Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of non-typhoid Salmonella in military personnel, 1988-2013

Objective: To describe the spanning 25 years data for the occurrence, magnitude, and trends regarding antimicrobial resistance of non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) isolated from non-immune travelers to Thailand participating in joint military operations. Methods: A total of 355 NTS isolates, obtained from 2 052 fecal samples from US soldiers deployed for military maneuvers in Thailand during 1988-2013, were examined for NTS serogroup/ serotypes and tested for antimicrobial susceptibility by disk diffusion to these 10 antibiotics: ampicillin, azithromycin (AZM), ciprofloxacin, colistin, gentamicin, kanamycin, nalidixic acid, streptomycin (STR), tetracycline (TET), and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. Identified AZM-resistant NTS isolates were further evaluated for their minimal inhibitory concentration by the E-test method. Results: NTS infections accounted for 17.3% (355/2 052), including 11 serogroups and 50 different serotypes. The most prevalent serogroup was Salmonella group C2-C3 (35.8%, 127/355) followed by groups B (21.1%, 75/355) and C1 (18.6%, 66/355). Identified serotypes included Salmonella hadar (n=60), Salmonella rissen (n=45), and Salmonella blockley (n=34). Among the predominate serogroups, antimicrobial resistance was consistently high against TET (76.9%, 273/355) followed by STR (40.8%, 145/355). One Salmonella senftenberg isolate demonstrated decreased ciprofloxacin susceptibility. Most isolates (94.6%) were resistant to one or more antimicrobials, and the most common multidrug resistance was TET-STR-nalidixic acid (11.5%, 41/355). Conclusions: The prevalence of NTS serotypes and the growing magnitude of antibiotic resistant bacteria isolated from deployed US military in Thailand are documented from 1988-2013. This study demonstrates the antibiotic resistance profiles, highlighting the effectiveness of AZM that is a first-line treatment for travelers to Southeast Asia. AZM-resistant NTS isolates are periodically observed over a 25- year period. Hence, the ongoing surveillance and prevalence efforts are required to monitor NTS resistant strains causing further treatment failure.
The Impact of the Eye in Dementia: The Eye and its Role in Diagnosis and Follow‐up

Over the last few decades, the importance of ophthalmic examination in neurodegenerative diseases of the CNS has reportedly increased. The retina is an extension of the CNS and thus should not be surprising to find abnormal results in both the test exploring visual processing and those examining the retina of patients with CNS degeneration. Current in vivo imaging techniques are allowing ophthalmologists to detect and quantify data consistent with the histopathological findings described in the retinas of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients and may help to reveal unsuspected retinal and optic‐nerve repercussions of other CNS diseases. In this chapter, we perform an analysis of the physiological changes in ocular and cerebral ageing. We analyse the ocular manifestations in CNS disorders such as stroke, AD and Parkinson’s disease. In addition, the pathophysiology of both the eye and the visual pathway in AD are described. The value of the visual psychophysical tests in AD diagnosis is reviewed as well as the main findings of the optical coherence tomography as a contribution to the diagnosis and monitoring of the disease. Finally, we examine the association of two neurodegenerative diseases, AD and glaucoma, as mere coincidence or possible role in the progression of the neurodegeneration.
The Combination of Uav Survey and Landsat Imagery for Monitoring of Crop Vigor in Precision Agriculture

Abstract. Mapping of the with-in field variability of crop vigor has a long tradition with a success rate ranging from medium to high depending on the local conditions of the study. Information about the development of agronomical relevant crop parameters, such as above-ground biomass and crop nutritional status, provides high reliability for yield estimation and recommendation for variable rate application of fertilizers. The aim of this study was to utilize unmanned and satellite multispectral imaging for estimation of basic crop parameters during the growing season. The experimental part of work was carried out in 2014 at the winter wheat field with an area of 69 ha located in the South Moravia region of the Czech Republic. An UAV imaging was done in April 2014 using Sensefly eBee, which was equipped by visible and near infrared (red edge) multispectral cameras. For ground truth calibration the spectral signatures were measured on 20 sites using portable spectroradiometer ASD Handheld 2 and simultaneously plant samples were taken at BBCH 32 (April 2014) and BBCH 59 (Mai 2014) for estimation of above-ground biomass and nitrogen content. The UAV survey was later extended by selected cloud-free Landsat 8 OLI satellite imagery, downloaded from USGS web application Earth Explorer. After standard pre-processing procedures, a set of vegetation indices was calculated from remotely and ground sensed data. As the next step, a correlation analysis was computed among crop vigor parameters and vegetation indices. Both, amount of above-ground biomass and nitrogen content were highly correlated (r > 0.85) with ground spectrometric measurement by ASD Handheld 2 in BBCH 32, especially for narrow band vegetation indices (e.g. Red Edge Inflection Point). UAV and Landsat broadband vegetation indices varied in range of r = 0.5 – 0.7, highest values of the correlation coefficients were obtained for crop biomass by using GNDVI. In all cases results from BBCH 59 vegetation stage showed lower relationship to vegetation indices. Total amount of aboveground biomass was identified as the most important factor influencing the values of vegetation indices. Based on the results can be assumed that UAV and satellite monitoring provide reliable information about crop parameters for site specific crop management. The main difference of their utilization is coming from their specification and technical limits. Satellite survey can be used for periodic monitoring of crops as the indicator of their spatial heterogeneity within fields, but with low resolution (30 m per pixel for OLI). On the other hand UAV represents a special campaign aimed on the mapping of high-detailed spatial inputs for site specific crop management and variable rate application of fertilizers.
The Integration of m-Learning and Social Nework for Suporting Knowledge Sharing

Mobile learning (m-Learning) is a type of a learning system that combines mobile, computer, and modern educational technologies to facilitate teaching and learning. Social network use Web 2.0 technology to communicate, share and searching information for the students. This paper presents the integration of m-Learning and social network design for supporting the sharing of knowledge. The m-Learning system was developed from IPTV (Suan Dusit Internet Broadcasting: SDIB) to mobile IPTV and extended to m-Learning systems. The prototype was designed by integrating m-Learning system (contents and communication tool) and social networks that support knowledge sharing of the learners. The prototype has been used for teaching and learning and students evaluated the system. The result found that the m-Learning system was useful in helping learners to share knowledge and create social interaction.
Lifestyle and Oral health

The term lifestyle is a diffuse concept often used to denote the way people live, reflecting a whole range of social values, attitudes and activities. Lifestyles are learnt through social interaction with parents, peer groups, friends and siblings and through school and mass media. Health requires the promotion of healthy lifestyle. Many current-day health problems especially in developing countries are associated with lifestyle changes. Behaviours such as smoking, physical exercise, activity in everyday life, alcohol consumption, diet, self-care practices, social contacts, and work-style are important contributing factors to population health status and variations in ill health with age. Lifestyle has been associated with oral health; specifically dental caries, periodontal disease, number of teeth and edentulousness. Several oral diseases are linked to noncommunicable chronic diseases primarily because of common risk factors. Worldwide strengthening of public health programmes through the implementation of effective measures for the prevention of oral disease and promotion of oral health is urgently needed. The challenges of improving oral health are particularly great in developing countries. Copyright © www.iiste. org Keywords: Lifestyle and oral health, dental caries, periodontal disease, developing country
A near-infrared relationship for estimating black hole masses in active galactic nuclei

ABSTRACT Black hole masses for samples of active galactic nuclei (AGN) are currently esti-mated from single-epoch optical spectra using scaling relations anchored in reverber-ation mapping results. In particular, the two quantities needed for calculating blackhole masses, namely, the velocity and the radial distance of the orbiting gas are de-rived from the widths of the Balmer hydrogen broad emission lines and the opticalcontinuum luminosity, respectively. We have recently presented a near-infrared (near-IR) relationship for estimating AGN black hole masses based on the widths of thePaschen hydrogen broad emission lines and the total 1 µm continuum luminosity. Thenear-IR oﬀers several advantages over the optical: it suﬀers less from dust extinction,the AGN continuum is observed only weakly contaminated by the host galaxy and thestrongest Paschen broad emission lines Paα and Paβ are unblended. Here we improvethe calibration of the near-IR black hole mass relationship by increasing the samplefrom 14 to 23 reverberation-mappedAGN using additional spectroscopy obtained withthe Gemini Near-Infrared Spectrograph (GNIRS). The additional sample improves thenumber statistics in particular at the high luminosity end.Keywords: galaxies: active – galaxies: nuclei – infrared: galaxies – quasars: general
External vs. Internal SVM-RFE: The SVM-RFE Method Revisited and Applied to Emotion Recognition

Support Vector Machines (SVM) are well known as a kernel based method mostly applied to classication. SVM-Recursive Feature Elimination (SVM- RFE) is a variable ranking and selection method dedicated to the design of SVM based classiers. In this paper, we propose to revisit the SVM-RFE method. We study two implementations of this feature selection method that we call External SVM-RFE and Internal SVM-RFE, respectively. The two implementations are ap- plied to rank and select acoustic features extracted from speech to design optimized linear SVM classiers that recognize speaker emotions. To show the efficiency of the External and Internal SVM-RFE methods, an extensive experimental study is presented. The SVM classiers were selected using a validation procedure that ensures strict speaker independence. The results are discussed and compared with those achieved when the features are ranked using the Gram-Schmidt procedure. Overall, the results achieve a recognition rate that exceeds 90%.
MORPHOMETRY OF EAR PINNA IN SEX DETERMINATION

Address for Correspondence: Dr. B. Senthil Kumar, Assistant Professor, Department of Anatomy, Vinayaka Mission’s Kirupananda Variyar Medical College and Hospital, Salem – 636308, Tamil Nadu, India. E-Mail: skdrchinu88@gmail.com, chinus.kumar9@gmail.com Introduction: The ear lobule morphometry gives information on age and sex which plays a valuable role in forensic investigation. The auricle plays an important role in the clinical diagnosis of congenital anomalies and syndromes. Aim of the study: The present study was done to determine the sex by morphometry of ear pinna in two different populations (Malaysian and Indian). Material and methods: The study population includes Indians 50 males and 50 females between 20-30 years and also Malaysians 50 males and 50 females between 20-30 years. Four linear dimensions which is the length and the width of ears, length of cartilaginous ear and ear lobe length was measured and compared. Results and Conclusion: Dimensions of ear in Malaysian male and females showed higher values when compared to that of Indian male and females, the Malaysians showed longer ear dimensions when compared to that of Indians it is believed that the data obtained in the present study would serve some purposes in ear morphology and for anthropometric considerations.
Recent findings and the energetic potential of plant biomass as a renewable source of biofuels - A review

Nowadays the main sources of energy are petroleum, coal, and natural gas. However, these fossil sources are not reproduced in nature; on a human timescale their reserves are exhausted permanently and run down. Considerable attention in recent years has been given to plant biomass, which in contrast to the fossil sources is continuously renewed in nature. In this critical review the use of non-edible plant biomass for production of various kinds of biofuels is considered. To generate energy, plant biomass either can be burned directly or it can be used after its conversion into carbonized solid fuel (e.g. biochar), liquid fuels (bioethanol, biodiesel, bio-oil), or gases (biogas). Among various biofuels, production of bioethanol has potential to be the most attractive if recent technological advances become implemented, such that the co-production of ethanol and valuable byproducts can be combined together with recycling of solid and liquid wastes. A comparative analysis of energetic potential of biomass and various kinds of biofuels revealed that the most efficient way to produce energy is by direct burning of the plant biomass in a pelletized form, while the burning of such amount of the solid, liquid, or gaseous biofuel, which can be obtained from the plant material, gives a much smaller energetic effect. Novel types of pellets, as well as solid/liquid biofuels, having improved fuel characteristics are described.
Output and Wages with Inequality Averse Agents

We analyze a two-task work environment with risk-neutral but inequality averse individuals. For the agent employed in task 2 effort is verifiable, while in task 1 it is not. Accordingly, agent 1 receives an incentive contract which, due to his wealth constraint, leads to a rent that the other agent resents. We show that inequality aversion affects the optimal contracts of both agents. Greater inequality aversion reduces the effort, wage and payoff of agent 1, while the effects on the wage and effort of agent 2 depend on whether effort levels across tasks are substitutes or complements in the firm's output function. However, more inequality aversion unambiguously decreases total output and therefore average labor productivity.
New European citizens The Erasmus generation between awareness and scepticism

A recurring criticism of the European Union is that it focuses mainly on political and economic factors while neglecting the development of a common European culture and sense of European citizenship. However we can find signs of cultural transformation in the way that Europeans use their borders as a physical, social and symbolic space. Usually nowadays, the term ―frontier‖ is replaced by ―boundary‖ as an elastic and extendible meeting space. The aim of this paper is to analyse the relationship between the concepts of boundaries, mobility and integration and the notions of European identity and citizenship. To understand the meaning these concepts have for people who live in the trans-national European dimension, opinions of Italian and foreign students who took part in the Erasmus exchange programme were gathered. The in-depth interviews were focused on the meanings, the expectations and the real experiences that the concept of European citizenship presents for Erasmus students and also whether European citizenship really exists for them. The opinions of the respondents helped highlight the symbolic potential for European citizenship rights to serve as a vehicle of new integration strategies. The way Erasmus students reinterpret the concept of European citizenship and how its symbolic potential could help the European integration process was also analysed.
Simulation of the Turbulent Flow in HEV Static Mixers: Mixing of Ethanol with Gasoline

Mixing is a typical unit operation that occurs almost in all chemical industries. Static – alternatively termed motionless – mixers are being widely used due to their low power consumption, low capital investment, minimal maintenance costs and versatility. The traditional helical mixing element is mainly used for in-line blending under laminar and transitional flow conditions. The High Efficiency Vortex (HEV) mixers are used for turbulent blending of gases or miscible liquids. Few studies have explored how mixing proceeds in static mixers under turbulent conditions [1]. HEV mixers have been in use in the process industries for several years now [2], yet their mixing efficiency, as compared with empty pipes, has not been carefully assessed [1]. Computational fluid dynamics offers an essential tool for understanding static mixer performance since experiments cannot provide the detailed point-to-point measurements. The flow pattern and mixing characteristics of HEV static mixers are analyzed through simulations for turbulent flow conditions using Comsol Multiphysics. The chosen system is ethanol-gasoline system in which ethanol is added to gasoline in a ratio of 1:9. The studied case in this paper is a typical mixing of two immiscible liquid under turbulent conditions using k-ε turbulent model and convection and diffusion model. These models have been widely used in computational fluid mechanics [1]
Supply chain optimization with variable demand by considering financial criteria and scenarios

This paper contemplates the supply chain design problem of a large-scale company by considering the maximization of the Net Present Value. In particular, the variability of the demand for each type of product at each customer zone has been estimated. As starting point, this paper considers an established supply chain for which the main problem is to determine the decisions regarding expansion of distribution centers. The problem is solved by using a mixed-integer linear programming model, which optimizes the different demand scenarios. The proposed methodology uses a scheme of optimization based on the generation of multiple demand scenarios of the supply network. The model is based on a real case taken from a multinational food company, which supplies to the Colombian and some international markets. The obtained results were compared with the equivalent present costs minimization scheme of the supply network, and showed the importance and efficiency of the proposed approach as an alternative for the supply chain design with stochastic parameters.
The Use of Avalanche Photodiodes in High Energy Electromagnetic Calorimetry

Avalanche Photodiodes (APD) are now widely used for the detection of weak optical signals. They find applications in a large number of fields of science and technology, from physics to medicine and environmental sciences. The request for sensitive detectors, capable to respond to weak radiations emitted from scintillation materials, has produced over the last decades an increasing number of studies on avalanche photodiodes and their applications as photo-sensors in particle detection. The first APD prototypes were developed more than 40 years ago. The initial size of such devices was however very small (below 1 mm2) and their spectral response confined to the near-infrared region. As a result, although available since several years, they did not receive much attention, also because of their initial high cost and low gain. However, large progresses have been made since then, and it has been possible to design and produce, at a reasonable cost, devices which have now a much larger area (tens of squared millimetres), with a high spectral sensitivity in the blue and near ultra-violet wavelength region. For such reasons, avalanche photodiodes are now widely used as sensitive light detectors in the construction of particle detectors in high energy physics. One of such examples is the impulse received by the design and construction of large scale electromagnetic calorimeters for the high energy experiments currently running in the world largest Laboratories. At present, APDs exhibit excellent quantum efficiency, with values around 80% in the near ultra-violet range, dropping to about 40% in the blue region, which is to be compared to typical values of 5-8 % in the blue for standard photomultipliers. Additional advantages which make them preferable over photomultipliers are discussed more specifically in the Chapter. The overall set of problems and solutions related to the use of Avalanche Photodiodes in the design, construction, test and operation of large electromagnetic calorimeters in nuclear and particle physics experiments, is described in this Chapter, as observed within a Collaboration at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Section 2 briefly recalls the principles on which electromagnetic calorimetry for particle physics experiments is based. Relative merits of Avalanche Photodiodes in comparison to traditional devices, mostly photomultipliers, are discussed in Sect.3, in connection with the light collection from scintillation detectors and the readout and front-end electronics. A review of the large detectors which have employed in the recent past or are currently employing such devices as photo-sensors is given in Section 4. Sect.5 describes the overall set of procedures carried out to characterize a large
The Processing of Formulaic Language

It is generally accepted that we store representations of individual words in our mental lexicon. There is growing agreement that the lexicon also contains formulaic language (How are you? kick the bucket). In fact, there are compelling reasons to think that the brain represents formulaic sequences in long-term memory, bypassing the need to compose them online through word selection and grammatical sequencing in capacity-limited working memory. The research surveyed in this chapter strongly supports the position that there is an advantage in the way that native speakers process formulaic language compared to nonformulaic language. This advantage extends to the access and use of different types of formulaic language, including idioms, binomials, collocations, and lexical bundles. However, the evidence is mixed for nonnative speakers. While very proficient nonnatives sometimes exhibit processing advantages similar to natives, less proficient learners often have been shown to process formulaic language in a word-by-word manner similar to nonformulaic language. Furthermore, if the formulaic language is idiomatic (where the meaning cannot be understood from the component words), the figurative meanings can be much more difficult to process for nonnatives than nonidiomatic, nonformulaic language.