Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Multifaceted Approach to Antibiotic Stewardship in the Outpatient Clinical Setting for Bronchitis

Antimicrobial resistance is a world-wide health crisis (Infectious Disease Society of America [IDSA], 2016; World Health Organization [WHO], 2017) expedited by the overuse/inappropriate use of antibiotics. In the outpatient setting it has been determined that approximately 60% of antibiotic therapies are prescribed (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2016). Antibiotic stewardship is the coordinated effort to improve the use of antibiotic therapies, minimize misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis and select appropriate antibiotic drug regimens (IDSA, 2016). The purpose of this evidence-based practice project was to evaluate the effects of an antibiotic stewardship program (presentation, survey collection, bimonthly e-mail reminders, patient education) for providers to determine prescribing practices for bronchitis. Preintervention, and post intervention chart audit for data collection was conducted based on the diagnosis code for bronchitis J20.9. Extensive literature review clearly supports bronchitis as the primary diagnosis which typically does not require antibiotic therapies (Schmidt et al., 2018). Outcomes measured included number of antibiotic prescriptions written for bronchitis before the antibiotic stewardship intervention and following the intervention. Also, the difference in prescribing rates for physicians and advanced practice registered nurses, also, provider attitudes towards antibiotic stewardship, and delayed prescribing. Chi-square test of independence was calculated comparing prescribing rates which remained consistent post intervention, (X2 (1) = 0.622, p >. 05) indicating no statistical significance. An independentsamples t test was calculated comparing the mean scores of nurse practitioners and physicians. No significant statistical difference was found (t (2) = 0.283, p > . 05). However, survey results yielded positive responses congruent with attendance at the intervention presentation. Influenced by the antibiotic stewardship program nurse practitioners prescribing of antibiotics decreased from 85% pre intervention to 82.5% post-intervention. Providers agreed the overuse of antibiotics has contributed to the problem of drug resistance and that antibiotic education for the public is important. The implementation of an antibiotic stewardship program presents an inexpensive intervention for the annual reintroduction of the detrimental effects of the mis/overuse use of antibiotics for providers and patients. ANTIBIOTIC STEWARDSHIP 1 CHAPTER
Predictive Modeling of Microgrinding Force Incorporating Phase Transformation Effects

This study investigates the prediction of maraging steel C250 microgrinding forces by incorporating phase transformation effects with the manufacturing process mechanics. The results could consequently increase the accuracy of the prediction and better understand the influence of phase evolution on the materials processing. Based on a detailed analysis of microgrinding mechanics and thermodynamics, an iterative blending scheme integrating phase transformation kinetics and material genome analysis is developed. The physical-based formulation, experimental validation, and computational configuration are presented herein for the microgrinding forces, quantifying phase transformation effects. According to the results, the implementation of the iterative blending scheme can help achieve a higher prediction accuracy of microgrinding forces. Besides, the iterative blending would enable the consideration of the interactive relation between process mechanics and microstructure evolution through materials genome analysis.
DPSK Modulation With a Dual-Drive Silicon Photonic Loop-Mirror Modulator

A loop-mirror modulator (LMM) combines a Mach–Zehnder modulator with an integrated loop mirror. Differential phase shift keying modulation for the LMM with dual-drive traveling wave electrodes is investigated. We show analytically that when operated with the proper bias conditions, the LMM can achieve the arbitrary phase and amplitude modulation. We demonstrate experimentally an error-free transmission at 10 Gb/s.
Salmonella Carriage among Patients in Fako Division, Cameroon: A Cross-sectional Study of Its Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors

Introduction: This study was aimed at evaluating the prevalence and the risk factors of Salmonellosis in patients who were consulted in some medical facilities in Fako Division of Cameroon. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out from November 2017 to November 2018 in three hospitals in Fako division of Cameroon; Tiko District Hospital, Mutengene Medical Center and Buea Regional Hospital. A total of 510 individuals presenting with symptoms of Salmonellosis were administered comprehensive questionnaire. Salmonella enterica strains were cultured from stool and identified using API 20E. Data was entered into Excel and imported into STATA v.12 for Windows, for statistical analysis. Odd ratios were calculated to determine the risk factors associated with Salmonellosis. Results: Fifty Salmonella enterica strains were isolated giving a prevalence of 9.8%. Univariate analysis showed the following risk factors for Salmonellosis: area of residence; suburban p=0.037, OR=5.7 95% CI (1.1-30.03) and rural p=0.077, OR=2.3 95% CI (0.91-5.76), overcrowding (2 persons in a room) p=0.047, OR=2.3 95% CI (1.01-5.41); drinking tap-water, p=0.032 OR=0.38(.16-.092); left-over drugs from the pharmacy, p=0.906 OR= 1.07(0.32-3.55) as being relatively significant risk factors. Conclusion: The prevalence was found to be higher among the very young and older people greater than 45 years. The risk factors identified in this study are: age, area of residence; overcrowding; consuming locally prepared yoghurt or Kosam; eating out or auto-medication by taking leftover drugs. These findings highlight the need of reinforcement of hygiene promotion especially in infants and overpopulated communities, educate on proper prescription and usage of drugs, in addition to the intensification of environmental interventions.
The effect of physical activity interventions on development of children with autism spectrum disorder. content-analysis of researches

Background. Heeding the experience of existing research will allow designing future scientific research. This will increase physical activitу (PA), improve physical fitness, maintenance and improvement of health of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD); assist implementation of inclusion in the educational institutions of the country. Purpose - to analyze the content of physical education programs used in attracting children with autism spectrum disorder to physical activity and to find out domains of indicators that should be investigated. Participants and setting. The analysis of scientific articles for 2000-2019 years was done, 48 publications were selected. Research design. A systematic search for scientific data was conducted, articles that were not related to physical activity were not taken into consideration. The search depth was 3 generations. Data collection. The search of documents was carried out in different databases using keywords «autism», «ASD», «physical activity», «fitness». Articles that studied the effect of different means (lesson programs) on the performance of children with ASD were chosen. More than 100 English-language papers for the last 20 years were analyzed. Data analysis. A content analysis of received data was conducted. The reliability of the differences between the frequency of study of aggregates of indicators was clarified using χ-test. Findings. Scientists, studying the impact of programs of PA on children with ASD, often focus on disruptive behavioral models (31%) of these children and on their indicators of physical fitness and motor skills (35%). Most studies analize the effects of a program using one type of PA. Conclusions. Among the existing research, there is a lack of multidimensional and multimodal programs that would combine effective means of PA. The frequency of communication and cognitive performance research (12% and 10% respectively) significantly (p<0.05) lags behind the research of frequency of physical and behavioral indicators in children with ASD (35% and 31% respectively). there is a lack of research that would study different groups of indicators (physical, cognitive and indicators of problem areas of children with ASD, behavioral and communicative) together.
Towards Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility Approach in International Projects—Review of South-South Cooperation: A Case Study of Chinese Projects in Angola

This paper offers a modified theoretical approach towards corporate social responsibility (CSR), adjusted to the specifics of South-South cooperation (SSC). Developing economies are becoming important actors and the number of their companies willing to implement projects in other developing nations is rising. This entrance of developing countries into international projects poses a question whether their companies adhere to basic CSR obligations and their CSR approaches are strategically oriented or if they present an umbrella, covering up their activities. Though the issue of CSR in SSC projects attracts attention, the number of studies on this topic is limited. This paper presents an attempt to work out a theoretical basis to a CSR approach in SSC projects by adjusting a widely accepted CSR model of Carroll (1979, 1991) to the specific conditions of developing economies. For the purpose of this paper, the authors analyzed CSR activities of Chinese companies in Angola. The results lead to the conclusion that governments of countries, participating in SSC projects need a more active approach towards making basic CSR responsibilities (economic, ethical, legal) legally binding. This will allow such international projects to be more beneficial not only for directly interested parties (companies, governments), but also for the local community.
Assessment of the corrosion behaviour of alloys 825 and 625 in stagnant seawater-effect of temperature and welding

i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . ii LIST OF FIGURES . iv LIST OF TABLES . vi ABBREVIATIONS . vii LIST OF SYMBOLS . viii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1. Problem Description: Motivation . 2 1.2. Research Objectives . 5 1.3. Research Approach . 6 1.4. Limitations . 6 1.5. Structure . 6 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW . 8 2.1. Fundamentals of Corrosion . 9 2.1.1. Definition of Corrosion . 9 2.1.2. Mechanism of Aqueous Corrosion . 10 2.2. Thermodynamics of Aqueous Corrosion: Reversible Potential . 11 2.3. Kinetics of Aqueous Corrosion . 12 2.3.1 Mixed Potential Theory . 12 2.3.2 Electrode Polarization . 13 2.3.3 Corrosion rates . 14 2.4. Galvanic Corrosion . 16 2.4.1. Factors Affecting Galvanic Corrosion . 16 2.4.2. Mixed Potential Theory for Two Metals . 21 2.4.3. Potential and Current Density Distribution on Galvanic Corrosion . 22 2.5. Pitting Corrosion . 23 2.5.1. Stages of the Pitting . 23 2.5.1.1. Pitting Initiation . 23 2.5.1.2. Metastable Pits . 24 2.5.1.3. Pit Growth . 25 2.5.2. Pitting Potential . 26 2.5. 3. Effect of Chloride Ions on Pitting Potential . 27 2.5. 4. Effect of Temperature on the breakdown potential . 28 2.6. Corrosion Resistance of Solid Solution Nickel-Based Alloys 825 and 625 . 30 2.7. 1. Intergranular Corrosion . 32 2.7. 2. Effect of Experimental, Environmental and Compositional Factors on the Breakdown Potential . 33 2.7. 3. Pitting Corrosion: Critical Pitting Temperature (CPT) . 33 CHAPTER THREE: EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES . 35 3.1 Testing Samples . 36 3.2 Sample Preparation . 37 3.3 Metallographic Examination . 37 3.4 Testing Solution . 37 3.5 Instrumentation . 38 3.5.1 Microscopy . 38 3.5.2 Potentiostat & Temperature Controller . 38 3.5. 3 Thermo-Regulated Water Bath . 39 3.6 Test Procedures . 39 3.6. 1 Potentiodynamic Polarization Measurements . 39 3.6. 2 Laboratory Corrosion Immersion Test . 44 CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION . 45 4.1 Microstructure Characterisation . 46 4.2 Effect of Temperature on the Uniform Corrosion Behaviour of alloy 825 and 625 Weld . 49 4.3 Effect of Weld and Temperature on the Corrosion Behaviour of an Alloy 825 and 625 Couple . 52 4.3.1 Theoretical Predicted Galvanic Corrosion Data . 52 4.4 Effect of Temperature and Welding on the Breakdown Potential of Alloys 825 and 625 . 57 4.4.1 Alloy 825 . 57 4.4.2 Alloy 625 Weld . 59 4.4.3 Alloy 825 Weldment . 60 4.5 Comparison of the Critical Pitting Temperature of Alloy 825 Obtained by Different Methods . 61 4.6 Corrosion Morphology . 63 4.6. 1 Low Temperature Corrosion Morphology . 63 4.6. 2 High Temperature Corrosion Morphology . 66 4.7 Correlation Between Laboratory Tests and Performance of Alloy 825 Weldment in Real Environment (Seawater) . 68 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMEDATIONS . 71 5.1. CONCLUSIONS . 72 5.2. RECOMMENDATIONS . 74 REFERENCE . 75 APPENDICES . 82 Appendix A . 83 Material Certificate: Alloy 825 . 83 Chemical Composition: Alloy 625 . 84 Seawater Certificate of Analysis . 85 Appendix B: .
Medizin und Ökonomie: Maßnahmen für eine wissenschaftlich begründete, patientenzentrierte und ressourcenbewusste Versorgung. Ein Strategiepapier der Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Wissenschaftlichen Medizinischen Fachgesellschaften (AWMF)

Zusammenfassung Die AWMF und ihre Fachgesellschaften nehmen eine zunehmende Dominanz betriebswirtschaftlicher Ziele im stationären Gesundheitssektor wahr, die sich negativ auf die Patientenversorgung auswirken. Während eine angemessene, effiziente und gerechte Mittelverwendung geboten ist, belastet „Ökonomisierung“ Ärzte und Pflegende sowie die weiteren Gesundheitsberufe. Die AWMF hat zusammen mit Fachgesellschaftsvertretern Ursachen analysiert und Maßnahmen für eine wissenschaftliche, patientenzentrierte und ressourcenbewusste Medizin erarbeitet. Es bestehen Fehlanreize durch Vergütung, Zahl und Ausstattung von Krankenhäusern bzw. Fachabteilungen und deren Grundfinanzierung. Maßnahmen werden für die Patient–Arzt-Ebene, das Krankenhausmanagement, die Planung sowie Finanzierung von Krankenhäusern einschließlich der Vergütung stationärer Leistungen vorgeschlagen. Dabei bedarf es der gemeinsamen Anstrengung aller Akteure, um den Patienten und seine Gesundheit wieder in den Mittelpunkt zu stellen.
Neonatal iron distribution and infection susceptibility in full term, preterm and low birthweight babies in urban Gambia: study protocol for an observational study.

Background: Neonatal infection is the third largest cause of death in children under five worldwide. Nutritional immunity is the process by which the host innate immune system limits nutrient availability to invading organisms. Iron is an essential micronutrient for both microbial pathogens and their mammalian hosts. Changes in iron availability and distribution have significant effects on pathogen virulence and on the immune response to infection. Our previously published data shows that, during the first 24 hours of life, full-term neonates have reduced overall serum iron. Transferrin saturation decreases rapidly from 45% in cord blood to ~20% by six hours post-delivery. Methods: To study neonatal nutritional immunity and its role in neonatal susceptibility to infection, we will conduct an observational study on 300 full-term normal birth weight (FTB+NBW), 50 preterm normal birth weight (PTB+NBW), 50 preterm low birth weight (PTB+LBW) and 50 full-term low birth weight (FTB+LBW), vaginally-delivered neonates born at Kanifing General Hospital, The Gambia. We will characterize and quantify iron-related nutritional immunity during the early neonatal period and use ex vivo sentinel bacterial growth assays to assess how differences in serum iron affect bacterial growth. Blood samples will be collected from the umbilical cord (arterial and venous) and at serial time points from the neonates over the first week of life. Discussion: Currently, little is known about nutritional immunity in neonates. In this study, we will increase understanding of how nutritional immunity may protect neonates from infection during the first critical days of life by limiting the pathogenicity and virulence of neonatal sepsis causing organisms by reducing the availability of iron. Additionally, we will investigate the hypothesis that this protective mechanism may not be activated in preterm and low birth weight neonates, potentially putting these babies at an enhanced risk of neonatal infection. Trial registration: clinicaltrials.gov ( NCT03353051) 27/11/2017
A review of psychotherapeutic models and treatments for psychosis

ABSTRACT Despite long-standing pessimism, it is now widely recognized that individuals with psychosis can recover if offered meaningful psychotherapeutic treatments. This paper provides an overview of psychotherapeutic approaches and models for treatment for individuals who experience psychosis. We selected psychotherapeutic models from diverse theoretical orientations (e.g. cognitive-behavioral, acceptance and commitment therapy, psychodynamic, and integrative) to highlight different treatment philosophies and models for interventions. Although some of these therapies have yet to establish an empirically supported evidence base, they have been selected for review in light of their respective emerging literatures and because they offer distinct methods of understanding and treating severe ‘mental illness’. This review article provides clinicians with different approaches to treatment that will allow them to explore various interventions to provide integrative care for individuals experiencing psychosis. This paper indicates that evidence-based psychotherapies for psychosis are just emerging and that newer therapies should be considered to provide a range of treatment options. More research is needed to develop efficacious treatments that not only alleviate distress but also promote meaningful recovery for individuals with psychosis.
A critical review on automation of steering mechanism of load haul dump machine

This article presents a brief note on the evolution of steering mechanisms and more emphasized on articulated steering system of the load haul dump machine. In this respect, pictorial representation of the evolution of steering mechanisms for on-road and articulated steering mechanisms of the load haul dump machine is made from the available literature. Critical review on basic elements required for the complete automation of the load haul dump vehicle steering system is presented. Different types of controllers for path tracking error minimization of the scale-modeled or simulated model of the load haul dump steering system are tabulated. Few case studies stimulating the complete automation of the load haul dump steering system employed on the field are also discussed. Challenges and some research gaps in making fully automated steering system of the load haul dump machine are identified in this review article. At the end, based on the critical review, some novel methods for making the fully automated steering system of the load haul dump machine is provided, which is the potential future work for the design and development of feasible automatic steering system.
School Leadership of a One-to-One Laptop Initiative

This qualitative case study examined school leaders’ roles, perceptions, and challenges leading a one-to-one (1:1) laptop initiative in a coeducational, independent middle, and high school in the United States. The findings revealed how the school leaders led the school’s 1:1 laptop initiative through collaborative, yet differentiated roles and responsibilities. Together, they established the school’s vision, planned and implemented the initiative, supported teachers and students, reflected on their practice, and made changes as needed. Generally, the school leaders regarded the 1:1 laptop initiative as having a positive impact on teaching and learning by increasing student collaboration and access to information, as well as fostering teachers’ reconceptualization of their practice. However, the impact on student achievement was inconclusive; they explained it was too early to gauge its impact. Challenges the school leaders experienced involved limited bandwidth, printing problems and students’ off-task behaviors. They addressed them as they would any nontechnology challenge through problem-solving, shared decision-making, and fidelity to the school’s mission and goals.
Performance-efficient integration and programming approach of DCT accelerator for HEVC in MANGO platform

ABSTRACT Video encoding based on novel HEVC standard is an extremely computationally expensive process and achieving efficient encoding requires intelligent utilization of all available resources, from both software and hardware perspective. Profiling and analysis of the encoding process identified Discrete cosine transform (DCT) as one of the key kernels that consume most of the time in the application's runtime. Therefore, high-throughput, fully-pipelined hardware accelerator was designed in FPGA and integrated into MANGO platform. MANGO platform is heterogeneous HPC system that consists of different types of nodes, from general purpose nodes (GN) to heterogeneous nodes (HN). While executing specific kernels on GN nodes is a straight-forward process, executing kernels on accelerator-based HNs is a more complex procedure and requires specific integration to successfully exploit heterogeneous architecture. This paper presents performance-efficient integration of DCT hardware accelerator in MANGO platform, focusing on the performance of the encoder while maintaining coding efficiency and video quality of the encoded bitstream. Several approaches were considered, tested and compared; from the standalone integration where series of single tasks were offloaded to the DCT accelerator, to more complex solutions based on smart buffer utilization.
Dept. of Cis -senior Design 2012-2013

The system proposed in this paper takes advantage of advances in computing and statistics to offer more information to the consumer. Specifically, the method this system uses involves three steps. First, web scrapers crawl the Internet and collects product information via blogs, forums, online reviews and expert recommendations. Second, the system learns relationships between technical product features and end uses through natural language processing (NLP) techniques. Third, by analyzing millions of reviews online, a model is constructed to rank products based on user preferences and the strengths and weaknesses of different products along different end use dimensions. The end result is a system capable of understanding drivers of value and differences between products in a given domain.
Using Mathematics to Make Computing on Encrypted Data Secure and Practical

Abstract : In order to make computing on encrypted data more practical to use and more secure from attack, it is necessary to discover, develop, and understand the mathematics on which it is based and the mathematics that can be used to attack it. The security of homomorphic encryption schemes is based on the presumed difficulty of mathematics problems about lattices. Discovering and fully exploring algorithms to solve these mathematical problems allow computing on encrypted data to be performed with confidence, knowing that its cryptographic security is based on sound mathematical foundations. Hendrik Lenstra and Alice Silverberg discovered and developed algorithms to solve some lattices problems under suitable conditions, and investigated the mathematical foundations of these algorithms. A primary method of attack on homomorphic encryption schemes consists of lattice algorithms performed on ideal lattices, which are lattices with a certain type of algebraic structure. Any structure or symmetry is potentially susceptible to exploitation and attack. The work performed here gives algorithms for lattice problems for lattices that have symmetry. Recommendations are that the mathematical foundations of lattices with symmetry be further developed, in order to quantify the security of lattice-based cryptography, including especially the security of homomorphic encryption schemes.