Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reliability Testing of a Low-Cost, Multi-Purpose Arduino-Based Data Logger Deployed in Several Applications Such as Outdoor Air Quality, Human Activity, Motion, and Exhaust Gas Monitoring

This contribution shows the possibilities of applying a low-cost, multi-purpose data logger built around an Arduino Mega 2560 single-board computer. Most projects use this kind of hardware to develop single-purpose data loggers. In this work, a data logger with a more general hardware and software architecture was built to perform measurement campaigns in very different domains. The wide applicability of this data logger was demonstrated with short-term monitoring campaigns in relation to outdoor air quality, human activity in an office, motion of a journey on a bike, and exhaust gas monitoring of a diesel generator. In addition, an assessment process and corresponding evaluation framework are proposed to assess the credibility of low-cost scientific devices built in-house. The experiences acquired during the development of the system and the short measurement campaigns were used as inputs in the assessment process. The assessment showed that the system scores positively on most product-related targets. However, unexpected events affect the assessment over the longer term. This makes the development of low-cost scientific devices harder than expected. To assure stability and long-term performance of this type of design, continuous evaluation and regular engineering corrections are needed throughout longer testing periods.
CrowdFA: A Privacy-Preserving Mobile Crowdsensing Paradigm via Federated Analytics

Mobile crowdsensing (MCS) systems typically struggle to address the challenge of data aggregation, incentive design, and privacy protection, simultaneously. However, existing solutions usually focus on one or, at most, two of these issues. To this end, this paper presents CROWD FA, a novel paradigm for privacy-preserving MCS through federated analytics (FA), which aims to achieve a well-rounded solution encompassing data aggregation, incentive design, and privacy protection. Specifically, inspired by FA, CROWD FA initiates an MCS computing paradigm that enables data aggregation and incentive design. Participants can perform aggregation operations on their local data, facilitated by CROWD FA, which supports various common data aggregation operations and bidding incentives. To address privacy concerns, CROWD FA relies solely on an efficient cryptographic primitive known as additive secret sharing to simultaneously achieve privacy-preserving data aggregation and privacy-preserving incentive. To instantiate CROWD FA, this paper presents a privacy-preserving data aggregation scheme (PRADA) based on CROWD FA, capable of supporting a range of data aggregation operations. Additionally, a CROWD FA-based privacy-preserving incentive mechanism (PRAED) is designed to ensure truthful and fair incentives for each participant, while maximizing their individual rewards. Theoretical analysis and experimental evaluations demonstrate that CROWD FA protects participants’ data and bid privacy while effectively aggregating sensing data. Notably, CROWD FA outperforms state-of-the-art approaches by achieving up to 22 times faster computation time.
Trends in participation rates for wildlife-associated outdoor recreation activities by age and race/ethnicity: implications for cohort-component projection models

Cohort-component projection models have been used to explore the implications of increased aging and growth of racial/ethnic minority groups on number of participants in outdoor recreation activities in the years ahead. Projections usually assume that participation rates by age and race/ethnicity remain constant over time. This study looks at trends in activity participation rates by age and race/ethnicity and explores their implications for projections made by cohort-component projection models.
SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF INFANT AND CHILD MORTALITY

Infant and child mortality rate are significant phenomenon closely related to the healthy status of a society. They are major indicators of development. The secondary analysis methodology was adopted in this study while the major source of data was NDHS 2013 report. The ex post-facto research design was used in describing the NDHS 2013 qualitative data. The collected data is centered on Nigeria while empirical studies are not limited to Nigeria.to classify various social determinants of infant and child mortality either as individual and community factors or endogenous and exogenous factors. These social determinants were ex-rayed in relationship to their socio-economic implication. At the macro level, high rate of infant and child mortality are clear indices of poor health care facility and system, unhygienic environment, chronic poverty, enduring illiteracy and intense insecurity. At the micro level, it shows skewed income distribution, ignorance, poor exposure and food insufficiency. The study shows that social exclusion of mothers from decision making, inadequate knowledge about care for pregnancies, attitude toward accessibility of quality and affordable health care and insecurity have influence on morality growth. While there was an inverse relationship between income, residence, education, occupation, age of mothers, mother’s experience and infant and child mortality, there was a positive relationship between choice of contraceptives, male preference, mother’s non-freedom of choice, attitude toward place of delivery, inaccessibility of antenatal and post-natal care, perception toward acceptance of anti-tetanus treatment during pregnancies, incompetency of health workers and infant and child mortality. The study also shows that increase in per capital GDP is associated with decrease in infant and child mortality.
PooRaa‐Agri KG: An agricultural knowledge graph‐based simplified multilingual query system

The current work proposes PooRaa‐Agri KG, an agricultural knowledge graph‐based simplified multilingual query system that works in real time to provide concise answers for agriculture‐based queries. The proposed approach accommodates real‐time and low‐resource queries in English and Hindi with a novel multi‐stage solution consisting of data pre‐processing, sentence simplification, triplet extraction, knowledge graph generation, sentence reconstruction, query‐to‐reconstructed sentence matching, and machine translation as its sub‐modules. In this work, a novel combination of rule‐based sentence simplification and triplet extraction is carried out resulting in a triplet similarity score of 86.56% for the extracted triplets. This method is superior to the existing triplet extraction method whose triplet similarity score was found to be 60.65%. Further, the proposed work makes use of heuristic rules to reconstruct sentences which when evaluated by human evaluators for meaningfulness and grammar resulted in a score of 3.09/4 and 2.95/4 respectively. To complete end‐to‐end communication in the proposed system, a similarity‐based query answer system is proposed in this work.
Necessity of Providing Sexual and Reproductive Health Services to Adolescents and Young People in Iran : A Narrative Review

Background: Youths and adolescents are considered as valuable assets of any society. The preservation and promotion of health in this population is an issue of significant importance from the social and economic dimensions. Globalization has resulted in the emergence of several health risks for this age set. Sexual curiosity and sexual experiences are some of these dangers, which can cause irreparable damages if neglected. Regarding this, the present narrative review was conducted to identify the guidelines from different parts of the world for the preservation and promotion of sexual and reproductive health among the Iranian adolescents and youths. The integration of these strategies can provide appropriate solutions conforming to the Iranian culture. Methods: This narrative review was conducted on the articles and sources published within 1985-2015. The search was performed using the valid international databases, including Pubmed, Google Scholar, Google, WHO, ProQuest, and the Persian databases, such as Iranmedex and SID. In addition, we performed library research to obtain the papers investigating the issue of interest. The keywords used during the searching process entailed: “Reproduction Health”, “Youth”, “Adolescents”, and “Sexual Health”. In this review, out of 85 evaluated sources, 53 articles, books, thesis, and websites were selected. Results: As the reviewed studies indicated, the lack of knowledge, an unclear horizon of the future, and inaccessibility to reproductive health services threaten the health of the youths and adolescents. Therefore, the provision of sex education by parents, schools, or peers can have a significant impact on the promotion of sexual health in this population. Moreover, screening and identifying the adolescents and youths at risk and educating the necessary skills to this age set can prevent the occurrence of high-risk sexual behaviors. Similar to other countries but with a lower prevalence rate, there are some problems in sexual and reproductive health of the youths and adolescents in Iran. Therefore, it is recommended to teach the sexual health promotion techniques to this population according to their religion and culture.
Description of Contaminant Sediment-Water Interactions Using RECOVERY

Abstract : Bedded sediments serve as sinks for many contaminants. Deposition of contaminants into the sediment begins a series of processes that may cycle contaminants back into the water column creating potentially adverse ecological impacts on aquatic biota. Sorption processes influence the mobility of contaminants from the sediment. Sorption is a general term referring to chemical binding that may be both reversible and irreversible. Desorption quantifies the reversibility of contaminants and is important because the availability of contaminants for uptake depend on the rate of desorption. The overall objective of this study was to use experimental data and a model simulation to predict desorption kinetics of organic contaminants and to assess the potential effect of contaminated sediment on the overlying water. In the experimental phase, several PAHs and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) 153 were quantified. Radiolabeled PAHs and PCB 153 were selected as tracers to determine the rate and magnitude of contaminant mobilization from five reservoir sediments. Data from the experimental phase will be used to verify and assess the applicability of the RECOVERY model in predicting desorption
Direct and inverse elastic scattering from a locally perturbed rough surface

This paper is concerned with time-harmonic elastic scattering from a locally perturbed rough surface in two dimensions. We consider a rigid scattering interface given by the graph of a onedimensional Lipschitz function which coincides with the real axis in the complement of some compact set. Given the incident field and the scattering interface, the direct problem is to determine the field distribution, whereas the inverse problem is to determine the shape of the interface from the measurement of the field on an artificial boundary in the upper half-plane. We propose a symmetric coupling method between finite element and boundary integral equations to show uniqueness and existence of weak solutions. The synthetic data is computed via the finite element method with the Perfectly Matched Layer (PML) technique. To investigate the inverse problem, we derive the domain derivatives of the field with respect to the scattering interface. An iterative continuation method with multi-frequency data is used for recovering the unknown scattering interface.
Habitual physical activity and sedentary behavior as predictors of dynapenia in older adults: a cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Dynapenia is a risk factor of mortality. Therefore, the development of low-cost and easy-to-apply tools is essential to optimize the health surveillance actions of older people. OBJECTIVES: To compare the time spent on habitual physical activity (HPA) and sedentary behavior (SB) among dynapenic and non-dynapenic older adults and ascertain the predictive ability of these behaviors on outcome. DESIGN AND SETTING: A cross-sectional population epidemiological survey was conducted involving 208 older adults. METHODS: HPA and SB were quantified using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, and dynapenia was identified by handgrip strength (women: 18.37 kgf; men: 26.75 kgf). RESULTS: The prevalence was 24.50%. In both sexes, dynapenic individuals reported a HPA median time of 70.00 minutes/week (min/wk), while non-dynapenic women and men reported HPA median times of 240.00 and 280.00 min/wk, respectively (P < 0.05). For SB among dynapenic individuals, a median of 388.75 min/day was observed in women and 428.57 min/d in men. In contrast, non-dynapenic women and men had 291.42 and 274.28 min/day in SB (P < 0.05), respectively. The best cutoff HPA to discriminate the outcome was 150.00 min/wk in women (sensitivity: 73.30%; specificity: 60.67%) and 140.00 min/wk in men (sensitivity, 71.43%; specificity, 61.54%). The best cutoff SB was 381.43 min/day in women (sensitivity, 53.30%; specificity, 84.80%) and 351.43 min/day in men (sensitivity, 71.43%; specificity, 73.85%). CONCLUSION: Older individuals with dynapenia spent less time on HPA and more time in SB. Furthermore, HPA was found to be a better discriminator of dynapenic individuals, and SB better discriminated non-dynapenic individuals.
Effects of Air Pollution Exposure during Preconception and Pregnancy on Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

This study aimed to investigate the association between air pollution and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in small- and medium-sized cities, identify sensitive periods and major pollutants, and explore the effects of air pollution on different populations. A total of 9820 women who delivered in Handan Maternal and Child Health Hospital in the Hebei Province from February 2018 to July 2020 were included in the study. Logistic regression and principal component logistic regression models were used to assess the effects of air pollution exposure during preconception and pregnancy on GDM risk and the differences in the effects across populations. The results suggested that each 20 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 and PM10 exposure during preconception and pregnancy significantly increased the risk of GDM, and a 10 μg/m3 increase in NO2 exposure during pregnancy was also associated with the risk of GDM. In a subgroup analysis, pregnant women aged 30–35 years, nulliparous women, and those with less than a bachelor’s education were the most sensitive groups. This study provides evidence for an association between air pollution and the prevalence of GDM, with PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 as risk factors for GDM.
Global Infectious Diseases in July 2023: Monthly Analysis

Many infectious diseases are ubiquitous and pose persistent adverse effects on public health. Infectious diseases have also been leading causes of high mortality in different periods of history. Real-time monitoring and analysis of global infectious disease transmission can provide a comprehensive understanding of critical information regarding the transmission routes, scope, velocity, and effects of viruses or bacteria. Here, using Shusi Tech’s Global Epidemic Information Monitoring System, we analyzed the prevalence of infectious diseases worldwide. We describe types of infectious diseases with relatively low incidence from 24 June 2023 to 23 July 2023 as comprehensibly as possible.
Assessment of the Antioxidant Capacity of Commercial Coffee Using Conventional Optical and Chromatographic Methods and an Innovative Electrochemical DNA-Based Biosensor

As one of the most popular beverages in the world, coffee is a rich source of non-enzymatic bioactive compounds with antioxidant capacity. In this study, twelve commercial coffee beverages found in local Portuguese markets were assessed to determine their total phenolic and flavonoid contents, as well as their antioxidant capacity, by conventional optical procedures, namely, ferric reducing antioxidant power and DPPH-radical scavenging assay, and non-conventional procedures such as a homemade DNA-based biosensor against two reactive radicals: HO• and H2O2. The innovative DNA-based biosensor comprised an adenine-rich oligonucleotide adsorbed onto a carbon paste electrode. This method detects the different peak intensities generated by square-wave voltammetry based on the partial damage to the adenine layer adsorbed on the electrode surface by the free radicals in the presence/absence of antioxidants. The DNA-based biosensor against H2O2 presented a higher DNA layer protection compared with HO• in the presence of the reference gallic acid. Additionally, the phenolic profiles of the twelve coffee samples were assessed by HPLC-DAD, and the main contributors to the exhibited antioxidant capacity properties were caffeine, and chlorogenic, protocatechuic, neochlorogenic and gallic acids. The DNA-based sensor used provides reliable and fast measurements of antioxidant capacity, and is also cheap and easy to construct.
Three Contactless Sleep Technologies Compared With Actigraphy and Polysomnography in a Heterogeneous Group of Older Men and Women in a Model of Mild Sleep Disturbance: Sleep Laboratory Study

Background Contactless sleep technologies (CSTs) hold promise for longitudinal, unobtrusive sleep monitoring in the community and at scale. They may be particularly useful in older populations wherein sleep disturbance, which may be indicative of the deterioration of physical and mental health, is highly prevalent. However, few CSTs have been evaluated in older people. Objective This study evaluated the performance of 3 CSTs compared to polysomnography (PSG) and actigraphy in an older population. Methods Overall, 35 older men and women (age: mean 70.8, SD 4.9 y; women: n=14, 40%), several of whom had comorbidities, including sleep apnea, participated in the study. Sleep was recorded simultaneously using a bedside radar (Somnofy [Vital Things]: n=17), 2 undermattress devices (Withings sleep analyzer [WSA; Withings Inc]: n=35; Emfit-QS [Emfit; Emfit Ltd]: n=17), PSG (n=35), and actigraphy (Actiwatch Spectrum [Philips Respironics]: n=18) during the first night in a 10-hour time-in-bed protocol conducted in a sleep laboratory. The devices were evaluated through performance metrics for summary measures and epoch-by-epoch classification. PSG served as the gold standard. Results The protocol induced mild sleep disturbance with a mean sleep efficiency (SEFF) of 70.9% (SD 10.4%; range 52.27%-92.60%). All 3 CSTs overestimated the total sleep time (TST; bias: >90 min) and SEFF (bias: >13%) and underestimated wake after sleep onset (bias: >50 min). Sleep onset latency was accurately detected by the bedside radar (bias: <6 min) but overestimated by the undermattress devices (bias: >16 min). CSTs did not perform as well as actigraphy in estimating the all-night sleep summary measures. In an epoch-by-epoch concordance analysis, the bedside radar performed better in discriminating sleep versus wake (Matthew correlation coefficient [MCC]: mean 0.63, SD 0.12, 95% CI 0.57-0.69) than the undermattress devices (MCC of WSA: mean 0.41, SD 0.15, 95% CI 0.36-0.46; MCC of Emfit: mean 0.35, SD 0.16, 95% CI 0.26-0.43). The accuracy of identifying rapid eye movement and light sleep was poor across all CSTs, whereas deep sleep (ie, slow wave sleep) was predicted with moderate accuracy (MCC: >0.45) by both Somnofy and WSA. The deep sleep duration estimates of Somnofy correlated (r2=0.60; P<.01) with electroencephalography slow wave activity (0.75-4.5 Hz) derived from PSG, whereas for the undermattress devices, this correlation was not significant (WSA: r2=0.0096, P=.58; Emfit: r2=0.11, P=.21). Conclusions These CSTs overestimated the TST, and sleep stage prediction was unsatisfactory in this group of older people in whom SEFF was relatively low. Although it was previously shown that CSTs provide useful information on bed occupancy, which may be useful for particular use cases, the performance of these CSTs with respect to the TST and sleep stage estimation requires improvement before they can serve as an alternative to PSG in estimating most sleep variables in older individuals.
Establishing a test procedure for evaluating the electromechanical properties of practical REBCO coated conductor tapes by the uniaxial tension test at 77 K

Nowadays, the superior electrical and mechanical properties of second generation (2G) practical coated conductor (CC) tapes make them viable options for various applications such as power cables, magnets and coils. The CC tapes are composite conductors where the constituent layers are directly affected by the mechanical and the electromechanical properties of the superconducting layer under operating conditions. It is therefore important to investigate the strain effect on the critical current (Ic) and to determine the irreversible limits for Ic degradation in CC tapes. However, standards or codes for testing the electromechanical properties of high-temperature superconductors are lacking. Therefore, the establishment of a test method or procedure for determining the electromechanical properties of 2G CC tapes in both engineering and practical aspects is needed. This study is a standardization activity, wherein the strain/stress sensitivity of Ic and the reversible strain/stress limits for Ic degradation of practical CC tapes using uniaxial tension tests were evaluated at 77 K and self-field. The reversible strain/stress limits of CC tapes were defined and the reversible recovery of Ic during loading–unloading was measured when using the 99% Ic (ε) recovery, 99% Ic0 recovery and 95% Ic0 retention criteria. The electromechanically determined irreversible limits were also compared to the mechanically determined stress and strain at the yield point. The obtained reversible stress limits showed a similar value regardless of criteria adopted, excepting Sample 2. However, the irreversible strain limit value obtained using the 99% Ic(ε) recovery criterion showed the largest value as compared to the cases using other criteria. Through repeated tests, the electromechanical test procedure of the CC tapes was evaluated based on statistical estimates. The obtained results can provide a fundamental basis for establishing test procedures comparing the criterion that should be considered in determining irreversible limits, whether normalized to the original state Ic value, Ic0 or determined using the reversible degradation of Ic(ε) at residual strain, when unloaded.
Interpreting long-term trends in Blue Mountain ecosystems from repeat photography.

1995. Photographs taken before 1925 were compared with photos taken as recently as 1992 to interpret changes within ecosystems in the Blue Mountains of Oregon For discussion purposes, 10 ecosystems were aggregated into seven broad landscape systems. Nearly all systems exhibited some degree of conversion from herbaceous to woody forms of vegetation. Nonforested ecosystems improved markedly except in the riparian-aquatic habitats Forested ecosystems were stressed from stand stagnation, conversion from pine to fir, serious insect infestations, and crown fires. This project shows how these ecosystems have changed since the advent of settlement by nonendemic people It was earned out to assist land managers and researchers to develop strategies to improve ecosystem stability and thereby provide for resource sustainability