Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Significant Suppression of Star Formation in Radio-quiet AGN Host Galaxies with Kiloparsec-scale Radio Structures

We conducted 22 GHz 1″ Jansky Very Large Array imaging of 100 radio-quiet X-ray-selected active galactic nuclei (AGN) from the Swift–Burst Array Telescope (Swift–BAT) survey. We find AGN-driven kiloparsec-scale radio structures inconsistent with pure star formation in 11 AGN. The host galaxies of these AGN lie significantly below the star-forming main sequence, indicating suppressed star formation. While these radio structures tend to be physically small compared to the host galaxy, the global star formation rate of the host is affected. We evaluate the energetics of the radio structures interpreted first as immature radio jets, and then as consequences of an AGN-driven radiative outflow, and compare them to two criteria for successful feedback: the ability to remove the CO-derived molecular gas mass from the galaxy gravitational potential and the kinetic energy transfer to molecular clouds leading to v cloud > σ *. In most cases, the jet interpretation is insufficient to provide the energy necessary to cause the star formation suppression. Conversely, the wind interpretation provides ample energy in all but one case. We conclude that it is more likely that the observed suppression of star formation in the global host galaxy is due to interstellar medium interactions of a radiative outflow, rather than a small-scale radio jet.
Viral load in community SARS-CoV-2 cases varies widely and temporally

Background: Information on COVID-19 in representative community surveillance is limited, particularly regarding cycle threshold (Ct) values (a proxy for SARS-CoV-2 viral load) and symptoms. Methods: We included all positive nose and throat swabs between 26 April-11 October 2020 from the UK national COVID-19 Infection Survey, tested by RT-PCR for the N, S and ORF1ab genes. We investigated predictors of median Ct value using quantile regression. Results: 1892(0.22%) of 843,851 results were positive, 1362(72%), 185(10%) and 345(18%) for 3, 2 or 1 genes respectively. Ct for different genes were strongly correlated (rho=0.99) with overall median Ct 26.2 (IQR 19.7-31.1; range 10.3-37.6), corresponding to ~2,500 dC/ml (IQR 80-240,000). Ct values were independently lower in those reporting symptoms, with more genes detected, and in first (vs. subsequent) positives per-participant, with no evidence of independent effects of sex, ethnicity, age, deprivation or other test characteristics (p>0.20). Whilst single-gene positives without reported symptoms almost invariably had Ct>30, triple-gene positives without reported symptoms had widely varying Ct. Incorporating pre-test probability and Ct values, 1547(82%) and 112(6%) positives had higher or lower supporting evidence for genuine infection. Ct values, symptomatic percentages and supporting evidence changed over time. With lower positivity in the summer, there were proportionally more lower evidence positives, and higher evidence positives had higher Ct values (p<0.0001), suggesting lower viral burden. Declines in mean/median Ct values were apparent throughout August and preceded increases in positivity rates. Conclusions: Community SARS-CoV-2 infections show marked variation in viral load. Ct values could be a useful epidemiological early-warning indicator.
The flaring X-ray corona in the quasar PDS 456

New Swift monitoring observations of the variable, radio-quiet quasar, PDS 456, are presented. A bright X-ray flare was captured in September 2018, the flux increasing by a factor of 4 and with a doubling time-scale of 2 days. From the light crossing argument, the coronal size is inferred to be about 30 gravitational radii for a black hole mass of $10^{9} {\rm M}_{\odot}$ and the total flare energy exceeds $10^{51}$ erg. A hardening of the X-ray emission accompanied the flare, with the photon index decreasing from $\Gamma=2.2$ to $\Gamma=1.7$ and back again. The flare is produced in the X-ray corona, the lack of any optical or UV variability being consistent with a constant accretion rate. Simultaneous XMM-Newton and NuSTAR observations were performed, $1-3$ days after the flare peak and during the decline phase. These caught PDS 456 in a bright, bare state, where no disc wind absorption features are apparent. The hard X-ray spectrum shows a high energy roll-over, with an e-folding energy of $E_{\rm fold}=51^{+11}_{-8}$ keV. The deduced coronal temperature, of $kT=13$ keV, is one of the coolest measured in any AGN and PDS 456 lies well below the predicted pair annihilation line in X-ray corona. The spectral variability, becoming softer when fainter following the flare, is consistent with models of cooling X-ray coronae. Alternatively, an increase in a non-thermal component could contribute towards the hard X-ray flare spectrum.
Abstracting gradual typing moving forward: precise and space-efficient

Abstracting Gradual Typing (AGT) is a systematic approach to designing gradually-typed languages. Languages developed using AGT automatically satisfy the formal semantic criteria for gradual languages identified by Siek et al. Nonetheless, vanilla AGT semantics can still have important shortcomings. First, a gradual language's runtime checks should preserve the space-efficiency guarantees inherent to the underlying static and dynamic languages. To the contrary, the default operational semantics of AGT break proper tail calls. Second, a gradual language's runtime checks should enforce basic modular type-based invariants expected from the static type discipline. To the contrary, the default operational semantics of AGT may fail to enforce some invariants in surprising ways. We demonstrate this in the GTFL≲ language of Garcia et al. This paper addresses both problems at once by refining the theory underlying AGT's dynamic checks. Garcia et al. observe that AGT involves two abstractions of static types: one for the static semantics and one for the dynamic semantics. We recast the latter as an abstract interpretation of subtyping itself, while gradual types still abstract static types. Then we show how forward-completeness (Giacobazzi and Quintarelli) is key to supporting both space-efficient execution and reliable runtime type enforcement.
MMFT-BERT: Multimodal Fusion Transformer with BERT Encodings for Visual Question Answering

We present MMFT-BERT(MultiModal FusionTransformer with BERT encodings), to solve Visual Question Answering (VQA) ensuring individual and combined processing of multiple input modalities. Our approach benefits from processing multimodal data (video and text) adopting the BERT encodings individually and using a novel transformer-based fusion method to fuse them together. Our method decomposes the different sources of modalities, into different BERT instances with similar architectures, but variable weights. This achieves SOTA results on the TVQA dataset. Additionally, we provide TVQA-Visual, an isolated diagnostic subset of TVQA, which strictly requires the knowledge of visual (V) modality based on a human annotator’s judgment. This set of questions helps us to study the model’s behavior and the challenges TVQA poses to prevent the achievement of super human performance. Extensive experiments show the effectiveness and superiority of our method.
Robust Odometry and Mapping for Multi-LiDAR Systems With Online Extrinsic Calibration

Combining multiple LiDARs enables a robot to maximize its perceptual awareness of environments and obtain sufficient measurements, which is promising for simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM). This article proposes a system to achieve robust and simultaneous extrinsic calibration, odometry, and mapping for multiple LiDARs. Our approach starts with measurement preprocessing to extract edge and planar features from raw measurements. After a motion and extrinsic initialization procedure, a sliding window-based multi-LiDAR odometry runs onboard to estimate poses with an online calibration refinement and convergence identification. We further develop a mapping algorithm to construct a global map and optimize poses with sufficient features together with a method to capture and reduce data uncertainty. We validate our approach’s performance with extensive experiments on 10 sequences (4.60-km total length) for the calibration and SLAM and compare it against the state of the art. We demonstrate that the proposed work is a complete, robust, and extensible system for various multi-LiDAR setups. The source code, datasets, and demonstrations are available at: https://ram-lab.com/file/site/m-loam.
Graph Contrastive Learning with Augmentations

Generalizable, transferrable, and robust representation learning on graph-structured data remains a challenge for current graph neural networks (GNNs). Unlike what has been developed for convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for image data, self-supervised learning and pre-training are less explored for GNNs. In this paper, we propose a graph contrastive learning (GraphCL) framework for learning unsupervised representations of graph data. We first design four types of graph augmentations to incorporate various priors. We then systematically study the impact of various combinations of graph augmentations on multiple datasets, in four different settings: semi-supervised, unsupervised, and transfer learning as well as adversarial attacks. The results show that, even without tuning augmentation extents nor using sophisticated GNN architectures, our GraphCL framework can produce graph representations of similar or better generalizability, transferrability, and robustness compared to state-of-the-art methods. We also investigate the impact of parameterized graph augmentation extents and patterns, and observe further performance gains in preliminary experiments. Our codes are available at https://github.com/Shen-Lab/GraphCL.
Psychometric Analysis of the Perceived Stress Scale Among Healthy University Students

Background There is a gradual increase in the prevalence of stress during professional courses. Previous studies reported a high incidence of stress among university students. The psychometric properties of the perceived stress scale-10 (PSS-10) have been established in different populations. The current study aimed to assess psychometric properties of the PSS-10 in Saudi university students. Methods Healthy university students (n= 192) participated in this cross-sectional study. All the participants were explained about the aim and procedures of the study. Participants were requested to complete the English version of the PSS, the generalized anxiety disorder-7 (GAD-7), the sleep hygiene index (SHI), and demographic details. Results The range of the PSS-10 total score was 0–35; 1% reported minimum score of 0, but none reported maximum score of 40. Therefore, there was no issue of ceiling or floor effect in the PSS-10 total score. Positive and significant correlations of the PSS total and the PSS Factor-1 (distress perception) with the GAD-7 total score, SHI item-8 and SHI item-13 score support its convergent validity. Negative or no correlation of the PSS Factor-2 score (coping perception) with the GAD-7 total score, SHI item-8 and SHI item-13 scores demonstrate its divergent validity. The internal homogeneity test indicated moderate to strong positive correlations (r=0.60–0.82) between the PSS Factors and the items loading on them. The internal consistency test showed a good agreement for the PSS Factor-1 and the PSS Factor-2 scores (Cronbach’s alpha 0.78 and 0.71, respectively), suggesting an acceptable level of consistency. Factor analysis favored a 2-Factor model of the PSS in the Saudi students. Conclusion The current study supported the use of the PSS-10 to assess the perceived stress among Saudi university students.
Path decompositions of tournaments

In 1976, Alspach, Mason, and Pullman conjectured that any tournament T$T$ of even order can be decomposed into exactly ex(T)$\operatorname{ex}(T)$ paths, where ex(T)≔12∑v∈V(T)|dT+(v)−dT−(v)|$\operatorname{ex}(T)\coloneqq \frac{1}{2}\sum _{v\in V(T)}|d_T^+(v)-d_T^-(v)|$ . We prove this conjecture for all sufficiently large tournaments. We also prove an asymptotically optimal result for tournaments of odd order.
Prevalence and Associated Factors of Early Postnatal Care Service Use Among Mothers Who Had Given Birth Within the Last 12 Months in Adigrat Town, Tigray, Northern Ethiopia, 2018

Background The care given for the first hours, days, and weeks after childbirth is life-threatening. So far, this period receives less attention from health-care providers than the care given to pregnancy and delivery. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of early postnatal care service use among mothers who had given birth in the last 12 months in Adigrat Town, Tigray, Ethiopia. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March to April 2018 among 481mothers who had given birth in the last 12 months. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select study participants. A pre-tested and structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. Data analysis was computed using SPSS version 20. An adjusted odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval and p-value less than 0.05 was used to determine the level of significance. Results The proportion of early postnatal care service utilization was 34.3% (95% CI: 29.9%–38.5%). Mothers’ use of early postnatal care service was predicted by previous early postnatal care use (AOR=2.60, 95% CI: 1.41–4.77), ANC visit (AOR=0.122, 95% CI:0.059–0.251), delivery complication (AOR=5.57, 95% CI: 2.85–10.89), distance (AOR =5.05, 95% CI: 2.45–10.42), postnatal home visit (AOR=0.21, 95% CI: 0.11–0.40), awareness on early postnatal care (AOR=16.38 95% CI: 6.23–43.07), age (AOR=9.34, 95% CI: 1.73–50.27), (AOR=6.50, 95% CI: 2.29–18.41), (AOR= 6.23, 95% CI: 2.38–16.33) and income (AOR=7.97 95% CI: 2.42–26.26, AOR=3.30 95% CI:1.42–7.67). Conclusion Our study’s finding revealed that the prevalence of early postnatal care service use was low. Early postnatal care service use was significantly associated with previous early postnatal care use, delivery complication, distance, postnatal home visit, number of ANC visits, awareness on early postnatal care use, age, and income.
Superstatistical modelling of protein diffusion dynamics in bacteria

A recent experiment (Sadoon AA, Wang Y. 2018 Phys. Rev. E 98, 042411. (doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.98.042411)) has revealed that nucleoid-associated proteins (i.e. DNA-binding proteins) exhibit highly heterogeneous diffusion processes in bacteria where not only the diffusion constant but also the anomalous diffusion exponent fluctuates for the various proteins. The distribution of displacements of such proteins is observed to take a q-Gaussian form, which decays as a power law. Here, a statistical model is developed for the diffusive motion of the proteins within the bacterium, based on a superstatistics with two variables. This model hierarchically takes into account the joint fluctuations of both the anomalous diffusion exponents and the diffusion constants. A fractional Brownian motion is discussed as a possible local model. Good agreement with the experimental data is obtained.
Long-Term Effectiveness of a Home-Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Older People with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Retrospective Study

Background Long-term effectiveness of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is still uncertain in older people with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The objective was to compare the effects of home-based PR in people with COPD above and below the age of 70 years. Methods In this retrospective study, 480 people with COPD were recruited and divided into those ≤70 (n=341) and those >70 years of age (n=139). All participants underwent an 8 weeks of home-based PR, consisting of a weekly supervised 90-minute home session. Six-minute stepper test (6MST), timed-up and go test (TUG), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Visual Simplified Respiratory Questionnaire (VSRQ) were assessed at baseline (M0), at 2 (M2), 8 (M8), 14 (M14) months after baseline. Results The older group was described by fewer current smokers (p <0.001), more long-term oxygen therapy use (p = 0.024), higher prevalence of comorbidities (p<0.001), lower 6MST score and higher TUG score (p<0.001), compared to the younger group. Both groups improved every outcome at M2 compared to baseline. At M2, 88% of people ≤70 years of age and 79% of those above 70 were considered as responders in at least one evaluated parameter (p = 0.013). Both groups maintained the benefits at M14, except for the VSRQ score and the number of responders to this outcome in the older group. Conclusion Regardless of the age, personalized home-based PR was effective for people with COPD in the short term. Above 70 years, an ageing effect appeared on the long-term effectiveness of quality of life benefit.
Prevalence and Predictors of Neurocognitive Impairment in Ethiopian Population Living with HIV

Background Modern antiretroviral therapy has extended the life expectancies of people living with HIV; however, the prevention and treatment of their associated neurocognitive decline have remained a challenge. Consequently, it is desirable to investigate the prevalence and predictors of neurocognitive impairment to help in targeted screening and disease prevention. Materials and Methods Two hundred and forty-four people living with HIV were interviewed in a study using a cross-sectional design and the International HIV Dementia Scale (IHDS). Additionally, the sociodemographic, clinical, and psychosocial characteristics of the patients were recorded. Chi-square and binary logistic regression analysis were used to determine the level of significance among the independent risk factors and probable neurocognitive impairment. Results The point prevalence of neurocognitive impairment was found to be 39.3%. Participants’ characteristics of being older than 40 years (AOR= 2.81 (95% CI; 1.11–7.15)), having a history of recreational drug use (AOR= 13.67 (95% CI; 6.42–29.13)), and being non-compliant with prescribed medications (AOR= 2.99 (95% CI; 1.01–8.87)) were independent risk factors for neurocognitive impairment. Conclusion The identification of predictors, in the Ethiopian people living with HIV, may help in the targeted screening of vulnerable groups during cART follow-up visits. This may greatly help in strategizing and implementation of the prevention program, more so, because (i) HIV-associated neurocognitive impairment is an asymptomatic condition for considerable durations, and (ii) clinical trials on neurocognitive impairment therapies have been unsuccessful.
Quantitative Comparison of the Vascular Structure of Macular Neovascularizations Between Swept-Source and Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography

Purpose The aim of this study was to ascertain and quantify the differences between swept-source (SS) and spectral-domain (SD) optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) imaging of macular neovascularizations (MNV) in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). Patients and Methods SD-OCTA (RTVue Avanti) and SS-OCTA (PLEX® Elite 9000) were performed in 37 patients with MNV in nAMD. The MNV was delineated and the data were processed via ImageJ. The parameters MNV area, nodes per area, fractal dimension (FD), and flow density were analyzed using MatLab. Results There was close agreement between the two devices regarding MNV area (ICCc 0.977, ICCa 0.977, R2 0.977), but only slight agreement regarding nodes per area (ICCa 0.008, ICCc 0.548, R2 0.51), FD (ICCa 0.425, ICCc 0.846, R2 0.96), and flow density (ICCa 0.451, ICCc 0.656, R2 0.65). The difference between the two devices was insignificant for MNV area (type 1: p=0.328; type 2: p=0.426; type 3: p=0.615), but significant for nodes per area (type 1: p=0.002; type 2: p=0.00001; type 3: p=0.003), FD (type 1: p<0.00001; type 2: p<0.00001; type 3: p=0.015) and flow density (type 1: p=0.0004; type 2: p=0.004; type 3: p=0.052). Conclusion MNV area is closely comparable between devices using SS-OCTA and SD-OCTA imaging. However, the two methods differ significantly in their precise assessment of the vascular morphology (FD, flow density, nodes per area). Therefore, results obtained using different devices are not comparable and should not be amalgamated in clinical trials.
Human Platelets and Derived Products in Treating Ocular Surface Diseases – A Systematic Review

Abstract Human platelet products have emerged as an alternative treatment for a range of ocular surface diseases such as dry eye and corneal ulceration. With significant therapeutic potential and increasing popularity, this study aimed to conduct a systematic review to detail the various production methods involved in generating platelet-derived products, compare and analyze clinical findings across available studies, and disseminate the relative advantages, limitations, and challenges of using platelet products to treat ocular surface disease. Thirty-eight clinical studies were identified, excluding studies conducted in animals and non-English language. Studies reported clinical outcomes, which included ocular surface disease index, best-corrected visual acuity, and corneal fluorescein staining. Most clinical studies reported improved patient signs and symptoms with an increasing variety of human platelet products including platelet rich plasma eye drops, human platelet lysate and platelet gels. However, due to variations in production methods, and study designs as well as confusing terminology, it was suggested that characterization of platelet products is needed for proper evaluation across studies.
The Associations of Gender, Menopause, Age, and Asthma with REM-Predominant Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Prospective Observational Study

Purpose The study sought to assess demographics, clinical features, comorbidities, and polysomnographic features of a large cohort of clinic-based patients with rapid eye movement-predominant obstructive sleep apnea (REM-predominant-OSA) in both genders, while assessing the relationship between REM-predominant OSA in one hand and menopausal status and age on the other. Methods This prospective observational study was conducted between January 2003 and December 2017. REM-predominant OSA diagnostic criteria included an AHI of ≥5/h, with REM-AHI/non-REM-AHI of >2, a non-REM-AHI of <15/h, and a minimum of 15 min of REM sleep. Patients who had an AHI>5 events/h and did not meet the criteria for REM-predominant OSA were included in the non-stage-specific OSA group (NSS). Results The study consisted of 1346 men and 823 women (total=2169). REM-predominant OSA was diagnosed in 17% (n=369). The prevalence of REM-predominant OSA in women was 25% compared with 12% in men. Several independent associations of REM-predominant OSA were identified in the whole group, including age (OR: 0.97 [0.95–0.98], p<0.01), female sex (OR: 6.95 [4.86–9.93], p>0.01), REM sleep duration (min) (OR: 1.02 [1.02–1.03], < 0.01), and time with SpO2 <90% (mins) (OR: 0.97 [0.95–0.99], < 0.01), hypertension (OR:0.67 [0.45–0.99], 0.04) and asthma (OR: 2.19 [1.56–3.07], < 0.01). The prevalence of REM-predominant OSA in premenopausal and postmenopausal women was 35% and 18.6% (p< 0.01), respectively. Among women, age was an independent correlate (OR: 0.97 [0.94–0.99], p=0.03; however, menopausal status was not. Conclusion REM-predominant OSA is prevalent among clinic-based patients with OSA. A younger age and female sex were independent correlates of REM-predominant OSA. Among women, a younger age but not menopausal status was a correlate of REM-predominant OSA. Asthma was independently associated with REM-predominant OSA.