Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm to Solve Vehicle Routing Problem with Fuel Consumption Minimization

The Conventional Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) has the objective function of minimizing the total vehicles’ traveling distance. Since the fuel cost is a relatively high component of transportation costs, in this study, the objective function of VRP has been extended by considering fuel consumption minimization in the situation wherein the loading weight and traveling time are restricted. Based on these assumptions, we proposed to extend the route division procedure proposed by Kuo and Wang [4] such that when one of the restrictions can not be met the routing division continues to create a new sub-route to find an acceptable solution. To solve the formulated problem, the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is proposed to optimize the vehicle routing plan. The proposed methodology is validated by solving the problem by taking a particular day data from a bottled drinking water distribution company. It was revealed that the saving of at best 13% can be obtained from the actual routes applied by the company.
Multipliers and I-core for sequences

In this paper we mainly deal with I c −convergence. In particular we study bounded multipliers of bounded I c −convergent sequences. We also give some I−core results and characterize the inclusion K−core {Ax} ⊆ I−core {x} for bounded sequences x = (xn) .
Challenging practices: experiences from community and individual living lab approaches

Abstract In this article, we examine a change initiative designed to involve households in testing ways to transform two everyday practices ‒ heating and doing laundry. The research design included an examination of the challenges of changing practices either in a setting that fosters collective engagement or with individual households. Two different types of living labs were carried out simultaneously in eight European countries in Autumn–Winter 2018. We reflect on differences in results in terms of both changes in practices and the experiences of participating households that we argue can be at least partially attributed to householders’ engagement in different types of living labs. We discuss the implications of an individual-focused vs. community-oriented approach for change initiatives seeking to challenge social norms for sustainability transitions, concentrating in particular on differences in the nature of participants’ engagement and their willingness and ability to challenge routine practices. This is complemented by analytical reflections on the differences in design, interaction, and performance between the two types of living labs. We show that an explicit focus on collaborative engagement in living labs can produce results that reflect shared experiences, community support, challenging established norms, and collective commitment toward change.
Credit Constraint and Rural Household Welfare in the Mezam Division of the North-West Region of Cameroon

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the rural household’s head and household characteristics on credit accessibility. This study also seeks to investigate how credit constraint affects rural household welfare in the Mezam division of the North-West region of Cameroon. Using data from a household survey questionnaire, we found that 36.88% of the households were credit-constrained, while 63.13% were unconstrained. A probit regression model was used to examine the determinants of households’ credit access, while an endogenous switching regression model was used to analyze the impact of credit constraint on household welfare. The results from the probit regression model indicate the importance of the farmer’s or trader’s organization membership, occupation, and savings to the household’s likelihood of being credit-constrained. On the other hand, a prediction from the endogenous switching regression model confirms that households with access to credit have a better standard of welfare than a constrained household. From the results, it is necessary for the government to subsidize microfinance institutions, so that they can take on the risk of offering credit to rural households.
Frustración, temperamento y vulnerabilidad social en bebés: estudio comparativo

Antecedentes: la frustración se define como las respuestas del organismo que se desencadenan cuando existe una discrepancia negativa entre un incentivo esperado con el que realmente se recibe. Estas situaciones provocan respuestas conductuales, emocionales y neurofisiológicas análogas a las que ocurren con la presentación de estímulos aversivos o su anticipación. Existen investigaciones en bebés, pero pocos sobre sus asociaciones con diferencias individuales y ambientales y ninguno en población argentina. Objetivos: asociar la frustración, el temperamento y la vulnerabilidad social en una muestra de infantes. Metodología: se realizó un estudio asociativo-comparativo con una situación observacional estructurada donde se evaluaron a 22 bebés de 10 a 14 meses durante una tarea de frustración y su relación con el temperamento a través del Cuestionario de Conducta Infantil (IBQ-VSF) pertenecientes a dos extractos sociales evaluados con una ficha sociodemográfica. Resultados: se halló que a mayor extroversión, menor manipulación del objeto; y a mayor esfuerzo de control, menor fue la respuesta de morder, y viceversa. No se encontraron diferencias significativas en función del nivel socioeconómico. Conclusiones: se discutieron los resultados en función de la teoría de la frustración y las limitaciones del estudio, incluyendo recomendaciones para futuras investigaciones.
Theory of Planned Behaviour Based Interventions for Health Behaviour Change in Chronic Diseases Among Low Health-literacy Population: Protocol for a Systematic Review

Background Health behaviour can change outcomes in both healthy and diseased populations and are particularly useful in promoting compliance to treatment and maintain fidelity to care seeking and follow-up options in chronic diseases. Interventions to change health behaviour based on psychological theory more often successful than those without any underlying theory. The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) is one such psychological theory which had been found to predict human behaviour with respect to disease prevention and when applied to interventions can change the outcomes of diseases. Most of the research evidence of TPB based interventions have been from developed world. Evidence is required whether TPB based interventions can be applied and works in low resource, low health literacy settings of low and middle income countries (LMICs). Methods The protocol has been developed as per PRISMA-P guidelines and incorporates PICO (population, intervention, comparison, outcomes) framework for describing the methodology. Population above 18 years of age and having any chronic disease will be selected while any health or educational intervention based on constructs of TPB will be included. Comparison will be with non TPB based interventions or treatment as usual without any intervention and the primary outcome will be the behaviour change effected by the TPB based intervention. Intervention studies will be considered and relevant databases like MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library and ProQuest will be explored. Data extraction will done in a standardised form and quality assessment will be done using the Cochrane Collaboration’s Tool for Assessing the Risk of Bias. Narrative synthesis of the selected studies will be done to draw the conclusions and meta-analysis will be done if the heterogeneity is less than 50% by I-2 statistics.Discussion This systematic review will provide new evidence on fidelity and effectiveness of the TPB based interventions among chronic disease patients in low health literacy population of LMIC settings. This will provide us with new knowledge of how to plan and use such interventions to change health behaviour in chronic disease patients.Systematic review registration this protocol has been registered in PROSPERO with registration no. CRD42018104890.
Environmental attitudes and behaviour of birdwatchers: a missing link

ABSTRACT Birdwatching is one of the fastest growing sectors of ecotourism. Managing this nature-based activity requires understanding birdwatchers’ attitudes and behaviour towards the natural environment. This paper proposes assessing these attitudes and the link to behavioural intentions by combining the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) with a criterion-based segmentation method, the chi-squared automatic interaction detector (CHAID). This methodology was applied through a survey questionnaire to birdwatchers in the Ria Formosa Natural Park, a wetland located in South Portugal. The amount birdwatchers were willing to pay for an improvement in the environmental quality of the site, a behavioural intention variable, was used as the criterion in the CHAID analysis. Two birdwatcher segments willing to pay above average were identified and labelled as ‘environmental stewards’ and ‘birdwatching fans’. A key result that emerged from our study is that the NEP score is not a significant predictor of the willingness to pay for environmental improvement in the CHAID analysis. Hence, there is a missing link, as pro-environmental attitudes do not translate into pro-environmental behavioural intentions.
Determining the Importance of Hydrogen Bond Strength on the Mechanical Stability of Proteins

Proteins are only marginally stable at room temperature and can easily be unfolded when subjected to denaturants such as chemicals or mechanical forces. Despite this, proteins are able to maintain a unique 3D structure held together by interactions such as hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions in physiological conditions. We have used single molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) to investigate the effect of hydrogen bond strength on the mechanical resilience of two proteins: I27, from the giant muscle protein titin, and protein L, an immunoglobulin binding domain from bacterial cell wall. By picking up and stretching a single protein, the unfolding force needed to unravel it can be determined; this infers information about the molecular interactions that confer its stability and flexibility. To directly test the importance of hydrogen bond strength, we have exploited the use of deuterium (D or 2H) and deuterium oxide (D2O). Deuterium has been shown to form strong hydrogen bonds than hydrogen (1.04 - 2.07 kT stronger). Protein engineering was used to create protonated and deuterated versions of the proteins and SMFS experiments have been completed on the proteins in both water (H2O) and D2O. Our single molecule studies indicate that the mechanical resilience of both proteins is sensitive to the hydrogen bond strength in both the protein and the solvent. Furthermore, the changes in the mechanical resilience of the protein is coupled with an changes in the spring constant of the protein chain. The changes observed in the properties of the proteins due isotopic substitution could aid differentiation between the interactions involved within the rate limiting step of mechanical unfolding. This study has illustrated the sensitivity of SMFS experiments to small changes in the strength of the interactions within proteins, and the importance of probing the net contribution of different interactions to protein stability.
Design of Portable Exoskeleton Forearm for Rehabilitation of Monoparesis Patients Using Tendon Flexion Sensing Mechanism for Health Care Applications

Technology plays a vital role in patient rehabilitation, improving the quality of life of an individual. The increase in functional independence of disabled individuals requires adaptive and commercially available solutions. The use of sensor-based technology helps patients and therapeutic practices beyond traditional therapy. Adapting skeletal tracking technology could automate exercise tracking, records, and feedback for patient motivation and clinical treatment interventions and planning. In this paper, an exoskeleton was designed and subsequently developed for patients who are suffering from monoparesis in the upper extremities. The exoskeleton was developed according to the dimensions of a patient using a 3D scanner, and then fabricated with a 3D printer; the mechanism for the movement of the hand is a tendon flexion mechanism with servo motor actuators controlled by an ATMega2560 microcontroller. The exoskeleton was used for force augmentation of the patient’s hand by taking the input from the hand via flex sensors, and assisted the patient in closing, opening, grasping, and picking up objects, and it was also able to perform certain exercises for the rehabilitation of the patient. The exoskeleton is portable, reliable, durable, intuitive, and easy to install and use at any time.
The Rhetoric and Farmers’ Lived Realities of the Green Revolution in Africa: Case Study of the Brong Ahafo Region in Ghana

This paper presents a political ecological analysis of the drivers and impacts of Green Revolution technologies – including improved seeds, chemical fertiliser and other agrochemicals – in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. We identify national government, foreign investment and philanthro-capital as key drivers in shaping both narratives and uptake of Green Revolution technologies at the local level. Drawing from interviews and focus groups, our findings demonstrate that Green Revolution technologies deliver a range of negative local-level socio-ecological impacts, including increasing the overall costs of production, as well as exacerbating poverty and inequality amongst farmers. Our findings demonstrate the disconnection between claims that Green Revolution technologies increase food security and income, and lived experiences of farmers.
COVID-19 and a way forward for restaurants and street food vendors

Abstract COVID-19 has had a drastic impact on every field and walk of life. The long-lasting impacts of this pandemic have changed the way businesses used to be conducted and will have a strong impact on business models as well. The main objective of this qualitative study is to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on restaurants and small stalls of street food vendors in Pakistan and to suggest a way forward. A total of 30 interviews were conducted through conference calls. The findings proved that major issues faced by the restaurants are the massive decline in sales, massive layoffs, no economic activity, and no relief from the government. The major changes required in the existing business models highlighted by the interviewees are proper sanitization, changes in the sitting area, change in menus, and the need for innovative ideas to attract the customers back. The study is useful for the restaurants and street food vendors to help them out in this difficult phase and suggest a way forward to them.
A gas-phase coupling process for simultaneous production of γ-butyrolactone and furfuryl alcohol without external hydrogen over bifunctional base-metal heterogeneous catalysts

A solvent-free gas-phase coupling process through hydrogen transfer without external hydrogen supply over novel bifunctional base-metal heterogeneous catalysts was developed for the simultaneous production of γ-butyrolactone and furfuryl alcohol with high yields of 95.0% from biomass-derived compounds. Such a practical, unparallely efficient and environmentally benign process makes it promising in terms of both green sustainable chemistry and industrial perspective.
Degradable Thermoresponsive Polyesters by Atom Transfer Radical Polyaddition and Click Chemistry

Three types of linear polyesters containing monodisperse methoxy oligo(ethylene glycol)s (mOEG, x = 6, 7, or 8) side chains (P1-mOEG, P2-mOEG, and P3-mOEG) have been synthesized by atom transfer radical polyaddition and click chemistry. Degradable disulfide and ketal groups were incorporated into the polymer backbone of P2-mOEG and P3-mOEG respectively. All of these three series of mOEG-grafted polyesters are water-soluble and display reversible thermoresponsive properties with tunable cloud point (CP). Aqueous solution properties and thermo-induced phase transitions were studied by 1H NMR, turbidimetry, DLS, and fluorescence probe method. The results indicate that these polyesters mainly adopt single chain conformations in aqueous solution below CP. OEG length has a significant effect on the CP, the CP increases by ca. 10 °C when the repeating units of OEG side chains increase from 6 to 7, and by ca. 6 °C when they increase from 7 to 8. The main chain structures also affect the CP values, which decrease .
Integrated Renewable Energy Management System for Reduced Hydrogen Consumption using Fuel Cell

The hybrid energy sources and their behavior may be controlled by monitoring and sensing with the help of a single or multiple control strategies incorporated in the energy management system. Utilization of the battery state of charge (SOC) and reduction in the consumption of hydrogen are the main objectives of battery and fuel cell (FC) based renewable hybrid power systems. The lifespan of the hydrogen storage as well as battery may be improved while improving the cost reduction benefits using these parameters. These objectives are achieved by designing an integrated energy management system (IEMS). A battery, supercapacitor (SC), proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) and Photovoltaic (PV) cell are combined to provide the required power to a predetermined load to form a renewable hybrid power system (RHPS). During daylight, PV is the master power source in RHPS. During the shading or night time, FC is the secondary power source. When high load power is required, the FC is supported by the battery. Load fast change or load transient operation is performed by the SC. Maximum SOC value and minimum hydrogen consumption value is obtained simultaneously based on predetermined functions that aids in switching between the state machine control, frequency decoupling and fuzzy logic based integrated strategies in the proposed energy management model. When compared to the stand-alone strategies, the integrated model achieves increased SOC and reduced hydrogen consumption. When maximum value of PV power is attained, the surplus power is displayed at the load. The battery Journal of Electrical Engineering and Automation (EEA) (2021) Vol.03/ No.01 Pages: 44-54 https://www.irojournals. com/iroeea DOI: https://doi.org/10.36548/jeea.2021. 1.005 45 ISSN: 2582-3167 Submitted: 12.04. 2021 Revised: 26.04. 2021 Accepted: 12.05. 2021 Published: 25.05. 2021 is charged using this surplus power. The stand-alone strategies and integrated strategy results are compared. The attainment of the goal of IEMS is confirmed from this comparison.
May Measurement Month 2019: an analysis of blood pressure screening results from Slovenia

Abstract Accounting for an estimated 10.4 million deaths each year, arterial hypertension is a worldwide epidemic. However, it is a treatable condition that can be readily recognized with cost-effective blood pressure (BP) measurements. Alongside continuous improvements in BP control and treatment, worldwide strategies aim to achieve a high level of hypertension awareness. May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global campaign initiated by the International Society of Hypertension to raise awareness of high BP. Slovenia began with yearly cost-free BP measurements and awareness campaigns in 2005 when World Hypertension Day was announced by the World Hypertension League and in 2017, we joined the MMM initiative. In May 2019, we performed a cross-sectional survey following the standardized MMM protocol. Healthcare personnel obtained BP measurements in a sample of adult subjects (≥18 years) across all regions of the country, mostly in healthcare facilities and pharmacies. In total, 4974 individuals (61.1% female), with a mean age of 59.6 years, were screened. After multiple imputation for missing data, 3037 (61.1%) participants had hypertension. Of individuals not receiving antihypertensive medication, 973 (33.4%) were hypertensive. Of those who reported receiving antihypertensives, 1110 (53.8%) had uncontrolled BP. MMM19 was the largest BP screening campaign undertaken in Slovenia so far. We again identified a substantial number of participants with possible hypertension and uncontrolled BP despite taking antihypertensive medication, which were then referred to their general practitioners or dedicated hypertension centres for further evaluation and management. Taken together, our findings underline the importance of opportunistic screening programmes.
Fishers perceptions of ecosystem service change associated with climate‐disturbed coral reefs

1. Understanding ecosystem service change necessitates an understanding of the social and ecological dimensions of ecosystem services and how they contribute to the well- being of different people. These empirical research gaps persist across the tropics and in coastal environments, posing a challenge for small island states that depend on ecosystem services associated with near- shore ecosystems like coral reefs. 2. Perception- based approaches allow for a rapid appraisal of what constitutes ecosystem service change, providing insights into why these changes matter, and how experiences of change differ between individuals.
Identification of IPMSM Flux-Linkage Map for High-Accuracy Simulation of IPMSM Drives

This article proposes a precise identification scheme of an interior permanent-magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM) flux linkage through experimental tests considering motor nonlinearities, such as the magnetic saturation and spatial harmonics. In the proposed scheme, the flux linkage is identified based on the voltage equation of IPMSM. The fundamental and harmonic electromotive force in the rotor reference frame is obtained in real time by applying a discrete Fourier transform with the phase compensation of the time delay due to digital control and pulsewidth modulation. The effect of the inverter nonlinearity is compensated using an experimentally obtained lookup table. Based on the identified flux-linkage map, a flux-based IPMSM model that accurately simulates motor behavior can be constructed. The effectiveness of the proposed flux-linkage identification scheme is verified through the comparison of simulation and experimental results.
Tracheostomy in Infants after Cardiac Surgery: Indications, Timing and Outcomes

Objective: There is little consensus on the indications and optimal timing of tracheostomy in the pediatric population. Our primary aim was to determine if early tracheostomy improves patient outcomes (between 10 and 15 postoperative day). Methods: A retrospective review of 84 neonates and infants requiring tracheostomy after cardiac surgery between January 1997 and December 2019 was performed. Indications and timings for tracheostomy, and risk factors for mortality were analyzed using Cox regression analysis. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, Youden’s index, sensitivity and specificity plot were performed to determine the optimal cut-off point of the timing of tracheostomy. Results: Twenty-five (29.76%) neonates and 59 (70.23%) infants with a median weight 7.6 kg (IQR: 3.1-9.25 kg) were studied. Extubation failure and unsuccessful weaning from ventilator occurred in 45 (53.6%) and 39 (46.4%) patients respectively. The timing of tracheostomy of 15 days as the optimal cut-off point was associated with a sensitivity of 73% and a specificity of 84% and a Youden’s index of 0.60. Early tracheostomy was associated with decreased mortality (p<0.001), morbidity (p<0.001), decreased duration of ventilation (p<0.001), ICU length of stay (p<0.001) and decreased time of decannulation (p<0.001). The hazard of death was 5.26 times (95% CI: 1.47-20.36) higher in patients undergoing late tracheostomy. At a median follow-up of 166 (IQR: 82.5-216) months, the actuarial survival was 86.61%±0.04%. Conclusions: Early tracheostomy within 15 postoperative day was associated with lower perioperative and late mortality, morbidity and ICU stay compared with tracheostomy between 15-30 days, and confers significant longterm advantages.