Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mathematical and Statistical Support Service at South Bank University

There is a considerable amount of attention now being given to the Government’s ‘widening participation’ policy. Broadly speaking Higher Education (HE) institutions are expected to reach out to disadvantaged people who come from backgrounds where they would not traditionally be expected to enter HE. Taking this on board and the points raised by in the 2001 Institute of Mathematics and Its Applications (IMA) report to its members highlighting concerns about the “development in, and adequate provision of, mathematics education” [1] South Bank University (SBU) set up a central mathematics and statistics support service. HE establishments trying to provide education and support on these two fronts face a daunting task. At SBU we have tried to provide and sustain support to address mathematical and statistical concerns.
Head and Heart in Quality Implementation--Applying the Quality Philosophy within Irish Healthcare Institutions

It has been well established within the literature that the successful implementation of quality relies heavily upon the human factor. Most leading firms now recognise that a higher quality service and improved competitiveness will result from increased attention to people issues within the organization. It is held that the implementation of any quality initiative should embrace a participatory management style, address the issue of changing attitudes and culture, employee involvement and empowerment together with investment in training, development and learning. To date, limited research attention has been given to the challenges involved in operating such practices in working contexts such as healthcare. This is significant given that it is the 'softer' issues of managing the quality dynamic that are coming to the fore in healthcare organizations. This paper seeks to explore and address such deficiencies and reports a review of key developments in this area. It concludes by outlining current research developments within the healthcare industry in Ireland and poses important questions for future quality implementation within the Irish healthcare sector.
Tears as the Next Diagnostic Biofluid: A Comparative Study between Ocular Fluid and Blood

The need to easily isolate small molecular weight proteins and genomic fragments has prompted a search for an alternative biofluid to blood that has traversed sweat, urine, saliva, and even breath. In this study, both the genomic and proteomic profiles of tears and blood are evaluated to determine the similarity and differences between the two biofluids. Both fluids were tested utilizing microarray panels for identifying proteins as well as isolation of microRNA for sequencing. As anticipated, most (118) of the proteins detected in plasma were also detected in the tear samples, with tear samples also showing 34 unique proteins that were not found in the plasma. Over 400 microRNAs were isolated in both samples with 250 microRNA fragments commonly expressed in both tears and blood. This preliminary analysis, along with simplicity of collection and processing, lends credence to further investigate tears as an alternative biofluid to blood.
An immersed boundary method for patient-specific modelling of flow and aerosol deposition in the respiratory airways

SUMMARY An immersed boundary (IB) method for patient-specific modelling of flow in the respiratory airways is presented. No-slip conditions are enforced via momentum forcing and mass conservation at immersed boundaries is satisfied via a mass source term developed for moving walls. An iterative scheme to compute the forcing term implicitly reduces the errors at the boundary and enhances stability. In addition, the mass source term accurately accounts for airway movement during breathing, and reduces the spurious force oscillations which typically arise in IB simulations of moving body problems. The method is developed for use in a generalised curvilinear system, which is particularly useful in bioflow problems involving complex geometries. Flow in realistic extrathoracic airways is examined with this method. Understanding the flow dynamics in the respiratory system is important in determining the efficiency of aerosolized drug delivery and the toxicity of airborne pollutants. Accurate and efficient prediction poses a challenge due to the complexity of the flow in the airways and the complexity of the airway geometries. Due to the bifurcating nature of the lung and the effect of the breathing cycle on the flow, patterns in the respiratory airways are complex even during quiet breathing. The flow remains turbulent in the mouth and throat and the larger airways, before extensive branching increases the total cross-sectional area and therefore reduces the gas velocity through each airway, causing laminarisation. In most of the tracheobronchial tree, the flow is intermittently turbulent with eddies forming at the branching points. Accurate solution of the flow field therefore motivates the use of direct numerical simulations (DNS) in order to resolve all the scales in the flow. Due to the high grid resolution requirements, it is desirable to adopt an efficient computational strategy. To this end, an immersed boundary method for curvilinear coordinates is developed, which allows the use of structured grids to model the complex patient-specific airways. Use of structured grids greatly simplifies the task of grid generation, particularly for moving airway boundaries and circumvents the need for remeshing at every time step which leads to more efficient computational algorithms. Compared to a Cartesian grid, curvilinear grids can further improve efficiency by minimising the number of grid points outside the fluid domain, can have a more natural alignment with the streamlines which is desirable for the accuracy of the solution, and can provide a better wall-normal resolution.
Quantifying the Effects of Modifications to the Sikora Buffer pH Method for Oregon Soils

ABSTRACT The Sikora buffer pH method is a non-hazardous alternative to the Shoemaker, McLean, and Pratt (SMP) method for lime requirement estimation (LRE) for Oregon soils. Commercial soil testing laboratories may implement method modifications in order to streamline the method for large-scale testing, however the potential effects of these modifications on buffer pH results are currently unknown. Modifications that artificially increase buffer pH are of particular concern, as they could potentially result in under-application of lime and crop damage. The goal of this project was to evaluate and quantify five Sikora buffer pH method modifications for five Oregon agricultural soils. Soil type did not show a significant interaction effect with method modifications. Modifications related to mixing method, measurement in supernatant instead of slurry, and soil:water:buffer ratio were found to significantly increase Sikora buffer pH results by 0.063, 0.065, and 0.058 units, respectively, in comparison to the control. Mean Sikora buffer pH decreased by 0.02–0.05 units when equilibration time was increased from 0 to 180 min. Our findings show how even minor modifications can alter Sikora buffer pH results, illustrating the importance of avoiding deviations from the original method. Additionally, comparing results among labs may help minimize over- or under-recommending of lime to agricultural fields.
The Analysis of the Relationship between the Quality of Life Level and Expectations of Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases under the Home Care of Primary Care Nurses

The World Health Organization defines quality of life as a person’s perception of his or her life situation in relation to the culture and value system in which he or she lives, in relation to and with respect to his or her functioning assumptions, expectations, and standards set by environmental conditions. Meeting the expectations of patients with CVD is one of the factors that positively influences their health status and leads to better diagnostic and treatment outcomes. The aim of this study was to answer three main questions related to patients with chronic cardiovascular disease: (1) What is their quality of life? (2) Are patients’ expectations about the quality of care provided by primary health care physicians/nurses met (and at what level)? (3) Is there a correlation between patients’ quality of life and their expectations of primary health care physicians/nurses? The study involved 193 Polish CVD patients who were cared for at home by a family nurse practitioner working in primary health care facilities. Data were collected from March 2016 to January 2017. The WHOQOL-BREF Quality of Life Questionnaire and the Author Interview Questionnaire were used for the study. Data analysis was based on the Spearman correlation coefficient test. There was a statistically significant association between patients’ expectations of the physician regarding information about the course of the disease and quality of life in the following domains: environmental r = 0.20, p = 0.006, psychological: r = 0.18, p = 0.015, physical: r = 0.18, p = 0.013, and social: r = 0.16, p = 0.025. Patients who did not expect the nurse to be courteous, understanding, or interested were found to have higher quality of life scores in psychological (r = −0.17, p = 0.023) and physical (r = −0.15, p = 0.044) domains. There was a statistically significant relationship between expectations of care from nurses regarding intimacy during care activities and the level of satisfaction with one’s own health (r = −0.15, p = 0.038) and quality of life (r = −0.14, p = 0.045), as well as quality of life in the domains of physical (r = 0.21, p = 0.004), social (r = 0.19, p = 0.010), and psychological (r = 0.16, p = 0.024). There is a need to define the expectations of patients with chronic cardiovascular disease in primary care, as lack of expectations of a physician/nurse continues to be associated with lower quality of life in all domains.
Insight Into Granular Flow Dynamics Relying on Basal Stress Measurements: From Experimental Flume Tests

Knowledge on the interactions between granular flows and their boundaries is essential for understanding granular flow dynamics. In this study, a series of experiments designed with different conditions were conducted using a flume configuration to investigate the granular flow behaviors and dynamics by particle image velocimetry analysis and basal normal stress measurements. The results demonstrate that the velocity profiles and depth‐averaged shear rates of the granular flows significantly vary with grain size, but display insignificant changes with flow volume. For granular flows with higher content of coarse particles, high magnitude fluctuating stresses with values much greater than the mean normal stress are observed. The particle agitation of the granular flow, which is quantified by the normalized standard deviation of the fluctuating stress from the mean normal stress, exhibits a positive correlation and a negative correlation with the solid inertial stress and the equivalent friction coefficient, respectively. This indicates that the enhanced particle agitation related to the high magnitude fluctuating stress should contribute to the mobility of the granular flows. The generation of the high magnitude fluctuating stress is attributed to the high‐frequency and intensive particle collisions in grain‐scale, which is mainly determined by grain size. In this study, the increase of flow volume mostly resulted in an increase in the fluctuating stress related to the mean normal stress, which exhibits a minor effect on particle agitation and has no contribution toward the mobility of the granular flows.
Relationship between high bile juice amylase levels and chronic bacterial infections in patients with gallbladder cancer

Purpose Pancreatic enzyme reflux into the biliary tract is associated with chronic inflammation and increased cellular proliferation in the biliary epithelium, leading to biliary carcinoma. We evaluated the relationship between high bile juice amylase levels and biliary microflora in patients with malignant gallbladder lesions. Methods In this retrospective study, 25 gallbladder specimens were obtained from patients with gallbladder cancer to evaluate amylase levels and perform bacterial culture. The samples were divided into high and low amylase groups and culture-positive and negative groups for analysis. Bile juice amylase 3 times higher than the normal serum amylase level (36–128 IU/L) was considered high. Results The number of positive cultures was higher in the high amylase group than in the low amylase group, but the difference was insignificant. There were no differences in other clinicopathological factors. Sixteen patients showed positive culture results; Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. were the most common gram-negative bacteria, whereas Enterococcus and Streptococcus spp. were the most common gram-positive bacteria. Age and bile juice amylase levels were significantly higher in the culture-positive group than in the culture-negative group. The incidence of bacterial resistance to cephalosporins was 6.25%–35.29%, and this incidence was particularly high for lower-generation cephalosporins. Conclusion Bacteria in gallbladder were identified more frequently when the amylase level was high. High amylase levels in the gallbladder can be associated with caused chronic bacterial infections with occult pancreaticobiliary reflux, potentially triggering gallbladder cancer.
Gender Differences in the Association between Physical Inactivity and Mental-Health Conditions in People with Vision or Hearing Impairment

This study aimed to examine associations between physical inactivity and mental health in Spanish adults with vision or hearing difficulties and explored differences between men and women. Data from the Spanish National Health Survey in 2017 were analyzed (n = 23,089 adults, 15–103 years, mean age 53.4 ± 18.9 years, 45.9% men). Physical inactivity (exposure) was evaluated with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form. Participants self-reported whether they had previously suffered from depression, chronic anxiety and other mental-health complications (outcomes). Associations between physical inactivity and mental-health complications were assessed with multivariable logistic regression in people with difficulty seeing and hearing, after grouping by gender and adjusting for age, body-mass index, education level, living as a couple, smoking and alcohol consumption. The overall multivariable logistic-regression analyses showed that women with vision impairment showed significant associations between physical inactivity and depression (OR 1.403, 95% CI 1.015–1.940) and other mental-health complications (OR 2.959, 95% CI 1.434–6.104). In the overall analyses, there were no significant associations in men and in people with hearing impairment. The age-stratified analyses showed that inactive people with visual impairment who were <65 years old had a higher risk of mental-health conditions. In conclusion, physical activity has been shown to be important in the prevention of mental-health complications. Healthcare practitioners and policy makers should look at appropriate strategies to increase levels of physical activity in people with vision loss, especially in women and in those <65 years old.
Characterisation of the Structural and Functional Properties of Subsidiary Atrial Pacemakers in a Goat Model of Sinus Node Dysfunction

The University of Manchester Submission for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The University of ManchesterTitle: Characterisation of the Structural and Functional Properties of Subsidiary Atrial Pacemakers in a Goat Model of Sinus Node DysfunctionDr Zoltan Borbas2015The sinus node (SN) is the natural pacemaker of the heart. In the human, the SN is surrounded by the paranodal area (PNA), the function of which is currently unknown. The PNA may act as subsidiary atrial pacemakers (SAP) and become the dominant pacemaker during sinus node dysfunction (SND). Creation of an animal model of SND allows characterisation of SAP, which can be a target for novel treatment strategies other than the currently available electronic pacemakers.I developed a large animal model of SND by ablating the SN in the goat and validated it by mapping the location of the newly emergent SAP. Functional characterisation of the SAP revealed reduced atrioventricular (AV) conduction time consistent with a location of the SAP close to the AV junction. SAP recovery time showed an initially significant prolongation compared to the SN recovery time, followed by a gradual decrease over 4 weeks. SAP pauses, and temporary reliance on electronic pacemaker activity have also been demonstrated then disappeared over time, suggesting possible modulation, maturation of the SAP. Structural characterisation of the SN revealed an extensive pacemaking complex within the right atrium (RA); the SN was surrounded by the PNA, extending down to the inferior vena cava (IVC) and into the interatrial groove. The PNA had a histological appearance that is intermediate to the SN and the RA. 3D reconstruction demonstrated, for the first time in a large animal model, an extensive and almost complete circle of pacemaking tissue at the junction of the embryologically different sinus venosus and the muscular right atrium.The SAP emerged in a location close to the IVC along the crista terminalis. Expression of key ion channel proteins in the SAP showed abundance of the pacemaker channel (HCN4) and the sodium/calcium exchanger (NCX1) compared to RA, similar to the expression pattern of the SN. The expression of the main high conductance connexin (Cx43) was not significantly different between SAP and RA, and both expressed Cx43 more abundantly than the SN.Conclusion: Destruction of the sinus node in this experimental model resulted in the generation of chronic SAP activity in the majority of the animals. The SAP displayed maturation over time and located in the inferior part of the RA, in the same area where the PNA was found in controls, suggesting the role of PNA as the dominant pacemaker in sinus node dysfunction. The SAP in the goat constitutes a promising stable target for electrophysiological modification to construct a fully functioning biological pacemaker.
Opportunities and challenges for Nigerian libraries in national environmental protection initiatives

Nigeria's environment is today being degraded with refuse and other pollutants at an alarming rate. Efforts by successive governments to combat this menace have proved abortive. This paper thus discusses the role that Nigerian libraries can play in environmental protection efforts, just as it is being done by libraries in other countries of the world. The paper concludes that for environmental problems to be successfully managed in Nigeria, the support of libraries is very crucial. African Journal of Library, Archives and Information Science Vol. 18 (2) 2008: pp. 181-186
Revisit Financial Integration in Asia: New Time-Series Evidence from Stock Markets

This research reinvestigates stock market linkages in Asian region by employing Johansen cointegration and vector error correction model (VECM) based causality tests. The stock price indexes of Japan, Singapore, South Korea, India and China are used, with monthly data over 1999:09–2019:10. The empirical results find weak price convergence among Asian markets, hence are almost segmented by national borders. The asymmetrical stock price relations in Asia have important implications for the pricing efficiency of national markets and suggest several opportunities for global investors to optimise returns through portfolio diversifications across leading stock markets of the region. JEL Codes: C58; G11; G15
FINE MAPPING OF STRIPE RUST RESISTANCE GENE YR15 IN DURUM WHEAT

Yr15 تسا هب هك 31 يم ناشن تمواقم درز گنز داژن دهد . موزومورك يور نژ نيا 1BS ناكم تسا هدش يباي . هناسمه تهج مدق نيلوا ناونع هب ناكم ،هشقن ساسارب نژ نيا يزاس تيعمج كي زا هدافتسا اب نآ قيقد يباي F2 لماش 825 دش ماجنا درف . نوزوپسنرتورتر روضح هب هجوت اب وركوي يحاون رد اه نژ فارطا و نيتام زا ًاتدمع ،اه نوزوپسنرتورتر رب ينتبم ياهرگناشن دش هدافتسا اه . رگناشن هس SSR رگناشن هس ، IRAP رگناشن تفه و REMAP اب زا رتمك هلصاف 2 يتناس دش عابشا نژ فارطا يكيتنژ هشقن و يياسانش نژ اب ناگروم . تمس رد اهرگناشن يخرب اد نامزمه قرفت نژ يرمورتناس دنتش . ياهرگناشن زا يكي IRAP رگناشن ود و REMAP يصاصتخا ياهرگناشن هب و رگناشن هك دندش ليدبت زرابمه زرابمه و يصاصتخا SC792 تشاد نامزمه قرفت نژ اب . ياهرگناشن و يصاصتخا زرابمه SC1600 و SC1028 هلصاف رد ار نژ يتناس كي يم هطاحا ناگروم دندرك . يم اهرگناشن نيا اوت يارب دنن دنوش هدافتسا نژ نيا هشقن ساسارب يزاس هناسمه و رگناشن كمك هب شنيزگ . هك داد ناشن قيقحت نيا جياتن ناكم يارب ينوزوپسنرتورتر ياهرگناشن نژ قيقد يباي يم يعارز مهم تافص هدننك لرتنك ياه ديفم رايسب دنناوت دنشاب . او ژ ه ياه يديلك : رود مدنگ و ،م Yr15 ناكم ، يباي ،قيقد IRAP ، REMAP .
Integrating stakeholder preferences into ecosystem services mapping in Yala wetland, Kenya

ABSTRACT Wetlands such as the Yala swamp in Kenya are among the most important and increasingly threatened ecosystems globally due to their ecological significance and complexity, and the importance of the ecosystem services (ES) they provide to wetland communities. Appropriate governance and management of wetlands thus require the use of interdisciplinary tools that take into account both ecological and social considerations. This study used the matrix model combining social preferences with GIS-based maps of land use/land cover (LULC) to analyse the capacity of the Yala swamp to supply ES (flows). We engaged a total of 132 participants who manage and use natural resources in the wetland through a participatory process to identify ES, map LULC, and score the flow of ES on a scale of 0 to 5 using the matrix model. We also analysed the impacts of stakeholder characteristics (gender, environmental expertise, and location) on the scoring of the matrix. Results showed high average scores (score of 4) for trees and shrubs, papyrus, and water bodies across a range of provisioning, regulating and cultural services. The study found that gender and location had little influence on the respondents’ scores, while environmental conservation experts provided scores significantly higher than local resource users (farmers/fishermen) across the ES types. Overall, the study contributes to understanding: 1) the importance of linking LULC with ES provision to inform landscape management and 2) the need to incorporate a range of stakeholder perspectives in studies making use of expert knowledge and preferences, for inclusive management.
INFLUENCE OF CALCAREOUS FLY ASH ON THE TEMPERATURE OF CONCRETE IN MASSIVE ELEMENTS DURING THE FIRST 72 HOURS OF HARDENING WPŁYW POPIOŁÓW LOTNYCH WAPIENNYCH NA TEMPERATURĘ BETONU W CZASIE PIERWSZYCH 72 GODZIN TWARDNIENIA W ELEMENTACH MASYWNYCH

STRESZCZENIE. W celu unikniecia powstawania spekan wywolanych termicznie w masywnych elementach konstrukcji betonowych, czesto stosuje sie dodatki mineralne cześciowo za­ stepujące cement w mieszance betonowej. W artykule przedsta­ wiono wyniki pomiarow temperatury twardnienia betonow z do­ datkiem popiolow lotnych wapiennych z Elektrowni Belchatow. Zakres badan objąl 76 mieszanek betonowych z trzema rodzaja­ mi kruszywa i zroznicowaną zawartością spoiwa. Badania do­ świadczalne przeprowadzono stosując oryginalną metode wyznaczania parametrow termicznych twardniejących betonow w jednowymiarowy ch formach umozliwiających swobodny przeplyw ciepla w jednym kierunku. Na podstawie uzyskanych wynikow oszacowano wplyw skladnikow mieszanek betono¬ wych, przede wszystkim popiolu lotnego wapiennego, na tempo wzrostu temperatury betonu podczas twardnienia, czas wystąpienia temperatury maksymalnej oraz na gradienty tempe¬ ratury. Zaproponowano wzor do oceny kaloryczności miesza¬ nek betonowych w zalezności od ich skladu.