Binh Duong province) and Bien Hoa (Dong Nai province) before entering HCMC. Modelling of some important water quality variables also confirms the spatial extent of the areas where water quality is different as analysed from the statistical analysis of monitoring data. The MIKE-11 modelling system is shown to be a valuable tool for predicting the effect of different sources in HCMC metropolitan area on the waterway areas where water quality is important to protect the ecosystem and people health.
Microcirculation impairment and blood pressure in sepsis

Blood pressure is crucial for the tissue perfusion, oxygenation and elimination of metabolites in normal tissue. In septic patients it may be altered by several mechanisms. Endothelial lesions and impaired vasoregulation resulting from bacteriemia may produce vasodilatation, hypotension, tissue hypoxia and decrease in the blood velocity. These events may favor disseminated intravascular coagulation in septic patients, and thus pronounce perfusion misdistribution. Since hypotension is commonly treated by vasoactive drugs to increase vascular tone toward normal values, more pronounced peripheral tissue ischemia may result. During the process of blood pressure regulation in septic patients a diversity of physiological parameters should be encountered, i.e. age, body weight, core temperature, overall patients' cardiovascular performance, anemia, and protein status. In the healthy, adult person, in the absence of other causes of hypotension a systolic blood pressure of > 90 mmHg or mean arterial pressure ≥ 70 mmHg should maintain adequate tissue perfusion. Together with specific antibiotics, therapeutic procedures like haemodilution, use of vasoconstrictors, vasopressin and its analogue terlipressin, corticosteroids or inhalation of NO are currently used to improve outcome of hypotensive septic patients. Numerous studies were undertaken to point the values of the biochemical tests suggesting a need for prompt intervention. The arterial lactate, cortisol response, TNF, interleukin (IL) 6, IL-12p70 and IL-12p40 production, together with submucosal (gastric intramucosal or sublingual) CO2 values were proven as indicative. These may suggest whether microcirculatory impairment is reversible or not, and which therapeutic maneuver should be appropriate.
Complete chloroplast genome of Prunus itosakura (Rosaceae), a wild flowering cherry from Japan

Abstract Prunus itosakura is a flowering tree species with high ornamental and economic values. We determined the first complete chloroplast genome of P. itosakura using genome skimming approach. The cp genome was 157,813 bp long, with a large single-copy region (LSC) of 85,931 bp and a small single-copy region (SSC) of 19,120 bp separated by a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 26,381 bp. It encodes 129 genes, including 84 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 ribosomal RNA genes. We also reconstructed the phylogeny of Prunus sensu lato using maximum likelihood (ML) method, including our data and previously reported cp genomes of related taxa. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that P. itosakura is closely related with Prunus subhirtella var. subhirtella.
Boycott them! No, boycott this! Do choice overload and small‐agent rationalization inhibit the signing of anti‐consumption petitions?

Correspondence Ulku Yuksel, Discipline of Marketing, The University of Sydney Business School, Room 4024, Level 4, Abercrombie Building (H70), 21‐25 Codrington Street, Darlington, NSW 2006, Australia. Email: ulku.yuksel@sydney.edu. au Abstract The Internet and social media have increased the number of organizations and individuals asking consumers to sign petitions against transgressing brands. This raises a question as to whether such increases in requests to sign a petition to support a boycott positively or negatively impact on consumer willingness to enact anti‐consumption. Via experiments, this study investigates the effect that choice overload has on consumers signing a petition in support of a boycott call. The findings establish that individuals who need to make a choice from numerous boycott calls (i.e., large choice‐sets) are less likely to sign a petition to support a boycott than individuals making a similar choice from a small number of boycott calls (i.e., small choice‐sets). The study further introduces a mediator that explains this effect. Compared with individuals facing a small choice‐set, those facing numerous options are more likely to experience the small‐agent rationalization, and thus, are less likely to sign the petition to support a boycott. The small‐agent rationalization (SAR) relates to one’s acceptance of inequity in the world as well as perceptions of their own powerlessness. The study establishes the role of choice overload in boycott literature and empirically tests SAR as the process mechanism. Theoretical, practical, and policy implications are discussed.
‘It’s all about student accessibility. No one ever talks about teacher accessibility’: Examining ableist expectations in academia

ABSTRACT Drawing from perspectives in critical disability studies, this article examines the teaching experiences of 9 disabled graduate students in Canada and the United States. Participants took between 2 and 6 photographs that illustrated their experience teaching with a disability. Follow-up interviews were conducted to gather descriptive accounts of the meaning and significance of the photos. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data and uncover the core themes of mobility, disclosure and teaching performance, accommodation, and careers goals. The findings shed new light on the barriers that graduate students with disabilities face navigating the dual role of learners and teachers. Data reveal that there are overt and tacit ableist expectations in academia about how those in a teaching role perform and carry out their duties. Participants in this study internalised these ableist expectations and believed that an academic career was an unlikely career option.
Aerosol Jet Printed WSe2 Crossbar Architecture Device on Kapton With Dual Functionality as Resistive Memory and Photosensor for Flexible System Integration

We report on a room temperature Aerosol Jet printed two-terminal WSe<sub>2</sub> crossbar architecture device on flexible substrate that achieves dual functionality of both a resistive random access memory (ReRAM), as well as a photosensor. As a ReRAM, the silver contacted WSe<sub>2</sub> device exhibits forming free, sub 1-V switching voltage, and an on-off ratio of 2 orders. Furthermore, the WSe<sub>2</sub> ReRAM exhibits both volatile and non-volatile switching behavior with a transition set current of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${2}~\mu \text{A}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, translating to a low operating power of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${16}~\mu \text{W}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. As a photosensor with the same architecture, the transparent CNT electrodes contacted device allows incident light to pass through for photocurrent generation. The two terminals device allows photo sensitivity to be tuned by bias application. In such mode, a maximum photo responsivity of 1 A/W at a visible light wavelength of 660 nm is exhibited by the device at a bias of 1 V, allowing weak light signals to be amplified. In both cases, the WSe<sub>2</sub> device retains its functionality even after bending down to a radius of 5 cm. The fabrication process can be up-scaled and has great potential to be used for conformal electronics system integration.
The effect of viscosity and heat conduction on internal gravity waves at a critical level

The differential equation for the vertical velocity of a gravity wave in an inviscid shear flow is singular at a level where the mean fluid velocity is equal to the horizontal phase velocity of the waves. It has been shown that a wave travelling through such a layer has its amplitude attenuated by a constant factor dependent on the local Richardson number. In this paper the results obtained by solving numerically the full sixth order differential equation, which is derived by including viscosity and heat conduction in the problem, (and is not singular) are discussed, and the same attenuation factor is found. Some experiments which confirm certain aspects of the theory are described in an appendix.
Modelling loop length in weft-knitted fabrics with an interlock structure after the dyeing process with a stitch density, Wales and courses per centimetre analysis

Abstract One of the variables that we need to know in knitted fabrics in order to explain variations in dimensions in their different relaxation states, which might occur during the production process, is the yarn length that a loop forms, known as loop length. To experimentally calculate it, quite a lengthy process is required and the following need to be identified: direction of wales, direction that samples unreave in, counting the number of loops in the fabric length, separating and measuring yarn with specific measuring equipment, and repeating these 10 times, according to regulation UNE-EN 14970. Thus, depending on the structure type to be analysed, the whole process can take a relatively long time to do this calculation. This study proposes a calculation system that simplifies the process, for which the yarn length absorbed by an estimated interlock structure was modelled, as was loop length, without having to follow such a time-consuming process.
Resistance and Resolution: Attentional Dynamics in Discourse

This paper centers on discourses where instead of accepting or rejecting an assertion, a hearer uses an epistemic possibility claim to bring a new subject matter to the original speaker’s attention and consequently leads this speaker to change her mind and retract the initial claim. To analyze such resistance moves, we develop a new theory of attention-shift-induced belief change in which attention is modeled using granularity-levels or resolutions of logical space and refining a speaker’s attention can allow her to combine more of her resolution-sensitive information and potentially change her beliefs. We integrate this theory into pre-existing machinery from the literature on formal models of discourse to account for both the informational and attentional dynamics in epistemic resistance discourses, and to lay out some of the formal prerequisites for a more comprehensive theory of resistance moves in general. Along the way, we introduce the new concept of a subject matter under public attention (SUP) and compare this with the more familiar concept of a question under discussion (QUD).
Learning from Problem-Based Projects in Cross-Disciplinary Student Teams

This paper explores how Engineering students and Work and Welfare students reflect upon their own engagement in a one-week cross-disciplinary project. To develop a better understanding of what unfolds during these activities we collected data through anonymous surveys two consecutive years. Data from these 141 respondents were analysed using a learning history approach and are presented as narratives. Results show major disruptions and conflicts driving the student projects, exposing inviting confrontations, social identity threats, managing diversity, and friction of ideas. Whereas this in many cases led to new and better project solutions, these real-world experiences raise awareness of the need for tools and methods for training students. The aim of the paper is to learn from students’ experiences through narrative distance, and fill a gap in the literature between problem-based learning (PBL) and the learning history method. Discussing different experiences of cross-disciplinary teamwork through the explanations of these theories, we also lay out potential questions for future research on the topic.
Robustness of Evaluation Metrics for Predicting Probability Estimates of Binary Outcomes

In many applications such as in financial and medical areas it is valuable to have probability estimates of binary outcomes. In this work we study the robustness of evaluation metrics for these estimates using strictly proper scoring rules. This is done by testing on both simulated data and real-world data using the following probabilistic binary classification methods: (robust) logistic regression (Cantoni and Ronchetti, 2001), support vector machine with Platt scaling and random forest with isotonic regression or Platt scaling. For the simulation the focus is on the effect of outliers and/or heavy-tailed error contamination on the (asymptotic) average and variance of the strictly proper scoring rules as well as the reliability curve of the associated model (where outlier contamination occurs in either the training sample or the training and test sample). From the simulation study we confirm that at the model the scores from classic and robust logistic regression are close. In the application we conclude that robust logistic regression is very reliable in many applications and gives competitive scores compared to machine learning methods, whilst enabling statistical inference. Keywords: Prediction, Binary Outcome, Strictly Proper Scoring Rules, Calibration, Robustness, Generalized Linear Models, Asymptotic Relative Efficiency, Sensitivity Analysis, von Mises expansion.
Publishing with Open Journal Systems (OJS): A Librarian’s Perspective

Abstract The genesis of this paper is a workshop presentation on publishing with Open Journal Systems (OJS) that was delivered during the Kenya Library and Information Services Consortium Pre-Annual General Meeting held on May 30, 2019, at the Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya. The article lays the context of online hosting of university sponsored journals in Kenya and gives a background of Online Journals Systems. The paper further describes potential roles that librarians can play in institutional journal publishing. The article concludes that librarians possess the requisite skills for participating in scholarly journal publishing and recommends that including publishing literacy skills in information literacy sessions provides an excellent opportunity to showcase librarians’ value in the scholarly journal publishing process.
Inventory Financing Model Based on Blockchain Technology

—Incorporating blockchain technology, this paper focuses on solving inventory financing difficulties of small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs). Different from the existing financing model, we provide a new way for SMEs to obtain loan finacing services without the involvement of core companies. Related concepts and main charateristics of blockchain are introduced. Data flow model of new inventory financing and its design details about how to apply these blockchain technology are described. Finally, we present its innovative advantages in solving the financing difficulties of SMEs.
Finding outdoor boundaries for 3D space‐based navigation

Outdoor navigation is widely used in daily life, but faces various issues related to the fidelity of outdoor navigation networks. For instance, agents (pedestrians) are often guided via unrealistic detours around places without clear paths (e.g., squares) or if there are vertical constraints such as overpasses/bridges. This is partly explained by the fact that the main sources of navigation networks in current outdoor navigation are two‐dimensional road/street networks. Utilizing a three‐dimensional space‐based navigation model, compatible with some indoor approaches, is a popular way to address the above‐mentioned issues. A 3D space‐based navigation model is generated by treating 3D spaces as nodes and the shared faces as edges. Inputs of this model are enclosed 3D spaces (volumes). However, outdoor spaces are generally open and unbounded. This article puts forward an approach to enclose outdoor spaces and mimic the indoor environments to derive a network based on connectivity and accessibility of spaces. The approach uses 2.5D maps and consists of three major steps: object footprint determination, footprint classification and space creation. Two use cases demonstrate the proposed approach. Enclosing outdoor spaces opens a new research direction toward providing seamless indoor/outdoor navigation for a range of agents.
The ABCDE of good care: A thematic analysis on the art of caring for terminally ill patients in Malaysia

The first and foremost requisite of caring is to treat patients as persons, not as diseases or bed-numbers. A qualitative study was conducted to explore the perception of good care from the point of view of 13 terminally ill patients and 8 caregiving family members of the University of Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The results were thematically analyzed. Five basic themes were generated: (1) Attitude, (2) Behaviour, (3) Communication, (4) Duty and (5) Environment—ABCDE. The results may provide useful insight into the art of caring.
Exploring Neural Network to Predict Car Tyre Inflation Time and Power Requirement of a Tyre Pressure Control Unit.

This study used Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for the prediction of power required to inflate different tyre sizes and inflation times. ANN is a widely accepted machine learning method that uses past data to predict future trend. An existing database obtained experimentally from a tyre pressure control test rig was optimized using genetic algorithm(GA) which is an optimization tool that can find better subsets of input variables for importing into ANN. The ANN results were compared with the results obtained experimentally. The results show that the model can be implemented in modern day tyre pressure control designs and be used to predict inflation times and power required to inflate different tyre sizes.
Hydro-wind Optimal Operation for Joint Bidding
in Day-ahead Market: Storage Efficiency and
Impact of Wind Forecasting Uncertainty

Wind power production is uncertain. The imbalance between committed and delivered energy in pool markets leads to the increase of system costs, which must be incurred by defaulting producers, thereby decreasing their revenues. To avoid this situation, wind producers can submit their bids together with hydro resources. Then the mismatches between the predicted and supplied wind power can be used by hydro producers, turbining or pumping such differences when convenient. This study formulates the problem of hydro-wind production optimization in operation contexts of pool market. The problem is solved for a simple three-reservoir cascade case to discuss optimization results. The results show a depreciation in optimal revenues from hydro power when wind forecasting is uncertain. The depreciation is caused by an asymmetry in optimal revenues from positive and negative wind power mismatches. The problem of neutralizing the effect of forecasting uncertainty is subsequently formulated and solved for the three-reservoir case. The results are discussed to conclude the impacts of uncertainty on joint bidding in pool market contexts.
Home-based Carers’ General Cancer Knowledge: A Case Study of One Rural Village in Vhembe District, South Africa

Abstract This paper assessed the general cancer knowledge amongst home-based carers of a selected rural village in Vhembe district, South Africa. The study adopted a qualitative descriptive design collecting data from eight members of a selected home based care group between 30 to 45 years who were conveniently recruited and interviewed using unstructured interview guide. Permission to enter the village was obtained from the local chief. Informed consent was obtained from individual participants. Participants’ rights to anonymity and privacy were observed. Data was analysed through content analysis. The results revealed that though the majority of participants knew the importance of screening for cancer, their cancer knowledge was inadequate. This paper concluded that home-based carers of the selected rural village possess inadequate general knowledge of cancer; and recommended that nationally collaborated projects regarding cancer training be intensified amongst rural home based care workers.