Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Narrow band CE-Chirp stimulus in auditory steady state response threshold estimation in normal hearers and patients with various degrees of sensorineural hearing loss

Abstract Background: Auditory steady-state responses (ASSRs) are periodic scalp potentials that arise in response to auditory stimuli. Narrow-band (NB) CE-Chirps stimuli have been developed to combine the advantages of compensation for the cochlear traveling wave delay and frequency specificity. Objectives: To measure the hearing threshold objectively using ASSR in adults with normal behavioural hearing thresholds and adult patients with different degrees of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and its comparison to the behavioural thresholds. Methods: In the present study, 35 subjects (70 ears) were enrolled. Ears were grouped according to the level of hearing obtained by pure tone audiometry (PTA) into 7 equal groups. NB-CE-Chirp ASSR was done for all groups by means of auditory-evoked potential device. Results: The estimated ASSR audiograms configuration matched the behavioural curves. ASSR was equally accurate at all frequencies tested except for 1 kHz in the normal-hearing group who showed less accuracy compared to 500 and 4000 Hz in air conduction (AC) and in bone conduction (BC). Although the AC estimation was not equal among the different degrees of hearing compared to the BC estimation, the AC PTA-ASSR thresholds difference range was small. BC PTA-ASSR threshold difference was statistically significantly less than AC at all tested degrees of hearing loss, in most of the frequencies; which reflects that the ASSR was more accurate in estimating BC than the AC thresholds. There was a negative correlation regarding behavioural BC PTA thresholds with PTA-ASSR threshold difference and PTA-estimated audiograms threshold difference at all tested frequencies. Conclusion: ASSR using either AC or BC NB-CE-Chirp is a reliable objective method in estimating the behavioural threshold in normal hearers and patients with various degrees of SNHL, so it can be used in difficult-to-test cases where accurate behavioural thresholds could not be obtained.
Management of osteoarticular and dental injuries in electrocuted patients

Electrical accidents can usually lead to severe skin burns and soft tissues damages, but also to uncommon, but often neglected various osteoarticular and dental injuries, such as fractures, dislocations, osteonecrosis, dentition injuries and heterotopic ossification of soft tissues. This review highlights the complete spectrum of osteoarticular and dental injuries previously described in literature in relation to electrocution accidents, with their pattern, diagnosis, clinical and imaging assessment, treatment guidelines, severity and possible risk factors, accordingly to localization and pathophysiology. Fractures and dislocations usually occur after a traumatic event related to electrical injuries, but they can be rarely produced by violent tetanic muscle contractions, due to electrical current passage. The practitioners involved in the management of the electrocuted patients need to bear in mind the possibility of skeletal injuries. All electrocuted patients with suggestive symptoms and signs such as pain, swelling, bone tenderness, and functional impairment, should be examined carefully and in detail, both clinically and by imaging studies. The early recognition, the confirmation by imaging studies and the prompt orthopedic or dental treatment ensure a favorable result and remove the deleterious possible complications.
Mechanisms underlying the improvement of preeclampsia through salvianolic acid B-regulated miRNA-155/CXCR4

Introduction The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects and mechanisms of salvianolic acid B (Sal B) in preeclampsia treatment by in vivo and in vitro study. Material and methods Rats were randomly divided into 5 groups. In order to establish the model of preeclampsia, endotoxin was administered to the rats in the Sal B intervention and model groups. The systolic blood pressure (SBP) of the tail artery and urine protein concentration were observed at different points, the miRNA-155 and CXCR4 gene expression levels by RT-PCR and the CXCR4 and p-AKT protein expression by WB assay. Using HTR8/SVneo to explain the mechanisms; evaluating the miRNA-155 and CXCR4 mRNA expression by RT-PCR assay, measuring the cell invasion and migration by transwell and wound healing assay in different groups; evaluating the CXCR4 and p-AKT protein expression by WB assay and p-AKT nucleation volume by cellular immunofluorescence were evaluated. Results Compared with the normal group, the systolic blood pressure and urine protein were significantly increased in the model group (p < 0.05), serum NO concentration was significantly down-regulated (all p < 0.05), CXCR4 and miRNA-155 mRNA expression was significantly different and CXCR4 and p-AKT protein expression was significantly suppressed (all p < 0.05). With Sal B supplement, the SBP, urine protein and NO concentration were significantly improved with dose-dependent (all p < 0.05). In the cell experiment, the cell invasion and migration ability were significantly improved with Sal B supplement (both p < 0.05). However, with miRNA-155 transfection, the cell invasion and migration ability were suppressed with Sal B treatment (both p < 0.05). Conclusions Sal B improved preeclampsia via regulation of miRNA-155/CXCR4 in the in vitro and vivo study.
Roles Of Mentoring From Dual Perspectives: A Mutually Beneficial Experience

Mentoring has a longstanding history and is being hailed as an important strategy for teacher professional development. Anderson and Shannon (1988) mentoring model summarised three major components on the roles of mentoring. In this qualitative study, we focused on two mentoring relationship, which are as a ‘Care Giver’ and a ‘Nurturer’. We then explored these components from two different perspectives, the senior mentors and the junior mentors. Both groups were tasked to mentor teacher candidates from the graduate initial teacher education programme known as the Master of Teaching or MTeach, offered at a university in Brunei Darussalam. The three senior mentors were categorised as the more experienced while the four junior mentors were the less experienced and categorised as new graduates from the MTeach programme. Data were collected from an open-ended survey aimed in obtaining their views and experience in their journey as an MTeach mentor. The findings revealed that both groups gained mutual benefits from the mentoring despite the differences in their experiences, such as both were able to have time to reflect on quality of teaching and learning, gained a new enthusiasm for teaching, learnt new ideas and gained new perspectives on teaching and learning.
Helping may be Harming: unintended negative consequences of providing social support

ABSTRACT While social support is generally considered a helpful resource for employees, it can also serve as a job stressor. Unhelpful workplace social support (UWSS) is any action taken by a supervisor and/or colleague that the recipient believes was intended to benefit him or her but is perceived as unhelpful or harmful. Two studies, one qualitative and one quantitative, identified types of UWSS and demonstrated that unhelpful support can operate as a job stressor in relating to strains. In Study 1, critical incidents were collected from 116 employees, and a content analysis revealed 11 distinct categories of UWSS. In Study 2, the taxonomy of UWSS was further refined using quantitative methods. Results of two samples (176 diverse employees and 496 registered nurses) demonstrate that UWSS is associated with higher job-related negative affect, lower competence-based self-esteem, lower coworker satisfaction, higher work-related burnout, higher organisational frustration, and more physical symptoms (e.g. headache, nausea, and fatigue) among recipients. Together, the studies demonstrate that unhelpful workplace social support is a meaningful job stressor worthy of further investigation.
EFFECTIVE WAYS OF MANAGING WEBSITES FOR ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS

The paper describes the process of building and developing a proper website for academic institutions. Development needs to follow certain guidelines like planning a good structure and writing quality content in order to be able to convey the information that needs to be delivered to the target audience. The study surveyed existing higher education institutions websites from the current best top 100 list by QS World University Rankings. Although the scale is different the audience is the same and the structure of the websites does not differ. We found that educational websites keep a similar structure, but some manage to present the information in a much subtle manner to their audience. One of the most important features of an academic website is to make information accessible to all. The authors used a documentation review as a means of surveying to gather information about university websites. The purpose being to make informed recommendations about the best practices used in higher education website development. In at: conclusion we found that information needs to be displayed clearly, we recommend contact information to be placed on the front page as well as relevant information about the institution.
Prevalence study of Salmonella spp. in milk and milk products.

The present study was carried out to observe the presence of Salmonella in milk and milk products. The investigation of 210 samples revealed presence of 7.61% Salmonella spp. with higher prevalence in raw milk and dahi - 11.9% each , followed by ice-cream -9.52% and khoa - 4.76%. None of the sample of flavored milk showed Salmonella. In molecular study, 5 (31.2%) isolates were found positive for invA gene. The gene was present in raw milk - 18.75% and 6.25% in khoa and ice-cream each. Salmonella isolates were found sensitive to netillin - 100%, ofloxacin - 87.5%, norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin and nalidixic acid – (62.5% each), streptomycin and amikacin – (56.2% each). The isolates were resistant to nitrofurantoin- 81.2%, tetracycline -75.0%, co-trimoxazole - 68.7%, ampicilline - 56.2% and cefotaxime - 50.0%. The observation displayed unhygienic atmosphere prevailing during production of dairy products which lead to contamination of Salmonella and thus may cause public health problem to the consumers.
The Importance of Health in All Policies (HiAP)

The concept of health in all policies (HiAP) has emerged as a mechanism to promote actions on the social determinants of health, with an emphasis on oppressors in which health is not a priority. Health in all policies is important for prevention, for promoting a healthy lifestyle, as well as for improving the factors that harm the health of the population as a whole. This article aims to talk about the significance of health in all policies; It begins by giving a general description of HiAP, by addressing issues such as the importance of health in all policies, stages, and conditions of applying HiAP at the level of public policy, but also prospects for introducing HiAP in Romania. Health in all policies (HiAP) was legally legitimized as a European Union (EU) approach in 2006 and resulted from long-term efforts to improve actions on the need for health involvement in policies, stemming from the recognition that policies affect health care systems and the scope of national health regulations. However, HiAP implementation remained a challenge. HiAP is a more complex approach compared to health impact assessment, and at the European level, it needs to take into account the importance of developing European policies with implications in the health field, as well as the extension to transparency, accountability, and scope for health policy arguments in political decision making.
Fractional Order State Feedback Control for Improved Lateral Stability of Semi-Autonomous Commercial Heavy Vehicles

With the growing development of autonomous and semi-autonomous large commercial heavy vehicles, the lateral stability control of articulated vehicles have caught the attention of researchers recently. Active vehicle front steering (AFS) can enhance the handling performance and stability of articulated vehicles for an emergency highway maneuver scenario. However, with large vehicles such tractor-trailers, the system becomes more complex to control and there is an increased occurrence of instabilities. This research investigates a new control scheme based on fractional calculus as a technique that ensures lateral stability of articulated large heavy vehicles during evasive highway maneuvering scenarios. The control method is first implemented to a passenger vehicle model with 2-axles based on the well-known “bicycle model”. The model is then extended and applied onto larger three-axle commercial heavy vehicles in platooning operations. To validate the proposed new control algorithm, the system is linearized and a fractional order PI state feedback control is developed based on the linearized model. Then using Matlab/Simulink, the developed fractional-order linear controller is implemented onto the nonlinear tractor-trailer dynamic model. The tractor-trailer system is modeled based on the conventional integer-order techniques and then a non-integer linear controller is developed to control the system. Overall, results confirm that the proposed controller improves the lateral stability of a tractor-trailer response time by 20% as compared to a professional truck driver during an evasive highway maneuvering scenario. In addition, the effects of variable truck cargo loading and longitudinal speed are evaluated to confirm the robustness of the new control method under a variety of potential operating conditions. ©2019 by Rasheed Mazen Abdulkader All Rights Reserved
Policy Uncertainty and Innovation: Evidence from IPO Interventions in China

Public equity is an important source of risk capital, especially in China. The Chinese government has occasionally suspended IPOs, exposing firms already approved to IPO to indeterminate listing delays. The temporary bar on going public increases uncertainty about access to public markets for affected firms. We show that suspension-induced delay reduces corporate innovation activity both during the delay and for years after listing. Negative effects on tangible investment and positive effects on leverage are temporary, consistent with financial constraints during the suspensions being resolved after listing. Our results suggest that predictable, well-functioning IPO markets are important for firm value creation. They demonstrate that corporate innovation is cumulative and is negatively affected by policy uncertainty.
Teacher Labor Markets in Developing Countries

The types of workers recruited into teaching and their allocation across classrooms can greatly influence a country's stock of human capital. This paper considers how markets and non-market institutions determine the quantity, wages, skills, and spatial distribution of teachers in developing countries. Schools are a major source of employment in developing countries, particularly for women and professionals. Teacher compensation is also a large share of public budgets. Teacher labor markets in developing countries are likely to grow further as teacher quality becomes a greater focus of education policy, including under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Theoretical approaches to teacher labor markets have emphasized the role of non-market institutions, such as government and unions, and other frictions in teacher employment and wages. The evidence supports the existence and importance of such frictions in how teacher labor markets function. In many countries, large gaps in pay and quality exist between teachers and other professionals; teachers in public and private schools; teachers on permanent and temporary contracts; and teachers in urban and rural areas. Teacher supply increases with wages, though teacher quality does not necessarily increase. However, most evidence comes from studies of short-term effects among existing teachers. Evidence on effects in the long-term, on the supply of new teachers, or on changes in non-pecuniary compensation is scarcer.
$Q$ -Value Prediction for Reinforcement Learning Assisted Garbage Collection to Reduce Long Tail Latency in SSD

Garbage collection (GC), an essential operation for flash storage systems, causes long tail latency which is one of the key problems in real-time and quality-critical systems. In this article, we take advantage of reinforcement learning (RL) to reduce long tail latency. Especially, we propose two novel techniques which are: 1) <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$Q$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-table cache (QTC) and 2) <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$Q$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-value prediction. The QTC allows us to utilize appropriate and frequently recurring key states at a small memory cost. We propose a neural network called <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$Q$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-value prediction network (QP Net) that predicts the initial <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$Q$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-value of a new state in the QTC. The integrated solution of QTC and QP Net enables us to benefit from both short-term (by QTC) and long-term (by QP Net) history of system behavior to reduce the long tail latency. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed scheme offers significant (by 25%–37%) reductions in the long tail latency of storage-intensive workloads compared with the state-of-the-art solution that adopts an RL-assisted GC scheduler.
OP III – 4 Exposure assessment models for no2 and pm2.5 in the elapse study: a comparison of supervised linear regression and machine learning approaches

Background/aim Recent studies suggested machine learning as an alternative for supervised linear regression (SLR) in developing Land Use Regression models for air pollution exposure assessment. However, few studies have made direct comparisons. This study aimed to develop novel models using machine learning approaches, and compare the model performance to SLR models using an external dataset for validation. Methods A set of novel European-wide models were developed to estimate 2010 annual means for NO2 and PM2.5, based on AIRBASE routine monitoring data. Satellite observations, chemical transport model estimates, land use and traffic data were used as predictor variables. The alternative algorithms we used included shrinkage techniques (lasso, elastic net, ridge), ensemble learning (bagging, boosting, random forest), support vector machine and a super-learner algorithm. Besides 5-fold cross-validation, we also performed external validation using data from the ESCAPE study to evaluate the model performance. The novel models were compared to the previously developed models (SLR for both NO2 and PM2.5, with additional kriging on residuals in PM2.5 models). Results Random forest suggested a moderate improvement in cross-validation with R2 of 0.66 for NO2 models compared to the conventional supervised linear regression model (R2=0.58), while the external validation R2 was lower (0.46 compared to 0.50). The super-learner algorithm had the highest external validation R2 of 0.51, which was less than 0.01 higher than the original supervised linear regression model. For PM2.5, most of the machine learning methods showed similar or worse performance compared to the original supervised linear regression model. The super-learner algorithm had the highest cross-validation R2 of 0.72, which was 0.02 higher than the supervised linear regression model. However, no machine learning algorithm showed better performance in external validation. Conclusion Machine learning algorithms did not perform better than supervised linear regression in our Europe-wide datasets.
The Effect of Training and Use of Graduated Compression Stockings in Surgery Patients

Introduction: The risk of developing deep vein thrombosis is very high among the surgery patients if appropriate precautions are not taken. Graduated compression stockings, that are used to prevent deep vein thombosis, may threaten patient’s safety if they are not used properly. This study was carried out to examine the use of graduated compression stockings in surgery patients and the effect of training given about deep vein thrombosis in a cross sectional and semi-experimental design. Methods: The study was conducted in General Surgery, Brain Surgery and Urology Clinics of a Healthcare Practice and Research Center located in the western Black Sea region between February 2017 and February 2018. Sample of the study was composed of a total of 166 patients who were assigned to both groups randomly. Patients in Group I were given training about deep vein thrombosis during preoperative period; and patients included in Group II were provided routine nursing care in the clinics. The use of graduated compression stockings by the patients and the problems they experienced were evaluated within the first 48 hours following surgery. Descriptive tests, the Kolmogorov Smirnov test, Independent-samples t test, Mann Whitney U test, Pearson, Yates and Fisher exact chi-square tests and McNemar test were used for statistical analyses. Results: The risk of deep vein thrombosis was found to be comparable between both patient groups during preoperative assessment. It was determined that all of the patients who were given training about deep vein thrombosis used graduated compression stockings, and 33.7% of the patients who got routine care did not know how to use them. The problems of itching (p=0.729) and sweating (p=0.225) were found to be experienced by both goups. It was also observed that graduated compression stockings slided downwards (p=0.001) and redness (p=0.001) occurred in the patients group who got routine care. Conclusion: The training provided by the nurses had a positive effect on the adjustment to the use of graduated compression stockings among the patients who underwent surgical intervention. Providing training to the patients is suggested to be crucial in order to provide an efficient and reliable care to the surgery patients who are under risk for deep vein thrombosis, and it is important not to neglect it.