Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Females’ Usage Patterns of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the Vhembe District, South Africa

This paper explores and provides substantiated evidence on the usage patterns of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) by female users at Vhembe District in LimpopoProvince, South Africa. The study presents a comprehensive picture on the usage of ICTs from female users’ perspective. The significance of this study stems from the need to assess the role, relevance and usage patterns of ICTs such as smartphones, computers, laptops, and iPods, the internet and social networking sites among females following the developments of new media technologies in society. The objective of the study is to investigate the usability and accessibility of ICTs to empower female users in South Africa. The study used quantitative and qualitative research methods to determine the major ideas, perceptions and usage patterns of ICTs by users. Data collection involved the use of structured selfadministered questionnaire from two groups of respondents who participated in this study. Thus, (n=50) female students at the University of Venda provided their ideas and perceptions about the usefulness and usage patterns of ICTs such as smartphones, the Internet and computers at the university level, whereas, the second group were (n=50) learners from Makhado Comprehensive School who provided their perceptions and ideas about the use of ICTs at the high school level. The researcher also noted that the findings of the study were useful as a guideline and model for ICT intervention that could work as an empowerment to women in South Africa. It was observed that the central purpose of ICTs among female users was to search for information regarding assignment writing, conducting research, dating, exchanging ideas and networking with friends and relatives. This was demonstrated by a high number of females who used ICTs for e-learning (62%) and social purposes (85%). Therefore, the study revealed that most females used ICTs for social purposes and accessing the internet rather than for entertainment, a gesture that provides an opportune space to empower rural women in South Africa. Keywords—Female users, Information and Communication Technologies, Internet, Usage patterns.
Speech emotion recognition using derived features from speech segment and kernel principal component analysis

Speech emotion recognition is a challenging problem, with identifying efficient features being of particular concern. This paper has two components. First, it presents an empirical study that evaluated four feature reduction methods, chi-square, gain ratio, RELIEF-F, and kernel principal component analysis (KPCA), on utterance level using a support vector machine (SVM) as a classifier. KPCA had the highest F-score when its F-score was compared with the average F-score of the other methods. Using KPCA is more effective than classifying without using feature reduction methods up to 5.73%. The paper also presents an application of statistical functions to raw features from the segment level to derive global features. The features were then reduced using KPCA and classified with SVM. Subsequently, we conducted a majority vote to determine the emotion for the entire utterance. The results demonstrate that this approach outperformed the baseline approaches, which used features from the utterance level, the utterance level with KPCA, the segment level, the segment level with KPCA, and the segment level with the application of statistical functions without KPCA. This yielded a higher F-score at 13.16%, 7.03%, 5.13%, 4.92% and 11.04%, respectively.
Toward a Contingency Model of Strategic Decision

The recent development of the notion of strategic management has enriched the literature on strategic decisionmaking by providing a prescriptive framework for designing the strategic process in a turbulent environment. Surprisingly, however, relatively little attention has been given by the strategic management movement to modeling the nature of the decisionmaking process. It is implicit in much of the literature that a more or less rationalanalytic model is prescribed to handle the environmental-scanning, strategicanalysis, and strategic-response processes. If the movement is genuinely to represent itself as a response to the managerial context of the late 1970s, it cannot avoid the challenge of reevaluating a fundamental tenet of the traditional strategic-planning and long-range planning movements that the correct prescriptive decision model is the rationalanalytic one.
Array DBMS in environmental science: Satellite sea surface height data in the cloud

Nowadays environmental science experiences tremendous growth of raster data: N-dimensional (N-d) arrays coming mainly from numeric simulation and Earth remote sensing. An array DBMS is a tool to streamline raster data processing. However, raster data are usually stored in files, not in databases. Moreover, numerous command line tools exist for processing raster files. This paper describes a distributed array DBMS under development that partially delegates raster data processing to such tools. Our DBMS offers a new N-d array data model to abstract from the files and the tools and processes data in a distributed fashion directly in their native file formats. As a case study, popular satellite altimetry data were used for the experiments carried out on 8- and 16-nodes clusters in Microsoft Azure Cloud. New array DBMS is up to 70× faster than SciDB which is the only freely available distributed array DBMS to date.
Spinal Canal Narrowing During Simulated Whiplash

Study Design. A biofidelic whole cervical spine model with muscle force replication was used to evaluate spinal canal pinch diameter (CPD) narrowing during simulated whiplash. Objectives. To quantify CPD narrowing during simulated whiplash and to determine if whiplash resulted in a narrower post-whiplash CPD. Summary of Background Data. Spinal cord injuries are uncommon in whiplash patients, although such injuries have been reported in those with narrow canals. It has been hypothesized that increased cerebral spinal fluid pressure during whiplash could injure neural tissues. Methods. The biofidelic model and a bench-top whiplash apparatus were used to simulate whiplash at 3.5, 5, 6.5, and 8 g accelerations of the T1 vertebra. The CPD was measured in the intact specimen in the neutral posture (neutral posture CPD) and under a 1.5 Nm static extension load (pre-whiplash CPD), during simulated whiplash (dynamic whiplash CPD), and again under a 1.5 Nm extension load following each whiplash simulation (post-whiplash CPD). Results. The average dynamic whiplash CPDs were significantly narrower (P < 0.05) than the corresponding pre-whiplash CPDs at accelerations of 3.5 g and above. The narrowest CPD was observed at C5–C6 during the 6.5 g simulation and was 3.5 mm narrower than the neutral posture CPD. In general, the average post-whiplash CPDs were not significantly narrower than the corresponding pre-whiplash CPDs. Conclusions. Spinal cord injury during whiplash is unlikely in patients with average normal canal diameters. Cord compression following whiplash due to physiologic extension loading is not likely. Previous clinical studies have found that whiplash patients with narrow canals may be at risk of injury, and our results do not disprove it.
Development of phenotypic and genotypic resistance to antiretroviral therapy in the UNAIDS HIV drug access initiative – Uganda

ObjectiveWe describe phenotypic drug resistance, response to therapy, and genotypic mutations among HIV-infected patients in Uganda taking antiretroviral medications for ≥ 90 days who had a viral load ≥ 1000 copies/ml. MethodsHIV-1 group and subtype, virologic and immunologic responses to antiretroviral therapy, phenotypic resistance to antiretroviral drugs, and associated genotypic mutations among patients at three treatment centers in Uganda between June 1999 and August 2000 were assessed. Therapy was two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) or highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). ResultsAll HIV identified was HIV-1, group M, subtypes A, C, and D. Sixty-one (65%) of 94 patients with a phenotypic resistance result had evidence of phenotypic resistance including resistance to a NRTI for 51 of 92 (55%) taking NRTIs, to a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) for nine of 16 (56%) taking NNRTIs, and to a protease inhibitor (PI) for eight of 37 (22%) taking PIs. At the time of the first specimen with resistance, the median change from baseline viral load was −0.56 log copies/ml [interquartile range (IQR), −1.47 to +0.29] and CD4+ cell count was +35 × 106 cells/l (IQR, −18 to +87). Genotypic resistance mutations, matched with phenotypic resistance assay results and drug history, were generally consistent with those seen for HIV-1, group M, subtype B infections in industrialized countries. ConclusionInitial phenotypic resistance and corresponding genotypic mutations among patients treated in Uganda were similar to those with subtype B infections in North America and Europe. These data support policies that promote the use of HAART regimens against HIV-1, group M, non-B subtypes in a manner consistent with that used for subtype B infections.
Determination factors of badminton game performance

The characteristics of badminton game in order to determine the requirements, structure, and movements that indicate performance level. The finding of the study is to plan with greater precision to determine the factors affecting the game performance. Sixteen female badminton players (mean age 22.8 ±2.16 years) with state level experience from different district of West Bengal were studied. Coordinative and technique ability were measured in relation to badminton game performance. The correlation results of the study was confirmed that coordinative and technique ability were equally intense to the high demands of the badminton sport.
An ATPase Component of the Transcription Elongation Complex Is Required for Factor-dependent Transcription Termination by Vaccinia RNA Polymerase*

Vaccinia virus RNA polymerase terminates transcription in response to a specific signal UUUUUNU in the nascent transcript. Transduction of this signal to the elongating polymerase requires a virus-encoded termination factor, VTF. The existence of a second termination factor was suggested by the finding that transient exposure of purified elongation complexes to heparin rendered them refractory to VTF-induced termination. Loss of termination competence correlated with the removal of several polypeptide components of the elongation complex. We present the identification of factor X, an activity that restored VTF responsiveness to heparin-stripped ternary complexes. We propose that factor X, which has an associated DNA-dependent ATPase activity, mediates the requirement for ATP hydrolysis during transcription termination.
Ni(II) specifically cleaves the C-terminal tail of the major variant of histone H2A and forms an oxidative damage-mediating complex with the cleaved-off octapeptide.

The acetyl-TESHHK-amide peptide, modeling a part of the C-terminal "tail" of histone H2A, was found previously by us to undergo at pH 7. 4 a Ni(II)-assisted hydrolysis of the E-S peptide bond with formation of a stronger Ni(II) complex with the SHHK-amide product [Bal, W. , et al. (1998) Chem. Res. Toxicol. 11, 1014-1023]. To further characterize the hydrolysis and test the resulting Ni(II) complex for redox activity, bovine histone H2A and three peptides were investigated: acetyl-LLGKVTIAQGGVLPNIQAVLLPKKTESHHKAKGK (H2A(34)), modeling the entire "C-tail" of H2A; SHHKAKGK (H2A(8)), modeling the cutoff product of hydrolysis; and acetyl-KTESHKAKGK (H2A(10)), modeling a putative Ni(II) binding site in a minor variant H2A.4 of human histone H2A. The Ni(II)-assisted hydrolysis of H2A and H2A(34) was found to proceed approximately 7-fold faster than that of the Ni(II)-acetyl-TESHHK-amide complex under comparable conditions. In both cases, the Ni(II) complex with H2A(8) was the smaller product of the hydrolysis, indicating a high site specificity of the reaction. Of three other metals tested with H2A(34), only Cu(II) cleaved the E-S bond, although much less efficiently than Ni(II); Co(II) and Zn(II) had no effect whatsoever. The H2A(10) peptide appeared to be fully resistant to hydrolytic cleavage and did not exhibit any redox activity versus H(2)O(2) in the presence of Ni(II) at pH 7.4. Likewise, redox-inactive was the Ni(II)-H2A(34) complex. In contrast, the Ni(II)-H2A(8) complex promoted oxidative damage of pUC19 DNA by H(2)O(2), evidenced by a significant increase in the number of single strand breaks and nucleobase modifications typical for a hydroxyl radical-like species attack on DNA. Interestingly, instead of 8-oxopurines, the corresponding formamidopyrimidines were the major products of the damage. The difference in redox activity between the Ni(II)-H2A(34) and Ni(II)-H2A(8) complexes is most likely associated with their different geometries: octahedral and square planar, respectively. Incubation of the Ni(II)-H2A(8) complex with H(2)O(2) also resulted in degradation of the peptide ligand, especially at its Ser and His residues. Thus, binding of Ni(II) to the ESHHK motif of the histone H2A C-tail is damaging to the histone C-terminal tail and to histone-associated DNA. The results support a dual mechanism of Ni(II)-induced carcinogenesis, including both genotoxic and epigenetic effects.
Affirmative Action and Dynamics of Work‐Ethic Preferences

This study examines the cultural-transmission effects of compensatory-discrimination affirmative action policies on work-ethic preference dynamics for a population in a caste-based segregated economy in which some high-paid jobs are reserved for historically disadvantaged lower-caste individuals. Cultural attitudes toward preferences for work-loving and leisure-loving traits evolve endogenously. The compensatory-discrimination policies affect differently the preference dynamics for insiders (entitled to employment quota) and outsiders (not entitled to employment quota). Efficient and inefficient equilibria are possible, with larger or smaller proportions of individuals with a work ethic among the insider and outsider populations. The model shows that the commonly conceived conclusion that a job reservation policy benefits a disadvantaged group at the cost of efficiency and economic growth is not a necessary outcome. (JEL A12, C62, J71)
The eye in epidermolysis bullosa

AIMS To describe the ophthalmic findings in a large cohort of epidermolysis bullosa (EB) patients managed in one large specialist centre. METHODS A case note review of consecutive patients seen at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital. Data on the dermatological disease, ophthalmic history, and examination were collected and coded onto a data sheet. RESULTS 181 patients: 50 (28%) simplex EB; 15 (8%) junctional EB; 28 (15%) autosomal dominant dystrophic EB; 72 (40%) autosomal recessive dystrophic EB; nine patients (5%) with dystrophic EB whose inheritance could not be ascertained; and seven cases (4%) of EB that could not be classified. Ocular problems were found in 12% (n=6) of simplex patients and 40% (n=6) of those with junctional disease. One patient (of 28) in the autosomal dominant dystrophic group had ocular involvement and 51% (37/72) of patients in the autosomal recessive dystrophic group had ophthalmic complications: corneal (25/72), lid ectropions (3/72), lid blisters (5/72), and symblepharon (3/72). CONCLUSION Ophthalmic complications are common in EB overall but the incidence varies widely with subtype. Ophthalmic complications are the most severe in the dystrophic recessive and junctional subtypes where there is a need for extra vigilance. The major treatment modality was use of ocular lubricants.
How can the Phillips curve be used for today's policy?

Simple observation seems to suggest a downward shift of the Phillips curve to low levels of inflation for countries such as the US, Germany, France and Japan. A cloud of inflationunemployment data points can be read as a family of short run negatively sloped Phillips curves intersecting a vertical long run Phillips curve. How can the evidence on these families of Phillips curves be used for policy? How can it be used to induce higher inflation in today’s low inflation context? (JEL: E31, E40,E52,E58, E62, E63)
Purification and Characterization of a Nonvesicular Vesamicol‐Binding Protein from Electric Organ and Demonstration of a Related Protein in Mammalian Brain

A protein that binds vesamicol has been purified from a soluble fraction of the Torpedo electric organ homogenate that docs not contain synaptic vesicles. The purified vesamicol‐binding protein (VBP) has a molecular mass of 470 kDa composed of 30‐ and 24‐kDa subunits. Chemical deglycosylation yielded a single, heterogeneous protein of 24 kDa. The 30‐kDa subunit is also sensitive to endo‐β‐galactosidase. The dissociation constant of the VBP vesamicol complex is 0.9 μM, and the Bmax is 5,500 pmol/mg. Antiserum raised to the 30‐kDa subunit cross‐reacts with the 24‐kDa subunit, but not with synaptic vesicles. Drug binding studies and Western blot analysis show that VBP is present in other Torpedo tissues as well as mammalian brain. Immunofluorescence microscopy demonstrates that VBP‐like immunoreactivity is not localized exclusively to the nerve terminal regions of the electric organ. Thermal stability, the pH dependence of vesamicol binding, and pharmacological comparisons demonstrate that the VBP is not the cholinergic synaptic vesicle receptor for vesamicol. The implications of this finding for current efforts to develop in vivo diagnostics of cholinergic nerve terminal status based on vesamicol are discussed.
The Parodi-Irgens feline sarcoma virus and simian sarcoma virus have homologous oncogenes, but in different contexts of the viral genomes

We have identified the oncogene and the putative transforming protein of the Parodi-Irgens feline sarcoma virus (PI-FeSV). The PI-FeSV is defective and needs a helper virus for its replication. The v-onc sequences in the PI-FeSV were found to be related to the v-sis sequences of the simian sarcoma virus (SSV). PI-FeSV nonproducer cells express two viral RNAs, a 6.8-and a 3.3-kilobase RNA. The 6.8-kilobase RNA contains gag, sis, and env sequences but lacks the pol gene. The 3.3-kilobase RNA, on the other hand, contains only env sequences. We have detected one feline leukemia virus-related protein product in these cells, namely, a 76-kilodalton protein which contains determinants of the feline leukemia virus gag proteins p15 and p30. The v-sis sequences in the PI-FeSV have been located near the 5' end of the viral genome. Taken together, these results imply that the p76 protein contains both feline leukemia virus gag and sis sequences and probably is the transforming protein of this virus. In contrast, in SSV the sis sequences are located towards the 3' end of the viral genome, and the sis protein is thought to be expressed via a subgenomic RNA. PI-FeSV and SSV therefore use different schemes to express their onc-related sequences. The v-sis sequences in the PI-FeSV contain restriction sites which reflect the different origin of the v-sis sequences in the PI-FeSV and SSV. The homologous oncogenes of the PI-FeSV and SSV thus were transduced by two different retroviruses, feline leukemia virus and the simian sarcoma-associated virus, apparently from the genomes of different species.
Highly stable, edible cellulose films incorporating chitosan nanoparticles.

UNLABELLED The need for biodegradable polymers for packaging has fostered the development of novel, biodegradable polymeric materials from natural sources, as an alternative to reduce amount of waste and environmental impacts. The present investigation involves the synthesis of chitosan nanoparticles-carboxymethylcellulose films, in view of their increasing areas of application in packaging industry. The entire process consists of 2-steps including chitosan nanoparticles preparation and their incorporation in carboxymethylcellulose films. Uniform and stable particles were obtained with 3 different chitosan concentrations. The morphology of chitosan nanoparticles was tested by transmission electron microscopy, revealing the nanoparticles size in the range of 80 to 110 nm. The developed film chitosan nanoparticles-carboxymethylcellulose films were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis, solubility tests, and mechanical analysis. Improvement of thermal and mechanical properties were observed in films containing nanoparticles, with the best results occurring upon addition of nanoparticles with 110 nm size in carboxymethylcellulose films. PRACTICAL APPLICATION Carboxymethylcellulose films containing chitosan nanoparticles synthesized and characterized in this article could be a potential material for food and beverage packaging applications products due to the increase mechanical properties and high stability. The potential application of the nanocomposites prepared would be in packaging industry to extend the shelf life of products.
A Novel Solar and Electromagnetic Energy Harvesting System With a 3-D Printed Package for Energy Efficient Internet-of-Things Wireless Sensors

This paper discusses the design of a novel dual (solar + electromagnetic) energy harvesting powered communication system, which operates at 2.4 GHz ISM band, enabling the autonomous operation of a low power consumption power management circuit for a wireless sensor, while featuring a very good “cold start” capability. The proposed harvester consists of a dual port rectangular slot antenna, a 3-D printed package, a solar cell, an RF-dc converter, a power management unit (PMU), a microcontroller unit, and an RF transceiver. Each designed component was characterized through simulation and measurements. As a result, the antenna exhibited a performance satisfying the design goals in the frequency range of 2.4–2.5 GHz. Similarly, the designed miniaturized RF-dc conversion circuit generated a sufficient voltage and power to support the autonomous operation of the bq25504 PMU for RF input power levels as low as −12.6 and −15.6 dBm at the “cold start” and “hot start” condition, respectively. The experimental testing of the PMU utilizing the proposed hybrid energy harvester confirmed the reduction of the capacitor charging time by 40% and the reduction of the minimum required RF input power level by 50% compared with the one required for the individual RF and solar harvester under the room light irradiation condition of 334 lx.
High-resolution ultrasound imaging of cutaneous lesions

Abstract High-resolution variable frequency ultrasound imaging is increasingly being used in the noninvasive evaluation of various cutaneous diseases. It plays a complimentary role to physical examination in the assessment of cutaneous lesions. It is the only imaging modality useful in the evaluation of superficial cutaneous lesions that are too small to be evaluated on computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and is helpful in reducing invasive procedures like biopsies and fine needle aspirations. In this article, we seek to describe the relevance and basic principles of cutaneous ultrasound, imaging findings of normal skin, current applications of high-resolution ultrasound in the diagnosis and management of various dermatological conditions, along with the features of some commonly encountered lesions.