Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Regression Modeling Approach to Structured Shrinkage Estimation

Abstract Problems involving the simultaneous estimation of multiple parameters arise in many areas of theoretical and applied statistics. A canonical example is the estimation of a vector of normal means. Frequently, structural information about relationships between the parameters of interest is available. For example, in a gene expression denoising problem, genes with similar functions may have similar expression levels. Despite its importance, structural information has not been well-studied in the simultaneous estimation literature, perhaps in part because it poses challenges to the usual geometric or empirical Bayes shrinkage estimation paradigms. This article proposes that some of these challenges can be resolved by adopting an alternate paradigm, based on regression modeling. This approach can naturally incorporate structural information and also motivates new shrinkage estimation and inference procedures. As an illustration, this regression paradigm is used to develop a class of estimators with asymptotic risk optimality properties that perform well in simulations and in denoising gene expression data from a single cell RNA-sequencing experiment.
Alteração da matéria orgânica de um latossolo amarelo álico de Cruz das Almas (BA), pelo cultivo com frutíferas perenes e mandioca

This study evaluated changes in the amount and composition of organic matter in an alic sandy-clay loam yellow latosol subjected to several years of banana, citrus, mango and cassava cropping. The study was conducted at Cruz das Almas, State of Bahia, Brazil. In 1991, three trenches were opened in each of the four cultivated areas, as well as in a fifth area covered by native wood. Samples of the A, AB, BW1 and BW2 horizons were collected and subjected to determination of total carbon and bulk density and estimation of carbon stock for each horizon. Organic carbon was also determined in the granulometric fractions of 0.2-2 mm, 0.05-0.2 mm and 0-0.05 mm, obtained by screening in water. The free fulvic acids (FFA), fulvic acids (FA), humic acids (HA) and humines (HU) were determined for the fraction < 0,05 mm. Results indicated that the cropping reduced the carbon stock of the soil, except for the citrus area. In the upper horizon, there was no difference between soils cultivated with banana and cassava and the native wooded soil. Most of the soil organic matter was found in the finest fraction, and consisted mostly of HU; the lowest contents were observed in the soil of the mango crop. Soil cultivation reduced the content of FFA, but did not affect the amount of FA.
THE EFFECT OF SAMPLE SIZE ON THE FLEXURAL STRENGTH OF SEDİMENTARY CARBONATE ROCKS UNDER CONCENTRATED LOAD

Flexural strength is an important mechanical property used in the selection of the application area of natural building stones. The flexural strength of natural stones in our country is determined according to the test standards prepared by the European Union. According to TS EN 12372, the recommended test sample dimensions for the determination of the flexural strength of natural stones are 50×50×300 mm. However, generally, 20-30 mm thick plates are used in flooring, cladding, and exterior applications in buildings. In practice, 50 mm thick plates are rarely used, as well as preparing 50 mm thick test samples is a laborious and time-consuming process. In this study, it has been investigated how much the sample size affects the flexural strength of sedimentary carbonate rocks when using test samples prepared in two different sizes. It has been observed that the flexural strength values obtained from the test samples prepared in different sizes of the same rock are very close to each other. Besides, the stress distributions formed on the rock sample were analyzed with ANSYS Workbench 2020 R1. It has been determined that the stress distributions in the samples prepared in different sizes, exposed to the same load, occur in the same regions, and concentrate.
Generative adversarial network-based photoacoustic image reconstruction from bandlimited and limited-view data

Ultrasound transducers used in photoacoustic imaging are bandlimited and have a limited detection angle, which degrades the reconstructed image quality. One way to address this problem is to have transducers with multiple frequency bands with acquisition around the sample. This approach is expensive and it is not feasible for systems with a handheld probe using a linear transducer array. In this work, we aim to develop a deep learning method for photoacoustic reconstruction from bandlimited and limited-view data. We have developed a Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs)-based framework conditioned with a photoacoustic measurement for image reconstruction. In this way, the transducer used in the measurement can be incorporated and the generator trying to compensate for the limited data problem. We have developed the model for a handheld photoacoustic system using a linear transducer array with 128 elements having a center frequency of 7MHz and -6dB bandwidth from 4-10 MHz. We trained the network using simulated blood vessel images and tested it on in vivo measurements from the human forearm. We have compared the reconstructed images using the proposed method with the time-reversal on simulated data for detection using a bandlimited and directional transducer and compared it using the ground truth. Further, we compare our results to the in vivo images from the system which uses a delay and sum algorithm. The results from both simulations and experiments show that the proposed approach can remove bandlimited and limited view artifacts and can achieve a better image quality.
Gender Differences in Mother-Child Conversations About Shame and Pride in a Hungarian Sample

Although meta-analytic reviews repeatedly found significant gender differences in the experiences of shame and pride throughout the life span, to date, gender differences in conversations about these emotions have not been studied. Our research was aimed at investigating the effect of child gender on maternal conversational style in and emotional content of mother-child conversations about shame- and pride-related past events in preschool years. Fifty four mother—preschool child dyads (52% girls, children’s age M = 70.36 months [SD = 8.13], mothers’ age M = 37.51 years [SD = 3.70]) from middle class Hungarian families were asked to talk about two past events, one in which children felt ashamed, and one in which they felt proud. The conversations were transcribed and coded for maternal conversational style and for emotional content. Maternal conversational style was indicated by maternal elaboration and evaluation of the child’s contributions. Emotional content was indicated by specific emotion terms, emotional behavior and emotional evaluations. In mother-son shame conversations, we found higher amount of negative emotional behavior. Boys also had longer conversations with their mothers, and mothers used more open-ended memory questions and more repetitions with boys in both shame and pride conversations. Girls had shorter contributions to pride stories than to shame stories, which was not the case for boys. Exploration of verbal socialization of shame and pride helps us to understand the development of individual differences in proneness to self-conscious emotions, and their implications for mental health.
Heat Stress Indicators in CMIP6: Estimating Future Trends and Exceedances of Impact‐Relevant Thresholds

Global warming is leading to increased heat stress in many regions around the world. An extensive number of heat stress indicators (HSIs) has been developed to measure the associated impacts on human health. Here we calculate eight HSIs for global climate models participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6). We compare their future trends as function of global mean temperature, with particular focus on highly populated regions. All analyzed HSIs increase significantly (p < 0.01) in all considered regions. Moreover, the different HSIs reveal a substantial spread ranging from trends close to the rate of global mean temperature up to an amplification of more than a factor of two. Trends change considerably when normalizing the HSIs by accounting for the different scales on which they are defined, but the large spread and strong trends remain. Consistently, exceedances of impact‐relevant thresholds are strongly increasing globally, including in several densely populated regions, but also show substantial spread across the selected HSIs. The indicators with the highest exceedance rates vary for different threshold levels, suggesting that the large indicator spread is associated both to differences in trend magnitude and the definition of threshold levels. These results highlight the importance of choosing indicators and thresholds that are appropriate for the respective impact under consideration. Additionally, further validation of HSIs regarding their capability to quantify heat impacts on human health on regional‐to‐global scales would be of great value for assessing global impacts of future heat stress more reliably.
Characterizing damages caused by wildlife: Learning from Bardia National Park, Nepal

ABSTRACT Understanding damages caused by wildlife is critical in developing strategies to mitigate human-wildlife conflict. We conducted 135 household surveys and group discussions in three villages around Bardia National Park, Nepal. Of the 222 total wildlife damage incidents in 2017, crop damage was the most frequent conflict (72%) followed by livestock depredation (24%). While elephants (Elephas maximus) and deer (Axis axis) were the main species implicated in crop loss, leopards (Panthera pardus) and tigers (Panthera tigris) were responsible for livestock depredation. Livestock depredation resulted in an average annual monetary loss of US$32.27 ($19.23-$442.30) per household. On average, each household lost 11% of their total annual potential crop production to wildlife damage. Poor households experienced noticeably disproportionate losses. Only 32% of respondents experiencing wildlife damage received compensation from the park. We recommend simplifying the compensation process and focusing on elephant and leopard damages while working to improve mitigation measures.
BLOOFINZ - Gulf of Mexico Phytoplankton community composition and biomass in the oligotrophic Gulf of Mexico

Biomass and composition of the phytoplankton community were investigated in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico (GoM) at the edges of Loop Current anticyclonic eddies during May 2017 and May 2018. Using ﬂow cytometry, high-performance liquid chromatography pigments and microscopy, we found euphotic zone integrated chlorophyll a of ∼ 10 mg m − 2 and autotrophic carbon ranging from 463 to 1268 mg m − 2 , dominated by picoplankton ( < 2 μ m cells). Phytoplankton assemblages were similar to the mean composition at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study site, but differed from the Hawaii Ocean Times-series site. GoM phytoplankton biomass was ∼ 2-fold higher at the deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) relative to the mixed layer (ML). Prochlorococcus and prymnesiophytes were the dominant taxa throughout the euphotic zone; however, other eukaryotic taxa had signiﬁcant biomass in the DCM. Shallower DCMs were correlated with more prymnesiophytes and prasinophytes (Type 3) and reduced Prochlorococcus . These trends in ML and DCM taxonomic composition likely reﬂect relative nutrient supply—with ML populations relying on remineralized ammonium as a nitrogen source, and the taxonomically diverse DCM populations using more nitrate. These spatially separated phytoplankton communities represent different pathways for primary production, with a dominance of picoplankton in the ML and more nano-and microplankton at the DCM.
Platform Governance Design in Platform Ecosystems: Implications for Complementors’ Multihoming Decision

Extant platform research focuses on how platform owners’ governance behaviors directly affect complementors. This study explicates the multilateral interdependence among different groups of producers within a platform ecosystem. We theorize about how platform owners’ governance design may create frictions between platform providers and complementors. While open governance grants greater autonomy to platform providers, it also cultivates a more complex ecosystem for complementors. Since ecosystem complexity raises the cost of product customization, complementors will be less willing to port an existing complement to a more complex ecosystem, that is, less likely to multihome. The negative effect is weakened as the complementor has greater experience with the destination ecosystem or when the complement exhibits a greater level of modularity. Our analysis of newly launched apps in Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android smartphone ecosystems finds supportive evidence. We discuss implications for the burgeoning literature on platform ecosystems and complementors.
Occurrence of gastrointestinal parasites in cattle in Indonesia

Gastrointestinal nematode parasites play an important role in cattle farming in Indonesia. The majority of parasite infection cases cause weight loss and decreases in appetite, productivity, milk production and farmers’ economic income. This study aimed at finding out the incidence of gastrointestinal nematode parasite disease in cattle at several regions in Indonesia. It was conducted in the period of March 6th to October 2020. There were totally 335 samples randomly drawn from various regions in 15 provinces of 34 provinces in Indonesia. Stool was examined using Whitlock and flotation methods. The results showed that the prevalence of gastrointestinal nematodes Strongyle, Trichuris sp. , Capillaria sp. , and Ascaris sp. amounted to 24.2%. The highest prevalence of the Strongyle nematodes was found in West Nusa Tenggara (52%), Central Kalimantan (50.8%) and Southeast Sulawesi (40%). The prevalence of the Trichuris sp. in East Java was 15%, while it was 10% in Central Kalimantan. The prevalence of the Capillaria sp. in North Kalimantan was 21.1%, in West Sumatra 18.8% and in East Java 6.7%. The prevalence of the Ascaris sp. worms in East Java was 16.7%. The results of the characterization based on age, sex and cattle management showed that 4.6% of the Strongyle worms were found in bulls, 2.74% in females, 4.38% in intensive maintenance and 2.47% in semi-intensive maintenance, while 5.48% of the worms were found in adult cattle and 1.37% in young cattle. The same pattern was observed in Trichuris sp. , Capillaria sp. and Ascarids sp. infections. The results indicated the need for the eradication of the gastrointestinal nematodes through deworming and good management system.
Minority Investor Protection Mechanisms and Agency Costs: An Empirical Study Using the World Bank-Developed Approach

This study examines the impacts of minority investor protection mechanisms on agency costs in Vietnam. All relevant indicators of minority investor protection developed by the World Bank are employed with a panel data sample of 135 Vietnamese listed firms during the period from 2014-2018. It is found that the following mechanisms are effective in mitigating agency costs and hence agency problems at the firm level: i) extent of disclosure; ii) extent of director liability; iii) ease of shareholder suit; iv) shareholders’ rights in major corporate decisions; and v) corporate transparency. Interestingly, it is found that the board independence and controlling government shareholder do not play significant roles in addressing agency problems. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first attempts at testing for the impact of minority investor protection mechanisms developed by the World Bank on agency costs at the firm level. This study also provides policy implications for selecting effective mechanisms to mitigate agency conflicts between controlling shareholders and minority investors in order to promote the financial performance of the firm in an Asian emerging market.
Oncogenic human papillomavirus in breast cancer: molecular prevalence in a group of Congolese patients

Background Since the work of Band et al. in 1990 (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87:463–467), several studies have suggested a possible link between the pathogenesis of breast cancer and viral infection. Infection with oncogenic HPV has been one of the viruses implicated in breast cancer cases worldwide. Objective To investigate the presence of HPV DNA in archived paraffin-embedded breast cancer cases at the University Hospital of Brazzaville and to assess the association between viral HPV infections and clinicopathological features. Methods A total of 40 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) biopsies were retrospectively collected and available information was recorded. HPV detection and genotyping were performed by real-time PCR by GeneXpert technology (Cepheid, Sunnyvale, USA). Results The mean age was 51.1±11.4 years (range 22–75 years; median was 47). Overall, HPV DNA was detected in six (15%) breast carcinoma samples. HPV-16, the most common genotype was identified in 83.7 % of all samples. HPV porting with clinicopathological features showed no significant difference (P>0.05). However, a statistically significant difference was observed between HPV infection and SBR grade (P=0.05). Conclusion Our study described a high prevalence of HPV-HR in breast cancer cases in the Congolese woman. Future type case-control studies are necessary to better describe the potential role of HPV in the occurrence of breast cancer in Congo.
Distribution inference from early-stage stationary data streams by transfer learning

Abstract Data streams are prevalent in current manufacturing and service systems where real-time data arrive progressively. A quick distribution inference from such data streams at their early stages is extremely useful for prompt decision making in many industrial applications. For example, a quality monitoring scheme can be quickly started if the process data distribution is available and the optimal inventory level can be determined early once the customer demand distribution is estimated. To this end, this article proposes a novel online recursive distribution inference method for stationary data streams that can respond as soon as the streaming data are generated and update as regularly as the data accumulate. A major challenge is that the data size might be too small to produce an accurate estimation at the early stage of data streams. To solve this, we resort to an instance-based transfer learning approach which integrates a sufficient amount of auxiliary data from similar processes or products to aid the distribution inference in our target task. Particularly, the auxiliary data are reweighted automatically by a density ratio fitting model with a prior-belief-guided regularization term to alleviate data scarcity. Our proposed distribution inference method also possesses an efficient online algorithm with recursive formulas to update upon every incoming data point. Extensive numerical simulations and real case studies verify the advantages of the proposed method.
Diagnosis of feline infectious peritonitis by immunohistochemistry and histopathology methods: A case report based on diagnostic approach

Aim: In this study the case of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) has been identified as histopathological and immunohistochemical (IHC) in a 6-month-old male domestic shorthair cat. In necropsy, the abdominal cavity contained a significant volume of yellow liquid and granular fibrinous exudate was seen on the liver, serosa of intestines, and peritoneum. Microscopically, inflammatory cell infiltration and fibrin exudation, consisting mainly of macrophage, lymphocyte and plasma cells, were determined around small and medium-sized ves - sels in the tunica serosa layer of the intestines. Many granulomatous foci of various sizes, with or without necrosis, were found in the liver, spread to the parenchyma. In methyl green pyronin staining, plasma cells were found to be the majority of the inflammatory cells pres - ent in lesions. In IHC staining with specific antibodies against the agent, immunopositivity was obtained in granulomatous lesions in the serosa layer of the intestines and less frequently in the cytoplasm of mononuclear cells in the lamina propria. Immunoreactivity was detected in the cytoplasm of macrophages in the liver, around both pyrogranulomas and granulomas. It was concluded that this case of FIP, when all findings are evaluated together, may have started as a dry form, and turned into a wet form in the terminal period.
The Structure of Liquid PbSiO 3: Insight from Analysis and Visualization of Molecular Dynamics Data

The structural characteristics of liquid PbSiO 3 have been investigated by means of the molecular dynamics simulation. The simulations were done in a microcanonical ensemble, using pair potentials. Models consisting of 5000 atoms (1000 Pb, 1000 Si and 3000 O) were constructed at different pressures and at temperatures 3200 K. The local structure and network topology were analyzed through radial distribution function, bond angle distributions and coordination number distribution. The local environment around Pb atoms and continuity of silica and lead oxide sub- networks as well as their change under compression are also discussed in detail, moreover, we have used visualization techniques illustrated network structure.
Breeding dispersal movements of Dupont’s Lark Chersophilus duponti in fragmented landscape

Summary Understanding patterns of dispersal behaviour of threatened species is important in conservation biology and population ecology, especially in fragmented landscapes. Dupont’s Lark Chersophilus duponti is a threatened passerine whose European population has declined by around 40% in the last decade. To study natal and breeding dispersal of the species, we used a long-term mark-recapture dataset (2011–2019) and analysed the records of 32 males (39 dispersal movements) and five females (five dispersal movements) captured during the breeding season at Rincón de Ademuz (Valencia, eastern Spain). Adult birds had a median breeding dispersal of 154 m (Q25-Q75 = 70.0–300.3). Among these captures, two adult males dispersed to a new patch of habitat separated by more than 5,800 m. Only one out of 26 nestlings ringed was trapped as an adult bird, which occurred at a site different from the natal territory (4,500 m). Our results show a low breeding dispersal for the species and are, in essence, in agreement with previous studies carried out in the Ebro Valley metapopulation, one of the core areas for the species in Europe. Nonetheless, unlike in the Ebro Valley, we detected movements of adult birds between habitat patches. The low recovery rate of young birds suggests that they left their natal sites and moved outside the study area or that their survival rate was very low. Future studies focused on the post-fledging survival rate and natal dispersal movements are essential to determine effective conservation measures for the species. Habitat management actions in occupied and potential sites should be carried out close to the areas inhabited by the species to increase the success rate of the interventions and the effective dispersal and therefore population connectivity.
Effect of solvent on protonation equilibria of L-glutamine and succinic acid

Protonation equilibria of L-glutamine and succinic acid are investigated in 0-60% (v/v) aquo-acetonitrile media at an ionic strength of 0.1 mol dm - 3 and temperature 303 K. The best fit chemical models are arrived at using MINIQUAD75 based on statistical parameters. The change in protonation constants with the dielectric constant of the medium is attributed to the electrostatic and non-electrostatic forces.