nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Pre operative physiotherapy following unilateral ankle fractures at a tertiary hospital in South Africa: Perceptions of patients and nurses
Venue: The South African journal of physiotherapy
Year: 2021

Ankle fractures are a common injury because of an increase in levels of physical activity, as well as senescence worldwide. Ankle fractures often require surgical management for optimal stabilisation. Pre operative physiotherapy is necessary to prepare patients for early mobilisation and home discharge. There is a lack of information on the influence of pre operative physiotherapy on post operative rehabilitation success, as well as timeous discharge, in patients with ankle fractures.  To explore the perceptions of patients receiving pre operative physiotherapy care following a unilateral ankle fracture and the perceptions of nursing staff managing these patients at a tertiary hospital in South Africa.  A descriptive qualitative design, using semi structured interviews, including both patients with unilateral ankle fractures and nurses caring for these patients, was adopted. Interviews were recorded and verbatim transcriptions were analysed utilising thematic analysis.  Four overarching themes emerged: the perceived benefits of pre operative physiotherapy; inhibitors to physiotherapy rehabilitation; hidden enablers to pre operative physiotherapy and future initiatives for rehabilitation.  The perceived benefits included improved functional independence and safety of patients, as well as reduced burden of care for nurses. Patients also believed that pain and fear were two inhibitors to physiotherapy. Furthermore, nurses identified that organisational limitations, such as short staffing and inadequately trained staff, inhibited pre operative physiotherapy and continuity of care. Early post operative discharge was a crucial hidden enabler to the pre operative physiotherapy protocol. Recommendations included improved health education; the potential role of nursing staff as facilitators in pre operative rehabilitation and regular, pre operative in patient monitoring of physiotherapy intervention.  Health education was perceived to have improved patient safety and compliance which subsequently reduced patient safety incidences as well as served as a risk mitigation measure. Furthermore, gait training and muscle strengthening exercises was perceived to have resulted in safe, independent mobility to ensure prompt discharge home. Consequently, a reduced post operative length of in hospital stay results in major cost savings per patient as well as improved access and bed availability. Future studies may need to explore the effects of pre operative physiotherapy on post operative success and return to pre injury activity.
Unbiased Mean Teacher for Cross Domain Object Detection
Venue: ArXiv
Year: 2020

Cross domain object detection is challenging, because object detection model is often vulnerable to data variance, especially to the considerable domain shift in cross domain scenarios. In this paper, we propose a new approach called Unbiased Mean Teacher (UMT) for cross domain object detection. While the simple mean teacher (MT) model exhibits good robustness to small data variance, it can also become easily biased in cross domain scenarios. We thus improve it with several simple yet highly effective strategies. In particular, we firstly propose a novel cross domain distillation for MT to maximally exploit the expertise of the teacher model. Then, we further alleviate the bias in the student model by augmenting training samples with pixel level adaptation. The feature level adversarial training is also incorporated to learn domain invariant representation. Those strategies can be implemented easily into MT and leads to our unbiased MT model. Our model surpasses the existing state of the art models in large margins on benchmark datasets, which demonstrates the effectiveness of our approach.
Cross linguistic Study on Academic Writings in Creating Coherence Textual Metadiscourse in Abstracts of Master's Thesis
Year: 2017

What is essential to academic texts is coherence, which is acknowledged to be "difficult to teach and difficult to learn" Metadiscourse, as features in the discourse which can help readers decode the message, functions in the construction of coherence. This study aims to investigate how coherence differs with cultural aspects and language facilities through the study of uses of textual metadiacourse in the abstracts of master's thesis written by English native speakers and Chinese speakers. The findings indicates that Genre conventions had a determining role in the writers' choice of some metadiscourse resources and lightly more instances of textual metadiscourse were observed in the writing samples of native speakers of English. It also discusses that the differences in the distribution and use of textual metadiscourse resources may be caused by different rhetorical strategies between English and Chinese, the lack of language facilities or the influences of original habits of organizing Chinese. Keywords academic writings; coherence; textual metadiscourse
Comparison of European, African, Asian, and Other/Mixed Race American Children for the Association Between Household Income and Perceived Discrimination.
Venue: International journal of travel medicine and global health
Year: 2021

Perceived discrimination is one of the reasons behind racial/ethnic health disparities. However, less is known about racial and ethnic groups differ in social determinants of discrimination. This study aimed to compare the association between household income and perceived discrimination among American children of different racial/ethnic groups.  The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, a national longitudinal study, followed 4383 children 9 10 years old who were either European American, African American, Asian American, or mixed/other race for one year. We compared racial and ethnic groups for the association between baseline household income and perceived discrimination at the end of one year follow up. We used ANOVA and linear regression for data analysis. The outcome was perceived discrimination. The predictor was household income. Covariates were age, gender, and parental marital status. The moderator was race/ethnicity.  In the total sample, high household income was associated with less perceived discrimination. There was an interaction between race and household income, suggesting a difference in the association between household income and perceived discrimination between African American and European American children. The inverse association between household income and perceived discrimination was weaker for African American than European American children.  High income African American children are not well protected against perceived discrimination. High exposure to perceived discrimination may explain the worse expected health and development of middle class African American children. As discrimination is a major social determinant of health, the results have considerable implications for public and health policy.
Robust Outage Secrecy Rate Optimizations for a MIMO Secrecy Channel
Venue: IEEE Wireless Communications Letters
Year: 2015

This letter investigates robust secrecy rate optimization techniques for a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) wiretap channel in the presence of a multiantenna eavesdropper. In particular, two robust secrecy rate optimization problems are studied: robust power minimization with an outage secrecy rate constraint and robust secrecy rate maximization subject to the outage secrecy rate and transmit power constraints. Here, it is assumed that the legitimate transmitter has perfect channel state information (CSI) of the legitimate receiver and imperfect CSI of the eavesdropper. Both robust problems are not convex in terms of transmit covariance matrix and the outage secrecy rate constraint. Hence, we propose a conservative approximation approach to reformulate this outage secrecy rate constraint by exploiting the Bernstein type inequality to obtain a tractable solution for these two robust problems. Numerical results have been provided to validate the convergence and the performance of the proposed robust algorithms.
Quantitative analysis of facial palsy using a three dimensional facial motion measurement system.
Venue: Auris, nasus, larynx
Year: 2015

The prognosis for facial nerve palsy (FNP) depends on its severity. Currently, many clinicians use the Yanagihara, House Brackmann, and/or Sunnybrook grading systems to assess FNP. Although these assessments are performed by experts, inter and intra observer disagreements have been demonstrated. The quantitative and objective analyses of the degree of FNP would be preferred to monitor functional changes and to plan and evaluate therapeutic interventions in patients with FNP. Numerous two dimensional (2 D) assessments have been proposed, however, the limitations of 2 D assessment have been reported. The purpose of this study was to introduce a three dimensional (3 D) image generation system for the analysis of facial nerve palsy (FNP) and to show the correlation between the severity of FNP assessed by this method and two conventional systems.  Five independent facial motions, resting, eyebrow raise, gentle eye closure, full smile with lips open and whistling were recorded with our system and the images were then analyzed using our software. The regional and gross facial symmetries were analyzed. The predicted scores were calculated and compared to the Yanagihara and H B grading scores. We analyzed 15 normal volunteers and 42 patients with FNP.  The results showed that 3 D analysis could measure mouth movement in the anteroposterior direction, whereas two dimensional analysis could not. The system results showed good correlation with the clinical results from the Yanagihara (r(2)=0.86) and House Brackmann (r(2)=0.81) grading scales.  This objective method can produce consistent results that align with two conventional systems. Therefore, this method is ideally suited for use in a routine clinical setting.
Human Resources Management in the era of Digital Transformation in Algeria: Challenges and Issues
Venue: 2021 1st International Conference On Cyber Management And Engineering (CyMaEn)
Year: 2021

The purpose of this work is to present and analyze the digital transformation process in Algeria. The work focuses mainly on the place of the HR function in this process, but also tries to identify the various elements that have weighed down the success of the project. We note that in the face of digitalization, new challenges emerge, especially for HRDs who must respond to new employee needs. The digital transformation in Algeria is lagging behind in a macro analytical perspective. The Algerian company and its various functions are victims of a national system of digitization, which suffers from several obstacles that we tried to bring proposals.
A Method for Knowledge Representation to Design Intelligent Problems Solver in Mathematics Based on Rela Ops Model
Venue: IEEE Access
Year: 2020

Knowledge base is a fundamental platform in the architecture of an intelligent system. Relations and operators are popular knowledge in practice knowledge domains. In this paper, we propose a method to represent the model by combining these kinds of knowledge, called the Rela Ops model. This model includes foundation components consisting of concepts, relations, operators, and inference rules. It is built based on ontology and object oriented approaches. Besides the structure, each concept of the Rela Ops model is a class of objects which also have behaviors to solve problems on their own. The processing of algorithms for solving problems on the Rela Ops model combines the knowledge of relations and operators in the reasoning. Furthermore, we also propose a knowledge model for multiple knowledge domains, in which each sub domain has the form as the Rela Ops model. These representation methods have been applied to build knowledge bases of Intelligent Problems Solver (IPS) in mathematics. The knowledge base of 2D Analytical Geometry in a high school is built by using the Rela Ops model, and the knowledge base of Linear Algebra in university is designed by using the model for multiple knowledge domains. The IPS system can automatically solve basic and advanced exercises in respective courses. The reasoning of their solutions is done in a step by step approach. It is similar to the solving method by humans. The solutions are also pedagogical and suitable for the learner's level and easy to be used by students studying 2D Analytical Geometry in high school and Linear Algebra in university.
Experimental investigation, optimization and ANN model prediction of a gasoline premixed waste cooking oil fueled HCCI DI engine
Year: 2018

In this study, a Homogeneous charge compression ignition Direct injection (HCCI DI) engine was experimentally investigated with waste cooking oil (WCO) biodiesel and its blends with diesel as the DI fuel and gasoline as the premixed fuel. 20% of the gasoline was introduced as the premixed charge and remaining 80% of the fuel was supplied directly into the cylinder at 23deg before top dead centre (TDC) The experimental results were compared with DI combustion. Early start of combustion (SOC) was observed from the WCO fueled DI combustion. Lean homogeneous combustion from the gasoline premixed HCCI DI engine increased the ebt up to 4.23% compared with DI combustion. NOx emissions decreased up to 11% for the WCO fueled HCCI DI combustion unlike WCO fueled DI combustion. WCO biodiesel fueled HCCI DI combustion emitted 6.67% less HC emissions than diesel fueled DI combustion. ANN modeling was projected to predict the emission and performance characteristics of the gasoline premixed HCCI DI engine. Response surface methodology (RSM) was accustomed to optimize the engine operating parameters.
Determinants of sovereign rating in Sub Saharan African countries: 2000 2018
Year: 2018

The issuing of international sovereign bonds by SSA countries has increased significantly since 2000. These bonds are used for deficit financing, benchmarking and public debt management. The bonds are vital sources of finance, next to loans and donor financing. What determines the ability of SSA countries to issue sovereign bonds, and what explains the spreads of these bonds in the international capital market? The author attempts to answer these questions by reviewing econometric case studies on sovereign rating criteria, key checklist factors for sovereign rating by Fitch and Standard Poor's, current sovereign ratings of SSA countries by S&P's, the African Developments Bank's risk ratings of SSA countries, a list of SSA sovereign bond issues, and worldwide Africa Sovereign Eurobond yield in 2018, and by analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of sovereign bonds in SSA as compared with loans and donor financing. Using an analytical approach, the author comprehensively details the main determinants of the sovereign credit ratings of SSA countries from 2000 to 2018. The main factors for assessing SSA countries' sovereign risks are political, legal and regulatory risks, the structure of the economy, the condition of public finances, the effectiveness of internal monetary policy, and external financial position. According to S&P's 2017, out of 17 SSA sovereigns, 15 are of speculative grade and 2 are of investment grade. Irrespective of their low sovereign rating status, however, the value of SSA countries' outstanding sovereign bonds grew from less than $1 billion in 2008 to over $18 billion by 2014. Further sales of African sovereign bonds amounted to $10.7 billion by March 2018. Africa offers the highest yield rates in the world for sovereign Eurobonds. Africa's debt yield in 2018 is 6% on average, compared with 5.5% for emerging markets and just 4% for developing nations in the Asia Pacific region.
Thenar oxygen saturation during weaning from mechanical ventilation: an observational study
Venue: European Respiratory Journal
Year: 2013

Our aim was to determine whether thenar tissue oxygen saturation (StO2) measured by noninvasive near infrared spectroscopy, and its changes derived from an ischaemic challenge are associated with weaning outcome. Our study comprised a prospective observational study in a 26 bed medical surgical intensive care unit. Patients receiving mechanical ventilation for >48 h, and considered ready to wean by their physicians underwent a 30 min weaning trial. StO2 was measured continuously on the thenar eminence. A transient vascular occlusion test was performed prior to and at the end of the 30 min weaning trial, in order to obtain StO2 deoxygenation and reoxygenation rates, and estimated local oxygen consumption. 37 patients were studied. Patients were classified as weaning success (n=24) or weaning failure (n=13) No significant demographic, respiratory or haemodynamic differences were observed between the groups at inclusion. Patients who failed the overall weaning process showed a significant increase in deoxygenation and in local oxygen consumption from baseline to 30 min of weaning trial, whereas no significant changes were observed in the weaning success group. Failure to wean from mechanical ventilation was associated with higher relative increases in deoxygenation after 30 min of spontaneous ventilation. Failure to wean from mechanical ventilation is associated with increases in deoxygenation after spontaneous ventilation http:/ow.ly/pUn5B
Boundary conditions of the lattice Boltzmann method for convection diffusion equations
Venue: J. Comput. Phys.
Year: 2015

In this paper, we employ an asymptotic analysis technique and construct two boundary schemes accompanying the lattice Boltzmann method for convection diffusion equations with general Robin boundary conditions. One scheme is for straight boundaries, with the boundary points locating at any distance from the lattice nodes, and has second order accuracy. The other is for curved boundaries, has only first order accuracy and is much simpler than the existing schemes. Unlike those in the literature, our schemes involve only the current lattice node. Such a "single node" boundary schemes are highly desirable for problems with complex geometries. The two schemes are validated numerically with a number of examples. The numerical results show the utility of the constructed schemes and very well support our theoretical predications.
Preparation and Characterization of Graphene Oxide Cellulose Triacetate Forward Osmosis Membranes
Year: 2016

Forward osmosis (FO) is an emerging membrane separation technology in environmental and industrial process. This paper presents cellulose triacetate (CTA) membrane containing graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets via blending to enhance membrane performance in forward osmosis (FO) process. GO nanosheets with various loading were added into the casting solution to prepare the modified FO membranes. The prepared membranes were characterized by morphology analysis and permeability measurement. The result showed that the GO nanosheets effectively improved the performance of the CTA membranes. The CTA 0.2GO membrane had the highest water flux, reached 1.5 times as high as that of CTA membrane.
The Suppression of transformation of g FeOOH to a FeOOH accelerating the steel corrosion in simulated industrial atmospheric environment with a DC electric field interference
Venue: Corrosion Engineering, Science and Technology
Year: 2019

The initial corrosion of steels exposed to the simulated industrial atmospheric environment with a direct current (DC) electric field for 30 days was investigated using weight loss, electrochemical and characterisation methods. The results show that the steel weight loss increased with the increase in DC electric field intensity. The steels exposed to the DC electric field interference exhibited a higher corrosion rate than the blank samples during the exposure. The microstructural studies reveal that the existence of the DC electric field favours the growth of the g FeOOH, while suppresses the transformation of g FeOOH into a FeOOH during the 30 days' exposure, as a result of decreasing the protective ability and stable property of the rust layer. The amount of porous g FeOOH enhances the transmission of oxygen and conductivity of the whole rust layer. All these induce an accelerated effect of DC electric field on the initial steel corrosion in simulated industrial environment.
Environmental Impact and Added Value in Forestry Operations in Norway
Year: 2008

The forestry sector is experiencing an increasing demand for documentation about its environmental performance. Previous studies have revealed large differences in environmental impact caused by forestry operations, mainly due to differences in location and forestry practice. Reliable information on environmental performance for forestry operations in different regions is thus important. This article presents a case study of forestry operations in Norway. Environmental impact and value added of selected operations were assessed. This was done with a hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. Main results, including a sensitivity analysis, are presented for a set of four impact categories. The production chain assessed included all processes from seedling production to the delivery of logs to a downstream user. The environmental impact was mainly caused by logging, transport by forwarders, and transport by truck. These three operations were responsible for approximately 85% of the total environmental impact. The contribution to value added and total costs were more evenly distributed among the processes in the value chain. The sensitivity analysis revealed that the difference in environmental impact between the worst case scenario and the best case scenario was more than a factor of 4. The single most important process was the transport distance from the timber pile in the forest to the downstream user. The results show that the environmental impact from forestry operations in boreal forests was probably underreported in earlier studies.
Analyzing Physicochemical Properties of Wild Grapes (Lannea Microcarpa) Seed Oil
Venue: Indonesian Journal of Computing, Engineering and Design (IJoCED)
Year: 2019

The purpose of this study was to analyze physicochemical properties of wild grape (Lannea microcarpa) seed oil. Several characterizations were conducted, including a gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC MS) and cold saponification. The analyses were also supported by measuring acid, iodine, saponification, and peroxide values. Other analyses were relative density and refractive index. Experimental results showed that the oil was dark purple with the composition of oil of 59% The qualitative GC MS revealed the oil contained several fatty acids, including decanoic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, margaric acid, 1 octadecanoic acid, oleic, and erucic acid. The soap produced from the seed oil has basic pH and relatively high foam value. When the high concentration of oil was used, the appearance of oil was very dark purple and slightly soluble in water. This is due to the fact that most of the oil compositions were non polar structure. This result confirmed the potential use of the oil for soap and other cosmetic materials.
PROTECTION OF SKILLS IN EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIPS AND IN THE LABOUR MARKET: AN OVERVIEW OF THE ITALIAN SITUATION
Year: 2019

Marina Brollo, PH.D. Full Professor, University of Udine, Italy; marina.brollo@uniud.it. Caterina Mazzanti, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Udine, Italy; mazzanticaterina@gmail.com. Prof. Marina Brollo is the sole author of section 1 of the paper. Caterina Mazzanti is the sole author of sections 2, 3 and 4. Both authors have contributed to the analysis presented in the concluding remarks. This work has been supported in part by the Croatian Science Foundation Project UIP 201409 9377 "Flexicurity and New Forms of Employment (Challenges regarding Modernization of Croatian Labour Law)" PROTECTION OF SKILLS IN EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIPS AND IN THE LABOUR MARKET: AN OVERVIEW OF THE ITALIAN SITUATION