Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neural Architecture Search in A Proxy Validation Loss Landscape

This paper searches for the optimal neural architecture by minimizing a proxy of validation loss. Existing neural architecture search (NAS) meth-ods used to discover the optimal neural architecture that best ﬁts the validation examples given the up-to-date network weights. However, back propagation with a number of validation examples could be time consuming, especially when it needs to be repeated many times in NAS. Though these intermediate validation results are invaluable, they would be wasted if we cannot use them to predict the future from the past. In this paper, we propose to approximate the validation loss landscape by learning a mapping from neural architectures to their corresponding validate losses. The optimal neural architecture thus can be easily identiﬁed as the minimum of this proxy validation loss landscape. A novel sampling strategy is further developed for an efﬁcient approximation of the loss landscape. Theoretical analysis indicates that the validation loss estimator learnt with our sampling strategy can reach a lower error rate and a lower label complexity compared with a uniform sampling. Experimental results on benchmarks demonstrate that the architecture searched by the proposed algorithm can achieve a satisfactory accuracy with less time cost.
Corporate Governance Mechanisms and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Kuwaiti Listed Firms

Firms must maintain a balance between their performance and corporate social responsibility (CSR). This study examines the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and the CSR of firms listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) within the framework of agency theory. Using a sample of 86 firms in 2019, this study explored five corporate governance mechanisms (i.e., ownership concentration by large shareholders, ownership concentration by government, board size, board independence, and family directors) and five control variables (i.e., debt, firm size, firm age, profitability, and industry type). The study used the index checklist to measure CSR and found that ownership concentration by large shareholders, ownership concentration by government, and board size affect a firm’s social responsibility while other variables have no impact. This study was the first to examine the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on corporate social responsibility in Kuwait after introducing the new corporate governance rules, and the findings will help Kuwait’s government, firms, and investors evaluate the current rules and improve CSR requirements.
m6A RNA modification modulates PI3K/Akt/mTOR signal pathway in Gastrointestinal Cancer

Rationale: Methylation at the N6 position of adenosine (m6A) is the most prevalent RNA modification within protein-coding mRNAs in mammals, and it is a reversible modification with various important biological functions. The formation and function of m6A are regulated by methyltransferases (writers), demethylases (erasers), and special binding proteins (readers) as key factors. However, the underlying modification mechanisms of m6A in gastrointestinal (GI) cancer remain unclear. Here, we performed comprehensive molecular profiling of the nine known m6A writer, eraser, and reader proteins in GI cancer. Methods: Data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) were used. Gene alteration and pathway analysis were done in cBioportal. The protein network of m6A regulators and its related pathway members was analyzed in STRING online platform. Phylogenetic tree was constructed in MEGA7. m6A modification sites were predicted by SRAMP. m6A related SNPs were analyzed by m6ASNP. The modulation of m6A on its related pathway members was validated by m6A-seq, real-time PCR and phosphor-MAPK array. Results: We found that m6A regulators were mostly upregulated in GI cancer and their differential expression significantly influenced the overall survival of patients with GI cancer. The phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathways were found to be potentially affected by m6A modification in most human cancers, including GI cancer, which was further verified by m6A-Seq and phospho-MAPK array. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that m6A RNA modification has a fundamental role in the regulation of PI3K/Akt and mTOR signaling pathway function in cancer.
Ghost Units Yield Biologically Plausible Backprop in Deep Neural Networks

In the past few years, deep learning has transformed artificial intelligence research and led to impressive performance in various difficult tasks. However, it is still unclear how the brain can perform credit assignment across many areas as efficiently as backpropagation does in deep neural networks. In this paper, we introduce a model that relies on a new role for a neuronal inhibitory machinery, referred to as ghost units. By cancelling the feedback coming from the upper layer when no target signal is provided to the top layer, the ghost units enables the network to backpropagate errors and do efficient credit assignment in deep structures. While considering one-compartment neurons and requiring very few biological assumptions, it is able to approximate the error gradient and achieve good performance on classification tasks. Error backpropagation occurs through the recurrent dynamics of the network and thanks to biologically plausible local learning rules. In particular, it does not require separate feedforward and feedback circuits. Different mechanisms for cancelling the feedback were studied, ranging from complete duplication of the connectivity by long term processes to online replication of the feedback activity. This reduced system combines the essential elements to have a working biologically abstracted analogue of backpropagation with a simple formulation and proofs of the associated results. Therefore, this model is a step towards understanding how learning and memory are implemented in cortical multilayer structures, but it also raises interesting perspectives for neuromorphic hardware.
Food Niche of Puma concolor in Central Mexico

Optimal foraging theory predicts that predators choose the most energetically profitable prey. At the northern limit of its distribution the puma Puma concolor tends to prey on large mammals, whereas at the southern limit its prey comprises medium-sized and small mammals. We analysed the puma's food habits in Central Mexico, and concluded that the nine-banded armadillo Dasypus novemcinctus is the main prey, followed by the white-nosed coati Nasua narica and white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus. The puma's standardised niche breadth (B') was 0.21 and was in accordance with the expected in the exponential model. We compared this with niche breadths recorded in other studies carried out in the Americas. After a forest fire, puma changed their feeding habits and began to hunt prey > 6.1 kg more frequently. Food preferences of puma in Central Mexico resemble those recorded for puma in South America rather than the preferences recorded for puma in other North American populations.
Intraoperative sedation during regional anaesthesia (Caudal epidural anaesthesia) in paediatric patients: Role of intravenous dexemedetomidine

Introduction: To avoid adverse effects of general anaesthesia, regional anaesthesia (RA) techniques are increasingly being practiced in children for different surgeries. These RA techniques are often combined with moderate degree of sedation to remain child calm and immobile. With limited literature available, we planned a prospective study to evaluate the effectiveness of dexemedetomidine as an intraoperative sedative agent with RA considering its short term sedation and least respiratory depression property. Materials and Methods: Fifty children of 1-8 year of age, ASA grade 1&2 undergoing below umbilical surgery under RA (caudal epidural anaesthesia) were selected and studied. After giving Inj. Ketamine (1mg/kg) intravenously, RA was performed with Inj. Bupivacaine. Then inj. Dexemedetomidine (1mcg/kg) IV was administered as bolus over 10 min followed by continuous infusion (0.4 mcg/kg/hr) till completion of surgery. Perioperative sedation score, vital parameters, peripheral oxygen saturation, respiratory rate and surgeon's satisfaction were observed. The Study was considered complete till stay of patient in PACU for 2hrs. Recovery time and any complications were noted. Results: The quality of sedation and surgeon's satisfaction were good in all children except three children who needed extra dose of sedative. The only adverse effects reported were bradycardia and hypotension in 3 patients which were well managed by reducing the infusion rate. Conclusion: Dexemedetomidine offers an adequate level of sedation in most of the children without haemodynamic or respiratory side effects when used intraoperatively with RA.
Clinical significance of indeterminate pulmonary nodule in RT planning CT scans of breast cancer patients

Background- Incidental finding of lung nodules on Planning CT scans in breast cancer patients is common. It causes clinical dilemma regarding the plan of further management. It Is important to study the course of these lung nodules to make proper clinical judgment in future.Patients and Methods - From January 2010 to May 2013, RT planning CT scans done for breast cancer patients were reviewed retrospectively to identify indeterminate pulmonary nodules. Patients with pulmonary nodules were grouped according to number, size, associated benign diseases, stage and were followed up. The nodules which increased in size or number were further evaluated with either biopsy or PET CT scan. The lung nodules which showed progression were correlated with patients characteristics. Results- Out of 134 patients treated with conformal radiation therapy, 28 patients (21) were found to have incidental lung nodules in planning CT scans. Thirteen patients had solitary nodules and 15 had multiple nodules. 20 had nodule less than 5mm and 8 had more than 5 mm. Median follow up period was 13 months (range 6 - 36 months). During follow up, 4 patients (14) progressed to lung metastases. 3 out of 4 patients had multiple nodules and all of them had locally advanced breast carcinoma at presentation. Conclusion - Incidental lung no dules are common finding on routine imaging. Multiple nodules, size 5 mm, advanced stage at presentation are high risk for progression to lung metastases and should be closely followed up. Majority of incidental lung nodules are benign and unnecessary evaluation should be avoided as it delays treatment of the primary.
Early metal enrichment of gas-rich galaxies at z ∼ 5

We present abundance measurements of elements O, C, Si and Fe for three gas-rich galaxies at z~5 using observations from the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and the Keck telescope in order to better constrain the early chemical enrichment of gas-rich galaxies. These galaxies show strong Lyman-{\alpha} absorption in the spectra of background quasars, with neutral hydrogen column densities log N${_H{}_I}$(cm$^{-2}$)=20.10$\pm$0.15, 20.10$\pm$0.15, and 20.80$\pm$0.15. Using the undepleted element O, we find the metallicities [O/H] to be in the range of -2.51 to -2.05 dex. Our study has doubled the existing sample of measurements of undepleted elements at z>4.5. Combining our measurements with those from the literature, we find that the N${_H{}_I}$-weighted mean metallicity of z~5 absorbers is consistent with the prediction based on z 4.7 as reported by some prior studies. We also determine the extent of dust depletion using a combination of both the volatile element O and the refractory elements Si and/or Fe. Some of the absorbers show evidence of depletion of elements on dust grains, e.g. low [Si/O] or [Fe/O]. The relative abundances of these absorbers along with other z~5 absorbers from the literature show some peculiarities, e.g. low [C/O] in several absorbers and high [Si/O] in one absorber. Finally, we find that the metallicity vs. velocity dispersion relation of z~5 absorbers may be different from that of lower-redshift absorbers.
BOARD CHARACTERISTICS AND EARNINGS MANAGEMENT: EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF UK LISTED COMPANIES

Present study investigates to find out the associations between characteristics of the boards and the level of earnings management. For the investigation, level of the earnings management has taken from UK listed companies during 2012 to 2016. Moreover, the abnormal accruals are considered as the proxy of the level of earnings management, and which show the level of earnings management for the companies. The study uses Modified-Jones model to measure the abnormal accruals, and uses Random effects model to find out whether the characteristics of the boards are related with the level of earnings management. By running the regression, it finds out that the CEO duality and board size are negatively related the level of earnings management at the significant level. However, the study fails to find out the board meetings, percentage of independent directors and the percentage of female directors in the board is significantly associated with the level of earnings management.
Chloroquine: An Old to be Repurposed Drug For COVID-19 Infection (Risk and Benefit)

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) with a high rate of mortality. Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine have been used for antimalarial and autoimmune diseases for many years. Due to low toxicity and well tolerability as well as immunomodulatory properties, these drugs are proposed to treat viral infection. Some studies, both in vitro and in a clinical setting, have been evaluated for their ability to treat SARSCoV-2 as promising therapies. Although The National Agency of Drugs and Food Control of The Republic of Indonesia issued emergency authorization for chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to be used against COVID-19 infection, the efficacy of these drugs is still based on small clinical nonrandomized trials with a limited number of patients. However, the use of these drugs without any risks. The safety of these drugs to be used in COVID-19 patients is lacking. Some experts noticed that the drugs cause harmful adverse effects, especially a harmful QT prolongation. In Indonesia, until now, no study evaluates the effectiveness as well as the safety of these drugs to be used in COVID-19 infection. This article will discuss the role of chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine and its safety to be used against COVID-19 infection.
Measuring Road Condition of the First Mile

The efficiency of rural transport is important for improving financial and time costs in the delivery of produce and for reducing post-harvest losses. Many crops lose value as they are transported over rough roads and suffer time delays in getting to the market. The pattern of transport varies between seasons with many roads becoming impassable, which results in slower transport and increased costs. There is growing recognition that rural infrastructure needs to be planned together with transport services to minimise transport costs, reduce crop wastage and gain the maximum advantage for farmers. TRL is undertaking research in Tanzania and Kenya on moving harvest along the primary transport segment, or ‘First Mile’, from farm to established road access. This project is concerned with the cost-beneficial improvement of access, by assessing the condition of these primary road segments to determine the effect on crop damage and wastage. The condition assessment is being carried out using a variety of high-tech methods, in addition to traditional visual surveys being assessed from DashCam videos of the road. A quantitative assessment of road roughness was measured using three methods, maximum comfortable achievable vehicle speed, smartphone apps and accelerometers. Accelerometers were placed in both passenger and goods vehicles; in amongst the produce when vehicles are loaded. The accelerometer data was analysed, along with socioeconomic data, to gain a greater understanding of First Mile access problems that will result in recommendations for improvement. Keywords—First Mile; road condition; accelerometer; access
MAIZE FODDER PRODUCTION UNDER CHANGING CLIMATIC SCENARIO FOR NUTRITIONAL SECURITY OF LIVESTOCK– A REVIEW

The scarcity of fodder availability along with increasing demand of livestock products when integrated with ill effect of climate change, further decreasing fodder productivity in response to increasing emissions of green house gaseous. In future, these threats will raise challenges in quality fodder production. To meet out the desired level of livestock production and its annual growth, the deficit in components of fodder, crop residues and feed has to be solved out either by increasing productivity, utilizing untapped feed resources, increasing land area or through the adoption of some innovative strategies. Maize, being one of the most adaptable emerging crops having wider adaptability under varied agro-climatic conditions, has been proved superior in terms of green fodder quality and silage making, as it provides very palatable, highly succulent and nutritionally rich fodder to livestock which is free from anti-metabolites. Despite technological advancement in breeding programmes, fertilizers and irrigation management systems, the climate is a key aspect in quality fodder production. To mitigate the ill effects of changing climate, conventional approaches of crop production needs to be altered and inventive adaption policies required to be in place. Potential adaptations can be achieved by improving irrigation efficiency and altering sowing time or introducing new genotypes with higher thermal accumulation efficiency. Hybrids with resistant traits to various biotic stresses have been identified and evolved. Furthermore, genotypes adaptable to new geographical area with different environment conditions have to be identified and explored to withstand with climate change.
Image Style Transfer using Convolutional Neural Networks

Recently there has been lots of progress in the ﬁeld of image style transfer, a process which aims at redrawing an image in the style of another image. Gatys et al. proposed the ﬁrst approach using Convolutional Neural Networks, but their iterative algorithm is not eﬃcient. Many others followed and improved their approach in terms of speed. This report gives an overview over various approaches for image style transfer and its extension to videos. Furthermore, their advantages and limitations will be discussed.
INFLUENŢA POROZITĂŢII ŞI A TEMPERATURII DE LUCRU ASUPRA SENSIBILITĂŢII LA UMIDITATE A SENZORILOR DE TITANAT DE BARIU CU ADAOS DE GRAFIT THE EFFECT OF POROSITY AND WORKING TEMPERATURES ON THE HUMIDITY SENSITIVITY PROPERTIES OF BARIUM TITANATE SENSORS WITH GRAPHITE ADDITIVE

Porous barium titanate ceramics were produced by solid state synthesis. Stoichiometric amounts of highpurity powders containing 0.18 wt. % of La2O3 were mixed by ball-milling. The resultant mixtures were dried, sieved and were cold pressed into green samples then sintered at 1200-1500°C for 6h. in air to form the perovskite phase. The porosity of the sintered bars were measured by Archimedes method. The obtained ceramics were characterized by SEM. The average grain size values and microstructural features were determined for four different compositions. The electrical conductivity values were measured under humid environment and transformed into humidity sensitivity values. Effects of porosity and working temperatures on porous barium titanate ceramics were investigated and results were evaluated in terms of microstructure. Materiale ceramice poroase pe bază de titanat de bariu au fost preparate prin sinteza în fază solidă. Cantităţi stoichiometrice de pulberi precursoare de puritate ridicată, conţinând 0,18 %m La2O3, au fost amestecate într-o moară cu bile. Amestecul rezultat a fost uscat, sitat şi presat la rece după care a fost sinterizat la 1200-1500C timp de 6h. Porozitatea corpurilor sinterizate a fost măsurată prin metoda Archimedes. Materialele ceramice au fost caracterizate prin SEM. Dimensiunea medie a granulelor precum şi caracteristicile microstructurale au fost determinate pentru patru compoziţii diferite. Valorile conductivităţii electrice au fost determinate în condiţii de umiditate şi transformate în valori de sensitivitate. S-au investigat efectele porozităţii şi temperaturii de procesare asupra materialelor ceramice poroase de titanat de bariu iar interpretarea rezultatelor a fost corelată cu microstructura.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT SCREEN AND SWIMMING PERFORMANCE

Aim. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between FMS and swimming performance. Methods. Ninety three swimmers (43 females, 50 males; 11,48 ± 0,50 years aged, 1,56 ± 0,11 m. height, 46,2 ± 9,83 kg body weight) were participated to the study. Deep squat, hurdle step, inline lunge, shoulder mobility, active straight leg raise, trunk stability push-up, rotary stability measurements were determined in FMS testing and total scores were calculated in accordance with the literature. 200 m Individual Medley swimmingperformances of the swimmers were measured in a 25 m swimming pool. Results. As a result of this study no significant relation was seen between FMS and swimming performance except activestraight leg raise and rotary stability for both gender. Conclusion. In the present study no significant relation was seen between FMS total scores and swimming performance for both gender. FMS test batteries still valuable in evaluating and following the risk of injury in swimming during training season