Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Outcomes beyond hospital discharge in infants and children with viral meningitis: A systematic review

Viruses are the commonest cause of childhood meningitis, but outcomes beyond hospital discharge are poorly described. We undertook a systematic literature review of long‐term outcomes following paediatric viral meningitis. A search was carried out using MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Review for studies from 1 January 1990 to 31 December 2018. Studies were included where specific outcome measures were available beyond hospital discharge for children <16 years old with viral meningitis. In total, 3588 papers were identified of which 14 were eligible for inclusion. Four studies reported outcomes in children with nonenterovirus 71 meningitis. A US study of 16 cases demonstrated subtle language difficulties at 3‐year follow‐up in infants in contrast to an Australian study, which revealed no impairment in language. A Fijian study showed that two out of eight cases had sensorineural hearing loss compared with none in a UK cohort of 668 infants. Three studies evaluated outcomes of enterovirus 71 meningitis in China and Taiwan, two showed cases recovered without sequelae, while one demonstrated an increased risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Present distribution, population status, and conservation of Western Hoolock Gibbons Hoolock hoolock (Primates: Hylobatidae) in Namdapha National Park, India.

A survey on the present distribution, population status and conservation of Western Hoolock Gibbon (Hoolock hoolock) was conducted from September 2006 to April 2007 in Namdapha National Park, Arunachal Pradesh, northeastern India. The data were recorded from 12 localities in the Park: Gibbon land, Baghnallah, Deban, 15th Mile, 16th Mile, Hawaghar, 19th Mile, Haldibari, Hornbill camp, Baranallah, Firmbase camp, and Embyong. A total of 50 individuals in 20 groups were recorded during the census by using direct and indirect methods. Out of 20 groups, nine groups were observed through direct visual observation. The remaining 11 groups were estimated by using indirect observation methods such as songs, calls, and branch shaking. The composition of the population was 19 adult males (38%), 19 adult females (38%), and 12 immatures (24%). The group size was estimated as 2.5 individuals per group. Anthropogenic disturbances observed in the gibbon habitat were habitat loss, hunting and poaching, canopy gaps, livelihood issues for local people, and livestock grazing.
Phylogenetic analysis of the Common Krait (Bungarus caeruleus) in Pakistan based on mitochondrial and nuclear protein coding genes

—Pakistan has more than 40 species of venomous snakes. One of them, the Common Krait (Bungarus caeruleus), is responsible for most of the reported snake bites followed by Russel’s Viper, Sawscaled Viper, and Black Cobra. Molecular studies not only help in correctly identifying organisms but also in finding the phylogenetic relationships and diversity among and between them. Morphological studies can be supplemented with confirmatory molecular data to make them more authentic and accurate. This study is the first to characterize the genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships of Common Kraits from Pakistan, which will help in developing effective strategies for managing snake bites through effective antivenom development. Tail tip biopsies of 25 Common Kraits were collected from different cities in Pakistan. The whole DNA was extracted. Four mitochondrial (ND4, Cytochrome b, 12S rRNA, and 16S rRNA) and three nuclear protein coding (C-mos, RAG-1, and NT3) gene fragments were amplified using specific PCR primers. The amplified DNA was sequenced by Sanger di-deoxy sequencing. Forward and reverse sequences were cleaned and contiged using Sequencher 5.0 software. DNA data were aligned and concatenated using MEGA 6.0 and SequenceMatrix software, respectively. Partition Finder software was used for obtaining the best partitioning scheme and evolutionary models. Concatenated maximum likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic trees were constructed using RaxML and MrBayes software. The same alignments were used to perform DNA polymorphism analysis using DnaSP 5.0 software. A percent identity matrix was created for all sequences using the online bioinformatics tool, MUSCLE. Homology was presented in tabular form, showing the similarity among different species of genus Bungarus. All Bungarus species were differentiated into four groups. Common Krait (B. caeruleus) from Pakistan showed close relationships with B. sindanus and B. ceylonicus, as one monophyletic group. The first clade included B. candidus (Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos), B. multicinctus (China, Taiwan, and Burma), and B. niger (Nepal). The second clade included B. sindanus and B. caeruleus (Pakistan), and B. ceylonicus (Sri Lanka). The third clade included B. fasciatus (Thailand and Indonesia), while the fourth clade included B. bungroides (China) and B. flaviceps (Malaysia and Indonesia). This study traces the diversity and phylogenetic relationships of the Pakistani elapid, Common Krait, showing the considerable interand intra-specific variations from different geographical regions of the world.
What Do We Know about Dividend Smoothing in This Millennium? Evidence from Asian Markets

ABSTRACT We examined the smoothing pattern of dividends on publicly stock-listed companies in the so-called Asian Tigers – China, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand. Based on a panel of data comprising 702 companies from 2000 to 2015, we estimated the speed of dividend adjustment (SOA) using a generalized method of moments two-step estimator. Having implemented an improved procedure using a rolling regression, we obtained the SOA coefficient equal to 0.447, which confirmed a moderate level of dividend smoothing among the selected countries. Moreover, we examined the SOA’s drivers by employing a range of variables reflecting the companies’ and the countries’ characteristics. The most influential firm-level determinants of dividend smoothing in emerging Asian markets were payout ratio, retained earnings and level of risk proxied by the return on asset standard deviation. Additionally, we identified the relevance of the financial market sophistication and board efficacy as potential drivers of dividend smoothing.
Effects of predisposing factors on the success and treatment period in vaginismus

Objective There are many predisposing factors associated with vaginismus, but there is lack of data in the literature regarding which and how of these factors influence the success rate of treatment. Our aim is to investigate the effects of factors that are considered as predisposing factors for vaginismus on treatment prognosis and success rate, with cognitive-behavioral therapy and desensitization exercises after sexual therapy. Methods Patients with vaginismus were divided into three groups. Group 1: patients who successfully completed vaginal penetration exercises after sexual therapy and experienced vaginal sexual intercourse; Group 2: patients who started penetration exercises but could not reach success; Group 3: patients who discontinued treatment before starting exercises. Demographic and sexual parameters were compared between the groups. Results There were statistically significant differences between the groups in terms of history of vaginismus in relatives (4.3%, 23% and 35.7%, p=0.047, respectively), the unsuccessful therapy history (69%, 61% and 21.4%, p=0.014, respectively), and anal and/or oral sex ratios (47.8%, 7.7% and 57.1%, p=0.019, respectively). Mean number of sessions were significantly higher in patients saying, “It is my fault” than among those perceiving it as a common problem (10.6±2.9 ve 7.5±5.7, p=0.042, respectively), and in patients with sexual disorder in their male partners than those not having any problem (13.3±3.7 ve 8.2±3.7, p=0.013, respectively). Conclusion Patients are more resistant to treatment if they have a history of vaginismus among relatives or when one of the couple say, it is his or her fault.
Molecular Characterization of DNAβ Molecules Associated with Tobacco Leaf Curl Yunnan Virus

Tobacco leaf curl Yunnan virus (TbLCYNV) isolates Y136 and Y143 were both shown to contain DNAβ molecules. Seven DNAβ molecules, each consisting of 1334-1341 nucleotides, were cloned and characterized. Sequence comparison showed that they were of two main types: type 1 included five DNAβ molecules with 75-99% overall nucleotide sequence identity, and type 2 included two DNAβ molecules with >99% overall nucleotide sequence identity. Only 52-54% nucleotide identity was found between the two types of DNAβ molecules. The two isolates were associated with both types of DNAβ. A relationship dendrogram analysis showed that type 1 DNAβ molecules clustered with the DNAβ molecules of Tomato yellow leaf curl China virus, whereas type 2 DNAβ molecules clustered with the DNAβ of Tomato yellow leaf curl Thailand virus. Evidence was also provided that type 2 DNAβ molecules may have arisen by recombination between the DNAβ of Tobacco curly shoot virus and another unidentified virus. To date, only a single type of DNAβ molecule had been found to be associated with one begomovirus. The possible reasons of TbLCYNV associated with two types of DNAβ molecules are discussed.
The politics of language and identity: attitudes towards Hong Kong English pre and post the Umbrella Movement

Abstract This article reports on a 2015 follow-up to a survey on attitudes towards Hong Kong English which was released to students at a major university in Hong Kong in late September 2014 on the eve of the Umbrella Movement, a largely student-led protest to demand universal suffrage in Hong Kong. While the movement ultimately failed to gain full democracy for Hong Kong, the past year has seen increased political activism among Hong Kong’s youth, and a strengthening of a local identity. In order to investigate whether attitudes towards Hong Kong English have also shifted in the past year, the author re-released the same survey one year after the original study was conducted; this article compares the findings from these two surveys in order to investigate how and why attitudes towards Hong Kong English have shifted and how identity impacts attitudes towards Hong Kong English.
The biogeographical history of Asian keelback snakes of the genus Hebius (Squamata: Colubridae: Natricinae) in the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan

The islands of the central and southern parts of the Ryukyu Archipelago and Taiwan accommodate suites of allopatric endemics for many terrestrial vertebrates. These subregions, which were isolated as three independent islands since the Late Miocene period, became connected to the continent by the Early Pleistocene land bridge (EPL). Many endemics are considered to have emerged through vicariant events accompanied with the collapse of EPL, but this is not well corroborated. We conducted divergence dating analyses for samples of four allopatric keelback snakes from 20 islands using a published timeframe for natricine snakes. Phylogenetic analyses recognised the existence of eight subclades for the four species. Four of the five subclades in the Central Ryukyus have emerged after the initial isolation of three subregions but before the EPL collapse, indicating iterative divergences within the super-island and stagnation of diverged entities. In contrast, the Southern Ryukyus was subjected to multiple incursions from both Central Ryukyus and Taiwan, irrespective of the EPL connection. Consequently, among all seven nodes, only two were consistent with the assumption of vicariance. These findings suggest that dispersals and subsequent nonvicariant divergences have contributed to the formation of the current phylogeographical pattern in this continental island chain.
Seven Reasons to Care About Racism and COVID-19 and Seven Things to Do to Stop It

"5,6 Such practices perpetuate the erroneous belief that racial groups are inherently different [ ]racist hate crimes can lead to fear, injury, and death Scapegoating deflects attention from the underlying fact that our public health infrastructure is underdeveloped [ ]the use of phrases such as "Chinese virus" directly contradicts calls from the WHO, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other scientific agencies to use scientific nomenclature and avoid stigmatizing language
Us versus Them: The Debates on the Legislation of Same-Sex Marriage (1994 – 2015) in Taiwan

ABSTRACT Taiwan, the first country in Asia to provide same-sex couples a legal right to marriage, has witnessed furious debate on both sides. To understand this debate, we combined content analysis and the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) method to capture themes and states of mind reflected in the news articles. Arguments based in human rights and reflecting heterosexual preferences which were observed elsewhere also dominated the discourses in Taiwan. First-person pronouns, positive and negative emotions, and differentiation were found to be associated with rights discourses and, in turn, support for same-sex marriage. The themes, the state of mind of the involved parties, and same-sex marriage legalization are further discussed.
Association among pterygium, cataracts, and cumulative ocular ultraviolet exposure: A cross-sectional study in Han people in China and Taiwan

Purpose Pterygium is an ocular surface disorder mainly caused by ultraviolet (UV) light exposure. This study explored the relationships between six cataract types with pterygium and UV exposure. Methods We have previously studied cataracts in residents of three regions in China and Taiwan with different UV intensities. From that study, we identified 1,547 subjects with information on the presence or absence of pterygium. Pterygium severity was graded by corneal progress rate. Cataracts were graded by classification systems as three main types (cortical, nuclear, posterior subcapsular) and three subtypes (retrodots, waterclefts, fiber folds) with high prevalence in middle-aged and elderly people. We calculated the cumulative ocular UV exposure (COUV) based on subject data and National Aeronautics and Space Administration data on UV intensities and used logistic regression to calculate odds ratios for the associations of COUV, cataract, and pterygium. Results We found an overall pterygium prevalence of 23.3%, with significant variation among the three regions. Four cataract types (cortical, nuclear, posterior subcapsular, and retrodots) were significantly associated with the presence of pterygium. Conclusions There was a significant association between COUV and pterygium, indicating that COUV is associated with the risk of pterygium development and that pterygium is useful as an index of UV exposure. Furthermore, the type of cataract in eyes with pterygium may indicate the level of UV exposure.
Systemic Antibiotic Prophylaxis to Reduce Early Implant Failure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Systemic antibiotics are routinely prescribed in implant procedures, but the lack of consensus causes large differences between clinicians regarding antibiotic prophylaxis regimens. The objectives of this systematic review are to assess the need to prescribe antibiotics to prevent early implant failure and find the most appropriate antibiotic prophylaxis regimen. The electronic search was conducted in PubMed/MEDLINE, Scielo and Cochrane Central Trials Database for randomized clinical trials of at least 3 months of follow-up. Eleven studies were included in the qualitative analysis. Antibiotics were found to statistically significantly reduce early implant failures (RR = 0.30, 95% CI: 0.19–0.47, p < 0.00001; heterogeneity I2 = 0%, p = 0.54). No differences were seen between preoperative or both pre- and postoperative antibiotic regimens (RR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.21–1.55, p = 0.27; heterogeneity I2 = 0%, p = 0.37). A single preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis dose was found to be enough to significantly reduce early implant failures compared to no antibiotic (RR = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.21–0.53, p < 0.00001; heterogeneity I2 = 0%, p = 0.61). In conclusion, in healthy patients a single antibiotic prophylaxis dose is indicated to prevent early implant failure.
Gauging reference and source bias over time: how Russia’s partially state-controlled search engine Yandex mediated an anti-regime protest event

ABSTRACT Massive efforts have been dedicated to studying political search engine bias in democratic contexts, and a growing body of literature has scrutinized search engine censorship in authoritarian China. By contrast, very little is known still about political search engine bias within Russia’s slightly more open authoritarian media system. In order to fill in this gap, this study asks: How has Russia’s leading partially state-controlled search engine Yandex mediated a large-scale anti-regime protest event (anti-corruption protests on 26 March 2017) in the twenty months thereafter? The study analyzes a data set of 30,471 results, retrieved in regular intervals for nine query terms from four platforms: Yandex.ru, News.yandex. ru, Google.ru, and News.google. ru. As the findings demonstrate, both Yandex algorithms (by comparison with their Google counterparts) referred users to significantly fewer websites that contained information about the protest event (reference bias). In a similar vein, both Yandex algorithms forwarded users to fewer websites that regularly featured criticism of Russia’s authoritarian leadership (source bias). Moreover, Yandex algorithms tended to be particularly biased in the event’s immediate aftermath. In the first week after the protests, for instance, the difference in reference ratios between Google and Yandex Web searches were massive (mean difference: 23% points), while they were less pronounced during the remaining time period studied (mean difference: 7% points). These findings are highly politically relevant because rapid diffusion of information about protest events can be considered of key importance to further protest mobilization.
The Hong Kong Umbrella Movement as a non‐profit organization: An empirical study on the use of visual branding practices for social change

In this article, we draw our attention to the growth of a new social movement, as a non-profit organization which aims to effectively communicate its collective identity and messages to larger audiences. Initially, we provide a critical discussion on the interrelationships between marketing theory/practice and protest groups' promotional tactics. Afterwards, we focus on the interface between visual branding practices and new social movement's strategies to create a visual branding identity around their protest symbols and aims. In order to do so, we adopted a moderate participant observation approach to explore how the 2014 Hong Kong Umbrella Movement employed forms of visual branding to engage local and global audiences and induce social change. Drawing on a close examination of field notes and a visual analysis of digital archives and images from the protest sites, we identify and discuss the presence of several visual branding techniques for the imaginative promotion of the movement's demands and causes. Our findings suggest that the 2014 Umbrella Movement protesters coordinated and acted as non-profit organization which employed innovative and creative visual branding methods to enhance the movement's unity and trigger emotional responses from diverse audiences. We conclude the article with suggestions for future research around the interrelationships between social movements' protest symbols, transnational visual branding practices and non-profit organizational practices.
Chinese Pride and European Prejudice

The Chinese government’s cover-up of the origins of the new coronavirus, and its more openly prideful and aggressive foreign and human rights policies, triggered a dramatic deterioration of foreign views of China in 2020. That year also witnessed a significant increase in anti-Chinese/Asian prejudice around the world. Could the former have shaped the latter? Drawing on theories of prejudice and ideology, and using an Autumn 2020 13-nation European survey about China, this paper explores whether increasingly negative attitudes toward Chinese government policies prejudiced European views of local Chinese students, tourists, and communities. It finds substantial evidence of a spillover effect, an effect which is stronger among conservative Europeans than among progressive Europeans more motivated to avoid prejudice. The paper concludes with thoughts on the danger that China’s prideful “wolf warriors” pose for Chinese students, tourists, and local Chinese communities confronting prejudice in Europe today.
Strategic Framing Matters But Varies: A Structural Topic Modeling Approach to Analyzing China’s Foreign Propaganda About the 2019 Hong Kong Protests on Twitter

Drawing upon the approach of strategic framing, this study investigated how China’s state-run media mobilize foreign propaganda machine and use specific patterns to describe the 2019 Hong Kong protests on Twitter. It also shed light on the heterogeneity of both production and reception of the strategic frames used by state media. Structural topic modeling was employed to analyze a large amount of Twitter content (i.e., 14,412 tweets) posted by 13 verified organizational accounts, and six strategic frames were identified as conflicts and violence, calling for stability and order, marginalizing protests, criticizing the West as accomplices, delegitimizing protests, and social and economic disruption. These frames highlighted insider–outsider and causes and consequences as two overarching communication strategies. The results also revealed that the bureaucratic rank of state media and the engagement rate of each tweet were closely associated with the content prevalence of various strategic frames. In addition to enhancing our understanding of the construction of “protest paradigm” against the social media context, these empirical findings uncover the often overlooked mobility and flexibility of China’s state media discourse as well as the communication ecology shaped and consolidated by the increasing importance state media communicators attach to online engagement metrics.
Biocrust effects on soil infiltrability in the Mu Us Desert: Soil hydraulic properties analysis and modeling

Abstract The presence of biocrusts changes water infiltration in the Mu Us Desert. Knowledge of the hydraulic properties of biocrusts and parameterization of soil hydraulic properties are important to improve simulation of infiltration and soil water dynamics in vegetation-soil-water models. In this study, four treatments, including bare land with sporadic cyanobacterial biocrusts (BL), lichen-dominated biocrusts (LB), early-successional moss biocrusts (EMB), and late-successional moss biocrusts (LMB), were established to evaluate the effects of biocrust development on soil water infiltration in the Mu Us Desert, northwest of China. Moreover, a combined Wooding inverse approach was used for the estimation of soil hydraulic parameters. The results showed that infiltration rate followed the pattern BL > LB > EMB > LMB. Moreover, the LB, EMB, and LMB treatments had significantly lower infiltration rates than the BL treatment. The saturated soil moisture (θs) and shape parameter (αVG) for the EMB and LMB treatments were higher than that for the BL and LB treatments, although the difference among four treatments was insignificant. Water retention increased with biocrust development at high-pressure heads, whereas the opposite was observed at low-pressure heads. The development of biocrusts influences van Genuchten parameters, subsequently affects the water retention curve, and thereby alters available water in the biocrust layer. The findings regarding the parameterization of soil hydraulic properties have important implications for the simulation of eco-hydrological processes in dryland ecosystems.