Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of fatty liver disease using ultrasound in a semi-urban population in Jos, North Central Nigeria

Background: Fat liver is one of the most common abnormalities of the liver depicted on ultrasound and whose impact has not been fully evaluated in Nigeria. Ultrasound scan is an imaging modality that is cheap and readily available and comes in handy in evaluating this disease. Aim of the current study was to determine the relationship of Fatty liver with age, gender, alcohol consumption and body habitus.Methods: This is a hospital-based cross-sectional study involving 316 subjects diagnosed with fatty liver on ultrasound scan. A structured questionnaire was administered to each subject to ascertain their age, sex, and alcohol intake. The weight and height of all subjects were also measured and the body mass index (BMI) was calculated.Results: The study comprises 151 (47.8%) males and 165 (52.2%) females respectively. A good number of the participants 232 (73.4%) were between the age of 30-59 years. The majority of the participants had of 30 kg/m2 and above. Majority of the participants 225 (71.2%) do not consume alcohol. The study showed a positive but weak correlation between increasing BMI and fatty liver span. The study revealed that most participants with liver span <15.9 cm (57.1%) or ≥16 cm (75.5%) have BMI ≥30 kg/m2.Conclusions: This study showed fatty liver is common in all ages and gender but commoner in the middle age groups with strong relationship between increasing body weight and fatty liver, but a weak relationship with regards to the span of the liver.
The influence of tree transmissivity variations in winter on satellite snow parameter observations

ABSTRACT The ability to correct for the influence of forest cover is crucial for retrieval of surface geophysical parameters such as snow cover and soil properties from microwave remote sensing. Existing correction approaches to brightness temperatures for northern boreal forest regions consider forest transmissivity constant during wintertime. However, due to biophysical protection mechanisms, below freezing air temperatures freeze the water content of northern tree species only gradually. As a consequence, the permittivity of many northern tree species decreases with the decrease of air temperature under sub-zero temperature conditions. This results in a monotonic increase of the tree vegetation transmissivity, as the permittivity contrast to the surrounding air decreases. The influence of this tree temperature-transmissivity relationship on the performance of the frequency difference passive microwave snow retrieval algorithms has not been considered. Using ground-based observations and an analytical model simulation based on Mätzler’s approach (1994), the influence of the temperature-transmissivity relationship on the snow retrieval algorithms, based on the spectral difference of two microwave channels, is characterized. A simple approximation approach is then developed to successfully characterize this influence (the RMSE between the analytical model simulation and the approximation approach estimation is below 0.3 K). The approximation is applied to spaceborne observations, and demonstrates the capacity to reduce the influence of the forest temperature-transmissivity relationship on passive microwave frequency difference brightness temperature.
Therapeutic Exercise Platform for Type-2 Diabetic Mellitus

Exercise enables continuous glycemic control for diabetic patients, and it is effective in preventing diabetic complications and maintaining emotional stability. However, it is difficult for diabetic patients to know the appropriate intensity and duration of exercise. Excessive exercise causes sudden hypoglycemia, and patients avoid therapeutic exercise or perform it conservatively owing to the repeated hypoglycemia symptoms. In this paper, we propose a new therapeutic exercise platform that supports type 2 diabetes patients to exercise regularly according to the exercise prescription received from the hospital. The proposed platform includes the following three significant contributions. First, we develop a hardware platform that automatically tracks and records all aerobic exercise performed by a patient indoors or outdoors using a wearable band and aerobic exercise equipment. Second, we devise a patient-specific exercise stress test to know whether the patient is exercising according to his or her usual exercise regimen. Finally, we develop a mobile application that informs patients in real-time whether they are exercising appropriately for their exercise regimen each time they exercise. For platform evaluation and future improvement, we received satisfaction ratings and functional improvements through a questionnaire survey on 10 type 2 diabetes patients and 10 persons without a diabetes diagnosis who had used the proposed platform for more than 3 months. Most users were (1) satisfied with automatic exercise recording, and (2) exercise time increased. Diabetics reported that their fasting blood glucose was dropped, and they were more motivated to exercise. These results prove that exercise must be combined with medication for blood glucose management in chronic diabetic patients. The proposed platform can be helpful for patients to continue their daily exercise according to their exercise prescription.
Effect of Ultrasound on One-Pot Conversion of Alcohols to Nitro and Azido Compounds

Synthesis of aliphatic nitro and azido compounds from corresponding alcohols under ultrasonic irradiation was studied. Ultrasonic irradiation of the reaction mixture ROH/NaNO2/HCl allowed to shorten the reaction time and increase yields of aliphatic nitro compounds. Ultrasonic irradiation of the reaction mixture PhCH2OH/NaN3/PPh3 resulted in formation of PhCH2N3 in yields comparable with those of the silent experiments. The next product was benzyl chloride and not benzylamine as was described in the literature.
Combining Enhanced Sampling with Experiment Directed Simulation of the GYG peptide

Experiment directed simulation is a technique to minimally bias molecular dynamics simulations to match experimentally observed results. The method improves accuracy but does not address the sampling problem of molecular dynamics simulations of large systems. This work combines experiment directed simulation with both the parallel-tempering and parallel-tempering well-tempered ensemble replica-exchange methods to enhance sampling of experiment directed simulations. These methods are demonstrated on the GYG tripeptide in explicit water. The collective variables biased by experiment directed simulation are chemical shifts, where the set-points are determined by NMR experiments. The results show that it is possible to enhance sampling with either parallel-tempering and parallel-tempering well-tempered ensemble in the experiment directed simulation method. This combination of methods provides a novel approach for both accurately and exhaustively simulating biological systems.
Qualitative and Quantitative Assessment of Overarm Throwing in Children With and Without Developmental Coordination Disorder

Background: Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) frequently have difficulties performing gross motor skills such as the overarm throw. Our study examines the differences in both qualitative and quantitative characteristics of overarm throwing for accuracy between typically developing (TD) and children with DCD. Methods: A total of 74 children (36 females/38 males) aged between 7 and 11 years, participated in this study. The authors used the Movement Assessment Battery for Children—second edition to assess motor impairment. In total, 37 (50%) met the criteria for DCD. Each participant completed 10 overarm throws for accuracy at a target. The authors assessed movement quality using the component approach (Roberton & Halverson, 1984) and quantity using target accuracy. Results: The analyses revealed significantly lower throwing accuracy in DCD versus TD children. Children with DCD also demonstrated fewer component combinations and lower developmental levels than their TD peers. Finally, product scores tracked with process scores. Discussion: Both qualitative and quantitative measures clearly showed that children with DCD are at a disadvantage in controlling a ball during overarm throwing. They used stability profiles that limited coordination variability. TD participants performed more combinations of higher developmental levels to achieve more accurate throws, suggesting they controlled variability to optimize the accuracy of their throws.
Evolutionary and ecological factors structure a plant–bumblebee network in a biodiversity hotspot, the Himalaya–Hengduan Mountains

1Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, PR China 2Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA 3Rocky Mountain Biological Lab, Crested Butte, CO, USA 4State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents in Agriculture, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China 5Plant Germplasm and Genomics Center, Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, PR China
The Relationship between Management Entrenchment and Audit Opinion Shopping

Purpose – The present study aims to assess the relationship between management entrenchment and audit opinion shopping in listed firms on the Tehran Stock Exchange. In other words, this paper attempts to figure out whether management entrenchment can contribute to audit opinion shopping or not. Design/methodology/approach- For this study, research hypotheses were tested using a sample of 768 observations on the Tehran Stock Exchange during 2012-2017 and by employing the Logistic Regression Pattern. Findings – The results show a significant relationship between management entrenchment and opinion shopping, which means entrenchment leads to an increase in opinion shopping. Originality/value- Management entrenchment is among managers' factors to increase authorities, job security, and interests, and corporate governance can contribute to the decline of management entrenchment. One of the mechanisms of corporate governance is the auditor’s opinion. There are few studies on the quality of corporate governance components in Iran, and this study can pave the way for further studies on the relationship of management entrenchment with other factors.
Overview of Prosody

Prosody, in terms of theories of phonological representation, refers to syllabicity, length, syllable organisation, stress and related concepts, and certain sequencing relations between segment sequences , usually between adjacent syllables. Skeletal positions: The problem. One of the basic questions of prosody is how segmental length should be represented. Length could be treated as a binary feature and is so treated in the SPE theory, analogous to nasality or voicing. However, it has long been recognised that to a considerable extent, long vowels behave the same as two short vowels and long consonants often behave like two short consonants. This fact is so widely recognised that it has become standard for long segments to be written aa, uu, tt, nn and so on. An example of this patterning is found in the fact that in Yawelmani, long vowels are shortened before clusters of two consonants as well as before geminate (long) consonants (see Chapter 7). This rule interacts with an epenthesis rule which inserts i or u (depending on the preceding vowel) between the first two of three consonants. This shortening rule explains why the underlying long vowel of /Üa:ml-al/ and /Üa:ml-it/ is short on the surface˜[Üamlal] 'help (dubitative)', [Üaml-it] 'help (passive aorist)'. Examples like /Üa:ml-hin/, /Üa:ml-k'a/ which surface as [Üa:mil-hin] 'help (nonfuture)', [Üa:mil-k'a] 'help (imperative)' motivate the underlying long vowel. We find the same shortening before a long consonant, thus [dol:-al], [dol:-ut] 'climb (dubitative, passive aorist)', cf. [do:lul-hun], [do:lul-k'a] 'climb (nonfuture, imperative). This shortening makes sense if the long [l:] of [dol:-al] is really two l's (and this is how they are traditionally spelled), thus /do:ll-hin/, /do:ll-al/. Cinching the argument for treating long cononants as two identical consonants is the fact that they can be separated by epenthesis, as in [do:lul-hun], [do:lul-k'a]. If long consonants are single consonants with a feature [+long], there is no expectation that they will act the same as two independent consonants in triggering pre-cluster chortening˜this would require the disjunctive conditioning environment {CC,C:}. The change to C i VC i before another consonant is even less compre-hensible. A further example of the phonological equivalence of long consonants and consonant clusters is the conditioning environment of gradation in Finnish. Certain phonological changes affect postvocalic consonants which are followed by VCC, one of which is that /p/ becomes [v] ˜ see Chapter 5 exercise 6 for further data on Finnish gradation. The facts of Finnish similarly show that …
Do bagasse biochar and microbial inoculants positively affect barley grain yield and nutrients, and microbial activity?

Abstract Biochar as a soil amendment, increases soil fertility and better agricultural production. In addition, the utilization of microbial bio-fertilizers improves soil health and reduces the necessity of excessive chemical fertilizer application. In this regard, the present research was conducted to evaluate the effect of bio-inoculants and bagasse biochar on root colonization, grain nutrients uptake, growth, and yield of barley, and biological activities in a calcareous soil. An experiment was conducted as a factorial arrangement on a completely randomized design with three replications in a greenhouse condition for seven months. The treatments consisted of six bio-fertilizer levels including control, Rhizophagus intraradices, Funneliformis mosseae, Micrococcus yunnanensis, Rhizophagus intraradices + Micrococcus yunnanensis, Funneliformis mosseae + Micrococcus yunnanensis, and three bagasse biochar levels of 0, 1%, and 2% w/w. The application of 2% biochar significantly increased root colonization (32.3%), grain nutrients uptake of N, P, Zn and Cu (10%, 10%, 10%, and 4.3%, respectively), biological yield (5.08%), soil microbial respiration (SMR) (11.3%), and microbial biomass C (MBS) (12.7%) compared to that of B0. Individual application of bio-inoculants and their combination with biochar increased root colonization, grain nutrients (Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, P, and N) uptake, biological and grain yield, 1000-kernel weight, SMR, and MBS. Application of plant growth promoting microorganisms and bagasse biochar simultaneously makes positive effects on barley and microbial activities, which is a promising strategy.
SCOPE 2.0: a model to simulate vegetated land surface fluxes and satellite signals

Abstract. The Soil Canopy Observation of Photosynthesis and Energy fluxes (SCOPE) model aims at linking satellite observations in the visible, infrared, and thermal domains with land surface processes in a physically based manner, and quantifying the microclimate in vegetation canopies. It simulates radiative transfer in the soil, leaves, and vegetation canopies, as well as photosynthesis and non-radiative heat dissipation through convection and mechanical turbulence. Since the first publication 12 years ago, SCOPE has been applied in remote sensing studies of solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF), energy balance fluxes, gross primary production (GPP), and directional thermal signals. Here, we present a thoroughly revised version, SCOPE 2.0, which features a number of new elements: (1) it enables the definition of layers consisting of leaves with different properties, thus enabling the simulation of vegetation with an understorey or with a vertical gradient in leaf chlorophyll concentration; (2) it enables the simulation of soil reflectance; (3) it includes the simulation of leaf and canopy reflectance changes induced by the xanthophyll cycle; and (4) the computation speed has been reduced by 90 % compared to earlier versions due to a fundamental optimization of the model. These new features improve the capability of the model to represent complex canopies and to explore the response of remote sensing signals to vegetation physiology. The improvements in computational efficiency make it possible to use SCOPE 2.0 routinely for the simulation of satellite data and land surface fluxes. It also strengthens the operability for the numerical retrieval of land surface products from satellite or airborne data.
Monochromatic diameter-2 components in edge colorings of the complete graph

Gyarfas conjectured that in every r -edge-coloring of the complete graph K n there is a monochromatic component on at least n ∕ ( r − 1 ) vertices which has diameter at most 3. We show that for r = 3 , 4 , 5 and 6 a diameter of 3 is best possible in this conjecture, constructing colorings where every monochromatic diameter-2 subgraph has strictly less than n ∕ ( r − 1 ) vertices.
Spiky Fe3O4@Au Supraparticles for Multimodal In Vivo Imaging

Nanomaterials with high biocompatibility and efficient photothermal conversion have drawn tremendous attention for tumor diagnosis and treatment. In this study, spiky Fe3O4@Au supraparticles (SPs) are used as phototherapy and multimodal imaging agents. The SPs show excellent photothermal and photodynamic therapeutic effects, with a photothermal conversion efficiency of 31%, and allow tumor‐targeted imaging, including computed tomographic, photoacoustic, and magnetic resonance imaging. The SPs show excellent biocompatibility both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, because of their remarkable absorption at near‐infrared region, the SPs obliterate a tumor under 808 nm irradiation. With their capacity for highly integrated multimodal imaging and multiple therapeutic functions, SPs are a promising agent for application to clinical practice.
Soil Organic Carbon Changes for Croplands across China from 1991 to 2012

Accurate estimates of soil organic carbon (SOC) are critical for evaluating the impacts of crop and nutrient management practices on soil sustainability and global climate change. Temporal and spatial variations in topsoil (0–0.20 m) SOC were analyzed using 43,743 soil samples in China’s croplands. The soil database in our study was collected from the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI) China Program. The results showed an increasing trend in SOC density (SOCD) for both grain and cash crops from 1991 to 2012. The average SOCD increased by 16.8, 17.4, 11.8 and 8.7% in the north central, northwest, southeast and southwest regions, respectively, whereas average SOCD decreased by 1.3% for the northeast region between the 1991–2001 and 2002–2012 periods. For both grain and cash crops, the SOCD frequency distribution (%) increased in the ranges of 10–20, 20–30 and 30–40 Mg C ha−1 from the 1991–2001 to the 2002–2012, but decreased in the ranges of 0–10 and 50–60 Mg C ha−1. Additionally, SOCD increased in most major soil types across China’s cropland regions, except in phaeozems, chernozems and umbrisols, where it decreased by 8.6–18.7% mainly due to water runoff, soil erosion, and low C input. The overall SOC stock (SOCS) in China’s cropland increased by 260 Tg C (23.7 Tg C yr−1) from 1991–2001 to 2002–2012, which was partially due to the increased crop residue return, improved fertilization and adopted conservation tillage over the period. This SOC increase represents a potential offset in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that could help reduce the overall net CO2 emissions in China.
INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT OF CRITICAL THINKING: FRAMEWORK FOR TRANSLATION AND ADAPTATION

Higher education institutions worldwide claim they impact students’ learning outcomes within and across academic domains. Critical thinking (CT) is prominent among the intended outcomes (Braun et al., 2020). In this context, there is increasing interest in ecologically valid performance assessments (PAs) of CT that can be used internationally (Zlatkin-Troitschanskaia et al., 2018). While several studies have aimed to measure and compare CT skills across countries, this typically has been done using multiple-choice questions. Only a few studies involve adaptation of PAs. Their results point to the need for a more refined adaptation process (Braun et al., 2020), especially in terms of functionally equivalent adaptation and redesign. Based on a review of previous approaches related to test adaptation, with focus on the challenges of achieving cultural responsiveness, we propose a conceptual framework for adapting PAs of CT for international studies. The framework differentiates between two stages and three adaptation designs. The first stage involves a collaborative approach to the design of PAs of CT. The second stage offers three design alternatives which differ in their emphasis on linguistic considerations and cultural responsiveness. While this paper focuses on PAs of CT for higher education, it may be applicable to pre-college education.
A planar end‐loaded dipole phased array with enhanced bandwidth and wide‐angle scan

A bandwidth‐enhanced wide‐angle scanning phased array based on planar end‐loaded dipole elements is designed and analyzed in this article. Initially, the phased array is designed based on wideband wide‐beam dipole elements, which are placed in a hybrid artificial structure composed of surface waveguide (SWG) and high‐impedance surface (HIS). An additional resonance caused by surface‐wave propagation in the SWG is generated close to the dipole resonance. The dual‐resonance mechanism improves the impedance bandwidth. Then, in order to enhance the array active reflection performance, the HIS is adopted to reduce the coupling between array elements which is caused by the excited surface waves. Besides, the SWG‐HIS hybrid structure has a zero‐phased reflection in the phased array operation band, which contributes to the wide‐angle scan. The total dimension of the proposed eight‐element phased array is about 3.24 λ0 × 0.675 λ0 (λ0 is the free‐space wavelength at 4.5 GHz). The phased array shows a main‐beam scan up to ±60° with a realized gain higher than 8.8 dBi and a total efficiency higher than 84% in an active reflection band of 4.35 ~ 4.85 GHz.
SMIMO Radar: MIMO Radar with Subarray Elements of Phased-Array Antenna

Unlike Phased-MIMO Radar (PMIMO) which employs overlapping equal subarrays (OES) only on the transmit (Tx), Subarray-MIMO (SMIMO) radar utilizes the combination of subarrays, both in the transmit (Tx) and receive (Rx). SMIMO radar is MIMO radar with subarray elements acting as Phased-Array (PA). It simultaneously combines the primary advantages of PA and the MIMO radar; they are high directional gain and high diversity gain, respectively. High directional gain is beneficial to improve the range target, while high diversity gain is beneficial to improve the number of target detection. The use of the subarray methods in the Tx-Rx array could be configured such as in verlapping subarray (OS), non-overlapping subarray (NOS), equal subarray (ES), unequal subarray (US), and/or the combination of all configurations. Various configurations in Tr-Rx would determine the performance of radar, such as the number of virtual arrays, the maximum number of target detections, the detection accuracies, and the angular resolutions along with its effectivity compared to PA, MIMO, and Phased-MIMO radar. Numerical results and simulation showed that SMIMO provided higher flexibility than other radars by configuring Tx-Rx to easily adapt to various changes of target conditions and their surroundings.