cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Preparedness for flexible access to learning materials: How ready are university students and staff?
Creators: name: Albion Dr., Peter R.
name: Loch, Birgit
name: Mula, Joseph M.
name: Maroulis, Jerry
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: Information and communication technologies (ICTs) provide new opportunities for learning and teaching. However, for students to benefit from these opportunities, they must have ready access to ICT and positive attitudes toward its usefulness for learning. This paper reports results from an analysis of data collected from students and staff at an Australian regional university with on campus and distance student cohorts in late 2009. The surveys were conducted as part of a larger project to identify ICT likely to be available and of most benefit for student learning, and to gain an understanding of lecturers’ attitudes toward ICT use for teaching in relation to the perceived benefits to students. The survey data are being used to inform decisions about adoption of new digital technologies for learning and teaching and the provision of professional development to teaching staff. This paper focuses on the preparedness of students to access study aids such as lecture recordings via traditional and mobile devices. Outcomes of the study are important to inform responses to proposals to make recordings of all classes available online through establishing what types of content are most likely to be accessed by students and identifying priorities for professional development of teaching staff.
Eudelus mediovittatus
Creators: name: Riedel
name: Pénigot
name: Schwarz
name: Diller
name: Johansson
name: Japoshvili, G.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Ichneumonidae
Eudelus
Eudelus mediovittatus

description: Eudelus mediovittatus (SCHMIEDEKNECHT, 1897), det. Schwarz
M a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: Trap 2: 1♀ 1-15.vi., 1♀ 29.vi.-13.vii.; trap 4: 1♀ 7-21.ix., 1♀ 21.ix.-5.x.; trap 7: 1♀ 19.x.-3.xi.
D i s t r i b u t i o n: Western Palaearctic, new record for Georgia and the Caucasus region.
description: Published as part of Riedel, Pénigot, Schwarz, Diller, Johansson & Japoshvili, G., 2023, Darwin wasps (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) of the Kintrishi National Park, Sakartvelo (Georgia), with descriptions of six new species, pp. 61-153 in Linzer biologische Beiträge 55 (1) on page 122, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10788481
Estimating infectious disease transmission distances using the overall distribution of cases
Creators: name: Cummings, D.A.T
name: Lessler, J
name: Salje, H
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2016

description: The average spatial distance between transmission-linked cases is a fundamental property of infectious disease dispersal. However, the distance between a case and their infector is rarely measurable. Contact-tracing investigations are resource intensive or even impossible, particularly when only a subset of cases are detected. Here, we developed an approach that uses onset dates, the generation time distribution and location information to estimate the mean transmission distance. We tested our method using outbreak simulations. We then applied it to the 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak in Cumbria, UK, and compared our results to contact-tracing activities. In simulations with a true mean distance of 106 m, the average mean distance estimated was 109 m when cases were fully observed (95% range of 71–142). Estimates remained consistent with the true mean distance when only five percent of cases were observed, (average estimate of 128 m, 95% range 87–165). Estimates were robust to spatial heterogeneity in the underlying population. We estimated that both the mean and the standard deviation of the transmission distance during the 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak was 8.9 km (95% CI: 8.4 km–9.7 km). Contact-tracing activities found similar values of 6.3 km (5.2km–7.4 km) and 11.2 km (9.5 km–12.8 km), respectively. We were also able to capture the drop in mean transmission distance over the course of the outbreak. Our approach is applicable across diseases, robust to under-reporting and can inform interventions and surveillance.
Preparation of Pb-In Alloy Nanoparticles via Solvothermal Route: Optimization and Microstructural Investigation
Creators: name: M. Manolata Devi
name: Krishanu Biswas
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2015
Subjects: Developmental Biology
Biological Sciences
Chemistry
Biotechnology
Engineering

description: Successful synthesis of alloy nanoparticles is deemed to be an important step toward realizing applications of different alloy nanoparticles. The preparation of alloy nanoparticles is primarily attempted using physical route with scarce examples of using chemical route of preparation. Efforts are made, for the first time, to synthesize Pb-In alloy nanoparticles via solvothermal route. The present investigation deals with the systematic study of the effect of processing parameters on the formation of Pb1-xInx (x = 0.44, 0.64, and 0.80) alloys in solvothermal route. The results indicate that the formation of alloy [FCC (Pb)] nanoparticles is strongly dependent on the molar ratio of precursor to reducing agent (1:1–1:3), temperature (100–140°C), time (2–4 h) and capping agent (1:5–1:10). Different morphologies of the product such as spherical, cube-octahedral nanoparticles as well as nanosheets have been observed depending on the concentration of the reducing and capping agents. The systematic study allows us to develop a model on alloy formation.
title: The Effect of Appetite on Pain
Creators: name: Wright, HJ
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2016

description: Hunger and pain are powerful homeostatic drives, which compete for a behavioural response when experienced simultaneously. This thesis set out to explore neural mechanisms underpinning this competition, and how appetitive visual and olfactory stimuli may modulate the effect of homeostatic energy manipulations on pain. Using well-established techniques including EEG source analysis and resting state fMRI, we consistently employed a within-subjects fasting vs. satiation paradigm to investigate the effects of appetite on subjective pain perception and neural pain processing. Pain stimuli which selectively activated nociceptive Aδ fibres were presented concurrently with appetitive stimuli, and the neural nociceptive responses were mapped with high-density (128-channel) EEG recordings and fMRI functional connectivity. Based on the results of previous research, we hypothesised that fasting would suppress subjective and neural pain processing, and that visual and olfactory appetitive stimuli may augment this effect. We first found that a relatively short overnight fast was sufficient to induce significant changes in resting state functional connectivity in areas that underlie both hunger / satiety and pain: insula cortex, hypothalamus, and regions of prefrontal cortex. Source analysis of EEG data revealed a small group of brain regions whose pain-related activation was suppressed by hunger and / or appetitive stimuli: anterior cingulate cortex, operculo-insular cortex, parahippocampal cortex, and cerebellum. Functional connectivity analysis of fMRI data further uncovered a widely-distributed network of brain areas whose pain-induced connectivity was enhanced by fasting or satiety. Of particular interest was a small network of areas involved in stimulus saliency processing (anterior insula, anterior cingulate cortex, and prefrontal cortex), which was stronger during fasting; presumably advantageous when searching for food. Lastly, in an experiment using a bread odour, we found that the suppressive effect of appetitive stimuli on nociception is not just confined to the visual modality. Brief, strong pain can also be suppressed by an appetitive odour during fasting. We conclude that fasting reliably interferes with pain processing, and that ambient appetitive stimuli might be of use in situations where short-lasting pain is likely to occur.
Cornell HKs EMP affirmative from the 2009-2010 collegiate policy debate season
Creators: name: Himmelstein, Daniel
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Geophysics
subject: FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences

description: This is an affirmative proposal from the 2009-2010 collegiated policy debate topic. It centers around a proposal to ban high altitude nuclear explosions to reduce the risk of electromagnetic pulse (EMP). It consists of snippets of evidence gathered to support a variety of arguments, many contraditory.
Gelis areator
Creators: name: Riedel
name: Pénigot
name: Schwarz
name: Diller
name: Johansson
name: Japoshvili, G.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Ichneumonidae
Gelis
Gelis areator

description: Gelis areator (PANZER, 1804)
M a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: Trap 7: 1♀ 21.iv.-5.v.
D i s t r i b u t i o n: Transpalaearctic and Oriental, known from Azerbaijan (JONAITIS & ALIEV 1963a); new record for Georgia.
description: Published as part of Riedel, Pénigot, Schwarz, Diller, Johansson & Japoshvili, G., 2023, Darwin wasps (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) of the Kintrishi National Park, Sakartvelo (Georgia), with descriptions of six new species, pp. 61-153 in Linzer biologische Beiträge 55 (1) on page 122, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10788481
Understanding systematic risk : an old question with new answers
Creators: name: Ejaz, Sana
Publisher: name: University of Tasmania
Year: 2024

description: The opacity of an asset has gained increasing attention in the field of finance and investments over the last two decades, particularly after the financial crisis of 2007-2009. Opacity is broadly defined as the delay in the processing of information about the effect of systematic news on firm value. This thesis examines the relationship between opacity and frequency dependence of beta for both small and large firms. Frequency dependence of beta characterises the value of beta due to the investment horizon of underlying returns. The findings indicate that opacity is positively related to the frequency dependence of beta for large firms at all horizons, for small firms, the relationship is significant at longer and insignificant at shorter horizons. Furthermore, this thesis shows that the volatility of cross-listed stocks co-moves in the long run. The evidence of the co-movement of the covariance of cross-listed stocks is also documented. This co-movement of variance and covariance creates a phenomenon that I call beta discovery. Beta discovery is the efficient and timely incorporation of information into the systematic risk and is affected by the market quality measures such as trading activity, liquidity, and transaction cost. Finally, this thesis investigates the nature of the newly emerging systematic risk, namely the risk of climate change. The individual and firm-level effects of climate risk on the innovation of firms are documented. The findings of this thesis provide evidence that as the carbon footprints of a firm increase, the net inflow of inventors and the overall innovation output of the firms decreases.
title: E-Banking security and organisational changes. An action research study.
Creators: name: Birkeland, SN
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2016

description: The thesis considers customer security in a major European bank Bank X. The action research focus is to strengthen the processes and the overall solution for online Bank customers which experience a significant growth and increase in use. There seem to be a common misperception between the internal staff of the bank and its customers regarding what security is, and the research considers several new security situations in the banking business. Moving from branch-oriented business to a digital orientation within the time space of just a few years has challenged banks to create new solutions for their customers. Such solutions must be secure, but technical security need separation from human security since new approaches as for example social engineering easily can be a source for fraud and losses for customers in a modern digital bank. This thesis uses action research by interviewing leaders and team members in one security team. The internal researcher role also introduce proposals and suggestions to the team during the research, which locate the action. A connection between stakeholders’ security definitions, re-organisations and the end solutions is important to understand, to improve the situation. Findings reveal that internal communications have an external customer’s communications effect and that re-organisational tasks should focus to adjust the external factors, not only internal benefits. Re-organisational planning does not increase customer security instantly, but some participants can see long-term benefits. The problem is, however, that the long-term world-view changes continuously, and without adjustments organisations depending on cyber security fall behind in the new, but ongoing battle between usability vs security and cost. A modern digital bank should no longer act as a traditional bank, but more as an IT company. This claim opens the way for new ideas and solutions, but blending the banking business and the computer industry can be challenging due to the professional distance between the groups. Future re-organisations should therefore aim for cross-divisional collaboration, increasing communication internally and opening routes for a dualistic contact with customers whereby information and awareness campaigns can be just as effective as technical and physical firewalls. The computer and banking industries are now working towards a remote market with a distance to the online-customers, and while the computer industry has experience to perform business with less customer contact, the banks have now also moved from close contact to digital contact. For this reason, modern banks must think differently and understand what the business is and how to secure it, but never forget the major resource and security problem – the human being.
An Analysis of the Overhead and Energy Consumption in Flooding, Random Walk and Gossip based Resource Discovery Protocols in MP2P Networks
Creators: name: Arunachalam, Ajay
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: Information Systems
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences
subject: Computer Engineering
subject: Distributed Computing
subject: Applied Computer Science

description: All major mobile communication architectures are
mainly centralized. When the mobile devices are switched on it will search for nearby base station or access point. The content being searched is mostly stored in a centralized directory manner. Peer-to-Peer platform can be one of the best possibilities
to overcome the restrictions and resolve issues incurred due to centralization. Mobile environment poses additional challenges on such P2P networks - due to limited resources, dynamic and wireless network characteristics, heterogeneity of nodes,
limitations on processing power and wireless bandwidth. Hence resource discovery becomes further challenging. Even today mostly the traditional methods like flooding, random walk or gossip based forwarding methods have to be considered along
with major limitations and drawbacks. Further in Mobile Peer-to-Peer (MP2P) system the energy aspect is very crucial with regards to the participation of nodes in the system. The search
failure rate may increase if a mobile device uses all its energy and hence not participate in the resource discovery process. In this paper, we simulate the existing standard flooding, random walk and gossip based resource discovery algorithms on a P2P Mobile Adhoc Network (MANET) and studied their performance under such highly dynamic mobile network scenario. The efficiency of the resource discovery protocols are validated through extensive
NS-2 simulations.
Population-level effect of cholera vaccine on displaced populations, South Sudan, 2014
Creators: name: Lessler, J
name: Ciglenecki, I
name: Perea, W
name: Luquero, F.J
name: Azman, A.S
name: Helderman, T
name: Legros, D
name: de la Rosa Vázquez, O
name: Martin, S
name: Sack, D.A
name: West, H
name: Rumunu, J
name: Wamala, J.F
name: Abubakar, A
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2016

description: Following mass population displacements in South Sudan, preventive cholera vaccination campaigns were conducted in displaced persons camps before a 2014 cholera outbreak. We compare cholera transmission in vaccinated and unvaccinated areas and show vaccination likely halted transmission within vaccinated areas, illustrating the potential for oral cholera vaccine to stop cholera transmission in vulnerable populations.
Heat shock: Impact of moderate temperature on pollen development in maize
Creators: name: Jain, Prateek
Publisher: name: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Year: 2024

description: Global warming has caused a significant increase in the frequency
and intensity of heatwaves and hot days worldwide.
Exposure to high temperatures during the plant reproductive
phase can lead to a dramatic decrease in seed production,
largely through abnormal pollen development (Chaturvedi
et al. 2021). Due to its sequenced genome and well-studied reproductive
system, maize is considered an ideal crop to study
the effect of heat stress (HS). Male reproductive organs like anthers
and pollens are more sensitive to temperature fluctuations
than female gametophytes (Tushabe et al. 2023).
Therefore, it is imperative to understand the effect of moderate
temperatures on pollen development.
Chemtunes: A pilot study of setting the rote to music
Creators: name: Schier, Mark
name: Eldridge, Daniel
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 390113
subject: Science, technology and engineering curriculum and pedagogy
classificationCode: 390405
subject: Educational technology and computing

description: Rote learning can be dull! Yet for students to be successful at higher levels of education, there is a large base set of knowledge or vocabulary that must be learned and recognised, despite the absence of any rhyme or reason in said knowledge. This is commonly true of many sciences and languages. Historically, such information has been learned by rote and drills - both quite effective techniques, but not very engaging. The current project investigates the production of musical parodies with lyrics attuned to the knowledge requirements of the student as a means of increasing accessibility, student interest and overall information retention. The success of this work-in-progress venture will be explored through student participation, feedback and results on related examination questions.
Times to key events in Zika virus infection and implications for blood donation: A systematic review
Creators: name: Ott, C.T
name: Reich, N.G
name: Chaisson, L.H
name: Konikoff, J.M
name: Williamson, J
name: Bi, Q
name: Lessler, J
name: Cummings, D.A.T
name: Carcelen, A.C
name: Kucirka, L.M
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2016

description: Objective To estimate the timing of key events in the natural history of Zika virus infection. Methods In February 2016, we searched PubMed, Scopus and the Web of Science for publications containing the term Zika. By pooling data, we estimated the incubation period, the time to seroconversion and the duration of viral shedding. We estimated the risk of Zika virus contaminated blood donations. Findings We identified 20 articles on 25 patients with Zika virus infection. The median incubation period for the infection was estimated to be 5.9 days (95% credible interval, CrI: 4.4-7.6), with 95% of people who developed symptoms doing so within 11.2 days (95% CrI: 7.6-18.0) after infection. On average, seroconversion occurred 9.1 days (95% CrI: 7.0-11.6) after infection. The virus was detectable in blood for 9.9 days (95% CrI: 6.9-21.4) on average. Without screening, the estimated risk that a blood donation would come from an infected individual increased by approximately 1 in 10 000 for every 1 per 100 000 person-days increase in the incidence of Zika virus infection. Symptom-based screening may reduce this rate by 7% (relative risk, RR: 0.93; 95% CrI: 0.89-0.99) and antibody screening, by 29% (RR: 0.71; 95% CrI: 0.28-0.88). Conclusion Neither symptom- nor antibody-based screening for Zika virus infection substantially reduced the risk that blood donations would be contaminated by the virus. Polymerase chain reaction testing should be considered for identifying blood safe for use in pregnant women in high-incidence areas.
Case Study in Evaluating Time Series Prediction Models Using the Relative Mean Absolute Error
Creators: name: Lauer, S.A.
name: Lessler, J.
name: Sakrejda, K.
name: Cummings, D.A.T.
name: Iamsirithaworn, S.
name: Reich, N.G.
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2016

description: Statistical prediction models inform decision-making processes in many real-world settings. Prior to using predictions in practice, one must rigorously test and validate candidate models to ensure that the proposed predictions have sufficient accuracy to be used in practice. In this article, we present a framework for evaluating time series predictions, which emphasizes computational simplicity and an intuitive interpretation using the relative mean absolute error metric. For a single time series, this metric enables comparisons of candidate model predictions against naïve reference models, a method that can provide useful and standardized performance benchmarks. Additionally, in applications with multiple time series, this framework facilitates comparisons of one or more models’ predictive performance across different sets of data. We illustrate the use of this metric with a case study comparing predictions of dengue hemorrhagic fever incidence in two provinces of Thailand. This example demonstrates the utility and interpretability of the relative mean absolute error metric in practice, and underscores the practical advantages of using relative performance metrics when evaluating predictions.
Climate-ready crops: Unveiling the molecular dynamics of CO2 and glucose in plant thermotolerance
Creators: name: Jain, Prateek
Publisher: name: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Year: 2024

description: Globally, temperatures are surging as greenhouse gases trap
atmospheric heat. According to the European Union’s
Copernicus Climate Change Service, 2023 was an average
1.48°C warmer than the pre-industrial temperature of 1850 to
1900 (https://climate.copernicus.eu). Extremely high temperatures
and excessive greenhouse gases adversely affect both human
and plant health. This situation is causing global concern
as it interferes with crop productivity and poses a challenge to
food security. It becomes necessary to find solutions to address
high temperatures and greenhouse gases such as CO2 while
boosting crop yield and productivity. The genetic engineering
and synthetic biology approaches could be helpful in
“reprogramming” biological systems to help plants sustain
adverse environmental conditions, such as high heat and excess
greenhouse gases
Gelis longicauda
Creators: name: Riedel
name: Pénigot
name: Schwarz
name: Diller
name: Johansson
name: Japoshvili, G.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Ichneumonidae
Gelis
Gelis longicauda

description: Gelis longicauda (THOMSON, 1884)
M a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: Trap 15: 1♀ 20.v.-2.vi., 1♀ 2-16.vi., 1♀ 30.vi.-14.vii.
D i s t r i b u t i o n: Transpalaearctic, known from Georgia (RIEDEL & JAPOSHVILI 2021).
description: Published as part of Riedel, Pénigot, Schwarz, Diller, Johansson & Japoshvili, G., 2023, Darwin wasps (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) of the Kintrishi National Park, Sakartvelo (Georgia), with descriptions of six new species, pp. 61-153 in Linzer biologische Beiträge 55 (1) on page 122, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10788481
title: Factors that influence capital structure decisions between owners of family businesses and their administrators in medium sized organizations
Creators: name: Tejuoso, B
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2016

description: Family businesses are known to have problems with capital structure decision making, and this is evident within the Nigerian family business context. While other areas in the family business field have been well studied, the factors that influence capital structure decisions have been grossly understudied; particularly from the perspective of family business owners and the administrators that manage their businesses. This dissertation addresses this understudied section in the family business literature while simultaneously addressing a real-world problem through Action Research. This research analyses the family business literature to understand the current theoretical and empirical stance of this issue. Following the creation of action learning sets within my organization, a decision was made to diffuse new knowledge into the firm. Twelve interviews with owners and administrators of family businesses were conducted to explore the research problem and gather primary data on the subject. Research participants were interviewed based on their hierarchical roles within family businesses that met with set research criteria. Following qualitative analysis of the data and continued activities within the learning sets, this research wok produced factors that influence capital structure decisions within medium family businesses in Nigeria. Factors such as fear, control, trust, generational succession, expertise and experience, mind-set, agreement issues, capital structure decision priorities and conflicts were discovered. In addition, new knowledge was diffused into the organization which acted as a game-changer in terms of external financing. These activities, allowed for the problems concerning capital structure decision making in my organization to be addressed. This research work demonstrates how action research can be used to solve real- world problems and may provide guidance for future action researchers working in similar contexts – e.g., family business in developing countries.
Modeling infectious disease dynamics in the complex landscape of global health
Creators: name: Andreasen, V
name: Pellis, L
name: Hollingsworth, T.D
name: Trapman, P
name: Edmunds, W.J
name: Isham, V
name: Frost, S.D.W
name: Bansal, S
name: Isaac Newton Institute IDD Collaboration
name: Roberts, M.G
name: O'Neill, P
name: Klepac, P
name: Anderson, R.M
name: Wood, J.
name: Gog, J
name: Lloyd-Smith, J.O
name: Metcalf, C.J.E
name: Riley, S
name: Funk, S
name: Grenfell, B
name: Lessler, J
name: Dye, C
name: Arinaminpathy, N
name: Heesterbeek, H
name: Pulliam, J.R.C
name: Pearson, C
name: Mollison, D
name: Bogich, T
name: Ball, F
name: Eames, K.T.D
name: Tomba, G.S
name: Lloyd, A.L
name: DeAngelis, D
name: Viboud, C
name: House, T
name: Mclean, A
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2015

description: Despite some notable successes in the control of infectious diseases, transmissible pathogens still pose an enormous threat to human and animal health. The ecological and evolutionary dynamics of infections play out on a wide range of interconnected temporal, organizational, and spatial scales, which span hours to months, cells to ecosystems, and local to global spread. Moreover, some pathogens are directly transmitted between individuals of a single species, whereas others circulate among multiple hosts, need arthropod vectors, or can survive in environmental reservoirs. Many factors, including increasing antimicrobial resistance, increased human connectivity and changeable human behavior, elevate prevention and control from matters of national policy to international challenge. In the face of this complexity, mathematical models offer valuable tools for synthesizing information to understand epidemiological patterns, and for developing quantitative evidence for decision-making in global health.
Forty years of dengue surveillance at a tertiary pediatric hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, 1973-2012
Creators: name: Kalayanarooj, S
name: Srikiatkhachorn, A
name: Clapham, H.E
name: Cummings, D.A.T
name: Thaisomboonsuk, B
name: Macareo, L.R
name: Nisalak, A
name: Lessler, J.T
name: Reiser, J
name: Fernandez, S
name: Klungthong, C
name: Yoon, I.-K
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2016

description: Long-term observational studies can provide valuable insights into overall dengue epidemiology. Here, we present analysis of dengue cases at a pediatric hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, during a 40-year period from 1973 to 2012. Data were analyzed from 25,715 hospitalized patients with laboratory-confirmed dengue virus (DENV) infection. Several long-term trends in dengue disease were identified including an increase in mean age of hospitalized cases from an average of 7-8 years, an increase after 1990 in the proportion of post-primary cases for DENV-1 and DENV-3, and a decrease in the proportion of dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome cases in primary and post-primary cases over time. Exploratory mechanistic analysis of these observed trends considered changes in diagnostic methods, demography, force of infection, and Japanese encephalitis vaccination as possible explanations. Thailand is an important setting for studying DENV transmission as it has a "mature" dengue epidemiology with a strong surveillance system in place since the early 1970s. We characterized changes in dengue epidemiology over four decades, and possible impact of demographic and other changes in the human population. These results may inform other countries where similar changes in transmission and population demographics may now or may soon be occurring.
On blockwise and reference panel-based estimators for genetic data prediction in high dimensions
Creators: name: Zhao, Bingxin
name: Zhu, Hongtu
name: Zheng, Shurong
Publisher: name: Institute of Mathematical Statistics
Year: 2024

description: Genetic prediction holds immense promise for translating genetic discoveries into medical advances. As the high-dimensional covariance matrix (or the linkage disequilibrium (LD) pattern) of genetic variants often presents a block-diagonal structure, numerous methods account for the dependence among variants in predetermined local LD blocks. Moreover, due to privacy considerations and data protection concerns, genetic variant dependence in each LD block is typically estimated from external reference panels rather than the original training data set. This paper presents a unified analysis of blockwise and reference panel-based estimators in a high-dimensional prediction framework without sparsity restrictions. We find that, surprisingly, even when the covariance matrix has a block-diagonal structure with well-defined boundaries, blockwise estimation methods adjusting for local dependence can be substantially less accurate than methods controlling for the whole covariance matrix. Further, estimation methods built on the original training data set and external reference panels are likely to have varying performance in high dimensions, which may reflect the cost of having only access to summary level data from the training data set. This analysis is based on novel results in random matrix theory for block-diagonal covariance matrix. We numerically evaluate our results using extensive simulations and real data analysis in the UK Biobank.
title: Sustainable Compensation Methods for Construction Companies Operating in Turbulent Environments. A Case of South Sudan.
Creators: name: Warille, JB
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2016

description: ABSTRACT Although South Sudanese did not own private companies before the war, a good number of them have been studying business during the time of the war. Immediately after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), private companies came into existence. Roads construction companies were not exceptions. Being new in the industry, the national companies have been copying from Sudan. The Labor Act (1997) of Sudan is the main employment legislation used in South Sudan. This thesis examines the compensation methods in three companies with the aim of suggesting methods that will suit turbulent environments like South Sudan. Three different methods were tested in intervals of three months to test its sustainability in environments like South Sudan. This is an action research project. Three workshops were held every three months and an evaluation of the compensation methods were made. Structured questionnaires were used to gain the understanding of employees about the compensation method in their respective organizations, their understanding of compensation in the environment in their operation areas, relationship of their pay to what their colleagues get and their attitude towards change in pay methods should the organization opt to do so. Interviews were also conducted with senior managers and board members to get their in-depth understanding of the compensation method in the companies they manage and in particular to look at how they sustain the pay. A close look at the Labor Act (1997) of Sudan which is being used in South Sudan was done to see the relevance of some of the acts in the South Sudan context. Though some areas of weaknesses in the pay systems were identified including the areas in some cultural behaviors which hinder concentration to work, the thesis came up with three different pay methods which can be used in South Sudan. They are Team Based Pay (TBP) with another form of Specialized Team Based Pay (STBP), Shared Pay Rate (SPR) and Management Driven Pay (MDP).
Twitter learning analytics in R
Creators: name: Walker, Lyndon
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: There is presently no literature about the application of learning analytics to student learning activities that use Twitter beyond those describing the Twitter activities themselves and/or student survey feedback about these activities. This paper seeks to address this gap by examining the application of some data visualisation analytics to student activities on Twitter using the R statistics software programme. For those who already use Twitter as a teaching tool it illustrates some useful methods for analysing learner data in order to more effectively use Twitter in their teaching. For those who do not use Twitter in their teaching, they will hopefully still find the descriptions of various ways that Twitter is currently used, and the application of learning analytics informative for their teaching practice.
Myxoid liposarcoma resection and reconstruction with a pedicled gracilis muscle flap. A case report
Creators: name: Israel Alonso Madrigal Respardo M.D.
name: Luis Esteban Gaxiola Guarneros M.D.
name: Sergio Saul Romero Mares M.D.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024

description: Background:

The pedicled gracilis muscle flap is a commonly used flap in reconstructive surgery. Its vascular pedicle originates from the medial circumflex femoral artery, branch of the profunda femoris artery or occasionally originates for the profunda femoris itself and can be reliably found in the septum between adductor magnus and adductor longus muscle. Its applications vary from pedicled to free and has a broad range of indications, such as regional reconstruction of lower abdomen, pubis, groin, perineum, ischium, including functional anal sphincter and vaginal reconstruction, and distant reconstruction for head & neck, including functional reconstruction for facial reanimation, as well as for upper & lower extremity, including functional reconstruction for muscle loss.

Muculocutaneous flaps are classified based on the Mathes-Nahai description according to the vascular pedicles that each muscle group contains. Thus, type 1 involves one vascular pedicle, type 2 involves 1 dominant and 1 minor pedicle, and type 3 involves two dominant pedicles, type 4 involves segmental pedicles and type 5 a dominant pedicle with several segmentals, thus taking into account that the gracilis muscle belongs to type II, being ideal for reconstructive surgery.

We present the case of a 75-year-old male with a local recurrence of a myxoid liposarcoma involving the inguinal región, the right lateral region of the penis, and the region of the right hemiscrotum. Patient underwent surgery to perform myxoid liposarcoma resection and reconstruction with a Pedicled gracilis muscle flap with adecuate evolution in a period of 3 months.

 

Keywords:  Mixoid liposarcoma, gracilis flap, groin reconstruction.
Reduced vaccination and the risk of measles and other childhood infections post-Ebola
Creators: name: Truelove, S.A
name: Grenfell, B.T
name: Takahashi, S
name: Moss, W.J
name: Ferrari, M.J
name: Metcalf, C.J.E
name: Tatem, A.J
name: Lessler, J
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2015

description: The Ebola epidemic in West Africa has caused substantial morbidity and mortality. The outbreak has also disrupted health care services, including childhood vaccinations, creating a second public health crisis. We project that after 6 to 18 months of disruptions, a large connected cluster of children unvaccinated for measles will accumulate across Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. This pool of susceptibility increases the expected size of a regional measles outbreak from 127,000 to 227,000 cases after 18 months, resulting in 2000 to 16,000 additional deaths (comparable to the numbers of Ebola deaths reported thus far). There is a clear path to avoiding outbreaks of childhood vaccine-preventable diseases once the threat of Ebola begins to recede: an aggressive regional vaccination campaign aimed at age groups left unprotected because of health care disruptions.
Gelis ornatulus
Creators: name: Riedel
name: Pénigot
name: Schwarz
name: Diller
name: Johansson
name: Japoshvili, G.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Ichneumonidae
Gelis
Gelis ornatulus

description: Gelis ornatulus (THOMSON, 1884)
M a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: Trap7: 1♀ 5-19.x.
D i s t r i b u t i o n: Transpalaearctic, new record for Georgia and the Caucasus region.
description: Published as part of Riedel, Pénigot, Schwarz, Diller, Johansson & Japoshvili, G., 2023, Darwin wasps (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) of the Kintrishi National Park, Sakartvelo (Georgia), with descriptions of six new species, pp. 61-153 in Linzer biologische Beiträge 55 (1) on page 122, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10788481
Factors associated with vertical transmission of HIV in the Western Cape, South Africa: a retrospective cohort analysis
Creators: name: Boulle, Andrew
name: Sridhar, Gayathri
name: Davies, Mary‐Ann
name: Jacob, Nisha
name: Anderson, Kim
name: Phelanyane, Florence
name: Kassanjee, Reshma
name: Vannappagari, Vani
name: Mehta, Ushma
name: Heekes, Alexa
name: Ragone, Leigh
name: Kalk, Emma
Publisher: name: Wiley
Year: 2024

description: INTRODUCTION: Monitoring mother-infant pairs with HIV exposure is needed to assess the effectiveness of vertical transmission (VT) prevention programmes and progress towards VT elimination.
METHODS: We used routinely collected data on infants with HIV exposure, born May 2018-April 2021 in the Western Cape, South Africa, with follow-up through mid-2022. We assessed the proportion of infants diagnosed with HIV at birth (≤7 days), 10 weeks (>1 to 14 weeks) and >14 weeks as proxies for intrauterine, intrapartum/early breastfeeding and late breastfeeding transmission, respectively. We used mixed-effects Poisson regression to assess factors associated with VT in mothers known with HIV by delivery.
RESULTS: We included 50,461 infants born to mothers known with HIV by delivery. HIV was diagnosed in 894 (1.8%) infants. Among mothers, 51% started antiretroviral treatment (ART) before and 27% during pregnancy; 17% restarted during pregnancy after ≥6 months interruption; and 6% had no recorded ART during pregnancy. Most pregnancy ART regimens included non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (83%). Of mothers with available results (90% with viral load [VL]; 70% with CD4), VL nearest delivery was <100 copies/ml in 78% and CD4 count ≥350 cells/μl in 62%. HIV-PCR results were available for 86%, 67% and 48% of eligible infants at birth, 10 weeks and >14 weeks. Among these infants, 0.9%, 0.4% and 1.5% were diagnosed positive at birth, 10 weeks and >14 weeks, respectively. Among infants diagnosed with HIV, 43%, 16% and 41% were diagnosed at these respective time periods. Among mothers with VL<100, 100-999, 1000-99,000 and ≥100,000 copies/ml nearest delivery, infant HIV diagnosis incidence was 0.4%, 2.3%, 6.6% and 18.4%, respectively. Increased VT was strongly associated with recent elevated maternal VL with a seven-fold increased rate with even modestly elevated VL (100-999 vs. <100 copies/ml). VT was also associated with unknown/low maternal CD4, maternal age <20 years, no antenatal ART, later maternal ART start/restart in pregnancy and ART gaps.
CONCLUSIONS: Despite high maternal ART coverage and routine postnatal prophylaxis, ongoing VT remains a concern. Timing of infant HIV diagnoses suggests intrapartum and/or breastfeeding transmission in nearly 60%. Interventions to ensure retention on ART and sustained maternal viral suppression are needed to reduce VT.
TerraFERMA Benchmarks
Creators: name: Wilson, Cian
name: Spiegelman, Marc
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Geophysics
subject: FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences
subject: Solid Earth Sciences
subject: Computer Software
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: TerraFERMA, theTransparent Finite Element Rapid Model Assembler, is a software system for
the rapid and reproducible construction and exploration of coupled multi-physics model. The purpose of this document is to present the results of several geophysical benchmarks used to validate TerraFERMA.
Meat consumption and the risk of hip fracture in women and men: two prospective Swedish cohort studies
Creators: name: Wolk, Alicja
name: Baron, John A.
name: Byberg, Liisa
name: Michaëlsson, Karl
name: Höijer, Jonas
name: Warensjö Lemming, Eva
Publisher: name: Springer Nature
Year: 2024

description: Purpose To study the association between meat intake (predominantly red and processed meats) and the risk of hip fracture, as well as the association between meat intake and biomarkers of inflammation, oxidative stress, bone turnover, body composition, and bone mineral density (BMD). Methods Data from the Swedish Mammography Cohort and the Cohort of Swedish men (n = 83,603, 54% men) with repeated investigations and their respective clinical sub-cohorts was utilised. Incident hip fractures were ascertained through individual linkage to registers. Associations were investigated using multivariable Cox and linear regression analyses. Results During up to 23 years of follow-up (mean 18.2 years) and 1,538,627 person-years at risk, 7345 participants (2840 men) experienced a hip fracture. Each daily serving of meat intake conferred a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.03 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.00; 1.06) for hip fracture. In quintile 5, compared to quintile 2, the HR was 1.11 (95% CI 1.01; 1.21) among all participants. In the sub-cohorts, meat intake was directly associated with circulating levels of interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, leptin, ferritin, parathyroid hormone, and calcium. Conclusion A modest linear association was found between a higher meat intake and the risk of hip fractures. Our results from the sub-cohorts further suggest that possible mechanisms linking meat intake and hip fracture risk may be related to the regulation of bone turnover, subclinical inflammation, and oxidative stress. Although estimates are modest, limiting red and processed meat intake in a healthy diet is advisable to prevent hip fractures.
Statistical mechanics and thermodynamics of viral evolution
Creators: name: Bianco, S
name: Kaufman, J.H
name: Jones, B.A
name: Lessler, J
Publisher: name: Public Library of Science
Year: 2015

description: This paper uses methods drawn from physics to study the life cycle of viruses. The paper analyzes a model of viral infection and evolution using the "grand canonical ensemble" and formalisms from statistical mechanics and thermodynamics. Using this approach we enumerate all possible genetic states of a model virus and host as a function of two independent pressures-immune response and system temperature. We prove the system has a real thermodynamic temperature, and discover a new phase transition between a positive temperature regime of normal replication and a negative temperature "disordered" phase of the virus. We distinguish this from previous observations of a phase transition that arises as a function of mutation rate. From an evolutionary biology point of view, at steady state the viruses naturally evolve to distinct quasispecies. This paper also reveals a universal relationship that relates the order parameter (as a measure of mutational robustness) to evolvability in agreement with recent experimental and theoretical work. Given that real viruses have finite length RNA segments that encode proteins which determine virus fitness, the approach used here could be refined to apply to real biological systems, perhaps providing insight into immune escape, the emergence of novel pathogens and other results of viral evolution.
(Trans) Formation through educational technologies
Creators: name: Keane, Therese
name: Blicblau, Aaron
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 390303
subject: Higher education
classificationCode: 390405
subject: Educational technology and computing

description: Historically, the 3Rs (reading, writing, and arithmetic) have laid the foundations for student life-skills, however, to function in the 21st century, students need to embrace the 4Cs (collaboration, creativity, critical thinking and communication). Teachers need to employ a variety of educational technologies, which embrace various aspects of the 3Rs and 4Cs in their practice. This work provides a framework for teachers to practically implement the 4Cs in a transformative space. Educators are then able to apply the 4CS through technology by implementing a transformative approach to their teaching. This mode of teaching prepares students with the necessary tools for the 21st century.