Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterizing immunogenetic factors associated with influenza cross-reactive responses and disease severity

Influenza is a common and potentially life threatening infection. The constant evolution of the virus poses challenges on the cross-reactive response of the immune system, and emergence of new strains renders the antibody-mediated protection insufficient. Cellmediated immunity (CMI) may attenuate the severity of illness and provide better heterosubtypic coverage. A myriad of underlying comorbidities affect the outcomes of influenza infection; however, such known risk factors fail to explain a significant proportion of severe influenza infections. To investigate cross reactive antibody and cell-mediated responses and predictors of disease severity we employed several projects and distinct cohortsafter natural infection; liveattenuated vaccine and inactivated vaccine. The main contributions of this project were the development of assays to measure antibody responses to multiple influenza strains, using a microbead based assay and application of phenotypic and functional assays to the study of influenza specific responses. Using these methods in healthy volunteers it was shown that repeated vaccination using a recurring strain failed to elicit increased antibody or cytotoxic T cell (CTL) responses. The administration of live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) resulted in generation of measurable cross-reactive antibody responses. The study showed that even in a vaccine naïve adult population, LAIV resulted in limited generation of CD4 or CD8 responses. Furthermore, the microbead assay was applied to the study of prevalence rates of 2009 H1N1 pandemic during the first wave, demonstrating acceptable specificity with increased sensitivity along with the added benefits of high throughput and ability to simultaneously study responses to multiple strains of influenza. The study of severe influenza infection during
A large Late Miocene cetotheriid (Cetacea, Mysticeti) from the Netherlands clarifies the status of Tranatocetidae

Cetotheriidae are a group of small baleen whales (Mysticeti) that evolved alongside modern rorquals. They once enjoyed a nearly global distribution, but then largely went extinct during the Plio-Pleistocene. After languishing as a wastebasket taxon for more than a century, the concept of Cetotheriidae is now well established. Nevertheless, the clade remains notable for its variability, and its scope remains in flux. In particular, the recent referral of several traditional cetotheriids to a new and seemingly unrelated family, Tranatocetidae, has created major phylogenetic uncertainty. Here, we describe a new species of Tranatocetus, the type of Tranatocetidae, from the Late Miocene of the Netherlands. Tranatocetus maregermanicum sp. nov. clarifies several of the traits previously ascribed to this genus, and reveals distinctive auditory and mandibular morphologies suggesting cetotheriid affinities. This interpretation is supported by a large phylogenetic analysis, which mingles cetotheriids and tranatocetids within a unified clade. As a result, we suggest that both groups should be reintegrated into the single family Cetotheriidae.
Impact of an educational module on the knowledge and attitude of nursing students toward eye donation

Background: The only source of cornea for corneal transplantation is from timely harvested safe eyes of deceased donors. Nurses attending on terminally ill patients can, if trained, motivate the relatives for eye donation. Aims: The aim of this study is to determine impact of an educational lecture on knowledge and attitude of nursing students toward eye donation. Settings and Design: This was an interventional study. Subjects and Methods: Nursing students in their 1st year and 4th year of training were administered a prestructured questionnaire. A 30-min interactive session was conducted for them regarding eye donation and transplantation. After 4 months, the questionnaire was readministered and their responses were analyzed with regard to number of correct responses for each question. Statistical Analysis Used: The statistical analysis used in this study was MedCalc for Windows, version 13.3. 1 (MedCalc Software, Ostend, Belgium). Student's t-test was used to analyze change in knowledge and attitude. P <0.05 was considered significant. Results: The difference in the level of knowledge and attitude between first year and final year students before the exposure to educational awareness video was not statistically significant (P = 0.2 and P = 0.9, respectively). Four months following the interactive video, change in knowledge levels was significant for both groups (P = 0.01 - first year and P = 0.006 - final year), but there was no significant change in their attitude toward eye donation. Conclusion: Inclusion of eye donation in nursing curriculum is likely to be effective in imparting knowledge to nursing students who may be potential counselors for eye donation. “The proof of the pudding lies in the eating” and whether this translates to action by actual increase in registration as donors and corneal harvests remains to be seen.
Maritime-Continental Contrasts in the Properties of Low-Level Clouds: A Case Study of the Summer of the 2003 Yamase, Japan, Cloud Event

Satellite data were used to investigate maritime-continental differences in the characteristics of the low-level cloud (the Yamase cloud) that covered northeast Japan during the summer of 2003. The features of the Yamase cloud were found to be almost the same as those of general stratus clouds but with a smaller effective radius () and a greater optical thickness () over land, as compared with general stratus clouds. The values of over land (average, 11.8 μm) were smaller than those over the ocean (13.5 μm), and the values of and the cloud water path over land (20 and 145 gm−2, resp.) showed larger spatial variances than those over the ocean (10 and 86 gm−2, resp.), although the cloud top altitude was nearly the same over both ocean and land (1–3 km). We suggest that this maritime-continental contrast is a result of the combined effects of topography and aerosols characteristics. The Yamase wind blowing from the ocean is forced upwards in coastal regions by the steep mountainous terrain. The updraft drives the inhomogeneity in cloud parameters, and a convective-like cloud develops without precipitation. The relationship between and suggests high aerosol concentrations and unstable conditions over land.
Toronto Workshop on Late Recurrence in Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer: Part 2: Approaches to Predict and Identify Late Recurrence, Research Directions

Abstract Late disease recurrence (more than 5 years after initial diagnosis) represents a clinical challenge in the treatment and management of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer (BC). An international workshop was convened in Toronto, Canada, in February 2018 to review the current understanding of late recurrence and to identify critical issues that require future study. The underlying biological causes of late recurrence are complex, with the processes governing cancer cell dormancy, including immunosurveillance, cell proliferation, angiogenesis, and cellular stemness, being integral to disease progression. These critical processes are described herein as well as their role in influencing risk of recurrence. Moreover, observational and interventional clinical trials are proposed, with a focus on methods to identify patients at risk of recurrence and possible strategies to combat this in patients with estrogen receptor-positive BC. Because the problem of late BC recurrence of great importance, recent advances in disease detection and patient monitoring should be incorporated into novel clinical trials to evaluate approaches to enhance patient management. Indeed, future research on these issues is planned and will offer new options for effective late recurrence treatment and prevention strategies.
IN VIVO STUDY OF FORCES DURING NEEDLE INSERTIONS

Percutaneous procedures are among the developing minimally invasive techniquesto treat cancerous diseases of the digestive system. They require a very accuratetargeting of the organs, achieved by the combination of tactile sensing and medicalimaging. In this paper, we study the forces involved during in vivo percutaneousprocedures for the development of a force feedback needle insertion robotic systemas well as the development of a realistic simulation device. The paper presentsdi erent conditions (manual and robotic insertions) and di erent organs (liver andkidney). Finally, we review some bio-mechanical models of the literature in thelight of our measurements.
Motivating Information Technology Professionals: The case of New Zealand

IT professionals play a critical role in organizations. Research indicates that they may be unique in their attitudes toward motivation and job satisfaction. In New Zealand, a shortage of skilled professionals may contribute to or impact on motivation. Using a modified model of Herzberg’s two-factor theory by Smerek and Peterson (2007), this research seeks to answer the question: what motivates New Zealand IT professionals? In response, an online questionnaire was distributed to a population of New Zealand IT professionals and the data analysed using Partial Least Squares to understand the relationship between the various dimensions of job satisfaction, the impact of personal and job characteristics, and turnover intention. The findings show that the New Zealand IT professional is primarily motivated by the nature of his or her work, followed by perceptions of responsibility, and how supervisors encourage an environment for such. Satisfaction with salary is a predictor to a lesser degree. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, professional growth opportunities, career advancement, and recognition do not have a statistically-significant positive association with motivation. We conclude that, to motivate their IT workforce, organizations should: 1) focus on the nature of the jobs that IT professionals undertake; 2) train supervisors to provide an empowering environment; 3) offer competitive salaries to retain top talent; 4) not hesitate to employ IT professionals born outside New Zealand; and 5) take account of the singularities of the New Zealand labour market in seeking to attract, recruit and retain IT professionals. Implications for policy, practice and theory are discussed.
Embedded academic literacies curricula: The challenges of measuring success

Australian higher education policy aimed at widening participation focuses on the inclusion of students from diverse backgrounds, including those from a low socio economic status background. While this policy has succeeded in widening access, other measures of policy success include retention and academic success of these students and their achievement of course learning outcomes. One inclusive approach to contributing to students' academic success is through a curriculum development process which includes the embedding of academic literacies in course curricula. The project presented here is based on a rationale that adopting an embedded academic literacies approach represents a movement away from a deficit model of academic support, and envisages the development of academic literacies in terms of disciplinary practices and shifting student identities. This paper presents two case studies from this project which illustrate different approaches to the development of embedded academic literacies curricula, and discuss the challenges of measuring the success of these approaches. The project evaluation confirms that this curriculum development contributes to students’ awareness of their developing academic skills and literacies and that capacity building for staff should be presented in a variety of different ways. However we would argue that further interrogation of the ‘good and bad news stories’ from this project will contribute to sustainable approaches to enriching curricula more broadly across the university. We would also argue that while broad curriculum renewal depends on systemic university policy, success is also contingent on the engagement of all those who have responsibility for student learning.
A Comparative Study on Functional Recovery, Complications, and Changes in Inflammatory Factors in Patients with Thoracolumbar Spinal Fracture Complicated with Nerve Injury Treated by Anterior and Posterior Decompression

Background The aim of this study was to evaluate 2 methods to treat patients with thoracic lumbar spine fracture with merging spinal cord injury, including complications of surgery and the influence of inflammatory factors. Material/Methods Eighty patients were randomly divided into an anterior decompression group (study group) or a posterior decompression group (control group) to observe perioperative complications, evaluate preoperative and postoperative nerve function, and evaluate the 6-month injured vertebral height and Cobb angle of the vertebral bodies. The expression level of TGF-β2 on day 1, day 7, day 15, and day 30 after treatment was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results The nerve function sensation score, the height of the vertebral body, and the recovery of Cobb angle were better for the anterior decompression group than the posterior decompression group and the effect was significant (P<0.05). The complication rate for the posterior decompression group was lower than the anterior decompression group. The level of TGF-β2 in the anterior decompression group was higher than in the posterior decompression group for the same times: after day 1, day 7, day 15, and day 30 after treatment (P<0.05). Conclusions Patients who had thoracic lumbar spine fracture with merging spinal cord injury and who had anterior fixation achieved a good fixation effect; their neurologic and vertebral injury recovery was better. However, this relatively complex and traumatic surgery must consider the clinical manifestations and fractures of the patients and select the appropriate surgical approach.
The Art of The Scam: Demystifying Honeypots in Ethereum Smart Contracts

Modern blockchains, such as Ethereum, enable the execution of so-called smart contracts - programs that are executed across a decentralised network of nodes. As smart contracts become more popular and carry more value, they become more of an interesting target for attackers. In the past few years, several smart contracts have been exploited by attackers. However, a new trend towards a more proactive approach seems to be on the rise, where attackers do not search for vulnerable contracts anymore. Instead, they try to lure their victims into traps by deploying seemingly vulnerable contracts that contain hidden traps. This new type of contracts is commonly referred to as honeypots. In this paper, we present the first systematic analysis of honeypot smart contracts, by investigating their prevalence, behaviour and impact on the Ethereum blockchain. We develop a taxonomy of honeypot techniques and use this to build HoneyBadger - a tool that employs symbolic execution and well defined heuristics to expose honeypots. We perform a large-scale analysis on more than 2 million smart contracts and show that our tool not only achieves high precision, but is also highly efficient. We identify 690 honeypot smart contracts as well as 240 victims in the wild, with an accumulated profit of more than $90,000 for the honeypot creators. Our manual validation shows that 87% of the reported contracts are indeed honeypots.
Balancing plant conservation and agricultural production in the Ecuadorian Dry Inter-Andean Valleys

Background Conserving both biodiversity and ecosystem services is a major goal of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Hotspots for biodiversity in the Andes significantly overlap with areas with dense human populations that sustain their economy through agricultural production. Therefore, developing management forms that reconcile food provisioning services—such as agriculture—with biodiversity conservation must be addressed to avoid social conflicts and to improve conservation in areas where biodiversity co-occurs with other ecosystem services. Here, we present a high-resolution conservation plan for vascular plants and agriculture in the Ecuadorian Dry Inter-Andean Valleys (DIAV) hotspot. Trade-offs in conserving important areas for both biodiversity and agriculture were explored. Methods We used a dataset containing 5,685 presence records for 95 plant species occurring in DIAVs, of which 14 species were endemic. We developed habitat suitability maps for the 95 species using Maxent. Prioritization analyses were carried out using a conservation planning framework. We developed three conservation scenarios that selected important areas for: biodiversity only, agriculture only, and for both biodiversity and agriculture combined. Results Our conservation planning analyses, capture 33.5% of biodiversity and 11% of agriculture under a scenario solely focused on the conservation of biodiversity. On the other hand, the top 17% fraction of the agriculture only scenario captures 10% of biodiversity and 28% of agriculture. When biodiversity and agriculture were considered in combination, their representation varied according to the importance given to agriculture. The most balanced solution that gives a nearly equal representation of both biodiversity and agriculture, was obtained when agriculture was given a slightly higher importance over biodiversity during the selection process. Discussion This is the first evaluation of trade-offs between important areas for biodiversity and agriculture in Ecuadorian DIAV. Our results showed that areas with high agricultural productivity and high biodiversity partly overlapped. Our study suggests that a land-sharing strategy would be appropriate for conserving plant diversity and agriculture in the DIAV. Overall, our study reinforces the idea that friendly practices in agriculture can contribute to biodiversity conservation.
Anomaly Detection with Adversarial Dual Autoencoders

Semi-supervised and unsupervised Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN)-based methods have been gaining popularity in anomaly detection task recently. However, GAN training is somewhat challenging and unstable. Inspired from previous work in GAN-based image generation, we introduce a GAN-based anomaly detection framework - Adversarial Dual Autoencoders (ADAE) - consists of two autoencoders as generator and discriminator to increase training stability. We also employ discriminator reconstruction error as anomaly score for better detection performance. Experiments across different datasets of varying complexity show strong evidence of a robust model that can be used in different scenarios, one of which is brain tumor detection.
Proper-Composite Loss Functions in Arbitrary Dimensions

The study of a machine learning problem is in many ways is difficult to separate from the study of the loss function being used. One avenue of inquiry has been to look at these loss functions in terms of their properties as scoring rules via the proper-composite representation, in which predictions are mapped to probability distributions which are then scored via a scoring rule. However, recent research so far has primarily been concerned with analysing the (typically) finite-dimensional conditional risk problem on the output space, leaving aside the larger total risk minimisation. We generalise a number of these results to an infinite dimensional setting and in doing so we are able to exploit the familial resemblance of density and conditional density estimation to provide a simple characterisation of the canonical link.
Sleep inertia: current insights

Abstract Sleep inertia, or the grogginess felt upon awakening, is associated with significant cognitive performance decrements that dissipate as time awake increases. This impairment in cognitive performance has been observed in both tightly controlled in-laboratory studies and in real-world scenarios. Further, these decrements in performance are exaggerated by prior sleep loss and the time of day in which a person awakens. This review will examine current insights into the causes of sleep inertia, factors that may positively or negatively influence the degree of sleep inertia, the consequences of sleep inertia both in the laboratory and in real-world settings, and lastly discuss potential countermeasures to lessen the impact of sleep inertia.
THE IMPACT OF A SCIENCE MUSEUM INVOKED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT (SMILE) ON STUDENTS

This study aims to develop an ESSMIM (Earth System-Science Museum Instructional Module) and evaluate its impacts on 11th grade high-school students’ expected and actual perceptions of a Science Museum invoked Learning Environment (SMiLE). The ESSMIM was designed following the principles of the “Earth System Education (ESE) learning cycle mode” (Chang, 2005): Engage, Explore, Analysis/Explain, as well as Apply and Evaluate. In terms of research design, a one group pretest posttest research design was adopted. The research subjects were a group of 11th grade students from a national senior high-school in Taiwan. Students’ expected and actual perceptions of SMiLE were investigated through the “SMiLE Inventory”. The results of this study showed that: (1) students’ scores, of expected SMiLE Inventory, both before and after the experimental teaching were higher than their actual SMiLE scores, (2) compared with previous actual experiences, ESSMIM created a SMiLE which was closer to students’ expectation, and (3) after experiencing the ESSMIM, the difference between students’ expectations and their actual experience of SMiLE was reduced. Key words: earth science curriculum; learning environment; perception; science museum teaching.
Intraoperative and postoperative effects of TEG-guided platelet transfusion on antiplatelet drug-related intracerebral hemorrhage patients

Intraoperative and postoperative effects of platelet transfusion on antiplatelet drug-related intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) patients were investigated. A retrospective study on 82 ICH patients undergoing emergency surgical treatment caused by antiplatelet drugs was conducted. Among them, 51 patients treated with platelet transfusion served as the observation group and 31 patients without platelet transfusion as the control group. The intraoperative and postoperative bleeding volume, blood transfusion volume and the rate of secondary bleeding were compared between observation and control group under the guidance of thromboelastography (TEG). The coagulation routine examination results of the two groups before surgery were in the normal range, but TEG indicated an excessive inhibition of platelet function (platelet inhibition rate >89%). The platelet number after treatment increased significantly in the two groups of patients and it was significantly higher in observation group than that in control group (P<0.05). The intraoperative bleeding volume in observation group was significantly lower than that in control group. The total blood transfusion volume in observation group was significantly lower than that in control group (Z=2.681, P=0.036), the postoperative hematoma residual volume in observation group was significantly lower than that in control group (t=2.145, P=0.035), and the drainage volume in observation group was significantly lower than that in control group (t=2.401, P=0.019). Only 3.92% of the patients in observation group and 19.35% in control group had secondary surgery, and the difference of the recurrence rate of secondary bleeding between the two groups was statistically significant (χ2=3.610, P=0.048). TEG detection indicator can more comprehensively and accurately evaluate the preoperative coagulation function of patients. This study suggests that preoperative platelet transfusion can improve the intraoperative and postoperative bleeding of ICH patients after antiplatelet therapy to some extent, reducing the blood transfusion volume and the secondary bleeding rate.