Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
WITH OR WITHOUT INTERNAL LIMITING MEMBRANE PEELING FOR IDIOPATHIC EPIRETINAL MEMBRANE

Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text. Our study showed that additional internal limiting membrane peeling for idiopathic epiretinal membrane patients did not significantly improve the postoperative visual outcome or decrease recurrence rate, but result in thicker central macular thickness. It indicates that internal limiting membrane peeling does not add benefits for idiopathic epiretinal membrane patients and therefore is not indispensable. Purpose: To clarify whether internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling provides better outcomes for patients with idiopathic epiretinal membrane. Methods: Randomized controlled trials comparing epiretinal membrane removal with and without ILM peeling were searched in Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and CNKI before April 15, 2020. The pooled mean difference (MD) for best-corrected visual acuity, central macular thickness, and odds ratio for recurrence were calculated. Results: Eight randomized controlled trials involving 422 eyes were included. No significant difference in best-corrected visual acuity (final follow-up: MD, 0.03 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution [1.5 Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study letters]; 95% confidence interval [CI], −0.04 to 0.09 [−4.5 to 2 Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study letters]; P = 0.40) or recurrence rate (odds ratio, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.04–1.05; P = 0.06) between the groups was observed. However, patients with ILM peeling presented thicker central macular thickness at 3 months (MD, 16.36; 95% CI, 1.26–31.46; P = 0.03), 6 months (MD, 22.64; 95% CI, 10.29–34.98; P = 0.0003) and the final follow-up (MD, 25.87; 95% CI, 13.96–37.79; P < 0.0001). Conclusion: The study showed that ILM peeling did not significantly improve the postoperative visual outcome or decrease recurrence, but result in thicker central macular thickness, indicating that it is inessential for idiopathic epiretinal membrane.
Possibilities for Developing Beer Routes in Slovakia

The last 30 years of brewing history in Slovakia were the most turbulent ones. They were influenced by the liquidation of some beer production as well as privatization, integration and acquisitions of global beer producers. As a reaction to the uniform taste of beer produced by the global producers, numerous small craft breweries emerged in Slovakia trying to return the specific beer taste to the regions. Their importance may also be involved in the development of popular beer tourism through beer routes in addition to the fragmentation of the Slovak brewing industry. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the potential of Slovakia for the development of beer routes. The examination and assessment of the possibilities of creating beer routes in Slovakia required considering the historical context first, and then establishing a database comprising the list of craft breweries in Slovakia and the list of places where beer festivals are organised. Correspondence with the President of the Association of Small Independent Slovak Breweries was used for this purpose. Such a database was then verified, supplemented and compared to the database developed by our team based on information from field research, telephone interviews with thirty representatives of breweries, and an analysis of websites of Slovak breweries. The database was further transformed into space, using a map of isolines (equidistant) expressing the mutual distance of the craft breweries. In compiling the results, dynamic-comparative methods and cartographic presentation methods were also used. All together, we identified 70 craft breweries and proposed three beer routes thanks to their spatial distribution.
Modeling the NLP Research Domain using Ontologies An Ontology Representation of NLP Concepts from a Research Perspective

Natural language processing is an active research filed that will benefit greatly from a shared understanding of its concept terms. Modeling this research domain using an ontological semantic representation that defines and links its terms will definitely benefit the research community. This paper aims to present an ontology model for NLP. This ontological model will serve as a tool in analyzing and understanding the knowledge of the domain and to help practitioners in extracting and aggregating information and then generating an explicit formal and reusable representation of the NLP concepts along with their interrelationships. Keywords—NLP; ontologies style; knowledge domain; concepts
Functional parcellation of visual cortex in humans and monkeys

1 McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA 2 Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA 3 Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA 4 Department of Computation & Neural Systems, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, CA
Non local branching Brownian motions with annihilation and free boundary problems

We study a system of branching Brownian motions on R with annihilation: at each branching time a new particle is created and the leftmost one is deleted. The case of strictly local creations (the new particle is put exactly at the same position of the branching particle) was studied in [10]. In [11] instead the position y of the new particle has a distribution p ( x, y ) dy , x the position of the branching particle, however particles in between branching times do not move. In this paper we consider Brownian motions as in [10] and non local branching as in [11] and prove convergence in the continuum limit (when the number N of particles diverges) to a limit density which satisﬁes a free boundary problem when this has classical solutions. We use in the convergence a stronger topology than in [10] and [11] and have explicit bounds on the rate of convergence.
Effect of wall roughness on fluid flow inside a microchannel

Microfluidics is a promising technology, although the governing physical mechanisms are still not quite understood due to the difficulties arising in measuring at such small scales. This work intends to bring some insight on the influence of surface phenomena in microscale flows by proposing a different method to quantify such influence. In this new method, detailed velocity measurements are performed to evaluate the influence on the flow of the surface phenomena instead of using measured bulk flow properties . For that Micro-PIV is used to characterize the flow kinematics inside a DantecDynamics® microchannel (with hydraulic diameter of 637 µm) that possesses rather rough walls (relative roughness of 1.6%) and a very irregular cross-section shape. Two-dimensional velocity profiles were measured in 61 horizontal planes to define the three- dimensional laminar flows (Re � 50). Integration of the velocity profiles yielded volumetric flow rates with a maximum deviation of 3% from the measured volume of fluid discharged as function of time, which gives the magnitude of the bias error of the experimental technique. Effects of walls roughness were quantified by comparing Poiseuille numbers obtained from experimental velocity profiles against those obtained from CFD predictions for the same operating conditions but with hydrodynamically smooth walls, according to the new method proposed herein. Those Poiseuille numbers differed 11% , for an estimated uncertainty of 4.5%, demonstrating the need to account for wall roughness in microflows.
Secular Changes in Body Build and Body Composition in Czech Preschool Children in the Context of Latent Obesity

Changes in lifestyle can be significantly reflected in growth and development. Adaptations to reduced levels of physical activity, together with non-corresponding nutritional intakes, can result in body build and body composition changes at an early age. The present cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the secular trend of modifications of body composition and body mass index (BMI) in Czech preschoolers over the last two to three decades. Boys and girls (386 boys and 372 girls) aged 4 to 6 years in 2014–2019 were measured. Outcome data were compared with the reference sample of preschoolers from 1990: 911 boys and 896 girls. Body height, BMI, and percentage of body fat, muscle, and bone mass were evaluated. Height and BMI have not changed. Body fat increased in both genders (p < 0.01), and contrarily, a significant reduction of muscle and skeletal mass was revealed (p < 0.001). Significant changes in body composition and unchanged BMI indicate the development of latent obesity during the last few decades. Due to latent obesity in a recent cohort, the differences in the prevalence of overweight and obesity markers according to BMI and fat percentage were tested. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was higher by 7.2% in boys, and by 6.5% in girls, as compared to children evaluated according to only their BMI results. Secular changes in preschoolers’ physical builds over the last 25 years are not reflected in body height and BMI, but in body composition. Insufficient development of active, lean body mass proportionally compensated by increased fat mass was also indicated.
Title Modeling Causal Learning Using Bayesian Generic Priors on Generative and Preventive Powers Permalink

We present a Bayesian model of causal learning that incorporates generic priors on distributions of weights representing potential powers to either produce or prevent an effect. These generic priors favor necessary and sufficient causes. Across three experiments, the model explains the systematic pattern of human judgments observed for questions regarding support for a causal link, for both generative and preventive causes.
Elaborating the characteristics-based approach to service innovation: making the service process visible

This paper tackles the issue of how to make the process nature of services more visible in the characteristics-based service innovation model developed by Gallouj and Weinstein (1997). We argue that the invisibility of the service process in the original model is likely to reduce the use of the model for detailed-level analyses within individual services. In our supplemented model four new aspects are added: a separate category for the process characteristics, the " front office-back office " division, the customer " s technology and process, and the distinction between direct and indirect utilities. We apply our model in two empirical cases, which depict KIBS and consumer services.
How spatial constraints on efficacy and dynamic signaling alignment shape animal communication

Effective communication is important to the survival and reproduction of many organisms. Signal transmission and reception have spatial constraints that interact to determine effectiveness. Signals are often best perceived from specific angles, and sensory systems may be limited in their ability to detect or interpret incoming stimuli from certain directions. Alignment between these directional biases can be critical to effective communication. Misalignment of either signal or sensor may disrupt signal perception. Signals also degrade during the distance traveled from signaler to receiver. Thus, how animals position themselves during communication may be under selection. Despite this, we know little about the spatial arrangement of signalers and receivers, what behaviors influence positioning, or the causes and consequences of variation in positioning. To address this fundamental gap in knowledge, I developed a geometric framework for studying the spatial constraints of communication and how they shape positioning across visual, sound, and chemical signaling. To investigate respective roles of signaler and receiver in managing these spatial constraints, I then characterized the spatial dynamics of visual signaling in the jumping spider Habronattus pyrrithrix. Males perform an elaborate courtship dance which includes arm waves and colorful ornaments; the latter are not visible from the side. The female can only perceive colors of male displays when they are presented in her frontal field of view. I recorded relative positions and orientations of both actors throughout courtship and established the role of each sex in maintaining signaling alignment. Finally, I tested how males control female orientation, and respond to signaling challenges. Using video playback, I asked how males’ arm-waving display and the visual environment determine how effectively they attracted female attention, as well as how males respond to variation in their signaling environment. These studies reveal that signaling alignment is frequently disrupted by females turning away from males, but that male arm-waving effectively re-captures her attention. Males also modulate displays in response to changing spatial and environmental conditions. Overall, this dissertation reveals the widespread role of spatial constraints in driving signaling behavior, and demonstrates that the spatial arrangement of signaler and receiver must be managed dynamically through behavioral responses.
Wheat Farmers' Preferences for Wheat Traits in Punjab, Pakistan: A Choice Experiment Approach

In this paper we implement a stated preference experiment to assess wheat farmers’ preferences for and trade-offs between several wheat attributes, including yield, maturity period, resistance to rust, presence of zinc content, and colour of the roti (flat bread). Since zinc-biofortified wheat varieties were not available at the time this study was implemented, we employed the hypothetical choice experiment method. Choice data are collected from 1116 wheat farmers and analysed using conditional logit models, and accounting for the differences in the preferences of farmers with different size operations (marginal, small-scale and medium and large) located in the three key agro-climatic zones of Punjab. The results of this study are expected aid in the development of zinc-biofortified wheat varieties that are preferred by farmers of different sizes in different agro-climatic zones, as well as in the design of targeted delivery and marketing mechanisms for their maximum adoption.
Gravitational properties of light—the gravitational field of a laser pulse

The gravitational field of a laser pulse of finite lifetime, is investigated in the framework of linearized gravity. Although the effects are very small, they may be of fundamental physical interest. It is shown that the gravitational field of a linearly polarized light pulse is modulated as the norm of the corresponding electric field strength, while no modulations arise for circular polarization. In general, the gravitational field is independent of the polarization direction. It is shown that all physical effects are confined to spherical shells expanding with the speed of light, and that these shells are imprints of the spacetime events representing emission and absorption of the pulse. Nearby test particles at rest are attracted towards the pulse trajectory by the gravitational field due to the emission of the pulse, and they are repelled from the pulse trajectory by the gravitational field due to its absorption. Examples are given for the size of the attractive effect. It is recovered that massless test particles do not experience any physical effect if they are co-propagating with the pulse, and that the acceleration of massless test particles counter-propagating with respect to the pulse is four times stronger than for massive particles at rest. The similarities between the gravitational effect of a laser pulse and Newtonian gravity in two dimensions are pointed out. The spacetime curvature close to the pulse is compared to that induced by gravitational waves from astronomical sources.
Risk factors for death in tuberculosis patients requiring ICU care

Abstract The prognostic factor for in-hospital mortality in tuberculosis (TB) patients requiring intensive care unit (ICU) care remains unclear. Therefore, a retrospective study was conducted aiming to estimate the in-hospital mortality rate and the risk factors for mortality in a high-burden setting. All patients with culture-confirmed TB that were admitted to the ICU of the hospital between March 2012 and April 2019 were identified retrospectively. Data, such as demographic characteristics, comorbidities, laboratory measures and mortality, were obtained from medical records. The Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to identify prognostic factors that influence in-hospital mortality. A total of 82 ICU patients with confirmed TB were included in the analysis, and 22 deaths were observed during the hospital stay, 21 patients died in the ICU. In the multivariable model adjusted for sex and age, the levels of serum albumin and white blood cell (WBC) count were significantly associated with mortality in TB patients requiring ICU care (all P < 0.01), the hazard ratios were 0.8 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.7–0.9) per 1 g/l and 1.1 (95% CI: 1.0–1.2) per 1 × 109/l, respectively. In conclusion, in-hospital mortality remains high in TB patients requiring ICU care. Low serum albumin level and high WBC count significantly impact the risk of mortality in these TB patients in China.
Chemical changes to nonaggregated particulate soil organic matter following grassland‐to‐woodland transition in a subtropical savanna

Encroachment of thorn woodlands into grasslands of southern Texas has resulted in greater aboveground and belowground biomass and greater soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. Our previous studies showed that a large percentage of the SOC accrued under invading woody clusters was not stabilized within protective soil aggregates or on mineral-surfaces. Here we evaluated lignin and cutin- and suberin-derived substituted fatty acid (SFA) chemistry to determine if the accrual of nonaggregated particulate organic matter (POM) in woodlands was promoted by inherently greater recalcitrance of tissues from woody versus grass species, and if there was selective input of aboveground versus belowground plant carbon to POM. Woody clusters exhibited reduced concentrations of cutin-derived SFA and cinnamyl phenols within surface litter compared to fresh aboveground plant material. However, root litter exhibited relatively minor changes in biopolymer chemistry compared to fresh root tissue, suggesting it was either more stable or was refreshed at a greater rate. Between 14 and 105 years of woody plant encroachment, SFA in free POM fractions appeared to be consistently derived from root material while SFA within intraaggregate POM were increasingly derived from cutin sources. In addition, the shift from herbaceous to woody input was accompanied by enrichment in the amountmore » of cutin and suberin-derived aliphatics with respect to lignin in both root and surface litter as well as nonaggregated POM. Woody plant encroachment at this site results in the rapid accrual of POM pools that are biochemically recalcitrant, providing a mechanism by which soil organic carbon can accumulate in this sandy soil system. Our results also lend further credence to the hypothesis that aliphatic biopolymers, particularly root-derived suberin, are important components of long-term soil organic carbon stabilization. « less
Albidiferax ferrireducens strain T 118 T in the genus Rhodoferax and emended description of the genus Rhodoferax

A Gram-stain-negative, oxidase and phosphatase-positive and catalase-negative, short rod-shaped bacterium was isolated from sediment of a drinking water reservoir in Germany. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence and phenotypic properties, the bacterium belongs to the genus Rhodoferax within the family Comamonadaceae. The new taxon differed from related species mainly with respect to its fatty acid composition, low growth temperature, lack of pigments in young cultures and ability to utilize glycerol and D-mannose but not urea. The major fatty acids were C16 : 1v7c and/or iso-C15 : 0 2-OH, C16 : 0, and C18 : 1v7c. The only ubiquinone detected was ubiquinone Q-8. The DNA G+C content was 60.3–61 mol%. Because of the phenotypic and genotypic differences from the most closely related taxa, the new strain represents a novel species for which the name Rhodoferax saidenbachensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is ED16 (5CCUG 577115ATCC BAA-18525DSM 22694). An emended description of the genus Rhodoferax is proposed. Based on the results of this study, strain T118 (Albidiferax ferrireducens) is properly placed in the genus Rhodoferax as Rhodoferax ferrireducens.
Selective Check of DataPath for E ff ective Fault Tolerance

Nowadays, fault tolerance has been playing a progressively important role in covering increasing soft/hard error rates in electronic devices that accompany the advances of process technologies. Research shows that wear-out faults have a gradual onset, starting with a timing fault and then eventually leading to a permanent fault. Error detection is thus a required function to maintain execution correctness. Currently, however, many highly dependable methods to cover permanent faults are commonly over-designed by using very frequent checking, due to lack of awareness of the fault possibility in circuits used for the pending executions. In this research, to address the over-checking problem, we introduce a metric for permanent defects, as operation defective probability (ODP), to quantitatively instruct the check operations being placed only at critical positions. By using this selective checking approach, we can achieve a near-100% dependability by having about 53% less check operations, as compared to the ideal reliable method, which performs exhaustive checks to guarantee a zero-error propagation. By this means, we are able to reduce 21.7% power consumption by avoiding the non-critical checking inside the over-designed approach. key words: low power, fault-tolerant computing, FU array
Structural Analysis of the Roof Structure in the Reformed Church

The purpose of this Master’s thesis is to find and illustrate the behaviour of the roof structure of the Reformed Church in Copenhagen, Denmark. Explanatory visualisation results in an enhancement of the understanding of the statical behaviour. The introduction of the report contains the building history of the Reformed Church. A restoration took place in 1987 and our Danish supervisor was part of the team who performed this restoration. The team used a method of structural analysis, different from the one performed in this Master’s thesis. From this point of view a discussion of the different methods is presented. Questions concerning the statical behaviour of specific parts of the structure which came up during the restoration in 1987 are addressed. Different philosophies used when restoring old historical buildings are discussed. To be able to conduct the computer analysis a thorough knowledge of the structure is required. The structural, material and the geometric model, as well as the boundary conditions, are investigated to get the correct input data for the analysis. With help from the visualisation, different load paths and their load carrying meaning are shown and discussed. The deformations, the normal forces and the stresses can become clear through the visualisation even to the less experienced viewer.