Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bottom-type classification in coral reef area using hyperspectral bottom index imagery

This paper describes a bottom-types classification method for mapping shallow coral reef area using hyperspectral bottom index (BI) imagery. Monitoring of coral reef degradation, especially coral bleaching, is important because coral reefs offer important ecosystem services. However, it is difficult to monitor coral reefs using spaceborne multispectral sensors due to spectral confusion between coral, algae and seagrass. This study develops a bottom-type area ratio regression model using support vector machine (SVM) and hyperspectral BI imagery. BI imagery is effective in reducing wavelength dependency. The method applied in this study achieved overall accuracies that range from 0.6 to 0.8. In addition, the effectiveness of the applied method was confirmed with sample size reduction. For example, half of the sample size produced an overall accuracy of 0.6. This result shows that the applied method is effective for coral reef monitoring.
Serum proteomics in amnestic mild cognitive impairment

We have explored proteins related to mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The serum proteome of 35 amnestic MCI patients and 35 cognitively healthy persons was investigated by LC MS. We identified 108 differentially expressed peptides between MCI patients and controls, belonging to 39 proteins. Eight proteins were selected for further investigation by quantitative protein measurements using a MRM assay; apolipoprotein E, carboxypeptidase N subunit 2, complement factor B (CFAB), galectin‐3 binding protein (LG3BP), lumican, serum amyloid A‐4 protein (SAA4), serum amyloid P‐component, and sex hormone binding globulin. Results of the quantitative protein measurements showed significantly decreased levels of carboxypeptidase N subunit 2, CFAB, LG3BP, SAA4, and serum amyloid P‐component in serum from amnestic MCI patients compared with cognitive healthy controls (two‐sided t‐test; p < 0.05). Apolipoprotein E and lumican showed no significant difference in protein levels, sex hormone binding globulin could not be quantified since the MRM assay did not reach the required sensitivity. A model based on the three most significantly decreased proteins (CFAB, LG3BP, and SAA4) showed a sensitivity and specificity of 73 and 66%, respectively, for the initial sample set. A small external validation set yielded 77% sensitivity and 75% specificity.
Stock Market Development and Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence from Some Arab Countries

This study aims to provide further empirical evidence about the relationship between stock market development and economic growth by utilizing unbalanced panel data from some Arab countries (Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunis, and United Arab Emirates) over the period (1980 – 2008). The results of both fixed and random effects models indicate that there is a positive effect of stock market development (as measured by Market Capitalization Ratio and Turnover Ratio) on economic growth. This result supports the viewpoints that stock market development can enhance economic growth, and counters the skeptic's point of view that the volatile nature of stock markets and speculation in developing countries may retard economic growth. On the other hand, the results support that economic growth has positive and statistically significant influence on stock market development indicators. This conclusion points out that there is a reciprocal relationship between stock market development and economic growth. The results of this study provide some policy issues in which policy makers in Arab countries should play an active role to foster the stock markets of these countries through removing the legal and regulatory impediments to Arab stock markets and realizing the international integration of these markets.
Sources of Inequality in Earnings Growth Over the Life Cycle

Individuals that rank at the top of the lifetime earnings (LE) distribution experience almost an 8-fold increase in their annual earnings between age 30 and 55, whereas median earners only see a 50% increase. If all workers have had experienced the same earnings growth, the difference in LE between the top and the 10th percentiles of LE distribution would be 85% smaller. What explains the vast heterogeneity in lifetime earnings growth? We study both empirically and theoretically the career paths across the LE distribution. Using administrative data, we document large dispersion in job switching patterns, inci- dence of unemployment, and wage growth for stayers and switchers across the LE distri- bution. To interpret these facts, we estimate a job-ladder model featuring heterogeneity in unemployment risk, job finding rate and contact rate for employed workers, as well as returns to experience. The estimated model matches a rich set of facts including the dispersion in the career paths over the LE distribution, as well as the distribution of annual earnings changes. We use the estimated model to decompose lifetime earnings growth differences into i) ex-ante heterogeneity in unemployment risk, and offer arrival rate both on and off the job, ii) returns to experience, and iii) ex-post idiosyncratic risk.
Are Taxes Turning Humans into Machines? Using Payroll Tax Variation to Estimate the Capital-Labor Elasticity of Substitution.

This paper provides the first quasi-experimental estimate of the micro capital-labor elasticity of substitution. We use a discontinuity in the average payroll tax rate to show that firms decrease both labor and capital when experiencing higher payroll tax rates. We argue that this is consistent with Leontief production functions, implying a micro capital-labor elasticity of substitution of zero. Using a conceptual framework to aggregate micro elasticities, we estimate a macro capital-labor elasticity of substitution of 0.17. Our finding sheds new light on the role of the substitution of labor with capital in the fall of labor shares and on the fiscal externalities imposed by payroll taxes.
A Multidimensional Comparison of Morphine and Hydromorphone Patient-Controlled Analgesia

Although patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pumps have been in use for more than a decade, the optimal PCA analgesic has yet to be identified. Many drugs are used; however, morphine remains the "gold standard" of opioid analgesics worldwide. The present study evaluated morphine and hydromorphone (Dilaudid Registered Trademark) PCA with respect to analgesic efficacy, side effects, mood, and cognitive function. Sixty-one opioid naive patients undergoing lower abdominal surgery participated in the double-blind protocol. Verbal rating scores, use of medication, and side effects for the two medications were recorded. Cognitive functioning was assessed by computation of Digit Symbol and Trails Making B Tests. Self-reported affective state (mood) was measured by Profile of Mood States (POMS) inventory. Both medications provided adequate analgesia without a difference in side effects. Cognitive performance was poorer in the hydromorphone group (P < 0.05). Patients receiving hydromorphone reported less anger/hostility (P < 0.01) and generally better mood elevations on other subscales than those receiving morphine. A similar incidence of side effects and dose of medication can be anticipated with morphine and hydromorphone. When considering cognitive effects, morphine had less adverse consequences, while hydromorphone appeared to result in improved mood. We conclude that hydromorphone may provide a suitable alternative to morphine. (Anesth Analg 1996;82:1043-8)
Endothelin‐1 receptor blockade as new possible therapeutic approach in multiple myeloma

New effective treatments are needed to improve outcomes for multiple myeloma (MM) patients. Receptors with restricted expression on plasma cells (PCs) represent attractive new therapeutic targets. The endothelin‐1 (EDN1) axis, consisting of EDN1 acting through EDN‐receptor A (EDNRA) and B (EDNRB), was previously shown to be overexpressed in several tumours, including MM. However, there is incomplete understanding of how EDN1 axis regulates MM growth and response to therapy. Besides EDNRA, the majority of MM cell lines and primary malignant PCs express high levels of EDNRB and release EDN1. Similarly, bone‐marrow microenvironment cells also secrete EDN1. Investigating the extent of epigenetic dysregulation of EDNRB gene in MM, we found that hypermethylation of EDNRB promoter and subsequent down‐regulation of EDNRB gene was observed in PCs or B lymphocytes from healthy donors compared to EDNRB‐expressing malignant PCs. Pharmacological blockade with the dual EDN1 receptor antagonist bosentan decreased cell viability and MAPK activation of U266 and RPMI‐8226 cells. Interestingly, the combination of bosentan and the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib, currently approved for MM treatment, resulted in synergistic cytotoxic effects. Overall, our data has uncovered EDN1‐mediated autocrine and paracrine mechanisms that regulate malignant PCs growth and drug response, and support EDN1 receptors as new therapeutic targets in MM.
Aptamers in HIV research diagnosis and therapy

ABSTRACT Aptamers are high affinity single-stranded nucleic acid or protein ligands which exhibit specificity and avidity comparable to, or exceeding that of antibodies and can be generated against most targets. The functionality of aptamers is based on their unique tertiary structure, complexity and their ability to attain unique binding pockets by folding. Aptamers are selected in vitro by a process called Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential enrichment (SELEX). The Kd values for the selected aptamer are often in the picomolar to low nanomolar range. Stable and nontoxic aptamers could be selected for a wide range of ligands including small molecules to large proteins. Aptamers have shown tremendous potential and have found multipurpose application in the field of therapeutic, diagnostic, biosensor and bio-imaging. While their mechanism of action can be similar to that of monoclonal antibodies, aptamers provide additional advantages in terms of production cost, simpler regulatory approval and lower immunogenicity as they are synthesized chemically. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the primary cause of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), which causes significant morbidity and mortality with a significant consequent decrease in the quality of patient's lives. While cART has led to good viral control, people living with HIV now suffer from non-HIV comorbidities due to viral protein expression that cannot be controlled by cART. Hence pathophysiological mechanisms that govern these comorbidities with a focus on therapies that neutralize these HIV effects gained increased attention. Recent advances in HIV/AIDS research have identified several molecular targets and for the development of therapeutic and diagnostic using aptamers against HIV/AIDS. This review presents recent advances in aptamers technology for potential application in HIV diagnostics and therapeutics towards improving the quality of life of people living with HIV.
Using branch-and-price to maximize redundant network utilization in cloud datacenter

In cloud datacenter, work-conserving bandwidth provision benefits the network sharing of multiple virtual datacenters (VDCs). Traditionally, cloud networks are shared in a best-effort manner making it hard to reason about how network resources are allocated. While cloud computing providers offer guaranteed allocations for resources such as CPU and memory, they do not offer any concrete bandwidth for network resources. The lack of concrete network resources prevents tenants from predicting lower bounds on the performance of their applications. Prior works concentrate on efficient and scalable bandwidth allocation algorithms for VDCs. However, per-VDC redundant bandwidth is ignored, which is crucial to work-conserving bandwidth offering. In this paper, we design an efficient link mapping algorithm to maximize per-VDC redundant bandwidth allocation. Due to the large-scale characteristic of cloud datacenter, it would generate huge search space for finding maximum bandwidth allocation, thereby incurring long solving time. Hence, we first divide the whole allocation spaces into independent pods, and model the link mapping to multi-commodity flow problem, which is linear programming problem with large number of decision variables. Afterward coupled with branch-and-price algorithm, we solve the link mapping efficiently. Simulations demonstrate that our VDC allocation achieves per-VDC redundant network allocation and low time cost.
The Functional Significance and Fitness Consequences of Heterophylly

Asymmetry along the longitudinal axis of a plant can be created by heterophylly, the production of leaves of different size or shape by an individual. Heterophylly is a widespread phenomenon ranging in degree from subtle variation in leaf size to striking differences in the size and shape of leaves produced by a single plant. Because leaf size and shape influence critical leaf functions, heterophylly may have significant consequences for plant fitness. To date, very few studies have directly addressed whether differences in leaf phenotypes produced by a single plant do result in differences in their functional properties or how any such differences affect individual survival and reproduction. I suggest some general approaches to determining the ecological and evolutionary significance of heterophylly and illustrate these approaches with two case studies from my work. One study demonstrates a functional difference between alternate leaf shapes in a heterophyllic violet. The other illustrates the use of phenotypic selection analysis to determine whether the optimum leaf phenotype differs among environments encountered by individual plants. Following the case studies, I review other published work relevant to the ecological and evolutionary significance of heterophylly, much of which has not been conducted explicitly in that context. In sum, this work suggests that the significance of longitudinal asymmetry created by heterophylly is case specific. Some instances of heterophylly may constitute adaptation to fine‐grained environmental variation, and others may simply reflect inevitable effects of environmental factors on leaf development that have ultimately neutral or negative effects on individual fitness. The study of heterophylly provides common ground for physiologists, developmental biologists, ecologists, and evolutionary biologists. Recognition of this common interest and increased interaction among groups studying heterophylly would promote a more systematic and synthetic picture of the biological bases and significance of this widespread phenomenon.
I Know Something You Don't Know: The Effect of Relative Performance Information and Individual Performance Incentives on Knowledge Sharing

When employees share knowledge with their colleagues, the efficiency of the colleagues' performance improves, which positively affects their productivity. However, employees can engage in counterproductive behavior by choosing not to share knowledge (passive behavior) or by choosing to share inaccurate knowledge with their colleagues (active behavior). In this study, we examine how providing relative performance information (RPI) and rewarding individuals with performance-based incentives can jointly affect individuals' choices to engage in counterproductive knowledge sharing behavior. Using an experiment, we identify an interactive effect of RPI and individual incentives, such that participants engage in counterproductive knowledge sharing behavior most frequently when they receive RPI and are assigned individual performance-based incentives. We also observe that RPI increases the frequency of both active and passive counterproductive knowledge sharing behavior.
Computer vision for Ethiopian agricultural crop pest identification

Crop pest is an organism that creates damage on to the agriculture by feeding crops. The research focuses on four major types of crop pest which occurs on teff, wheat, sorghum, barley and maize these are Black tef beetles, Ageda korkur, Degeza and Yesinde Kish Kish. The aim of this paper is identification of the four types of agricultural crop pest using a computer vision technique. The image of crop pest were taken from Amhara regions of Ethiopia i.e. Adiet, Dejen, Gonder, Debremarkos (places where images were taken). In this paper, artificial neural network (ANN), a hybrid of self organizing map (SOM) with Radial basis function (RBF) and a hybrid of support vector machine (SVM) with Radial basis function (RBF) are used, and also we used Otsu and Kmeans segmentation techniques. Finally we selected Kmeans techniques for segmenting crop pest. In general, the overall result showed that using kmeans segmentation in RBF and SVM perform better than using otsu method in the other algorithm and the recognition performance of the combination of RBF (Radial basis function) and SVM (support vector machine) is 93.33%.
Peri‐radiographic guidelines for children with autism spectrum disorder: a nationwide survey in Sweden

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of guidelines and routines used nationwide when children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are taken care of and examined in a radiology department during a peri-radiographic process. METHOD A nationwide survey was compiled and distributed to 94 radiology departments throughout Sweden, i.e. those performing more than 100 000 radiographic examinations annually. The survey was designed as a web questionnaire with seven questions on possible guidelines and/or routines for the departments when preparing and taking care of children with ASD in conjunction with a radiographic procedure. The data were scrutinized, using descriptive statistics. RESULTS In total, 86 radiology departments responded to the survey (response rate 92%). Of those departments, 40 did not examine children with ASD. None of the departments included in the study had existing guidelines underpinning the routines when preparing and performing radiographic examinations for children diagnosed with ASD. A few departments (n = 8) would set aside more time for the procedure if it were known in advance that the child to be examined had been diagnosed with ASD. Also, some departments (n = 7) had radiographers who were more experienced in the care of children who would be appointed to perform examinations for children with ASD. CONCLUSION It is suggested that guidelines should be developed in order to increase interaction in a supportive way and decrease anxiety during the peri-radiographic process with children with ASD.
On the Application of Martingale theory to Investment Strategy

Most often than not, an investor holding stock must decide whether to sell or keep holding the stock. This investment strategy over the years appears to be an easy task to take. In the investment parlance, it is called the Broker’s Common Sense (BCS). We have shown in this paper that the so-called BCS strategy is backed with advanced mathematical (probabilistic) phenomenon; we used the martingale theory to describe the strategy
Sipunculan ParaHox genes

SUMMARY Our perspective on the origin and evolution of the Hox gene cluster changed with the discovery of the ParaHox gene cluster in amphioxus (Cephalochordata; Branchiostoma floridae) ( Brooke et al. 1998 ). The ParaHox gene cluster contains three homeobox genes (Gsx, Xlox, Cdx) and is deduced to be a paralogue (evolutionary sister) of the Hox gene cluster. If this deduction is correct, animals with Hox genes should also possess ParaHox genes. Paradoxically, however, only deuterostome animals have thus far been shown to contain all three ParaHox genes. Here we report the cloning of all three ParaHox genes from each of two species within the phylum Sipuncula. This is the first demonstration of all three ParaHox genes in the genome of a protostome animal and confirms that the common ancestor of protostomes and deuterostomes possessed all three ParaHox genes. Furthermore, it implies that the ParaHox genes are of sufficient functional importance in both protostomes and deuterostomes that they have all been conserved in both of these bilaterian clades.
KPTI: Katib's Pashto Text Imagebase and Deep Learning Benchmark

This paper presents the first Pashto text image database for scientific research and thereby the first dataset with complete handwritten and printed text line images which ultimately covers all alphabets of Arabic and Persian languages. Language like Pashto, written in a complex way by calligraphers, still requires a mature Optical Character Recognition (OCR), system. Although 50 million people use this language both for oral and written communication, there is no significant effort which is devoted to the recognition of Pashto Script. A real dataset of 17,015 images having Pashto text lines is introduced. The images are acquired via scanning from hand scribed Pashto books. Further, in this work, we evaluated the performance of deep learning based models like Bidirectional and Multi-Dimensional Long Short Term Memory (BLSTM and MDLSTM) networks for Pashto texts and provide a baseline character error rate of 9.22%.
Support of axonal regrowth by endogenous mechanisms following spinal cord injury in adult rats

Because of its non‐invasive nature and ease of regulation, a closely monitored cryogenic method of tissue injury was used to create a degree of spinal cord injury within which there would be an extended regrowth of axons. The parameters of cooling used in the present study resulted in an injury length of 1 cm through which 3 mm of measured axonal regrowth and 8 mm of observed regrowth occurred over a 56‐day period in the ascending fibers of the dorsal column of the mature rat. This was associated with the development of a cellular matrix consisting of macrophages, macroglia and Schwann cells which gradually expands within the injured area initially dominated by macrophages. It is the authors' impression that the presence of a substantial microglial component within the macrophage population may be a significant factor in the success of the axonal regrowth. Under this influence and that of the invading axons, the astrocyte, which provides the immediate cell support to the growing axon, can be maintained in a functional state that is supportive and not obstructive to the axon, presumably through the recruitment of astrocyte precursors from an indigenous stem cell population. These tissue changes indicate that adult mammalian spinal cord tissue does have the capacity to develop on its own a matrix capable of supporting the regrowth of axons.