Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Knowledge, perceptions and practices on healthcare waste management and associated occupational health hazards among healthcare professionals in the Colombo District, Sri Lanka: a cross-sectional study

Background Proper Healthcare Waste (HW) management is directly influenced by the knowledge and attitudes of Healthcare Professionals (HCP). However, studies that characterize the knowledge and practices of HCP on HW management are limited in Sri Lanka. This study was conducted to characterize the knowledge, perceptions and practices of HCP on the management of HW and to determine the risk factors influencing HW related occupational health hazards in the Colombo District of Sri Lanka. Methods A total of 407 HCP were recruited as the study population from selected hospitals in the Colombo District. Information on socio-demographic factors, knowledge, attitudes and practices on HW management were gathered using an interviewer-administrated questionnaire. The Binary Logistic Regression (BLR) was used to determine the socio-economic risk factors associated with the occurrence of HW related health issues among the respondents. Results The majority of respondents were characterized with a high knowledge level (76.9%) and positive attitudes (53.8%) on HW management. Incineration (82.6%) was recognized as the most widely used HW treatment method. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was used at a satisfactory level (85.5%), while liquid waste treatment was limited (57.5%). The occupational designation, level of training received in HW management, professional experience, vaccination status for tetanus, degree of knowledge and attitudes on HW management were recognized as significant risk factors (p < 0.05) associated with the occurrence of HW related occupational hazards. Conclusion Even though, the treatment of HW was satisfactory, strengthening the existing mechanisms for monitoring of HW management, provisioning more resources and organizing training and awareness programmes on HW management for HCP are recommended.
Archaeometric Investigation Of A Triptych Coptic Icon, El-Surian Monastery, Egypt

The triptych icon is a unique type of Coptic icons, that has rarely been studied before. The archaeometric investigation helps to reveal the triptych icons importance, composition of the pigment palette and to monitor the manifestations of deterioration to determine appropriate treatment. A triptych icon was chosen from El-Surian monastery in Wadi El-Natron. Cracks, dimming, yellowing and parts loss indicate aging processes and chemical interactions with environmental conditions. The examination techniques are used to determine the stratigra-phy of the icon
Characterization of Extracellular Vesicles from Human Saliva: Effects of Age and Isolation Techniques

Salivary extracellular vesicles (EVs) represent an attractive source of biomarkers due to the accessibility of saliva and its non-invasive sampling methods. However, the lack of comparative studies assessing the efficacy of different EV isolation techniques hampers the use of salivary EVs in clinical settings. Moreover, the effects of age on salivary EVs are largely unknown, hindering the identification of salivary EV-associated biomarkers across the lifespan. To address these questions, we compared salivary EV concentration, size mode, protein concentration, and purity using eight EV isolation techniques before and after magnetic bead immunocapture with antibodies against CD9, CD63, and CD81. The effects of age on salivary EVs obtained with each isolation technique were further investigated. Results showed higher expression of CD63 on isolated salivary EVs compared to the expression of CD81 and flotillin-1. Overall, magnetic bead immunocapture was more efficient in recovering salivary EVs with Norgen’s Saliva Exosome Purification Kit and ExoQuick-TC ULTRA at the cost of EV yield. Regardless of age, Invitrogen Total Exosome Isolation Solution showed the highest level of protein concentration, whereas Izon qEVOriginal-70nm columns revealed the highest purity. This study provides the first comprehensive comparison of salivary EVs in younger and older adults using different EV isolation techniques, which represents a step forward for assessing salivary EVs as a source of potential biomarkers of tissue-specific diseases throughout the life cycle.
A REVIEW ON TECHNIQUES FOR EMOTIONS CLASSIFICATION USING EEG SIGNALS

Emotion detection has been a topic of interest for various areas like health care, social security, decision making etc. There are several important definitions and theories of human emotions. There have been a number of advancements in human-computer interaction. The papers were reviewed based on Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals as a marker for emotional states as it has become popular in many brain-computer interfaces (BCI) applications and studies. Several successful attempts have been made to classify these emotions using machine learning. In this paper, some of the popular machine learning algorithms for classification of these emotions are covered. The algorithms that we came across the most were Support vector machine (SVM), K-nearest (KNN), Logistic regression (LR) and decision tree (DT).
FIN-Seq: Transcriptional profiling of specific cell types in frozen archived tissue from the human central nervous system

Thousands of frozen, archived tissues from postmortem human central nervous system (CNS) are currently available in brain banks. As single cell and single nucleus technologies are beginning to elucidate the cellular diversity present within the human CNS, it is becoming clear that transcriptional analysis of the human CNS requires cell type specificity. Single cell and single nucleus RNA profiling provide one avenue to decipher this heterogeneity. An alternative, complementary approach is to profile isolated, pre-defined cell types and use methods that can be applied to many archived human tissue samples. Here, we developed FIN-Seq (Frozen Immunolabeled Nuclei Sequencing), a method that accomplishes these goals. FIN-Seq uses immunohisto-chemical isolation of nuclei of specific cell types from frozen human tissue, followed by RNA-Sequencing. We applied this method to frozen postmortem samples of human cerebral cortex and retina and were able to identify transcripts, including low abundance transcripts, in specific cell types.
The super‐interseismic phase of the megathrust earthquake cycle in Chile

Along a subduction zone, great megathrust earthquakes recur either after long seismic gaps lasting several decades to centuries or over much shorter periods lasting hours to a few years when cascading successions of earthquakes rupture nearby segments of the fault. We analyze a decade of continuous Global Positioning System observations along the South American continent to estimate changes in deformation rates between the 2010 Maule (M8.8) and 2015 Illapel (M8.3) Chilean earthquakes. We find that surface velocities increased after the 2010 earthquake, in response to continental‐scale viscoelastic mantle relaxation and to regional‐scale increased degree of interplate locking. We propose that increased locking occurs transiently during a super‐interseismic phase in segments adjacent to a megathrust rupture, responding to bending of both plates caused by coseismic slip and subsequent afterslip. Enhanced strain rates during a super‐interseismic phase may therefore bring a megathrust segment closer to failure and possibly triggered the 2015 event.
Spatial Variability of Surface and Subsurface Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity in a Semi-Arid Region: Results from a Field Campaign

The accurate estimation of saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) is of high relevance to correctly reproduce water movement in hydrological simulations. Yet, estimation of Ks is challenging particularly in semi-arid regions with particular soil surface characteristics like crusting and sealing. This study presents results of a field campaign in the semi-arid Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed, Arizona (US), where surface and subsurface Ks measurements were undertaken across the watershed. Results reveal that the following commonly-used assumptions used in estimation of Ks are not plausible in such regions: (i) Ks decreases with increasing soil depth, (ii) soils with coarse-grained texture (sandy loam) have higher surface Ks values compared to relatively fine-grained texture (fine sandy loam), and (iii) pedo-transfer functions are not reliable methods of estimating Ks. Our results also reveal that remote sensing data can provide useful information for estimation of surface and subsurface Ks values.
Cruise Port Market Positioning: Making the Case for Including Societal and Environmental Risk Mitigation Strategies

Port Authorities (PAs) are now paying growing attention to the social and environmental risks stemming from their cruise activities. Several of these ports are engaged in a structured and for some already long-standing, approach to reducing the negative externalities of cruise ship calls. However, the content analysis of 36 Port Authorities’ websites showed that very few of them report on such action plans. Based on the review of the literature dealing with PAs’ market positioning approaches, the purpose of this paper is to promote the opportunity and feasibility for PAs to disseminate information about their past, ongoing, and/or future actions supporting sustainable cruise tourism.
Ligand-binding properties of XaffOBP9, a Minus-C odorant-binding protein from Xyleborus affinis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)

Xyleborus affinis, one of the most important pests of rubber trees, has caused severe damage to the natural rubber industry in Hainan province. The ability to detect host plants through a sensitive and specific olfactory system is crucial for Xyleborus affinis. Odorant binding proteins (OBPs) are believed to bind and carry hydrophobic active compounds from the environment to the surface of olfactory receptor neurons. To investigate the potential functional role of the highly expressed XaffOBP9 in binding with semiochemicals, we cloned and analyzed the cDNA sequence of XaffOBP9. The results showed that XaffOBP9 contains a 411bp open reading frame that encodes 136 amino acids. Then XaffOBP9 was expressed in Escherichia coli. The binding affinity of the recombinant OBP to 15 different ligands (14 host plant volatiles and 1 aggregation pheromone) was then examined using a fluorescence competitive binding approach. The results demonstrated that XaffOBP9 exhibited broad binding capabilities and strong affinities for 14 ligands. The structure of XaffOBP9 and its interactions with fourteen ligands were further analyzed by modeling and molecular docking, respectively. Based on the docking result, we found hydrophobic interactions are important between XaffOBP9 to these ligands and three amino acid residues (L71, Y106, and L114) were highly overlapped and contributed to the interaction with ligands. Mutation functional assays confirmed that the mutant L114A showed significantly reduced binding capacity to these ligands. This study suggested that XaffOBP9 may be involved in the chemoreception of semiochemicals and that it is helpful for the integrated management of X. affinis.
Examining the Active Transportation - Built Environment Relationship in London, Ontario

i Co-Authorship Statement. ii Acknowledgments. iii List of Tables . viii List of Figures . ix List of Appendices . x CHAPTER ONE . 1 1 The Built Environment and Active Transportation . 1 1.1 Theoretical Framework . 4 1.1.1 Research Question and Objectives . 6 1.1.2 Dissertation Framework . 6 1.2 Contributions. 9 1.3 Structure of Dissertation . 10 1.4 References . 11 CHAPTER TWO . 16 2 Setting the Stage . 16 2.1 Literature Review. 16 2.1.1 Defining Active Transportation and the Built Environment. 16 2.1.2 Examining the BE/AT Relationship . 17 2.2 Determinants of Active Transportation . 18 2.2.1 Adults . 18 2.2.2 Children. 19 2.3 Methodological Problems in BE/AT Research . 20 2.3. 1 The Modifiable Areal Unit Problem . 21
The Influence of the Political System on Education Curriculum Policy in Indonesia

This research aims to describe the literature review on the influence of politics on changes in education curriculum policy in Indonesia from 2004-2013. This research method employs a qualitative approach with a literature review framework. The research process entails gathering articles, filtering them, presenting them, engaging in discussions, and drawing findings. The primary sources of research data include books, journals, and national articles published during the past seven years. The findings indicated that out of ten articles, four were relevant to the topic of discussion. The curriculum underwent several revisions following the reform era in 1998. These changes included the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum in 2004, the introduction of the Education Unit curriculum in 2006, and the adoption of the 2013 curriculum. Curriculum revisions in Indonesia are frequently influenced by the prevailing political system as a way to demonstrate leadership authority during that period. Therefore, curriculum modifications are not grounded on educational requirements.
The road to carbon trading in Malaysia: Unpacking knowledge and experience through scoping review and in-depth interviews

The emission trading scheme (ETS) is arguably one of the most effective approaches for encouraging industries to transition to a low-carbon economy and, as a result, assisting nations in meeting their goals under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to mitigate the challenge of climate change. ETS is gaining popularity as more governments throughout the world contemplate implementing it, particularly in developing countries. Much of the existing research has concentrated on debates concerning ETS operations in developed nations. This study is to give a discourse of the success criteria for ETS implementation that have been identified in the literature and then cross-referenced in the context of Malaysia. For this, the research used an integrated approach of scoping review of existing literature and in-depth interviews with Malaysian stakeholders. Using Narassimhan et al. (2018)’s ETS assessment framework, the scoping review identified five major attributes that lead to successful ETS implementation in a global context that are environmental effectiveness, economic efficiency, market management, stakeholder engagement, and revenue management. In-depth interviews with several groups of discovered stakeholder engagement as an essential attribute that would play a critical role in advancing ETS implementation in Malaysia. The study concludes by proposing a complete strategy based on empirical information and first-hand narratives, providing useful insights for politicians, industry players, and environmental activists. The recommendation is especially important as Malaysia strives to improve its commitment to sustainable and responsible development in light of the challenges posed by climate change.
Assessment of Phenotypic Diversity among Ethiopian Coriander Accessions (Coriandrum sativum) at Kulumsa, Southeastern Ethiopia

A phenotypic diversity study was carried out under field conditions in the meher season ((July–November 2019 and 2020) at Kulumsa, Southeast Ethiopia to assess variables that directly affect seed yield, contribute to the total phenotypic variance, and classify coriander accessions. Twenty-five Ethiopian coriander accessions were laid out in a simple lattice design with two replications. Eight morphological parameters of the coriander accessions showed highly significant differences (p≤0.01)) in the combined analysis of variance. Plant height, the number of umbellets umbel-1, the number of seeds umbel-1, and the seed yield plant-1 all had a positive and direct effect on the seed yield (t ha-1). The first two principal components contributed 62.6% of the total phenotypic variation. Number of umbels plant-1, number of umbellets umbel-1, seed yield plant-1, and seed yield (t ha-1) were the characteristics with the highest loading effects in the first principle component, and plant height and seed yield (ha-1) in the second. Six clusters of accessions were created. About 28% and 8% of the studied accessions were found in the largest cluster (I) and clusters (V and VI), respectively. The highest inter-cluster distances were observed between VI and III (D2 = 159.21), IV and III (D2 = 155.84), and VI and I (D2 = 113.26) clusters. Crossing between accessions included in those clusters could produce highly heterotic responses and segregants. In general, this study demonstrated significant phenotypic diversity among the tested accessions and could be used in improvement programs to develop desirable coriander cultivars.
Natural Incidence Of Hirsutella Thompsonii Fisher on the Coconut Eriophyid Mite, Aceria Guerreronis Keifer in Certain Districts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in India

Hirsutella thompsoni Fisher was found to be widespread in the three districts of Karnataka (Bangalore Rural. Mandya and Kolar) and one in Tamil Nadu (Coimbatore) during the surveys conducted. The incidence of the pathogen was the highest in Coimbatore where 17.19 per cent of mite-infested coconut samples yielded the fungus. The presence or the fungal pathogen was the lowest in Bangalore rural district. where only 1.37 per cent of the samples showed the occurrence. The average incidence of H.thompsonil in mite-infested coconuts was 6.85 per cent. In Kamataka. only Mandya district showed significant presence (6.22 %) of the fungus. Overall, 7.03 per cent of the population of mites was infected with H.thompsonii . The nymphal stages (9.34%) were found to be more susceptible than the adults (4.72%). The consistent association ofthe fungus with the mite in the two states surveyed indicates that augmentation of the pathogen in the form of a rnycoacaricide may result in artificial epizootics.
Exploring Pre-service Teachers' Perspectives on TPACK: Technology, Pedagogical, and
Content Knowledge

In the context of educational transformation, the integration of innovations into teacher education programs is essential for enhancing the effectiveness of the teaching-learning process. Teachers must possess comprehensive content knowledge to incorporate suitable pedagogical practices and create technologically enriched educational environments. Teaching is a dynamic endeavor demanding a diverse range of knowledge and skills from educators, encompassing personal qualities, vocational expertise, and instructional abilities. This research focuses on investigating pre-service teachers' perceptions of Technology, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK). Conducted on 200 pre-service teachers from HNB Garhwal University, the study utilized a TPACK questionnaire with seven components. Employing descriptive quantitative research methodology, the analysis revealed that preservice teachers generally held an average and positive perception of TPACK. Gender and subject stream influenced the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) domain, while no significant differences were found in other components. Furthermore, locality and educational qualifications showed no significant impact on TPACK perception. Overall, the findings underscore the importance of understanding pre-service teachers' perspectives on TPACK to inform and improve teacher education programs.
An Anti-Aliasing-Filter-Assisted 3rd-Order VCO-Based CTDSM With NS-SAR Quantizer

This work introduces a new hybrid architecture combining a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO)-based continuous-time (CT) delta-sigma modulator (DSM) with a noise-shaping (NS) successive approximation register (SAR) quantizer. The key innovation is an anti-aliasing filter (AAF) that bridges the VCO front-end with the NS-SAR quantizer, enabling the time-domain information to be directly sampled as the voltage-domain information. The hybrid architecture provides a high-order noise transfer function (NTF) while maintaining simple loop dynamics. The fabricated 28-nm CMOS prototype achieves 84.2-dB signal-to-noise-distortion ratio (SNDR) and 86.8-dB dynamic range (DR) within a 1-MHz bandwidth (BW) while consuming 1.62 mW at 100 MS/s. The corresponding Schreier SNDR figure of merit (FoM) is 172.1 dB. The core circuit occupies only 0.024 mm2. No calibration or coefficient tuning is required.
FCTformer: Fusing Convolutional Operations and Transformer for 3D Rectal Tumor Segmentation in MR Images

Accurate and reliable segmentation of rectal cancer in Magnetic Resonance Imaging holds crucial significance in preoperative prediction, tumor staging, and neoadjuvant therapy. Currently, the automated segmentation methods for rectal tumor have predominantly relied on Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), which lean heavily on discerning the contrast disparities among locally neighboring MRI voxels. However, these methods tend to exhibit segmentation inaccuracies when confronted with rectal cancer instances characterized by indistinct contrasts and markedly diverse shapes. Here, we propose a FCTformer who Fuses Convolutional operations and Transformer modules for accurate rectal tumor segmentation in 3D MRI. Specifically, first, FCTformer integrates a transformer-based global feature extraction mechanism and a CNN-based local feature extraction approach to obtain a dual-faceted multiscale feature representation. This representation enhances the model’s capability to capture both the comprehensive semantic features and intricate details of rectal cancer instances, especially in challenging situations such as low-contrast imaging and substantial shape variations. Second, to capitalize on features captured across different scales, thereby enhancing segmentation accuracy, we have incorporated a Dual-Attention decoder. Third, to enhance the tumor’s edges and contours, the Prediction Aggregation Unit is designed to capture sharper tumor boundaries and retain fine details that could be lost during repetitive down-sampling stages. Experimental results involving 362 instances of rectal tumor segmentation demonstrate that our proposed method achieves a Dice Similarity Coefficient of 0.827, surpassing existing methods. The satisfactory results obtained from evaluating our approach on a publicly available prostate dataset validate its generalizability.