Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improvement of counter-based broadcasting scheme for long communicating material lifetime

The communicating material is a new paradigm of Internet of Things. It is designed to perform efficient product control and ensure an information continuum all along the product life cycle. Communicating material is obtained by scattering a huge amount of microelectronic components such as sensor nodes. However, a critical aspect of application with wireless sensor networks is nodes lifetime. The major part of energy consumption is caused by communication module, therefore judicious power management and scheduling can effectively extend operational time. In this paper, the counter based broadcasting scheme is focused on and a random delay extension is proposed to improve the wireless sensor network lifetime for communicating material application. The extension need neither additional hardware nor extra overhead, so that the strength of the original counter based algorithm is maintained. Simulation results using Castalia/OMNeT++ showed that our delay extension can reduce the number of retransmitting nodes by about 10% and hence improve the material lifetime compared with the original scheme.
Unmanned aerial vehicle image biological soil crust recognition based on UNet++

ABSTRACT Biological soil crust is an important feature of desert ecosystem composition and surface landscape. Determining the role of biological soil crust in the energy flow and logistics cycle in the desert ecosystem is one of the frontier areas of ecological restoration in arid and semi-arid areas. Obtaining biological soil crust information from drone images is an efficient, fast, and low-cost method. However, due to the scattered and uneven growth of biological soil crusts and the complexity of the field environment, it is difficult to accurately extract biological soil crusts. In view of this, this study used the improved UNet++ model to extract biological soil crusts based on UAV image data. Firstly, the optimal Epoch, Backbone, and Loss function are selected and trained based on the network structure of UNet++ model. Then, the improved UNet++ model proposed in this paper, which takes ResNeXt as the Backbone and Soft Cross-Entropy Loss+Dice Loss as the Loss Function, is obtained. Finally, the test results of UNet++, U-Net, LinkNet, FPN, and PSPNet are compared with the improved UNet++ model in this paper. The results showed that the improved UNet++ model had the best segmentation effect, and the precision, recall, F1-Score, and IoU were 0.9788, 0.9501, 0.9495, and 0.9309, respectively. UAV image biological soil crust recognition based on the improved UNet++ model in this paper can obtain high-precision extraction results, provide good data support for studying the development of biological soil crusts in arid areas, and provide a new method for precise segmentation of different features in arid areas. In particular, it is of great significance to evaluate the governance effect of ecological restoration projects.
Clinical features in salivary gland lymphoepithelial carcinoma in 10 patients: Case series and literature review

Lymphoepithelial carcinoma (LEC) accounts for 0.4% of malignant tumors of the salivary gland and 0.8% of parotid gland malignancies. Over the past 50 years, less than 300 cases have been reported in the literature. The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of salivary gland LEC.
Domestic Groundwater Depletion Supports China's Full Supply Chains

Groundwater use underpins much economic production. The unsustainable use of groundwater threatens environmental flows in surface waters, sustainable development, and future food security. The connection between agricultural trade and groundwater depletion has been recently highlighted, but how groundwater depletion supports the production of industrial and tertiary goods, trade, and consumption remains less well understood. Here, we present the first analysis of groundwater use and depletion embedded in the complete supply chain of China (including primary, secondary, and tertiary products). We use a multiregion input‐output analysis coupled with the high‐resolution groundwater use modeling to track groundwater depletion from production to end consumer. Our modeling results show that groundwater depletion occurred primarily in water scarce North China for agricultural production, but the depleted resource was then incorporated throughout the supply chain and dispersed across Chinese and international consumers. ∼64 billion m3 yr−1 (±1 billion m3 yr−1) groundwater was depleted in China, in which more than a half was from Xinjiang, Hebei, Henan and Heilongjiang Provinces. Approximately 40% of the groundwater depletion can be traced to interprovincial transfer (21 billion m3 yr−1) and export (4.8 billion m3 yr−1). The hot spots for final consumption of groundwater depletion were major cities in both North and South China. Importantly, over 60% of the groundwater depletion was embodied in industrial and tertiary products for final consumption, highlighting the importance of tracing groundwater through the full economy. Groundwater depletion represents a long‐term risk to supply chains, and policy‐makers can use this understanding to sustainably manage groundwater and diversify supply chains.
Verification and validation of a spray water model for maritime structures

Water spray is a major contributor to icing of ships and maritime structures. The small size of the droplets in the water spray causes them to easily cool down and freeze to the different structures. Icing can hamper operations on both ships and other maritime structures due to blockage of equipment and slippery deck areas. Besides, if icing occurs on a small ship it is even possible that the increased mass causes the ship to become top heavy, with risk of capsize. De-icing can be costly, dangerous and often both. A better understanding of the spray water forming process can be used to design new structures for minimal ice forming. Reducing the icing on existing structures is also possible by small modifications or optimizing the sailing routes for ships. This in turn can lead to lower operating costs and down-time. In this research the objective was to validate the model of Aalbers en Poen (2015) for the prediction of spray water, in particular the prediction of the droplet mass median diameter. In this model it is assumed that the process of a wave running up against the bow of a ship is comparable to the penetration of water by a wedge. Such a process generates a jet which in turn is expected to breakup in a similar fashion as a jet from a splash plate nozzle. Aalbers and Poen use wave mechanics to determine the immersion velocity of the ship and the dead rise angle between the water and the ship. This information can be used to predict the jet root thickness and the jet velocity with the model of Faltinsen (2002). Both parameters are used as the input for a modified model of Adams (1997) to predict the droplet mass median diameter. Simmons (1977) proposed a distribution that can depict the droplet-size/volume-fraction independent of the spray mechanism. Therefore Aalbers and Poen assumed that this distribution can be applied to their problem. For the validation and verification process tests, for this thesis, have been conducted in the concept basin of MARIN. In the tests a wave was used to produce run-up against a wall to create spray. The waves used had the maximum height possible in the basin and were just feasible to check the model of Aalbers and Poen as intended. This size is significantly larger than that of e.g the splash plates in the original models but still not at full (ship) scale. The tests were performed to study the breakup process and in particular the size and distribution of the formed droplets. An algorithm was developed to extract this data from high-speed recordings of the event. The observed breakup process was different from the process assumed in the model of Adams. Nevertheless, the observed and predicted values for the droplet mass median diameter and jet velocity agree reasonably well. The distribution of Simmons was shown to be applicable. The test setup could not fully verify the usage of Faltinsen's theory because the jet root thickness could not be quantified. However, the observations showed that the assumption of Aalbers and Poen to use Faltinsens's theory is promising.
Rapid Treatment Initiation for Hepatitis C in Young People Who Inject Drugs: The Seek, Test, and Rapid Treatment Randomized Trial

Abstract Background Young people who inject drugs (PWID) have high hepatitis C virus (HCV) incidence and low treatment initiation rates. Novel, simplified care models need to be developed to engage, treat, and cure hard-to-reach patient populations, such as young PWID. We present final data from the randomized pilot clinical trial “HCV-Seek Test and Rapid Treatment” for curing HCV in young PWID. Methods Participants were recruited from the community and eligible if they were 18–29 years of age, HCV antibody-positive, treatment naive, and had injected drugs in the past 30 days. Participants were randomized 1:1 to “Rapid Treatment or Usual Care”. Participants randomized to Rapid Treatment received same-day medical evaluation, confirmatory and baseline laboratory testing, and a 7-day starter pack of sofosbuvir/velpatasvir at a syringe service program (SSP). Participants in “Usual Care” received same-day HCV confirmatory testing at the SSP and, if positive, facilitated referral to local providers. The primary endpoint was sustained virologic response at 12 weeks (SVR12) in HCV ribonucleic acid (RNA)+ participant. Results Forty-seven HCV antibody-positive participants were enrolled, and 25 participants had confirmed HCV and were included in the modified intention to treat analysis, with 9 of 14 (64%) of the Rapid Treatment arm and 1 of 11 (9.1%) of the Usual Care arm achieving a confirmed SVR12 (P = .01). Conclusions Among young HCV RNA+ PWID, significantly higher rates of cure were achieved using the Rapid Treatment model compared with facilitated referral. Providing easy access to HCV treatment for young PWID in low-threshold settings and initiating HCV treatment quickly appears to be a promising strategy for treating this hard-to-reach population.
Diet Quality and Dietary Inflammatory Index in Dutch Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome Patients

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) share common culprit foods and potential pathophysiological factors. However, how diet may contribute to disease course and whether this differs between both entities is unclear. We therefore investigated the association of dietary indices with intestinal inflammation and gastrointestinal symptoms in both IBD and IBS patients. Food frequency questionnaires from 238 IBD, 261 IBS and 195 healthy controls (HC) were available to calculate the overall diet quality by the Dutch Healthy Diet-Index 2015 (DHD-2015) and its inflammatory potential by the Adapted Dietary Inflammatory Index (ADII). Intestinal inflammation and symptoms were evaluated by faecal calprotectin and the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale, respectively. The DHD-2015 was lower in IBD and IBS versus HC (p < 0.001), being associated with calprotectin levels in IBD (b = −4.009, p = 0.006), and with abdominal pain (b = −0.012, p = 0.023) and reflux syndrome (b = −0.016, p = 0.004) in IBS. ADII scores were comparable between groups and were only associated with abdominal pain in IBD (b = 0.194, p = 0.004). In this side-by-side comparison, we found a lower diet quality that was differentially associated with disease characteristics in IBD versus IBS patients. Longitudinal studies are needed to further investigate the role of dietary factors in the development of flares and predominant symptoms.
The Currency of Politics: Rejoinder

Abstract This response gives me the opportunity to clarify, extend, and complement several aspects of my conceptual and historical argument in The Currency of Politics. I do so primarily by situating my account more explicitly within debates over European monetary politics, by expanding on my use of history, and by articulating what differentiates my concern with the political theory of money and the politics of depoliticisation from complementary accounts. In doing so I elaborate on the ways in which engagement with the thought of John Maynard Keynes helped to structure my approach. While there are important limits to the politics of money under contemporary capitalism, these limits are not fixed economic ones but are better seen as political limits of monetary politics that nonetheless leave considerable space for articulating alternative demands for more democratic forms of money. This framing allows me to extend my argument in order to address contemporary struggles over credit policy, monetary reform, and climate change in Europe. I thus end with a set of critical reflections on the constitutional status of money in the European project and beyond.
Evaluation of the possibility of using urinary neutrophil gelatinase-dependent lipocalin as a predictor of acute kidney injury in intensive care unit patients

Introduction: Due to the increase in the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI), especially in patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), its occurrence has been studied using biomarkers such as urinary neutrophil gelatinase-dependent lipocalin (uNGAL). However, its clinical utility has not yet been approved. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the possibility of using uNGAL as a predictor of AKI in patients admitted to the ICU. Patients and Methods: This prospective study was conducted on 32 patients admitted to the ICU who had normal creatinine level at the ICU admission and did not fulfill the RIFLE (risk, injury, failure, loss of kidney function, and end-stage kidney disease) criteria. Initially, creatinine level and the sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score were recorded. In the first 24 hours of hospitalization, urine samples were taken from patients to assess uNGAL levels. In the following days, creatinine levels and the day of its rise were recorded. The incidence of AKI was assessed based on the RIFLE criteria, and the relationship between the AKI incidence and the uNGAL level at admission was assessed. Results: The mean (SD) of patients’ age was 63 ± 17 years, and 18 patients (56%) were male. The cause of hospitalization was post-cardiac surgery in 21 patients (66%). The median SOFA score of patients was 2.5 at admission. According to the RIFLE criteria, 47% of patients had kidney problems at different stages. The median length of hospital stay was 13 days, while four patients (13%) died. Range and mean (SD) of uNGAL level at admission in all patients was 46.1 to 172.5 ng/mL and 89.94 ± 30.9 ng/mL, respectively, which was not significantly different between the two sexes and between living and deceased patients. Although the mean of uNGAL increased in patients in the risk and injury stage of the RIFLE criteria compared to normal patients, the difference between them was not significant. The increase in uNGAL was directly related to the increase in SOFA score (Spearman’s rho = 0.360, P = 0.043), while its changes was not significantly related to age or creatinine elevation ratio. Conclusion: The findings of our study showed that, in ICU admitted patients, first-day uNGAL level was not helpful in predicting AKI based on the RIFLE criteria.
VeNet: Hybrid Stacked Autoencoder Learning for Cooperative Edge Intelligence in IoV

Emerging applications of the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) require the wireless transmission of growing amounts of data, e.g., vehicle location and sensor data, over unreliable and increasingly congested wireless links between the mobile vehicles and the Road Side Units (RSUs); also, urban areas are becoming increasingly congested with vehicle road traffic. Road traffic management and data network traffic management to address these challenges require accurate representations of the road and network traffic, which are difficult due to the wide temporal and spatial correlations in the road and network traffic. We address this representation problem by designing, implementing, and evaluating the VeNet deep learning system to exploit the wirelessly transmitted data to predict future vehicle locations and network traffic. We develop the novel VeNet hybrid learning system that employs a stacked autoencoder (AE) consisting of a central AE and multiple local AEs that jointly feed into a Long-Short Term Memory (LSTM). We propose a new training algorithm for the hybrid VeNet learning system. The novel VeNet hybrid learning system conducts spatial learning that accounts for the spatial and temporal correlations in the dataset gathered from the mobile vehicles. Evaluations that involve measurements with custom-made Raspberry Pi vehicles indicate that the VeNet learning model significantly reduces the required signalling network traffic and prediction errors (down to approx. three quarters) compared to existing prediction models. At the same time, VeNet reduces the energy consumption on the vehicles as well as the learning delay.
Comparative assessment of the design of tubular elements according to offshore design standards and Eurocode 3

Steel circular tubular elements are among the most commonly used types of structural element in offshore structures. The objective of this paper is to perform a comparative analysis of design standards for offshore structures with a focus on the structural design of these elements. The intention is to reach a conclusion about the level of safety that offshore and construction standards provide regarding the design of tubular circular elements. To this end, the bearing capacity obtained with ISO 19902 and Eurocode 3 (which does not contain specific provisions for offshore structures) parts 1‐1 and 1‐6 will be compared in a broad parametric study. Subsequently, the accuracy and level of safety that ISO and EC3 assume are assessed through numerical analysis using the ABAQUS software. The performance of a set of steel circular tubular elements is evaluated under axial compression and hydrostatic pressure. Finally, the interaction between axial compression and hydrostatic pressure is also analysed.
Self-Compensation Effect of Photo-Bias Instabilities in a-InGaZnO Thin-Film Transistors Induced by Unique Ion Migration

The a-InGaZnO (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) in elevated-metal metal-oxide (EMMO) architecture was found to exhibit high stability against photo-bias stresses. In contrast to the common photo-enhanced degradation, an abnormal self-compensation effect of photo-bias instabilities was first observed for amorphous oxide semiconductor (AOS) TFTs. By analyzing the defect states and element distributions in both channel and source/drain (S/D) regions, the unique migration of thermally generated metal interstitials in a-IGZO S/D was clarified to be the origin. More specifically, the positive bias stress (PBS)-induced negative shift of threshold voltage ( ${V}_{\text{th}}$ ) originates from the ionization of positive metal ions near the backchannel, while these positively charged ions can be compensated by the illumination-excited electrons, resulting in photo-stable AOS TFTs. This also provides a flexible way to implement the electrically stable depletion-mode AOS TFTs.
Experimental Investigation on The Effect Of M-Sand In High Performance Concrete

The natural river sand was the cheapest resource of sand. However the excessive mining of river bed to meet the increasing demand for sand in construction industry has led to the ecological imbalance in the country. Now the sand available in the river bed is very coarse and contains very high percentage of silt and clay. The silt and clay present in the sand reduce the strength of the concrete and holds dampness. A few alternatives have come up for the industry to bank on of which manufactured sand or M-sand, as it is called, is found to be the most suitable one to replace river sand. M-sand has caught the attention of the construction industry and environmentalists alike for its quality and the minimum damages it causes to nature. Usage of M-Sand can drastically reduce the cost since like river sand, it does not contain impurities and wastages is nil since it is made with modern technology and machinery. Once the M-sand becomes more popular in the construction industry, the demand for river sand and illegal sand- mining would come down. Compared to the river sand, the M-sand has a better quality consistency high Strength concrete with signifance saving instrument. M-sand that is available is graded, sieved and washed. The particles are more rounded and granular and do not have sharp edges. Usage of M-Sand can overcome the defects occurring in concrete such as honey combing, segregation, voids, capillary, etc. The purpose of this research is to experimentally investigate the effect of M-Sand in structural concrete by replacing river sand and develop a high performance concrete. It is proposed to determine and compare the differences in properties of concrete containing river sand and M-sand. It is also proposed to use steel fibres and chemical admixtures to increase the strength and workability of concrete respectively. The investigations are to be carried out using several test which include workability test, compressive test, tensile test, and flexural test
Pseudocowpox virus, a novel vector to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of antitumor vaccination

Antitumor viral vaccines, and more particularly poxviral vaccines, represent an active field for clinical development and translational research. To improve the efficacy and treatment outcome, new viral vectors are sought, with emphasis on their abilities to stimulate innate immunity, to display tumor antigens and to induce a specific T‐cell response.
Serum protein concentration and amino acid profile of HIV/HBV co-infected subjects on HAART in Plateau State, Nigeria

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) are currently two important blood-borne human pathogens of major public health concern with high prevalence rates in Africa. Objectives: The study assessed the impact of HIV and HBV mono- and co-infections on serum total protein, albumin, globulin fractions and plasma free amino acids concentrations. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study on adult (25 – 64 years old) patients on Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy attending AIDS Preventive Initiative in Nigeria Centre, Jos University Teaching Hospital, Plateau State, Nigeria. It involved 80 subjects; 20 HIV/HBV co-infected, 20 each of HIV and HBV mono-infected controls, and 20 seronegative controls. Results: Signiﬁcant (p<0.05) increases in total protein and gamma globulin but a reduction in albumin concentrations were observed in the HIV/HBV co-infected group. Similarly, significant (p<0.05) increases in alpha-1 and alpha-2 globulin concentrations were observed in the mono- and co-infected groups compared to the seronegative control group. There were significant (p<0.05) increases in the glucogenic, aromatic and branched-chain amino acid concentrations of the HIV/HBV co-infected subjects. Conclusion: The study suggests prognostic importance of alpha and gamma globulin fractions of serum protein as well as amino acid profile in the management of HIV/HBV co-infection. Keywords: Total protein; albumin; globulin; amino acid; viral infection.