Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Deep Learning‐Based Methodology for Precipitation Nowcasting With Radar

Nowcasting and early warning of severe convective weather play crucial roles in heavy rainfall warning, flood mitigation, and water resource management. However, achieving effective temporal‐spatial resolution nowcasting is a very challenging task owing to the complex dynamics and chaos. Recently, an increasing amount of research has focused on utilizing deep learning approaches for this task because of their powerful abilities in learning spatiotemporal feature representation in an end‐to‐end manner. In this paper, we present convolutional long short‐term memory with a layer called star‐shape bridge to transfer features across time steps. We build an end‐to‐end trainable model for the nowcasting problem using the radar echo data set. Furthermore, we propose a raining‐oriented loss function inspired by the critical success index and utilize the group normalization technique to refine the convergence performance in optimizing our deep network. Experiments indicate that our model outperforms convolutional long short‐term memory with the cross entropy loss function and the conventional extrapolation method.
Frequency of Hypovitaminosis D in 6 - 59 Month Children with Severe Malaria in the Pediatrics Unit of the Teaching Hospital of Parakou (CHUD/BA) in Benin in 2016

Introduction: Vitamin D’s action outside of bone, especially on immunity, is widely reported in the international scientific literature over the last years. Objective: Calculate the frequency of hypovitaminosis D in children aged 6 to 59 months suffering from severe malaria in the CHUD-P pediatric unit in 2016. Setting and Methods: This research work is a cross-sectional study with descriptive and analytical purposes. Data gathering was prospective. The study involved children aged 6 to 59 months hospitalized for severe malaria in the CHUD-P pediatric unit. The said children were HIV-uninfected, eutrophic and had not received vitamin D supplementation during the last 6 months. Vitamin D dose was measured using the High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) technique. Results: A total of 80 subjects were involved in the survey. Mean age was 26.08 months, sex ratio was 0.8 and average weight was 10.80 kg. Hypovitaminosis D frequency was 83.8% (67 cases out of 80 children investigated during the survey) with an average plasma concentration of vitamin D estimated at 21.57 ng/ml ± 7.34 with two extremes (11.24 - 42.32) ng/ml. The minimum parasitaemia was 202 P/μl and the maximum was 580,000 P/μl. Conclusion: Hypovitaminosis D is common in children suffering from severe malaria; this result suggests conducting a large-scale community-based study to decide on vitamin D inclusion in national supplementation policies and severe malaria management.
PREVALENCE OF HEPATITIS C VIRUS AMONG PATIENTS ATTENDING STATE SPECIALIST HOSPITAL MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA

Hepatitis C virus is among the most common cause of viral hepatitis which considered as a major public health problem worldwide. This study was aimed to determine the prevalence of hepatitis C (HCV) antibody among patients attending State Specialist Hospital Maiduguri using test kits(Manufactured by NEB CO., LTD), after the patients were advised on the need to know their status. Out of one hundred serum samples, only 6(6.0%) were positive. This includes, 2 (4.3%) were male while 4 (7.5%) were female. Distribution of HCV based age showed that those between 11- 20 years had higher prevalence of 13.6%, followed by >40 years 8.3%, 31- 40years 3.7% and 21- 30years have 2.7%. However, zero prevalence was recorded among <1- 10years group. Also HCV based on educational status showed that, only 4(5.5%) positive was found among people that attained formal education out of 73 samples tested while 2(7.4%) positive was found amongst people that attained non-formal education out of 27 samples tested. Therefore, there is urgent need to take public health measures to reduce disease burden and transmission, by routine screening of all for HCV infections and also government should provide health education campaigns to people on the dangers associated with HCV infection.
Western Balkans countries income convergence in the context of EU membership – dynamics and determinants

The Western Balkan countries face relatively low levels of income over a longer period of time, indicating insufficient dynamics and intensity of income convergence, compared to the developed EU economies. The issue of income convergence of Western Balkan countries is particularly important in the context of their EU membership. The paper tests the existence and dynamics of income convergence of the Western Balkan Economies using both sigma (σ) and the beta (β) measures of real convergence. The evaluation of the appropriateness of the income convergence dynamics of the Western Balkan Economies is derived on the basis of a comparative analysis with the achievements of the New Member States, Baltic countries and EU - 14 in the last 20 years. The results outline that Western Balkan countries are stagnating, and they have the slowest convergence. In addition, this paper makes an overview by fixed effects panel data model of the determinants of the convergence process in the Western Balkan countries to the EU-14, taking them as complementary part of this process. The results show that Western Balkan countries should focus mainly on agriculture and banking sector reforms in order to speed-up the convergence process.
West Syndrome: Clinical Characteristics, Therapeutics, Outcomes and Prognosis

Introduction: West syndrome (WS) is the most severe, devastating and/or catastrophic epileptic encephalopathy during the lactation period. However, until now, there are few comprehensive clinical studies in this regard in Cuba. Objective: To identify clinical characteristics of patients with WS, the related etiology, therapeutics and prognostic factors. Methods: An observational, descriptive and retrospective study of 39 patients with WS from the Centro Habana Teaching Pediatric Hospital, Havana, Cuba, comprising the period between January 2005 and December 2016 was carried out. Clinical data were recorded for each patient by review of clinical history. Statistical analysis was performed with use of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Results: The genetic, structural/metabolic etiology was predominant. Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (25.6%) and neurocutaneous syndromes (17.9%) were the cause more frequent of WS. The combined treatment of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and vigabatrin (VGB) was used in 25 patients (64.1%). In 18 of them (72%) there was control of infantile spasms or reduction ≥ 50%, while in 14 patients (56%) the hypsarrhythmia disappeared in the first 6 months (p<0.05). All patients that used ACTH had transient hypertension as an adverse effect of this drug. 71.8% of the patients had moderate to severe delay in psychomotor development, 35.9% were diagnosed with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and 43.6% with other epilepsies. There was an unfavorable evolution in 74.3% of the patients. The most significant prognostic factors for unfavorable evolution were male gender, symptomatic etiology, psychomotor delay and/or abnormality in the neurological examination, epileptic seizures, previous paroxysmal electroencephalogram, poor response to the treatment, persistence of hypsarrhythmia, and combination of more than three factors in 68.9% of the patients with unfavorable evolution (p <0.05). Conclusions: Our findings showed that the combined treatment with ACTH and VGB may decrease the time to disappearance of infantile spasms and hypsarrhythmia in patients with WS. Moreover, the unfavorable evolution of these patients is related with the etiology and combination of prognostic factors.
Ethanolic extract of propolis from the Malaysian stingless bee Geniotrigona thoracica inhibits formation of THP-1 derived macrophage foam cells

Propolis is resinous materials with various therapeutic potentials used by bees to protect hive. Propolis extracted from honey bees may inhibit atherosclerosis, but no study has been performed using propolis extracted from Indo-Malayan stingless bees. The study aims to investigate the effect of the ethanolic extract of propolis (EEP) from Geniotrigona thoracica (G. thoracica) on the formation of macrophage-derived foam cells. Propolis from G. thoracica was extracted using 80% ethanol. The optimal concentrations of EEP to treat THP-1 derived macrophages were determined. THP-1 cells were differentiated into macrophages using 100 ng/mL of Phorbol 12-myristate-13-acetate for 4 days. THP-1 derived macrophages were then treated with 80 µg/mL of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) and 20 µg/mL of EEP at 6, 24, and 48 hours. The lipid droplets were determined by Oil Red O staining, and the amount of cholesterol ester in the cells was quantified. Concentrations of interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) secreted by treated cells were measured. Twenty µg/mL of EEP was selected for cell treatment. Microscopic observation showed that EEP reduced lipid droplet aggregation in the cytosol of THP-1 derived macrophages-treated oxLDL. Similarly, cholesterol ester contents in oxLDL-treated THP-1 derived macrophages were also significantly reduced with the addition of EEP. EEP treatment also significantly reduced TNF-α and IL-1β secretion in the supernatant of oxLDL-treated THP-1 derived macrophages. In conclusion, EEP inhibited the formation of THP-1 derived macrophage foam cells by suppressing TNF-α and IL-1β secretion, which normally is upregulated in atherosclerotic plaques.
Evaluation of Chlamydia Pneumoniae IgG in a Sample of Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

Thirty serum samples of patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis after screening of rheumatoid factor, C-reactive protein and ESR were collected and including in present study to detect the IgG antibody against Chlamydia pneumoniae by ELISA test. The results showed only 2(6%) patients had seropositive of C. pneumoniae, this lead to suggest that C. pneumoniae may be one of the etiological or trigger factor in patients of rheumatoid arthritis.
Does the Market Correctly Value Investment Options?

This paper shows that the stock market misprices firms’ investment options. We build a real options model of optimal investment under uncertainty to estimate the value of firms’ investment options. We show that firms with valuable investment options have a higher likelihood of being mispriced. Importantly, this mispricing is not one-sided, as such firms are equally likely to be undervalued or overvalued. Our paper adds to the debate on whether public equity markets are myopic and systematically undervalue innovative firms. We show that this is not necessarily the case.
Late recurrence of breast cancer in a patient with BRCA1 mutation and subsequent radical treatment for colorectal and endometrial cancer — a case report

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women. Hereditary predisposition is found in 5–10% women with breast cancer and most frequently depends on BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. In BRCA1 mutation carriers there is a 56–84% risk of breast cancer and a 36–63% risk of ovarian cancer, while in BRCA2 it is 45–85% and 10–27%, respectively. In both groups there is a 2–3-fold risk of other malignancies. We present a case of a BRCA1 mutation carrier with late relapse of breast cancer after radical treatment for two other malignancies (colorectal and endometrial cancer).
PENGARUH ROA, TINGKAT INFLASI DAN NILAI TUKAR RUPIAH TERHADAP HARGA SAHAM

His study aims to analyze the effect of Return On Assets, Inflation Rate and Rupiah Exchange Rate on the share price of banking companies on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. Based on the results of the research processed for the variables Return on Assets, Inflation Rate and Rupiah Exchange Rate on Stock Prices shows the simultaneous and significant influence. This is shown in the results of hypothesis testing with F count. 36.99996> F table 3.06. With a significance of 0.000000 <0.05. The Return On Assets variable is partially negative and insignificant on the Stock Price. This is shown in the results of hypothesis testing with the number t count 0.05. Variable Inflation Levels on Stock Prices show a positive and significant influence. This is shown in the results of hypothesis testing with a calculated number of 14.42283> t table 1.65566 with a significance value of 0.0000 <0.05. While the Rupiah Exchange Rate partially has a negative but significant effect on the Stock Price. This is shown in the results of hypothesis testing with the number t -12.45095
Injury surveillance in Taekwondo and Judo during physiotherapy coverage of the seventh All Africa Games

Objective: To obtain data relating to the incidence of injuries sustained during taekwondo and judo competitions at the 7th All Africa Games. Methods: Prospective recording of injuries sustained by athletes who sought physiotherapy services at the games. Details of type of injury, injury sites and injury severity were obtained. Results: Seventy athletes out of 390 participants reported injuries. The overall injury risk ratio was 0.18. Injuries reported were strains/sprains (65,6%), bruises/contusions (16.1%) and dislocations or fractures (12,9%). The upper limbs were more commonly injured. Of the injuries sustained, approximately 18%, 69% and 13% were respectively classified as mild, moderate and severe injuries. Conclusions: The high incidence of moderate to severe injuries highlights the need for injury prevention programs and the presence of medical staff at major tournaments in order to make early diagnosis and appropriate intervention.
The Role of Fetal Health Locus of Control and Obedience in Traditional Pregnancy Care Toward Low Birth Weight (LBW) Occurence in Kupang

Prevalence and mortality due to low birth weight (LBW) is still get a mark in Kupang. The multifactorial causes of LBW, can be grouped into these factors: physical and social environment, mother, fetus, placenta-umbilical cord, and health services. From maternal factors, there are subfactors of maternal characteristics, knowledge of pregnancy, maternal health status, and behavior in caring the pregnancy. Maternal behavior may be in the form of obedience in traditional pregnancy care, which may lead to LBW. Most studies on LBW risk factors are related to clinical medical factors. The purpose of this study was to predict the role of fetal health locus of control and obedience in traditional pregnancy care, toward LBW occurrence. This study was an analitic observational with case-control design, included 50 mothers who gave birth to LBW and 50 mothers who gave birth to normal babies, through interviews and tracing of maternal and infant medical records. Research was done in RSUD Prof. DR. W.Z. Johannes, RSIA Dedari and 2 basic emergency obstetric and newborn care (BEmONC) public health center. Data analysis done using SmartPLS 3.2. 6. The results of the study proved that obedience to traditional pregnancy care was a mediator of the occurrence of LBW, whereas fetal health locus of control was not. Obedience to traditional pregnancy care in the form of non-standardize antenatal care and continued heavy workload during pregnancy, had been shown to cause LBW. This research also found 2 pathway models of LBW occurence: 1) Mother's characteristic (education level, mother's income, total of family income) influence to LBW occurence through variables: pregnancy knowledge, perceived behavioral control, and obedience to traditional pregnancy care. 2) Maternal characteristics have an effect on the occurence of LBW through obedience to traditional pregnancy care. Keywords: Low birth weight, Obedience, Traditional pregnancy care, Fetal health locus of control
Is There Synergy Between Song Learning and Vocal Stimuli Discrimination Training

Does better auditory discrimination ability in birds predict greater accuracy in imitating song? Does the acquisition of auditory discrimination skills affect the outcome of specific song learning? We investigated these questions in juvenile zebra finch males. Fourteen birds were trained to imitate operant song playbacks. During early stages of song learning, the birds were also trained to discriminate between the tutor’s song syllables. We tested if the accuracy of vocal imitation of specific song syllables relates to auditory discrimination between the tutor’s song syllables. Then we found that auditory discrimination performance is likely to be correlated with song learning accuracy. Also, birds successfully learned to discriminate between two similar song syllables, and the majority of birds improved on imitating their discriminated syllable pairs over nondiscriminated syllable sets. Still, we could not make a conclusive statement about synergy between song learning and vocal stimuli discrimination training in this study.
Indicators of Physiological Stress in Broiler Chickens During Road Transportation

Differential leucocyte counts and plasma activities of the muscle enzyme, creatine kinase, have been determined in blood samples obtained from broiler chickens, immediately prior to and following road transportation from farm to processing plant for slaughter. These parameters are proposed as indicators of physiological stress based on previous findings.Heterophil:lymphocyte ratios and plasma creatine kinase activities increased and eosinophil counts were decreased during the journey in birds tranported in both July and October when the curtain sides of the vehicles were open or closed respectively.These findings are consistent with the presence of physiological stress during road transportation. The thermal microenvironments to which birds are exposed in transit are thought to represent one of the sources of this ‘transportation stress’.
Performance of prestressed concrete box bridge girders under hydrocarbon fire exposure

This article presents an approach for investigating performance of prestressed concrete box bridge girders under hydrocarbon fire exposure. A three-dimensional nonlinear finite element model, developed in computer program ANSYS, is utilized to analyze the response of prestressed concrete box bridge girders under combined effects of fire exposure duration and simultaneous structural loading. The model validation is performed using a scaled prestressed concrete box girder exposed to ISO834 fire in furnace. Subsequently, the validated model is used to investigate fire performance of prestressed concrete box bridge girders through taking into consideration some variables, namely concrete cover thickness to prestressing strands, prestress degree, load level, fire exposure length, and position. Through a case study, results from numerical analysis show that concrete cover thickness to prestressing strands and load level has significant effect on fire resistance of prestressed concrete box bridge girders. Increasing prestress degree in prestressing strands can speed up the progression of deflection (sudden collapse) in prestressed concrete box bridge girder toward the final fire exposure stage. Reducing fire exposure length or preventing fire exposure on mid-span zone can highly enhance the fire resistance of simply supported prestressed concrete box bridge girders. Failure of prestressed concrete box bridge girder, under hydrocarbon fire exposure conditions, is governed by rate of deflection failure criterion in particular cases.
Efficient hydrodeoxygenation of sulfoxides into sulfides under mild conditions using heterogeneous cobalt–molybdenum catalysts

Nitrogen-doped carbon-supported cobalt–molybdenum bimetallic catalysts (abbreviated as Co–Mo/NC) are active for the hydrodeoxygenation of sulfoxides to sulfides under mild conditions (25–80 °C and 10 bar H2), which represents the first example of the use of heterogeneous non-noble metal catalysts for this transformation. MoO3 with Lewis acid sites assists the hydrodeoxygenation of sulfoxides into sulfides by hydrogen over cobalt nanoparticles.
EEG Functional Connectivity and Cognitive Variables in Premanifest and Manifest Huntington’s Disease: EEG Low-Resolution Brain Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA) Study

Background Scientific literature does not offer sufficient data on electroencephalography (EEG) functional connectivity and its correlations with clinical and cognitive features in premanifest and manifest HD. Aim This study tries to identify abnormal EEG patterns of functional connectivity, in conditions of “brain resting state” and correlations with motor decline and cognitive variable in Huntington’s disease (HD), in premanifest and manifest phase, looking for a reliable marker measuring disease progression. Method This was an observational cross-sectional study; 105 subjects with age ≥18 years submitted to HD genetic test. Each subject underwent a neurological, psychiatric, and cognitive assessment, EEG recording and genetic investigation for detecting the expansion of the CAG trait. EEG connectivity analysis was performed by means of exact Low Resolution Electric Tomography (eLORETA) in 18 premanifest HD (pHD), 49 manifest HD (mHD), and 38 control (C) subjects. Results HD patients showed a Power Spectral Density reduced in the alpha range and increased in delta band compared to controls; no difference was detectable between pHD and mHD; the Global Connectivity in pHD revealed no significant differences if compared to mHD. The Current Source Density was similar among groups. No statistically significant results when comparing pHD with C group, even in comparison of mHD with Controls, and pHD with mHD. mHD compared to Controls showed a significant increase in delta, alpha1, alpha2, beta2, and beta3. Lagged Phase Synchronization in delta, alpha1, alpha2, beta2, and beta3 bands was increased in HD compared to controls (t = −3.921, p < 0.05). A significant correlation was found in Regression Analysis: statistically significant results in pHD for the “Symbol Digit Modality Test and lagged phase synchronization” in the Beta1 (r = −0.806, p < 0.05) in the prefrontal regions. The same correlation was found in mHD for the Stroop Word Reading Test (SWRT) in the Alpha2 band (r = −0.759, p < 0.05). Conclusion Increased phase synchronization in main bands characterized EEG in HD patients, as compared to controls. pHD were not dissimilar from mHD as regard to this EEG pattern. Increased phase synchronization correlated to cognitive decline in HD patients, with a similar trend in pHD, suggesting that it would be a potential biomarker of early phenotypical expression.