Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Implications of Sulfur Speciation on the Assessment of Acid Rock Drainage Generating Potential: A Study of South African Coal Processing Wastes

The presence of sulfur in coal processing wastes can lead to environmental impacts, such as acid rock drainage (ARD). However, not all sulfur species are acid-forming, and the implications of sulfur speciation when assessing acid rock drainage potential by means of static chemical tests are not well understood. This study set out to evaluate the implications of different sulfur forms on the assessment of acid rock drainage potential using static laboratory-scale tests and to investigate the reliability of methods for the analysis of such forms for the case of three South African coal processing wastes. Both the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 157:1996 and Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP) C15034 protocols were found to be suitable tools for analyzing the different forms of sulfur. Acid-generating sulfur forms constituted between 53% and 64% of the total sulfur in the wastes evaluated, with the maximum potential acidity (MPA) and net acid-producing potential (NAPP) values calculated on the basis of acid-forming sulfur being significantly lower than those calculated on the basis of total sulfur content. Results also showed that the partial conversion of sulfur species under the relatively aggressive conditions of the acid-neutralizing capacity (ANC) and net acid generation (NAG) tests may overestimate the potential acid generating potential in the case of coal. These findings highlight the uncertainties associated with standard ARD static tests and the importance of taking sulfur speciation into account when calculating the MPA for coal processing wastes.
Type II Fusarium head blight susceptibility factor identified in wheat

Fusarium head blight (FHB) causes significant grain yield and quality reductions in wheat and barley. Most wheat varieties are incapable of preventing FHB spread through the rachis, but disease is typically limited to individually infected spikelets in barley. We point inoculated wheat lines possessing barley chromosome introgressions to test whether FHB resistance could be observed in a wheat genetic background. The most striking differential was between 4H(4D) substitution and 4H addition lines. The 4H addition line was similarly susceptible to the wheat parent, but the 4H(4D) substitution line was highly resistant, which suggests that there is an FHB susceptibility factor on wheat chromosome 4D. Point inoculation of Chinese Spring 4D ditelosomic lines demonstrated that removing 4DS results in high FHB resistance. We genotyped four Chinese Spring 4DS terminal deletion lines to better characterise the deletions in each line. FHB phenotyping indicated that lines del4DS-2 and del4DS-4, containing smaller deletions, were susceptible and had retained the susceptibility factor. Lines del4DS-3 and del4DS-1 contain larger deletions and were both significantly more resistant, and hence had presumably lost the susceptibility factor. Combining the genotyping and phenotyping results allowed us to refine the susceptibility factor to a 31.7 Mbp interval on 4DS. Highlight We have identified a Type II Fusarium head blight susceptibility factor on the short arm of wheat chromosome 4D and refined its position to a 31.7 Mbp interval.
Sequencing and analysis of the complete mitochondrial genome of Mansonia uniformis (Dipera: Culicidae)

Abstract In this study, we sequenced and analyzed the complete mitochondrial genome of Mansonia uniformis, and this is the first report on the genus Mansonia. The circular mitogenome is 15,603 bp long and contains 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, and a A + T-rich control region. Most PCGs start with ATN codons, and end with TAA, except for COX1 starting with TCG codons and COX2 ending with a single thymine stop codon. The phylogenetic tree based on the COX1 gene showed that M. uniformis formed a monophyletic clade, sister to other seven genus from the subfamily Culicinae.
Risk Surface: A Visualization of Data Sharing Risk for Enterprise Users

Enterprises share a wide variety of data with different partners. Tracking the risks and benefits of this data sharing is important for avoiding unwarranted risks of data exploitation. Data sharing risk can be characterized as a combination of trust in data sharing partners to not exploit shared data and the sensitivity, or potential for harm, of the data. Data sharing benefits can be characterized as the value likely to accrue to the enterprise from sharing the data by making the enterprise’s objectives more likely to succeed. We developed a risk visualization concept called a risk surface to support users monitoring for high risks and poor risk-benefit trade-offs. The risk surface design was evaluated in a series of two focus groups conducted with human factors professionals. Across the two studies, the design was improved and ultimately rated as highly useful. A risk surface needs to 1) convey which data, as joined data sets, are shared with which partners, 2) convey the degree of risk due to sharing that data, 3) convey the benefits of the data sharing and the trade-off between risk and benefits, and 4) be easy to scan at scale, since enterprises are likely to share many different types of data with many different partners.
Influence of Cognitive Function and Depressive Symptoms on Instrumental Activities of Daily Living in Community-dwelling Older Adults

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of cognitive function and depressive symptoms on instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) in addition to identify the factors associated with IADL in community-dwelling older adults. Methods: This was a descriptive study with cross-sectional design. Data were collected from July 2013 to June 2014. A total of 143 participants without dementia, depression and disability were enrolled in this study. Cognitive function was measured using Seoul verbal learning test (SVLT), digital span (forward/backward) and fist-edge-palm test. The Korean-IADL and Short Geriatric Depression Scale (S-GDS) were used. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and hierarchical regression. Results: Overall, a multiple regression model revealed that approximately 27.4% of total variability in IADL in the sample of community-dwelling older adults could be explained by the significant 12 variables in this model (R=0.274, F=5.467, p<.001). Age, having religion and cognitive function were the predictors of IADL in community-dwelling older adults. Conclusion: This study suggest that we need to monitor cognitive function in older to maintain the ability for IADL in older adults. Also, individualized program for improving older adults’ IADL should be included in nursing intervention.
Multi-View Images Fusion Model

The tasks of recognition actions and classification objects are fundamental in computer vision systems. Even subtasks, such as recognition of atomic motion and single objects form the basis for understanding the situation in the work area and the scene in general. This is especially important in video surveillance systems designed to ensure security. Thus, the effectiveness of recognition and classification methods is one of the primary tasks of computer vision. But the visual methods implemented in similar video surveillance systems, encounter some difficulties, such as inhomogeneous background, uncontrolled operating environments, irregular illumination, etc. To address these drawbacks, the paper presents a model for combining visible range images and depth images. This model allows to improve the quality of recognized images, provides the construction of a more informative descriptor, which also positively affects the recognition efficiency. Our results show that it has good performance in fusion visible image and depth map.
Development of an improved coaxial cell for measuring the shielding effectiveness of materials

The article presents the results of the development of a coaxial cell for measuring shielding effectiveness of composite materials. The basis for the design of the cell was a model of a coaxial transmission line with air filling, which was obtained using full wave analysis and parametric optimization and is characterized by a maximum reflection coefficient |S11| less than -20 dB in the frequency range up to 10 GHz. Based on the results of modeling and optimization, an improved design of the cell for SE measuring is presented, which differs from standardized cells in a simplified assembly with the material located inside and providing measurements also in the low-frequency region.
Kinderen in prioriteitswijken: lichamelijke (in)activiteit en overgewicht [Children in priority neighbourhoods: physical (in)activity and overweight]

Kinderen in prioriteitswijken: lichamelijke (in)activiteit en overgewicht Steeds meer kinderen in Nederland zijn te dik door een verstoorde energiebalans: het energieverbruik is te laag ten opzichte van de energie-inname. Er is sprake van een toenemende lichamelijk inactieve leefstijl: kinderen kijken meer televisie, zitten veel achter de computer en worden vaker met de auto naar school gebracht. Bovendien bestaat de indruk dat er steeds minder buiten wordt gespeeld, mede doordat de buitenspeelmogelijkheden steeds schaarser worden door stedelijke ontwikkelingen: de realisatie van kantoren, huizen en wegen krijgen doorgaans meer prioriteit.
Role of line probe assay in diagnosis and detection of drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

http://dx.doi. org/10.21276/IJRDPL.22780238. 2019.8(2). 46-49 ABSTRACT: Tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis has remained a major global health problem worldwide. TB requires prolonged period of time for isolation by conventional culture methods. The emergence and spread of multi drug resistant (MDR-TB) poses great threats and challenges in controlling the infection. MDR-TB is resistant to both first line drugs rifampicin and isoniazid. PCR tests are based on targeting the mutation in rpoB, katG and inhA genes which can detect resistance to these drugs. To compare microscopy, conventional culture and Line probe assay for the detection of M. tuberculosis & detect rifampicin and isoniazid resistance using Lineprobe assay in various clinical samples. A total of 347 suspected patients of tuberculosis were included in the study. Demographic details & clinical presentation was noted. Various samples were received & processed for ZN staining, culture on LJ media and Line probe assay. Out of 347 cases, majority of cases were in the age group of 51-60 years (18.4%). Majority of the population was males (65.1%). Among suspected tuberculosis patients, cough with expectoration (55.9%) was the commonest complaint. Microscopy was positive in 17.3%, conventional culture was positive in 16.1% and line probe assay was positive in 26.2%. Out of 347, 91 were diagnosed with MTB, out of which 85.7% were sensitive to both rifampicin and isoniazid whereas 14.3% showed resistance to either rifampicin / isoniazid or both. LPA & direct microscopy are a good screening method for early diagnosis and detection of drug resistance but are not a complete replacement of conventional culture which is still a gold standard.
Effect of corticosteroid (CS) use at baseline (CUB) on overall survival (OS) in patients (pts) receiving abiraterone acetate (AA): Results from a randomized study (COU-AA-301) in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) post-docetaxel (D).

5014 Background: CS have been used to mitigate mineralocorticoid-related effects and restore sensitivity to AA (Attard et al., J Clin Oncol. 2008). Prednisone (P) was also used as an active comparator in the COU-AA-301 (de Bono et al., N Engl J Med. 2011) and COU-AA-302 (Ryan et al., N Engl J Med. 2013) AA pivotal studies. CUB has also been reported to adversely influence OS in the AFFIRM study, which may reflect an influence on disease biology or unrecognized factors that are not a part of clinically based prognostic models (Scher et al., Ann Oncol. 2012). This post hoc exploratory analysis investigated whether CUB is a prognostic factor for OS in mCRPC post-D pts treated with AA + P or P alone. Methods: COU-AA-301 is a randomized double-blind study of AA (1 g) + P (5 mg po BID) vs placebo + P in mCRPC post-D. The primary endpoint was OS. All pts had received CS with D therapy. CUB included P (n = 272), dexamethasone (n = 107), and others (n = 110). 797 pts were not on CUB. Median times were estimated by.
Research on Application of Buckling Restrained Braces in Strengthening of Concrete Frame Structures

This paper examines the application of BRB in strengthening of reinforced concrete frame structures to meet seismic requirements according to Chinese seismic design code. Elastic response spectrum analysis and nonlinear time history analysis are performed by taking a real engineering example that suffers weak first floor irregularity due to added loads and addition of one floor. With the method of equivalent stiffness and displacement-based design method, buckling restrained brace parameters are deduced and are used to model BRB in ETABS using plastic wen model. Three configurations of buckling restrained braces are studied together with ordinary braces. Under elastic state, the relationship between the required cross section area of BRB and ordinary braces is deduced from the formula of calculating elastic bearing capacity where it is shown that the area of the ordinary braces must be 1.25 times that of BRB for ensuring the same performance. The results show that Inverted V brace configuration demonstrated better performance over single brace and V brace configurations and X brace configuration, although not recommended by Chinese code, is simulated and used in this paper and has demonstrated better performance over other configurations, and the further research on the practical use of this brace is recommended. Also, under action of strong earthquakes, by nonlinear time history analysis, buckling restrained braces demonstrated better performance of strengthening the structure and make it meet the requirement of code. Under this same condition, ordinary braces losses their bearing capacity due to excessive buckling.
Uncertain fault estimation using bicausal bond graph: Application to intelligent autonomous vehicle

This article addresses the fault detection and isolation problem of uncertain systems using the bond graph model–based approach. The latter provides through its causal and structural properties an automatic analytical redundancy relations generation. The numerical evaluation of analytical redundancy relations yields residuals, which are used to verify the coherence between the real system and reference behaviors describing the nominal operation. In fact, the residual is compared to its thresholds to detect the fault. In addition, the comparison between all fault signatures allows making a decision on fault isolation. Moreover, to isolate the faults that activate the same set of residuals, an additional residual must be calculated for each fault. This additional residual is the comparison between two estimations of the considered fault obtained using the sensitivity relations. However, due to the presence of uncertainties, errors can occur in the fault estimation allowing false decisions on fault isolation. The novelties and innovative interests in the present work are (1) to improve the fault estimation procedure based on the uncertainties modeling and bicausality notion, in order to overcome the problem related to errors in the estimated fault and (2) to suitably generate the isolation thresholds in a systematic way using the uncertain fault estimation procedure proposed in this article so that fault can be isolated successfully. The proposed methodology is studied under various scenarios via simulations over an electromechanical traction system corresponding to a quarter of intelligent autonomous vehicle, named RobuCar.
Applications of X-ray Powder Diffraction in Protein Crystallography and Drug Screening

Providing fundamental information on intra/intermolecular interactions and physicochemical properties, the three-dimensional structural characterization of biological macromolecules is of extreme importance towards understanding their mechanism of action. Among other methods, X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) has proved its applicability and efficiency in numerous studies of different materials. Owing to recent methodological advances, this method is now considered a respectable tool for identifying macromolecular phase transitions, quantitative analysis, and determining structural modifications of samples ranging from small organics to full-length proteins. An overview of the XRPD applications and recent improvements related to the study of challenging macromolecules and peptides toward structure-based drug design is discussed. This review congregates recent studies in the field of drug formulation and delivery processes, as well as in polymorph identification and the effect of ligands and environmental conditions upon crystal characteristics. These studies further manifest the efficiency of protein XRPD for quick and accurate preliminary structural characterization.
SpecHap: a fast haplotyping method based on spectral graph theory

Haplotype phasing has fundamental implications in human genetics study. With rapid advancing of technology, novel sequencing protocols including linked-reads and third generation sequencing technology which enables whole genome haplotype phasing have been developed. Many phasing software, most of which bases on resources intensive heuristic algorithms, have been developed to handle various sequencing technologies. Here, we present a novel approach called SpecHap that adopts spectral graph theory for fast diploid haplotype construction from diverse sequencing protocols. On both simulated and real sequencing data set, SpecHap achieved higher sensitivity than existing tools, demonstrating high computational efﬁciency while preserving the length of the phased genomic regions.
A Conceptual Model for Institutional Adoption of Learning Technologies in Higher Education

As learning technologies advance and become more ubiquitous, particularly in elearning, new opportunities are emerging for higher education institutions to address significant academic and administrative challenges. Driven by increasing competition, changing environments and other market forces, institutions are considering learning technologies in order to thrive and remain relevant. This study gathered insights from existing literature to propose a conceptual model that supports decision making in the adoption of learning technologies by higher education institutions. The conceptual model adopts the Transformative Framework for Learning Innovation as its foundation and superimposes the Emerging Learning Technologies Model. The resulting model provides a clear guidance for higher education institution to achieve five key learning characteristics. This paper found that combining these two approaches provides a logical approach for higher education institutions to address organisational, strategic and learning-specific dimensions in a coherent format. Furthermore, academics and practitioners can benefit from valuable insights in the proposed alternative approach to learning technology adoption.
Cutaneous Cell- and Gene-Based Therapies for Inherited and Acquired Skin Disorders

Congenital and acquired diseases of the cutaneous tissue exhibit a wide range of severity with underlying causes that are amenable to several therapeutic avenues including, but not limited to, gene-, protein-, and cell-based therapies. Genodermatoses is a term generally used to describe congenital diseases of the skin and its derivative structures such as hairs, nails, and others that comprise a large group of clinically heterogeneous disfiguring, blistering, and ichthyotic diseases. Mostly, autosomal dominant or recessive mutations in genes coding for the structural protein components of cutaneous tissues cause these afflictions that are primarily characterized by the loss of tissue integrity, blistering, and hyperkeratosis in severely affected areas. These mutations together with typical characteristic features have formed the basis for improved disease diagnosis, prognosis, Cutaneous Celland Gene-Based Therapies for Inherited and Acquired Skin Disorders
Crustal anisotropy beneath northeastern Tibetan Plateau from the harmonic decomposition of receiver functions

A uniformly spaced linear transect through the northeastern Tibetan Plateau was constructed using 54 stations from ChinaArray Phase II. We used a set of colocated earthquakes to form receiver function beams that were then used to construct a 2-D image of main converting boundaries in our region and to investigate lateral changes in main impedance contrasts along the transect. The image revealed obvious mid-crustal low-velocity zones beneath the Qilian Orogen and the Alxa Block. We developed a new procedure that uses harmonically decomposed receiver functions to characterize seismic anisotropy, and that can determine both the orientations of symmetry axes and their type (fast or slow). We tested our technique on a number of synthetic models, and subsequently applied it to the data from the transect. We found that: (1) within the upper crust the orientations of slow symmetry axes are nearly orthogonal to the strike directions of faults, and thus anisotropy is likely caused by the shape preferred orientation of fluid-saturated cracks or fractures and (2) together with the low-velocity zones revealed from receiver functions stacks, anisotropic layers in the middle-to-lower crust could be explained by the crustal channel flow that was proposed for this region by previous studies. The shear within the boundary layers of crustal flow forms anisotropy with symmetry axes parallel to the flow direction.
Neuronal oscillatory activities in separate frequencies encode hierarchically distinct visual features

Although most previous studies in cognitive neuroscience have focused on the change of the neuronal firing rate under various conditions, there has been increasing evidence that indicates the importance of neuronal oscillatory activities in cognition. In the visual cortex, specific time-frequency bands are thought to have selectivity to visual stimuli. Furthermore, several recent studies have shown that several time-frequency bands are related to frequency-specific feedforward or feedback processing in inter-areal communication. However, few studies have investigated detailed visual selectivity of each time-frequency band, especially in the primate inferior temporal cortex (ITC). In this work, we analyze frequency-specific electrocorticography (ECoG) activities in the primate ITC by training encoding models that predict frequency-specific amplitude from hierarchical visual features extracted from a deep convolutional neural network (CNNs). We find that ECoG activities in two specific time-frequency bands, theta (around 5 Hz) and gamma (around 20-25 Hz) bands, are better predicted from CNN features than the other bands. Furthermore, theta- and gamma-band activities are better predicted from higher and lower layers in CNNs, respectively. Our visualization analysis using CNN-based encoding models qualitatively show that theta- and gamma-band encoding models have selectivity to higher- and lower-level visual features, respectively. Our results suggest that neuronal oscillatory activities in theta and gamma bands carry distinct information in the hierarchy of visual features, and that distinct levels of visual information are multiplexed in frequency-specific brain signals.