Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hybrid (Dynamical-Statistical) Models to Improve Seasonal Drought Prediction: Application to Regional Meteorological Droughts in China

Accurate drought prediction is important for drought resistance and water resources management. However, the seasonal drought prediction is of low accuracy for both dynamical and statistical models. In this study, we combined dynamical models and machine learning to construct hybrid (dynamical-statistical) models. We used the random forest approach to identify representative regions based on geopotential height, sea-level pressure, and 2-m temperature. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso and an artificial neural network (ANN) were used to construct the statistical models, with atmospheric variables as predictors and 3-month Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI3) as the predictand. The atmospheric variables forecasted by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) SEAS5 model were processed as predictors to force the statistical models. The resulting hybrid models, constructed using dynamical models and machine learning, were named as dynamic-Lasso (‘D-Lasso’) and dynamic-ANN (‘D-ANN’) separately. The results suggested that prediction skills were improved by the hybrid models; compared to the best available dynamical model (UK Met Office), D-ANN extends the forecast horizons by 6, 21, and 4 days in northern, eastern, and southern China, respectively. In spring and summer, the correlation skills were also improved. The effective prediction of the atmospheric anomalies over the eastern and southern Tibetan Plateau and the Northwest Pacific region was identified as the main contributor to successful seasonal drought prediction. Overall, the hybrid models were able to predict drought processes effectively, and D-ANN outperformed the D-Lasso in drought onset and persistence phases.
Prevalence of COVID-19 and Possible Antigenic Drifts in SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein in Kurdistan Region-Iraq

The COVID-19 is an on-going viral pandemic that has been affecting the public health, routine life and global economy. The disease is caused by a novel strain of coronavirus, called SARS-CoV-2 virus. The COVID-19 outbreak has been reporting in Kurdistan region of Iraq since March 2020. However, few studies investigated the epidemiology of COVID-19 and SARS CoV-2 virus in the region. This study aims at investigating the epidemiological situations of COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 variants in Kurdistan region over a year of the pandemic. The results revealed that the prevalence of COVID-19 is 1.9% in the region and is still in parallel to the neighbouring countries and the entire world. The mortality is 59 per 100,000 populations that may be related with age, as 25 % of the patients are older than 50 years old, and underlying health conditions of the patients might be another reason. Meanwhile, the recovery rate is high (90.5%), suggesting a standard medical management of COVID-19 in the region. It was observed that males comprise the greater number of COVID-19 patients. Like other countries, Kurdistan region passed through two waves of COVID-19 and currently tackling the third wave. On the other hand, the investigated spike proteins of nine isolates of SARS-CoV-2 in Kurdistan showed five isolates with single (D614G) mutation and four isolates with multiple amino acid substitutions (A348S, T478K and D614G), (L452R, E583D and D614G) and (N501Y, A570D and D614G), of which A348S, L452R and T478K and N501Y are in the receptor binding domain (RBD). Interestingly, all the isolates in Kurdistan contained D614G mutation. The D614G mutation alone and in combination with other mutations makes the SARS-CoV-2 virus more infectious and transmissible, so virulent variants of the virus is currently circulating and might be the cause of third wave of COVID-19 in Kurdistan region. The detection of N501Y and A570D mutations indicate the circulation of the UK variant of concern in Kurdistan region. Moreover, the results showed that the altered amino acids (A348S, L452R and T478K and N501Y) in the RBD of spike protein are located in the predicted B-cell epitopes. This could possibly reduce the sensitivity of some neutralizing antibodies, produced after infection with the previous variants or after vaccination. This and future investigations of COVID-19 epidemiology and SARS-CoV-2 variants definitely provide insights to the Kurdistan health officials to evaluate, control and predict the course of COVID-19 pandemic and to order the right version of vaccine.
Hypertension in end-stage kidney disease

is complex and involves several mechanisms of intrinsic vascular control, volume status, and sodium loading [Figure 1]. One of the primary mechanisms responsible for hypertension in ESKD patients is volume overload beyond Abstract Hypertension remains a leading etiology of end-stage kidney disease. The disease has a complex pathophysiology and contributes to a wide array of morbidities and mortality for patients across the globe. Due to the lack of published data on the subject, diagnosing and monitoring hypertension in the dialysis population poses a great challenge, as currently there are no published blood pressure target goals and in-center monitoring is often not reliable. Moreover, the management of this condition involves conservative approaches for both adjusting dialysis prescriptions and limiting dietary fluid and sodium intake. Therapy is often escalated with pharmacologic agents, of which emerging data suggest that it may be useful to use certain drug classes initially. However, professional guidelines do not provide specific drug therapy recommendations at this time.
Intention to Use Online Food Ordering Services Among Universities Students During COVID-19 Pandemic

The purpose of this paper is to determine the students’ behavioural intention to use electronic food ordering in Kuala Terengganu. The quantitative method was applied through an online questionnaire survey distributed to randomly selected respondents in two universities in Kuala Terengganu, and 362 online questionnaires were completed and returned with reliable and meaningful results. The result clearly shows that the majority of the students have a positive intention to use electronic food ordering services due to perceived convenience, customer control, attractive marketing, and eagerness to use technology during Covid-19. Besides, they feel that electronic food ordering is user-friendly, and they can get sufficient information to order. Therefore, this study is vital in providing knowledge and information to the food industry player in identifying all the advantages of having an online ordering system during the pandemic. In line with that, online ordering is the only source of revenue for local food businesses by helping them from permanent closures during this challenging time and take advantage of electronic food ordering as one of their long-term marketing strategies.
Inferring the Prevalence and Age Dependence of Infection Fatality Rate from Excess Mortalities for COVID-19 in Germany

Background and Aims: The reported case and death numbers of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are often used to estimate the prevalence and infection fatality rate (IFR). We use the excess mortality instead in order to have an alternative and independent measure. In calculating age dependent IFR, we distinguish between healthy and weak individuals, where the latter are statistically defined as individuals with a remaining life expectancy of 20 weeks. Methods: We estimate the cumulated prevalence of SARS-COV-2 from the excess mortality curve of the 90+ age population, since this part of the population is most likely to die from the infection. We then assume this estimated cumulated prevalence to be the actual cumulated prevalence of SARS-COV-2 across all age bands in Germany during the first COVID-19 wave. From there we calculate the age dependent infection fatality rates. We distinguish between the individuals with life expectancy below 20 weeks and those above 20 weeks. Results: For the first COVID-19 wave, we find a cumulated prevalence of about 3% for Germany across all age bands. The steep age gradient of the IFR is significantly smaller by a factor of around 10 when considering healthy individuals only, as compared to the IFR calculated for all individuals in the respective age bands. For the 90+ age band we find an overall IFR of 7.0% while for healthy 90+ individuals, the IFR reduces to 0.50%. For the 80-90 age band the IFRs are 2.2% and 0.74% respectively, for the 60-80 age band 0.40% and 0.025%, for the 40-60 age band 0.071% and 0.023%, and finally for the 0-40 age band 0.0014% and <0.00085%. The overall IFR for the total population is 0.35% and for healthy individuals 0.074%. The IFR for individuals in the 90+ age band with life expectancy smaller than 2 weeks is assumed to be close to 1. The results for overall IFR are in agreement with previous seroprevalence studies, supporting the here presented approach. Conclusion: We conclude that around 2.5 million individuals in Germany were infected during the first COVID-19 wave, whereas less than 10% of infected individuals were detected via tests. In addition to the known fact that the infection fatality rate depends significantly on the age of the infected individual, we furthermore show that a second major factor is the life expectancy of the individual under mild (COVID-19-free) conditions. This second factor has not been paid much quantitative attention to so far. We find that a large fraction of deaths due to COVID-19 actually stem from such weak individuals, i.e. people who pre-died in the first COVID-19 wave and would have died without COVID-19 only a few weeks later (harvesting effect, well-known for COVID-19 from other studies).
Resilient Platoon Control of Vehicular Cyber Physical Systems Under DoS Attacks and Multiple Disturbances

This paper investigates the platoon control problem for vehicular cyber physical systems (VCPSs) under Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks and multiple disturbances. DoS attacks often make data packets congested or even lost by jamming communication channels, which will lead to performance degradation of the VCPSs or even vehicle collisions. To counter DoS attacks, a recovery mechanism is introduced to confine the time duration rate and occurring frequency of the adverse effects of the DoS attacks on VCPSs. In the meanwhile, a resilient platoon control protocol is proposed to achieve internal stability of the VCPSs under DoS attacks. The propagation of disturbances among VCPSs is characterized by an $H_{\infty }$ performance index, whose upper bound is ensured by solving conditions related to matrix inequalities. Moreover, a controller design algorithm is proposed to minimize the disturbance propagation bound in the context of DoS attacks. Numerical examples show the effectiveness of the obtained theoretical results.
PORTFOLIO CHOICE WITH A FUNDAMENTAL CRITERION – AN ALGORITHM AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONON – A COMPUTATION METHODS AND EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

: Classical models for the construction of an investment portfolio do not account for fundamental values of companies considered. In our approach, we extend the portfolio choice by adding a new criterion connected with the fundamental values of companies to the classical criteria of expected return and risk. It is assumed that an investor selects stocks according to their attractiveness, measured by some indicators of economic and financial situation of companies. In this approach, portfolios are assessed according to three criteria: their expected returns, risk (measured by variance of returns) and economic situation of the companies (measured by some indicators). In this article, we consider the book value to price ratio as a measure of the fundamental value of a company. We discuss an algorithm for constructing portfolios with this fundamental value criterion based on analytical solutions for relevant optimization problems. In the optimization problem, we consider minimizing variance with constrains on expected return and attractiveness of investment. We also present empirical examples of calculating effective portfolios of stocks listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and compare their performance with effective portfolios built according to the classical Markowitz approach. By adding an additional criterion of the book to market value, we received portfolios with a higher average realized rate of return compared with the classical Markowitz model. Thus, it can be useful for investors in the capital market to incorporate an additional criterion connected with fundamental values of companies when preparing a model of stock returns.
The Influence of Job Rotation Practices on Employee Performance, Mediation Effect of Human Factor and Motivation

Banking industry plays a significant role in economic development of a nation through their operational efficiency. This study is an assessment of enhanced skills of employees through job rotation such that their performance, human factor and motivational factor play role on employee performance. A self – administered adopted questionnaire developed by Morgeson & Humphrey, also Marylene Gagne et al., method adopted questionnaire is circulated amongst 402 employees of banks in Vellore district selected applying purposive sampling method. The data is assessed applying mediation technique using structural equation modeling approach. Results indicate that motivation and human factor play mediating role in the performance of employees due to job rotation. This study confirms the importance of job rotation in the performance of employees in banking industry helping employer build better relationship and yield effective results from their employees.
Assessment of time management practices of small medium sized contractors in project delivery in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

The purpose of this article is to assess the effective time-management practices adopted by construction SMEs to enhance successful construction project delivery. A mixed methods approach, consisting of both quantitative and qualitative research methods was adopted. A questionnaire was distributed to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) management team purposively selected from CIDB Grades 1 to 4 registered contractors under the general building category. The quantitative data were analysed, using descriptive statistics. To validate quantitative findings, semi structured interviews were conducted with randomly selected respondents who were part of the survey study where content analysis was adopted. The findings revealed that the most adopted effective time-management practices to enhance the sustainable success rate of construction SMEs in South Africa included progress meeting with consultants to ensure regular monitoring of the work progress, strategic planning to recover time lost, effective management of subcontractors, and allocation of tasks to workers according to their skills and expertise. It should be noted that the quantitative findings were consistent with the qualitative findings, and revealed that effective project planning, periodic progress meetings and labour production contribute to the sustainable success rate of SMEs. The results obtained from this article could be adopted as SMEs’ effective time-management practices to enhance sustainable construction project delivery. en konsultante. Tydsraamwerke word dan ook bespreek. Die kwantitatiewe sowel as die kwalitatiewe benaderings het gewys dat die effektiewe beplanning is gefokus op gereëlde vorderingsvergaderings en produksie van werkers. Die resultate van hierdie studie kan aangeneem en toegepas word as ’n riglyn deur die bestuur van KMO’s vir die effektiewe tydsbeplanning om die sukses van konstruksieprojekte te verhoog. Die studie bied effektiewe tydbestuursmodaliteite wat die prestasie van die KMO’s sal verbeter. bonuses to fast-track construction projects.
Identification of Biomarkers with Therapeutic And prognostic Value in Skin Cutaneous Melanoma

Background The morbidity and mortality of skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM), the most deadly type of skin cancer, are on the rise worldwide. Through in-depth study of the tumor microenvironment (TME) of SKCM, this study further identified biomarkers with therapeutic and prognostic value. Methods The gene expression profiles and clinical data of SKCM patients were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. Then we calculated the immune score and stromal score of patients with skin melanoma by using the estimate algorithm, and divided all patients into the high/low immune/stromal score groups and discussed the correlation between them and clinical characteristics.Then, limma R package was used to screen out the differential genes in the high/low immune/ stromal score groups, and the heat map of the differential genes was drawn. At the same time, the functional enrichment analysis of the differential genes was carried out. The protein‒protein interaction (PPI) network of different genes was constructed by using STRING and Cytoscape, and the key genes related to the prognosis of cutaneous melanoma were further selected. Finally, kinase target, co expression genes and immune infiltrating cells of key genes were discussed. Results Patients in the low-immune/stromal score group had poorer survival outcome. The immune and stromal scores are associated with specific clinicopathologic variables (age, tumor grade, tumor stage) in SKCM. In total, 914 DEGs (909 upregulated and 5 downregulated genes) were screened from the gene expression profiles of patients with high immune and stromal scores. Functional enrichment analysis demonstrated a correlation between DEGs and the tumor microenvironment, tumor immune response and RCC tumorigenesis.Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that 15 out of the 914 identified tumor microenvironment related genes are involved in the prognosis of SKCM. Finally CXCR8 and CCR5 were selected as the hub genes. A positive correlation was obtained between the expression of CXCR8/CCR5 and the abundance of six immune cells. Conclusions We studied the tumor microenvironment of SKCM, and finally screened out the biomarkers with therapeutic and prognostic effects.
Ex Post Monitoring and Loan Repayment Performance in Rural Vietnam

Loan monitoring is a fundamental element of credit control. The importance of loan monitoring is to reduce loan defaults and to increase loan repayment performance. The ex-post monitoring can also increase the loan quality and thus a concern to many creditors in the market economy. This study identifies the role of ex-post monitoring on loan repayment performance in the context of rural Vietnam. Employing primary data from rural areas of Vietnam, this study investigates the impacts of ex-post monitoring on loan repayment performance of individual borrowers in terms of on-time loan repayment and the rate of loan repayment. Descriptions of borrower demographics, loan information, and ex-post monitoring show the initial picture of borrowers and loans in Vietnam’s rural areas. Quantitative estimations that use the Probit and the Tobit model confirm the argument that better ex-post monitoring would result in better loan repayment performance in both on-time repayment and repayment rate. Thus, some policy suggestions have been made to improve the monitoring system in each financial institution. The study also indicates that some other factors too affect loan repayment performance such as borrower’s characteristics (education, agricultural working area, and income) as well as loan’s characteristics (loan size, maturity, and loan purpose).
Red blood cell indices and red blood cell morphology in the haematological evaluation of patients: Study from a tribal based hospital in rural India

so as to avoid hazards of transfusion. Background: Anaemia causes impaired oxygen delivery to tissues. The first investigation done in anaemia is blood for haemoglobin%(Hb%). It can be reported within minutes using automated analyser. Peripheral blood smear (PBS) examination for assessment of red cell morphology is advised to evaluate the effect of anaemia on patient’s health. Now-a-days, automated analysers are supplied in remote hospital set-up also. But analyser results must be justified with blood smear examination findings. Objectives: General: To find out the spectrum of Hb concentration among indoor patients; Specific: To find out whether analyser derived red cell indices correspond with red cell morphology on PBS. Materials and Methods: Observational, cross-sectional, descriptive study conducted in the pathology department of a tribal based hospital. After institutional ethics committee permission the study was conducted for 1 year duration among indoor patients selecting the first complete haemogram report after admission. Hb values were categorised into 4 sub-groups (≥12 g/dl, 10–<12 g/dl, 7–<10 g/dl, <7 g/dl). Red cell indices were derived from analyser. Blood smear stained by Leishman-Giemsa was examined under light microscope. Data was analysed at the end of the study using Microsoft Excel software 2010. Results: Among 478 total cases 39.53% were male, 60.46% female (Male:Female ratio 1:1.53). 50% of total population had Hb% ≥12 g/dl which constituted 69.84% of the male and 37.02% of the female cases. Females were more in number to have abnormal red cell morphology (23.53%) compared to male (19.05%). Red cell index abnormality was almost equal in male (58.20%) and female (59.52%). More male patients had red cell morphology abnormality (54.38%) than female (34.62%) at Hb level <12g/dl. Conclusion: Red cell morphology must accompany all cases of haemogram reporting.
Influence of receiver bandwidth on MRI artifacts caused by orthodontic brackets composed of different alloys

Purpose The aim of this in vitro study was to assess the role of bandwidth on the area of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) artifacts caused by orthodontic appliances composed of different alloys, using different pulse sequences in 1.5 T and 3.0 T magnetic fields. Materials and Methods Different phantoms containing orthodontic brackets (ceramic, ceramic bracket with a stainless-steel slot, and stainless steel) were immersed in agar gel and imaged in 1.5 T and 3.0 T MRI scanners. Pairs of gradient-echo (GE), spin-echo (SE), and ultrashort echo time (UTE) pulse sequences were used differing in bandwidth only. The area of artifacts from orthodontic devices was automatically estimated from pixel value thresholds within a region of interest (ROI). Mean values for similar pulse sequences differing in bandwidth were compared at 1.5 T and 3.0 T using analysis of variance. Results The comparison of groups revealed a significant inverse association between bandwidth values and artifact areas of the stainless-steel bracket and the self-ligating ceramic bracket with a stainless-steel slot (P<0.05). The areas of artifacts from the ceramic bracket were the smallest, but were not reduced significantly in pulse sequences with higher bandwidth values (P<0.05). Significant differences were also observed between 1.5 T and 3.0 T MRI using SE and UTE, but not using GE 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional pulse sequences. Conclusion Higher receiver bandwidth might be indicated to prevent artifacts from orthodontic appliances in 1.5 T and 3.0 T MRI using SE and UTE pulse sequences.