Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Pipeline for the Implementation and Visualization of Explainable Machine Learning for Medical Imaging Using Radiomics Features

Machine learning (ML) models have been shown to predict the presence of clinical factors from medical imaging with remarkable accuracy. However, these complex models can be difficult to interpret and are often criticized as “black boxes”. Prediction models that provide no insight into how their predictions are obtained are difficult to trust for making important clinical decisions, such as medical diagnoses or treatment. Explainable machine learning (XML) methods, such as Shapley values, have made it possible to explain the behavior of ML algorithms and to identify which predictors contribute most to a prediction. Incorporating XML methods into medical software tools has the potential to increase trust in ML-powered predictions and aid physicians in making medical decisions. Specifically, in the field of medical imaging analysis the most used methods for explaining deep learning-based model predictions are saliency maps that highlight important areas of an image. However, they do not provide a straightforward interpretation of which qualities of an image area are important. Here, we describe a novel pipeline for XML imaging that uses radiomics data and Shapley values as tools to explain outcome predictions from complex prediction models built with medical imaging with well-defined predictors. We present a visualization of XML imaging results in a clinician-focused dashboard that can be generalized to various settings. We demonstrate the use of this workflow for developing and explaining a prediction model using MRI data from glioma patients to predict a genetic mutation.
Emerging advancements in MXene polysaccharide bionanoarchitectures and biomedical applications

Abstract Polymeric bionanoarchitectures have demonstrated to be exceptional multifunctional materials and have attracted great interest as sustainable materials and panacea to multiple challenges. MXene (M-X) has emanated as a new set of 2-D materials capable of producing metallic conductivity when interacting with hydrophilic entities. M-X inherent delamination facilitates single-layer nanosheets of about one nm thickness and lateral size within the micrometric range. M-X delamination results in an elevated aspect ratio, making it a functional nanofiller for the multi-functionalization of polymeric bionanoarchitectures. Therefore, this elucidation is focused on M-X polysaccharide electroactively affiliated hydrogel bionanoarchitectures with special emphasis on M-X chitosan bionanoarchitectures, M-X cellulose bionanoarchitectures, M-X hyaluronic acid, and M-X alginate sodium bionanoarchitectures and their biomedical applications. Herein, the architectural disposition, properties, and multifaceted uses, in addition to challenges and future prospects of these materials, are presented. Graphical Abstract
Strategy for quality culture development of construction implementing service companies in running a quality management system based on organizational culture and national culture to reduce construction failure rates

The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of the development of a quality culture in implementing a quality management system based on ISO 9001 based on organizational culture and national culture that influence each other in contracting companies, especially in Indonesia. The analysis of this research by processing 151 respondents' data using SPSS and SmartPLS. From the results of the analysis, it was found that the National Culture, Quality Management System, and Organizational Culture affect the Quality Culture Development. The significant indicators of the National Culture variable on the Quality Culture Development are individualism/collectivism and power distance. While the significant indicators of the Quality Management System variable on the Quality Culture Development are organizational and operational contexts. A significant indicator of the Organizational Culture variable on the development of a Quality Culture is Efforts to Achieve Performance and Leadership. To develop a Quality Culture influenced by the National Culture, Quality Management System, and Organizational Culture. This research can be used as material or input in developing a Quality Culture to reduce the rate of construction failure in BUMN construction service companies in Indonesia in the future.
Raman Method in Identification of Species and Varieties, Assessment of Plant Maturity and Crop Quality—A Review

The present review covers reports discussing potential applications of the specificity of Raman techniques in the advancement of digital farming, in line with an assumption of yield maximisation with minimum environmental impact of agriculture. Raman is an optical spectroscopy method which can be used to perform immediate, label-free detection and quantification of key compounds without destroying the sample. The authors particularly focused on the reports discussing the use of Raman spectroscopy in monitoring the physiological status of plants, assessing crop maturity and quality, plant pathology and ripening, and identifying plant species and their varieties. In recent years, research reports have presented evidence confirming the effectiveness of Raman spectroscopy in identifying biotic and abiotic stresses in plants as well as in phenotyping and digital selection of plants in farming. Raman techniques used in precision agriculture can significantly improve capacities for farming management, crop quality assessment, as well as biological and chemical contaminant detection, thereby contributing to food safety as well as the productivity and profitability of agriculture. This review aims to increase the awareness of the growing potential of Raman spectroscopy in agriculture among plant breeders, geneticists, farmers and engineers.
Experiments and Finite Element Simulation of Ultrasonic Assisted Drilling

In this study, ultrasonic assisted drilling (UAD) is performed to investigate the effect of ultrasonic vibrations on common difficulties existed in conventional drilling (CD). UAD is a promising and advanced technique by which a harmonic movement with high frequency and low amplitude is superimposed on the movement of work material or cutting tool. The study is conducted both experimentally and numerically; at first, a UAD system is designed, manufactured, and carried out on a milling machine and then experimental tests are accomplished. In the following, experimental results are supported by the help of three-dimensional (3D) finite element simulation. Finally, the dependent parameters such as the burr height and cylindricity of the ultrasonically and conventionally drilled workpiece are measured and compared. Briefly, it was proved that the intermittent movement of drill bit in the direction of feed rate results in broken and discontinuous chips by which built-up-edge (BUE) is reduced and hole quality is improved. In addition, the burr height, which is known as unwanted projection of material at the exit surface of pieces, can notably decrease, if UAD is considered.
A study of Indian Gen X and Millennials consumers’ intention to use FinTech payment services during COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose Amid the COVID-19 contamination, people are bound to use contactless FinTech payment services. Because of restrictions on physical movement and avoidance of touching physical money, people willingly choose mobile payment, resulting in enormous growth in FinTech payment service industries. Because of this, this study aims to examine the effect of factors affecting Gen X and Millennials users to use FinTech payment services. Design/methodology/approach The authors used 328 responses collected through convenience sampling of Indian users aged between 26 and 57 years in the Delhi-NCR region who are users of FinTech payment services. Findings The authors’ findings verified that in India, perceived COVID-19 risk, perceived severity for COVID, individual mobility, subjective norms, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness have statistically significant impacts on FinTech payment services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Structural equation modelling was used to study the proposed research model. Overall, the model predicted 76.9 % of the variation in intention to use FinTech payment services by the abovesaid variables by Indian users during a pandemic. Practical implications This study will provide valuable insight to all FinTech service providers and stakeholders in planning and designing the concerned policy. It will be able to draw the attention of users more. Originality/value This research added a valuable theory to the existing technology adoption model (TAM) theory. It demonstrated the utility of the above variables in adopting and using FinTech payment services, which will help service providers to develop future strategies because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The fractal geometry of convoluted brains.

The evolution of the brain in mammals is characterized by an overall size increase and structural reorganization. Consequently, the brain's geometry has changed notably since the late Cretaceous. Here I show that the mammalian brain is a fractal structure, the dimensions of which can be described in mathematical terms. Application of the scaling principle to convoluted brains shows that the cortical surface area, with its fractal dimension of D = 2.70 +/- 0.07, is geometrically similar with the amount of white matter, i.e., with the number and length of the interconnective nerve fibers. The hypothesis is put forward that the potential for brain evolution results from a combination of fractal folding and compartmentalization of neurons into modular circuits. The close correspondence between the form and fractal dimensions of the brain and a geometric model provides further evidence that the macroscopic organization of the brain in mammals is governed by a few simple generative rules and that these internal factors of brain design, bearing no relation to the selective reasons of initial enlargement, may be the primary determinants directing the evolution of the brain.
‘Howzat’—How Do Artefacts Without Matter, Matter? The Case of Decision Review Systems in Professional Cricket

It has been argued that the social and material worlds are increasingly entangled as they become mediated by and experienced through virtual representations of live events. Virtual decision review systems in professional sport provide an albeit unusual case study example of such developments where virtual (re‐)representations of events are increasingly used in match play to inform adjudicator decisions concerning ‘what really happened’. This has prompted an ongoing debate in many sports over both the accuracy and appropriateness of these technologies for representing events which are often fast moving and difficult to judge with the human eye. We explore these issues using a sociomaterial practice lens and indicate the broader relevance of the case for basing judgements and decisions on virtual views of reality.
Association of Environmental Elements with Respondents’ Behaviors in Open Spaces Using the Direct Gradient Analysis Method: A Case Study of Jining, China

Following rapid urban development, higher demands are now being placed on urban open spaces in China, and the relationship between environmental elements and respondents’ behaviors in open spaces has become a common concern for researchers. Current research using geographic information systems has yielded macroscopic portraits of the behavioral trends and outcomes of research subjects, but evaluating their actual needs is complex. This paper proposes a new method to analyze the relationship between open spaces and respondents’ behaviors from a detailed perspective. Direct gradient analysis was employed with stratified sampling to select sample points in open spaces. Environment quality, ancillary facilities, and canal culture were selected as subjective evaluation factors. The greatest advantage of the proposed procedure is that it produces a ranking diagram, which compensates for the shortcomings of research methods that cannot directly express the actual needs related to respondents’ behaviors. From a case study in Jining, China, a location’s environmental quality and ancillary facilities were found to have the greatest influence on the behaviors of those using open spaces. Finally, strategies for improving environmental quality in open spaces are proposed.
Entanglement-enhanced quantum metrology in a noisy environment

Quantum metrology overcomes standard precision limits and plays a central role in science and technology. Practically it is vulnerable to imperfections such as decoherence. Here, we demonstrate quantum metrology for noisy channels such that entanglement with ancillary qubits enhances the quantum Fisher information for phase estimation but not otherwise. Our photonic experiment covers a range of noise for various types of channels, including for two randomly alternating channels such that assisted entanglement fails for each noisy channel individually. We have simulated noisy channels by implementing space-multiplexed dual interferometers with quantum photonic inputs. We have demonstrated the advantage of entanglement-assisted protocols in phase estimation experiment run with either single-probe or multi-probe approach. These results establish that entanglement with ancillae is a valuable approach for delivering quantum-enhanced metrology. Our new approach to entanglement-assisted quantum metrology via a simple linear-optical interferometric network with easy-to-prepare photonic inputs provides a path towards practical quantum metrology.
Subsonic Aircraft Drag: An Appreciation of Present Standards

Summary The drag at cruise CL of a number of recent aircraft—mostly large subsonic transports—has been analysed in terms of figures-of-merit derived from Melvill Jones’ original concept of a streamline aeroplane. The values have been compared with those for some representative aircraft from the 1930-1940 period. The paper then proceeds to highlight some of the main sources of excess drag; for the recent aircraft, these are grouped under broad headings such as “excrescences”, “Mach-number effects” and “nacelle installation or interference”. The results of the analysis are somewhat disturbing. Perhaps the most striking feature, bearing in mind that only a restricted class of aircraft have been considered, is the very wide spread between the figures for the poorest and the best of the recent aircraft. Also, the detailed drag breakdown varies widely from one aircraft to another. The evidence in the paper suggests that, in many cases, present drag standards can and should be improved.
Silicon avalanche photodiodes for satellite based quantum communication

Single photons detectors are required for applications like quantum key distribution and testing Bell’s inequalities. Silicon avalanche photodiodes (Si APD’s) have advantages like low dark count rate. This thesis aims to experimentally characterize Si APD’s under conditions experienced in low earth orbit on board a satellite and also develop supporting algorithms and simulations. In chapter 1, I motivate the use of Si APD’s as single photon detectors on a satellite. I also briefly explain the how these APD’s work and the related electronics. In chapter 2,I describe the test setup used in the laboratory at the Institute for Quantum Computing to characterize the APD’s. I then explain how one goes about measuring and/or calculating the different characteristic parameters of the APD. These characteristics include breakdown voltage, output pulse characteristics, recharge time, dark counts, detection efficiency, timing jitter of APD, saturation value and afterpulsing probability. The aim of the lab characterization is to form a baseline measurement under nominal conditions before we introduce the APD to conditions of low Earth orbit. In chapter 3, the APD’s are exposed to proton radiation which is expected in low Earth orbit. Such radiation causes displacement defects in the APD’s substrate and increases dark counts. Previous work [1] has shown that thermal annealing (increasing the APD temperature for a period of time) is successful in decreasing the dark count rate to operational range. It is anticipated that multiple annealing instance would be needed in operation under constant bombardment of protons. The work in this thesis explores possibility of using annealing repeatedly by alternating instances of proton irradiation and annealing. Other parameters of the APD are also under scrutiny to see if they change over the course of this experiment. A secondary objective explores if it is better to anneal only when the dark count rate drops below a threshold value or anneal after fixed intervals of time regardless of the dark count rates. A novel algorithm is also developed to analyze the afterpulsing probability. The algorithm is applied to simulated thermal count and afterpulse timetags to demonstrate its effectiveness. It is also applied to the data set drawn from the experimental tests of proton irradiation and thermal annealing to calculate the afterpulsing probability.
Blessing in Disguise: Policy Uncertainty and Bank Systemic Risk

ABSTRACT Does higher policy uncertainty lead to higher financial risk? This study provides evidence of the opposite. Based on a sample of 16 listed banks from 2011 to 2020 in China, we find that economic policy uncertainty has a significant negative impact on bank systemic risk and that the effect is more pronounced for small and unprofitable banks. Further analysis shows that the decline in bank systemic risk is due to the lower asset and liability structural similarity between banks. This study uncovers a volunteer mechanism of preventing bank systemic risk under policy uncertainty.
Shrubification along Pipeline Corridors in Permafrost Regions

Pipeline corridors have been rapidly increasing in length and density because of the ever growing demand for crude oil and natural gas resources in hydrocarbon-rich permafrost regions. Pipeline engineering activities have significant implications for the permafrost environment in cold regions. Along these pipeline corridors, the shrubification in the right-of-way (ROW) has been extensively observed during vegetation recovery. However, the hydrothermal mechanisms of this ROW shrubification have seldom been studied and thus remain poorly understood. This paper reviews more than 112 articles mainly published from 2000 to 2022 and focuses on the hydrothermal mechanisms of shrubification associated with environmental changes induced by the rapidly degrading permafrost from pipeline construction and around the operating pipelines under a warming climate. First, the shrubification from pipeline construction and operation and the ensuing vegetation clearance are featured. Then, key permafrost-related ROW shrubification mechanisms (e.g., from the perspectives of warmer soil, soil moisture, soil type, soil nutrients, topography and landscapes, and snow cover) are discussed. Other key influencing factors on these hydrothermal and other mechanisms are hierarchically documented as well. In the end, future research priorities are identified and proposed. We call for prioritizing more systematic and in-depth investigations and surveys, laboratory testing, long-term field monitoring, and numerical modeling studies of the ROW shrubification along oil and gas pipelines in permafrost regions, such as in boreal and arctic zones, as well as in alpine and high-plateau regions. This review can improve our understanding of shrubification mechanisms under pipeline disturbances and climate changes and help to better manage the ecological environment along pipeline corridors in permafrost regions.
Optimization of the right-hand sides of nonlocal conditions of a controllable system with multipoint and integral objective functional

In the paper, we investigate the optimal control problem for a linear system of ordinary differential equations with linear boundary conditions. The boundary conditions involve the values of the phase variable both at separate intermediate points and their integral values over individual intervals of the independent variable. In the problem, we determine the controls involved in the differential equations and the values of the right-hand sides of multipoint and integral boundary conditions. The necessary conditions for the existence and uniqueness of the solution to the boundary value problem, the convexity of the objective functional and the necessary optimality conditions for the optimizable parameters are obtained. The conditions contain constructive formulas of the gradient components of the functional. The numerical solution of an illustrative problem is considered.
Liquid metamaterial based radome design

We present liquid metamaterial based radome design. Radome is a layer used to protect antenna from weather disturbances. The addition of this layer reduces the gain of antenna. Our aim here is to improve this gain. Liquid metamaterial based radome presented in the manuscript improves the gain performance of antenna. The designed liquid metamaterial radome structure is applied to patch antenna for its performance observation. Antenna design with and without liquid metamaterial radome is tested in this manuscript. The design results in the form of return loss, bandwidth and gain are measured and compared. From the comparison, it is evident that the design with liquid metamaterial radome improves the gain of the antenna. The designed antenna with metamaterial liquid radome is applicable in narrowband sensitive radar antenna applications.
Investigation of Japanese PnG BERT Language Model in Text-to-Speech Synthesis for Pitch Accent Language

End-to-end text-to-speech synthesis (TTS) can generate highly natural synthetic speech from raw text. However, rendering the correct pitch accents is still a challenging problem for end-to-end TTS. To tackle the challenge of rendering correct pitch accent in Japanese end-to-end TTS, we adopt PnG BERT, a self-supervised pretrained model in the character and phoneme domain for TTS. We investigate the effects of features captured by PnG BERT on Japanese TTS by modifying the fine-tuning condition to determine the conditions helpful inferring pitch accents. We manipulate content of PnG BERT features from being text-oriented to speech-oriented by changing the number of fine-tuned layers during TTS. In addition, we teach PnG BERT pitch accent information by fine-tuning with tone prediction as an additional downstream task. Our experimental results show that the features of PnG BERT captured by pretraining contain information helpful inferring pitch accent, and PnG BERT outperforms baseline Tacotron on accent correctness in a listening test.
Dynamic surface control with a nonlinear disturbance observer for multi‐degree of freedom underactuated mechanical systems

Underactuated systems are extensively utilized in practice while attracting a huge deal of attention in theoretical studies. There are few robust control strategies for general underactuated systems because of the variety of their dynamic models. A dynamic surface control strategy with a nonlinear disturbance observer is proposed in this study, to stabilize multi‐degree of freedom underactuated systems. In such systems the number of underactuated degrees of freedom is not higher compared to the actuated ones. A disturbance observer is utilized to dispose of the uncertain disturbance and cross terms in dynamic model which may cause failure to the controller. Then, a dynamic surface control strategy is presented which is not sensitive to the diversity of dynamic models. The stability of whole system is proven by Lyapunov‐based method. The control law is successfully applied to nonlinear underactuated systems in benchmark cascade form such as two‐translational oscillator with rotational actuator, crane, wheeled inverted pendulum. The effectiveness of proposed controllers are illustrated by MATLAB simulation results. Finally, comparative studies are presented to verify the superiority of the proposed method.