Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Geological interpretations from the PGE distribution in the Bushveld Merensky and UG2 chromitite reefs

The vertical distribution of platinum group elements (PGE) in the Merensky and UG2 chromitite reefs is highly variable, but does follow certain general patterns that allow the testing of geological models. In the Merensky Reef, historically popular geological representations and interpretations have suggested that the mineralization occurs in a pegmatitic pyroxenite bounded by two chromitite layers. However, there are now enough published exceptions to this relationship to expose its fallacy. The vertical distribution of the PGE depends largely upon the separation between these two chromitite layers or the absence of one chromitite layer. Where separation is small or only one chromitite layer is present, there is considerable PGE mineralization in the footwall below the pyroxenite and lower chromitite layer. With increasing separation between the two chromitites the mineralization occurs progressively higher in the succession, and tends to track the upper chromitite layer. The view presented here is that the entire Merensky package is comprised of three events of magma emplacement, in which each has produced variable reaction with, and erosion of, the footwall, causing recrystallization of pyroxenite into pegmatitic pyroxenite. The magma then produced a chromitite layer followed by pyroxenite. Each chromitite layer is associated with some mineralization which was extensively complemented by the subsequent formation of a sulphide liquid carrying PGE that trickled down through about 1 m of permeable crystal pile. The sulphide liquid formed after, not coincident with, the pyroxenite layers. The distribution of PGE in the UG2 chromitite shows up to three upward depletion sequences of PGE, also suggesting three events. The PGE are associated only with the chromite. The contribution from a sulphide liquid is considered to have been minimal for two reasons. Cu and Ni are extremely low in the UG2 which would not be expected if sulphides had been present. Also, by analogy with the Merensky, downward trickling of sulphides would have caused some PGE to be present in the footwall. There are some PGE in the footwall, but only where remnants of chromitite occur, and the hangingwall is lacking in PGE. In the northeastern Bushveld the UG2 chromitite is thinner than elsewhere, and there is a UG3 chromitite layer, not present elsewhere, that has a high Pt/Pd ratio. It is surmised that in the rest of the Bushveld the UG3 only appears to be absent because has merged with the UG2 to produce the high Pt concentration at the top of the composite UG2. The non-accumulation of the package of pyroxenite-norite-anorthosite between the UG2 and UG3 in the northeastern Bushveld, which is not seen elsewhere, creates an interesting challenge to the formation of silicate layering in the complex. The mineralization in the Platreef is not addressed here.
Low-Shot Learning with Large-Scale Diffusion

This paper considers the problem of inferring image labels from images when only a few annotated examples are available at training time. This setup is often referred to as low-shot learning, where a standard approach is to retrain the last few layers of a convolutional neural network learned on separate classes for which training examples are abundant. We consider a semi-supervised setting based on a large collection of images to support label propagation. This is possible by leveraging the recent advances on large-scale similarity graph construction. We show that despite its conceptual simplicity, scaling label propagation up to hundred millions of images leads to state of the art accuracy in the low-shot learning regime.
Barometric pumping of a fractured porous medium

Barometric pumping plays a crucial role in the release of trace gases from fractured porous media to the atmosphere, and it requires a rigorous and complete modeling in order to go beyond the approximate schemes available in the literature. Therefore, a coupled set of convection and convection‐diffusion equations for a slightly compressible fluid in unsteady conditions should be solved. The numerical methodology is presented, and it is applied to conditions close to the ones of the Roselend Natural Laboratory (France). The precision of the code is assessed and the mechanism of barometric pumping is explained. The usual schematization by simple vertical fractures is shown to be only qualitative. Finally, barometric pumping is shown to be efficient in a narrow range of parameter values; its efficiency is a decreasing function of the matrix porosity and of the fracture density.
Online Ratings of Neurosurgeons: An Examination of Web Data and its Implications

BACKGROUND Patient satisfaction ratings are increasingly used for hospital rankings, referral base and physician reimbursement. As such, online physician rating websites (PRWs) are quickly becoming a topic of interest. OBJECTIVE To analyze the distribution of neurosurgeons' ratings on the 3 most widely used PRWs, and examine factors associated with positive and negative ratings. METHODS We used a key term search to identify board-certified neurosurgeons on 3 widely used PRWs: RateMD.com, Healthgrades.com, and Vitals.com. Data were collected on average rating and number of ratings. Demographic, training-related and practice-related data, as well as location of practice, and place of training were also collected. RESULTS Data was non-normally distributed (P < .001 for all 3). Having fewer reviews was associated with higher variance in ratings between PRWs for a given surgeon (odds ratio 0.99, P = .001). All surgeons below the 25th percentile with respect to the number of reviews that had been written about them were eliminated. Of the remaining surgeons (n = 3054), the median composite score was 4.11 out of 5, interquartile range (3.69, 4.44). Surgeons had higher median modified composite scores if they were fellowship-trained (P = .0001) or graduated from a top 25 medical school (P = .0117), but not if they graduated from a top 25 residency (P = .1056). Surgeons located in major cities had higher median composite scores (P = .0025). CONCLUSION Online ratings for neurosurgeons must be evaluated in context. Median ratings are generally high, but variable between websites. Median scores also vary among regions and practice settings. Higher scores were associated with ranking of medical school, recent graduation, and fellowship training completion.
Awareness and attitudes towards clinical trials among Polish oncological patients who had never participated in a clinical trial.

BACKGROUND Participation in a clinical trial significantly shortens waiting time associated with receiving specialist care. Furthermore, it may be the case that, through clinical trials, subjects can access medicines that are not typically available in Poland. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to determine the opinions of oncological patients about clinical trials. MATERIAL AND METHODS The research has been carried out during the years 2014-2016. A proprietary questionnaire consisting of 10 closed, single and multiple choice questions about awareness and perceptions of clinical trials, and 5 questions concerning demographic information was used. A group of 256 patients with cancer (54% women, 46% men), aged 21-77 years, was surveyed. RESULTS Respondents were statistically more likely to decide to participate in a clinical trial as oncological patients than the healthy volunteers (Pearson's χ2 test p = 0.00006). The desire to qualify for clinical trials in no way depends on the knowledge of side effects (Pearson's χ2 test p = 0.16796). CONCLUSIONS Our study found that the patients' awareness about clinical trials varied. However, a positive attitude towards research was visible. The main identified barriers to clinical trial participation were fear of possible side effects. Most patients regarded clinical trials as useful, and considered that they are conducted to introduce new treatment/new drug.
When Teams Fail to Self-Regulate: Predictors and Outcomes of Team Procrastination Among Debating Teams

Models of team development have indicated that teams typically engage in task delay during the first stages of the team’s life cycle. An important question is to what extent this equally applies to all teams, or whether there is variation across teams in the amount of task delay. The present study introduces the concept of team procrastination as a lens through which we can examine whether teams collectively engage in unplanned, voluntary, and irrational delay of team tasks. Based on theory and research on self-regulation, team processes, and team motivation we developed a conceptual multilevel model of predictors and outcomes of team procrastination. In a sample of 209 student debating teams, we investigated whether and why teams engage in collective procrastination as a team, and what consequences team procrastination has in terms of team member well-being and team performance. The results supported the existence of team procrastination as a team-level construct that has some stability over time. The teams’ composition in terms of individual-level trait procrastination, as well as the teams’ motivational states (i.e., team learning goal orientation, team performance-approach goal orientation in interaction with team efficacy) predicted team procrastination. Team procrastination related positively to team members’ stress levels, especially for those low on trait procrastination. Furthermore, team procrastination had an indirect negative relationship with team performance, through teams’ collective stress levels. These findings add to the theoretical understanding of self-regulatory processes of teams, and highlight the practical importance of paying attention to team-level states and processes such as team goal orientation and team procrastination.
Suicide Precipitants Differ Across the Lifespan but Are Not Significant in Predicting Medically Severe Attempts

An important risk factor for suicide assessment is the suicide precipitant. This study explores suicide attempt precipitants across the lifespan. Three years of medical records related to suicide attempters who were admitted to the emergency department of a large teaching hospital in Singapore were subjected to analysis. These cases were divided into three age groups: Adolescence, Early Adulthood, and Middle Adulthood. A total of 540 cases were examined (70.9% females; 63.7% Chinese, 13.7% Malays, 15.9% Indians), whose ages ranged from 12 to 62. There were eight cases above the age of 65 years which were excluded from the analysis. Significant differences were found in precipitants for suicide attempts across the lifespan. Middle adults had relatively fewer relationship problems, and adolescents had comparatively fewer financial and medical problems. The models to predict medically severe attempts across the age groups using suicide precipitants were not significant. The findings were discussed in regards to implications in suicide assessment and primary prevention in Singapore, as well as limitations and recommendations for future research.
LAB/NTAL Facilitates Fungal/PAMP-induced IL-12 and IFN-γ Production by Repressing β-Catenin Activation in Dendritic Cells

Fungal pathogens elicit cytokine responses downstream of immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM)-coupled or hemiITAM-containing receptors and TLRs. The Linker for Activation of B cells/Non-T cell Activating Linker (LAB/NTAL) encoded by Lat2, is a known regulator of ITAM-coupled receptors and TLR-associated cytokine responses. Here we demonstrate that LAB is involved in anti-fungal immunity. We show that Lat2 −/− mice are more susceptible to C. albicans infection than wild type (WT) mice. Dendritic cells (DCs) express LAB and we show that it is basally phosphorylated by the growth factor M-CSF or following engagement of Dectin-2, but not Dectin-1. Our data revealed a unique mechanism whereby LAB controls basal and fungal/pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMP)-induced nuclear β-catenin levels. This in turn is important for controlling fungal/PAMP-induced cytokine production in DCs. C. albicans- and LPS-induced IL-12 and IL-23 production was blunted in Lat2−/− DCs. Accordingly, Lat2−/− DCs directed reduced Th1 polarization in vitro and Lat2 −/− mice displayed reduced Natural Killer (NK) and T cell-mediated IFN-γ production in vivo/ex vivo. Thus our data define a novel link between LAB and β-catenin nuclear accumulation in DCs that facilitates IFN-γ responses during anti-fungal immunity. In addition, these findings are likely to be relevant to other infectious diseases that require IL-12 family cytokines and an IFN-γ response for pathogen clearance.
Robust System Design Using BILP for Wireless Indoor Positioning Systems

In wireless indoor positioning system designs, reference node (RN) failures during the online phase cause received signal strength values to be unavailable. This leads to accuracy performance degradation and a lack of system reliability in smart office systems. Moreover, the major design concern in the reliability of indoor positioning systems under the faulty RNs during the online phase has not been yet investigated in previous works. To address these gaps, we propose a novel mathematical formulation using a Binary Integer Linear Programming (BILP) approach that employs the Simulated Annealing (SA) solution technique. The proposed robust system design aims to put in place a suitable number of RNs and to determine their optimum locations, which may be located on a single floor or on multiple floors. In particular, the proposed system design provisions to support robust operation both during a normal situation and when there are some RN failures. Experimental results and comparative performance evaluation revealed that the proposed robust system design outperformed other system designs and was able to achieve the highest location accuracy performance in both fault-free and RN-failure scenarios. Specifically, when nine of the RNs in a three-story building failed, the proposed system design achieved 84.6%, 54.7%, and 32.9% more accurate performance than the Uniform, the MSMR, and the PhI-Uni, respectively.
Impact of trained oncology financial navigators on patient out-of-pocket spending.

OBJECTIVES Patients with cancer often face financial hardships, including loss of productivity, high out-of-pocket (OOP) costs, depletion of savings, and bankruptcy. By providing financial guidance and assistance through specially trained navigators, hospitals and cancer care clinics may be able mitigate the financial burdens to patients and also minimize financial losses for the treating institutions. STUDY DESIGN Financial navigators at 4 hospitals were trained through The NaVectis Group, an organization that provides training to healthcare staff to increase patient access to care and assist with OOP expenses. Data regarding financial assistance and hospital revenue were collected after instituting these programs. METHODS Amount and type of assistance (free medication, new insurance enrollment, premium/co-pay assistance) were determined annually for all qualifying patients at the participating hospitals. RESULTS Of 11,186 new patients with cancer seen across the 4 participating hospitals between 2012 and 2016, 3572 (32%) qualified for financial assistance. They obtained $39 million in total financial assistance, averaging $3.5 million per year in the 11 years under observation. Patients saved an average of $33,265 annually on medication, $12,256 through enrollment in insurance plans, $35,294 with premium assistance, and $3076 with co-pay assistance. The 4 hospitals were able to avoid write-offs and save on charity care by an average of $2.1 million per year. CONCLUSIONS Providing financial navigation training to staff at hospitals and cancer centers can significantly benefit patients through decreased OOP expenditures and also mitigate financial losses for healthcare institutions.
Fuel Cells Remaining Useful Life Real-Time Estimation Using an Extended Kalman Filter in a Hardware In the Loop Platform

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell is a promising clean and efficient energy converter, but suffers from a limited lifespan due to degradation mechanisms. Therefore, researches have been conducted to estimate the State of Health and the Remaining Useful Life. In this paper, a real-time Extended Kalman Filter estimates on-line the State of Health and the Remaining Useful Life, where the algorithms are validated on a Hardware In the Loop platform.
On the Joint Distribution of Excursion Duration and Amplitude of a Narrow-Band Gaussian Process

The probability density of crest amplitude and duration that exceeds a given level is used in many theoretical and practical problems in engineering that are subjected to fluctuating loads such as wind and wave loads. The presently available joint distributions of amplitude and period are limited to excursion through a mean-level or to describe the asymptotic behavior of high level excursions. This paper extends the knowledge by presenting a theoretical derivation of probability of wave exceedance amplitude and duration for a stationary narrow-band Gaussian process. A density function is suggested that has the salient feature to depend only on the three lowest spectral moments <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$m_{0}, m_{1}, and~m_{2}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and desired level of exceedance, <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$H$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. It does not require any condition on the autocorrelation function. This paper shows how increase in <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$H$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, increases the correlation between excursion periods and amplitude. This paper also shows that how the accuracy of the proposed joint distribution relates to spectral width parameter, <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\nu $ </tex-math></inline-formula>, and that accuracy increases for higher levels of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$H$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, especially for a spectrum describing a physical phenomenon such as a sea state spectrum. It was demonstrated that the marginal distribution of amplitude is Rayleigh distributed, as expected, and that the marginal distribution of excursion duration works for asymptotic and non-asymptotic levels. Results demonstrate that the established distribution fits well with ideal narrow-band Gaussian processes as well as the sea states at three European sites —in the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. The suggested model is found to be a good replacement for the existing empirical distributions.
Management of relapsed/refractory marginal zone lymphoma: focus on ibrutinib

Marginal zone lymphomas (MZLs) consist of a diverse family of malignancies, which are derived from B-cells. The disease subtypes are recognized extranodal, nodal, and splenic MZLs. The disease characteristics, clinical course, and treatment vary considerably based on the site of involvement. In 2017, the US Food and Drug Administration approved ibrutinib, a first in class Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor that revolutionized the care of chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients; for, the treatment of relapsed/refractory MZL based on pivotal open-label Phase II trial demonstrated an overall response rate of 48%, with a complete response rate of 3%, median progression-free survival of 14.2 months, and median overall survival not yet reached at a median follow-up of 19.4 months. In this review, we aim to summarize the current conundrums in the management of MZL and the evolving role of ibrutinib in the treatment of MZL.
Non isocentric film-based intracavitary brachytherapy planning in cervical cancer: a retrospective dosimetric analysis with CT planning

Purpose To compare intracavitary brachytherapy dose estimation for organs at risk (bladder and rectum) based on semi-orthogonal reconstruction of radiographs on non-isocentric X-ray unit and Computed Tomography (CT) – based volumetric planning in cervical cancer. Material and methods Bladder and rectal points as per International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) report 38, were retrospectively evaluated on 15 high dose rate intracavitary brachytherapy applications for cervical cancer cases. With the same source configuration as obtained during planning on radiographs performed on a non-isocentric X-ray unit, the mean doses to 2cc of most irradiated part of bladder and rectum were computed by CT planning and these estimates were compared with the doses at ICRU bladder and rectal points. Results The mean ICRU point dose for bladder was 3.08 Gy (1.9-5.9 Gy) and mean dose to 2 cc (D2cc) bladder was 6.91 Gy (2.9-12.2 Gy). ICRU rectal dose was 3.8 Gy (2.4-4.45 Gy) and was comparable with D2cc rectum dose 4.2 Gy (2.8-5.9 Gy). Comparison of mean total dose (ICRU point vs. D2cc) for each patient was found to be significantly different for bladder (p = 0.000), but not for rectum (p = 0.08). Conclusions On comparison of ICRU point based planning with volumetric planning on CT, it was found that bladder doses were underestimated by the film based method. However, the rectal doses were found to be similar to the D2cc doses. The results with non isocentric film based treatment planning were similar to the existing literature on orthogonal film based simulator planning.
Targeting Green Payments under a Budget Constraint

Conventional wisdom holds that optimal abatement subsidy rates should be differentiated across firms according to the (actual or imputed) marginal damages created by a firm’s emissions. When subsidy rates are developed under a limited budget, we find they may be optimally differentiated to target, in addition to marginal damages, features such as abatement costs, income transfer, and producer participation. The degree to which subsidy rates optimally target these other features depends on how the subsidy is implemented, or more specifically, on how benchmarks for pollution abatement are defined. The results provide insight into current policy debates. (JEL Q24, Q38)
Detection of AF and other rhythms using RR variability and ECG spectral measures

Aims: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the principal cause of mortality in elderly, thus its detection is extremely clinically relevant. The aim of this study was to classify short, single lead, ECG recordings, as atrial fibrillation, normal sinus rhythm, other type of rhythms or noisy signal. Methods: First, we extracted, both from the ECG signals and from the RR interval series, about fifty features characterizing these four classes. Then, we applied the stepwise linear discriminant analysis for dimensionality reduction selecting a subset of thirty discriminating features. A Least Squares Support Vector Machine (LS-SVM) classifier using these features was tuned and trained on the dataset of the Physionet/Computing in Cardiology Challenge 2017. Results: The LS-SVM classifier provided, on the hidden test set of the Challenge, an official final score F1= 0.81, obtaining the twelfth place in the ranking of results with only 2 cents from the best (0.83). Conclusions: This approach seems promising in particular in detecting atrial fibrillation. Further work is needed to improve the discrimination of other rhythms and noisy signals.