Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
OPKT: Enhancing Knowledge Tracing With Optimized Pretraining Mechanisms in Intelligent Tutoring

Knowledge tracing (KT) is essential in intelligent tutoring systems for tracking learners' knowledge states and predicting their future performance. Numerous prevailing KT methods prioritize modeling learners' behavioral patterns in acquiring knowledge and the relationship among interactions. However, due to the sparsity problem, they frequently encounter challenges in effectively uncovering latent contextual features embedded within the learning sequences. This limitation may impose certain constraints on the predictive performance. In light of this concern, this article focuses on extracting latent features from learning sequences to enhance the assessment of knowledge states. Consequently, we design optimized pretraining mechanisms and introduce an enhanced deep KT method, optimized pretraining deep KT (OPKT). In the pretraining phase, the self-supervised learning approach is effectively employed to train comprehensive contextual encodings of the learning sequences. During fine-tuning, the contextual encodings are transferred to the downstream KT model, which then generates the knowledge states and makes predictions. Through our experiments, the superiority of our method over six existing KT models on five publicly available datasets is demonstrated. Furthermore, extensive ablation studies and visualized analysis validate the rationality and effectiveness of every component of the OPKT architecture.
ATLAS OF DIVORCE AND POST-DIVORCE INDICATORS IN EUROPE

A European atlas of post-divorce indicators is currently in the making that will visualise changes that have taken place in European countries in the prevalence of divorce, repartnering, new parenthood and the living arrangement trajectories that people experience after a separation or divorce where age, sex and cohort differences and changes over time are emphasised. Besides presenting the geographical differences in the divorce and post-divorce indicators in the form of maps, graphs and tables – typical of a standard atlas – a description and brief interpretation of the results will also be provided. This paper introduces the atlas and summarise the main findings.
The 2009 Samoa and 2010 Chile tsunamis as observed in the ionosphere using GPS total electron content

[1] Ground-based Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements of ionospheric total electron content (TEC) show variations consistent with atmospheric internal gravity waves caused by ocean tsunamis following two recent seismic events: the Samoa earthquake of 29 September 2009 and the Chile earthquake of 27 February 2010. Both earthquakes produced ocean tsunamis that were destructive to coastal communities near the epicenters, and both were observed in tidal gauge and buoy measurements throughout the Pacific Ocean. We observe fluctuations in TEC correlated in time, space, and wave properties with these tsunamis using the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Global Ionospheric Mapping software. These TEC measurements were band-pass filtered to remove ionospheric TEC variations with wavelengths and periods outside the typical range for tsunamis. Observable variations in TEC appear correlated with the tsunamis in some locations (Hawaii and Japan), but not in others (Southern California or near the epicenters). Where variations are observed, the typical amplitude tends to be ∼0.1–0.2 TEC units for these events, on the order of ∼1% of the background TEC value. These observations are compared to estimates of expected tsunami-driven TEC variations produced by Embry Riddle Aeronautical University's Spectral Full Wave Model, an atmosphere-ionosphere coupled model, and are found to be in good agreement. Significant TEC variations are not always seen when a tsunami is present, but in these two events the regions where a strong ocean tsunami was observed coincided with clear TEC observations, while a lack of clear TEC observations coincided with smaller sea surface height amplitudes. There exists the potential to apply these detection techniques to real-time GPS TEC data, providing estimates of tsunami speed and amplitude that may be useful for early warning systems.
EEG Amplitude Modulation Analysis across Mental Tasks: Towards Improved Active BCIs

Brain–computer interface (BCI) technology has emerged as an influential communication tool with extensive applications across numerous fields, including entertainment, marketing, mental state monitoring, and particularly medical neurorehabilitation. Despite its immense potential, the reliability of BCI systems is challenged by the intricacies of data collection, environmental factors, and noisy interferences, making the interpretation of high-dimensional electroencephalogram (EEG) data a pressing issue. While the current trends in research have leant towards improving classification using deep learning-based models, our study proposes the use of new features based on EEG amplitude modulation (AM) dynamics. Experiments on an active BCI dataset comprised seven mental tasks to show the importance of the proposed features, as well as their complementarity to conventional power spectral features. Through combining the seven mental tasks, 21 binary classification tests were explored. In 17 of these 21 tests, the addition of the proposed features significantly improved classifier performance relative to using power spectral density (PSD) features only. Specifically, the average kappa score for these classifications increased from 0.57 to 0.62 using the combined feature set. An examination of the top-selected features showed the predominance of the AM-based measures, comprising over 77% of the top-ranked features. We conclude this paper with an in-depth analysis of these top-ranked features and discuss their potential for use in neurophysiology.
The Potential of Glycyrrhiza from “Medicine Food Homology” in the Fight against Digestive System Tumors

Glycyrrhiza has a long history of applications and a wide range of pharmacological effects. It is known as the “king of all herbs”. Glycyrrhiza is effective in clearing heat, detoxifying, relieving cough, and tonifying qi and has good bioactivity in multiple inflammatory, immune, and tumor diseases. This review aims to summarize the origin, distribution, and anti-digestive system tumor mechanism of glycyrrhiza and its homologous applications in medicine and food. The active compounds include triterpenoids, flavonoids, and coumarins, which are widely used in clinical treatments, disease prevention, and daily foods because of their “enhancement of efficacy” and “reduction of toxicity” against digestive system tumors. This paper reviews the use of glycyrrhiza in digestive system tumors and provides an outlook on future research and clinical applications.
Trilobites within nautiloid cephalopods

Sheltered preservation’ of the remains of trilobites within the shells of nautiloid cephalopods is not especially uncommon. In most cases, of course, both the trilobites and the nautiloids were dead, and the association, merely due to post-mortem happenstance. However, on the basis of state of preservation and occurrence, a number of live individuals of the trilobite genera Acidaspis, Flexicalymene, and Isotelus from the Ordovician of the United States and of Alcymene and Encrinuraspis from the Silurian of Wales and the Czech Republic seem to have entered conchs of dead cephalopods, presumably for refuge.
Adoptive transfer of allergen-expressing B cells prevents IgE-mediated allergy

Introduction Prophylactic strategies to prevent the development of allergies by establishing tolerance remain an unmet medical need. We previously reported that the transfer of autologous hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) expressing the major timothy grass pollen allergen, Phl p 5, on their cell surface induced allergen-specific tolerance in mice. In this study, we investigated the ability of allergen-expressing immune cells (dendritic cells, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and CD19+ B cells) to induce allergen-specific tolerance in naive mice and identified CD19+ B cells as promising candidates for allergen-specific cell therapy. Methods For this purpose, CD19+ B cells were isolated from Phl p 5-transgenic BALB/c mice and transferred to naive BALB/c mice, pre-treated with a short course of rapamycin and an anti-CD40L antibody. Subsequently, the mice were subcutaneously sensitized three times at 4-week intervals to Phl p 5 and Bet v 1 as an unrelated control allergen. Allergen-expressing cells were followed in the blood to monitor molecular chimerism, and sera were analyzed for Phl p 5- and Bet v 1-specific IgE and IgG1 levels by RBL assay and ELISA, respectively. In vivo allergen-induced lung inflammation was measured by whole-body plethysmography, and mast cell degranulation was determined by skin testing. Results The transfer of purified Phl p 5-expressing CD19+ B cells to naive BALB/c mice induced B cell chimerism for up to three months and prevented the development of Phl p 5-specific IgE and IgG1 antibody responses for a follow-up period of 26 weeks. Since Bet v 1 but not Phl p 5-specific antibodies were detected, the induction of tolerance was specific for Phl p 5. Whole-body plethysmography revealed preserved lung function in CD19+ B cell-treated mice in contrast to sensitized mice, and there was no Phl p 5-induced mast cell degranulation in treated mice. Discussion Thus, we demonstrated that the transfer of Phl p 5-expressing CD19+ B cells induces allergen-specific tolerance in a mouse model of grass pollen allergy. This approach could be further translated into a prophylactic regimen for the prevention of IgE-mediated allergy in humans.
Analysing the impact of urban areas patterns on the mean annual flow of 43 urbanized catchments

Abstract. It is often argued that urban areas play a significant role in catchment hydrology, but previous studies reported disparate results of urbanization impacts on stream flow. This might stem either from the difficulty to quantify the historical flow changes attributed to urbanization only (and not climate variability) or from the inability to decipher what type of urban planning is more critical for flows. In this study, we applied a hydrological model on 43 urban catchments in the United States to quantify the flow changes attributable to urbanization. Then, we tried to relate these flow changes to the changes of urban/impervious areas of the catchments. We argue that these spatial changes of urban areas can be more precisely characterized by landscape metrics, which enable analysing the patterns of historical urban growth. Landscape metrics combine the richness (the number) and evenness (the spatial distribution) of patch types represented on the landscape. Urbanization patterns within the framework of patch analysis have been widely studied but, to our knowledge, previous research works had not linked them to catchments hydrological behaviours. Our results showed that the catchments with larger impervious areas and larger mean patch areas are likely to have larger increase of runoff yield.
Relationship between Indoor Living Environment and Housing Prices: A Case Study of the Taojinjiayuan Residential Quarter in Guangzhou, China

The indoor living environment of residential buildings is an important part of the habitat environment, affecting the living experience and well-being of the residents, which in turn influences the price of housing. However, few existing studies systematically concentrate on the integrated influence of the various elements of the indoor living environment on prices, and even fewer analyze the relationship between the indoor living environment and housing prices of different houses within the same residential quarter from a microperspective. Therefore, we use the Taojinjiayuan Residential Quarter, located in central Guangzhou City, China, as a case study area and analyze the extent and direction of the effect of the indoor living environment on housing prices. The study found that the quantitative evaluation results of the indoor living environment were reasonable. The integrated indoor living environment factors are closely related to housing prices. Orientation, view, and acoustic environment are significantly and positively related to housing prices, which have a different intensity of influence. These findings are beneficial to real estate developers, building designers, and residential users in quantitatively understanding the value of the indoor living environment.
Reply to comment by Martin F. Miller on “Record of δ18O and 17O‐excess in ice from Vostok Antarctica during the last 150,000 years”

that this excess was lower in glacial than in interglacial times. We further suggested that the change in 17 O-excess indicates smaller effect of kinetics signifying higher normalized humidity in the oceanic source region during glacials. In his comment, Miller [2008] questions the validity of these conclusions on three grounds. First, he emphasizes that the measurements are reported with respect to the VSMOW standard and not with respect to ocean water and therefore 17 O-excess with respect to the ocean may not exist. We note, however, that this point was raised by us [Landais et al., 2008, p. 3] and we emphasized the need for precise calibration with respect to seawater. Recently, we [Luz and Barkan, 2008] have made precise calibration and reported that the triple oxygen-isotope composition of VSMOW is similar to seawater. Therefore, we conclude that Antarctic precipitation unambiguously contains 17 O-excess with respect to the ocean.
Extinction Training of Sweet Cherries in France - Appraisal after Six Years

For a number of years in France, the Solaxe training system has been proposed for sweet cherries as a way of increasing tree density/ha and reducing time before the first commercial crop. Planting distances usually are 4.5 to 5 m between the rows and 1.5 to 2 m within each row, giving tree densities ranging from 1000 to 1500 trees/ha. Bending, rather than heading cuts, is used to control the vegetative growth of the trunk (at a height of 2.5 to 3.5 m) and side branches. For certain cultivars, bending also is used to increase fruiting. More recently, the removal of fruiting spurs from side branches has been suggested as a training tool for improving the balance between vegetative growth and fruit load. This method, known as extinction, has now been integrated in training programs in several commercial orchards with the collaboration of the applied research network Mafcot (Maitrise de la Fructification - Concepts et Techniques; Fruiting Control - Concepts and Applications). This paper presents two experiments carried out (i) on 10- and 6year-old trees to compare standard winter heading cuts and extinction, and (ii) on 6year-old trees to evaluate how cultivar ('Burlat', 'Duroni 3', 'Sumele', 'Summit') affects sweet cherry growth and fruiting responses to various heading cuts and extinction treatments, all involving the removal of ~30% of the fruiting spurs. Synthesis of these experiments confirms the benefits of the extinction method, as compared to standard heading cuts, for improving fruit size while maintaining a good balance between vegetative growth and fruiting. Although not quantified in this study, these extinction experiments resulted in two unexpected side effects that are now being studied carefully: enhanced fruit maturity (by 2 to 4 days) in the early-ripening 'Burlat' and reduced sensitivity to European brown rot. The better light and air penetration within the canopy brought about by extinction training may explain these observations.
Poly I:C-priming of adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells promotes a pro-tumorigenic phenotype in an immunocompetent mouse model of prostate cancer

Introduction: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) are envisioned as a potential cellular vehicle for targeted cancer therapies due to their tumor tropism and immune permissiveness. An obstacle in their use is the duality in their interactions within tumors, rendering them pro-tumorigenic or anti-tumorigenic, in a context dependent manner. MSC preconditioning, or priming, has been proposed as a strategy for directing the effector properties of MSC at tumor sites. Methods: We primed human MSC derived from adipose tissues (ASC), a clinically advantageous MSC source, utilizing toll-like receptor agonists. Subsequently, we explored the consequences in tumor progression and transcriptome upon the interaction of tumor cells with primed or unprimed ASC in an in vivo model of prostate cancer, the second most common cancer and second leading cause of cancer related death in men in the USA. Results and discussion: In the studied model, poly I:C-primed ASC were found to significantly accelerate tumor growth progression. And while unprimed and LPS-primed ASC did not exert a significant effect on tumor growth at the macroscopic level, gene expression analyses suggested that all treatments promoted distinct modulatory effects in the tumor microenvironment, including altered modulation of angiogenesis, and immune response processes. However, the effects resulting from the collective interaction across these processes must be sufficiently skewed in a pro-tumorigenic or anti-tumorigenic direction for evidence of tumor progression modulation to be detectable at the macroscopic level. Our study highlights potential MSC-tumor microenvironment interactions that may be leveraged and should be considered in the development of cancer therapeutics utilizing MSC.
Eltyubyuite, Ca12Fe3+10Si4O32Cl6 – the Fe3+ analogue of wadalite: a new mineral from the Northern Caucasus, Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia

Eltyubyuite (IMA2011-022), ideally Ca 12 Fe 3+ 10 Si 4 O 32 Cl 6 i.e . the Fe 3+ analogue of wadalite, Ca 12 Al 10 Si 4 O 32 Cl 6 , was discovered in altered silicate-carbonate xenoliths in the diatreme facies of ignimbrites in the Upper Chegem caldera, Kabardino-Balkaria, Northern Caucasus, Russia. Eltyubyuite forms light-brown or yellow crystals with tetrahedral habit up to 10 μm across in rondorfite or larnite grains and commonly overgrows wadalite. Associated minerals are hydroxylellestadite, edgrewite-hydroxyledgrewite, chegemite-fluorchegemite, cuspidine, lakargiite, perovskite, kerimasite, srebrodolskite and dovyrenite. Eltyubyuite formed by contact metamorphism of calcareous sediments under sanidinite-facies conditions ( T > 800°C, P 2 9.57(0.32), TiO 2 0.48(0.27), Al 2 O 3 3.45(1.81), MgO 0.08(0.07), CaO 36.84(0.91), Fe 2 O 3 , Cl 9.60(0.48); O = Cl −2.13, Sum 98.26, and an empirical formula based on 26 cations, Ca 12.12 Mg 0.04 Ti 0.11 Fe 9.41 Al 1.26 Si 2.98 O 31.89 Cl 5.04 , which simplifies to Ca 12 (Fe 3+ , Al) 11 Si 3 O 32 Cl 5 . Electron-back-scattered diffraction yields isometric symmetry, space group I 4 d (no. 220), a = 12.20(3) A, V = 1815.85(9) A 3 , Z = 2. Calculated density and refractive index are 3.349 g/cm 3 and 1.85, respectively. The main bands in Raman spectra of eltyubyuite are attributed to [Fe 3+ O 4 ] 5− : 700–710 cm −1 (stretching vibrations), 460–470 cm −1 (bending vibrations), whereas bands −1 are assigned to Ca-O and Ca-[Fe 3+ O 4 ] 5− vibrations. The mineral is named for the Balkarian village Eltyubyu, which is situated near the type locality. Eltyubyuite has subsequently been found in altered xenoliths within volcanic rocks of Eifel, Germany and Kel’ Highland (volcano Shadil-Khokh), Southern Ossetia.
Trends in sex-specific differences following aortic arch repair: results from the Canadian Thoracic Aortic Collaborative

Background Previous data have shown that sex-related differences exist in aortic arch surgery, with female patients experiencing worse outcomes. Over time, as surgical techniques and strategies have improved, these improvements have benefitted female patients. Using a multicenter national aortic registry from the Canadian Thoracic Aortic Collaborative (CTAC), we aimed to determine the relationship between sex and outcomes following aortic arch repair and to examine how these have changed over time. Methods The multicenter prospective CTAC database of all aortic procedures performed under circulatory arrest from participating centers across Canada (n=9) was used. Patients were included who underwent elective or urgent/emergency arch reconstruction under circulatory arrest from 2002 to 2021. The primary composite endpoint was defined as the occurrence of one of the following endpoints: in-hospital mortality, stroke, dialysis-dependent renal failure, deep sternal wound infection, reoperation, or prolonged ventilation of >40 hours. Secondary endpoints included in-hospital mortality, in-hospital stroke, and a modified version of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons-defined composite endpoint for mortality and major morbidity (MMOM). Results A total of 2,592 patients who underwent aortic arch repair between 2002 and 2021 (31.4% female and 68.6% male patients). Operative mortality decreased through the study period for female patients. No change in operative mortality was observed in male patients or following elective repair. The composite endpoint improved for female patients over time in both elective and urgent surgery, while for male patients, rates improved for elective surgery and remained stable for urgent. Ultimately, female sex was not an independent predictor of adverse outcomes following aortic arch repair. Conclusions Our results are congruent with existing data and are highly encouraging. It shows that multilevel improvements in our approach to aortic arch surgery have helped to serve female patients who were previously disadvantaged.
TOWARDS A FREQUENCY-MAGNITUDE RELATIONSHIP FOR TORRENT EVENTS IN AUSTRIA

relationships to be used in hazard and risk assessment and might also be used for estimates of possible conse- quences of climate change in the Eastern Alps. ABSTRACT Hazard assessment and the design of mitigation measures against mountain hazards are usually based on statistically derived magnitude-frequency relation- ships of process parameters such as discharge, flow velocity, or the volume of debris deposits. However, with respect to debris flows there is a particular lack of such data, as these processes are rare phenomena, the systematic measurements of relevant parameters have only been carried out in selected watersheds within the last decades. In some areas, geomorphic and stratigraphic assessments and dendrochronology studies have been used for estimating magnitudes and frequencies of debris flow events. However, there is still an information gap for quantitative debris flow hazard assessment based on recurrence intervals and associated magnitudes. Our study aims to close this gap by an analysis of an Austrian database of historic events. Information on a local and regional scale has been gathered from records of the Austrian Torrent and Avalanche Control Service and the transcription of the so-called "Brixner Chronicle" (stRele, 1893). The ear- liest events of our database date back to the 6th century, while in-depth information on the events is available since the 18 th