Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association Analysis Between SNPs in the Promoter Region of RGS4 and Schizophrenia in the Northern Chinese Han Population Neuropsychiatric

Background: Abnormal RGS4 gene expression may cause neurotransmitter disorders, resulting in schizophrenia. The association between RGS4 and the risk of schizophrenia is controversial, and there has been little research on the SNPs in the promoter region of RGS4 . Purpose: The present study was performed to detect the association between SNPs in the promoter region of the RGS4 gene and the risk of schizophrenia. Materials and Methods: In this study, the 1757-bp fragment ( − 1119 – +600, TSS+1) of RGS4 was ampli ﬁ ed and sequenced in 198 schizophrenia patients and 264 healthy controls of the northern Chinese Han population. Allele, genotype and haplotype frequencies were analyzed by chi-square test. Results: Four SNPs were detected in the region. LD analysis determined that rs7515900 was linked to rs10917671 (D ’ = 1, r 2 = 1). Therefore, the data for rs10917671 were eliminated from further analysis. Genotype TTof rs12041948 ( P = 0.009, OR = 1.829, and 95% CI = 0.038 – 0.766) was signi ﬁ cantly different between the two groups in the northern Chinese Han population. In males, genotype GG of rs6678136 ( P = 0.009, OR = 2.292, and 95% CI = 1.256 – 4.18) and CC of rs7515900 ( P = 0.003, OR = 2.523, and 95% CI = 1.332 – 4.778) were signi ﬁ cantly different. Conclusion: The results of this study suggested that genotype TT of rs12041948 in the pooled male and female samples and GG of rs6678136 and CC of rs7515900 in the male samples could be risk factors for schizophrenia. The present study is the ﬁ rst to detect an association between SNPs in the promoter region of the RGS4 gene and the risk of schizophrenia in the northern Chinese Han population. Functional studies are required to con ﬁ rm these ﬁ ndings.
EFFICACY OF DIAGNOSING URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS BY ROUTINE CULTURE SENSITIVITY TEST AND MOLECULAR METHODS

Objectives: Urinary tract infections are the second most common bacterial infections occurring at all ages and both sexes . The increasing rate of antibiotic resistance is a global concern. The use of routinely used antibiotics is resulting in treatment failure . The objective of this study was to diagnose the urinary tract infections by routine culture sensitivity test and by molecular methods. Methods: This study was conducted in Microbiology laboratory, DHQ Teaching Hospital, Sargodha, from July 1 st to 31 st March 2019. Isolates were identified biochemically by API20E & API20NE. Antibiogram was performed using disc diffusion Kirby Bauer technique. The 16S rDNA gene approach was used for molecular identification of bacterial isolates. The presence of the bla NDM-1 gene was identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: We isolated 146 bacterial isolates namely Escherichia coli (n=99) 67.80%, Klebsiella pneumoniae (n=33) 22.60%, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n=11) 7.53% and Proteus mirabilis (n=3) 2.05% from 2032 urine samples. The resistance pattern was dominated by Multi Drug Resistance (MDR). Remarkably, four isolates of Escherichia coli (n=3) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (n=1) were displaying resistance against a range of antibiotics used in the study, including carbapenems but sensitive to tigecycline and polymyxins only, suggesting extensive drug resistance having bla NDM-1 gene. Conclusion: This is the first report on direct molecular detection of bacterial pathogens from urinary tract infected patients in Punjab. The presence of bla NDM-1 in different bacterial species and their extensive drug resistance pattern poses a significant clinical threat. Molecular detection of bacteria and resistant gene may reduce the diagnostic time of patients.
Achieving Good Worklife Ergonomics in eHealth Co-Creation

—Service improvement [‘servitization’] and digitalization are two megatrends that affect healthcare and public services along with other sectors in general. A new model is needed to prescribe how governance in an increasingly changing world of modern healthcare could be undertaken in a successful manner by embracing the power of Co-Creation. The concept of good worklife ergonomics is studied, both as a prerequisite, the ‘What’, and as a success factor in this context, the ‘Why’. This article proposes that the moderating, risk mitigating, factor of broadly-based employee involvement in all phases from planning and design to implementation will greatly improve quality in both innovation-process, and outcomes. A case-study from a public homecare living lab eHealth-project in Norway is visited to highlight some of the challenges ahead. Having established that employee co-creation can contribute to successful digital transformation of healthcare services, the ‘How’ question is studied. The question of how to enable effective employee co-creation is under-researched. Employee participation in co-creation is stated as an important enabler of digitalization and service improvements. The Nordic Model for employee participation has proven successful for enhancing working life effectiveness and innovation. This article proposes that these principles of employee participation can be further enhanced by using web 2.0 technologies for Enterprise Social Networks. The article concludes with a discussion of consequences of applying such social networks for the digital transformation of healthcare services as well as implications for research and practice.
A review of micromachined thermal accelerometers

A thermal convection based micro-electromechanical accelerometer is a relatively new kind of acceleration sensor that does not require a solid proof mass, yielding unique benefits like high shock survival rating, low production cost, and integrability with CMOS integrated circuit technology. This article provides a comprehensive survey of the research, development, and current trends in the field of thermal acceleration sensors, with detailed enumeration on the theory, operation, modeling, and numerical simulation of such devices. Different reported varieties and structures of thermal accelerometers have been reviewed highlighting key design, implementation, and performance aspects. Materials and technologies used for fabrication of such sensors have also been discussed. Further, the advantages and challenges for thermal accelerometers vis-à-vis other prominent accelerometer types have been presented, followed by an overview of associated signal conditioning circuitry and potential applications.
RELIGIOSITY / SPIRITUALITY , AFFECTIVE MORAL REASONING , AND GENERATIVE ALTRUISM : A STUDY ON STUDENTS IN MUSLIM SOCIETIES

: The aim of this study was to comparatively investigate the predictability of religiosity/spirituality and affective moral reasoning levels of Muslim and non-Muslim students in Muslim societies on their generative altruism. The data of the study were based on a sample of 6722 students in 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade in 10 countries for which data collection and data entry were performed in Wave 1 of Advancing Education in Muslim Societies 2018-2019 fieldwork. Religiosity/Spirituality Scale, Affective Moral Reasoning Scale, and Generative Altruism Scale for Muslim and non-Muslim students were utilized for data collection. T-test and effect size were used for comparing sample means while the Multiple Linear Regression Analysis method was utilized in the regression analysis. The research results showed the level of generative altruism of Muslim students was statistically significantly higher than their non-Muslim peers. It was concluded with the regression model that religiosity/spirituality and affective moral reasoning levels explained generative altruism of Muslim students by 21% and non-Muslim students by 30%. What was noteworthy in this study was that the affective moral reasoning is a stronger predictor of the generative altruism of both Muslim and non-Muslim students than religiosity/spirituality. In light of these results, recommendations were provided about activities that can be conducted on students’ generative altruism and future research.
Relationship of Depression, Disability and Quality of Life in Depressive Patients-A Case Control Study

Aim: To assess quality of life, disability and burden on spouse of depressed patients. Methods: The sample size taken for the study is 151 married patients of the depression and similar number of healthy controls. Case group include first two patients registered on specific days aged 18-60 of each week in the adult general psychiatric OPD, King George’s Medical University (K.G.M.U.), Lucknow and for the controls a geographically urban and rural area were identified with the help of NGO (samajdarshan) Lucknow who had close liasoning with the people of the community. The diagnosis was made using DSM-IV-TR criteria. Assessment of quality of life was done by WHO Quality Of Life Scale (WHOQOL), disability with WHO disability assessment schedule (WHODAS) and burden of care with burden assessment schedule (BAS). Results: In the enrolled cases, 72 (47.68%) patients were male and 79 (52.31%) were female. Among the controls 70 (46.35%) were male and 81 (53.64%) were female. The mean age of cases and controls was 35.93±9.1 and 35.1±9.2 respectively. Depression was analyzed with Hamilton depression scale -21 in the cases and the mean HAM-D-21 score was 17.79±6.10. The domains of QOL was also significantly (P<0.0001) different between cases and controls, representing poor physical health, psychological condition, social relations and poor environmental condition of depressed patients. As per WHO Disability assessment schedule disability was assessed in both cases and controls significantly (P<0.0001) higher disability was observed in depressed patients group. The range is from 12-60. In addition to scales burden on the spouse of depressed patients was assessed and the mean of burden assessment schedule observed was 39.29±4.24. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that quality of life deterioted in patients of depression than controls. There was more disability found in case group than control and significant burden was also seen in spouses of patients of depression.
PhenotypesDefense through Divergent TLR Response Intrapulmonary and Extrapulmonary Host Dyslipidemia Induces Opposing Effects on

Dyslipidemia inﬂuences innate immune responses in the bloodstream, but whether and how pulmonary innate immunity is sensitive to circulating lipoproteins is largely unknown. To deﬁne whether dyslipidemia impacts responses to bacteria in the airspace and, if so, whether differently from its effects in other tissues, airspace, bloodstream, and i.p. responses to LPS and Klebsiella pneumoniae were investigated using murine models of dyslipidemia. Dyslipidemia reduced neutrophil (PMN) recruitment to the airspace in response to LPS and K. pneumoniae by impairing both chemokine induction in the airspace and PMN chemotaxis, thereby compromising pulmonary bacterial clearance. Paradoxically, bacteria were cleared more effectively from the bloodstream during dyslipidemia. This enhanced systemic response was due, at least in part, to basal circulating neutrophilia and basal TLR4/MyD88-dependent serum cytokine induction and enhanced serum cytokine responses to systemically administered TLR ligands. Dyslipidemia did not globally impair PMN transvascular trafﬁcking to, and host defense within all loci, because neutrophilia, cytokine induction, and bacterial clearance were enhanced within the infected peritoneum. Peritoneal macrophages from dyslipidemic animals were primed for more robust TLR responses, reﬂecting increased lipid rafts and increased TLR4 expression, whereas macrophages from the airspace, in which cholesterol was maintained constant during dyslipidemia, had normal responses and rafts. Dyslipidemia thus imparts opposing effects upon intra- and extrapulmonary host defense by inducing tissue-divergent TLR response
Untangling Perception of Fatigue and Fatigability: First Steps

Many terms have been used to distinguish fatigue caused by neuroinflammation and/or neurological damage from fatigue due to disability or side effects of medication (sometimes termed primary vs. secondary or central vs. peripheral fatigue). More recently a unified taxonomy has been proposed to distinguish between perception of fatigue and fatigability and for both physical and mental fatigue. The objective of this study was to estimate the extent to which perception of physical fatigue and perception of mental fatigue correlate with performance on tests that could serve as proxy measures for fatigability. The hypothesis was that perception of physical fatigue would correlate more highly with these proxy tests of physical fatigability than perception of mental fatigue. Data from 189 people with MS were available from a cross sectional study. A perception of physical fatigue latent variable was identified from 5 items that fit a unidimensional and hierarchical measurement model (Rasch model). A single indicator was found to best reflect perception of mental fatigue. Proxy measures for physical fatigability were the Six- Minute Walk Test (6MWT), the slope of the line linking time and oxygen consumption (VO 2 slope) and the stages achieved during the step-test of the Modified Canadian Aerobic Fitness Test (mCAFT). The correlations supported the original hypothesis. Physical fatigability correlated with perception of physical fatigue more than with perception of mental fatigue. The information can be used to untangle perception of fatigue and fatigability which will lead to better measurement of the fatigue construct, a prerequisite for developing effective interventions.
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF USING FLEXIBLE AND RIGID PAVEMENTS FOR ROADS: A REVIEW STUDY

Roads have become an essential measure and symbol of the development of societies. Road construction projects are essential infrastructure facilities for any countries, and high amounts of the budget allocated every financial year by decision-maker. The construction of road required researches, good plan and design, and excellent builders to discover innovatively and cost-effective engineered products to satisfy the increasing request that would economize the construction as well as increasing durability. Despite the economic factor, this study will present a comparative review on the suitability of using rigid and flexible pavements in road depending on traffic, climate, foundation, life cost, materials, maintainability and safety consideration. The reviewed studies show that the design of concrete pavement is based on flexural strength whereas in the asphalt pavement is based on load distributing characteristics of the component layers. The concrete pavement life is slightly longer than asphalt pavement. The initial cost of the flexible pavement less than the cost of rigid pavement but conversely, the cost of flexible pavement is more than the rigid pavement with the long run because of the incurring costs of maintenance. The rigid pavement has better ability and durability to hold a shape against traffic and difficult environmental conditions than flexible pavement.
Sparking ideas: Empirical insights and new directions for performance management in knowledge-intensive settings

The present dissertation analyzes the measurement and management of performance in knowledge-intensive settings by drawing on theories from social psychology, cognitive psychology and general psychology. The present thesis comprises four essays that report empirical studies. Specifically, the studies of the first essay assessed an alternative performance measure (Facebook likes for unpublished scientific manuscripts) which was compared to traditional bibliometrics. The study findings show that Facebook likes can positively predict citations for psychological manuscripts in the business area. However, Facebook likes do not predict the impact of non-psychological manuscripts in the business area nor of manuscripts in the area of life sciences. The study of the second essay investigated individual factors influencing research performance by applying an online survey of young scholars in the fields of business and economics. The findings indicate that intrinsic work motivation and job satisfaction have an indirect effect on research performance, whereas extrinsic work motivation only has a direct effect on research performance. The study of the third essay explored current undesirable developments in higher education institutions and assessed the possibilities of a chair, faculty, or higher education institution to foster work motivation and work performance. Data were derived through semi-structured interviews with individuals working in different positions at higher education and research institutions in the field of business and economics or the field of social sciences and sociology. The results indicate that insufficient funding is the most significant current undesirable development. Moreover, the results show that at the chair level, a good leadership style and interpersonal acknowledgment may motivate and enhance performance, whereas at the faculty level, beneficial framework conditions and cooperation may increase motivation and performance. At the institutional level, appropriate organizational structures and an appropriate leadership culture may foster motivation and performance. The study of the fourth essay used a laboratory experiment based on a student sample to investigate the influence of goal setting on creative performance aspects. The findings reveal that having an assigned goal versus having no goal causes anger to outweigh happiness, which in turn increases cognitive persistence and (with control variables in the equation) also creative
Multi-Agents Spatial Visibility Trajectory Planning and Patrolling Using Inverse Reinforcement Learning

— In this paper, we present a conceptual Spatial Trajectory Planning (STP) method using Rapid Random Trees (RRT) planner, generating visibility motion primitives in urban environments using Inverse Reinforcement Learning (IRL) approach. Visibility motion primitives are set by using Spatial Visibility Clustering (SVC) analysis. Based on the STP planning method, we introduce IRL formulation and analysis which learns the value function of the planner from demonstrated trajectories and generating spatial visibility trajectory planning. Additionally, we study the visible trajectories planning for patrolling application using heterogeneous multi agents in 3D urban environments. Our concept is based on spatial clustering method using visibility analysis of the 3D visibility problem from a viewpoints in 3D urban environments, defined as locations. We consider two kinds of agents, with different kinematic and perception capabilities. Using simplified version of Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP), we formulate the problem as patrolling strategy one, with upper bound optimal performances. We present a combination of relative deadline UniPartition approaches based on visibility clusters. These key features allow new planning optimal patrolling strategy for heterogeneous agents in urban environment. We demonstrate our patrolling strategy method in simulations using Autonomous Navigation and Virtual Environment Laboratory (ANVEL) test bed environment.
An Advanced Method Fusion and an Empirical Mode Decomposition-Based Filtering Methods for Breathing Rate Estimation from Seismocardiogram Signals

: Breathing Rate (BR), an important deterioration indicator, has been widely neglected in hospitals due to the requirement of invasive procedures and the need for skilled nurses to be measured. On the other hand, biomedical signals such as Seismocardiography (SCG), which measures heart vibrations transmitted to the chest-wall, can be used as a non-invasive technique to estimate the BR. This makes SCG signals a highly appealing way for estimating the BR. As such, this work proposes three novel methods for extracting the BR from SCG signals. The ﬁrst method is based on extracting respiration-dependent features such as the fundamental heart sound components, S1 and S2 from the SCG signal. The second novel method investigates for the ﬁrst time the use of data driven methods such as the Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) method to identify the respiratory component from an SCG signal. Finally, the third advanced method is based on fusing frequency information from the respiration signals that result from the aforementioned proposed methods and other standard methods. The developed methods in this paper are then evaluated on adult recordings from the combined measurement of ECG, the Breathing and Seismocardiograms database. Both fusion and EMD ﬁlter-based methods outperformed the individual methods, giving a mean absolute error of 1.5 breaths per minute, using a one-minute window of data.
Immersive experience influences eye blink rate during virtual reality gaming

: Virtual reality (VR) technology now provides players with immersive and realistic experiences as never before. Spatial presence plays a crucial role in the introduction of immersive experience in a VR environment. Spatial presence is a special feeling of personal and physical presence in the displayed environment. In this study, we found that the first-person perspective (1PP) was more effective in raising the sense of spatial presence that induces immersive experience compared to the third-person perspective (3PP) in a VR shooting game. Moreover, eye blink rate was significantly higher in the 1PP compared with the 3PP. The 1PP game setting was more realistic than the 3PP setting, and may have raised participants’ sense of immersion and facilitated eye blink. These results indicate that eye blink rate is increased by the sense of spatial presence, and can be a good measure of subjective immersive experience in a VR environment. Neuroscientific evidences suggest that dopaminergic system is involved in such emotional experiences and physiological responses.
Remaining Useful Life Prediction of Gas Turbine Engine using Autoregressive Model

Gas turbine (GT) engines are known for their high availability and reliability and are extensively used for power generation, marine and aero-applications. Maintenance of such complex machines should be done proactively to reduce cost and sustain high availability of the GT. The aim of this paper is to explore the use of autoregressive (AR) models to predict remaining useful life (RUL) of a GT engine. The Turbofan Engine data from NASA benchmark data repository is used as case study. The parametric investigation is performed to check on any effect of changing model parameter on modelling accuracy. Results shows that a single sensory data cannot accurately predict RUL of GT and further research need to be carried out by incorporating multi-sensory data. Furthermore, the predictions made using AR model seems to give highly pessimistic values for RUL of GT.
Derivative Analysis Of Compensated Machine Coordinates Vectors

—Beside there are lot of papers about parametric robot calibration, there is lack of research focused on the last step of the parametric calibration procedure – compensation. In this paper, an iterative numerical compensation algorithm is described in detail. In the case when the robot’s movement is controlled using its machine coordinates in order to compensate the robot’s errors, the issue is if such changes in machine coordinates eventually cause some unwanted changes or constraints violations in the feed or acceleration profile. Derivative analysis of compensated machine coordinates for robot motion typical in composite industry use case, showed there are not any violations of the constraints raised out of velocity, acceleration or jerk limitations, for all robot’s axes