Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
State observer for linear system with unknown input disturbance and sampled and delayed output with measurement noise

This paper addresses the sampled and unknown time-varying delayed output problem of the continuous-time linear system with unknown input disturbance and measurement noise. Based on the piecewise continuous hybrid system and extended functional observer, a robust hybrid extended observer is proposed to estimate the non-delayed continuous state from the sampled and delayed measurements when the time delay is unknown time-varying. The advantages of the designed observer are the quite simple structure, robustness to dealing with measurement noise, and ability to estimate the system state with accuracy under the influence of unknown input disturbance. Furthermore, the proposed observer is able to estimate the non-delayed continuous state and unknown input disturbance, in particular for the issue of fault estimation and perturbation disturbance simultaneously. The stability of the robust hybrid extended observer is illustrated and analyzed. Moreover, to show the effectiveness of the proposed observer, a comparison with the delayed Luenberger observer is performed via a numerical example. Finally, the simulation results are demonstrated.
Electric Bioimpedance Sensing for the Detection of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

The early detection of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is essential to improve patient prognosis and enable organ and function preservation treatments. The objective of this study is to assess the feasibility of using electrical bioimpedance (EBI) sensing technology to detect HNSCC tissue. A prospective study was carried out analyzing tissue from 46 patients undergoing surgery for HNSCC. The goal was the correct identification of pathologic tissue using a novel needle-based EBI sensing device and AI-based classifiers. Considering the data from the overall patient cohort, the system achieved accuracies between 0.67 and 0.93 when tested on tissues from the mucosa, skin, muscle, lymph node, and cartilage. Furthermore, when considering a patient-specific setting, the accuracy range increased to values between 0.82 and 0.95. This indicates that more reliable results may be achieved when considering a tissue-specific and patient-specific tissue assessment approach. Overall, this study shows that EBI sensing may be a reliable technology to distinguish pathologic from healthy tissue in the head and neck region. This observation supports the continuation of this research on the clinical use of EBI-based devices for early detection and margin assessment of HNSCC.
GENDERED FACTORS AND SMALL-SCALE FISH BUSINESS GROWTH IN MWANZA, TANZANIA

The study aimed to assess the factors influencing the growth of small-scale fish businesses (SSFBs) owned by women in Mwanza, Tanzania. A total of 309 individuals in the fish industry were surveyed through questionnaires, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews. The study assessed the nature of small-scale fish businesses, the constraints facing them, and the determinants of small-scale fish businesses measured by the daily profits obtained. Results showed that marital status, experience in the business, daily capital, type of customers, storage facilities, and involvement in self-help groups significantly impacted daily profit. The study found that women's capital investment and profits were lower compared to men, mainly due to differences in these factors. The study highlights the need for policies to support women-owned SSFBs, including the establishment of self-help groups to provide opportunities for networking and support. The study calls for programmes to boost the growth of women's SSFBs, addressing the challenges and constraints they face. The results emphasize the importance of promoting entrepreneurship and job creation, particularly among women, to drive economic growth in the region.
Phase accumulation tracking algorithm for effective index retrieval of fishnet metamaterials and other resonant guided wave networks

A phase accumulation tracking (PAT) algorithm is proposed and demonstrated for the retrieval of the effective index of fishnet metamaterials (FMMs) in order to avoid the multi-branch uncertainty problem. This algorithm tracks the phase and amplitude of the dominant propagation mode across the FMM slab. The suggested PAT algorithm applies to resonant guided wave networks having only one mode that carries the light between the two slab ends, where the FMM is one example of this metamaterials sub-class. The effective index is a net effect of positive and negative accumulated phase in the alternating FMM metal and dielectric layers, with a negative effective index occurring when negative phase accumulation dominates.
Aspects of random graphs

The present report aims at giving a survey of my work since the end of my PhD thesis "Spectral Methods for Reconstruction Problems". Since then I focussed on the analysis of properties of different models of random graphs as well as their connection to real-world networks. This report's goal is to capture these problems in a common framework. The very last chapter of this thesis about results in bootstrap percolation is different in the sense that the given graph is deterministic and only the decision of being active for each vertex is probabilistic; since the proof techniques resemble very much results on random graphs, we decided to include them as well. We start with an overview of the five random graph models, and with the description of bootstrap percolation corresponding to the last chapter. Some properties of these models are then analyzed in the different parts of this thesis.
Revisiting the Efficiency of Teaching Practicum: Voices from ELT Teacher Candidates

Practicum is one of the most important components of teacher education programs due to providing pre-service teachers with valuable experience and insights into teaching in a real-life context. However, it is necessary to examine the effectiveness of practicum at certain intervals from different aspects to maintain the high-quality teacher education. Considering the new curriculum implemented in practicum from 2021 on, this study scrutinized 32 pre-service English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ views and experiences in four different types of practicum schools, including middle school, vocational training high school, Anatolian high school, and religious vocational high school. The study is qualitative in nature, utilizing reflection forms and semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed a common agreement among participants on the benefits of practicum in terms of observation of mentor teachers, gaining teaching experience through individualized feedback, and realizing a theory and practice balance. However, findings showed some problems regarding several issues such as mentor teachers’ lack of guidance and support as well as being a bad role model, insufficient feedback, insufficient technological infrastructure in the classrooms, and frequent occurrence of idle classes. Several recommendations are provided to improve practicum and hence teacher education.
The association of problematic usage of the internet with burnout, depression, insomnia, and quality of life among Hungarian high school students

Introduction The extensive availability of the internet has led to the recognition of problematic usage of the internet (PUI) or so called internet addiction (IA), probably mostly involving adolescents. Aim Here we present a study focusing on the incidence and consequences (including burnout, which is relatively rarely studied) of internet addiction among high school students using a questionnaire-based non-random sampling cross-sectional survey. Included questionnaires were the Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire, the Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey for Students MBI-GS (S), the 9-item short version of Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-SF), the Athens Insomnia Questionnaire and the EQ-5D (quality of life) questionnaire. Data were evaluated the exertion of Student’s t-test, chi square test and Pearson’s rank-order correlation. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the significance of the different parameters as independently associated with PUI. Results Overall 3,000 paper-based questionnaires were successfully delivered and 2,540 responses received (response rate of 84.6%). 1,309 males (mean age 17.6 ± 1.43 years) (51.5%) and 1,231 females (mean age 17.5 ± 1.4 years) (48.5%) took part in our study. Problematic usage of the internet was detected in 486 (19.1%) students (232 males, mean age 17.6 ± 1.35 years and 254 females, mean age 17.34 ± 1.37 years). In a logistic regression analysis sleep disturbance (OR: 1.84, 95% CI: 1.83–2.03), depression (OR: 1.97, 95% CI: 1.77–2.02) and burnout (OR: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.16–1.94) were significantly associated with PUI. Conclusion Nearly one fifth of our study population suffered from PUI, which was strongly associated with school burnout, insomnia and depression, which underlines the importance of this phenomenon.
Thrombocytopenia as an important determinant of poor prognosis in patients with pyogenic liver abscess: a retrospective case series

Background Thrombocytopenia and poor prognosis in severe conditions are associated. However, the clinical significance of thrombocytopenia in pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) has not been evaluated. Objective To evaluate the association between thrombocytopenia and the prognosis of patients with PLA. Methods A consecutive case series of 458 adult patients with PLA hospitalized at Tongji Hospital (Wuhan, China) between October 2011 and June 2021 was included in this cross-sectional analysis. Patient data were compared between the thrombocytopenia and non-thrombocytopenia groups. Multivariate logistic regression, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and propensity score -matched analyses (PSM) were performed. Results Of the 458 patients with PLA, 94 (20.5%) developed thrombocytopenia, 19 (4.1%) developed septic shock, 14 (3.1%) were admitted to the ICU, and 15 (3.3%) died during hospitalization. Thrombocytopenia was independently associated with shock (95%CI = 3.529–57.944, P < 0.001), ICU admission (95%CI = 1.286–25.733, P = 0.022), and mortality (95%CI = 1.947–34.223, P = 0.004) in multivariate regression analysis. ROC analysis showed that thrombocytopenia may be an identified marker of shock [area under the ROC curve (AUC), 0.8119; cut-off, 92.50; P < 0.0001], ICU admission (AUC, 0.7484; cut-off, 82.50; P < 0.0015), and mortality (AUC, 0.7827; cut-off, 122.50; P < 0.002). These findings remained consistent across 86 pairs of patients analyzed for PSM analyses. Conclusions Thrombocytopenia is an independent risk factor for poor prognosis in PLA and patients may be more prone to adverse outcomes.
An old new proof of Roth’s theorem

In 1953 Roth [3] proved that for any fixed δ > 0, if N is sufficiently large and A is any subset of {1, 2, . , N} of size ≥ δN then A contains a non-trivial 3-term arithmetic progression. In the 1980s I came up with an alternate proof that is in some aspects a little simpler but which I did not publish. This school gives me another opportunity to present this approach. We suppose that A ⊂ {1, 2, . , N} with |A| = δN (where |A| ≥ 1000 √ N), and that A does not contain a non-trivial 3-term arithmetic progression, As usual we define e(t) = e and Â(α) = ∑
A Deep Learning Framework for the Detection of Malay Hate Speech

Although social media can efficiently disseminate information, they also facilitate the dissemination of online abuse, harassment, and hate speech. In 2019, United Nations Secretary-General introduced the United Nations Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech in response to the alarming global trend of rising hate speech. It is crucial to prevent hate speech because it can have severe negative effects on both individuals and society. While much research has been conducted on detecting online hate speech in English, little research has been conducted in other languages, such as Malay. In this paper, we present the first benchmark dataset HateM for detecting hate speech in Malay, comprised of over 4,892 annotated tweets. We created a two-channel deep learning model, XLCaps, to effectively manage noisy Malay language posts. One channel’s input is the XLNet language model followed by the capsule network, while the other channel’s input is the FastText embedding with Bi-GRU. Our proposed model surpasses the baseline models in terms of overall accuracy and F1 measurement, which are 80.69% and 80.41%, respectively. This work contributes to the prevention of hate speech in Malay and can serve as a basis for future study in this area. The approach to effectively managing noisy Malay posts can be also applied to other languages. The code and dataset are available at https://github.com/MaityKrishanu/Hate_Malay.
Medicines Wastage and Its Contributing Factors in Public Health Facilities of South Gondar Zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia

Background In developing countries like Ethiopia, medicines wastage becomes a major healthcare system challenge. However, data that displayed the type, extent, and contributing factors of medicines wastage were limited. Methods A health facility-based explanatory sequential mixed study was conducted from December 2021 to February 2022. One drug and therapeutics committee (DTC) and one store man per health facility, working during the study period were included for their perception of medicines wastage and possible causes. As key informants, 1 Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and 1pharmacy head were also included per facility. In total, 80 participants were included in this study. The quantitative data to determine the magnitude of medicine wastage were collected using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 25. Results The overall medicines wastage in the three consecutive years was 6.3%. The trend over the three years indicated that medicines wastage is 6.5%, 5.9%, and 6.5% in 2011, 2012, and 2013 Ethiopian Fiscal Year (EFY), respectively. The medicine wastage rate has been increasing nearly by 3% between 2011/2012 and 2012/2013. The main sources of wastage of medicines were expiry (99.3%). The perceived reasons for such medicine’s wastage were near-expiry medicines (<6 months) being delivered to the health facilities by suppliers, poor communication and coordination with key stakeholders, and the presence of overstocked medicines due to improper forecasting of need in the facilities. Conclusion There is an excessive rate of medicines wastage which needs immediate mitigation by exchanging nearly expired medicines with other health facilities, communicating with suppliers and even prescribers, using auditable pharmaceutical transactions and services (APTS), providing continuous training, pursuing quality and safety medicines reuse scheme, implementation of pharmacist waste-reducing activities in all stages of the pharmaceutical supply chain, reducing medication amounts in stock, and through the use of electronic stock management tools.
Exploring stakeholders perspectives on TB contact investigation in Cali, Colombia: a qualitative study

Introduction Contact investigation is a proven intervention for tuberculosis (TB) case finding and prevention. Although widely endorsed by national public health authorities and the World Health Organization, many countries struggle to implement it effectively. The objective of the study is to describe and characterize the barriers and facilitators of TB contact investigation in Cali, Colombia from the perspective and experience of the key stakeholders involved. Methods We collected data from group discussions during two workshop sessions with clinic and public health staff involved in TB contact investigation (June 2019 and March 2020 respectively) and semi-structured interviews with TB cases and their household contacts (July 2019 to April 2020). We undertook an inductive thematic analysis with the RADaR technique to characterize the barriers and facilitators of the TB contact investigation process. Results The two workshops included 21 clinics and 12 public health staff. We also conducted 26 semi-structured interviews with TB cases and their household contacts. Using thematic analysis, we identified four common themes: Healthcare Operations, Essential Knowledge, Time Limitations and Competing Responsibilities, and Interpersonal Interactions. The main barriers to conducting household visits were low data quality, stigma and mistrust, safety concerns for health workers, and limited resources. The main barriers to TB uptake by contacts were competing responsibilities, low TB risk perceptions among contacts, and difficulty accessing diagnostic tests for contacts. In contrast, good communication and social skills among health workers and accurate TB knowledge facilitated successful household visits and TB test uptake, according to key stakeholders. Conclusion This study provides a deeper understanding of TB contact investigation barriers and facilitators in a high-prevalence urban setting in a middle-income country from the perspective and experience of key stakeholders. The study shed light on the barriers that hinder household contacts engagement and TB test uptake such as issues of systemic capacity and TB knowledge. Also, highlighted facilitators such as the importance of interpersonal communication skills among health workers in the public and private sector. The insights from this study can serve as a valuable resource for public health organizations seeking to enhance their contact investigation efforts and improve TB control in similar settings.
The non-arbitrariness of some conative calls used to chase animals

The present article demonstrates that languages tend to contain dispersals – a subtype of conative calls used to chase animals – that are built around voiceless sibilants. This tendency is both quantitative (i.e., voiceless-sibilant dispersals are common across languages and in a single language) and qualitative (i.e., sibilants contribute very significantly to the phonetic substance of such dispersals). This fact, together with a range of formal similarities exhibited by voiceless-sibilant dispersals encapsulated by the pattern [kI/Uʃ] suggests that the presence of voiceless sibilants in dispersals is not arbitrary. Overall, voiceless-sibilant dispersals tend to comply with the general phonetic profile associated with the prototype of CACs and dispersals, postulated recently in scholarship, thus corroborating the validity of this prototype.
Trade unions, digitalisation and country effects: A comparative study of banking in Norway and the UK

The resurgence of debate around digitalisation and work has seen the role of unions in the ‘social shaping of technology’ attracting renewed interest. A key question concerns how far national institutions influence unions’ ability to shape digitalisation in particular sectors and workplaces. Using a multi-level analysis that emphasises the inter-relationships between institutions, union power, resources and agency, this article compares the role of two unions in the banking sector in Norway and the UK. Drawing on interviews with national officers and workplace representatives, it addresses their involvement in decision-making processes and ability to influence outcomes in relation to digital monitoring and surveillance. The research findings highlight the continued salience of ‘country effect’ as evidenced by the Norwegian union’s more prominent role in shaping better worker outcomes.
Evolving Acquired Vemurafenib Resistance in a BRAF V600E Mutant Melanoma PDTX Model to Reveal New Potential Targets

Malignant melanoma is challenging to treat, and metastatic cases need chemotherapy strategies. Targeted inhibition of commonly mutant BRAF V600E by inhibitors is efficient but eventually leads to resistance and progression in the vast majority of cases. Numerous studies investigated the mechanisms of resistance in melanoma cell lines, and an increasing number of in vivo or clinical data are accumulating. In most cases, bypassing BRAF and resulting reactivation of the MAPK signaling, as well as alternative PI3K-AKT signaling activation are reported. However, several unique changes were also shown. We developed and used a patient-derived tumor xenograft (PDTX) model to screen resistance evolution in mice in vivo, maintaining tumor heterogeneity. Our results showed no substantial activation of the canonical pathways; however, RNAseq and qPCR data revealed several altered genes, such as GPR39, CD27, SLC15A3, IFI27, PDGFA, and ABCB1. Surprisingly, p53 activity, leading to apoptotic cell death, was unchanged. The found biomarkers can confer resistance in a subset of melanoma patients via immune modulation, microenvironment changes, or drug elimination. Our resistance model can be further used in testing specific inhibitors that could be used in future drug development, and combination therapy testing that can overcome inhibitor resistance in melanoma.
Cat Scratch Disease—A Benign Disease with Thymic Hyperplasia Mimicking Lymphoma

Cat scratch disease (CSD) is a benign condition caused by the inoculation of Bartonella henselae. The imaging findings are non-specific, and it is difficult to diagnose the disease via imaging. However, imaging studies help exclude other differential diagnoses in diagnostic dilemmas. We encountered a case of a 17-year-old adolescent who presented with painful neck swelling. CT showed multiple bilateral cervical lymphadenopathies with triangular soft tissue mass at the anterior mediastinum likely to be thymic hyperplasia, which is unusual in CSD and was mistaken for a lymphoproliferative disorder. Tissue diagnosis with a thorough clinical history yielded the diagnosis of cat scratch disease, and follow-up imaging showed resolution of the cervical lymphadenopathy and thymic hyperplasia.