Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enriching Ontologies from Folksonomies for eLearning: DBpedia Case

In this paper, we address the problem of how toexploit folksonomy systems and social bookmarking tools toenrich DBpedia ontology while unifying the formal knowledgerepresented by DBpedia ontology with the informal knowledge emerging from tagging. Our approach taps into external tools such as the sense inventory WordNet to correct mistakes resulted from the free tagging and takes advantage from semantic relationships between tags to recognize resources'context. We performed evaluations with focus on the particularly challenging problem of resources' ambiguity to prove that not all resources shared in folksonomies are relevant resources for DBpedia ontology and to show that our pre-processing step increases precision values.
Prevalence and Associated Factors of Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders and Bowel Habits in Chinese Adolescents: A School-based Study

Objectives: In the present study, we explored the prevalence rates and association factors of functional gastrointestinal disorders and the most common modes and frequencies of bowel habit among a cohort of Chinese adolescents. Patients and Methods: A stratified, randomized study based on cross-sectional data was performed using cluster sampling, which recruited 3671 students in Shanghai, China. All of the students were requested to complete a questionnaire. Results: Overall, 88.05% ± 0.28% of students had a bowel movement frequency of between 1 of 2 times per day and once every 2 days. Female students were found to have a lower bowel frequency than boys (P < 0.01). The prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), functional constipation, and functional diarrhea were 19.89%, 24.93%, and 5.42%, respectively. Certain factors adjusted for age and sex were significantly associated with IBS (P < 0.05), including gastrointestinal tract infection (odds ratio [OR] 2.26), abuse of analgesics (OR 1.25), air swallowing to terminate hiccups (OR 1.28), fatigue (OR 1.15), and depression (OR 1.36). Other factors that were adjusted for age and sex, such as fried food (OR 1.68), air swallowing to terminate hiccups (OR 1.21), anxiety (OR 1.12), and depression (OR 1.57), were significantly associated with the presence of functional constipation (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that normal bowel frequency among Chinese urban adolescents may be defined as between 1 or 2 bowel movements per day and once every 2 days. IBS, functional constipation, and diarrhea are common disorders among this adolescent group.
Blastocystis spp. and Other Intestinal Parasites in Polish Soldiers Deployed to Lebanon and Iraq

Intestinal parasitic infections are one of the most common infectious diseases worldwide, particularly in developing countries. A distinct group at increased risk of infection is military personnel deployed overseas for extended periods, typically six months at a time. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Blastocystis spp. and other intestinal parasites in Polish military personnel returning from deployments to Lebanon (n = 206) and Iraq (n = 220). In this group of subjects, we found Blastocystis spp. (13.6%), Dientamoeba fragilis (3.3%), Entamoeba coli (0.9%), and Endolimax nana (0.5%). Entamoeba histolytica sensu lato and Chilomastix mesnili infections were detected only in one soldier returning from Lebanon and Iraq, respectively. Blastocystis subtype (ST) 3 was predominant in soldiers returning from Lebanon, followed by ST2 and ST1. ST1 infection was predominant in soldiers returning from Iraq, followed by ST3 and ST2. Our study affirms that, deployment abroad is of no influence of the prevalence of parasitic protozoa. However, it would be worth to monitor parasite infection in military personnel returning from tropical zone even if they have no actual symptoms. In addition, it is very important to determine the subtypes of Blastocystis—this may help to clearly define their pathogenicity, especially considering the scarcity of studies on Blastocystis genotypes in Iraqi and Lebanese residents.
Cost analysis of games, using program logic

Summary form only given. Recent work in probabilistic programming semantics has provided a relatively simple probabilistic extension to predicate transformers, making it possible to treat small imperative probabilistic programs containing both demonic and angelic nondeterminism. That work in turn has extended to provide a probabilistic basis for the modal /spl mu/-calculus of Kozen (1983), and leads to a quantitative /spl mu/-calculus. Standard (non-probabilistic) /spl mu/-calculus can be interpreted either 'normally', over its semantic domain, or as a two-player game between an 'angel' and a 'demon' representing the two forms of choice. Stirling (1995) has argued that the two interpretations correspond. Quantitative p-calculus too can be interpreted both ways, with the novel interpretation being the second: a probabilistic game involving an angel and a demon. Each player seeks a strategy to maximise (resp. minimise) the game's 'outcome', with the steps in the game now being stochastic. That suggests a connection with Markov decision processes, in which players compete for high (resp. low) 'rewards' over a Markov transition system. In this paper we explore that connection, showing how for example discounted Markov decision processes (MDP's) and terminating MDP's can be written as quantitative p-formulae. The 'normal' interpretation of those formulae (i.e. over the semantic domain) then seems to give a much more direct access to existence theorems than the presentation usually associated with MDP's. Our technical contribution is to explain the coding of MDP's as quantitative p-formulae, to discuss the extension of the latte in incorporate 'rewards', and to illustrate the resulting reformulation of several existence theorems. In an appendix we give an algebraic characterisation of the new quantitative-with-reward form of the calculus.
An Observational Analysis of Potential Terrain Influences on Tornado Behavior

Terrain effects on tornado behavior have long been a source of lore in the United States. Common myths about tornado behavior include that certain areas are more prone to tornadoes, tornadoes will not form in mountainous areas, and tornadoes will not cross valleys, among others. Several cases of tornadoes in mountainous areas not obeying these commonly-held myths can been documented (e.g. Fujita 1989, Forbes 1998). However, only limited work has been done to determine the role of terrain in severe storm and tornado behavior. Much of this work has been completed on individual cases (e.g. Fujita 1989, LaPenta et al. 2005, Bosart et al. 2006, Karstens et al. 2013) or a very limited number of cases (e.g. Gaffin 2012, Shamburger 2012). In addition to these cases, some limited work has been done on interactions of severe storms and tornadoes with significant topography, including the effects of terrain on gust fronts (Frame and Markowski 2006), modeling of supercells moving over various terrain features (Markowski and Dotzek 2011), and large-eddy simulation (LES) of tornado-like vortices moving over significant topography (Lewellen 2012). One important step to understanding the role that terrain may play in tornado evolution is to document behaviors in tornado events that appear to be linked to the underlying terrain. Through this process, the emphasis must be on patterns that are seen repeatedly so as to lessen the potential for considering coincidental behavior as being linked to the underlying terrain. This paper highlights four cases in which terrain appears to have played a significant role: the Huntsville, Alabama EF1 tornadoes of 11 April 2013, the Pisgah, Alabama EF4 tornado of 27 April 2011, the Ohatchee, Alabama EF4 tornado of 27 April 2011, and the Rainsville, Alabama EF5 tornado of 27 April 2011. These four cases are then placed in the context of behavioral modes that have been observed across 75 total cases. Implications for future research are discussed.
A new robust multiple description coding method based on region of interest

A new revised multiple description SPIHT coding is proposed to combat packet loss. According to the region of interest of human eyes, the method reorders the zero trees of wavelets and assigns different coding rates to redundant trees. Simulation results show that the method can improve the image quality both objectively and subjectively compared to other multiple description coding methods in the case of packet loss.
Comparison of Cervical Biportal Endoscopic Spine Surgery and Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion in Patients with Symptomatic Cervical Disc Herniation

Background: We aimed to analyze the clinical outcomes and effectiveness of cervical biportal endoscopic spine surgery (C-BESS) and anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) in patients with symptomatic cervical disc herniation. Methods: This study was a retrospective chart review of four-year clinical data involving 318 cases of symptomatic cervical disc herniation, with 156 patients undergoing the ACDF and 162 patients receiving the C-BESS. Preoperative and postoperative one-year data were collected. Results: The numeric rating scale and neck disability index showed statistically significant improvement for both ACDF and C-BESS groups. While showing a longer operation time and more blood loss during surgery compared to the ACDF group, the C-BESS group demonstrated a learning effect as the surgeon’s proficiency increased with more cases. There was no significant difference in the postoperative length of hospitalization between the two methods. The subgroup with predominant arm pain revealed the statistical difference in arm pain intensity changes between the two groups (p < 0.001). The rates of complication were 2.6% for the ACDF group and 1.9% for the C-BESS group. Conclusions: C-BESS and ACDF are effective surgical treatments for patients with symptomatic single-level cervical disc herniation in relieving relevant pain intensities and pain-related disabilities.
Improved seasonal prediction of UK regional precipitation using atmospheric circulation

The aim of this study is to further our understanding of whether skilful seasonal forecasts of the large‐scale atmospheric circulation can be downscaled to provide skilful seasonal forecasts of regional precipitation. A simple multiple linear regression model is developed to describe winter precipitation variability in nine UK regions. The model for each region is a linear combination of two mean sea‐level pressure (MSLP)‐based indices which are derived from the MSLP correlation patterns for precipitation in northwest Scotland and southeast England. The first index is a pressure dipole, similar to the North Atlantic Oscillation but shifted to the east; the second index is the MSLP anomaly centred over the UK. The multiple linear regression model describes up to 76% of the observed precipitation variability in each region and gives higher correlations with precipitation than using either of the two indices alone. The Met Office's seasonal forecast system (GloSea5) is found to have significant skill in forecasting the two MSLP indices for the winter season, in forecasts initialized around the start of November. Applying the multiple linear regression model to the GloSea5 hindcasts is shown to give improved skill over the precipitation forecast by the GloSea5, with the largest improvement in Scotland.
Network Modulation: An Algebraic Approach to Enhancing Network Data Persistence

Large-scale distributed systems such as sensor networks usually experience dynamic topology changes, data losses, and node failures in various catastrophic or emergent environments. As such, maintaining data persistence in a scalable fashion has become critical and essential for such systems. The existing major efforts such as coding, routing, and traditional modulation all have their own limitations. In this work, we propose a novel network modulation (NeMo) approach to significantly improve the data persistence. Built on algebraic number theory, NeMo operates at the level of modulated symbols (so-called "modulation over modulation"). Its core notion is to mix data at intermediate network nodes and meanwhile guarantee the symbol recovery at the sink(s) without prestoring or waiting for other symbols. In contrast to the traditional thought that n linearly independent equations are needed to solve for n unknowns, NeMo opens a new regime to boost the convergence speed of achieving persistence. Different performance criteria (e.g., modulation and demodulation complexity, convergence speed, finite-bit representation, and noise robustness) have been evaluated in the comprehensive simulations and real experiments to show that the proposed approach is efficient to enhance the network data persistence.
Prophase I arrest and progression to metaphase I in mouse oocytes are controlled by Emi1-dependent regulation of APCCdh1

Mammalian oocytes are arrested in prophase of the first meiotic division. Progression into the first meiotic division is driven by an increase in the activity of maturation-promoting factor (MPF). In mouse oocytes, we find that early mitotic inhibitor 1 (Emi1), an inhibitor of the anaphase-promoting complex (APC) that is responsible for cyclin B destruction and inactivation of MPF, is present at prophase I and undergoes Skp1–Cul1–F-box/βTrCP-mediated destruction immediately after germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD). Exogenous Emi1 or the inhibition of Emi1 destruction in prophase-arrested oocytes leads to a stabilization of cyclin B1–GFP that is sufficient to trigger GVBD. In contrast, the depletion of Emi1 using morpholino oligonucleotides increases cyclin B1–GFP destruction, resulting in an attenuation of MPF activation and a delay of entry into the first meiotic division. Finally, we show that Emi1-dependent effects on meiosis I require the presence of Cdh1. These observations reveal a novel mechanism for the control of entry into the first meiotic division: an Emi1-dependent inhibition of APCCdh1.
Constraining the earthquake recording threshold of intraslab earthquakes with turbidites in southcentral Alaska’s lakes and fjords

Intraslab earthquakes do not produce primary paleoseismic evidence at the Earth’s surface, making eﬀorts to develop an event chronology challenging. However, the strong ground motion from intraslab events may initiate gravity-driven turbidity ﬂows in subaqueous basins; the resulting deposits (turbidites) can provide a paleoseismic proxy if the conditions that initiate these ﬂows are known. To better constrain the initiating conditions, we use two recent intraslab earthquakes in southcentral Alaska, the Mw 7.1 November 30, 2018, Anchorage and the Mw 7.1 January 24, 2016, Iniskin earthquakes, as calibration events. Through a multi-lake investigation spanning a range of shaking intensities and based on a combined geological and geophysical dataset, we document the occurrence, or absence, of earthquake-generated turbidity ﬂows from these two earthquakes. The 2018 and 2016 earthquakes are recorded by centimeter-scale turbidites that can be diﬀerentiated from climatically generated deposits, as well as other seismic sources (i
A Functional NaV1.7-NaVAb Chimera with a Reconstituted High-Affinity ProTx-II Binding Site

The NaV1.7 voltage-gated sodium channel is implicated in human pain perception by genetics. Rare gain of function mutations in NaV1.7 lead to spontaneous pain in humans whereas loss of function mutations results in congenital insensitivity to pain. Hence, agents that specifically modulate the function of NaV1.7 have the potential to yield novel therapeutics to treat pain. The complexity of the channel and the challenges to generate recombinant cell lines with high NaV1.7 expression have led to a surrogate target strategy approach employing chimeras with the bacterial channel NaVAb. In this report we describe the design, synthesis, purification, and characterization of a chimera containing part of the voltage sensor domain 2 (VSD2) of NaV1.7. Importantly, this chimera, DII S1–S4, forms functional sodium channels and is potently inhibited by the NaV1.7 VSD2 targeted peptide toxin ProTx-II. Further, we show by [125I]ProTx-II binding and surface plasmon resonance that the purified DII S1–S4 protein retains high affinity ProTx-II binding in detergent. We employed the purified DII S1–S4 protein to create a scintillation proximity assay suitable for high-throughput screening. The creation of a NaV1.7-NaVAb chimera with the VSD2 toxin binding site provides an important tool for the identification of novel NaV1.7 inhibitors and for structural studies to understand the toxin-channel interaction.
Extension, Development and Evaluation of the representation of the OH -initiated DMS oxidation mechanism in the MCM v3.3.1 framework

Understanding dimethyl sulfide (DMS) oxidation can help us constrain its contribution to Earth’s radiative balance. Following the discovery of hydroperoxymethyl thioformate (HPMTF) as a DMS oxidation product, a range of new experimental chamber studies have since improved our knowledge of the oxidation mechanism of DMS and delivered detailed chemical mechanisms. However, these mechanisms have not undergone formal intercomparisons to evaluate their performance. This study aimed to synthesise the recent experimental studies and develop a new, near-explicit, DMS mechanism, through 5 a thorough literature review, as a reference mechanism for future work to build on. A simple box model was then used with the mechanism to simulate a series of chamber experiments, and evaluated through comparison with four published mechanisms. Our modelling shows that the mechanism developed in this work outperformed the other mechanisms on average when compared to the experimental chamber data, having the lowest fractional gross error for 8 out of the 14 DMS oxidation products studied. A box model of a marine boundary layer was also run, demonstrating that the deviations in the mechanisms seen when 10 comparing them against chamber data are also prominent under more atmospherically relevant conditions. Although this work demonstrates the need for further experimental work, the mechanism developed in this work, having been evaluated against a range of experimental conditions, provides a good basis for a near-explicit DMS oxidation mechanism that would include other initiation reactions (e.g., halogens), and can be used to compare the performance of reduced mechanisms used in global models.
Comprehensive Factors Influencing Lateral Soil Water Flow Patterns on Hillslopes: Insights from Experimental and Simulation Studies

This study conducted a rainfall tracer experiment on the slope to investigate water flow patterns. Three distinct water flow patterns were observed within the slope, including lateral upslope and vertical flow during rainfall, followed by lateral downslope flow after rainfall. A series of scenario simulations were conducted to enhance understanding of the comprehensive factors influencing lateral water flow on the slope. These simulations considered various factors, including two rainfall patterns (RP), three soil types (ST), three slope angles (SA), three anisotropy ratios (AR), and two layered slope 20 systems (LS). The Hydrus-2D model was applied based on the two-dimensional Richards equation under given initial soil water and boundary conditions. Spatiotemporal variations in horizontal flux ( q x ), vertical flux ( q z ), and deviation of the water flow direction from vertical (DWFFV) in the central slope profile were calculated. The simulations of water flow on slopes under different conditions also confirmed three distinct water flow patterns manifesting within slopes during rainfall. The results indicated complete consistency between the direction of lateral water flow (lateral unsaturated upslope or downslope 25 flow) and soil water potential horizontal gradients ( ∂φ/∂x ). This suggests that the direction of lateral water flow is regulated by ∂φ/∂x rather than the change in water content over time ( ∂θ/∂t ). The rate of movement of the wetting front differed among soil types, with the highest in sand. DWFFV and the corresponding q x value showed positive correlations with SA and AR.
A mineralogical signature for Burgess Shale–type fossilization

13 Burgess Shale-type (BST) fossilization of carbonaceous remains that are 14 ordinarily lost to decay is critical to our understanding of the early evolution of complex 15 life. Sediment composition, particularly the abundance of certain clay minerals, has been 16 invoked as a significant factor in BST fossilization. X-ray diffraction data for 213 17 Cambrian shales from 19 sedimentary successions on four continents provide the first 18 comprehensive test of the association of clay mineral assemblages with BST fossils. 19 Samples containing BST fossils yield mineralogical compositions that form a subset 20 within the range represented by samples containing only fossil mineralized skeletons. 21 Logistic regression and classification tree methods reveal that BST fossils are more likely 22 to be found in sediments rich in berthierine/chamosite and poor in celadonite and illite. This characteristic clay mineralogy probably reflects a high kaolinite/smectite ratio in the original sediment and enhanced iron availability during early diagenesis. Models derived 25 from both methods can predict the occurrence of BST fossils in fossiliferous samples 26 based on clay mineralogy with ~80% accuracy, providing a mineralogical signature that 27 may be useful in refining the search for BST fossils on Earth and beyond.
Numerical Study on the Precipitation Concentration over the Western Coast of Sumatra Island

: Large amounts of tropical precipitation have been observed as signi ﬁ cantly concentrated over the western coast of Sumatra Island. In the present study, we used a cloud-resolving model to perform 14-day numerical simulations and reproduce the distinctive precipitation distributions over western Sumatra Island and adjacent areas. The control ex-periment, in which the warmer sea surface temperature (SST) near the coast was incorporated and the terminal velocity and effective radius of ice clouds were parameterized to be temperature dependent, adequately reproduced the precipitation concentration as well as the diurnal cycles of precipitation. We then used the column-integrated frozen moist static energy budget equation, which is virtually equivalent to the column-integrated moisture budget equation under the weak temperature gradient assumption, to formulate sensitivity experiments focusing on the effects of coastal SST and upper-level ice clouds. Analysis of the time-averaged ﬁ elds revealed that the column-integrated moisture and precipitation in the coast were signi ﬁ cantly reduced when a cooler coastal SST or larger ice cloud particle size was assumed. Based on the comparison of the sensitivity experiments and in situ observations, we speculate that ice clouds, which are exported from inland convection that is strictly regulated by solar radiation, promote the accumulation of moisture in the coastal region by mitigating radiative cooling. Together with the moisture and heat supplied by the warm ocean surface, they contribute to the large amounts of precipitation here.