Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Protozoan parasites from genus Sarcocystis and their investigations in Lithuania

The representatives of the genus Sarcocystis are cyst forming coccidian protozoa parasites broadly prevalent in mammals, birds and reptiles. Sarcocystis parasites are characterized by an obligatory prey-predator two-host life cycle. Currently, over 220 Sarcocystis species are known. Some of Sarcocystis species are pathogenic organisms dangerous to humans, domestic and wild animals. A harmful effect of Sarcocystis mainly occurs in intermediate hosts and depends on the species of parasite, infection intensity and localization in the body. In Lithuania, Sarcocystis species forming sarcocysts in rodents, even-toed ungulates and birds were mainly studied. The ecology and diversity of Sarcocystis parasites were investigated using traditional morphological, DNA analysis methods and transmission experiments. Lithuanian scientists have described and named five Sarcocystis species, i. e. S. rodentifelis, S. wobeseri, S. cornixi, S. anasi, S. albifronsi; for the first time proved Sarcocystis rileyi infection in Europe; established definitive hosts of some Sarcocystis species.
Internal Capital Markets in Business Groups: Evidence from the Asian Financial Crisis

This paper examines capital reallocation among firms in Korean business groups (chaebol) in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and the consequences of this capital reallocation for investment and performance of chaebol firms. We show that chaebol transferred cash from low growth to high growth member firms after the crisis, using cross-firm equity investments. This capital reallocation allowed chaebol firms with greater investment opportunities to invest significantly more than control firms in the aftermath of the crisis. Chaebol firms with greater investment opportunities also showed higher profitability and lower declines in valuation than control firms following the Asian crisis. Our results suggest that Korean chaebol used their internal capital markets to mitigate the negative effects of the Asian crisis on their investment and performance.
Left Ventricular Myxoma: Case Report

Male, 22 years old, hospitalized in a reference hospital, was diagnosed with a left ventricular myxoma, and underwent into surgical removal of the tumor. The left ventricular myxoma is a rare condition where very few hospitals in the world have experienced in its resolution, making the advancement on its management studies difficult. This article’s goal is to promote an update about this subject.
On the interaction between tree canopy position and environmental effects on soil attributes and plant communities

Questions Understanding how trees affect their understorey plants and soils is crucial to understand savanna ecosystems. Most studies focus on the differences between canopy and open microsites, but how do different positions within large tree canopies influence soils and plants? Are these potential differences likely to change depending on environmental conditions (i.e. annual rainfall and grazing)? Location One hundred sites across a rainfall gradient (220–1400 mm) in NSW, Australia. Methods We measured the cover, richness and community composition of understorey plants and 12 soil attributes related to infiltration, erodibility and fertility across three positions within the canopy of large eucalypts (trunk, mid-canopy and edge) and in open areas. We also estimated the percentage similarity in plant communities across microsites, and the percentage species within the landscape occurring solely in one of the four microsites assayed. We tested the interactions between the effect of environmental conditions (rainfall and grazing) and canopy position on all these soil and vegetation attributes. Results Soil attributes explained ~50% of the effect of trees on understorey plants, and soil attributes improved with proximity to the trunk and increasing rainfall. The effect of canopy position × rainfall interactions depended on the response variable considered. These interactions did not affect soil attributes, the percentage of facilitation-obligate species or species richness, and weakly affected plant composition. However, we found a strong reduction in similarity among plant communities within edge and mid-canopy compared with open sites towards drier environments, and canopy position × rainfall interactions also significantly affected plant cover. We attribute these weak interactions between canopy position and environmental conditions to richness or the frequency of facilitation to the high turnover of facilitated species across microsites and across different environmental conditions. Conclusions Our study can be used to better understand community dynamics in ecosystems with scattered trees by showing the differential effects of trees on their understorey. Our results also contribute to the body of research on the relationships between plant–plant interactions and the environment by illustrating the importance of gradient length and the number of different microsites considered.
Production of temporally flat top UV laser pulses for SPARC photo-injector

In the SPARC photoinjector, the amplified Ti:Sa laser system is conceived to produce an UV flat top pulse profile required to reduce the beam emittance by minimizing the non-linear space charge effects in the photoelectrons pulse. Beam dynamic simulations indicate that the optimal pulse distribution must be flat top in space and time with 10 ps FWHM duration, 1 ps of rise and fall time and a limited ripple on the plateau. In a previous work it was demonstrated the possibility to use a programmable dispersive acousto-optics (AO) filter to achieve pulse profile close to the optimal one. In this paper we report the characterization of the effects of harmonics conversion on the pulse temporal profile. A technique to overcome the harmonics conversion distortions on the laser pulses at the fundamental wavelength in order to obtain the target pulse profile is explained too. Measurements and simulations in the temporal and spectral domain at the fundamental laser wavelength and at the second and third harmonics are presented in order to validate our work. It is also described a time diagnostic device for the UV pulses.
Towards a shared method to classify contaminated territories in the case of an accidental nuclear event: the PRIME project

The analysis of the management of the accidentally radioactive contaminated areas such as those around Chernobyl nuclear power plant highlights the fact that the current spatial classification methods hardly help in recovering proper use of the contaminated territory. The cause is mainly to be searched for in the traditional construction of risks assessment methods; these methods rest on criteria defined by institutional experts, which are not applicable in practise because they are not shared by all the stakeholders involved in the management of the contaminated territories. Opposite such top-down tentative management, local efforts supported by Non-Governmental Organizations to restore life in the contaminated area seem to be more fruitful but very time and resources consuming and limited to the specific areas where they are experimented. The aim of the PRIME project, in progress at the French Institute for Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety, is to mix the advantages of both approaches in building a multicriteria decision tool based on the territorial specificities. The criteria of the method are chosen and weighted with representatives of the territory’s stakeholders (decision makers, local actors and experts) to warrant that all the points of view are taken into account and to enable the risk managers to choose the appropriate strategy in case of an accident involving radioactive substances. The area chosen for the pilot study is a 50 km radius territory around the nuclear sites of Tricastin-Pierrelatte in the lower valley of Rhone (France). One of the exploration questions of the PRIME project is whether a multicriteria method may be an appropriate tool to treat the data and make them visible and accessible for all the stakeholders.
Unique Pulsed-Laser Deposition Production of Anatase and Rutile TiO 2 on Al 2 O 3

Two pure hexagonal phases of titanium dioxide, anatase and rutile, were grown on c-cut Al2O3 substrates via pulsed-laser deposition by changing only the growth and annealing conditions, but without changing the substrate, target, or working gas. Purity of each phase was confirmed by x-ray diffraction, the quality of each film was studied using atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, and the interface between each substrate and film was studied using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. A binding layer of Ti2O3 was found to explain anatase growth under the very large lattice mismatch conditions.
Distribution of Fluoride and Arsenic Contents in the Ground Water System, Jorhat District, Assam, India

Exploratory investigations have been made on the ground water system of the Jorhat district, Assam to evaluate the geochemical association (Fe, As, F, K, Mn, Zn, Ni, Ca, Mg and Na with pH and Conductivity) in it. The environmentally significant fluoride and arsenic contents have shown their distribution as 0.01 to 0.72 mg/l and 0.50 to 162μg/l respectively. The distribution of fluoride has evidenced less concern with respect to environment and human health as the concentration is much lower than the prescribed tolerance level of WHO and BIS. However, thirty three per cent (33%) out of seventy locations under study covering entire Jorhat district, Assam, have evidenced higher level of arsenic (>10.0μg/l) in the associated water system. The observation bears a significant imprint not only in health sector but also with wider implication in societal and economic perspectives.
HIV Prevalence and Correlations in Prisons in Different Regions of the World: A Review Article

The prevalence of HIV is substantially higher among prisoners than the general population, while the incidence varies considerably in different regions around the world. If we consider Sub-Saharan Africa as one region with the highest prevalence of HIV, data on African prisoners would be limited. Despite the low prevalence of HIV in the Middle East and North Africa, its incidence is rising in these regions with a few exceptions; there are insufficient data on HIV prevalence in prisons. A similar situation is present in both Pacific and Central Asia as well as in Eastern Europe. A high rate of infection is mainly observed among prisoners in Western and Central parts of Europe, since the data from these are more available than other parts. Nowadays, the sexual transmission mode and tattooing are important ways in HIV risks among prisoners after injecting drug use as the most common route of HIV transmission in all regions. However, it is difficult to compare and analyze the prevalence of HIV among prisoners in different regions regarding the limited data and different methods which they used in collecting data. Eventually, it can certainly be said that prisons are one of the high-risk places for HIV transmission; on the other hand, can be a suitable place for implementing HIV case-finding, linkage to treatment and harm reduction programs.
Genetic divergence among accessions of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) sampled in the Tapajós region, State of Pará, using agronomic characters and microsatellite markers

O objetivo deste trabalho foi estimar a divergencia genetica entre acessos de mandioca coletados na regiao do Tapajos no Estado do Para e conservados no Banco Regional de Germoplasma da Amazonia Oriental por meio de descritores agronomicos e marcadores moleculares. Vinte e dois acessos de mandioca foram avaliados a campo por dois anos consecutivos com base em seis descritores agronomicos em plantas com doze meses de idade, sem o uso de delineamento experimental especifico. Os acessos foram tambem avaliados com onze locos microssatelites em analisador de DNA automatico. Foram realizadas as seguintes analises estatisticas: descritiva e multivariada. Com base na analise de componentes principais, o carater peso da parte aerea da planta foi o que mais contribuiu para a variacao fenotipica. Os seis caracteres foram utilizados nas analises de dissimilaridade genetica e agrupamento, e foi estimada a correlacao entre as matrizes geradas. As matrizes foram utilizadas para construcao de dendrogramas pelo metodo UPGMA. Foi evidenciada ampla variacao tanto dos descritores agronomicos quanto dos marcadores moleculares avaliados, os quais foram capazes de separar os acessos em grupos distintos. Foi encontrada fraca correlacao entre as matrizes de distâncias geneticas, o que indicou a possibilidade de exploracao da diversidade genetica por meio de cruzamentos, sendo os acessos Amarelinha 36 e Olho roxo 13 divergentes e potencialmente promissores pare serem utilizados na geracao de hibridos heterosticos.
Surfacing the multiple : diffractive methods for rethinking professional practice and knowledge

In this chapter we argue that professional knowledge is necessarily singular and multiple. We add that this is an inherent characteristic of professional knowledge heightened by recent developments. Our point of departure is that practical knowledge is over-determinate by nature: multiple and often dissonant causes, forces, histories intersect at the point where practice is accomplished. In the process, the adoption of a given modus operandi leads to the deferral and suppression of all the possible alternatives. In this sense, the ideal of professional practice as a stable, coherent, bounded phenomenon is largely a myth and a convenient fiction that is part and parcel of the process of normalization and disciplining that is inherent in professionalization. To become a professional means both expanding and constraining one's repertoire of conducts. This is because on the one hand, becoming a professional allows one to expand the possibilities of action (i.e., 'what to do next') by tapping into the repertoire of actions developed by former members and sedimented in the professional community's collective experience. On the other hand, joining a profession means observing certain canons and norms and to submit to the profession's authority — something that automatically limits what is do-able, say-able and often thinkable (Foucault's disciplinary project).
Adaptive Modality Selection Algorithm in Robot-Assisted Cognitive Training

Interaction of socially assistive robots with users is based on social cues coming from different interaction modalities, such as speech or gestures. However, using all modalities at all times may be inefficient as it can overload the user with redundant information and increase the task completion time. Additionally, users may favor certain modalities over the other as a result of their disability or personal preference. In this paper, we propose an Adaptive Modality Selection (AMS) algorithm that chooses modalities depending on the state of the user and the environment, as well as user preferences. The variables that describe the environment and the user state are defined as resources, and we posit that modalities are successful if certain resources possess specific values during their use. Besides the resources, the proposed algorithm takes into account user preferences which it learns while interacting with users. We tested our algorithm in simulations, and we implemented it on a robotic system that provides cognitive training, specifically Sequential memory exercises. Experimental results show that it is possible to use only a subset of available modalities without compromising the interaction. Moreover, we see a trend for users to perform better when interacting with a system with implemented AMS algorithm.
Cost-Effective Data Annotation using Game-Based Crowdsourcing

Large-scale data annotation is indispensable for many applications, such as machine learning and data integration. However, existing annotation solutions either incur expensive cost for large datasets or produce noisy results. This paper introduces a cost-effective annotation approach, and focuses on the labeling rule generation problem that aims to generate high-quality rules to largely reduce the labeling cost while preserving quality. To address the problem, we first generate candidate rules, and then devise a game-based crowdsourcing approach C ROWD G AME to select high-quality rules by considering coverage and precision. C ROWD G AME employs two groups of crowd workers: one group answers rule validation tasks (whether a rule is valid) to play a role of rule generator, while the other group answers tuple checking tasks (whether the annotated label of a data tuple is correct) to play a role of rule refuter. We let the two groups play a two-player game: rule generator identifies high-quality rules with large coverage and precision, while rule refuter tries to refute its opponent rule generator by checking some tuples that provide enough evidence to reject rules covering the tuples. This paper studies the challenges in C ROWD G AME . The first is to balance the trade-off between coverage and precision. We define the loss of a rule by considering the two factors. The second is rule precision estimation. We utilize Bayesian estimation to combine both rule validation and tuple checking tasks. The third is to select crowdsourcing tasks to fulfill the game-based framework for minimizing the loss. We introduce a minimax strategy and develop efficient task selection algorithms. We conduct experiments on entity matching and relation extraction, and the results show that our method outperforms state-of-the-art solutions.
Parameter Estimation Through Strucutrue-Preserving Approximate Bayesian Computation for Stochastic Neural Mass Models

In this talk we perform statistical inference for a stochastic neural mass model using approximate Bayesian computation. Stochastic neural mass models are used to describe the electrical activity of a whole population of neurons with average properties, and have been reported to reproduce, for example EEG/MEG/SEEG data. Here we focus on a specific reformulation of the Jansen and Rit neural mass model [1] as a stochastic differential equation (JR-SDE) with additive noise [2]. We can analyse this new stochastic version of the model through its dynamical and structural properties. In particular, we are interested in estimating some parameters that have been shown to be relevant for the description of α-rhythmic and epileptic behaviour. In [2], the authors declared that the JR-SDE can be re-formulated as a stochastic Hamiltonian equation, which enabled them to prove its ergodicity. This guarantees that the distribution of the 6-dimensional solution process X(t) = (X0(t), . , X5(t)) T , t ∈ [0, T ] converges exponentially fast towards a unique invariant measure and allows us to extract important statistical properties from single sample paths. Here we perform statistical inference for this stochastic model, making use of a numerical splitting scheme that has been shown to preserve the structural model properties, differently from commonly used schemes, such as the Euler Maruyama method [2]. From an experimental point of view, the solution process (X(t))t∈[0,T ] is partially observed through the EEG-related stochastic process Y (t) = X1(t)−X2(t), t ∈ [0, T ]. Two main difficulties arise: First, due to the fact that the non-linear and multidimensional SDE cannot be explicitly solved, the dynamics of the signal process (Y (t))t∈[0,T ] can be only simulated through the numerical scheme.
Presepsin as an important diagnostic biomarker that differentiates sepsis from non-infectious SIRS in critical ill adult patients: A system review and meta-analysis

Abstract: Introduction: Identifying sepsis from non-infectious SIRS is difficult, especially in patients with severe diseases, such as multiple trauma, pancreatitis, peritonitis, ongoing surgery and severe burns. There is no standard biomarker for sepsis, not even procalcitonin (PCT). Presepsin was reported as a promising marker for diagnosis of bacterial infections. In this study, we conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the accuracy and clinical value of presepsin in diagnosing sepsis from SIRS of non-infectious origin in adult patients with critical illness. Methods: Systematical literature search was performed on Medline, Embase and the Cochrane Library. Only studies with presepsin for septic patient diagnosis were included. Outcomes of each study were independently examined by two reviewers. MetaDiSc 1.4 software was used for pooling estimates, and sensitivity and specificity analysis. I2 and meta-regression were adopted to evaluate and explore the source of heterogeneity. Results: 5 of 314 reports met the inclusion criteria. Those 5 studies included 468 patients. The pooled diagnosis sensitivity and specificity were 0·86 (95% CI 0.82–0.89) and 0.69 (95% CI 0.63–0.75) respectively. The summery receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.8799. Only studies with the blood sample collected on admission were analyzed, with the mean estimates of sensitivity and specificity at 0.85(95% CI: 0.79–0.90) and 0.72 (95% CI: 0.64–0.79) respectively. The area under the curve was 0.9256. The studies had substantial heterogeneity. None of the subgroups investigated could account for the heterogeneity. Conclusion: Presepsin is a significant marker for sepsis diagnosis in critically ill patients. Presepsin detection on patient admission can improve the diagnostic capability in differentiating sepsis from non-infectious SIRS.
Complexity Considerations and Market Behavior

The article is concerned with market behavior when firms have limited ability to handle effectively the complexity of changing market conditions and strategic interaction . Modelling the managerial bounded rationality by using the concept of strategic complexity as measured by a finite automation, we show that market behavior can be considerably altered once there is a limit on the complexity of strategies. In particular, we demonstrate that when an incumbent firm operates in several markets, an entry to one market may induce the incumbent to exit from another market (divestiture) in order to "concentrate" on the competition it faces. For different parameters the incumbent may react to such an entry by exit from the same market, creating specialization. We also demonstrate that bounded complexity can serve as an entry barrier, giving an advantage to the established incumbent firm.
Clustered Lifelong Learning Via Representative Task Selection

Consider the lifelong machine learning problem where the objective is to learn new consecutive tasks depending on previously accumulated experiences, i.e., knowledge library. In comparison with most state-of-the-arts which adopt knowledge library with prescribed size, in this paper, we propose a new incremental clustered lifelong learning model with two libraries: feature library and model library, called Clustered Lifelong Learning (CL3), in which the feature library maintains a set of learned features common across all the encountered tasks, and the model library is learned by identifying and adding representative models (clusters). When a new task arrives, the original task model can be firstly reconstructed by representative models measured by capped l2-norm distance, i.e., effectively assigning the new task model to multiple representative models under feature library. Based on this assignment knowledge of new task, the objective of our CL3 model is to transfer the knowledge from both feature library and model library to learn the new task. The new task 1) with a higher outlier probability will then be judged as a new representative, and used to refine both feature library and representative models over time; 2) with lower outlier probability will only update the feature library. For the model optimisation, we cast this problem as an alternating direction minimization problem. To this end, the performance of CL3 is evaluated through comparing with most lifelong learning models, even some batch clustered multi-task learning models.