Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Small Field’s Off-Set on Output Factor in Intensity Modulated Radiation Treatment

In intensity modulated radiation treatment (IMRT) planning, the use of asymmetrically collimated fields that are placed on central axis or its off-set is mostly required. Output is the main topic discussed today for extremely small and/or severe irregularly shaped fields. The air scatter data are involved directly or indirectly in obtaining the output. Despite the fact that extensive data have been published in many studies to provide a guide on the magnitude of output factor for clinical accelerators, there are very few data reviewed about output factor in-air or phantom for off-set fields. This study was aimed to investigate the impact of these conditions for small fields. This study was conducted in Elekta Synergy linear accelerator which produces 6 MV X-ray energy. The in-air output factor (Sc) has been measured by CC04 ion chamber with brass-alloy “build-up” cap and Dose-1 electrometer, and the total output (Scp) measurements were carried on at dose maximum depth in phantom by the same chamber and Thermoluminescence dosimeter (TLD) for 1 - 10 cm2 fields. The all measurements at center of isocenter and off-set fields at three directions (X2, Y1, Diagonal) were done. By decreasing field size from 10 to 2 cm2 at isocenter, the Sc value using CC04 was decreased to 5.4% and Scp using CC04 and TLD to 14.5% and 11% respectively. By increasing off-set value, the Sc and Scp values were increased in all directions comparing to central fields. The maximum increase was obtained in Y1 direction for Sc and Scp. TLD results for Scp is slightly higher than CC04. The dosimetric properties of small fields and their off-set should be evaluated and modelled appropriately in the treatment planning system to ensure accurate dose calculation in Intensity Modulated Radiation Treatment.
A contextual work‐life experiences model to understand nurse commitment and turnover

AIMS The aim of this study was to present a discussion and model depicting most effecting work-life experience contextual factors that influence commitment and turnover intentions for nurses in Sri Lanka. BACKGROUND Increasing demand for nurses has made the retention of experienced, qualified nursing staff a priority for healthcare organizations and highlights the need to capture contextual work-life experiences that influence nurses' turnover decisions. DESIGN Discussion paper. DATA SOURCES This discussion paper and model is based on our experiences and knowledge of Sri Lanka and represents an integration of classic turnover research and commitment theory and others published between 1958 - 2017, contextualized to reflect the reality faced by Sri Lanka nurses. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING The model presents a high-level view of intrinsic, extrinsic, personal and professional antecedents to nurse turnover where relevance can be used by researchers, policy makers, clinicians and educators to establish focused and limited scope models and examine comprehensive contexts. CONCLUSION This model emphasizes the role that work-life experiences play to fortify (or weaken) nurses' motivation to remain committed to their organization, profession, family, and country. Understanding of contextual work-life influences on nurses' intent to stay should lead to evidence-based strategies that result in a higher number of nurses wanting to remain in the nursing profession and work in the health sector in Sri Lanka.
Pilot randomized trial of a volitional help sheet‐based tool to increase leisure time physical activity in breast cancer survivors

OBJECTIVES To develop and test a volitional help sheet-based tool to improve physical activity in breast cancer survivors compared to a standard self-generated implementation intention intervention. DESIGN Pilot randomized trial conducted online over 3 months. METHODS Participants were randomized to an online volitional help sheet (n = 50) or implementation intention (n = 51) intervention. Measures were taken at baseline, 1 and 3 months. The main outcome measure was moderate-strenuous leisure time physical activity. Secondary outcomes were health-related quality of life and mood. RESULTS Participants exposed to the volitional help sheet and implementation intention interventions showed similar effects after 1 month, with both groups reporting a significant increase in moderate-strenuous physical activity. After 3 months, the initial increase in physical activity was maintained by the volitional help sheet group, but not the implementation intention group. Improvements were also found for negative affect and emotional quality of life. CONCLUSION While both interventions show promise in promoting physical activity in breast cancer survivors, the volitional help sheet may be more effective for facilitating lasting change and emotional well-being. Findings suggest that the volitional help sheet may have potential to offer a cost-effective contribution to consumer-led tertiary preventive health. Future research should test these initial findings in a definitive trial. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Physical activity is important for optimizing health in breast cancer survivors. Despite this, physical activity in this cohort remains low. Theory-based strategies are needed to help breast cancer survivors independently manage and maintain regular physical activity over the long term. What does this study add? Online planning interventions can improve physical activity in breast cancer survivors. Volitional help sheets, but not implementation intentions, show sustained effects for 3 months. The intervention shows promise as a potential low-cost addition to long-term survivorship care plans.
Thousands of Novel Endolysins Discovered in Uncultured Phage Genomes

Bacteriophages express endolysins toward the end of their replication cycle to degrade the microbial cell wall from within, allowing viral progeny to be released. Endolysins can also degrade the prokaryotic cell wall from the outside, thus have potential to be used for biotechnological and medical purposes. Multiple endolysins have been identified within the genomes of isolated phages, but their diversity in uncultured phages has been overlooked. We used a bioinformatics pipeline to identify novel endolysins from nearly 200,000 uncultured viruses. We report the discovery of 2,628 putative endolysins, many of which displayed novel domain architectures. In addition, several of the identified proteins are predicted to be active against genera that include pathogenic bacteria. These discoveries enhance the diversity of known endolysins and are a stepping stone for developing medical and biotechnological applications that rely on bacteriophages, the most diverse biological entities on Earth.
Molecular Diagnosis of Bacterial Vaginosis: an Update

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common cause of vaginal discharge in reproductive-age women. BV has been associated with poor reproductive outcomes such as preterm delivery, the acquisition of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, and pelvic inflammatory disease. ABSTRACT Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common cause of vaginal discharge in reproductive-age women. BV has been associated with poor reproductive outcomes such as preterm delivery, the acquisition of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, and pelvic inflammatory disease. BV represents the acquisition of a diverse community of anaerobic and facultative bacteria and a reduction in lactobacilli. It can be diagnosed using several tests ranging from clinical indicators, point-of-care tests, and molecular assays. Molecular technologies are objective, are able to detect fastidious bacteria, enable quantitation, and are ideal for self-collected vaginal swabs. This paper reviews the currently available BV diagnostic tests in the United States.
Microencapsulation by interfacial polymerisation: membrane formation and structure

Abstract Interfacial polymerisation was mainly developed toward the end of the 1960s, leading to applications in microcapsule production by the mid-1970s. The process consists in the dispersion of one phase containing a reactive monomer, into a second immiscible phase to which is added a second monomer. Both monomers react at the droplet surface (interface), forming a polymeric membrane. Over the last 50 years, many studies have been reported, but very few have provided a comprehensive review of this technology. This contribution reviews microcapsule production by interfacial polymerisation from the chemical, physico-chemical and physical perspectives, providing a tool for understanding and mastering this production technology, but also providing guidance toward improvements for future process design.
Show me the Cache: Optimizing Cache-Friendly Recommendations for Sequential Content Access

Caching has been successfully applied in wired networks, in the context of Content Distribution Networks (CDNs), and is quickly gaining ground for wireless systems. Storing popular content at the edge of the network (e.g, at small cells) is seen as a “win-win” for both the user (reduced access latency) and the operator (reduced load on the transport network and core servers). Nevertheless, the much smaller size of such edge caches, and the volatility of user preferences suggest that standard caching methods do not suffice in this context. What is more, simple popularity-based models commonly used (e.g, IRM) are becoming outdated, as users often consume multiple contents in sequence (e.g. YouTube, Spotify), and this consumption is driven by recommendation systems. The latter presents a great opportunity to bias the recommender to minimize content access cost (e.g, maximizing cache hit rates). To this end, in this paper we first propose a Markovian model for recommendation-driven user requests. We then formulate the problem of biasing the recommendation algorithm to minimize access cost, while maintaining acceptable recommendation quality. We show that the problem is non-convex, and propose an iterative ADMM-based algorithm that outperforms existing schemes, and shows significant potential for performance improvement on real content datasets.
Economic Impact of Institutions on the Consumption of Forest Products in India

The paper analyses the impact of forest institutions and economic liberalisation of the 1990s on the consumption of forest products and in turn on forest conservation. It is hypothesised that the forest institutions (1) Forest Conservation Act of 1980, and (2) National Forest Policy of 1988, (3) the economic liberalisation and (4) real gross national product (GNP) have perceptible influence on the consumption of forest products and forest conservation. The time series data on apparent consumption of forest products (production plus imports minus exports) as detailed in the FAO Yearbook of Forest Products and the real GNP from 1971 to 2009 form the data base for this study. The transcendental and quadratic consumption functions are used to derive income elasticity of consumption for various forest products of India using time series data from 1971 to 2009. The results indicate that the impact of both forest and economic institutions has led to increase in the consumption of 14 forest products forming 67 per cent (of 21 forest products). For these products the imports are substantial and are the prima facie indicators of the role of economic institution such as liberalisation, which lead to substantial imports and reduced domestic supplies due to institution of forest conservation.
Genomic Sequencing of Bordetella pertussis for Epidemiology and Global Surveillance of Whooping Cough

Bordetella pertussis causes whooping cough, a highly contagious respiratory disease that is reemerging in many world regions. The spread of antigen-deficient strains may threaten acellular vaccine efficacy. Dynamics of strain transmission are poorly defined because of shortcomings in current strain genotyping methods. Our objective was to develop a whole-genome genotyping strategy with sufficient resolution for local epidemiologic questions and sufficient reproducibility to enable international comparisons of clinical isolates. We defined a core genome multilocus sequence typing scheme comprising 2,038 loci and demonstrated its congruence with whole-genome single-nucleotide polymorphism variation. Most cases of intrafamilial groups of isolates or of multiple isolates recovered from the same patient were distinguished from temporally and geographically cocirculating isolates. However, epidemiologically unrelated isolates were sometimes nearly undistinguishable. We set up a publicly accessible core genome multilocus sequence typing database to enable global comparisons of B. pertussis isolates, opening the way for internationally coordinated surveillance.
A Unified Model for Extractive and Abstractive Summarization using Inconsistency Loss

We propose a unified model combining the strength of extractive and abstractive summarization. On the one hand, a simple extractive model can obtain sentence-level attention with high ROUGE scores but less readable. On the other hand, a more complicated abstractive model can obtain word-level dynamic attention to generate a more readable paragraph. In our model, sentence-level attention is used to modulate the word-level attention such that words in less attended sentences are less likely to be generated. Moreover, a novel inconsistency loss function is introduced to penalize the inconsistency between two levels of attentions. By end-to-end training our model with the inconsistency loss and original losses of extractive and abstractive models, we achieve state-of-the-art ROUGE scores while being the most informative and readable summarization on the CNN/Daily Mail dataset in a solid human evaluation.
Izvirni znanstveni prispevek EFFECT OF VITAMIN-MINERAL PREMIX ON SOME RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SERUM PARAMETERS IN BREEDING

Eight Arabian stallions were selected from clinically normal horses. After 10 day adaptation period the animals were divided into two equal groups: control and experimental. All horses were housed individually and allowed to walk on sandy paddock twice a day between meals. Both groups were fed the same diet which was composed of 6 kg hay and 4 kg barley. However, the experimental group was supplemented with 150 g of micronutrient premix. Premix was composed of 180 g of oats husk meal, 260 g dicalcium phosphate as carrier, 25 g lignosulphate, 20 g methionine, 20 g lysine, 200 g calcium, 40 g salt (NaCl), 30 g soy oil, 100 g yeast, 50 g mixture of vitamins, 75 g mixture of minerals and antioxidants per kg. The experiment was divided into adaptation and experimental period that lasted 10 and 30 days, respectively. The blood was drawn at the beginning of experimental period and thereafter in 10 days intervals. Serum samples were analysed for total serum protein, serum urea, serum lipids, serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) and glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT). The results showed highly significant differences between both groups in serum protein, serum lipids, serum GOT and GPT. Significant difference has been found between both groups in serum urea (P < 0.1). These changes in serum parameters between groups could be due to the additive micronutrient premix fed to the experimental groups. The correlations between parameters: protein and urea was significant negative, between lipids and GOT highly significant negative, and between lipids and GPT non-significant.
Fair Allocation of Indivisible Items With Externalities

One of the important yet insufficiently studied subjects in fair allocation is the externality effect among agents. For a resource allocation problem, externalities imply that a bundle allocated to an agent may affect the utilities of other agents. In this paper, we conduct a study of fair allocation of indivisible goods when the externalities are not negligible. We present a simple and natural model, namely \emph{network externalities}, to capture the externalities. To evaluate fairness in the network externalities model, we generalize the idea behind the notion of maximin-share ($\MMS$) to achieve a new criterion, namely, \emph{extended-maximin-share} ($\EMMS$). Next, we consider two problems concerning our model. First, we discuss the computational aspects of finding the value of $\EMMS$ for every agent. For this, we introduce a generalized form of partitioning problem that includes many famous partitioning problems such as maximin, minimax, and leximin partitioning problems. We show that a $1/2$-approximation algorithm exists for this partitioning problem. Next, we investigate on finding approximately optimal $\EMMS$ allocations. That is, allocations that guarantee every agent a utility of at least a fraction of his extended-maximin-share. We show that under a natural assumption that the agents are $\alpha$-self-reliant, an $\alpha/2$-$\EMMS$ allocation always exists. The combination of this with the former result yields a polynomial-time $\alpha/4$-$\EMMS$ allocation algorithm.
Long‐term impact of a stand‐replacing fire on ecosystem CO2 exchange of a ponderosa pine forest

Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests of the southwestern United States are a mosaic of stands where undisturbed forests are carbon sinks, and stands recovering from wildfires may be sources of carbon to the atmosphere for decades after the fire. However, the relative magnitude of these sinks and sources has never been directly measured in this region, limiting our understanding of the role of fire in regional and US carbon budgets. We used the eddy covariance technique to measure the CO2 exchange of two forest sites, one burned by fire in 1996, and an unburned forest. The fire was a high‐intensity stand‐replacing burn that killed all trees. Ten years after the fire, the burned site was still a source of CO2 to the atmosphere [109±6 (SEM) g C m−2 yr−1], whereas the unburned site was a sink (−164±23 g C m−2 yr−1). The fire reduced total carbon storage and shifted ecosystem carbon allocation from the forest floor and living biomass to necromass. Annual ecosystem respiration was lower at the burned site (480±5 g C m−2 yr−1) than at the unburned site (710±54 g C m−2 yr−1), but the difference in gross primary production was even larger (372±13 g C m−2 yr−1 at the burned site and 858±37 g C m−2 yr−1at the unburned site). Water availability controlled carbon flux in the warm season at both sites, and the burned site was a source of carbon in all months, even during the summer, when wet and warm conditions favored respiration more than photosynthesis. Our study shows that carbon losses following stand‐replacing fires in ponderosa pine forests can persist for decades due to slow recovery of the gross primary production. Because fire exclusion is becoming increasingly difficult in dry western forests, a large US forest carbon sink could shift to a decadal‐scale carbon source.
Laffer Strikes Again: Dynamic Scoring of Capital Taxes

We set up a neoclassical growth model extended by a corporate sector, an investment and finance decision of firms, and a set of taxes on capital income. We provide analytical dynamic scoring of taxes on corporate income, dividends, capital gains, other private capital income, and depreciation allowances and identify the intricate ways through which capital taxation affects tax revenue in general equilibrium. We then calibrate the model for the US and explore quantitatively the revenue effects from capital taxation. We take adjustment dynamics after a tax change explicitly into account and compare with steady-state effects. We find, among other results, a self-financing degree of corporate tax cuts of about 70-90 percent and a very flat Laffer curve for all capital taxes as well as for tax depreciation allowances. Results are strongest for the tax on capital gains. The model predicts for the US that total tax revenue increases by about 0.3 to 1.2 percent after abolishment of the tax.
Normal stress measurements in sheared non-Brownian suspensions

Measurements in a cylindrical Taylor–Couette device of the shear-induced radial normal stress in a suspension of neutrally buoyant non-Brownian (noncolloidal) spheres immersed in a Newtonian viscous liquid are reported. The radial normal stress of the fluid phase was obtained by measurement of the grid pressure Pg, i.e., the liquid pressure measured behind a grid which restrained the particles from crossing. The radial component of the total stress of the suspension was obtained by measurement of the pressure, Pm, behind a membrane exposed to both phases. Pressure measurements, varying linearly with the shear rate, were obtained for shear rates low enough to insure a grid pressure below a particle size dependent capillary stress. Under these experimental conditions, the membrane pressure is shown to equal the second normal stress difference, N2, of the suspension stress whereas the difference between the grid pressure and the total pressure, Pg−Pm, equals the radial normal stress of the particle phase, Σr.
Is There a Bilateral Trade-Off Between Foreign Direct Investment and Trade?

Larger inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) induce a high volume of trade because supply chains set up by multinational enterprises intensify trade networks across nations. Several empirical studies have uncovered complementary relationships between trade and FDI among East Asia nations, but do not consider the dynamic transition of the Chinese economy and the role of the trilateral free-trade agreement (FTA). This article studies the feedback effects of FDI on trade among China, South Korea, and Japan from 1994 to 2010. Our empirical models capture the dynamic transition of trade and FDI between China and Korea or Japan and can also be used to predict the impact of the trilateral agreement on the network of trade and FDI among these countries. Our results indicate that the Trilateral Agreement could generate longterm positive reciprocal benefits from China to Japan and Korea.
A control strategy of a distributed generation unit for seamless transfer between grid connected and islanded modes

In this paper, a control strategy for a distributed generation (DG) unit that provides a seamless transition between grid connected mode and islanded mode is presented. Instead of switching between current control and voltage control modes as commonly proposed in the literature, a voltage control mode is used in both grid connected and standalone modes. The output voltage and frequency are controlled to regulate the reactive and real power injected into the grid, respectively. In the islanded mode, the output voltage and frequency of the DG unit are regulated at their nominal values. Therefore, transition between operation modes is achieved by switching the voltage and frequency references of the same voltage controller. When the grid is interrupted, the DG unit supplies only the load automatically with no abrupt transients in the local load voltage and current, even before the islanding is detected. The principle and implementation of the control strategy to detect the grid conditions and islanding, and to switch seamlessly between the two operating modes are developed. The control strategy is validated through simulations using a detailed switching models in the PSCAD/EMTDC environment.