Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Blind Assistance System using Image Processing

Abstract: Eye diseases usually cause blindness and visual impairment. According to the World Health Organization, around 40 million people are blind, while another 250 million have some form of visual impairment. They come across many troubles in their daily life, especially while navigating from one place to another on their own. They often depend on others for help to satisfy their day-to-day needs. So, it is quite a challenging task to implement a technological solution to assist them. Several technologies have been developed for the assistance of visually impaired people. One such attempt is that we would wish to make an Integrated Machine Learning System that allows the blind victims to identify and classify real-time objects generating voice feedback and distance. Which also produces warnings whether they are very close or far away from the thing. Keywords: Blindness, Visual impairment, Machine Learning, Real-time objects
Digital influencers, social power and consumer engagement in social commerce

PurposeSocial commerce platforms are prevalent in the explosion of social media and e-commerce, and they enable conversations across a broad range of topics. However, their success depends on consumers' willingness to invest their time, attention and money. Digital influencers have shown prominent effects on consumers in those social commerce platforms. This study, thus, aims to attempt to unravel the role of digital influencers in affecting consumer engagement and purchase behaviour in online social commerce communities.Design/methodology/approachA mixed approach with a field interview, an online survey and secondary archive data are presented to confirm all the hypotheses.FindingsSeveral forms of social power from digital influencers (including expert power, informational power, referent power and legitimate reciprocity power) could influence consumer engagement behaviours (including content participation and content creation). Moreover, the two types of consumer engagement behaviours could further influence consumer purchase likelihood in the social commerce community.Research limitations/implicationsSeveral forms of social power from digital influencers (including expert power, informational power, referent power and legitimate reciprocity power) could affect consumer engagement behaviours (including content participation and content creation). Moreover, the two types of consumer engagement behaviours could further affect consumer's purchase expenditure in the social commerce community.Originality/valueThis study draws on the theories of social power and social influence and integrates the literature on consumer engagement to explain how digital influencers affect consumer engagement and their purchase behaviour in an online social commerce community. Firstly, this work extends existing studies on the antecedents of consumer engagement in the social commerce communities by considering the role of digital influencers. Secondly, this research advances the theoretical understanding of the influence of digital influencers through a new lens of social power. The findings also contribute to community managers, users who pursue popularity and companies who target business goals.
Utility of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antibodies as screening markers for nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a narrative review

Background and Objective: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a tumor of the head and neck that arises from the mucosal epithelium of the nasopharynx. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a human herpes virus and the necessary cause for NPC. The 5-year survival rate for NPC patients is higher when diagnosed at an earlier stage of disease. Therefore, NPC screening should be prioritized for early detection. The objective of this narrative review is to synthesize the existing literature from the past decade describing evaluations of EBV-based serological markers for NPC screening. Methods: We performed a literature search in PubMed for studies published from 2010 to 2020. Studies were required to be English-language articles. Twelve articles fulfilled all inclusion criteria, including eight studies conducted among the general population in southeastern China, three studies in genetically high-risk Taiwanese families, and one study comparing EBV serology versus circulating EBV DNA for NPC prediction. Key Content and Findings: Studies suggest that EBV-based serology has the potential to be an effective tool to aid in early detection of NPC. The synthesized research also collectively suggests that incorporation of antibody against multiple EBV targets, as well as efforts to optimize assay output, can improve the ability of EBV serological markers to detect NPC. Finally, recent data from the only randomized trial provide preliminary evidence that screening using anti-EBV immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibody may achieve the goal of reducing mortality from NPC. Conclusions: Late diagnosis is one of the reasons for poor survival after an NPC diagnosis. In high-risk areas, early diagnosis aided by EBV antibody could therefore improve survival.
Wireless Sensor Networks for Indoor Search and Rescue operations

Many people all around the world live in a daily threat of natural disasters, such as earthquakes or floods. Numerous projects study ways to predict natural disasters, but the number of research focusing on aftermaths is much smaller. Traditional ways first response teams use are, for example, radars and canines, which mainly search surface and near-surface regions of the rubble. Such methods, however, are quite ineffective in locating victims inside a rubble, as access to such regions is often problematic. A superior approach to this problem might be wireless sensor networks (WSN). WSNs are able to provide a more efficient way to deal with search and rescue operations, making them quicker and lessening the risk for both rescuers and victims, by autonomously collecting data about the situation inside the rubble. In this paper we review current WSN assisted indoor search and rescue operations projects and design issues that developers of such systems face with.
Potential of Triterpenic Natural Compound Betulinic Acid for Neglected Tropical Diseases New Treatments

Neglected tropical diseases are one of the most important public health problems in many countries around the world. Among them are leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, and malaria, which contribute to more than 250 million infections worldwide. There is no validated vaccine to prevent these infections and the treatments available are obsolete, highly toxic, and non-effective due to parasitic drug resistance. Additionally, there is a high incidence of these diseases, and they may require hospitalization, which is expensive to the public health systems. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new treatments to improve the management of infected people, control the spread of resistant strains, and reduce health costs. Betulinic acid (BA) is a triterpene natural product which has shown antiparasitic activity against Leishmania, Trypanosoma cruzi, and Plasmodium. Here, we review the main results regarding the in vitro and in vivo pharmacological activity of BA and its derivatives against these parasites. Some chemical modifications of BA have been shown to improve its activities against the parasites. Further improvement on studies of drug-derived, as well as structure–activity relationship, are necessary for the development of new betulinic acid-based treatments.
Anti-inflammatory activities of a sulfated polysaccharide isolated from the brown seaweed Padina boergesenii (Phaeophyceae, Dictyotaceae)

DOI: 10.21608/svu.2022. 105385.1158 Received: November 16, 2021 Accepted: March 20, 2022 Published: March 30, 2022 *Corresponding Author: Ereen Kondos Naeem E-mail: ereenkondos@yahoo.com Citation: Kondos et al., Anti-inflammatory activities of a sulfated polysaccharide isolated from the brown seaweed Padina boergesenii (Phaeophyceae, Dictyotaceae) SVU-IJVS 2022, 5(1): 83-101. Copyright: © Kondos et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the creative common attribution license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author and source are created. Competing interest: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists. Abstract Brown algae (BA) have recently gained high interest as a beneficial source of pharmacological numerous invaluable active constituents. Subsequently, water-soluble polysaccharides of BA attracted the attention of researchers worldwide due to their anticancer and antioxidant activities. This study was carried out to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of polysaccharides (PLS) extract of Padina boergesenii brown algae. Xylene produced-ear inflammation and carrageenan produced-paw edema models were used in this study. The PLS doses of 75, 125, 250, 500, 750, 1000 mg/kg were tested. Our obtained data revealed that PLS inhibited the inflammatory reactions of both models in a dose-dependent manner. Interestingly, the anti-inflammatory effect of PLS is associated with lowering of nitric oxide and MDA free radicals and pro-inflammatory cytokines: IL1β, IL-6, and TNF-α level. This data highlights the therapeutic significance of isolated PLS. As this polysaccharide possesses high anti-inflammatory activity in comparison to the anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac, therefore this natural compound could be recommended as an effective remedy for inflammation.
INVENTORY CONTROL OF CRITICAL SPARE PART BASED ON FNS ANALYSIS

Krebet Baru I Sugar Factory is a producer of sugar that operate on the milling season that start from June until November 2015. The problem that occured in the Krebet Baru I were ineffectively and inefficiently spare parts inventory policy that cause stockout and led to production process stoppage. This research used FNS analysis for the classification spare parts and EOQ Probabilistic method for calculation of stockout probability, optimum Q and ROP, total cost, also service level which were would be compared with existing policy. The research resulted that 44 types of spare parts categorized as urgent, 8 types else categorized as critical. EOQ Probabilistic method was chosen as the best method of control policy, with total cost reduction by 12%-93% and service level increase by 995-100% than existing policy which resulted a total cost by Rp 5.004. 890 – Rp 142.647. 057 and service level by 0%-30%.
Imaging Endocytosis Dynamics in Health and Disease

Endocytosis is a critical process for cell growth and viability. It mediates nutrient uptake, guarantees plasma membrane homeostasis, and generates intracellular signaling cascades. Moreover, it plays an important role in dead cell clearance and defense against external microbes. Finally, endocytosis is an important cellular route for the delivery of nanomedicines for therapeutic treatments. Thus, it is not surprising that both environmental and genetic perturbation of endocytosis have been associated with several human conditions such as cancer, neurological disorders, and virus infections, among others. Over the last decades, a lot of research has been focused on developing advanced imaging methods to monitor endocytosis events with high resolution in living cells and tissues. These include fluorescence imaging, electron microscopy, and correlative and super-resolution microscopy. In this review, we outline the major endocytic pathways and briefly discuss how defects in the molecular machinery of these pathways lead to disease. We then discuss the current imaging methodologies used to study endocytosis in different contexts, highlighting strengths and weaknesses.
Ship Segmentation and Georeferencing from Static Oblique View Images

Camera systems support the rapid assessment of ship traffic at ports, allowing for a better perspective of the maritime situation. However, optimal ship monitoring requires a level of automation that allows personnel to keep track of relevant variables in the maritime situation in an understandable and visualisable format. It therefore becomes important to have real-time recognition of ships present at the infrastructure, with their class and geographic position presented to the maritime situational awareness operator. This work presents a novel dataset, ShipSG, for the segmentation and georeferencing of ships in maritime monitoring scenes with a static oblique view. Moreover, an exploration of four instance segmentation methods, with a focus on robust (Mask-RCNN, DetectoRS) and real-time performances (YOLACT, Centermask-Lite) and their generalisation to other existing maritime datasets, is shown. Lastly, a method for georeferencing ship masks is proposed. This includes an automatic calculation of the pixel of the segmented ship to be georeferenced and the use of a homography to transform this pixel to geographic coordinates. DetectoRS provided the highest ship segmentation mAP of 0.747. The fastest segmentation method was Centermask-Lite, with 40.96 FPS. The accuracy of our georeferencing method was (22 ± 10) m for ships detected within a 400 m range, and (53 ± 24) m for ships over 400 m away from the camera.
Metformin Treatment Regulates the Expression of Molecules Involved in Adiponectin and Insulin Signaling Pathways in Endometria from Women with Obesity-Associated Insulin Resistance and PCOS

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine/metabolic disorder associated with insulin resistance (IR) and obesity. Endometria from women with PCOS present failures in insulin action, glucose uptake and signaling of insulin-sensitizing molecules, such as adiponectin, with consequences for reproduction. Metformin (MTF) treatment improves insulin signaling in endometrial tissues, but its mechanism is not fully understood. This study addresses the MTF effect, as well as adiponectin agonist action, on levels of molecules associated with insulin and adiponectin signaling pathways in endometrial tissue and cells, as assessed by immunohistochemistry and immunocytochemistry, respectively. Endometrial tissues were obtained from women and divided into five groups: Normal Weight (control); Obesity + IR; Obesity + IR + PCOS; Obesity + IR + MTF; Obesity + IR + PCOS + MTF. Endometrial cells stimulated with TNFα (as obesity-marker) were also used to partially emulate an obesity environment. The results showed low levels of insulin/adiponectin signaling in the endometria from women with obesity, IR and PCOS compared with the control group. MTF re-established these levels, independently of PCOS. TNFα-associated molecules were elevated in pathologic endometria, whereas MTF diminished these levels. The low levels of insulin/adiponectin molecules in endometrial cells treated with TNFα were reverted by MTF, similar to what was observed in the case of the adiponectin agonist. Therefore, independently of PCOS, MTF can re-establish levels of molecules involved in insulin/adiponectin signaling in endometrial cells, suggesting an improvement in insulin action and reproductive failures observed in endometria from women with obesity/PCOS.
Considerations for Better Management of Postoperative Pain in Light of Chronic Postoperative Pain: A Narrative Review

Chronic postoperative pain (CPOP) is prevalent, with particularly high rates in breast surgery, thoracotomy, and amputation. As the world emerges from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdowns, it is expected that there will be an increase in surgical procedures, elevating the importance of preventing CPOP in the coming years. Risk factors are emerging to better stratify patients at high risk for CPOP. Perioperative analgesia plays an important role in managing acute postoperative pain and in some cases may limit its transition to CPOP. Acute postoperative pain is adaptive, normal, expected, and has a well-defined trajectory, while CPOP is maladaptive and, as a form of chronic pain, is challenging to treat. Good analgesia, early ambulation, and rehabilitation efforts may be helpful in preventing CPOP following certain surgeries. Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols present guidance to help promote recovery and prevent CPOP.
GENETIC DIVERSITY OF ARABIAN HORSES USING MICROSATELLITE ‎MARKERS

SUMMARY The horse strains designation system was shaped in the 7th century in the Arabian Peninsula and spread to the neighboring oriental empires and it is still used. The aim of the present study was to investigate genetic diversity among three Arabian horse strains using twelve equine microsatellite markers. The study included 84 Arabian horses representing three major Syrian strains (Hamdani, Kahlawi and Saglawi) from five geographical regions in Syria. To determine genetic population structure within and between the three strains, we applied different methods. The selected panel of microsatellite markers confirmed a general genetic feature of the three main strains of Syrian Arabian horses suggesting low level of population differentiation. To ascertain the results, it will be necessary to collate our findings with the historical pedigree. Furthermore, we need a genome-wide investigation of microsatellites or an analysis of strain/breed specific SNPs across the Syrian Arabian horse populations for better insight into the genetic diversity.
LiDAR-Based Vehicle–Pedestrian Interaction Study on Midblock Crossing Using Trajectory-Based Modified Post-Encroachment Time

Understanding pedestrian road crossing behavior is crucial in the interests of pedestrian traffic safety. The interaction between pedestrians and approaching vehicles at midblock road crossings is a complex process. The high degree of vehicle heterogeneity and poor lane discipline in low- and middle-income countries further adds to its complexity. Moreover, because of the lack of proper pedestrian facilities, pedestrian crossing behavior is quite different in low- and middle-income countries. It is necessary to have high-resolution data to study pedestrian crossing behavior. At midblock, pedestrians do not always take the shortest route while crossing the road and cross diagonally, moving toward or away from the approaching vehicle. The risk indicator of crossing changes based on the pedestrian path chosen. This study was based on studying vehicle–pedestrian interaction at midblock locations using light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data. This study considered a trajectory-based pedestrian modified post-encroachment time (PET) to account for the various possible pedestrian crossing trajectories. Suitable algorithms were developed to identify and track vehicles and pedestrians from the LiDAR point cloud data. The results showed the trajectory-based pedestrian modified PET to perform better than the traditional PET. The risk-taking appetite of pedestrians was also observed to be high when motorbikes were the approaching vehicle. This study showed the motorbike–pedestrian conflicts to be riskier as compared with car–pedestrian conflicts. The results obtained from this study would be helpful to practitioners in investing higher priority to proper pedestrian-related road infrastructure.
Identification of groups of secondary school teachers who leave the teaching profession in Malawi

In this article, we examine the history of the Life Improvement Approach (LIA) from around the turn of the 20th century, and propose a LIA model based on Japanese experiences followingWorld War II to JICA Tsukuba training courses for Latin American countries, taking into consideration recent advances in information and communications technology (ICT) available in developing countries. In this paper, we first review the history of LIA, pointing out that self-determination and self-management (agency enhancement and pragmatism) are the two principal pillars of the current LIA model elaborated in JICA Tsukuba training courses. We also stress the importance of ‘accompaniment’ by extension workers. We reformulate LIA as an enhanced microeconomic model based on Mokyr (2002) to clarify its relevance as a development policy. We then analyze the case of a small association in Costa Rica using digital photos taken by extension workers, pointing out the necessity of operationalizing t he model to fit onsite practices. Based on this foundation, we present a blueprint for a new digital system for sharing images and texts of LIA, called SIMEVI, which provides a bridge between the theoretical model and onsite practices, and underlines the importance of an analog foundation for the system to fully function as an ‘engine’ to support LIA in developing countries.
L-methioninase enzyme production by E. coli WSM2 using some organic by product residues

Cancer is a growing reason for death and morbidity worldwide. L-methioninase (EC 4.4.1.11) has a possible application against many types of cancers like glioblastoma, kidney, breast, lung, and colon cancer. The aim of the present study screening of L-methioninase production by bacteria isolated from sewage samples obtained from Makkah city in Saudi Arabia. Twelve bacterial were isolated from sewage samples. The bacterial isolate's ability for L-methioninase production was tested on a modified mineral salt M9 L-methionine agar medium using phenol red as the pH indicator. Selected colonies with pink-red and yellow zone around as L-methionine degrading bacteria. The highest L-methioninase produced isolate identified based on16S rDNA sequencing, along with the biochemical characterization, and lastly completed by BLAST analysis by the structure of a phylogenetic tree. It was Escherichia coli WSM2 strain. The rRNA sequence of Escherichia coli WW11 was deposited to the gene bank (NCBI accession number MK072729). Results revealed using of organic byproduct residues, the high amount of the enzyme produced 0.128U/min/ml in cultures supplemented with pomegranate juice wastes with L-methionine and yeast extract after 48h of incubation, while the maximum amount of L-methioninase 0.237U/min/ml was produced by E. coli when 75% Whey and 25% and was used as fermentation media, incubated in a shaking incubator (150rpm).
Effect of Two Different Training Interventions on Cycling Performance in Mountain Bike Cross-Country Olympic Athletes

To improve performance in endurance sports, it is important to include both high-intensity and low-intensity training, but there is neither a universally accepted practice nor clear scientific evidence that allows reliable statements about the predominance of a specific training method. This randomized controlled trial compared the effects of a polarized training model (POL) to a low-intensity training model (LIT) on physiological parameters and mountain bike cross-country Olympic (XCO) race performance in eighteen competitive XCO athletes (17.9 ± 3.6 years). The superiority of one of the two methods could not be shown in this study. The results did not show statistically significant differences between POL and LIT, as both interventions led to slight improvements. However, a small tendency toward better effects for POL was seen for cycling power output during the race (4.4% vs. –2.2%), at the 4 mmol/L (6.1% vs. 2.8%) and individual anaerobic lactate threshold (5.1% vs. 2.3%), and for maximal aerobic performance (4.4% vs. 2.6%), but not for maximal efforts lasting 10 to 300 s. Despite the lack of significant superiority in this and some other studies, many athletes and coaches prefer POL because it produces at least equivalent effects and requires less training time.