Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genetic characterization of co-trimoxazole non-susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from Indonesia

We investigated the genetic variation of folA and folP genes encoding dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS) and dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) enzymes amongst trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (co-trimoxazole) non-susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated from the Indonesian population. Archived S. pneumoniae isolates were screened for the presence and analysis of folA and folP genes using the polymerase chain reaction sequencing method. We found that 80 % of co-trimoxazole non-susceptible isolates (n=30/39) showed a 6 bp insertion in the sulphonamide-binding site of DHPS. The Asp-92-Ala and Ile-100-Leu substitutions were more common on DHFR (42 %; 22/53) followed by the Asp-92–Ala, Glu-94–Asp and Ile-100–Leu substitutions (32 %; 17/53). The combination of the Ile-100–Leu substitution at the DHFR region and the 6 bp insertion was the most dominant combination among isolates having both folA and folP genes.
The Economic Impact of Hop Stunt Viroid and Certified Clean Planting Materials

Hop stunt viroid (HSVd) is one of the most important pathogens impacting hop production worldwide. It reduces yields, stunts growth, and is easily transmissible. HSVd can cause significant yield losses upward of 62% depending on the hop variety. This study uses a net present value (NPV) approach over a 6-year production cycle of one acre of hops to examine the potential economic impact of HSVd on aroma and alpha hop varieties. The estimated economic impact of HSVd ranges from about $432 (for a 1% yield reduction) to $26,795 (for a 62% yield reduction) per acre. Using the NPV approach the study then analyzes potential economic benefits of using certified disease-free planting stock as a strategy to mitigate the risk of HSVd infection. If expected yield losses of aroma and alpha hops exceed 6% and 7%, respectively, then the NPV of investing in certified clean planting stock is greater than that of the infected hops over the 6-year production cycle. Complete removal and replanting of an entire acre of aroma and alpha hops with certified clean planting stock is economically beneficial once expected yield losses exceed 35% and 36%, respectively. These findings are valuable for giving hop producers information to devise profit-maximizing planting strategies and to create incentives for extended usage of certified clean planting materials.
Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah and the Online Banking System: Implications for Service Delivery

One of the Sharīʿah’s requirements in conducting transactions is realising the Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah. The Modern online banking system is very common to everyone, so it is considered as al-ʿUrf or al-ʿādah (common practice or custom) under the Sharīʿah. However, its practice is surrounded with security concerns, ease of use, and trust and cost implications that need observance of some Sharīʿah rulings. This qualitative analytic study uses the framework for the Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah to explicate the ideal practice of online banking in service delivery to realize the Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah. While Islam places more attention on the essential needs, online banking should as well be intended to provide essential services to customers and remove hardship in financial transactions. Banks should hence desist from causing any harm through the charging of hidden fees, causing more confusion to their clients, and even devising deceptive means that lead to the charging of ribā. Instead, banks should use online services to introduce means that promote the realization of the Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah. This paper stresses the importance of financial technology in realising the Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah.
Understanding Business Student Retention During Covid-19: Roles of Service Quality, College Brand, and Academic Satisfaction, and Stress

Abstract The Covid-19 pandemic has negatively impacted university students’ mental well-being and, ultimately, their ability to enroll in classes and complete their degrees. Building on the service quality framework, this research aims to address factors that may help universities increase student satisfaction and retention, and reduce student stress and negative word-of-mouth (NWOM). The results from 393 undergraduate students show that service quality and brand reputation positively impact academic satisfaction but negatively impact academic stress. Satisfaction increases students’ intention-to-stay (retention) while it reduces NWOM. Stress reduces satisfaction and students’ intention-to-stay. Results confirm that the Covid-19 pandemic increased academic stress among college students.
Extracellular Vesicle-Mediated Secretion of HLA-E by Trophoblasts Maintains Pregnancy by Regulating the Metabolism of Decidual NK Cells

Extracellular vesicles derived from trophoblasts (T-EVs) play an important role in pregnancy, but the mechanism is not entirely clear. In this study, we found that HLA-E, which is mostly confined to the cytoplasm of trophoblast cells, was secreted by T-EVs. The level of HLA-E in T-EVs from unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (URSA) patients was lower than that in normal pregnancy (NP) and RSA patients who had an abnormal embryo karyotype (AK-RSA). T-EVs promoted secretion of IFN-γ and VEGFα by decidual NK (dNK) cells from URSA patients via HLA-E, VEGFα was necessary for angiogenesis and trophoblast growth, and IFN-γ inhibited Th17 induction. Glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos) were involved in this process. Glycolysis but not OxPhos of dNK cells facilitated by T-EVs was dependent on mTORC1 activation. Inhibition of T-EV production in vivo increased the susceptibility of mice to embryo absorption, which was reversed by transferring exogenous T-EVs. T-EVs promoted secretion of IFN-γ and VEGFα by dNK cells to maintain pregnancy via Qa-1 in abortion-prone mouse models. This study reveals a new mechanism of pregnancy maintenance mediated by HLA-E via T-EVs.
Electric Bicyclist Injury Severity during Peak Traffic Periods: A Random-Parameters Approach with Heterogeneity in Means and Variances

Accidents involving electric bicycles, a popular means of transportation in China during peak traffic periods, have increased. However, studies have seldom attempted to detect the unique crash consequences during this period. This study aims to explore the factors influencing injury severity in electric bicyclists during peak traffic periods and provide recommendations to help devise specific management strategies. The random-parameters logit or mixed logit model is used to identify the relationship between different factors and injury severity. The injury severity is divided into four categories. The analysis uses automobile and electric bicycle crash data of Xi’an, China, between 2014 and 2019. During the peak traffic periods, the impact of low visibility significantly varies with factors such as areas with traffic control or without streetlights. Furthermore, compared with traveling in a straight line, three different turnings before the crash reduce the likelihood of severe injuries. Roadside protection trees are the most crucial measure guaranteeing riders’ safety during peak traffic periods. This study reveals the direction, magnitude, and randomness of factors that contribute to electric bicycle crashes. The results can help safety authorities devise targeted transportation safety management and planning strategies for peak traffic periods.
Prevalence and Maternal Concerns of Exclusive Breast Feeding in Libyan Women in Albaida City

Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is strongly recommended by the World Health Organization, United Nation Children's Fund (UNICEF), and American Academy of Pediatrics during the first six months of life. Breastfeeding should continue up to two years for optimal growth and development while it is suggested to start supplementary foods beginning from the seventh month. The study aimed to determine the frequency and examine the affecting factors of EBF in infants who attended the pediatrics outpatient clinic in Althawra Hospital in Albaida city, Libya. A cross-sectional study was conducted in eight months period among 223 breastfeeding mothers, with infants aged 6-24 months, who attended the pediatrics Outpatient clinic. Mothers’ perceptions about breastfeeding, complementary feeding practices, and demographic characteristics were collected by interviews with them. EBF periods were 1-45 weeks, Median week was 17 weeks. Six months EBF rate was 32,28%. Younger mother (≤ 20) or older (≥35) ages, and mothers having chronic diseases had a shorter median week of EBF. The median duration of breastfeeding was 9 months (0-24 months). The most frequent reason of the early interruption of EBF was, according to mother’s perceptions, for having inadequate breast milk (50.3 %). The study indicates that the frequency of 6 months EBF (32,28%) and the median duration of breastfeeding (17 weeks) are low in Albaida. A local strategy must be developed to overcome mothers negative perceptions about EBF in the first 6 months of age.
El sector publicitario en España en el contexto internacional: el viraje digital / The advertising sector in Spain in the international digital environment: the digital shift

ABSTRACT In the digital environment, the evolution of advertising sector shows a process of concentration. The changes in the market, thanks to the internet and the mobile phenomenon, and social networks, are affecting the procedures in advertising. Not only technology has changed the advertising. Now the consumer is boss searching, comparing and deciding. The professionals have to re-invent in many ways. Thanks to a qualitative Delphi analysis, in this research we observe major changes: changes in the media, changes in consumer and sector changes.RESUMENEn el entorno digital, la evolución del sector de la publicidad muestra un proceso de concentración. Los cambios en el mercado, gracias a Internet, el fenómeno móvil y las redes sociales, están afectando a los procedimientos en publicidad. No sólo la tecnología ha cambiado a la publicidad. Ahora el consumidor es el máximo decisor, que compara y decide. Los profesionales tienen que reinventarse de muchas maneras. Gracias a un análisis cualitativo Delphi, se observan grandes cambios: en los medios de comunicación, en los consumidores y en el sector.
Invited perspectives: challenges and future directions in improving bridge flood resilience

Abstract. Bridges are critical infrastructure components of road and rail transport networks. A large number of these critical assets cross or are adjacent to waterways and floodplains and are therefore exposed to flood actions such as scour, hydrodynamic loading and inundation, all of which are exacerbated by debris accumulations. These stressors are widely recognised as responsible for the vast majority of bridge failures around the world. While efforts have been made to increase the robustness of bridges to the flood hazard, many scientific and technical gaps remain. These gaps were explored during an expert workshop that took place in April 2021 with the participation of academics, consultants and decision makers operating in the United Kingdom and specialised in the fields of bridge risk assessment and management and floods. In particular, the following issues, established at different levels and scales of bridge flood resilience, were analysed: (i) characterization of the effects of floods on different bridge typologies, (ii) inaccuracy of formulae for scour depth assessment, (iii) evaluation of consequences of damage, (iv) recovery process after flood damage, (v) decision-making under uncertainty, and (vi) use of event forecasting and monitoring data for increasing the reliability of bridge flood risk estimations. These issues are discussed in this paper to inform other researchers and stakeholders worldwide, guide the directions of future research in the field, and influence policies for risk mitigation and rapid response to flood warnings, ultimately increasing bridge resilience.
Semantic Landmark-based HD Map Localization Using Sliding Window Max-Mixture Factor Graphs

Among many components in automated driving, localization is one fundamental task that provides the context for scene understanding and motion planning. This contribution focuses on localization in high-definition (HD) maps, which provide detailed information of the driving environment. An important problem in localization is the data association (DA) between measurements and landmarks in the HD map. While other approaches mainly use geometric measurement information as well as the most likely DA hypothesis, this contribution proposes a localization algorithm capable of handling DA ambiguities using semantic information in a sliding window factor graph. By incorporating a max-mixture scheme, the algorithm is able to recover from potentially false estimations. Furthermore, a realistic simulation employing the CARLA simulator is used to generate controlled scenarios and evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm. The experiments suggest that the proposed approach is able to achieve accurate and robust pose estimations in the presence of measurement uncertainties.
Rationale and design of the Brazilian diabetes study: a prospective cohort of type 2 diabetes

Abstract Background Optimal control of traditional risk factors only partially attenuates the exceeding cardiovascular mortality of individuals with diabetes. Employment of machine learning (ML) techniques aimed at the identification of novel features of risk prediction is a compelling target to tackle residual cardiovascular risk. The objective of this study is to identify clinical phenotypes of T2D which are more prone to developing cardiovascular disease. Methods The Brazilian Diabetes Study is a single-center, ongoing, prospective registry of T2D individuals. Eligible patients are 30 years old or older, with a confirmed T2D diagnosis. After an initial visit for the signature of the informed consent form and medical history registration, all volunteers undergo biochemical analysis, echocardiography, carotid ultrasound, ophthalmologist visit, dual x-ray absorptiometry, coronary artery calcium score, polyneuropathy assessment, advanced glycation end-products reader, and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. A 5-year follow-up will be conducted by yearly phone interviews for endpoints disclosure. The primary endpoint is the difference between ML-based clinical phenotypes in the incidence of a composite of death, myocardial infarction, revascularization, and stroke. Since June/2016, 1030 patients (mean age: 57 years, diabetes duration of 9.7 years, 58% male) were enrolled in our study. The mean follow-up time was 3.7 years in October/2021. Conclusion The BDS will be the first large population-based cohort dedicated to the identification of clinical phenotypes of T2D at higher risk of cardiovascular events. Data derived from this study will provide valuable information on risk estimation and prevention of cardiovascular and other diabetes-related events. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT04949152
A Novel Dataset ‘Aravind’ for Retinal Image Analysis

Introduction: Diabetes is a disorder or a metabolic disease that increases the level of sugar in the blood. Untreated diabetes can cause serious issues to the eye. There are quite a several research works carried out in retina image analysis. For retinal image analysis, there are multifarious datasets available freely for research. Aim: The objective of the article is to introduce a new dataset namely ‘ARAVIND’ for retina image analysis for research purposes. Method: This dataset incorporates 98 images altogether which helps in pinpointing different types of eye defects like haemor-rhages, microaneurysms, hard and soft exudates. Conclusion: The ‘ARAVIND’ dataset is freely available online that can be used by computer researchers in the field of medical image analysis which bridges the gap between the field of technology and science to a greater extent
Southwestward propagating quasi-biweekly oscillations over the South-West Indian Ocean during boreal winter

Abstract. An analysis of outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) over the South-West Indian Ocean (SWIO) yields regular, poleward propagating, large-scale, convectively coupled systems of alternating cyclonic and anticyclonic circulation with a quasi-biweekly period during boreal winter. Composites from 10 years (2000/01 – 2009/10) of OLR and reanalysis data show well-formed rotational gyres that can be tracked from near the equator to almost 35° S appearing slightly west of Sumatra and going towards Madagascar, i.e., with mean southwest propagation. The gyres show a marked northwest-southeast tilt, giving rise to a northeast-southwest oriented wavetrain. The scale of the gyres is about 30°–35°, their period is 18–20 days and they have a westward phase speed of approximately 4 ms−1. The group velocity of these wave packets is near-zero. Velocity fields with OLR indicate that maxima of moist convective activity lie in the northeast sector of the gyres (in the Southern Hemisphere), likely a result of both convergence and the poleward rotational advection of moist air. Wavetrains comprising the quasi-biweekly oscillation (QBWO) are born near the equator with a barotropic profile; a first baroclinic form emerges as they move southward and couple with moisture. In their decaying stage, convective activity decreases and the systems regain an equivalent barotropic structure. A vorticity budget reveals that the β effect plays a leading role in the propagation of the QBWO, though moist coupling (via stretching) is important in reducing the speed of propagation of this mode. Further, these two terms with horizontal advection account for much of the observed vorticity tendency. Finally, apart from their contribution to intraseasonal variability, moist convection and strong circulation anomalies in the QBWO lows (cyclonic gyres with negative OLR anomalies) — especially in combination with the vorticity of the background flow during the boreal winter season — are shown to provide favourable conditions for the genesis of tropical cyclones (TCs). In particular, depressions are spawned within QBWO lows, some of which mature into TCs that affect Madagascar, other SWIO islands and the coast of southeast Africa.
Lightweight and Secure Mutual Authentication Scheme for IoT Devices Using CoAP Protocol

Internet of things enables every real world objects to be seamlessly integrated with traditional internet. Heterogeneous objects of real world are enhanced with capability to communicate, computing capabilities and standards to interoperate with existing network and these entities are resource constrained and vulnerable to various security attacks. Huge number of research works are being carried out to analyze various possible attacks and to propose standards for securing communication between devices in internet of things (IoT). In this article, a robust and lightweight authentication scheme for mutual authentication between client and server using constrained application protocol is proposed. Internet of things enables devices with different characteristics and capabilities to be integrated with internet. These heterogeneous devices should interoperate with each other to accumulate, process and transmit data for facilitating smart services. The growth of IoT applications leads to the rapid growth of IoT devices incorporated to the global network and network traffic over the traditional network. This scheme greatly reduces the authentication overhead between the devices by reducing the packet size of messages, number of messages transmitted and processing overhead on communicating devices. Efficiency of this authentication scheme against attacks such as DoS (denial of service), replay attacks and attacks to exhaust the resources are also examined. Message transmission time reduced upto 50% of using proposed techniques.
RDI: A Real-time Decision Support System Applied to Dispatch Decision Problem

Several important services with limited resources require uninterrupted support for a vast amount of customers. For example, internet providers, hospitals, distribution utilities and so on. When a customer’s call is received in the proper channels, the reported problem pass through a screening phase in which the operator judge whether or not a support should be sent to the customer. However, not all problems are responsibility of the service provider. For instance, when a distribution utility sends a maintenance team to solve an energy issue that is out of company scope’s, this action generates an improper dispatch problem. Improper dispatches bring high costs regarding fuel and logistics, and can result in heavy penalties to the company. For tackling this problem, we propose RDI, a decision support system that combines supervised machine learning algorithm and model predictive control (MPC) techniques. RDI receives customer’s calls information and recommends when a maintenance team should be dispatched or not. Our ﬁrst results indicate an assertiveness of 83% in the number of true positives (proper dispatches) and a decrease of 51% in the number of false positives (improper dispatches) within a real dataset from the industry. Moreover, RDI is capable of calculating the associated risk of each occurrence and by predicting changes in the current number of unsolved customer’s calls using a Markov chain model. We show how we built this system, how this solution was applied for diminishing dispatch costs inside a distribution utility and possible directions for further research.
Disease Progression and Changes in Physical Activity in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

RATIONALE Little is known about the role of physical activity in the course of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). OBJECTIVES To assess changes in physical activity in COPD in relation to severity stages and changes in other disease components, and to evaluate the longitudinal association between sustained physical inactivity and disease progression. METHODS In this prospective cohort study, we measured physical activity (multisensory armband), airflow obstruction (FEV1), health status (St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire), exercise capacity (6-min-walk distance [6MWD]), muscle mass (fat-free mass [FFM]), and systemic inflammation (fibrinogen and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein) over a 3-year period in 137 patients with COPD and 26 with chronic bronchitis (normal spirometry). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Independent of baseline disease severity, steps per day, total daily energy expenditure, and (daily) physical activity level (PAL) decreased by 393, 76 kcal, and 0.04 per year, respectively. The decline in PAL was significantly associated with a decline in FEV1 and an increase in St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire total score. Changes in 6MWD, FFM, and inflammatory markers were not associated with changes in PAL. Independent of FEV1, sustained physical inactivity (i.e., PAL(T0andT1) < 1.40) was related to a greater decline in 6MWD and FFM compared with that in patients with some level of activity (i.e., PAL(T0and/orT1) ≥ 1.40; difference, 17 m/yr and 0.87 kg/yr, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Over time, physical activity substantially decreases across all severity stages of COPD, and this decline is paralleled by a worsening of lung function and health status. Sustained physical inactivity is associated with a progression of exercise intolerance and muscle depletion.
The agony of central power: Fiscal federalism in the German Reich

This article revisits the German system of fiscal federalism between unification in 1871 and hyper-inflation in 1923. I argue that the ill designed fiscal system led to systematically excessive debt for the Reich. The system was the outcome of overlapping distributional conflicts between centre and states, and between capital and labour. It was also responsible for the debt problems arising in World War I and the unsuccessful attempts at fiscal reforms during and after the war. Ultimately, these distributional conflicts contributed to the hyper-inflation in Germany. The German example also has implications for the debate about fiscal federalism in the European Union.