Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of Information and Communication Technology Diffusion on HIV and Tuberculosis Health Outcomes among African Health Systems

Debate regarding the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on health outcomes has prompted researchers to conduct analyses across many parts of the globe, yet, still little is known about the ICT impact in the African continent. Using a robust multivariate approach, this study examined system-wide impact of ICT diffusion on multiple health outcomes for HIV and tuberculosis among sovereign countries of Africa. This study utilized longitudinal panel data from the World Bank and International Telecommunication Union databases between 2000 and 2016. We relied on a robust linear dynamic panel model to incorporate lagged time variables to estimate the relationships between ICT infrastructure (mobile phone use, internet access, and fixed-telephone subscriptions) and HIV and tuberculosis outcomes. Econometric analyses found that the coefficients of the aggregate ICT variables were all negative (except for fixed telephones) for tuberculosis health measures and HIV prevalence, and positive for access to antiretroviral therapy. The diffusion of mobile phones and internet was associated with decreased incidence of tuberculosis, HIV prevalence, and tuberculosis mortality rates. However, increased diffusion of these three ICT tools was associated with increased access to antiretroviral therapy. Thus, African governments should identify investment strategies for adopting and implementing ICT to improve population health outcomes.
Antimutagenic effects and isolation of flavonoids from Humulus japonicus extract

To investigate the physiological activities of Humulus japonicus, we examined the mutagenic and antimutagenic effects of the extract and isolated the flavonoid compounds. The water and methanol extracts of Humulus japonicus did not show the mutagenicity by Ames test in the 0.5-4 mg/plate. The methanol extract showed the antimutagenic effect aganinst Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and TA100 induced by 4-nitro-o-phenylenediamine(NPD) and 4-nitroquinoline-N-oxide(NQO). The hexane fraction showed comparatively higher antimutagenic effect than other solvent fractions from the methanol extract. The 50% inhibition concentration() of hexane fraction were 2.0 mg/plate, 0.5 mg/plate in TA98 and TA100 respectively. Quercitrin and luteolin were identified in the ethyl acetate fraction from methanol extract of Humulus japonicus by TLC and HPLC.
Characterising the role of anterior gradient protein 2 in cell adhesion and metastasis

Anterior gradient protein 2 (AGR2) is overexpressed in many cancers, in particular those of the breast, ovary, prostate and pancreas. This overexpression tends to correlate with a poor disease prognosis for patients, probably as a result of increased incidence of metastases, and indeed, AGR2 has been shown to play a role in cell adhesion in different cell lines. Whilst AGR2 is a member of the protein disulphide isomerase (PDI) family of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperones, there are also multiple reports of the secretion of AGR2 by cultured cells and the protein is also found in the serum and urine of cancer patients. AGR2 is a dimer, and the dimerisation interface is characterised here. A short, flexible region of the protein is also described, that seems to be involved in the regulation of the adhesion activity of AGR2. Through the use of stable cell lines expressing wild type and several mutant AGR2 proteins, it is shown here that wild-type AGR2 expression is associated with changes in cell adhesion and anchorage-independent cell growth, that are lost upon inhibition of protein dimerisation, mutation of the putative active site or a change in the sub-cellular localisation of the AGR2. Furthermore, the secretion of AGR2 has been confirmed through the discovery of a glycosylated, extracellular form of the protein. The expression of AGR2 is shown to be associated with a number of changes to the secreted proteome, with effects on both pro-adhesive and anti-adhesive proteins that may contribute to the role of AGR2 in cell adhesion. Overall, through combined biochemical, cell biology and mass spectrometry approaches, potential mechanisms whereby AGR2 might contribute to cell adhesion and metastasis are explored and discussed.
Microstructural Evolution of Amphibole Peridotites in Åheim, Norway, and the Implications for Seismic Anisotropy in the Mantle Wedge

The microstructure of amphibole peridotites from Åheim, Norway were analyzed to understand the evolution of the lattice-preferred orientation (LPO) of olivine throughout the Scandian Orogeny and its implication for the seismic anisotropy of the subduction zone. The Åheim peridotites had a porphyroclastic texture and some samples contained an abundant amount of hydrous minerals such as tremolite. Detailed microstructural analysis on the Åheim peridotites revealed multiple stages of deformation. The coarse grains showed an A-type LPO of olivine, which can be interpreted as the initial stage of deformation. The spinel-bearing samples showed a mixture of B-type and C-type LPOs of olivine, which is considered to represent the deformation under water-rich conditions. The recrystallized fine-grained olivine displays a B-type LPO, which can be interpreted as the final stage of deformation. Microstructures and water content of olivine indicate that the dominant deformation mechanism of olivine showing a B-type LPO is a dislocation creep under water-rich condition. The observation of the B-type LPO of olivine is important for an interpretation of trench-parallel seismic anisotropy in the mantle wedge. The calculated seismic anisotropy of the tremolite showed that tremolite can contribute to the trench-parallel seismic anisotropy in the mantle wedge.
Phylogenetics in the Genomic Era

A large body of research is dedicated to model sequence evolutionary dynamics. The evolutionary process may vary within groups of genes, among sites within a gene, between populations and among diverged species. Evolutionary models aiming to describe these dynamics must account for base pair substitutions as well as insertion and deletion (indel) events. Here, we explain the fundamental of continuous time Markov models used to describe sequence evolution. We begin by describing discrete Markov models, and slowly progress towards more realistic and more computationally complicated continuous time Markov models. Among other topics, we discuss nucleotide, amino acid, and codon models, among site rate variation, model reversibility, stationary distributions, rate matrix normalization, mixture models, indel models, and models of gene family evolution. Understanding the concepts presented here is vital for various phylogenomics analyses such as the inference of positive selection, alignment and phylogeny reconstruction, ancestral sequence reconstruction, and molecular dating.
Tertiary Anatomy and Physiology, A Barrier for Student Success

Anatomy and physiology courses are a foundation for numerous degrees, but experience some of the highest failure rates of all undergraduate health science programs (Higgins-Opitz & Tufts, 2014). While interventions have been developed in an attempt to remediate this concerning phenomenon, there is a paucity of evidence to determine the reason anatomy and physiology courses pose such an obstacle to students, and whether there are reliable early determinants for student success in these courses. This review will discuss why this obstacle exists, and the factors that contribute to success and failure in undergraduate anatomy and physiology courses.
Centella asiatica: from folk remedy to the medicinal biotechnology - a state revision.

Centella asiatica or “gotu kola” has been used since long time ago as an ethno-pharmacological plant and supposed to be a potent medicinal plant for its various pharmacological effects favorable for human health. Many studies described the noteworthy protective effect of C. asiatica against numerous diseases. Biological activities of C. asiatica have been linked to the most major compounds in it. This state paper is a part of our ongoing research on C. asiatica, its activity, isolation of novel metabolites, and applying the biotechnological methods to improve this plant and its phytochemical activities.
An Abattoir Survey on Gastrointestinal Nematodes in Sheep and Goats in Hemex-Export Abattoir, Debre Ziet, Central Ethiopia

The current study was carried out from November 2011 to March 2012 with the objective of determining the prevalence, species and worm burden of abomasal nematodes of sheep and goats slaughtered at Helmex export abattoir in Debre Zeit, central Ethiopia. A total of 199 sheep and 185 goats’ abomasums were subsequently collected and examined for adult parasites. Of these, 333 (86.7%) were positive for one or more abomasal nematodes. The overall prevalence was 86.9 and 86.5% in sheep and goats, respectively. The recovered species were identified as Haemonchus contortus, Trichostrongylus axei and Teladorsagia species in both animals. Statistically significant difference (P > 0.05) was not found between hosts and ages in prevalence of these parasites. However, statistically significant difference (P < 0.05) was noticed between the level of prevalence and different body conditioned animals. The highest prevalence was in poor body condition (94.4%). The mean worm burden was 497.3 and 472.4 21 for sheep and goats, respectively. The current study epitomized that the prevalence of nematodiasis were high and consequently; sustainable control programs should warrant.
Tunable plasmon-induced transparency and slow light in terahertz chipscale semiconductor plasmonic waveguides

We numerically propose plasmon-induced transparency (PIT) and the slow light effect based on a terahertz (THz) chipscale plasmonic semiconductor-insulator-semiconductor waveguide system. Via the coupling between two stub resonators, PIT is introduced due to the destructive interference, which can be theoretically described by the transmission-line method. Meanwhile, the strong dispersion within the transparent window will lead to the slow light effect. Via tuning the geometric parameters, the profile of PIT as well as group delay line can be arbitrarily tailored. Moreover, active control of both PIT and slow light can be realized by changing the ambient temperature. Especially, by integrating monolayer graphene into the structure, PIT and slow light can also be electrically modulated via applying voltage. This work provides geometrical, thermal and electrical approaches to manipulate THz transmission and group delay in the subwavelength scale, and can find potential applications as filters, sensors, modulators and active optical delay lines in THz ultracompact circuits.
Communications of the Association for Information Systems Communications of the Association for Information Systems

: Despite the progress that research has made on acceptance and resistance, a need to further clarify what behaviors they translate into and their impacts beyond face value remains. Based on the extant literature on user acceptance and resistance, we developed a framework in which we map user behaviors in light of their conformity/non-conformity to organizational intent. Mapping the literature in this framework revealed mixed study results on impacts of IT user behaviors. Overall, we suggest that one should understand the impacts of user behaviors in light of organizational intent, which organizations’ IT terms of use generally embody. This new lens allows one to understand the contradictions in extant research results and to articulate a more nuanced account of IT use impacts. To conclude, we propose that researchers could add much value to current knowledge in this area by: 1) exploring how acceptance and resistance IT user behaviors relate to conformity/non-conformity with IT terms of use and delving in their impacts, 2) explaining the sometimes paradoxical impacts of conforming/non-conforming IT user behaviors, and 3) investigating the role of individual and organizational agency in relation with IT terms of use.
Toward estimation of upgrading of n-heptane over catalysts using robust technique

Abstract Catalytic reforming in the presence of metal-acid bifunctional catalysts is a widely used reaction in refinery industry to improve some properties of products like temperature performance of diesel and octane number of gasoline. So the ability of the prediction of Iso-C7 selectivity during n-heptane hyroconversion is a key issue. In this study, a data set which was collected from previous publications are put in an artificial neural network-multi layer perceptron (ANN-MLP) model. Properties used as input parameters are: temperature, pressure, WHSV (weight hourly space velocity), catalysts acidity and pore volume of the catalysts, and Iso-C7 selectivity used as the output parameter. Based on results, the MLP-ANN has great ability to estimate n-heptane hydroconversion. Root mean squared error (RMSE) and R-squared (R2) error were calculated for training, test and total set of data. For training set, test set and total set RMSE are 97915, 5.1607, and 3.9441, respectively and corresponding R2 are 0.97915, 0.9334, and 0.9746, respectively.
Functional expression in Xenopus oocytes reveals that human ferroportin is an iron exporter shared with zinc

Iron homeostasis is achieved by regulating the intestinal absorption of the metal and its recycling by macrophages. Export of iron from enterocytes or macrophages to the blood is thought to be mediated by ferroportin (Fpn) under the control of hepcidin. Some mutations in Fpn result in macrophage iron loading whereas others, as a result of insensitivity to hepcidin, cause systemic iron overload. Whereas Fpn was identified a decade ago, there remains a paucity of information about how it works. We expressed GFP‐tagged human Fpn in RNA‐injected Xenopus oocytes and observed using confocal microscopy exclusive plasma‐membrane localization. As a first step in its characterization, we established an assay to detect functional expression of Fpn by microinjecting oocytes with 55Fe and measuring the 55Fe efflux over 30 min. Expression of Fpn increased the first‐order rate constants describing 55Fe efflux between 4‐fold and 100‐fold over control. Fpn‐mediated 55Fe efflux was maximal when the injectate contained nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), and when we provided apotransferrin, bathophenanthroline disulfonate (BPS) and NTA in the incubation medium, whereas inclusion of ceruloplasmin had only a modest effect. Fpn‐mediated 55Fe was accelerated in pH 8.2 medium compared with pH 7.2 or pH 6.2 (P < 0.001). Fpn expression also stimulated the efflux of 65Zn (P < 0.001) but not of 54Mn, 64Cu or 109Cd (P > 0.11). We conclude that Fpn mediates cellular iron efflux and that Zn2+ counts among its narrow substrate profile.
The Hidden Cost of Bargaining: Evidence from a Cheating‐Prone Marketplace

It is widely believed that successful bargaining helps consumers increase their surplus. We present evidence from a field experiment showing that bargaining over price reduces buyer surplus in a marketplace where sellers cheat on the weight whose value may more than offset the price discount. Our results show that bargaining entails hidden costs since sellers cheat significantly more when buyers bargain than not and they cheat significantly more when bargaining succeeds than fails. Overall bargaining reduces buyer surplus than not bargaining. Our result is relevant for credence goods markets where bargaining over prices may induce sellers to “undertreat” more.
Korean Singing Voice Synthesis Based on Auto-Regressive Boundary Equilibrium Gan

Singing voice synthesis is a generative task that involves not only multidimensional controls of a singer model such as phonetic modulation by lyrics and pitch control by music score but also expressive elements such as breath sounds and vibrato. Recently, end-to-end learning models based on generative adversarial network (GAN) have drawn much interest as it requires less domain-specific processing but provides high sound quality. When GAN is applied to the audio domain, it entails several issues: the choice of audio representation to generate, handling temporal continuity between two adjacent outputs, and finding an effective loss metric for the audio representation. In this paper, we propose a Korean singing voice synthesis system that addresses the issues using an auto-regressive algorithm that generates spectrogram with the boundary equilibrium GAN objective. Through the qualitative test, we show the proposed methods are superior to the original GAN objective and non-auto-regressive model. We also show that our proposed method can render natural expressions such as continuous pitch contours and breath sounds.
Study of tropospheric scintillation effects in Ku-band frequency for satellite communication system

Scintillation is a rapid fluctuation of an electromagnetic waves in terms of phase and amplitude due to a small-scale inconsistency in the transmission path (or paths) with time. Scintillation exists continuously throughout a day whether during raining or clear sky conditions. The raw signal data need to exclude other propagations factors that include signal fluctuations to further understand the scintillation studies. This paper presents the analysis of tropospheric scintillation data from January 2016 till December 2016 at Ku-band frequency of 12.202 GHz beacon signal. The experimental data from MEASAT 3B were collected and analyzed to see the effect of tropospheric scintillation. The elevation angle of the dish antenna is 77.45o. The highlighted objectives are to analyze the scintillation data at Ku-band, and to compare and validate the results with other scintillation models. The result shows that the stipulated scintillation analysis has higher amplitude, which is 0.73 dB compared to other scintillation analysis which has lower scintillation amplitude: 0.45 dB (Karasawa), 0.42 dB (ITU-R), 0.4 dB (Nadirah & Rafiqul), 0.42 dB (Van De Kamp) and 0.11 dB (Anthony & Mandeep).
Spectral efficiency analysis of millimeter-wave heterogeneous cellular networks based on PCP

To solve the interference problem in densely populated areas, this paper proposes a new scheme that taking user equipment (UE) as the center of millimeter-wave heterogeneous networks based on Poisson cluster process (PCP) model. Under the network model, the UE is divided into cluster-center UE or cluster-edge UE by using the ratio of the first and second closest distances of the UE from pico base stations. The random geometry and PCP methods are used to study the downlink spectral efficiency and the correct derivation results are verified. At last, the influence of relevant parameters about system performance is analyzed.
Characterization of Succinate Producing Bacteria

Malet med detta projekt var att studera tva sorters bakterier, Actinobacillus succinogenes och Basfia succiniciproducens, och deras produktion av barnstenssyra. Barnstenssyra ar en dikarboxylsyra som aven ar en metabolit i citronsyracykeln. Den kan anvandas som surhetsreglerare i mat, for att producera andra bulk-kemikalier och for att producera bio-plaster. De tva bakteriearter som undersoktes i detta arbete behover koldioxid for att kunna producera barnstenssyra. Det har rapporterats om 100 % minskning i utslapp av vaxthusgaser for den biologiska produktionen jamfort med barnstenssyra producerad fran fossila kallor. Eftersom uppreningsprocessen ar kostsam ar det viktigt att na hoga koncentrationer av barnstenssyra. Vanliga metoder for upprening ar utfallning, extraktion, elektrodialys och kristallisation. Odlingar har genomforts i skakflaskor, men aven som satsvis och kontinuerliga odlingar i fermentorer for att utvardera effekten av kolkalla, jastextrakt och kvavekalla pa utbyte och produktivitet. Vad galler kolkallan sa har fokus varit pa xylos, ett socker med fem kol. Xylos finns i avloppsstrommar fran vissa pappersmassabruk vilket gor att det ar ett billigare ramaterial jamfort med glukos, som i nulaget anvands i den industriella produktionen. Xylos har aven fordelen att vara en kolkalla som inte anvands till mat. Ett delmal med experimenten var att genomfora en chemostat odling utan bildning av biofilm, vilket ger mojlighet for en ordentlig karakterisering. Chemostatodlingen genomfordes med 10 g/l xylos och 3.5 g/l jastextrakt och ingen biofilm bildades. Utbytet av barnstenssyra var 0.56 g/g och produktiviteten var 0.50 0.50 g/l∙h. Anledningen till att odlingen blev framgangsrik var troligen att forhallande mellan kolkallan och jastextraktet var passande. Odlingar med xylos som kolkalla visar pa lovande resultat. Dock maste produktiviteten okas och aven nagot hogre utbyten ar mojligt att na. Ett satt att forbattra dessa kan vara genom att deletera reaktionsvagar for biprodukter. (Less)
Development and Performance Assessment of a Digital Serious Game to Assess Multi-Patient Care Skills in a Simulated Pediatric Emergency Department

Objective. Multi-patient care is important among medical trainees in an emergency department (ED). While resident efficiency is a typically measured metric, multi-patient care involves both efficiency and diagnostic / treatment accuracy. Multi-patient care ability is difficult to assess, though simulation is a potential alternative. Our objective was to generate validity evidence for a serious game in assessing multi-patient care skills among a variety of learners. Methods. This was a cross-sectional validation study using a digital serious game VitalSignsTM simulating multi-patient care within a pediatric ED. Subjects completed 5 virtual “shifts,” triaging, stabilizing, and discharging or admitting patients within a fixed time period; patients arrived at cascading intervals with pre-programmed deterioration if neglected. Predictor variables included generic multi-tasking ability, video game experience, medical knowledge, and clinical efficiency with real patients. Outcome metrics in 3 domains measured diagnostic accuracy (i.e. critical orders, diagnoses), efficiency (i.e. number of patients, time-to-order) and critical thinking (number of differential diagnoses); MANOVA determined differences between novice learners and expected expert physicians. Spearman Rank correlation determined associations between levels of expertise. Results. Ninety-five subjects’ gameplays were analyzed. Diagnostic accuracy and efficiency distinguished skill level between residency trained (residents, fellows and attendings) and pre-residency trained (medical students and undergraduate) subjects, particularly for critical orders, patients seen, and correct diagnoses (p < 0.003). There were moderate to strong correlations between the game’s diagnostic accuracy and efficiency metrics compared to level of training, including patients seen (rho = 0.47, p < 0.001); critical orders (rho = 0.80, p < 0.001); time-to-order (rho = −0.24, p = 0.025); and correct diagnoses (rho = 0.69, p < 0.001). Video game experience also correlated with patients seen (rho = 0.24, p = 0.003). Conclusion. A digital serious game depicting a busy virtual ED can distinguish between expected experts in multi-patient care at the pre- vs. post-residency level. Further study can focus on whether the game appropriately assesses skill acquisition during residency.
The role of gastrointestinal tract microbiota in chicken productivity.

A comparison of the microbiota present in the gut of individual chickens indicates that the composition can vary considerably, even when reared at the same time under identical conditions. By studying these microbial changes and correlating them with other changes in the bird's biology we aim to define important host-microbe interactions. Using the latest high throughput DNA sequencing methods to characterize microbial populations we have found that the differential abundance of some bacterial species correlates with differences seen in the feed conversion ratios of individual birds, indicating that there are microbes present that may positively or adversely affect bird productivity. We are now investigating these interesting bacterial species to see if manipulation of their numbers can affect productivity outcomes.