Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Metabolic Syndrome in HIV/AIDS Patients at the Tiko Central Clinic and Cottage Hospital in Cameroon: Influence on Cardiovascular Risk and Predictors

Highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) use by HIV patients since the mid-1990’s has led to a significant drop in HIV mortality. However, HAART and HIV related metabolic syndrome (hypertriglyceridaemia, reduced HDL-c, abdominal obesity, hypertension, and insulin resistance) is associated with increased cardiovascular risk in aging HIV sero-positive patients. This study was aimed at investigating the predictors of metabolic syndrome and influence of metabolic syndrome on cardiovascular (CV) risk amongst persons living with HIV on HAART. This is a hospital-based case-control study. The cases were HIV sero-positive individuals on HAART for at least 6 months and controls were HIV sero-negative individuals. Out of 135 participants, 74 (54.8%) were females amongst which 53/75 (70.7%) were in the cases group and 21/60 (35%) were in the control group. The mean age of the participants was 42.04 (±9.61) years. HIV-infected participants at moderate CV risk based on the DAD risk calculator were more frequently diagnosed with metabolic syndrome based on the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria with high statistical significance than those at low CV risk (5/19 – 26.3% vs. 12/55 – 21.8%, P=<0.001). Bivariate analysis of metabolic syndrome predictors in the study population revealed that gender is associated with increased odds of metabolic syndrome (OR: 5.376, 95% CI: 1.907-15.153; P=0.001). Gender was the only predictor associated with metabolic syndrome (OR: 6.958, CI: 2.317-20.896; P=0.001) following multivariate analysis of gender, vegetables or fruits intake, vigorous physical activity and family history of CVD and females were 7 times more likely to develop metabolic syndrome than males. More HAART-treated HIV patients at moderate CVD risk develop metabolic syndrome than those at low CVD risk. Female HIV patients on HAART have higher chances of developing metabolic syndrome compared to their male counterparts. HIV patients particularly females should be screened early for metabolic syndrome following HAART initiation.
Accelerated System Performance with APU-Enhanced Processing

The APU controller provides a flexible high-bandwidth interface between the reconfigurable logic in the FPGA fabric and the pipeline of the integrated IBMTM PowerPCTM 405 CPU. Fabric co-processor modules (FCM) implemented in the FPGA fabric are connected to the embedded PowerPC processor through the APU controller interface to enable user-defined configurable hardware accelerators. These hardware accelerator functions operate as extensions to the PowerPC 405, thereby offloading the CPU from demanding computational tasks.
Atypical correlation of otolith strontium : calcium and barium : calcium across a marine–freshwater life history transition of a diadromous fish

Variation in strontium (Sr) and barium (Ba) within otoliths is invaluable to studies of fish diadromy. Typically, otolith Sr : Ca is positively related to salinity, and the ratios of Ba and Sr to calcium (Ca) vary in opposite directions in relation to salinity. In this study of jungle perch, Kuhlia rupestris, otolith Sr : Ca and Ba : Ca, however, showed the same rapid increase as late-larval stages transitioned directly from a marine to freshwater environment. This transition was indicated by a microstructural check mark on otoliths at 35–45 days age. As expected ambient Sr was lower in the fresh than the marine water, however, low Ca levels (0.4 mg L–1) of the freshwater resulted in the Sr : Ca being substantially higher than the marine water. Importantly, the otolith Sr : Ba ratio showed the expected pattern of a decrease from the marine to freshwater stage, illustrating that Sr : Ba provided a more reliable inference of diadromous behaviour based on prior expectations of their relationship to salinity, than did Sr : Ca. The results demonstrate that Ca variation in freshwaters can potentially be an important influence on otolith element : Ca ratios and that inferences of marine–freshwater habitat use from otolith Sr : Ca alone can be problematic without an understanding of water chemistry.
Requirements and Design Principles for Business Model Tools

Software tools hold great promise to support the modeling, analyzing, and innovation of business models. Yet, both research and practice lack a clear overview of the requirements and design principles for developing such tools. To tackle this issue, we gather requirements and design principles for business model software tools based on a structured literature review. We cluster the requirements within five core functions of tools and map subsequent design principles. By collecting and synthesizing various requirements and design principles, we provide a foundation for further research on business model software tools. In practice, these results contribute to the development of tools and can serve as an evaluation framework for intermediate development states and existing business model software tools. Future research can employ these results for artifact creation. This research guides the development of business model software tools to support firms in sustaining a competitive advantage.
Quality Analysis and Repair of the Visual data stored in cloud

— Digital imaging and image-processing technologies have revolutionized the way in which we capture, store, receive, download, view, utilize, and share images. It is highly desirable to have a mechanism to assess the quality of the images that we encounter in our day to day life. The best way to assess the quality of an image is by doing subjective analysis (MOS). But human eye cannot distinguish the minor variations in image content downloaded from cloud. Also, the MOS method is too inconvenient, slow and expensive for practical usage. Here, we propose a natural scene statistic (NSS)-based image quality assessment (IQA) mechanism which operates in the spatial domain. This mechanism uses the scene statistics of normalized luminance coefficients to quantify the ‗naturalness‘ (or lack thereof) in the image due to the presence of distortions.
Adjusting Matching Algorithm to Adapt to Workload Fluctuations in Content-based Publish/Subscribe Systems

When facing fluctuating workloads, can the performance of matching algorithms in a content-based publish/subscribe system be adjusted to adapt to the workloads? In this paper, we explore the idea of endowing matching algorithms with adaptability. The prerequisite for adaptability is to enable the matching algorithm to possess the ability to dynamically and quantitatively adjust its performance. We propose PSAM, a Predicate-Skipping Adjustment Mechanism that realizes dynamic performance adjustment by smoothly switching between exact matching and approximate matching, following the strategy of trading off matching precision in favor of matching speed. The PSAM mechanism is integrated into an existing matching algorithm, resulting in a performance-adjustable matching algorithm called Ada-Rein. To collaborate with Ada-Rein, we design PADA, a Performance Adjustment Decision Algorithm that is able to make proper performance adjustment plans in the presence of fluctuating workloads. The effectiveness of Ada-Rein and PADA is evaluated through a series of experiments based on both synthetic data and real-world stock traces. Experiment results show that adjusting the performance of Ada-Rein at the price of a small false positive rate, less than 0.1%, can shorten event latency by almost 2.1 times, which well demonstrates the feasibility of our exploratory idea.
From screening to function - Evolutionary conservation of novel JAK/STAT signal transduction pathway components

Signal transduction pathways mediating the exchange of information between cells are essential for development, cellular differentiation and homeostasis. Their dysregulation is also frequently associated with human malignancies. The Janus tyrosine kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) cascade represents one such signaling pathway whose evolutionarily conserved roles include cell proliferation and hematopoiesis. In the present study, a systematic genome-wide screen for genes required for JAK/STAT pathway activity has been performed. By analyzing 20,026 RNA interference (RNAi)-induced phenotypes in cultured Drosophila melanogaster hemocyte-like cells, a total of four previously known and 86 novel and uncharacterized genes were discovered. Subsequently, cell-based epistasis experiments were used to classify these modulators based on their interaction with known components of the signaling cascade. To analyze the functional conservation of these novel components throughout evolution, putative human homologs of the candidates found in Drosophila were targeted in human cell culture systems to assess the activity of human STATs upon knockdown of candidate modulators. Interestingly, 30 of the human homologs display a similar JAK/STAT phenotype to their Drosophila counterparts. In addition to multiple human disease gene homologs, the protein tyrosine phosphatase Ptp61F and the Drosophila homolog of BRWD3, a bromo-domain-containing protein disrupted in leukemia, were found in the RNAi screen. In vivo analysis of these two novel pathway regulators demonstrates that disrupted dBRWD3 and overexpressed ptp61F function as suppressors of leukemia-like blood cell tumors. Moreover, dBRWD3 is localized in the nucleus and can physically interact with Drosophila STAT, likely to induce target gene activity. The present study represents a comprehensive identification of novel loci required for JAK/STAT signaling and provides molecular insights into an important pathway relevant for human cancer. Human homologs of identified pathway modifiers may constitute targets for therapeutic interventions.
Estimating Walk-Based Similarities Using Random Walk

Measuring similarities between vertices is an important task in network analysis, which has numerous applications. One major approach to define a similarity between vertices is by accumulating weights of walks between them that encompasses personalized PageRank (PPR) and Katz similarity. Although many effective methods for PPR based on efficient simulation of random walks have been proposed, these techniques cannot be applied to other walk-based similarity notions because the random walk interpretation is only valid for PPR. In this paper, we propose a random-walk reduction method that reduces the computation of any walk-based similarity to the computation of a stationary distribution of a random walk. With this reduction, we can exploit techniques for PPR to compute other walk-based similarities. As a concrete application, we design an indexing method for walk-based similarities with which we can quickly estimate the similarity value of queried pairs of vertices, and theoretically analyze its approximation error. Our experimental results demonstrate that the instantiation of our method for Katz similarity is two orders of magnitude faster than existing methods on large real networks, without any deterioration in solution quality.
Importation of SARS-CoV-2 following the "semaine de relache" and Quebec's (Canada) COVID-19 burden - a mathematical modeling study

Background: The Canadian epidemics of COVID-19 exhibit distinct early trajectories, with Quebec bearing a very high initial burden. The semaine de relache, or March break, took place two weeks earlier in Quebec as compared to the rest of Canada. This event may have played a role in the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We aimed to examine the role of case importation in the early transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 in Quebec. Methods: Using detailed surveillance data, we developed and calibrated a deterministic SEIR-type compartmental model of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. We explored the impact of altering the number of imported cases on hospitalizations. Specifically, we investigated scenarios without case importation after March break, and as scenarios where cases were imported with the same frequency/timing as neighboring Ontario. Results: A total of 1,544 and 1,150 returning travelers were laboratory-confirmed in Quebec and Ontario, respectively (with symptoms onset before 2020-03-25). The cumulative number of hospitalizations could have been reduced by 55% (95% credible interval [95%CrI]: 51-59%) had no cases been imported after Quebec's March break. However, had Quebec experienced Ontario's number of imported cases, cumulative hospitalizations would have only been reduced by 12% (95%CrI: 8-16%). Interpretation: Our results suggest that case importation played an important role in the early spread of COVID-19 in Quebec. Yet, heavy importation of SARS-CoV-2 in early March could be insufficient to resolve interprovincial heterogeneities in cumulative hospitalizations. The importance of other factors -public health preparedness, responses, and capacity- should be investigated.
Harmonization of methodologies for the assessment of poultry meat quality features

Many different methods measuring meat quality traits are available which are based on different principles, and instruments and/or probes. In view of the complexity of meat processes after slaughter and quality trait determination, it is not surprising that the results obtained in different studies and laboratories are not always in agreement. For comparison of results it is therefore necessary to keep strictly to measurable specifications, which is why standardisation is indispensable. The Working Group 5 Poultry Meat Quality group of the WPSA European Federation has been asked to produce a document which would serve as a common base methodology that would permit comparison between research projects carried out by different groups, based on international research programmes. This paper represents the first step of this work including chemical (moisture, total lipids, proteins, ash, fatty acid composition, cholesterol, susceptibility to oxidation, amino acids, collagen and pigments) and physical traits (pH, R-value, colour, water holding capacity, texture and sarcomere length). For the evaluation of chemical composition, there are standard methods available which are largely adopted in the majority of published papers. However, there is still a need to standardise methods for determining the physical traits to facilitate comparisons between studies and to provide reference values.
Phycotoxin composition and distribution in plankton fractions from the German Bight and western Danish coast

From the German Bight along Jutland to the western Skagerrak, we found representatives of almost all groups of phycotoxins known to occur in North Sea plankton. Identification was by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in plankton size fractions, with domoic acid and 20-me G the most abundant toxins. The dominance of 20-me G in the spirolide (SPX) composition of plankton from the Jutland current system matched very well with that of an isolate of the dinoflagellate Alexandrium ostenfeldii. The SPXs of the A. ostenfeldii strain S6_P12_E11, previously isolated from the western North Sea along the Scottish coast, comprised 100% 20-me G, suggesting toxin homogeneity among North Sea populations of this species. We detected highest amounts of azaspiracid-1 in the 3–20-mm size fraction at offshore stations, where the Jutland coastal current converges with the westward North Sea flow off Skagerrak. Azadinium spinosum was subsequently identified by clonal isolation from crude cultures established from these stations. Except for lipophilic toxins usually produced by the dinoflagellate Dinophysis spp. , dinophysistoxin-1 (DTX-1) and DTX-2, we detected no other phycotoxins in plankton from the southern German Bight. The spatial distribution of the phycotoxins in the eastern North Sea was apparently related to the hydrographical conditions, identified from salinity and coloured dissolved organic matter profiles. The biogeographical distribution of phycotoxins indicates a strong association with the northward advection by the Jutland current and the mixing of German Bight and North water masses along the northwest Danish coast towards the Skagerrak.
Deploying fast object detection for micro aerial vehicles

In this thesis, we present an evaluation of four state of the art convolutional neural network (CNN) object detectors, and a method to incorporate temporal information into an object detection pipeline for a micro aerial vehicle (MAV). This work was done as part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Fast Lightweight Autonomy (FLA) program with the goal of creating an autonomous MAV that could explore and map an unknown urban environment. We tested four CNN-based object detectors on a range of compact deployable compute devices in order to select the best detector-hardware pair for our flight vehicle. We chose to use the MobileNetSSD object detector running on an Intel NUC Skull Canyon. Additionally, we developed an efficient object detection method that incorporates temporal information found in sequential camera frames by selectively utilizing an object tracker when the object detector fails. Our temporal object detection method shows promising results improving the recall of the base object detector on two of three datasets while maintaining a high framerate.
Artifact-Based Workflows for Supporting Simulation Studies

Valid models are central for credible simulation studies. If those models do not exist, they need to be developed. In fact, entire simulation studies are often aimed at developing valid models. Thereby, successive model refinement and execution of diverse simulation experiments are closely intertwined. Whereas software-based support for individual simulation experiments exists, the intricate interdependencies and the diversity of tasks that govern simulation studies have prevented a more comprehensive support. To achieve the required flexibility while adhering to the constraints that apply between individual tasks, we adopt a declarative, artifact-based workflow approach. Therefore, central products of these simulation studies are identified and specified as artifacts: the conceptual model (with a focus on formally defined requirements), the simulation model, and the experiment. Each artifact is characterized by stages the artifact moves through to reach certain milestones and which are guarded by conditions. Thereby, the relations and constraints between artifacts become explicit. This is instrumental to check and ensure the consistency between conceptual model and simulation model, to automatically execute simulation experiments to probe the specified requirements, and to develop plans to provide goal-directed guidance to the user. We demonstrate the approach by using it to repeat an existing simulation study.
Determinants of Sovereign Rating: Factor Based Ordered Probit Models for Panel Data Analysis Modeling Framework

The aim of this research is to compose a new rating methodology and provide credit notches to 23 countries which of 13 are developed and 10 are emerging. There are various literature that explains the determinants of credit ratings. Following the literature, we select 11 variables for our model which of 5 are eliminated by the factor analysis. We use specific dummies to investigate the structural breaks in time and cross section such as pre crises, post crises, BRIC membership, EU membership, OPEC membership, shipbuilder country and platinum reserved country. Then we run an ordered probit model and give credit notches to the countries. We use FITCH ratings as benchmark. Thus, at the end we compare the notches of FITCH with the ones we derive out of our estimated model.
Outdoor flight activity and immigration of Rhyzopertha dominica into seed wheat warehouses

The flight activity of lesser grain borer, Rhyzopertha dominica F. (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae), was monitored at two Foundation seed wheat warehouses during the 2003 and 2004 field seasons, using pheromone‐baited Lindgren funnel traps positioned indoors and outdoors. General stored‐product insect activity was also monitored using unbaited sticky traps positioned inside the warehouses around overhead doors. Pheromone‐baited traps were useful for monitoring R. dominica activity, however insect captures decreased when lures were not changed weekly. Flight peaks were documented in early May and again from September through October, and insect captures inside warehouses correlated with timing of outdoor captures. Multiple regression analyses showed that slightly more than half of the variability in R. dominica captures could be explained by mean ambient air temperature and wind speed during the 2 h preceding sunset. Stored‐product Coleoptera captured on unbaited glue boards around overhead doors included Ahasverus advena, Cryptolestes ferrugineus, R. dominica, Sitophilus oryzae, Tribolium castaneum, Trogoderma variabile, and Typhaea stercorea. Door gaskets significantly reduced the number of insect captures on glue boards placed around the overhead doors, and generally restricted their entry to ground level. These studies demonstrated that outdoor pheromone‐baited traps are effective monitoring tools for determining when grain‐handling facilities are most susceptible to infestation and that exclusion may be an effective component of a pest management program.
An Analysis of Inquiry Activities in High School Physics Textbooks for the 2009 Revised Science Curriculum

The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of inquiry activities proposed in high school physics textbooks that were developed based on the 2009 science curriculum in Korea. The inquiry activities were analyzed using the notion of scientific practices introduced in the Science Education Framework (NRC, 2012). The results showed that the inquiry activities in the textbooks emphasized two of eight types of scientific practices including “Analyzing and interpreting data” and “Constructing explanations. ” In contrast, the activities required students to “ask questions” only once in a total of 291 science inquiry activities. The other types of scientific practices appeared less than 10%. Also found was that the types of scientific practices were not relevant to the way inquiry activities were used for textbook content. Implications for the curriculum and science teacher education were discussed.
Use of heterogeneous habitat by the western grey kangaroo, Macropus fuliginosus

The western grey kangaroo, Macropus fuliginosus, typically occurs at highest population densities in areas of greatest habitat heterogeneity. Hattah-Kulkyne National Park, in semiarid north-western Victoria, supports a relatively high density of this species, and has a mosaic of four major vegetation associations: mallee, woodland, lake bed and grassland. The patterns of habitat use by western grey kangaroos at Hattah-Kulkyne were examined from March 1983 until May 1985 using line-transect surveys to estimate population density in each habitat, and radio-tracking to estimate home range. The population was not dispersed randomly, but generally exhibited either positive or negative preferences for each of the four habitats in early morning and at midday, and on different bimonthly surveys. These preferences often reversed between times of day and between surveys. Home ranges of individuals ranged from 221 to 459 ha (asymptotic MAP[O.95] estimates), each encompassing three or four habitat types, and there was extensive spatial and temporal overlap between individuals. Kangaroos at Hattah-Kulkyne thus alternated between adjacent habitats that offered a range of forage conditions and shelter.