Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Elastography—A Bona Fide Non-Invasive Method for Assessing Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Children

Pediatric obesity has become a major public health problem worldwide, resulting in a wide spectrum of systemic complications. Liver disease associated with obesity, also known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is currently the most common chronic liver condition in children. Therefore, its timely and proper diagnosis is essential for preventing further development of cirrhosis. Multiple studies focused on identifying the most accurate non-invasive diagnostic method for liver fibrosis or cirrhosis. Although liver biopsy remains the gold-standard in terms of this hepatopathy, elastography methods emerged as a relatively reliable alternative to liver biopsy. Thus, recent studies revealed the great importance of these non-invasive methods not only in diagnosing pediatric NAFLD, but also in its staging. MRE is commonly considered to have a greater accuracy than ultrasound-based elastography methods, but with lower availability and higher costs. Ultrasound-based elastography methods (transient elastography (TE), p-SWE, and 2-dimensional shear wave elastography (2D-SWE)) were proved to have similar accuracy in NAFLD staging. Nevertheless, multiple confounding factors account for potential challenges when using elastography for liver stiffness measurement, such as age, obesity itself (i.e., BMI), transaminase levels, or portal flow. A potential solution for facing these challenges might be represented by a complex approach based on the combination between elastography, clinical and laboratory findings. Although the studies that assessed the role of elastography in pediatric NAFLD staging are scarce, the current knowledge underlines a crucial role of these techniques taking into account their ability to distinguish between fibrosis degrees, their non-invasive patterns, lower costs and side effects when compared to liver biopsy. Therefore, elastography might become a cornerstone in staging pediatric NAFLD.
Cultural vocabulary in teaching Turkish as a foreign language

This study aims at specifying cultural words in teaching Turkish as a foreign language according to their proficiency levels (A1/2, B1/2, and C1/2) and analyzing the difference between the proficiency levels of these cultural words in terms of their frequency. For this purpose, a cultural corpus of 112.350 tokens in total has been created based on written and oral cultural texts. In this cultural corpus, nouns and verbs in the first 2000 in terms of their frequency have been compared with nouns and verbs in the most common 2000 Turkish words, and nouns and verbs that are not in the most common 2000 Turkish words have been marked as cultural words. Then, the cultural words have been compared with the textbooks used in teaching Turkish as a foreign language. The proficiency levels of their English equivalents in Cambridge Learner's Dictionary and the context in which they are used in the corpus have been checked and listed according to their levels. Finally, the list has been edited according to the opinions of two experts teaching Turkish as a foreign language at university level. The differences in the frequency of cultural words according to their proficiency levels have been analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests. Findings show that there is a statistically significant difference between A1 and A2; A2 and B1; B1 and B2; C1 and C2 levels of the cultural words in terms of frequency, whereas there is no significant difference between cultural words at B2 and C1 levels in terms of frequency. In these findings, it has been seen that the most cultural words are at B1 level in terms of number and concept diversity, and it has been concluded that B1 level could be a threshold in the teaching of cultural words
LCA Practices of Plastics and Their Recycling: A Critical Review

In a bid to help address the environmental footprints associated with products and services, life cycle assessment (LCA) applications have become increasingly popular throughout the years. This review summarizes some important methodological developments in recent years, such as the advent of dynamic LCA, as well as highlighting recent LCA applications in the context of plastics/recycling with a focus on their methodological choices. Furthermore, this review aims to offer a set of possible research lines to improve the gap between LCA and decision-making (policy). It was found that the majority of reviewed papers are mostly conservative in their methodological practice, employing mostly static analyses and making little use of other methods. In order to bridge the gap between LCA and policy, it is suggested to broaden system boundaries through the integration of dynamic modelling methods, incorporating interactions between fore- and background systems, and including behavioral components where relevant. In addition, advanced sampling routines to further explore and assess the policy space are recommended. This is of paramount importance when dealing with recycling processes as the molecules/polymers constituting the output of those processes have to be benchmarked in terms of costs and, crucially, their sustainability character against virgin ones.
An Overview on the Main Technical Processes of Restriction-Site Associated DNA Sequencing (RAD-Seq)

Restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq) is a critical enabling genotyping method based on whole-genome restriction sites developed on the basis of second-generation sequencing and nowadays is widely applicable to a variety of biological problems in many species where traditional cytogenetic methods have failed. As sequencing costs have dropped, RAD-Seq has moved from being primarily a SNP discovery tool to being a method for high-throughput genotyping of populations. In this paper, the main technical processes of RAD-seq has been briefly summarized and great potential will been hold to clarify more development and application in researches.
Salvage cable yarding operations productivity of pinewood nematode infected Pinus trees in South Korea

ABSTRACT Salvage logging of nematode-infested pinewoods could increase in South Korea, because of the risk of pest spread in response to climate change. No previous studies have precisely determined how to extrapolate information regarding cable extraction productivity and cost in salvage logging operations to steep terrains in South Korea. Therefore, in this study, the performance of a semi-mechanized system was observed at two different harvesting sites located in areas affected by the pinewood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus). The following were the specific aims of this study: (1) to evaluate HAM200 yarder productivity and cost in four different conditions (50 and 100 m yarding distances in uphill and downhill directions), and (2) to identify significant independent variables related to productivity. The HAM200 productivity values varied considerably and ranged from 1.95 to 2.52 m3/productive machine-hour (costs 43.29–55.81 US $/m3, respectively). Overall, productivity for trees damaged by uphill yarding was 20% higher compared to downhill yarding while productivity was not significantly different. Yarding direction, lateral distance, volume per cycle, and interaction of volume per cycle with lateral distance significantly affected the productivity. Further, our regression model, uphill yarding should be favorable from 35 to 100 m yarding distances. The findings of this study would enable better planning and decision-making regarding salvage logging, thereby allowing improved production of damaged trees.
Counselling as a calling: Meaning in life and perceived self‐competence in counselling students

Both meaning in life (MIL) and perceived self- competence (PSC) have been linked to a sense of calling, and better well- being. To the authors' knowledge, no study has examined MIL or PSC in counselling students. Current counselling students ( N = 292) were asked whether studying counselling brought them MIL, and completed the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, and an adapted Perceived Competence Scale for Counselling Students (PCS- CS). Results showed that students with a higher sense of MIL had a higher level of PSC. Over 95% of participants found meaning in their study of counselling, implying that many found it to be a calling. The PCS- CS was found to be reliable, and implications include its potential usefulness in future research on PSC in counselling populations. With MIL and PSC being linked to better workplace well-being, this study implies that trainee counsellors have high levels of these protective factors, with further research warranted to establish whether this is also the case for counselling professionals.
Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Snowline Altitude and Their Responses to Climate Change in the Tienshan Mountains, Central Asia, during 2001–2019

Snow cover is an important water resource in arid and semi-arid regions of Central Asia, and is related to agricultural and livestock production, ecosystems, and socio-economic development. The snowline altitude (SLA) is a significant indicator for monitoring the changes in snow cover in mountainous regions under the changing climate. Here, we investigate the spatiotemporal variation of SLA in the Tienshan Mountains (TS) during 2001–2019 using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) snow cover products on a grid-by-grid basis. The potential influence of topographic factors (slope gradient and aspect) on SLA and the correlation between SLA, temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation are also investigated. The results are as follows: (1) The annual cycle of SLA shows strong seasonal fluctuations (from about 2000 m in late December to 4100 m in early August). The SLA over the TS exhibits a large spatiotemporal heterogeneity. (2) SLA increases with a steeper slope gradient. The SLA of the northerly aspect is generally less than the southerly. (3) The SLA over the TS generally shows an increasing trend in the recent years (2001–2019). The change trend of SLA varies in different months. Except for a slight decrease in June, the SLA increased in almost all months, especially at the start of the melt season (March and April) and the end of melting season (July and August). (4) The SLA increases with increased temperature/radiation in the TS, and decreases with increased precipitation. Solar radiation is the dominant climatic factor affecting the changes of SLA in the TS. Compared with precipitation, temperature is more correlated to SLA dynamics.
A Systematic Literature Review on Sustainability in Family Firms

In this study, we explore the research published from 2015 to 2020 on the importance of family firms (FFs) to sustainability. Our results come from a content analysis of 28 studies on this topic. Further, they deal with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the construction industry in Italy and Spain. These studies mainly follow a quantitative approach with data from a survey. This study’s main contribution regards the identification of three sorts of aspects associated to sustainability in FFs which match the three pillars of the triple bottom line approach that supports sustainable business development: social inclusion, economic development, and environmental protection. Our findings show that the family’s religiosity, reputation, and image play relevant roles in the FFs’ adoption of sustainable practices. Moreover, the CEO and their successor’s choices also have consequences for sustainability. These studies demonstrate how the family’s control, its values, and the industry influence the adoption of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. FFs go green by adopting eco-innovation to adapt to the constantly changing environment and market pressures. We acknowledge the limitations of the study. We offer advice to colleagues when developing future futures studies to address the influence of cultural differences between FFs and non-FFs and suggest they perform comparative analyses. This research could lead to further investigation of the effects of other variables that may influence sustainability in the context of FFs.
Modeling the geographic spread and proliferation of invasive alien plants (IAPs) into new ecosystems using multi-source data and multiple predictive models in the Heuningnes catchment, South Africa

ABSTRACT The geographic spread and proliferation of Invasive Alien Plants (IAPs) into new ecosystems requires accurate, constant, and frequent monitoring particularly under the changing climate to ensure the integrity and resilience of affected as well as vulnerable ecosystems. This study thus aimed to understand the distribution and shifts of IAPs and the factors influencing such distribution at the catchment scale to minimize their risks and impacts through effective management. Three machine learning Species Distribution Modeling (SDM) techniques, namely, Random Forest (RF), Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt), Boosted Regression Trees (BRT) and their respective ensemble model were used to predict the potential distribution of IAPs within the catchment. The current and future bioclimatic variables, environmental and Sentinel-2 Multispectral Instrument satellite data were used to fit the models to predict areas at risk of IAPs invasions in the Heuningnes catchment, South Africa. The present and two future climatic scenarios from the Community Climate System Model (CCSM4) were considered in modeling the potential distribution of these species. The two future scenarios represented the minimum and maximum atmospheric carbon Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 2.6 and 8.5 for 2050 (average for 2041–2060). The results show that IAPs are predicted to expand under the influence of climate change in the catchment. Concurrently, riparian zones, bare areas, and the native vegetation which is rich in biodiversity will greatly be affected. The mean diurnal range (Bio2), warmest quarter maximum temperature (Bio5), and the warmest quarter precipitation (Bio18) were the most important bioclimatic variables in modeling the spatial distribution of IAPs in the catchment. Comparatively, all the models were successful in predicting the potential distribution of IAPs for all the scenarios. The BRT, MaxEnt, and RF predicted the spatial distribution of IAPs with an Area Under Curve (AUC) of 0.89, 0.92, and 0.94, respectively. The study highlighted the importance of multi-source data and multiple predictive models in predicting the current and potential future IAP distribution. The results from this study provide baseline information for effective land management, planning, and continuous monitoring of the further spread of IAPs within the Heuningnes catchment.
Analysis of in-flight cabin vibration of a turboprop airplane by proposing a novel noise-tolerant signal decomposition method

Vibration in passenger cabins of turboprop airplanes is a serious challenge. One of the essential steps in studying the cabin vibrations is to determine the contributing sources of vibration. The vibration signals are highly nonstationary and noisy. Therefore, one may require a noise-tolerant signal processing method for decomposition of the signals. In this article, the wavelet-based empirical mode decomposition is introduced for the first time to improve the performance of the traditional empirical mode decomposition in dealing with noise. Unlike the traditional empirical mode decomposition that extracts the signal trend by averaging the upper and lower envelopes intersecting local maxima and minima of the signal, the wavelet-based empirical mode decomposition directly extracts the signal trend by applying the multilevel wavelet decomposition of the consecutive approximations within the sifting process. Numerical studies are undertaken to evaluate the effect of noise on the performance of the empirical mode decomposition and wavelet-based empirical mode decomposition. Also, comparisons are made between the methods at dissimilar noise powers based on the orthogonality, integral, and energy decomposition criteria. The results indicate that both methods generate similar results in the absence of noise. Considering the number of obtained intrinsic mode functions, decomposition quality criteria, and computational cost, however, the wavelet-based empirical mode decomposition outperforms the classic method at higher noise levels. In this article, the wavelet-based empirical mode decomposition is used for analysis of in-flight airplane cabin vibration. A 52-passenger turboprop aircraft is equipped with eight triaxial piezoelectric accelerometers, and several flight tests are performed to acquire in-flight vibration signals within the passenger cabin. The proposed wavelet-based empirical mode decomposition is applied to the experimental data. Then, the amplitudes and frequencies of the intrinsic mode functions are examined. Finally, the probable vibration sources are identified based on the intrinsic mode functions characteristics.
Population, habitat characteristic, and modelling of Endangered Orchid, Paphiopedilum javanicum in Mt. Lawu, Java, Indonesia

Abstract. Romadlon MA, Azzhara F, Nugroho GD, Pitoyo A. 2021. Population, habitat characteristic, and modelling of Endangered Orchid, Paphiopedilum javanicum in Mt. Lawu, Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 22: 1996-2004. Paphiopedilum javanicum (Reinw. ex Blume) Pfitzer or Java Paphiopedilum is an endangered orchid categorized as appendix I in CITES. In its natural habitat, forest fire, habitat fragmentation, and extreme poaching are considerably the prominent threats for the species. The study aims to assess the population distribution, the habitat characteristics and model the suitable habitat of P. javanicum in Mt Lawu, Java, Indonesia using Maxent (Maximum Entropy) modelling. Eighteen subpopulations of P. javanicum spread across the region with a total number of 103 individuals. The majority of the individuals are in the generative phase (93.81%) and the rest are in the vegetative phase (6.19%). In Mt Lawu, P. javanicum can be found at an elevation of 1,231-1,825 m asl. in a deep shady forest floor with a thick litter and canopy cover between 0-77.4%. The soil has pH between 7-7.1 with 21.7%-36.7% of moisture. The air temperature ranging between 21.8˚-29.7˚C, with humidity of 61%-78.5%. Based on the Maxent test, annual mean temperature, vegetation cover, type of land use, and elevation are the most influencing factor of P. javanicum distribution in Mt Lawu. The model identifies 6814.75 ha areas in Mt Lawu that are suitable for the species distribution. Lawu Purba, the biggest suitable area for P. javanicum habitat in the southern part of the mountain holds the remaining natural forests in the region. The result is expected to provide recommendations for determining priority areas in the conservation efforts for this threatened orchid.
Mexican Axolotl Optimization: A Novel Bioinspired Heuristic

When facing certain problems in science, engineering or technology, it is not enough to find a solution, but it is essential to seek and find the best possible solution through optimization. In many cases the exact optimization procedures are not applicable due to the great computational complexity of the problems. As an alternative to exact optimization, there are approximate optimization algorithms, whose purpose is to reduce computational complexity by pruning some areas of the problem search space. To achieve this, researchers have been inspired by nature, because animals and plants tend to optimize many of their life processes. The purpose of this research is to design a novel bioinspired algorithm for numeric optimization: the Mexican Axolotl Optimization algorithm. The effectiveness of our proposal was compared against nine optimization algorithms (artificial bee colony, cuckoo search, dragonfly algorithm, differential evolution, firefly algorithm, fitness dependent optimizer, whale optimization algorithm, monarch butterfly optimization, and slime mould algorithm) when applied over four sets of benchmark functions (unimodal, multimodal, composite and competition functions). The statistical analysis shows the ability of Mexican Axolotl Optimization algorithm of obtained very good optimization results in all experiments, except for composite functions, where the Mexican Axolotl Optimization algorithm exhibits an average performance.
Joint range and velocity estimation for integration of radar and communication based on multi‐symbol OFDM radar pulses

Qing Lan Project of Jiangsu Province; National Natural Science Foundation of China, Grant/Award Numbers: 61671239, 61871203; China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, Grant/Award Number: 2016M592334 Abstract Integration of radar and communication (IRC) is conducive to improving hardware resource utilization and spectrum utilization. This paper proposes a joint range and velocity estimation method for IRC based on multi‐symbol orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) radar pulses. A two‐step parameters estimation method is applied, where estimating the signal parameters via rotational invariance technique (ESPRIT) and weighted subspace fitting (WSF) perform rough and fine estimations. We first build a receiving model for integrated signal based on element‐wise division. The ESPRIT method is then adopted based on the double Vandermonde structure array manifold for a rough estimation. It has relatively high estimation error but low computational complexity. The WSF method based on alternating projection (AP) algorithm is introduced to make the estimation more precise and reduce its error. It uses the estimation results in the first step and reduces the overall computational cost. Simulation results show that the proposed method reduces the computational complexity while improving the estimation accuracy compared with the WSF method.
Violence exposure, psychotic experiences, and social disconnection in an urban community sample

ABSTRACT Background Psychotic experiences (PEs) occur in the general population, serving as indicators of vulnerability to psychotic disorders and other mental and physical concerns. Environmental stressors, including violence exposure and social disconnection are associated with PEs, although the exact nature of these relations is unknown. Methods Data were drawn from an online community sample of 1,000 adults (476 male) residing in Baltimore or New York City. Binary logistic regression and mediation analyses were used to examine associations between PEs, violence exposure (adverse childhood experiences; intimate partner violence), and social disconnectedness (personal; neighborhood). Results Personal social disconnectedness was significantly associated with delusional mood (p < .001). Neighborhood social disconnectedness was significantly associated with delusional mood (p < .01), delusions of reference and persecution (p < .001), delusions of control (p < .01), and hallucinations (p < .01). Both subtypes of violence exposure were found to have significant direct effects on PEs (p < .001). Personal social disconnectedness accounted for 6.72-7.87% of the total effect of violence exposure on PEs, whereas neighborhood social disconnectedness was found to account for 5.14-6.74% of the total effect. Discussion The results advance understandings of prominent environmental risks for psychosis, and offer new implications for public health consideration of psychosis.