Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Survival after inpatient or outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with fibrotic interstitial lung disease: a multicentre retrospective cohort study

Background The impact of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) on survival in patients with fibrotic interstitial lung disease (ILD) is unknown. Given the challenges conducting a large randomised controlled trial, we aimed to determine whether improvement in 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) was associated with better survival. Methods This retrospective, international cohort study included patients with fibrotic ILD participating in either inpatient or outpatient PR at 12 sites in 5 countries. Multivariable models were used to estimate the association between change in 6MWD and time to death or lung transplantation accounting for clustering by centre and other confounders. Results 701 participants (445 men and 256 women) with fibrotic ILD were included. The mean±SD ages of the 196 inpatients and 505 outpatients were 70±11 and 69±12 years, respectively. Baseline/changes in 6MWD were 262±128/55±83 m for inpatients and 358±125/34±65 m for outpatients. Improvement in 6MWD during PR was associated with lower hazard rates for death or lung transplant on adjusted analysis for both inpatient (HR per 10 m 0.94, 95% CI 0.91 to 0.97, p<0.001) and outpatient PR (HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.95 to 1.00, p=0.042). Participation in ≥80% of planned outpatient PR sessions was associated with a 33% lower risk of death (95% CI 0.49% to 0.92%). Conclusions Patients with fibrotic ILD who improved physical performance during PR had better survival compared with those who did not improve performance. Confirmation of these hypothesis-generating findings in a randomised controlled trial would be required to definitely change clinical practice, and would further support efforts to improve availability of PR for patients with fibrotic ILD.
Accounting Spatial Variability of Soil Properties and Mapping Fertilizer Types Using Geostatistics in Southern Ethiopia

ABSTRACT This study assesses soil spatial variability and maps fertilizer types using geostatistics. A total of 789 soil samples were collected from Wolaita area, Southern Ethiopia. Ordinary kriging was employed. The result considering coefficient of variation exhibited diverse soil variability (10% to 236%). Exponential semivariogram model described spatial structure of organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg), boron (B), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), cation exchange capacity (CEC) and potassium(K)/Mg. Semivariogram model was spherical for pH, calcium (Ca), manganese (Mn), and Gaussian for sulfur (S) and K. Spatial dependence was strong (Cu, Fe and Zn), moderate (pH, OC, N, S, Ca, Mg, B, Mn and CEC), and weak (P and K). Autocorrelation was between 276 and 15,118 meters. Overall, 46% of nutrients (N, P, K, S, B, and Cu) obtained from soil were deficient. Thus, for site-specific nutrient interventions, three fertilizer types (NPKSBCu, NPSBCu, and NPKSB) are suggested.
One-Shot Voice Conversion with Speaker-Agnostic StarGAN

In this work, we propose a variant of STARGAN for many-to-many voice conversion (VC) conditioned on the d-vectors for short-duration (2-15 seconds) speech. We make several mod-iﬁcations to the STARGAN training and employ new network architectures. We employ a transformer encoder in the discriminator network, and we apply the discriminator loss to the cycle consistency and identity samples in addition to the generated (fake) samples. Instead of classifying the samples as either real or fake, our discriminator tries to predict the categorical speaker class, where a fake class is added for the generated samples. Furthermore, we employ a reverse gradient layer after the generator’s encoder and use an auxiliary classiﬁer to remove the speaker’s information from the encoded representation. We show that our method yields better results than the baseline method in objective and subjective evaluations in terms of voice conversion quality. Moreover, we provide an ablation study and show each component’s inﬂuence on speaker similarity.
High proportion of low cycle threshold value as an early indicator of COVID‐19 surge

Many countries in the world are experiencing a recent surge in COVID‐19 cases. This is mainly attributed to the emergence of new SARS‐CoV‐2 variants. Genome sequencing is the only means to detect the evolving virus mutants and emerging variants. Cycle threshold values have an inverse relationship with viral load and lower Ct values are also found to be associated with increased infectivity. In this study, we propose to use Ct values as an early indicator for upcoming COVID‐19 waves. A retrospective cross‐sectional study was carried out to analyze the Ct values of positive samples reported during the first wave and second wave (April 2020–May 2021). Median Ct values of confirmatory genes were taken into consideration for comparison. Ct values below 25, >25–30, and >30 were categorized as high, moderate, and low viral load respectively. Our study found a significantly higher proportion of positive samples with a low Ct value (<25) across age groups and gender during the second wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic. A higher proportion of positive samples with a low Ct value (high viral load) may act as an early indicator of an upcoming surge.
Distinct impacts on precipitation by aerosol radiative effect over three different megacity regions of eastern China

Abstract. Many studies have investigated the impacts of aerosol on the intensity and amount of precipitation, but few have been done regarding the impacts of aerosol on the start and peak time of precipitation. Using the high-resolution precipitation, aerosol and meteorological data in warm season of June–August from 2015 to 2020, this study investigates the influence of aerosol on the start and peak time of precipitation over three different regions, the North China Plain (NCP), the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), and the Pearl River Delta (PRD). It shows that the period with the most occurrence frequency of precipitation start time, defined as the frequent period (FP) of precipitation start time, is delayed and prolonged by aerosols in NCP, contributing to the similar durations of precipitation in NCP, YRD, and PRD. This study also shows that different types of aerosol (absorbing versus scattering) have caused different influences on the start and peak time of precipitation over the three study regions. The precipitation start time is 3 hours advanced in NCP but 2 hours delayed in PRD by aerosols during precipitation FP, and shows no response to aerosol in YRD. Compared to stratiform precipitation, the convective precipitation is more sensitive to aerosol. The start and peak time of convective precipitation show similar response to aerosols. This study further shows that the aerosol impact on precipitation can vary with meteorological conditions. Humidity is beneficial to precipitation, which can advance the precipitation start and peak time and prolong the precipitation duration time. Correspondingly, the impacts of aerosol on start time of precipitation are significant under low humidity or weak low tropospheric stability condition. The impacts of vertical wind shear (WS) on the start and peak time of precipitation are contrary to that of aerosols, resulting in the fact that WS inhibits the aerosol effects on precipitation.
Maternal Social Support and Determinants of Health Facility Delivery in Rural Ethiopia

Background: Maternal mortality continues to decrease in the world but remains the most important health problems in low-income countries. Although evidence indicates that social support is important factor influencing health facility delivery, it has not been extensively studied in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess social support in influencing health facility childbirth in Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional survey data on 3304 women aged 15–49 years from an Innovating for Maternal and Child Health in Africa project in three districts of Ethiopia, were analyzed, including data on social support and important factors. Using multivariate logistic regression, we examined the association between health facility birth, social support, and included variables. Adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were used to identify statistically significant associations at 5% alpha level.Result: Overall, 46.9% of women delivered at health facility in their last pregnancy. Average travel time from closest health facility (AOR: 1.51, 95% CI 1.21 to 2.90), mean perception score of health facility use (AOR: 1.83, 95% CI 1.44 to 2.33), involvement in final decision to identify their place of childbirth (AOR: 2.12, 95% CI 1.73 to 2.58) had significantly higher odds of health facility childbirth. From social support variables, women who perceived there were family members and husband to help them during childbirth (AOR: 3.62, 95% CI 2.74 to 4.79), women who received continuous support (AOR: 1.97, 95% CI 1.20 to 3.23), women with companions for facility visits (AOR: 1.63, 95% CI 1.34 to 2.00) and women who received support from friends (AOR: 1.62, 95% CI 1.16 to 3.23) had significantly higher odds of health facility childbirth.Conclusions: Social support was critical to enhance health facility delivery, especially if women’s close ties help facility delivery. An intervention to increase facility delivery uptake should target not only the women’s general social supports, but also continuous support during childbirth from close ties including family members and close friends as these are influential in place of childbirth and also actions that increase women's healthcare decision could be effective in improving health facility delivery.
Portuguese Cyber Victims’ Self-Esteem and Gender in Young Adulthood

ABSTRACT A growing body of evidence acknowledges that cyberbullying is a public mental health issue that extends to college settings. Current literature highlights the need to conduct further research on gender differences in mental health indicators proposed by cyberbullying theoretical models in young adulthood. This study examines the specific link between victimization, gender, and self-esteem through the General Aggression Model for cyber victimization. We surveyed 796 Portuguese college students (381 females, 415 males; age range: 18–25) with the Cyberbullying Questionnaire–Victimization and the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale. Over half of our sample reported victimization experiences at a given point in their lives. Male and female young adults do not differ in their involvement as victims of cyberbullying. College cyber victims reported less self-esteem than non-involved students. Only self-esteem emerged as a significant predictor of cyber victimization. Current findings deepen our knowledge of the negative impact cyberbullying has on the mental health of college students and offer empirical support to the development of prevention and intervention strategies focusing on the psychological maladjustment of young adults regardless of their gender.
Osteoarthritis induces gender-related changes in the knee range of motion

In time, osteoarthritis (OA) generates the misalignment of the affected joint structures. However, due to the nature of bipedal gait, OA in the lower limb can also cause pathological gait patterns, which can generate instability and falls, with great consequence, especially in the aged population. With goniometry used to evaluate the range of motion (ROM) of joints, we wanted to evaluate how gender impacts gait dynamics in OA patients. For this study, we have compared 106 OA patients (74 females and 32 males) to age matched controls. All participants had their right leg as dominant. Video recording of normal gait was analyzed with a digital goniometry tool phone application, and the knee’s ROM was measured in midstance and midswing moment of the gait. During midstance, significant extension and flexion of the knee excursion have been observed in both males and females. During midswing, knee OA presents more differences, whereas subjects with hip and knee OA present changes on the dominant knee. Midstance changes suggest that the knee’s joint degenerative changes, such as synovitis, can be linked to hip OA secondary changes. Midswing changes in lower limb OA suggest a connection to the activities of daily life. Gender differences generated by OA must furthermore be studied in both lower limbs so that the best therapeutic approach can be chosen.
Droplet Populations in Flash Boiling Liquid Nitrogen Sprays

Technology development for propulsion systems of upper stages and reaction control thrusters is driven by green propellants to substitute hydrazine. At high-altitude conditions prior to ignition the liquid propellants are injected into the combustor at near-vacuum. Due to the sudden pressure drop the liquid is in a superheated thermodynamic state resulting in an eruptive evap-oration and fast expansion, a process called ﬂash boiling. To know the composition related to phase and atomization is important for both to determine the probability of a successful ignition and to avoid destructive pressure peaks. Furthermore, the experimental results provide a data base for further numerical investigations about superheated cryogenic ﬂuids. Hence, the cryogenic test bench M3.3 with a temperature-controlled injection system for an experimental investigation of cryogenic ﬂash boiling sprays is in operation at DLR. By means of laser-based Phase Doppler diagnostics the velocity and droplet size distributions of this kind of sprays were determined and two different droplet populations were found. The analysis shows that the ﬂashing sprays are axially symmetrical and that both droplet populations are linked to each other due to similar ﬂuctuations in the transient injection phase.
Regularizing Word Segmentation by Creating Misspellings

This work focuses on improving subword segmentation algorithms for end-to-end speech recognition models, and makes two major contributions. Firstly, we propose a novel word segmentation algorithm. The algorithm uses the same vocabulary generated by a regular wordpiece model, is easily extensible and supports a variety of regularization techniques in the segmentation space, and outperforms the regular wordpiece model. Secondly, we propose a number of novel regularization methods that introduce randomness into the tokenization algorithm, which bring further improvements in speech recognition accuracy, with relative gains up to 8.4% compared to the original wordpiece model. We analyze the methods and show that our proposed methods are equivalent to a sophisticated form of label smoothing, which performs smoothing based on the prefix structures of subword units. A noteworthy discovery from this work is that creating artificial misspellings in words results in the best performance among all the methods, which could inspire future research for strategies in this area.
Investigation of a plasma–target interaction through electric field characterization examining surface and volume charge contributions: modeling and experiment

Numerical simulations and experiments are performed to better understand the interaction between a pulsed helium plasma jet and a dielectric target. The focus of this work lies on the volume and surface charge influence on the electric field distribution. Experimentally, the electric field due to surface charges is measured inside an electro-optic target under exposure of a plasma jet, using the optical technique called Mueller polarimetry. For the first time, the time-resolved spatial distributions of both the axial and radial components of electric field inside the target are obtained simultaneously. A 2D fluid model is used in a complementary way to the experiments in order to study separately the contribution of volume charges and surface charges to the spatio-temporal evolutions of the electric field during the plasma–surface interaction. The experimental investigation shows that the average axial and radial components of electric field inside the dielectric target, only due to surface charges, are lower than generally reported for electric field values in the plasma plume. Thanks to the phenomenological comparison with experiments, simulations show that during the plasma–surface interaction two effects sequentially determine the electric field inside the target: firstly, a relatively high electric field is observed due to the proximity of the ionization front; afterwards, in longer timescales, lower electric fields are induced due to the contribution of both leftover volume charges close to the target and surface charges deposited on its surface. The experimental technique provides a unique way to examine this second phase of the plasma–surface interaction.
Essential study of Karakoram glacier velocity products extracted using various techniques

Abstract The present study focuses on using remote sensing techniques to estimate the Karakoram glacier velocity that emulates glacier’s reaction to climate warming. Proposed study is essential and critical due to the vast spatial and temporal variability of the Karakoram Glaciers, fieldwork difficulties, and the lack of in situ data in the Karakoram. It focuses on assessing the robustness in extracting the velocity products of the Rimo Glacier, Karakoram using DInSAR, Intensity tracking, and Normalized Cross-Correlation. The results indicate that the average velocity of the Rimo glacier estimated from DInSAR and correlation techniques are around 22.4 cm/day and 5.2 cm/day respectively which is similar to earlier studies. Intensity tracking based average velocity is found to be around 18 cm/day. Results obtained are also compared with field-based measurements for corroboration. Continuous monitoring of the velocity of Karakoram glaciers is necessary to understand the complex and evolving trends of surging in the future.
Effects of Dietary Organic Sulfur on Performance, Egg Quality and Cell-mediated Immune Response of Laying Hens

This study aimed to evaluate the dietary effect of organic sulfur (OS) supplementation on performance, egg quality and serum constituents in laying hens. A total of 360 Lohmann brown laying hens at the age of 31 weeks were distributed into four treatments having five replicates of 18 hens each until 54 weeks. The hens were fed four levels (0.0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4%) of OS with basal diet. The number of eggs was investigated daily, and egg quality was confirmed every 8 weeks. Sulfur content in eggs, interleukin 2 (IL-2), T help cells (CD4+) and cytotoxicity cells (CD8+) were measured at the termination of the experiment. The result of the study showed that egg production tended to increase with 0.4% OS in diet after 39 weeks of age and, there was a significant effect (P<0.05) from 47 to 54 weeks of age. Egg quality traits of albumen height and haugh unit increased significantly (P<0.05) owing to the addition of OS to the diet. The polyunsaturated fatty acids in yolk were gradually increased while saturated fatty acids were decreased with increasing levels in OS (P<0.05). Total sulfur concentration in the eggs increased significantly (P<0.05) in treatments fed OS. Moreover, albumin, AST and HDL cholesterol levels in serum improved significantly (P<0.05) owing to the addition of OS. The IL-2 concentration and the ratio of CD4+ and CD8+ in blood were generally higher (P<0.05) at 0.4% OS. Therefore, it can be recommended that supplementary OS diet affected the performance, egg quality and stimulated immune response in laying hens. (
Association between hepatitis C virus infection and subsequent chronic inflammatory skin disease

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with several cutaneous manifestations, including lichen planus and psoriasis. However, its association with other chronic inflammatory skin diseases (CISD) remains largely unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between HCV infection and CISD. Participants were recruited from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan. Altogether 23 509 patients with HCV infection and 94 036 matched controls were included to assess the risk of CISD. A Cox regression model was used for the analyses. Compared with controls, patients with HCV infection had an adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of 6.34 (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.30–7.58) for CISD after adjustment for potential confounders. Regarding individual CISD, patients with HCV infection had a significantly increased risk of developing lichen planus, psoriasis, vitiligo, alopecia areata, and cutaneous lupus erythematosus. Interferon‐based antiviral therapy (IFN‐based AVT) was significantly associated with a decreased risk of CISD (aHR = 0.42; 95% CI, 0.28–0.64). Patients with HCV infection had a significantly increased risk of CISD, while IFN‐based AVT was associated with a decreased risk. These findings suggest monitoring of CISD in patients with HCV infection.
A Critical Discourse Analysis of Covid-19 in Iranian and American Newspapers

The policies and ideologies of countries are reflected in the propagated media of that country, and newspapers are no exception. Covid-19 has affected the lives of people all around the world. The present study investigated the ideological differences in reporting the news related to Covid-19 in light of Van Dijk’s ideological square framework. To do so, a representative sample of 56 news articles was chosen over a period of one year (from January 2020 to the end of January 2021) from one Iranian and one American newspaper, the Tehran Times and The New York Times. Overall, 2,977 clauses were analysed both qualitatively, to find out the reason of occurrence, and quantitatively, to determine the frequency of occurrence for each micro-strategy. Evidentiality, Hyperbole, Metaphor, National Self-Glorification, Negative Lexicalisation, and Number Game were the most frequent micro-strategies. Such high frequencies of the strategies can make for effective discursive apparatus to make readers believe what news articles claim is true. The most salient implication of this study would be raising readers’ and academics’ awareness of the need to view news articles critically to avoid negative ramifications of ideological propagandas. In the same vein, newspapers need to be cognizant of the micro-strategies they consciously or sub-consciously employ since certain micro-strategies can be used to manipulate readers’ minds and help news agencies to feed their readers certain ideological and political agendas. Keywords Covid-19; Critical Discourse Analysis; Ideological Micro-strategies; Newspapers; Van Dijk