Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Plasmodium falciparum Breath Metabolomics (Breathomics) Analysis as a Non-Invasive Practical Method to Diagnose Malaria in Pediatric

Children under 5 years of age are particularly vulnerable to malaria. Malaria has caused 445,000 deaths worldwide. Currently, rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are the fastest method to diagnose malaria. However, there are limitations that exist such as low sensitivity in detecting infections with low parasitemia. Practical, non-invasive and high ability tests to detect parasite are needed to find specific biomarkers for P. falciparum infection to determine the potential of P. falciparum 4 thioether in breathomics analysis by GC-MS as a practical non-invasive method in diagnosing malaria in pediatrics. Literature reviews from Google Scholar and ProQuest were published no later than the last 5 years. The concept of breathomics is that the breath’s volatile organic compounds (VOCs) profile is altered when the health condition changes. Breath samples from individuals infected with P. falciparum malaria were taken by exhalation. Through GC-MS analysis, it was found that 4 thioether compounds (allyl methyl sulfide (AMS), 1-methylthio-propane, (Z) -1-methylthio-1-propene and (E) -1-methylthio-1-propene) underwent a significant change in concentration during the infection. Based on experiments conducted on mice and humans, the breathomics method is known to be able to detect parasitemia levels up to <100 parasites/μL, has a sensitivity level of about 71% to 91% and a specificity of about 75% to 94%. The discovery of 4 thioether compounds by GC-MS is a strong indication of malaria, because it has the potential for high sensitivity and specificity, and the detection power exceeds the ability of RDTs.
Uma Avaliação do Uso de Gamificação para Apoiar o Ensino e Aprendizagem de Testes Exploratórios

This paper presents the exploratory testing, an approach that has become very relevant in software testing, mainly due to the emerging the use of agile practices in the software development process to satisfy the needs of the market (Time to Market). However, it was possible to notice that it is a subject little discussed in the academic context. For this reason, this work uses gamification as a systematic strategy in teaching and learning of exploratory testing using case studies with two classes, which aims to maintain strong student involvement and an incentive for good performance, obtaining as results students prepared to use this testing approach. As a final result, the students achieved a good overall performance; with reports that gamification facilitated and collaborated greatly to achieve the best performance, converging with the quantitative data obtained. This can be evidenced by the fact that two case studies (classes) reached a percentage superior to 70% of conquest, that is, there was an excellent general performance analyzed by the proportion of medals obtained for the participation.
Mapping global forest age from forest inventories, biomass and climate data

Abstract. Forest age can determine the capacity of a forest to uptake carbon from the atmosphere. Yet, a lack of global diagnostics that reflect the forest stage and associated disturbance regimes hampers the quantification of age-related differences in forest carbon dynamics. In this study, we provide a new global distribution of forest age circa 2010, estimated using a machine learning approach trained with more than 40,000 plots using forest inventory, biomass and climate data. First, evaluation against the plot level forest age measurements reveals that the data-driven method has a relatively good predictive capacity of classifying old-growth vs. non-old-growth (precision = 0.81 and 0.99 for old-growth and non-old-growth, respectively) forests and estimating corresponding forest ages (NSE = 0.6 and RMSE = 50 years). Yet, there are systematic biases with overestimation in young and underestimation in old forest stands, respectively. Globally, we find a large variability of forest age with the old-growth forests in the tropical regions of Amazon and Congo, and young forests in China and intermediate stands in Europe. On the other hand, we find that the regions with high rates of deforestation or forest degradation (e.g., the arc of deforestation in the Amazon) are largely composed of younger stands. Assessment of forest age in the climate-space shows that the old-forests are either in cold and dry regions or in warm and wet regions, while young-intermediate forests span a large climatic gradient. Finally, a comparison between the presented forest age estimates with a series of regional products reveals differences rooted in different approaches as well as in different in-situ observations and global-scale products. Despite showing robustness in cross-validation results, additional methodological insights on further developments should as much as possible harmonize data across the different approaches. The forest age dataset presented here provides additional insights into the global distribution of forest age in support of a better understanding of the global dynamics in the forest water and carbon cycles. The forest age datasets are openly available at https://doi.org/10.17871/ForestAgeBGI.2021 (Besnard et al., 2021). For anonymous access during review, please refer to the data availability section below.
Citizenship acquisition and spatial stratification: Analysing immigrant residential mobility in the Netherlands

Whereas the so-called ‘citizenship premium’ in the labour market has been widely studied, we know little about how naturalisation affects immigrants’ lives beyond work and income. Focusing on the Netherlands, this paper analyses the relationship between citizenship acquisition and immigrant residential mobility, in particular the propensity of immigrants to move away from areas with high concentrations of migrants. We draw on register data from Statistics Netherlands (N = 234,912). We argue that possessing Dutch citizenship reduces spatial stratification by diminishing the risk of housing market discrimination, thereby facilitating mobility outside of migrant-concentrated areas. Our findings show that naturalised immigrants are 50% more likely to move out of concentrated neighbourhoods, all else constant. The effect of naturalisation is especially relevant for renting without housing benefits and for home ownership, and for mid-risk immigrants who earn around the median income and hold permanent jobs, whose applications face strong scrutiny from landlords, rental agencies and mortgage lenders.
Analysis of Genetic Variation of VP2 Gene in 6 FPV Strainsin China

In order to understand the variation of FPV strains in the Jinan area, Shandong Province, China, the VP2 gene of 6 FPV strains was sequenced, and the analysis of the genetic relationship, evolution and main functional site variation was carried out. It was found that FPV-XY2, FPV-XY3 and FPV-XY6 were the same strain with 100% homology, and also close to FPV-XY1, and the homology between FPV-XY4 and FPV-XY5 was close. The homology between the reference strain and the test strain was over 99.3%. According to the evolutionary analysis, the genetic relationship among FPV-XY1, FPV-XY2, FPV-XY3, FPV-XY6 was close, and the genetic relationship between FPV-XY4 and FPV-XY5 was close, and the result was similar to the homologous result. Compared with the VP2 amino acid sequence of the standard strain FPV-CU4, the VP2 protein of all the test strains changed from I to t on the 101st Amino acid, this may be the cause of immune failure in these 6 cases; the change of a to s in the 91st amino acid position of FPV-XY1, FPV-XY2, FPV-XY3, FPV-XY6 may be the cause of enhanced virulence of FPV. This study provides a reference for exploring the epidemic law of FP in the Jinan area, the standard of FP treatment plan and the research and development of FPV subunit vaccine.
Dynamic Multivariate Analysis for Pollution Pro�ling and Abatement Recommendation in La Buong Watershed of Vietnam

Analysis of temporal patterns of high-dimensional time-series water quality data is essential in informing better pollution management. In this study, Dynamic Factor Analysis (DFA) and Cluster Analysis (CA) were adopted to analyze time-series water quality data monitored at �ve stations SB1, SB2, SB3, SB4 and SB5 on La Buong river in the Southern Vietnam. Application of DFA identi�ed two temporal patterns in SB1 and SB2 and three temporal patterns in SB3, SB4 and SB5. Analysis of factor loadings of water variables revealed run-off-driven patterns with the contribution of Total Suspended Solid (TSS), turbidity or Fe at all stations. The association of other variables like BOD 5 , COD at SB1, SB2, SB4, and SB5 to this run-off pattern exposed their sharing of common driver. On the contrary, separation of variables like Phosphate (PO 43− ) in SB3, SB4 and SB5 from run-off pattern suggested their local point-source origin. The derived factors from DFA were later used in time-point CA to explore temporal distribution of pollution intensities. Comparisons between clusters’ value and two regulatory benchmarks A2 and B1 for drinking and irrigation water respectively suggested land-use approach for abating TSS, Fe and BOD 5 , COD at most sites. The control of point sources of BOD 5 and COD pollutants is needed at SB3 along with PO 43− , Ammonium (NH4 + ) and Escherichia coli (E.coli) at SB1 and SB4.
Effect of Alloying Elements on the Hydrogen Diffusion and Trapping in High Entropy Alloys

Abstract The effect of the concentration of alloy elements on hydrogen diffusivity and trapping for two high-entropy alloys: Fe20Mn20Ni20Co20Cr20 and Fe22Mn40Ni30Co6Cr2, were investigated. Hydrogen diffusivity as a function of temperature (300-550°C) was obtained from gas permeation tests for both alloys. A sigmoidal behavior was observed for both face-centered cubic alloys, following the solution of Fick's Second Law. The variation in diffusivity as a function of temperature is given by the following equations: D = 4.3 x 10 − 7 exp ( − 51.7 k J / m o l R T ) and D = 2.8 x 10 − 8 exp ( − 30.5 k J / m o l R T ) for the equiatomic and non-equiatomic alloys, respectively. The results from first-principles simulations show that the difference in diffusivity can be mainly attributed to the decrease in Cr, which has a strong interaction with hydrogen when in solid solution. A comparison of HEA with traditional steels as a function of Cr % reinforces this analysis.
LQR-Based Sparsification Algorithms of Consensus Networks

The performance of multiagent systems depends heavily on information flow. As agents are populated more densely, some information flow can be redundant. Thus, there can be a tradeoff between communication overhead and control performance. To address this issue, the optimization of the communication topology for the consensus network has been studied. In this study, three different suboptimal topology algorithms are proposed to minimize the linear quadratic regulator (LQR) cost considering the communication penalty, since the optimal solution requires a brute-force search, which has exponential complexity. The first two algorithms were designed to minimize the maximum eigenvalue of the Riccati matrix for the LQR, while the third algorithm was designed to remove edges sequentially in a greedy manner through evaluating the LQR cost directly. The first and second algorithms differ in that the active edges of a consensus network are determined at the end of the iterations in the first, while sequentially in the second. Numerical evaluations show that the proposed algorithms reduce the LQR cost significantly by optimizing communication topology, while the proposed algorithm may achieve optimal performance with a properly chosen parameterization for a small consensus network. While the three algorithms show similar performance with the increasing number of agents, the quantized terminal cost matrix optimization (QTCMO) algorithm shows significantly less complexity within the order of several tenths than those of the other two algorithms.
Effect of multilayered groundwater mounds on water dynamics beneath a recharge basin: Numerical simulation and assessment of surface injection

Interactions between groundwater mounds caused by a geologic layer contrast affect the efficiency of managed aquifer recharge in arid areas. However, research has rarely examined the roles of groundwater mounding size variations on soil water dynamics in a stratified vadose zone in response to a sustained infiltration source. Numerical experiments were conducted on a two‐dimensional vertical‐section domain using HYDRUS software to simulate the behaviours of two adjacent (upper and lower) groundwater mounds underlying an infiltration basin subjected to clay loam and sandy alternately‐layered soil profiles. The model successfully predicted the volume and extent of perched water and approximated vertical travel times during events generating downward fluxes from the surface injection. The response time of the mounding width (lateral extension) to the surface injection was delayed as compared to that of the mounding height (vertical extension), especially for the lower water mound. The mounding heights and widths show a strongly positive correlation with the infiltration rates of both high‐ and low‐permeability layers where the injected water mounded, while the water storage amounts in the high‐ and low‐permeability layers were governed by the mounding height and width, respectively. Exploratory simulations were then employed to assess the dependence of groundwater mounding behaviours and recharge performances on surface injection strategies. Results suggest that, by reducing injection rate or shortening injection duration, the near‐term fraction of the surface injection converted to deep recharge is likely to be increased due to the narrowed groundwater mounding size, which would be limited by the water‐retarding effect of layer contrasts. This study has important implications for predicting and understanding multilayered groundwater mounding behaviours and associated water mass balance under the geologic stratification, and is expected to aid in optimizing the infiltration basin operation for aquifer recharge.
Adapting Santiago Method to Determine Appropriate and Resource Efficient Sanitation Systems for an Urban Settlement in Lima Peru

The pre-selection of locally appropriate sanitation technologies and systems is crucial for strategic sanitation planning as any decision is only as good as the options presented. One approach that allows us to systematically consider the local conditions and a diverse range of conventional and novel technologies and systems is the Santiago method. In this paper, we discuss whether the Santiago method can be applied to the case of Latin America and what we would gain from this application. We do so by expanding the Santiago technology library with technologies that have been shown to be promising in metropolitan areas of Latin America, such as condominial sewer, container-based sanitation, and activated sludge. We then apply Santiago to the semi-informal settlement Quebrada Verde (QV) in Lima, Peru. Using Santiago, we were able to generate 265,185 sanitation system options from 42 technologies and 18 appropriateness criteria. A set of 17 appropriate and divers are then selected. The diversity is defined by 17 system templates. To further evaluate these 17 systems, resource recovery and loss potentials are quantified. Higher nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and total solids recovery are observed for systems that combine urine diversion and biofuel production. The case of QV shows that the Santiago method is applicable in the Latin American context.
Clinical and Biochemical Predictors of Endothelial Dysfunction in Egyptian Adolescents with Type 1 and those with Type 2 Diabetes

Aims: Since endothelial dysfunction precedes clinically significant diabetic vascular complications, circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have generated interest as a biomarker of endothelial function and are considered a mirror for endogenous vasculo-regenerative capacity. So we aimed to assess EPCs count in adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in comparison to those with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and extend these findings to assess their relationship to other clinical and biochemical risks of endothelial dysfunction. Patients and Methods: Fifty Egyptian adolescents were included in this study, 20 with T1DM, 20 T2DM and 10 healthy control subjects. Patients are recruited from Diabetes and Endocrinology Unit, outpatient clinic of internal medicine department Tanta University Hospital, in the period from 2017 to 2019. EPCs count was determined by Flowcytometry, anthropometric measurements and laboratory investigations were done for fasting and 2-hours post-prandial blood glucose, serum Original Research Article Zakaria et al.; JAMMR, 33(9): 87-97, 2021; Article no.JAMMR. 67792 88 lipid profile, HbA1c, urinary albumin creatinine ratio, fasting C peptide, and homoeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMAIR). Results: In T1DM, EPCs count was significantly higher compared to T2DM (0.032) and control group (p0.001) and it was negatively correlated with age of patients and duration of diabetes but was positively correlated with HbA1c. While, the count was higher in T2DM compared to control with no statistically significant difference (p0.063) and negatively correlated with body mass index, waist circumference, blood pressure and HOMA-IR. Conclusion: Adolescents with T2DM have distressing clinical and biochemical findings and significantly lower count of (EPCs) than adolescents with T1DM. This puts them at potential higher risk for early development of endothelial dysfunction and less power of vascular repair that may potentiate early harboring of vascular complications.
Long-Term Sustainable Investment for Retirement

We consider whether sustainable investment can deliver performance comparable to conventional investment in investors’ long-term retirement plans. On the capital markets, sustainable investment can be achieved through various instruments and strategies, one of them being investment in mutual funds that subscribe to ESG (environmental, social, and governance) principles. First, we compare the investment performance of ESG funds with matched conventional funds over the period 1994–2020, in Europe and the U.S. We find no significant evidence of differing performance (at 5% level) despite using a number of investment performance metrics. Second, we perform a historical backtest to model a UK personal retirement plan from 2000 till 2020, taking full account of investment management fees and transaction costs. We find that investing in an index-tracker fund overlaid with ESG screening delivers a pension which is 10.4% larger than is achieved if the index-tracker fund is used without screening. This is also 20.2% larger than is achieved by investing in a collection of actively managed funds with a sustainable purpose. We conclude that an ESG-screened long-term passive investment approach for retirement plans is likely to be successful in satisfying the twin objectives of a secure retirement income and of sustainability.
Interspecific competition drives gall‐inducing insect species distribution on leaves of Matayba guianensis Aubl. (Sapindaceae)

1. The authors analysed the potential effects of interspecific competition on spatial distribution of two gall‐inducing insects, Bystracoccus mataybae (Hemiptera: Eriococcidae) and Lopesia mataybae (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), that co‐occurring simultaneously in Matayba guianensis. Overall, the authors hypothesised that spatial gall distribution between and within leaflets is shaped by interspecific competition.
A comparison of the ethical climate of operating rooms from the perspective of operating room nursing students and staff: An analytical study

Background The ethical climate is an essential component of organizational climate or culture. The ethical climate is necessary for clinical practice in operating rooms. Objective This study aimed to compare the ethical climate from the perspective of operating room nursing students and operating room staff of hospitals affiliated with Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Method This analytical study was performed on 95 operating room nursing students and 169 operating room staff of hospitals in Mashhad, Iran. The students were selected through the census method and the staff were selected by using stratified random sampling. The data were collected via Olson’s Hospital Ethical Climate Survey and analyzed by using BMI SPSS version 21. Results The total mean scores of the ethical climate were 3.44 ± 0.45 and 3.32 ± 0.48 from students and staff’s perspectives, and the independent t-test showed no significant difference between them (p < 0.05). In addition, from the students’ and staff’s points of view, the scores of communication with nurse managers were (3.95 ± 0.59), and (3.61 ± 0.91), the scores of communication with peers were (3.75 ± 0.43) and (3.48 ± 0.59), the scores of communication with patients and staff were (3.18 ± 0.6) (3.33 ± 0.62), respectively with no significant difference (p > 0.05). Furthermore, the results of the study indicated a significant difference in communication with physicians’ score between operating room staff (2.82 ± 0.49) and students’ views (3.25 ± 0.6) (p < 0.05). Conclusion Although it is difficult to create a right ethical climate in operating rooms, but hospital managers should implement practical programs to improve the ethical climate of operating rooms and inter-professional teamwork. Besides, deans of faculties can provide ethical-based education for students, who can effectively create an ethical climate.
Mixed Reality Technology as a Delivery Mechanism for Psychological Intervention in Adolescents With Asthma: A Qualitative Protocol

Australia has one of the highest asthma prevalence rates in the world, with this chronic and debilitating condition affecting one in nine people. The health and mental wellbeing of young people with asthma are worse than not only their peers without asthma but also worse than that of people with asthma at other ages. Psychological interventions could be beneficial in treating symptoms of elevated psychological distress in patients with asthma. However, evidence suggests that engagement with mental health services is low in this population. Technology-based solutions that engage youth may overcome barriers to service uptake for both mental health and asthma management. To fast-track the successful translation of evidence-based treatment into practice, interactive, mixed-reality technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and holographic technology may provide a novel, low-cost solution, yet to date, methodological rigor in the evaluation of mixed reality for this purpose is lacking. To evaluate the perceived usability and acceptability of these technologies, mixed reality tools will be developed by the author team to deliver a component of a psychological intervention for treatment of elevated psychological distress among young people with asthma. Qualitative research will be conducted through one-on-one interviews with young people with asthma, parents/caregivers of young people with asthma, and with health professionals, during which participants will have time to interact with the resources. Moderator guides will be used to direct interviews, and will be supplemented with a questionnaire, including Likert-type measures of usability and acceptability to facilitate triangulation of data. Understanding and data obtained through this study will be used to develop version 2.0 mixed reality tools, which will be tested for feasibility in a RCT. Improving access to and uptake of evidence-based treatments for elevated psychological distress in young people with asthma may reduce the burden of this highly prevalent disease.