Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Understanding mental fatigue and its detection: a comparative analysis of assessments and tools

Mental fatigue has shown to be one of the root causes of decreased productivity and overall cognitive performance, by decreasing an individual’s ability to inhibit responses, process information and concentrate. The effects of mental fatigue have led to occupational errors and motorway accidents. Early detection of mental fatigue can prevent the escalation of symptoms that may lead to chronic fatigue syndrome and other disorders. To date, in clinical settings, the assessment of mental fatigue and stress is done through self-reported questionnaires. The validity of these questionnaires is questionable, as they are highly subjective measurement tools and are not immune to response biases. This review examines the wider presence of mental fatigue in the general population and critically compares its various detection techniques (i.e., self-reporting questionnaires, heart rate variability, salivary cortisol levels, electroencephalogram, and saccadic eye movements). The ability of these detection tools to assess inhibition responses (which are sensitive enough to be manifested in a fatigue state) is specifically evaluated for a reliable marker in identifying mentally fatigued individuals. In laboratory settings, antisaccade tasks have been long used to assess inhibitory control and this technique can potentially serve as the most promising assessment tool to objectively detect mental fatigue. However, more studies need to be conducted in the future to validate and correlate this assessment with other existing measures of mental fatigue detection. This review is intended for, but not limited to, mental health professionals, digital health scientists, vision researchers, and behavioral scientists.
Evaluating European ECOSTRESS Hub Evapotranspiration Products Across a Range of Soil‐Atmospheric Aridity and Biomes Over Europe

The ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) is a scientific mission that collects high spatio‐temporal resolution (∼70 m, 1–5 days average revisit time) thermal images since its launch on 29 June 2018. As a predecessor of future missions, one of the main objectives of ECOSTRESS is to retrieve and understand the spatio‐temporal variations in terrestrial evapotranspiration (ET) and its responses to soil water availability and atmospheric aridity. In the European ECOSTRESS Hub (EEH), by taking advantage of land surface temperature (LST) retrievals, we generated ECOSTRESS ET products over Europe and Africa using three models with different structures and parameterization schemes, namely Surface Energy Balance System (SEBS) and Two Source Energy Balance (TSEB) parametric models, as well as the non‐parametric Surface Temperature Initiated Closure (STIC) model. A comprehensive evaluation of the EEH ET products was conducted with respect to flux measurements from 19 eddy covariance sites in Europe over six different biomes with diverse aridity levels. Results revealed comparable performances of STIC and SEBS (RMSE of ∼70 W m−2). However, the relatively complex TSEB model produced a higher RMSE of ∼90 W m−2. Comparison between STIC ET estimates and the operational ECOSTRESS ET product from NASA PT‐JPL model showed a larger RMSE (around 50 W m−2 higher) for the PT‐JPL ET estimates. Substantial overestimation (>80 W m−2) in PT‐JPL ET estimates was evident over shrublands and savannas, presumably due to weak constraint of LST in the model. Overall, the EEH supports ET retrieval for the future high‐resolution thermal missions.
Transport and Economic Development

This chapter brings together key strands of transport geography and economic geography, two fields which have become separated from one another in recent decades, in spite of the manifold connections between them on the ground. It also informed by relevant insights from development studies. In contrast to the economic geography and transport geography literatures respectively, it takes neither mobility nor the existing spatial distribution of economic activity for granted, assessing the dynamic linkages between the two. The authors view the relationship between transport and economic development as a two-way symbiosis; in a circular manner, each influences the other. The primary concern is with the secondary or additional effects of transport investment in altering economic conditions rather than its direct impact in terms of reduced travel times and increased accessibility. The next section of the chapter revisits some major theoretical frameworks that have been used to interpret and understand the nexus between transport and economic development. The authors then discuss the relationship between transport and spatial development in developed countries, considering the role of transport in the shift to post-Fordist production systems and assessing the economic effects of investments in transport infrastructure. A discussion of transport and economic development in developing countries precedes the brief conclusion, which summarizes the main points of the chapter.
Combating Race-Related Hate Speech: The Role of Symmetrical Communication in Addressing Racism through Perceptual and Behavioral Outcomes

ABSTRACT This project examined the role of the symmetrical communication dimension in mitigating race-related hate speech. Integrating research in race, racism, DEI, symmetrical communication, cultural competency, and hate speech, a survey with 793 respondents in the U.S. supported cultural empathy as an important intercultural competency factor that facilitated symmetrical communication. Further, symmetrical communication was significantly associated with three critical perceptual outcomes in race relations (perceived connection with, perceived warmth of, and dehumanization of racially different others). Perceived warmth and dehumanization then predicted disapproval of race-related hate speech, the focal behavioral outcome in this study. This project contributed to research on race and DEI by testing a communicative approach to combating racism and enhancing DEI at the societal level. It also advanced theory development in symmetrical communication through extending its role to addressing broader social and cultural issues as well as identifying its specific mechanism and nuances in intercultural interactions. Practically, the study provided a theory-driven, empirically tested mechanism to mitigate race-related hate speech, helping public relations practitioners and social movement organizations to better address racism at the societal level.
Prognostic value of nutritional and inflammatory markers in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who receive immune checkpoint inhibitors

The emergence of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has provided a new treatment option for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, further evaluation is needed for determining biomarkers for the use of ICIs. The present study evaluated the prognostic value of certain nutritional and inflammatory markers in patients with HCC who received ICIs. In the present study, the clinical data of 151 patients with HCC who received ICIs at Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital from January 2019 to December 2021 were collected. The blood parameters of all patients before treatment were collected to evaluate certain nutritional and inflammatory markers, including the prognostic nutrition index (PNI), nutritional risk index (NRI), geriatric NRI (GNRI), systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), systemic inflammation response index (SIRI) and advanced lung cancer inflammation index (ALI). Patients were grouped using the cut-off value calculated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and the relationship between these biomarkers and prognosis was evaluated through survival analysis. Furthermore, the prognostic value of these biomarkers was assessed through multivariate Cox regression analysis and construction of nomograms. Finally, time-ROC curves were plotted to compare the differences in predicting prognosis between the biomarkers. In the preliminary survival analysis, all inflammatory and nutritional markers included in the present study were significantly associated with the prognosis of HCC in patients who received ICIs. Similar results were obtained in a subgroup analysis of patients with different Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stages. Multivariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated that GNRI, PNI, BCLC stage and Tumor-Node-Metastasis (TNM) stage were significantly associated with progression-free survival (PFS), whereas GNRI, BCLC stage and TNM stage were also significantly associated with overall survival (OS). Furthermore, the time-ROC curves indicated that nutritional indicators had a higher prognostic value in all indexes, especially GNRI. The C-index (95% confidence interval) of the nomograms for predicting the survival probability of patients who received ICIs were 0.801 (0.746–0.877) and 0.823 (0.761–0.898) for PFS and overall OS, respectively, which also showed high accuracy. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that PNI, GNRI, NRI, SII, SIRI and ALI were all related to the efficacy of ICIs in HCC and could serve as non-invasive biomarkers for ICI treatment effectiveness. Moreover, compared with inflammatory markers, nutritional markers had greater predictive ability, with GNRI being the biomarker with the best prognostic value.
Development of the Polish Speech Test Signal and its Comparison with the International Speech Test Signal

The aim of this study was to create a single-language counterpart of the International Speech Test Signal (ISTS) and to compare both with respect to their acoustical characteristics. The development procedure of the Polish Speech Test Signal (PSTS) was analogous to the one of ISTS. The main difference was that instead of multi-lingual recordings, speech recordings of five Polish speakers were used. The recordings were cut into 100–600 ms long segments and composed into one-minute long signal, obeying a set of composition rules, imposed mainly to preserve a natural, speech-like features of the signal. Analyses revealed some differences between ISTS and PSTS. The latter has about twice as high volume of voiceless fragments of speech. PSTS’s sound pressure levels in 1/3-octave bands resemble the shape of the Polish long-term average female speech spectrum, having distinctive maxima at 3–4 and 8–10 kHz which ISTS lacks. As PSTS is representative of Polish language and contains inputs from multiple speakers, it can potentially find an application as a standardized signal used during the procedure of fitting hearing aids for patients that use Polish as their main language.
Multidisciplinary Teams for the Management of Infective Endocarditis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Abstract Background The management of infective endocarditis (IE) is complex owing to a high burden of morbidity and mortality. Recent guidelines recommend dedicated multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) for the management of IE. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate and summarize the effect of MDT management on patient outcomes. Methods A systematic review was performed and, where feasible, results were meta-analyzed; otherwise, results were summarized narratively. Data extraction and quality assessment were performed in duplicate. Restricted maximum likelihood random effects models were used to calculate unadjusted risk ratios and 95% CIs. Results Screening of 2343 studies based on title and abstract yielded 60 full-text reviews; 18 studies were summarized narratively, of which 15 were included in a meta-analysis of short-term mortality. Meta-analysis resulted in a risk ratio of 0.61 (95% CI, .47–.78; I2 = 62%) for mortality in favor of a dedicated MDT as compared with usual care. Length of stay was variable, with 55% (10/18) of studies reporting an increased length of stay. Most studies (16/18, 88.9%) reported a decreased time to surgery and an increased rate of surgery (13/18, 73%). No studies reported on patient-reported outcomes. Conclusions This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the impact of MDT management on IE. The sum of evidence demonstrated a significant association between MDTs and improved short-term mortality. Further research is needed to evaluate benefits of virtual MDT care, cost-effectiveness, and the impact on patient-reported outcomes and long-term mortality.
Efficiency of CIN2+ Detection by Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone (TRH) Site-Specific Methylation

Cervical cancer screening typically involves a Pap smear combined with high-risk human papillomavirus (hr-HPV) detection. Women with hr-HPV positivity but normal cytology, as well as those with precancerous abnormal cytology, such as low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL) and high-grade SIL (HSIL), are referred for colposcopy and histology examination to identify abnormal lesions, such as cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cervical cancer. However, in order to enhance the accuracy of detection, bioinformatics analysis of a microarray database was performed, which identified cg01009664, a methylation marker of the thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH). Consequently, a real-time PCR assay was developed to distinguish CIN2+ (CIN2, CIN3, and cervical cancer) from CIN2- (CIN1 and normal cervical epithelia). The real-time PCR assay utilized specific primers targeting methylated cg01009664 sites, whereas an unmethylated reaction was used to check the DNA quality. A cut-off value for the methylated reaction of Ct < 33 was established, resulting in improved precision in identifying CIN2+. In the first cohort group, the assay demonstrated a sensitivity of 93.7% and a specificity of 98.6%. In the cytology samples identified as atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US) and LSIL, the sensitivity and specificity for detecting CIN2+ were 95.0% and 98.9%, respectively. However, when self-collected samples from women with confirmed histology were tested, the sensitivity for CIN2+ detection dropped to 49.15%, while maintaining a specificity of 100%. Notably, the use of clinician-collected samples increased the sensitivity of TRH methylation testing. TRH methylation analysis can effectively identify women who require referral for colposcopy examinations, aiding in the detection of CIN2+.
Convection en région Cévennes-Vivarais : étude de données pluviométriques, simulations numériques et validation multi-échelles

Le cycle de l'eau en region Cevennes-Vivarais est influence par l'interaction entre masses d'air et sol. La topographie est partagee entre une plaine et un plateau par des vallees encaissees, delimitees par de petits massifs montagneux. Des systemes convectifs produisent des precipitations sur une large gamme d'echelles. Ces echelles meteorologiques et topographiques interagissent. L'analyse de donnees pluviometriques permet de lier l'echelle temporelle des phenomenes meteorologiques a la topographie. Cette derniere a plus d'impact sur les pas de temps longs. La modelisation numerique est indispensable a la comprehension des phenomenes meteorologiques. Une partie de cette these est consacree a la recherche d'echelles ou la simulation est valide. La modelisation est utilisee pour comprendre le lien entre la topographie, l'humidite des sols et les evenements pluvieux sensibles a pas de temps long.
PatientHandNet: 3-D Open-Palm Hand Reconstruction From Sparse Multiview Depth Images

Accurately reconstructing 3-D hand shapes of patients is important for immobilization device customization, artificial limb generation, and hand disease diagnosis. Traditional 3-D hand scanning requires multiple scans taken around the hand with a 3-D scanning device. These methods require the patients to keep an open-palm posture during scanning, which is painful or even impossible for patients with impaired hand functions. Once multi-view partial point clouds are collected, expensive post-processing is necessary to generate a high-fidelity hand shape. To address these limitations, we propose a novel deep-learning method dubbed PatientHandNet to reconstruct high-fidelity hand shapes in a canonical open-palm pose from multiple-depth images acquired with a single-depth camera. The hand poses in the depth images may vary, hand movements are allowed, facilitating the 3-D scanning process in particular for patients with difficult conditions. The proposed method has strong operability since it is insensitive to the input pose, allowing for pose variations in the input depth images. We also proposed two novel datasets: a large-scale synthetic dataset to train our model and a real-world dataset with ground-truth hand biometrics extracted by an experienced anthropometrist. Extensive experimental results on the unseen synthetic data and real-world data demonstrate that the proposed method provides robust and easy-to-use hand shape reconstruction and outperforms the state-of-the-art methods in biometric accuracy terms.
Clinical characteristics of malignant germ cell tumors in adolescents: A multicenter 10‐year retrospective study in Beijing

Abstract Background The aim of this study was to review clinical features of adolescent malignant germ cell tumors (MGCTs) in Beijing and analyze the peculiar characteristics of this age group. Methods Clinical characteristics, pathological presentations, and survival outcomes of 34 patients were analyzed retrospectively. Results Of 34 patients, 12 girls and 22 boys, 18 (52.9%) had an extra‐cranial tumor, including one testicular tumor, five ovarian tumors, one sacrococcygeal tumor, and 11 mediastinal tumors. Histologically, we found immature teratomas (n = 6), yolk sac tumors (n = 5), mixed malignant tumors (n = 5), an embryonic carcinoma (n = 1), and seminoma (n = 1). Three‐year event‐free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) were 48.8% and 62.9%, respectively. Another 16 (47.1%) patients had an intracranial tumor, including nine in the pineal region, five in the suprasellar region, one in basal ganglia, and one in cerebellopontine. All patients had localized disease and an excellent outcome with 3‐year EFS and OS of 93.7% and 100%, respectively. Conclusions Adolescent MGCTs are rare with a strong dependence on gender, and the mediastina and pineal region are the most common tumor locations. The prognosis is promising compared with that of other adolescent tumors and MGCTs in other age groups. MGCTs in mediastina have a tendency to companion with other hematological malignancies, and the prognosis is extremely poor in these patients.
Models of linguistic change and diffusion: new evidence from dialect levelling in British English *

The levelling of accents/dialects has been something of a 'given' in recent accounts of change in the spoken English of Britain. However, the very recent availability of a larger number of studies presents us with the opportunity to examine the mechanism behind this 'levelling' with a new degree of precision. The present paper brings together data from this body of research in an exploration, particularly, of the distinction between levelling and geographical diffusion in accounting for changes in vernacular speech. I argue that, while both processes assume dialect contact, levelling (as a direct result of mutual accommodation between speakers) is only possible as a process in its own right in relatively compact geographical areas, such as new towns. In other cases, levelling outcomes (on a much larger geographical scale) can best be explained as an epiphenomenon of geographical diffusion (a position taken by Trudgill). I suggest that the phrase regional dialect levelling should be applied to this wider geographical outcome, reserving the unqualified levelling for the outcome of the social psychological process of accommodation. This exploration invites us to look more closely at the distinction between regular (Neogrammarian) change and lexical diffusion, as discussed by Labov (1981). Preliminary conclusions are that phonetic gradualness as a characteristic of regular change cannot be upheld, and that there is no strong connection between change type and mechanism of spread, despite the presence of similar notions of diffusion on each side of the comparison.
Authentication of Cocoa Products Based on Profiling and Fingerprinting Approaches: Assessment of Geographical, Varietal, Agricultural and Processing Features

Cocoa and its derivative products, especially chocolate, are highly appreciated by consumers for their exceptional organoleptic qualities, thus being often considered delicacies. They are also regarded as superfoods due to their nutritional and health properties. Cocoa is susceptible to adulteration to obtain illicit economic benefits, so strategies capable of authenticating its attributes are needed. Features such as cocoa variety, origin, fair trade, and organic production are increasingly important in our society, so they need to be guaranteed. Most of the methods dealing with food authentication rely on profiling and fingerprinting approaches. The compositional profiles of natural components –such as polyphenols, biogenic amines, amino acids, volatile organic compounds, and fatty acids– are the source of information to address these issues. As for fingerprinting, analytical techniques, such as chromatography, infrared, Raman, and mass spectrometry, generate rich fingerprints containing dozens of features to be used for discrimination purposes. In the two cases, the data generated are complex, so chemometric methods are usually applied to extract the underlying information. In this review, we present the state of the art of cocoa and chocolate authentication, highlighting the pros and cons of the different approaches. Besides, the relevance of the proposed methods in quality control and the novel trends for sample analysis are also discussed.
Is there an Indian Ocean dipole and is it independent of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation?

The papers by Saji et al (1999) and Webster et al (1999) describe an equatorial Indian Ocean sea surface temperature (SST) dipole pattern (IOD) which they claim modulates rainfall in East Africa and Indonesia, and operates independently of the global-scale El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The concept of possible independence of Indian Ocean SST variability form ENSO has been shaped by research focusing on climate events during the 1990s (eg Behera et al, 1999; Murtugudde et al., 2000). However, in an earlier paper Nicholls (1989) describes a different IOD pattern of variability related to Australian winter rainfall, and argues that this pattern operates largely independently of ENSO. In this paper we demonstrate clearly that with consideration of the evolution of ENSO events, the varying lag correlations between IOD end ENSO indices, and using seasonally stratified data, the apparent ENSO independence disappears form both IODs.
A Conceptual Model for Retaining County Extension Program Professionals

Retaining county program professionals in their positions continues to challenge Cooperative Extension systems. Turnover among program professionals results in unmet citizen needs, disrupted educational programs, low morale among remaining Extension professionals, and wasted financial and material resources. Using a qualitative methodology and content analysis, the authors developed the R.E. T.A.I.N. S. conceptual model for retaining county Extension program professionals, and suggest practical implications of the model: Recruit authentically; Expand on new employees' experiences and abilities; Train, train, train; Advocate for both the employee and the position; Inspire, invest in, and empower employees; Nurture connectivity among employees; and Show appreciation through effective recognition.