Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
M-quantile models for small area estimation

Small area estimation techniques typically rely on regression models that use both covariates and random effects to explain variation between the areas. However, such models also depend on strong distributional assumptions, require a formal specification of the random part of the model and do not easily allow for outlier-robust inference. We describe a new approach to small area estimation that is based on modelling quantilelike parameters of the conditional distribution of the target variable given the covariates. This avoids the problems associated with specification of random effects, allowing inter-area differences to be characterised by area-specific M-quantile coefficients. The proposed approach is easily made robust against outlying data values and can be adapted for estimation of a wide range of area-specific parameters, including quantiles of the distribution of the target variable in the different small areas. The differences between M-quantile and random effects models are discussed and the alternative approaches to small area estimation are compared using both simulated and real data. Copyright 2006, Oxford University Press.
Shadowing, thick sets and the Ramsey property

We provide a full characterization of relations between the shadowing property and the thick shadowing property. We prove that they are equivalent properties for non-wandering systems, the thick shadowing property is always a consequence of the shadowing property, and the thick shadowing property on the chain-recurrent set and the thick shadowing property are the same properties. We also provide a full characterization of the cases when for any family ${\mathcal{F}}$ with the Ramsey property an arbitrary sequence of points can be ${\it\varepsilon}$ -traced over a set from ${\mathcal{F}}$ .
Sound Radiation Inside an Acoustic Canyon with a Surface Sound Source Located at the Bottom

The sound radiation inside an acoustic canyon has been analyzed for a surface sound source located at the bottom. Based on rigorous mathematical manipulations, the formulas of a high computational efficiency describing the sound pressure and sound power have been obtained. They can be easily adapted to describe the sound radiation of an arbitrary system of sound sources. As an example of their application, the sound radiation of a piston has been investigated. The asymptotic formulas of the sound power modal coefficients have been obtained. They can be used to significantly improve the numerical calculation of the sound power.
Precision Oncology Targets in Biliary Tract Cancer

Simple Summary Biliary tract cancer is rare in the US but remains a highly lethal cancer. While the standard of care in the first-line, metastatic setting is well-established, no second-line regimen has been clearly defined as the gold standard. Many novel biomarker-targeted therapies have emerged and shown promise, even in treatment-refractory patients. Here, we seek to provide updates on the landscape of targeted therapies available for the treatment of advanced biliary tract cancer. Abstract Targeted therapies in biliary tract cancer (BTC) are emerging as options for patients not who do not respond to first-line treatment. Agents acting on tumor-specific oncogenes in BTC may target fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2), isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH), B-raf kinase (BRAF), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2). Additionally, given the heterogeneous genetic landscape of advanced BTCs, many harbor genetic aberrations that are common among solid tumors, including RET fusions, tropomyosin receptor kinase (TRK) fusions, and high tumor mutational burden (TMB). This review aims to provide updates on the evolving array of therapeutics available, and to summarize promising works on the horizon.
Normal forms in term rewriting systems

Many important problems in computer science can be reduced to the problem of using a set of equations to simplify a term. For instance, implementation of programming language interpreters, proving theorems of the form A=B, and implementation of abstract data types can all be reduced to the problem of simplifying a term using a set of equations. In our case, the equations are used in just one direction, so we write such equations as A(IMPLIES)B with the meaning that an occurrence of the term A can be replaced by B. If we can replace subterms of C to produce the term D and if no subterms of D can be replaced then we say D is a normal form for C. We represent an infinite set of equations by using a finite set of equation schemata (equations with variables). We call a set of equation schemata a Term Rewriting System. An important question for such systems is whether normal forms are unique (i.e., each term has at most one normal form). For schemata without repeated variables (no variable is repeated on the left side of an equation schema), O'Donnell has shown that normal forms are unique if the schemata are nonoverlapping and unequivocal. These conditions are used to prove the confluence property (Church-Rosser property), a stronger property than unique normal forms. Klop has shown that the confluence property does not necessarily hold when repeated variables are allowed. We show that normal forms are unique despite the lack of the confluence property provided the equation schemata are nonoverlapping and compatible (i.e., the schemata agree on similar terms). We also develop the Directed Congruence Closure Algorithm, an algorithm that efficiently finds the normal form of a term provided the equation schemata are nonoverlapping, unequivocal, and have no repeated variables. This algorithm is a variation on the Congruence Closure Algorithm of Kozen, Nelson and Oppen, and Downey, Sethi and Tarjan. Like the Congruence Closure Algorithm, it has the advantage of remembering which terms have already been proved equivalent. However, while the Congruence Closure Algorithm can use only a finite set of equations, the Directed Congruence Closure Algorithm can use an infinite set of equations represented by a finite set of equation schemata.
Plasma Levels of Metalloproteinase 3 (MMP-3) and Metalloproteinase 7 (MMP-7) as New Candidates for Tumor Biomarkers in Diagnostic of Breast Cancer Patients

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a group of enzymes that mediate both physiological and pathological processes such as carcinogenesis. The role of matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) and (MMP-7) in the pathogenesis of breast cancer (BC) has been demonstrated, suggesting that they may be considered as potential markers of this condition. The aim of this study was to assess plasma concentrations and diagnostic utility of MMP-3 and MMP-7 in 100 patients with early-stage breast cancer with Luminal A subtype or Luminal B HER-negative subtype, before and after surgical treatment, and in the following control groups: patients with a benign tumor (fibroadenoma) and healthy subjects. The concentrations of MMP-3 and MMP-7 were referenced to the levels of the widely recognized marker for BC diagnosis CA 15-3. MMP-3 and MMP-7 was measured by ELISA method and CA 15-3 by CMIA. Plasma levels of MMP-7 were significantly higher in Luminal A and Luminal B HER2-negative subtype breast cancer patients as compared to the healthy group. MMP-7 demonstrated comparable but mostly higher to CA 15-3 or MMP-3 values of diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and AUC (0.6888 for Luminal A subtype; 0.7612 for Luminal B HER2-negative; 0.7250 for BC total group, respectively) in the groups tested. The combined use of the tested parameters resulted in a further increase in diagnostic criteria and AUC. These results suggest the usefulness of combining MMP-7 with CA 15-3 in the diagnostics of breast cancer, especially in Luminal B HER2-negative subtypes patients, as a new candidate for tumor markers.
Limit cycle analysis of uncertain control systems with multiple nonlinearities

The describing function method can be used to analyze control systems with separable nonlinearities. Here, the method is employed in conjunction with some of the robustness tools for linear systems to develop algorithms for predicting the existence of limit cycles in uncertain systems with multiple nonlinearities connected in series. Uncertainty is assumed to exist in terms of parameter variations in both the linear and the nonlinear elements. Examples are provided to illustrate the results which are, of course, subject to the usual errors and restrictions of the describing function method.
Will improved neuroradiology facilities debunk the reported rarity of intracranial aneurysms in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Background: Intracranial aneurysms (IAN) are rare in the Sub-Saharan Africa unlike other parts of the world. The debate is whether the low frequency might be apparent because of the scarcity of advanced neuroimaging services, or real. This study investigated if improved imaging facilities would debunk the rarity of IAN in our subregion. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of prospectively recorded data of patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and IAN managed over 19 years (2003–2021), at the study center with a catchment population of over 47 million. The center witnessed progressive improvements in neuroimaging facilities: 2-Slice, 8-slice, and 64-slice computed tomography (CT) and 0.35T, 1.5T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) during the period. Results: There were 241 cases of SAH, but only 166 aneurysms were confirmed in 158 patients. Between 2003 and 2008, only 27 IAN patients (4.5 IAN/year) were diagnosed. After introduction of CT angiography/magnetic resonance angiography MRA using 8-slice CT/0.35T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), between 2009 and 2014, the frequency of IAN increased to 8/year. Between 2015 and 2018 after installation of a 64-slice CT in 2014, the IAN remained the same (8/year). MRI 1.5T was added in 2018, the frequency doubled to 17 cases/year. The females were more (67.7%), the mean age was 46.3 years, but peak incidence was the sixth decade. Internal carotid artery aneurysms including posterior communicating artery were the most common (43%) followed by ACA with anterior communicating artery (24%) and middle cerebral artery (20%). Multiple aneurysms were seen in ten patients. Conclusion: Improved neuroimaging between 2003 and 2021 did not debunk the rarity of IAN in our region.
Factors Affecting Depression and Its Relation to Sleep Quality among Parents of Type 1 Diabetes Patients

This study investigated factors affecting depression (CES-D) among parents of patients with type-1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), a chronic disease that requires constant management. A complex set of factors influence depression in parents and thus requires further research. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study. A survey on related variables was conducted on 217 parents of patients with T1DM. The collected data were analyzed using the PASW Statistics program, and factors influencing participants’ depression were identified through stepwise multiple regression. The results show that three variables exerted a significant effect on depression (source of information, resilience–personal competence, and Pittsburgh sleep quality index score), and all the variables explained a majority of the variance in depression. The results indicate that the parents of patients with T1DM were less depressed when the source of information was personal, when their resilience–personal competence was high, and when their Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) score was low. Interventions targeting parents of patients with T1DM should be performed with positive information on how to overcome diabetes in their children, increase resilience–personal competence, and increase sleep quality.
On the Runge–Lenz–Pauli vector operator as an aid to the calculation of atomic processes in laboratory and astrophysical plasmas

On the basis of the original definition and analysis of the vector operator by Pauli (1926 Z. Phys. 336–63), and further developments by Flamand (1966 J. Math. Phys. 7 1924–31), and by Becker and Bleuler (1976 Z. Naturforsch. 517–23), we consider the action of the operator on both spherical polar and parabolic basis state wave functions, both with and without direct use of Pauli’s identity (Valent 2003 Am. J. Phys. 71 171–75). Comparison of the results, with the aid of two earlier papers (Hey 2006 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 39 2641–64, Hey 2007 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 4077–96), yields a convenient ladder technique in the form of a recurrence relation for calculating the transformation coefficients between the two sets of basis states, without explicit use of generalized hypergeometric functions. This result is therefore very useful for application to Stark effect and impact broadening calculations applied to high-n radio recombination lines from tenuous space plasmas. We also demonstrate the versatility of the Runge–Lenz–Pauli vector operator as a means of obtaining recurrence relations between expectation values of successive powers of quantum mechanical operators, by using it to provide, as an example, a derivation of the Kramers–Pasternack relation. It is suggested that this operator, whose potential use in Stark- and Zeeman-effect calculations for magnetically confined fusion edge plasmas (Rosato, Marandet and Stamm 2014 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 105702) and tenuous space plasmas ( H II regions) has not been fully explored and exploited, may yet be found to yield a number of valuable results for applications to plasma diagnostic techniques based upon rate calculations of atomic processes.
Stabilization of decentralized control systems via time-varying controllers

In the design of decentralized control systems it is well known that the existence of unstable fixed modes prevents us from stabilizing it via linear time-invariant local controllers. In this note, we show that such systems might be stabilizable via time-varying controllers. In particular, a design method using sample and hold is proposed.
The Advanced Navy Aerosol Model (ANAM): validation of small-particle modes

The image quality of electro-optical sensors in the (lower-altitude marine) atmosphere is limited by aerosols, which cause contrast reduction due to transmission losses and impact on the thermal signature of objects by scattering solar radiation. The Advanced Navy Aerosol Model (ANAM) aims at providing a quantitative estimate of the aerosol effects on the basis of standard meteorological parameters such as wind speed and relative humidity. For application in coastal regions, the ANAM includes non-marine aerosols that are governed by an ill-defined tuning parameter: the air mass parameter (AMP). The present paper proposes a new parameterization for assessing the effect of these non-marine particles on the propagation. The new parameterization utilizes the Ångström coefficient, which can be experimentally obtained with a sun photometer, and introduces new types of aerosols in ANAM. The new parameterization was tested against experimental validation data acquired at Porquerolles Island at the French Riviera. The limited test data suggested that the new parameterization is only partially efficient in capturing the aerosol signature of the coastal environment. Nevertheless, the new Ångström coefficient algorithm avoids using the ill-defined AMP, and may thus be useful to the ANAM community.
Evolution of First Cores and Formation of Stellar Cores in Rotating Molecular Cloud Cores

We followed the collapse of cloud cores with various rotation speed and density frustrations using three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations by assuming a barotropic equation of state and examined the comprehensive evolution paths from the rotation molecule cloud core to stellar core. We found that the evolutionary paths depend only on the angular velocity of initial cloud core Ωc0. These evolutionary paths agree well with predictions of Saigo and Tomisaka’s quasi-equilibrium axisymmetric models and SPH calculations of Bate. Evolutionary paths are qualitatively classified into three types. (1) A slowly rotating cloud with Ωc0 < 0.01/tff = 0.05(ρc0/10−19 g cm −3)1/2 rad Myr −1 shows spherical-type evolution, where ρc0 is the initial central density. Such a cloud forms a first core which is mainly supported by the thermal pressure. The first core has a small mass of Mcore ∼ 0.01 M☉ and a short lifetime of a few ×100 yr. After exceeding the H2 dissociation density ρ ≃ 5.6 × 10−8 g cm −3, it begins the second collapse, and the whole of the first core accretes onto the stellar core/disk within a few free-fall timescales. (2) A rotating cloud with 0.01/tff < Ωc0≲ 0.05/tff shows disk-type evolution. In this case, the first core becomes a centrifugally supported massive disk with Mcore ∼ a few × 0.01–0.1 M☉ and the lifetime is a few thousand years. The first core is unstable against nonaxisymmetric dynamic instability and forms spiral arms. The gravitational torque through spiral structure extracts angular momentum from the central region to the outer region of the first core. And only a central part with r ∼ 1 AU begins the second collapse after exceeding dissociation density. However, the outer remnant disk keeps its centrifugal balance after stellar core formation. It seems that this remnant of the first core should control the mass and angular momentum accretion onto the newborn stellar system. (3) A rotating cloud with 0.05/tff≲ Ωc0 tends to fragment into binary or multiple during the first core phase.
Effect of Prior Antibiotic Use on Culture Results in People with Diabetes and Foot Osteomyelitis

Background: Antibiotic use prior to biopsy acquisition in people with diabetes and osteomyelitis of the foot (DFO) might influence bacterial yield in cultures or induce bacterial resistance. Obtaining reliable culture results is pivotal to guide antibiotics for conservative treatment of DFO. Methods: We prospectively analysed cultures of ulcer bed and percutaneous bone biopsies of people with DFO and investigated if antibiotics administered prior to (<2 months up to 7 days) biopsy acquisition led to more negative cultures or increased resistance in virulent bacteria. We calculated relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We stratified analyses according to biopsy type (ulcer bed or bone). Results: We analysed bone and ulcer bed biopsies of 64 people, of whom 29 received prior antibiotics, and found that prior antibiotics did not lead to a higher risk of at least one negative culture (RR 1.3, (CI 0.8–2.0), nor did prior treatment increase the risk of a specific type of negative culture (RR for bone cultures 1.15, (CI 0.75–1.7), RR for ulcer bed cultures 0.92 (CI 0.33–2.6)) or both cultures (RR 1.3 (CI 0.35–4.7), and neither did it increase the risk of antibiotic resistance in the combined bacterial results of ulcer bed and bone cultures (RR 0.64, (CI 0.23–1.8)). Conclusions: Antibiotics administered up to 7 days before obtaining biopsies in people with DFO do not influence culture yield regardless of biopsy type, nor are they associated with more antibiotic resistance.
'Are you a good which or a bad which ?' The relative pronoun as a plain connective

This paper offers an analysis of appositive relative clauses in spontaneous English that deviate from traditional syntactic schemas, particularly in relation to the presence of a gap. The data to be considered here consists of 'gap-filled' (presence of a resumptive pronoun) and 'gapless' examples, traditionally considered ungrammatical yet found in English nonetheless. The analysis proposed here will start with traditional ARCs, analysing the complex role of the relative pronoun as fulfilling two functions at the same time, anaphoric and connective. We will then show that these functions can be dissociated, which results in the occurrence of ARCs that seem to deviate from the norm, with a specific, purely connective role attributable to the relative pronoun.
Lower bounds of rates of decay for solutions to the Navier-Stokes equations

where a(p) = 3(2/p 1) and the constant C depends on the L2 and Lnorms of the initial data u0. This paper deals with the more subtle problem of deriving lower bounds on the energy decay rates. We show that for a certain class of initial data the solutions u(x, t) to the 2D and 3D Navier-Stokes equations admit an algebraic lower bound on the energy decay. Specifically, there are two cases to consider. In the first case, the average of the initial data f u0 dx is nonzero. This case was treated in the earlier paper [5] where it was established that
Potential Construction Applications of Sustainable 3D Printed Elements Made from Plastic Waste

Construction projects are often challenged by tight budgets and limited resources. Contractors are looking for ways to become competitive by using methods and materials that are sustainable and cost-effective. Using sustainable 3D printing to produce cost-effective construction elements is becoming a feasible option to make contractors more competitive locally and globally. Along this line, contractors are attempting to improve production skills to satisfy certain specifications and standards while keeping costs within competitive ranges. The aim of this research is to investigate the production process capability of 3D printers using fused deposition modelling (FDM) to produce 3D-printed sustainable parts made from plastic waste for the use in the construction of buildings with different infill structures and internal designs. The production capabilities and requirements of FDM printers were first examined and possible applications in construction are then presented. The outcome of this study indicates that 3D-printers can be used to produce parts made from plastic waste using FDM printers. These parts are sustainable and less expensive as compared to some traditional non-load bearing construction elements such as lightweight concrete hollow blocks and lightweight concrete bricks since they are less expensive and have higher compressive strength. However, it is not feasible to use 3D printed material from plastic waste as an alternative for gypsum board drywalls since it is more expensive; however, it might be considered as an alternative since it provides a higher compressive strength.
Are obesity and physical fitness associated with cardiovascular disease risk in adolescents with Down syndrome? The longitudinal UP&DOWN study

ABSTRACT Introduction The aims of this study were to examine cross-sectional, and longitudinal association of different measures of obesity and physical fitness with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in adolescents with Down syndrome. Methods Longitudinal analysis included 90 adolescents with Down syndrome. Obesity and physical fitness were measured following the ALPHA battery. Blood pressure and blood samplings (glucose, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and serum lipid triglycerides levels (mg/dl) were determinated. Results In cross-sectional analyses, obesity was positively associated with single CVD risk factors and CVD risk factor index (all p < .05). In the prospective analyses, obesity was not associated with single CVD risk factors, but components of physical fitness at baseline impact in some single CVD risk factors (all p < .05). Conclusion Obesity might be more strongly related to current cardiovascular-health, while components of physical fitness might be more related to future cardiovascular-health in adolescents with Down syndrome.