Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of a digital care logistics system on care duration, consumer satisfaction and shift leaders' workload in emergency departments

The primary goal of introducing digital information systems in healthcare organisations is to improve care processes and outcomes, however, studies that investigate the impact of digital information systems on the day-to-day operations management from the perspective of workflow and consumer satisfaction in emergency departments are scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the impact of a digital clinical logistics system on the duration of patient care, consumer satisfaction and shift leaders' experience of workload in emergency departments. A longitudinal prospective design was used. Three units participated in the study; an intervention unit, a control unit A (no implemented system) and a control unit B (system already in use). We collected data on care duration, consumer satisfaction and shift leaders' experience of workload for four weeks at five time points both before system implementation (summer 2015, spring 2016) and after system implementation (summer 2016, autumn 2016, winter 2016). The average care duration time increased in the postimplementation period in the intervention and control B units (p < 0.001). Duration of care was higher in the intervention unit than control unit B in summer 2016 (p < 0.001) and winter 2016 (p = 0.009). Similarly, duration of care in control unit A was higher than control unit B in spring 2016 (p < 0.001). Consumer satisfaction decreased in the intervention unit, in winter 2016 (p < 0.001) and the experience of workload increased in the intervention unit, in summer 2016 and autumn 2016 (p < 0.05). However, the patients-to-nurses ratio was doubled in the intervention unit in the last time point postimplementation when compared to the first timepoint, while it remained similar in the control units throughout the study period. This work demonstrated that a digital care logistics system may support in increasing the number of patients treated with the same nursing resources. However, this seems to connect to other outcome variables such as increased care duration, increased experience of workload and decreased consumer satisfaction in some postimplementation time points.
Application of Machine Learning in Electromagnetics: Mini-Review

As an integral part of the electromagnetic system, antennas are becoming more advanced and versatile than ever before, thus making it necessary to adopt new techniques to enhance their performance. Machine Learning (ML), a branch of artificial intelligence, is a method of data analysis that automates analytical model building with minimal human intervention. The potential for ML to solve unpredictable and non-linear complex challenges is attracting researchers in the field of electromagnetics (EM), especially in antenna and antenna-based systems. Numerous antenna simulations, synthesis, and pattern recognition of radiations as well as non-linear inverse scattering-based object identifications are now leveraging ML techniques. Although the accuracy of ML algorithms depends on the availability of sufficient data and expert handling of the model and hyperparameters, it is gradually becoming the desired solution when researchers are aiming for a cost-effective solution without excessive time consumption. In this context, this paper aims to present an overview of machine learning, and its applications in Electromagnetics, including communication, radar, and sensing. It extensively discusses recent research progress in the development and use of intelligent algorithms for antenna design, synthesis and analysis, electromagnetic inverse scattering, synthetic aperture radar target recognition, and fault detection systems. It also provides limitations of this emerging field of study. The unique aspect of this work is that it surveys the state-of the art and recent advances in ML techniques as applied to EM.
Improved biosensor for measurement of progesterone in bovine milk

A biosensor for on–line measurement of progesterone was designed and calibrated. The objectives were to develop an improved immunoassay sensitive enough to measure progesterone in milk at follicular phase concentrations in real–time, and to design a biosensor for implementation of the detection chemistry. Anti–progesterone antibody was coated on small disks of nitrocellulose membrane, which were inserted in the reaction chamber prior to testing. An antigen capture format was used with 5 minutes for binding and peroxidase–labeled progesterone as the competitor, and 3 minutes for substrate development with tetramethylbenzidine as the chromophore. The sensor was designed using micropumps and valves under computer control, and tested fluid volumes of about 1 ml. Output was read as the rate of change in optical density at 645 nm. An automated sampler was designed to draw a test volume at the start of milking from the long milk tube using a 4–way pinch valve. The system could execute a measurement cycle in about 10 min, and progesterone could be measured at concentrations low enough to distinguish mid–luteal phase cows (2–10 ng/ml) from follicular phase cows (<1 ng/ml). The 95% confidence interval for a 0.5 ng/ml reading was estimated to be 0.2 to 1.5 ng/ml.
De-aliased Hybrid Branch Predictors

Fixed-size branch predictors tables suffer from a loss of prediction accuracy due to aliasing or interference. This is particularly true for predictors using a global history vector such as gshare. «De-aliased» global history predictors -the skewed branch predictor, the bimode predictor and the agree predictor- were recently proposed. «De-aliased» predictors consistently achieve the same prediction accuracy level as gshare or gselect using less than half the transistor budget. However different branches do not require the use of the same vector of information to be accurately predicted. Hybrid predictors combining several branch prediction schemes -- may deliver higher branch prediction accuracy than a branch predictor using a single branch prediction scheme. Then «de-aliased» branch are natural candidates as hybrid predictors components. In this paper, we show how cost-effective hybrid branch predictors can be derived from the enhanced skewed branch predictor e-gskew. 2Bc-gskew combines e-gskew and a bimodal branch predictor. It consists in four identical predic tor-table banks, i.e., the three banks from the e-gskew -including a bimodal bank- plus a meta-predictor. 2Bc-gskew-pskew combines a bimodal component, a global history register component and a per-address history component. These hybrid predictors are shown to achieve high prediction accuracy at a low hardware cost.
Multivariate Characterization of Phenotypic Variation from throughout the Geographic Ranges of Philippine False Coral Snakes: Two Species or Four?

The Philippine-endemic elapid genus Hemibungarus consists of three described species that are widely distributed across northern and central portions of the archipelago. Hemibungarus calligaster, H. mcclungi, and H. gemianulis were originally diagnosed, and remain recognized today, primarily based on differences in color pattern. Previous studies and faunal checklists suggest that these species occupy distinct geographic distributions within the Philippines. However, the relatively low numbers of specimens in collections and the misidentification of older specimens under outdated taxonomy have hampered a synthetic understanding of their actual distributional limits. Thus, an in-depth revisiting of the range of external morphological and color pattern variation within and among each species is still needed to clarify species boundaries and determine whether distributional limits change once properly documented. We provide a geographic assessment of morphological variation, using 98 specimens of Hemibungarus from institutional collections and public databases to reevaluate the range of phenotypic variation exhibited by each taxon and critically assess the geographic ranges of all three species of Hemibungarus. We use these data and multivariate statistics (principal coordinate and linear discriminant analyses) to demonstrate quantitatively how meristic data support the phenotypic distinctiveness of each species and to update the identifications of all accessible specimens. Georeferencing all specimens reidentified with morphological data indicates that H. calligaster is limited to central and northern regions of Luzon Island, whereas H. gemianulis is restricted to islands in central Philippines (Visayas). Hemibungarus mcclungi, previously considered restricted to the Bicol Peninsula in southern Luzon, appears to be more widely distributed—extending north into central and northern Luzon. We also identify a population of Hemibungarus that is intermediate in morphology between the parapatric H. calligaster and H. mcclungi, which raises the question of species boundaries and should be the focus of future study. Overall, our results provide a much-needed reconsideration of the identities of all available specimens in the world's biodiversity repositories, which use newly summarized data to elucidate the geographic distributions of the members of this enigmatic elapid genus, identify future directions for research on this group, and highlight the importance of returning to verified species occurrence data from the source (museum specimens) when considering biogeographical questions, species boundaries, and all related natural history studies.
Investigating the Impact of Visual Environmental Uncertainty on Human-Agent Teaming

Uncertainty in Human-Agent interactions is often studied in terms of transparency and understandability of agent actions. Less work, however, has focused on how Visual Environmental Uncertainty (VEU) that restricts or occludes visual information affects the Human-Agent Teaming (HAT) in terms of trust, reliance, performance, cognitive load and situational awareness. We conducted a mixed-design experiment (n=96) where participants interacted with an agent during a collaborative aiming task under four different types of VEUs involving global and dynamic occlusions. Our results show that while environmental uncertainties led to increases in perceived trust, they induced differences in reliance and performance. Counter to intuition, when participants trusted the agent the most, they relied on the agent more, but performed worst. These findings highlight how trust in agents is also influenced by external environmental conditions and suggest that reported trust in HAT scenarios may not always generalize beyond the environmental factors in which they were studied.
Welfare of Farmed Crocodilians: Identification of Potential Animal-Based Measures Using Elicitation of Expert Opinion

Simple Summary This study focuses on an elicitation of expert opinion to identify a toolbox of animal-based measures that can be used to assess the welfare of farmed crocodilians. This is the initial step towards identifying an animal-based assessment protocol that could be used to support the international outcome-based standard developed by the crocodilian farming industry. Potential measures were identified and aligned with the four animal welfare principles and twelve criteria developed by Welfare Quality®, focusing primarily on practical measures that could be used for monitoring farm processes or during external verification activities. The proposed measures were presented to a panel made up of animal welfare specialists (farmers, veterinarians and scientists) for judgment and scoring. Twenty-eight experts scored the proposed measures for validity (that being the relevancy to the welfare criterion and usefulness as a measure) and feasibility (that being how easy it is to observe and assess, for example, during an on-farm animal welfare assessment or routine monitoring). Future studies, involving the preliminary testing of the measures on a commercial crocodile farm, are planned to confirm validity and establish the reliability of the identified measures. Abstract Animal-based measures are the measure of choice in animal welfare assessment protocols as they can often be applied completely independently to the housing or production system employed. Although there has been a small body of work on potential animal-based measures for farmed crocodilians, they have not been studied in the context of an animal welfare assessment protocol. Potential animal-based measures that could be used to reflect the welfare state of farmed crocodilians were identified and aligned with the Welfare Quality® principles of good housing, good health, good feeding and appropriate behaviour. A consultation process with a panel of experts was used to evaluate and score the potential measures in terms of validity and feasibility. This resulted in a toolbox of measures being identified for further development and integration into animal welfare assessment on the farm. Animal-based measures related to ‘good feeding’ and ‘good health’ received the highest scores for validity and feasibility by the experts. There was less agreement on the animal-based measures that could be used to reflect ‘appropriate behaviour’. Where no animal-based measures were deemed to reliably reflect a welfare criterion nor be useful as a measure on the farm, additional measures of resources or management were suggested as alternatives. Future work in this area should focus on the reliability of the proposed measures and involve further evaluation of their validity and feasibility as they relate to different species of crocodilian and farming system.
Estradiol Protects against Noise-Induced Hearing Loss and Modulates Auditory Physiology in Female Mice

Recent studies have identified sex-differences in auditory physiology and in the susceptibility to noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). We hypothesize that 17β-estradiol (E2), a known modulator of auditory physiology, may underpin sex-differences in the response to noise trauma. Here, we gonadectomized B6CBAF1/J mice and used a combination of electrophysiological and histological techniques to study the effects of estrogen replacement on peripheral auditory physiology in the absence of noise exposure and on protection from NIHL. Functional analysis of auditory physiology in gonadectomized female mice revealed that E2-treatment modulated the peripheral response to sound in the absence of changes to the endocochlear potential compared to vehicle-treatment. E2-replacement in gonadectomized female mice protected against hearing loss following permanent threshold shift (PTS)- and temporary threshold shift (TTS)-inducing noise exposures. Histological analysis of the cochlear tissue revealed that E2-replacement mitigated outer hair cell loss and cochlear synaptopathy following noise exposure compared to vehicle-treatment. Lastly, using fluorescent in situ hybridization, we demonstrate co-localization of estrogen receptor-2 with type-1C, high threshold spiral ganglion neurons, suggesting that the observed protection from cochlear synaptopathy may occur through E2-mediated preservation of these neurons. Taken together, these data indicate the estrogen signaling pathways may be harnessed for the prevention and treatment of NIHL.
The Daily Experiences of Facebook for Visually Impaired Users

Prior research into using social networking sites (SNSs) by visually impaired (VI) users has focused primarily on their competencies and accessibility barriers in its usage. We argue, however, that there exists insuﬃcient research into the daily pattern of use of SNSs by VI users and beneﬁts unique to this population. To address these limitations, we conducted two empirical studies, a diary study and a follow-up in-depth interview study, to further explore the social experiences of VI users’ everyday Facebook engagement. Our ﬁndings show that VI users were motivated to use Facebook by the prospect of connecting with family and friends and that Facebook oﬀers unique beneﬁts to VI users in terms of improved quality-of-life through social capital building, knowledge obtainment, and entertainment.
Transdisciplinary Teaching and Learning in UX Design: A Program Review and AR Case Studies

Today’s user experience (UX) educators and designers can no longer just focus on creating more usable systems, but must also rise to the level of strategists, using design thinking and human–computer interaction (HCI) solutions to improve academic and business outcomes. Both psychological, designer, and engineering approaches are adopted in this study. An invited program review committee met to review progress of the UX program at the Beijing Normal University (BNUX). They considered issues and challenges facing the program today, and the steps that it could make to develop further. During a recent augmented reality (AR) project on designing future life experience on smart home and wearables, several experiential concepts and prototypes were generated to demonstrate HCI and UX research directions. The committee was impressed by BNUX with its energy, enthusiasm, and a sense of purpose on practicing transdisciplinary teaching and learning activities. Recommendations on the current organization of education, the relation between project-based learning and research, and opportunities for exposure and visibility are provided.
Graphene Synthesis and Its Recent Advances in Applications—A Review

Owing to the remarkable chemical and physical properties, graphene has been widely investigated by researchers over the last 15 years. This review summarizes major synthetic methods such as mechanical exfoliation, liquid phase exfoliation, unzipping of carbon nanotube, oxidation-reduction, arc discharge, chemical vapor deposition, and epitaxial growth of graphene in silicon carbide. Recent advances in the application of graphene in graphene-based lithium ion batteries, supercapacitors, electrochemical sensors, transparent electrodes and environmental based remedies are discussed.
Product placement inverso y storydoing como herramientas para la construcción de marca: el caso pionero de IKEA

Herramientas de comunicación como el product placement inverso y el storydoing guardan relación con el protagonismo otorgado al producto. Dada la escasa atención académica a estos fenómenos, este trabajo aborda sus posibilidades a través de un caso pionero: el felpudo de IKEA de 2006. Se realiza un análisis cualitativo a partir de fuentes secundarias y de las declaraciones de Natalia Cazcarra, directora de cuentas de la agencia *S,C,P,F. Los resultados demuestran las oportunidades de producto nacido en la ficción como activo de marca cuando trae consigo un relato y en el contexto de la narrativa transmedia y la cultura participativa.
Integrated Setup for THz Receiver Characterization

A highly versatile measurement setup has been built that allows complete characterization of the ALMA Band 5 cartridge. The measurement setup includes all necessary hardware and largely achieves automatic measurements for the system noise and sideband rejection with in-built optimization procedures. The measurement setup additionally comprises measurements of the receiver saturation, phase and amplitude stability, as well as optical beam characterization.
Pharmacognostic Study on Elsholtzia ciliata (Thumb.) Hyl: Anatomy, Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Activities

Elsholtzia ciliata (Thunb.) Hyl, family Lamiaceae, is an important and popular anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). However, there are limited scientific studies on its anatomy and pharmacological activities. Moreover, the information of chemical constituents in relation to its non-volatile constituents are still missing. The current study aimed to evaluate the anatomic, pharmacological and phytochemical profile of Elsholtzia ciliata, providing means for the quality control of this herbal drug. The methodology designed for this study included the preparation of anatomic sections and their description, extraction, chromatography, structural elucidation of isolated compounds by NMR techniques and their quantification by HPLC using pharmacological assays (Formalin, hot plate, DPPH, antimicrobial-Gram positive, Gram Negative and fungus, and MTT assays) to confirm the activities described for this species. Results of the anatomic study are aligned with the pattern expected for plants belonging to the Lamiaceae family; Ursolic acid and Oroxylin were isolated from this plant species. The findings observed in this study indicate that Elsholtzia ciliata possess anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, antioxidant, antimicrobial and anticancer activities. The chemical compounds isolated from its leaves and the anatomy profile of its parts provide the basis for further quality control for this plant.
Supplementary material to "Effects of forcing differences and initial conditions on inter-model agreement in the VolMIP volc-pinatubo-full experiment"

Abstract. This paper provides initial results from a multi-model ensemble analysis based on the volc-pinatubo-full experiment performed within the Model Intercomparison Project on the climatic response to volcanic forcing (VolMIP) as part of the sixth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). The volc-pinatubo-full experiment is based on ensemble of volcanic forcing-only climate simulations with the same volcanic aerosol dataset across the participating models (the 1991–1993 Pinatubo period from the CMIP6-GloSSAC dataset). The simulations are conducted within an idealized experimental design where initial states are sampled consistently across models from the CMIP6-piControl simulation providing unperturbed pre-industrial background conditions. The multi-model ensemble includes output from an initial set of six participating Earth system models (CanESM5, GISS-E2.1-G, IPSL-CM6A-LR, MIROC-E2SL, MPI-ESM1.2-LR and UKESM1). The results show overall good agreement between the different models on the global and hemispheric scale concerning the surface climate responses, thus demonstrating the overall effectiveness of VolMIP’s experimental design. However, small yet significant inter-model discrepancies are found in radiative fluxes especially in the tropics, that preliminary analyses link with minor differences in forcing implementation, model physics, notably aerosol-radiation interactions, the simulation and sampling of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and, possibly, the simulation of climate feedbacks operating in the tropics. We discuss the volc-pinatubo-full protocol and highlight the advantages of volcanic forcing experiments defined within a carefully designed protocol with respect to emerging modeling approaches based on large ensemble transient simulations. We identify how the VolMIP strategy could be improved in future phases of the initiative to ensure a cleaner sampling protocol with greater focus on the evolving state of ENSO in the pre-eruption period.
Review of Biomass Resources and Conversion Technologies for Alternative Jet Fuel Production in Hawai’i and Tropical Regions

There is increasing interest in developing biobased alternative jet fuels to meet rising aviation demand and address environmental concerns. Uncertainty of oil prices, issues of energy security, and rising greenhouse gas concentrations have spurred the development and acceptance of alternative, economically viable, environmentally sustainable production pathways. The objectives of this study were to review alternative jet fuel feedstock candidates and relevant conversion data to provide a baseline of information to be accessed and built upon in developing production scenarios in Hawai’i and other tropical regions bounded by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere. Seventeen plants that produce oil, fiber, and sugar feedstocks were identified, and information on cultural practices, yield ranges, invasiveness, and mechanization status was assembled. Available data on pretreatment requirements and conversion processes for the 17 feedstocks, inclu.