Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Global iodine status in 2011 and trends over the past decade.

Salt iodization has been introduced in many countries to control iodine deficiency. Our aim was to assess global and regional iodine status as of 2011 and compare it to previous WHO estimates from 2003 and 2007. Using the network of national focal points of the International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders as well as a literature search, we compiled new national data on urinary iodine concentration (UIC) to add to the existing data in the WHO Vitamin and Mineral Nutrition Information System Micronutrients Database. The most recent data on UIC, primarily national data in school-age children (SAC), were analyzed. The median UIC was used to classify national iodine status and the UIC distribution to estimate the number of individuals with low iodine intakes by severity categories. Survey data on UIC cover 96.1% of the world's population of SAC, and since 2007, new national data are available for 58 countries, including Canada, Pakistan, the U.K., and the U.S. At the national level, there has been major progress: from 2003 to 2011, the number of iodine-deficient countries decreased from 54 to 32 and the number of countries with adequate iodine intake increased from 67 to 105. However, globally, 29.8% (95% CI = 29.4, 30.1) of SAC (241 million) are estimated to have insufficient iodine intakes. Sharp regional differences persist; southeast Asia has the largest number of SAC with low iodine intakes (76 million) and there has been little progress in Africa, where 39% (58 million) have inadequate iodine intakes. In summary, although iodine nutrition has been improving since 2003, global progress may be slowing. Intervention programs need to be extended to reach the nearly one-third of the global population that still has inadequate iodine intakes.
Cloud Vertical Structure Observed from Space and Ship over the Bay of Bengal and the Eastern Tropical Pacific

The cloud vertical structure at two remote tropical oceanic convective locations is characterized using both ship-based (35 GHz) and space-based (94 GHz) cloud radar data. The field experiment data depicted the full diurnal cycle and detail of the vertical structures, while the CloudSat sampling was more extensive, but did not coincide with the field experiments. One location is the monsoonal Bay of Bengal, sampled as part of the Joint Air-Sea Monsoon Interaction Experiment (JASMINE), and the other location is the eastern Pacific intertropical convergence zone, sampled during the Eastern Pacific Investigation of Climate (EPIC) experiment. Both ship- and space-based radar datasets find more high cloudiness (9-14 km altitude with an 11-12 km maximum) over the Bay of Bengal than over the eastern tropical Pacific, postulated to reflect the advection of cirrus by upper-level easterly winds. Low-level cloudiness, with some extending into what may be cumulus congestus, is more characteristic of the eastern tropical Pacific than the Bay of Bengal. CloudSat cloud fractions over the eastern Pacific were only ˜ one-third those over the Bay of Bengal, in contrast to comparable cloud fractions within the field experiment datasets. A thin melting-level cloud population was also more apparent in the JASMINE data than in the EPIC field experiment data, but the larger CloudSat dataset showed the opposite. These differences discourage regional generalities based on a few weeks of point sampling. Pre-monsoon-onset conditions included a slight afternoon low cloud amount maximum combined with typically one warm rain event per night. High thin cirrus was common (cloud fraction of ˜35% with cloud optical depths of 2 or less and ice water paths typically < 40 g m-2). After monsoon onset, the ship-based cloud radar documented examples of coherent relationships among cloud structure, precipitation, and the larger-scale wind field. CloudSat did not detect much precipitating low cloud during its pre-monsoon time period, but did sample the upper-level clouds at approximately the maximum and minimum of their diurnal range. An intriguing finding is that CloudSat perceived a greater daytime occurrence of the highest clouds with reflectivitives < 10 dBZ at both locations, a finding replicated with a year’s data covering the full, ocean-only, tropical belt. We speculate the daytime high cloud may reflect remains of outflow from previous convection. The comparison also highlights differences in the Rayleigh versus Mie responses of the two radars.
Functional health measure for adjusting health maintenance organization capitation rates

Because of increasing interest in at-risk enrollment of Medicare beneficiaries by health maintenance organizations, a number of modifications to the adjusted average per capita cost (AAPCC) formula employed by the Health Care Financing Administration have been proposed recently. Researchers have found that new models, which include measures of prior years' utilization and costs, predict Medicare payments significantly better than does the purely demographic formula currently used. In this article, we show that inclusion of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), a measure of beneficiaries' functional health status, can further improve AAPCC models that already incorporate measures of previous-period utilization and costs. Various models for predicting Medicare payments were examined and compared using survey data and Medicare claims for a random sample of 1,934 beneficiaries. For these models, explained variation in subsequent Medicare payments (as indicated by R2 values) increased considerably when the IADL variable was included. Although actuarial concerns are associated with inclusion of the IADL score in the AAPCC, use of this measure is likely to offset other, possibly more serious, actuarial problems associated with including measures of previous utilization and costs.
Short-Term Calorie Restriction in Early Life Attenuates the Development of Proteinuria but Not Glucose Intolerance in Type 2 Diabetic OLETF Rats

Childhood obesity is becoming more prevalent; however, the influence of obesity or dieting during childhood on outcomes in adulthood is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of short-term calorie restriction (CR) and high-calorie feeding with high-fat or high-sucrose diets during early life on the development of glucose tolerance and diabetic nephropathy in later life of Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima fatty (OLETF) rats. Neither high-calorie intake nor CR at 7–13 weeks of age affected glucose tolerance of 27-week-old OLETF rats. On the other hand, proteinuria was lower at 27 weeks of age in CR rats than in the other rats. These results suggest that short-term CR at a young age protects against the development of renal injury in later life. In contrast, short-term high-calorie intake or CR at a young age does not appear to affect glucose metabolism in later life.
The development of agency in professional youth work with girls and young women in the Netherlands

Summary Young people living in north-west European welfare states are challenged to develop their individual strength. This is especially difficult for girls living in vulnerable circumstances, because they face a form of marginalization. Girls work is a method of professional youth work that supports girls in their identity development, making them more capable of shaping their own lives now and as adults. This is conceptualized as agency, which consist of the properties: intentionality, forethought, self-reactiveness, self-reflection. This paper examines the extent to which girls work helps girls living in vulnerable circumstances to develop their individual strength. Findings The article is based on a questionnaire filled out by 393 girls who participate in 59 girls work activities in the Netherlands. This study shows that participation in girls work contributes to the development of intentionality of these girls (F(3,387) = 4.60, p = . 004). Furthermore, girls who received an individual approach are better capable of reflecting on their actions than girls who only participated in group activities (F(2,388) = 3.10, p = . 046). Applications The findings suggest that participation in girls work contributes to the intentionality of girls in vulnerable circumstances, which is an important step in the development of agency. But to accomplish this, girls need to learn how to act upon their personal intentions. However, the findings do not show that girls work contributes to the other properties of agency, suggesting that to support girls in shaping their own lives, youth workers need to contribute more to the other levels of agency.
Fuzzy maximal covering location models for fighting dengue

The global incidence of dengue has grown dramatically in recent decades and about half of the world's population is now at risk. The proper deployment of mobile health teams is one of the tools available to control the mosquitoes population responsible of the illness transmission. The team deployment problem can be casted as a maximal coverage location problem with uncertainty due to the nature of the information available. Our aim is to propose and solve two fuzzy maximal covering location problems in the context of dengue control. We manage imprecision at the level of the number of teams available and at the coverage distance they may cover. Both cases are modeled through a fuzzy constraint. Computational experiments, using real data from Estado de Guerrero in México, have been conducted to analyze how the proposed models can be solved and what kind of information can be obtained to help a potential decision maker in taking a more informed decision.
Hox10 Genes Function in Kidney Development in the Differentiation and Integration of the Cortical Stroma

Organogenesis requires the differentiation and integration of distinct populations of cells to form a functional organ. In the kidney, reciprocal interactions between the ureter and the nephrogenic mesenchyme are required for organ formation. Additionally, the differentiation and integration of stromal cells are also necessary for the proper development of this organ. Much remains to be understood regarding the origin of cortical stromal cells and the pathways involved in their formation and function. By generating triple mutants in the Hox10 paralogous group genes, we demonstrate that Hox10 genes play a critical role in the developing kidney. Careful examination of control kidneys show that Foxd1-expressing stromal precursor cells are first observed in a cap-like pattern anterior to the metanephric mesenchyme and these cells subsequently integrate posteriorly into the kidney periphery as development proceeds. While the initial cap-like pattern of Foxd1-expressing cortical stromal cells is unaffected in Hox10 mutants, these cells fail to become properly integrated into the kidney, and do not differentiate to form the kidney capsule. Consistent with loss of cortical stromal cell function, Hox10 mutant kidneys display reduced and aberrant ureter branching, decreased nephrogenesis. These data therefore provide critical novel insights into the cellular and genetic mechanisms governing cortical cell development during kidney organogenesis. These results, combined with previous evidence demonstrating that Hox11 genes are necessary for patterning the metanephric mesenchyme, support a model whereby distinct populations in the nephrogenic cord are regulated by unique Hox codes, and that differential Hox function along the AP axis of the nephrogenic cord is critical for the differentiation and integration of these cell types during kidney organogenesis.
Neural network analysis of strength and ductility of welding alloys for high strength low alloy shipbuilding steels

Abstract There are considerable demands for the development of weld metals for high strength low alloy steels. To assist in meeting such demands, a neural network was trained and tested on a set of data obtained on weld metals for steels of the type used for shipbuilding. The input variables for the network were the chemical elements and the weld cooling rate. The outputs consisted of the yield and ultimate tensile strengths, elongation, and reduction of area. Many models were created using different network configurations and initial conditions. An appropriate committee of models was then assembled by testing the ability of the models to generalise on unseen data. The neural network technique used is due to MacKay, with a Bayesian framework, and hence allows the estimation of error bars, which warn the user when data are sparse or locally noisy. The method revealed significant trends describing the dependence of mechanical properties on weld composition and cooling rate.
Age at menarche and its influencing factors in North Korean female refugees.

BACKGROUND Age at menarche is known to be regulated by genetic and environmental factors. To date, no menarcheal data are available on North Korean women. In this cross-sectional survey, we investigated age at menarche and its possible influencing factors in North Korean refugees. METHODS Four hundred and eleven North Korean refugees were surveyed at a North Korean female refugee camp using a structured questionnaire within 3 months of immigration. Menarcheal age was requested and the data obtained were analysed with respect to age at interview, region of residence in North Korea, education, food preference and sleep duration. RESULTS Mean age at menarche was 16.0+/-2.1 years (mean+/-SD). Univariate analysis demonstrated a significant difference in the menarcheal age among the different food preference groups (P=0.0236). Sleep duration was found to be significantly and negatively correlated with age at menarche (R=-0.23, P<0.0001). However, generalized linear model (GLM) analysis revealed that region of residence at menarche (P=0.0209) and sleep duration (P=0.0007) were significant determinants. Food preference played a role as an effect modifier in the relationship between the region of residence at menarche and age at menarche. CONCLUSION Age at menarche seemed to be delayed in North Korean refugees. GLM analysis showed that sleep duration and region of residence at menarche were significant influencing factors of age at menarche in this study population.
Introduction to special section on formal methods in pervasive computing

Ubiquitous and pervasive applications may present critical requirements from the point of view of functional correctness, reliability, availability, security, and safety. Unlike traditional safety-critical applications, the behavior of ubiquitous and pervasive applications is affected by the movements and location of users and resources. In this article, we first present emerging formal methods for the description of both entities and their behavior in pervasive computing environments; then, we introduce this special issue. Despite many previous works that have focused on modeling the entities, relatively few have concentrated on modeling or verifying behaviors; and almost none has dealt with combining techniques proposed in these two aspects. The articles accepted in this special issue cover some of the topics aforementioned and constitute a representative sample of the latest development of formal methods in pervasive computing environments.
Closed-Form Solutionsfor Affine Reconstruction under Missing Data

The known factorization algorithm for the maximum likelihood affine reconstructionrequires that all the feature points usedmustbe visible in all views. We derive herea closed-form-e xpressionfor the3D coordinatesof the feature pointsand translationvectors giventhe inhomogeneousaffineprojectionmatrices,but nosinglefeaturepoint is required to be visible in all views. Theexpressionrepresentsa closed-formmaximumlikelihood affine triangulation undermissingdataandunknowntranslationsandit impliesanexpectationmaximizationalgorithmfor themaximum likelihood affine reconstructionwhere all the measureddatamaybeused.Thesolutionalsohasapplications in bundleadjustmentandidentifyingdegeneratemotion.
Australian Journal of Teacher Education Navigating E-learning and Blended Learning for Pre-service Teachers: Redesigning for Engagement, Access and Efficiency Navigating E-learning and Blended Learning for Pre-service Teachers: Redesigning for Engagement, Access and Efficiency

Nebulous combinations of face-to-face and online learning are increasingly common across Australian higher education contexts. This paper reports on part of a redesign project of an undergraduate education subject at a regional university. The aim of the redesign was to enhance e-learning and blended learning environments. An approach that maps the evaluation research activities to the design and development cycle of e-learning tools and learning tasks was adopted (Phillips et al., 2012). The research took a participatory format involving ongoing reflective exchange with pre-service teachers with the aim of transforming practice. The article presents the context of e-learning, blended learning and drivers of curriculum renewal in teacher education at a regional institution and discusses the phases of the redesign project which adopted an action research approach. Finally the paper discusses the implications of the redesign for informing future practice and in approaching e-learning and blended learning curriculum design.
Statistical Parametric Speech Synthesis Based on Speaker and Language Factorization

An increasingly common scenario in building speech synthesis and recognition systems is training on inhomogeneous data. This paper proposes a new framework for estimating hidden Markov models on data containing both multiple speakers and multiple languages. The proposed framework, speaker and language factorization, attempts to factorize speaker-/language-specific characteristics in the data and then model them using separate transforms. Language-specific factors in the data are represented by transforms based on cluster mean interpolation with cluster-dependent decision trees. Acoustic variations caused by speaker characteristics are handled by transforms based on constrained maximum-likelihood linear regression. Experimental results on statistical parametric speech synthesis show that the proposed framework enables data from multiple speakers in different languages to be used to: train a synthesis system; synthesize speech in a language using speaker characteristics estimated in a different language; and adapt to a new language.
Feeding History Affects Intraguild Interactions between Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and Episyrphus balteatus (Diptera: Syrphidae)

While the effect of several factors such as predator and prey size, morphology and developmental stage on intraguild predation (IGP) is widely investigated, little is known about the influence of diet on the occurrence and outcome of IGP. In the present study, the effect of the diet experienced during larval development on IGP between the ladybird Harmonia axyridis and the syrphid Episyrphus balteatus is investigated. Four diets were tested for H. axyridis: eggs of the Mediterranean flour moth Ephestia kuehniella, pea aphids, Acyrthosiphon pisum, in an ad libitum amount, pea aphids in a limited amount, and honey bee pollen. For E. balteatus only the two aphid diets were tested. First, experiments were performed to determine the quality of the various diets for development of both predators. Second, IGP experiments between H. axyridis and E. balteatus were performed both in Petri dishes and on potted pepper plants. The diet of both species influenced the incidence of IGP between H. axyridis and E. balteatus both in Petri dishes and on potted plants. In general, smaller larvae of H. axyridis (those fed on poor or restricted diet) fed more on hoverflies than large (well-nourished) ladybird larvae. Further, poorly nourished (smaller) larvae of E. balteatus were more susceptible to predation than well-fed (larger) hoverfly larvae. The observed effects were not only due to the lower fitness of larvae of both predators reared on an inferior quality diet but also to changes in predator behaviour. The results from this study show that IGP interactions are influenced by a multitude of factors, including feeding history of the organisms involved, and emphasize the importance of taking these factors into account in order to fully understand the ecological relevance of IGP.
A structured sparse learning approach for efficient facial feature description

The classical local binary pattern (LBP) method for facial feature description leads to a high feature dimensionality which requires expensive computational cost for face recognition and ignores the difference of contributions by different features in the same region. In this paper, we propose a structured sparse learning approach for efficient facial feature description. Firstly, a structured sparse representation scheme is employed to learn the feature evaluation vector, and then a new facial feature description model is constructed for face recognition. Specially, the proposed approach focuses on selecting the salient regions and features for efficient facial feature description. Experimental results show that the proposed method achieves better performance with lower feature dimensionality.
Chronopharmacology of Melatonin in Mice to Maximize the Antitumor Effect and Minimize the Rhythm Disturbance Effect

The influence of dosing time on the antitumor effect and the rhythm disturbance effect of melatonin (MLT) was investigated in ICR male mice under a light/dark (12:12) cycle. In tumor-bearing mice, the antitumor effect of MLT (1 mg/kg intraperitoneal) was most effective in the dark phase; and the rhythm disturbance effect of MLT on the locomotor activity was more serious in the light phase than in the dark phase. The antitumor effect and the rhythm disturbance effect of MLT increased when the specific binding of MLT receptor in target tissues, tumor or suprachiasmatic nucleus, increased and they decreased when the level decreased. Furthermore, because luzindole, an MT1 and MT2 blocker, caused the antitumor effect or rhythm disturbance effect of MLT to decrease, it is suggested that the time-dependent change of the pharmacological effects of MLT were influenced by that of MLT receptor(s) function. On the other hand, there was no significant dosing time-dependent change of MLT concentration in tumor or brain after injection. Thus, the pharmacokinetic factor does not seem to contribute to the dosing time-dependent effect of MLT. These results suggest that by choosing the most suitable dosing time for MLT, the efficacy of the drug can be increased, and the toxicity of the drug can be decreased in certain experimental and clinical situations.
DTC hybrid by different techniques of observation with Artificial Neuronal Network (ANN) for induction machine drives

In this article, we present the construction of observers of rotor flux and mechanical speed needed for robust control of the induction machine. Two observers will be developed for comparison. The first is based on the techniques MRAS and the second is observer of KUBOTA, with the enhanced DTC-ANN (by artificial intelligence), "sensorless DTC-ANN". The validity of the proposed methods is confirmed by the simulation results. Through this comparative study we examine each observer in terms of characteristics that distinguish him from the other through these estimated value and error of estimation (flux and the speed of rotation) on the one hand, and on the other hand we study a property of great importance in the control and the response and robustness of the observer for very low speeds.In my work I concentrate this on the observer of KUBOTA because I noticed that during my research in the previous research and research there is very little and no detail even in terms of mathematical model in addition to the form of comparative study between him and the observer of MRAS in terms of the principle of control, accuracy, sensitivity and special response to low speeds and error In observation.The THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) of stator current, torque ripple and stator flux ripple are determined and compared with conventional DTC control scheme using Matlab/Simulink environment.