Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Completion of Missing Labels for Multi-Label Annotation by a Unified Graph Laplacian Regularization

SUMMARY The task of image annotation is becoming enormously important for e ﬃ cient image retrieval from the web and other large databases. However, huge semantic information and complex dependency of labels on an image make the task challenging. Hence determining the semantic similarity between multiple labels on an image is useful to understand any incomplete label assignment for image retrieval. This work proposes a novel method to solve the problem of multi-label image annotation by unifying two di ﬀ erent types of Laplacian regularization terms in deep convolutional neural network (CNN) for robust annotation performance. The uniﬁed Laplacian regularization model is implemented to address the missing labels e ﬃ ciently by generating the contextual similarity between labels both internally and externally through their semantic similarities, which is the main contribution of this study. Speciﬁcally, we generate similarity matrices between labels internally by using Hayashi’s quantiﬁcation method-type III and externally by using the word2vec method. The generated similarity matrices from the two di ﬀ erent methods are then combined as a Laplacian regularization term, which is used as the new objective function of the deep CNN. The Regularization term implemented in this study is able to address the multi-label annotation problem, enabling a more e ﬀ ectively trained neural network. Experimental results on public benchmark datasets reveal that the proposed uniﬁed regularization model with deep CNN produces signiﬁcantly better results than the baseline CNN without regularization and other state-of-the-art methods for predicting missing labels.
Validation of Employers Views on Soft and Hard Job Skills of Nigeria Polytechnic Construction Graduates

In a perfectly competitive labour market, the demand for skills is the duty of employers to supply the necessary skills. Knowledge and abilities of graduate competencies should represent the needs of the industry. Such qualities include both academic and generic skills in their chosen professions needed for work. To prepare completely for the unpredicted and ever-changing nature of the workplace, graduates need a range of skills specific to labour-employers. The aim of this pilot study is to identify whether the polytechnic building graduates have the right job skills from the perspective of employers. The cross-sectional survey was adopted to select 60 experts who responded to 169 items questionnaire, purposeful sampling technique was used. The items comprised of components of both hard and soft job skills. Inferential statistics and Rasch measurement model were used to analyse construct reliability and to determine fit statistics, point measurement correlation and standard residual. The result showed that the validity of the instrument's contents values was almost perfectly accepted. In addition, employers were unanimous in their views on the essentials of hard and soft skills in establishing a competency framework. The feasibility study will have a huge impact on researchers as it will direct them in carrying out the main analysis relating to the development of competences for employment.
Chikungunya virus infection in BALB/c and ICR mouse models

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection is an emerging or re-emerging infectious disease found in several countries. The ecology of this virus involves humans, reservoir animals, and mosquito vectors. Two experiments were conducted in this study. Blood samples were collected and tested for CHIKV infection by using immunocytochemistry (ICC) staining and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). For the first experiment, BALB/c mice were inoculated with 106.3 CID50/mouse. Mean CHIKV titers in the BALB/c mice were 103.3, 101.5, 102.3, and 102.3 CID50/ml of serum on day 1 to day 4 post inoculation (PI), respectively. For the second experiment, there were two groups of ICR mice. For the first group or immunosuppressed ICR group, the mice were injected with 100 g of dexamethasone for 14 days. For the second group or control ICR group, the mice were injected with 0.1 ml of normal saline for 14 days. All mice were then inoculated with 106.3 CID50/mouse. For the immunosuppressed ICR group, mean CHIKV titers in the mice were 102.7, 103.0, 104.7, 103.5, 102.8, 103.0, and 102.5 CID50/ml of serum on day 1 to day 7 PI, respectively. For the control ICR group, mean CHIKV titers in the mice were 102.0, 101.0, 102.4, 103.5, 103.0, 102.7, and 101.5 CID50/ml of serum on day 1 to day 7 PI, respectively. The virus titers were quite similar in both groups of mice and no signs of illness were found in any of the CHIKV-infected BALB/c and ICR mice. In addition, it is necessary to study CHIKV infection in wild mice in nature to indicate the roles of wild mice in the epidemiology of CHIKV in Thailand.
A unified filter for singular Markovian jump systems with mixed delays based on an extended free‐matrix‐based inequality approach

In this article, the problem of unified filters design including H∞, L2 − L∞, passive, dissipative filters and their reduced‐order ones is addressed for continuous‐time singular Markovian jump systems with discrete and distributed delays. Unlike some existing works, the mixed delays can be fully captured by proposing an extended free‐matrix‐based integral inequality. By considering two cases of distributed delays, two novel criteria are presented to ensure the filtering error system to be stochastically admissible and extended dissipative. Some numerical examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the unified filter design methods.
Hot bird drinking patterns: drivers of water visitation in a fynbos bird community

Water affects distribution of many species, but climate change is set to change rainfall patterns and hence water availability. In South Africa, various global climate-change models suggest a drier future for the winter rainfall regions with implications for survival of plant and animal species of the fynbos region. Most birds offload heat by evaporative water loss, and this increases exponentially from 25°C. Birds need to replenish their water loss to cope particularly at high temperatures, especially species that have little preformed water in the diet. We documented bird species drinking at five natural water sources at a semi-arid fynbos site through time-lapse cameras to explore which birds are drinking when. We modelled the total numbers of birds observed drinking as a function of diet, mass and relative abundance and found that species classified as granivores were predicted to drink most frequently, with the more common species most frequently recorded. A phylogenetically controlled trait-based logistic regression indicated abundance as the best predictor of observation at the water sources. Daily drinking rates at the species level for the ten most frequently observed species were generally best explained by daily temperature, with higher drinking rates on hotter days. However, daily drinking patterns were poorly explained by diurnal temperature trends at the hourly level, and we were unable to document sufficient predators to comment on the influence of predator avoidance or other heat mitigation strategies. Finally, we discuss the implications of our observations for the set of fynbos endemic passerines.
Toward a Relational Theory of Employee Engagement: Understanding Authenticity, Transparency, and Employee Behaviors

Based on the relationship management paradigm and the job demands-resources model, we proposed a relational theory of employee engagement integrating employees’ immediate supervisors’ authentic leadership behaviors and perceived transparent organizational communication as antecedents of employee engagement and contextual performance behavior and turnover intention as behavioral outcomes that engagement leads to. Employee survey (N = 727) results identified perceived transparent communication and employee engagement as key mediators between perceived authentic leadership and individual employee behavioral outcomes. Our study provided a fresh, interdisciplinary perspective to revisiting relationship management function, testing immediate supervisors’ leadership exchange and an overall transparent organizational communication climate as both relationship cultivation strategies and supportive workplace resources. Our findings also reinforced the value of transparent organizational communication in cultivating relationships with and fostering engagement of an organization’s stakeholders that prior literature called for more research about. In addition, it added more into the relatively limited but growing body of research on authentic leadership in association with organizational communication, engagement and other employee behavioral and organizational outcomes. We also discussed theoretical and practical implications of the study.
Social work students on the island of Ireland: a cross-sectional survey

ABSTRACT Understanding the characteristics, motivations, and experiences of student social workers is important to inform their professional education and support needs. To date, there has been relatively little research about social work students in Ireland, both North and South. This study reports on an all-Ireland survey of students beginning their social work course in Autumn 2018 in the six Universities delivering social work education. It describes the characteristics of the student cohort, examines the motivations behind choosing this career, and highlights some of the potentially relevant life experiences and beliefswhich may have contributed to their ambition to join the social work profession. Implications for social work education, recommendations for curriculum development, workforce planning, and the provision of appropriate support for students are discussed.
Detection of prostate cancer DNA using tetrapods based disposable paper ecofriendly biosensor device

The present work reports an enhancement in early diagnosis of DNA of prostate cancer by a rapid and sensitive biosensor. The genosensor platform was designed and fabricated using cost-effective and disposable paper-based electrodes. Herein, the bio-nano-interface was developed by immobilization of probe DNA of prostate cancer on the zinc oxide tetrapods modified paper electrode. The genosensor was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, synchrotron X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy. The nano-engineered genosensor was tested and found to be selective to prostate cancer. The sensor could detect as low as 1 pM of prostate cancer DNA with the linear detection range from 50 µM to 1 pM. The paper-based genosensor also proved to be advantageous in terms of easy preparation, low specimen volume, homogenous distribution of nanostructures onto the surface and cost-effectiveness. The present work demonstrates the enormous potential of DNA biosensor as a rapid and specific diagnostic tool to be used for the detection of prostate cancer DNA.
Automated Design of CubeSats using Evolutionary Algorithm for Trade Space Selection

The miniaturization of electronics, sensors, and actuators has enabled the growing use of nanosatellites for earth observation, astrophysics, and even interplanetary missions. This rise of nanosatellites has led to the development of an inventory of modular, interchangeable commercially-off-the-shelf (COTS) components by a multitude of commercial vendors. As a result, the capability of combining subsystems in a compact platform has considerably advanced in the last decade. However, to ascertain these spacecraft’s maximum capabilities in terms of mass, volume, and power, there is an important need to optimize their design. Current spacecraft design methods need engineering experience and judgements made by of a team of experts, which can be labor intensive and might lead to a sub-optimal design. In this work we present a compelling alternative approach using machine learning to identify near-optimal solutions to extend the capabilities of a design team. The approach enables automated design of a spacecraft that requires developing a virtual warehouse of components and specifying quantitative goals to produce a candidate design. The near-optimal solutions found through this approach would be a credible starting point for the design team that will need further study to determine their implementation feasibility.
Increasing self-efficacy to improve the transition to university: an Australian case study

ABSTRACT The first-year university experience is inherently linked to student satisfaction, retention and academic success. A sense of academic preparedness can enhance the first-year transition experience. Subjects designed to assist students to transition to university can improve the transition experience; however, there is very limited evidence of their successful implementation in Australia. An interdisciplinary credit-bearing subject underpinned by the Learning by Doing Approach and the Theory of Self-efficacy, was developed and implemented in an Australian university. Students’ baseline (pre-test) and follow-up (post-test) survey responses on their self-perceived levels of knowledge and confidence in academic skills were compared to test for significant differences. Students reported greater knowledge and confidence with regards to the academic skills required for university. The subject’s highly scaffolded nature ensured students actively engaged in individual and collaborative activities that allowed them to learn as they constructed knowledge. As students learnt new skills in a supportive learning environment, they incorporated these skills into their learning and utilised them in their other subjects, which increased their confidence and self-efficacy. Similar interdisciplinary credit-bearing transition subjects may be beneficial in other universities to help support students transitioning to university. Longitudinal research is required to determine the effectiveness on academic outcomes and retention.
Methods for trapping and sampling small mammals for virologic testing

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank Barbara Ellis and John O'Connor for careful reviews and suggestions which improved the manuscript. Jim Gathany provided the photography and Karoyle Colbert made the rodent species distribution maps. Thanks also to Diane Small for cover design and desktop publish­ ing, and Stacy Howard for guiding the manual through the publishing process. PREFACE Despite the tremendous medical progress made since the middle of this century, infectious diseases remain the leading cause of death among humans worldwide. Many infectious diseases have long been recognized as threats to human health; others, the " emerging " diseases, have been identified only recently. A substantial number of these diseases are classified as zoonoses because animals are their natural reservoirs. The continued human encroachment upon and alterations of natural ecosystems will likely result in more frequent encounters with animal reservoirs of recognized pathogens as well as encounters with previously unknown infectious agents. One of the most im­ portant tools in identifying and minimizing the impact of infectious disease outbreaks is intensive and continuous surveillance. In the case of zoonotic diseases, surveillance can be carried out by monitoring reservoir populations. Data collected on infection preva­ lence and population characteristics of reservoir species can be used to assess risk to humans and ameliorate or prevent outbreaks of human disease. A recent example of an encounter with a previously unknown agent was the 1993 outbreak of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), which caused an initial 70% mortal­ ity among predominantly young, previously healthy adults in the southwestern United States. The etiologic agent of HPS, Sin Nombre virus, has been shown to be carried by the deer mouse, one of the most common and widespread rodents in North America. Epide­ miologic surveys and ecologic studies of reservoir populations are necessary to deter­ mine the threat to public health and to help establish guidelines for risk reduction. Other significant examples of rodent-borne viruses include members of the Arenaviridae, which cause hemorrhagic fevers and other disease in humans throughout much of the world. This manual is intended as a guide for those persons performing ecologic and epide­ miologic studies involving populations of rodents which are potentially infected with hantavirus. However, the procedures outlined are appropriate for any study of small-mammal populations that may harbor an infectious zoonotic agent capable of causing severe disease or death. The manual covers the following major topics in detail: selection of appropriate collection sites; trapping …
Investigation of hub genes involved in diabetic nephropathy using biological informatics methods

Background The aim of this study was to find genes with significantly aberrant expression in diabetic nephropathy (DN) and determine their underlying mechanisms. Methods GSE30528 and GSE1009 were obtained by querying the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The difference in target gene expression between normal renal tissues and kidney tissues in patients with DN was screened by using the GEO2R tool. Using the Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) database, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analysed by Gene Ontology (GO) annotation and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment. Then, the protein-protein interactions (PPIs) of DEGs were analyzed by Cytoscape with the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING) database, and the hub genes in this PPI network were recognized by centrality analysis. Results There were 110 genes with significant expression differences between normal and DN tissues. The differences in gene expression involved many functions and expression pathways, such as the formation of the extracellular matrix and the construction of the extracellular domain. The correlation analysis and subgroup analysis of 14 hub genes and the clinical characteristics of DN showed that CTGF, ALB, PDPN, FLT1, IGF1, WT1, GJA1, IGFBP2, FGF9, BMP2, FGF1, BMP7, VEGFA, and TGFBR3 may be involved in the progression of DN. Conclusions We confirmed the differentially expressed hub genes and other genes which may be the novel biomarker and target candidates in DN.
Understanding Perceived Site Qualities and Experiences of Urban Public Spaces: A Case Study of Social Media Reviews in Bryant Park, New York City

Urban public spaces are a key component to the well-being and prosperity of modern society. It has been increasingly important to improve the qualities and maximize the usages of urban public spaces. There is a lack of studies that investigate how people use and perceive urban parks using quantitative analysis of location-based social media reviews. This study tackles this gap by introducing a case study that uses social media reviews (Tripadivisor.com) to understand the perceived site quality and experiences of Bryant Park in New York City. A large dataset including 11,419 Tripadvisor reviews from 10,615 users was collected. LDA (Latent Dirichlet Allocation), a natural language processing and machine learning technique, was used to perform topic modeling analysis that could reveal hidden themes in large amounts of text. The results include five semantic topics and their associated topic terms. A comprehensive overview of the user experiences in Bryant Park were provided along with their weekly and monthly dynamics. The findings provide insights for future public space designers and managers by revealing how users describe the designs and operations of Bryant Park.
Climate effects of China’s efforts to improve its air quality

Facing severe air pollution issues, China has implemented a series of clean air policies aimed to improve the country’s air quality. These policies largely focused on reducing emissions of major air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide (SO2) and primary aerosols. However, changes in such pollution also affect radiative forcing. To understand the climate consequences of these clean air actions in China, we evaluate the near-equilibrium climate response to sustained changes in aerosol (and precursors) emission rates equivalent to those that occurred in China between 2006 and 2017. During this period, China’s SO2 emissions declined by ∼70%, and black carbon emissions declined by ∼30%. Climate simulations that used a fully coupled ocean and atmosphere climate model indicate that China’s reductions in aerosol emission rates from 2006 to 2017 may exert a net increase in global radiative forcing of 0.09 ± 0.03 W m−2 and a mean warming of 0.12 ± 0.01 °C in the Northern Hemisphere; and may also affect the precipitation rates in East Asia and in more distant regions. The success of Chinese policies to further reduce aerosol emissions may bring additional net warming, and this ‘unmasked’ warming would in turn compound the challenge and urgency of international climate mitigation efforts.
EUROPEAN ME NETWORK (EUROMENE) Expert Consensus on the Diagnosis, Service Provision and Care of People with ME/CFS in Europe

Designed by a group of ME/CFS researchers and health professionals, the European Network on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (EUROMENE) has received funding from the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) (https://www.cost.eu/cost-actions/what-are-costactions/ ) COST action 15111 from 2016 to 2020. The main goal of the Cost Action was to assess the existing fragmented knowledge and experience on health care delivery for people with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) in European countries, and to enhance coordinated research and health care provision in this field. We report on the recommendations for clinical diagnosis, heath services and care for people with ME/CFS in Europe, as prepared by the group of clinicians and researchers from 22 countries and 55 European health professionals and researchers, who have been informed by people with ME/CFS (https://www.cost.eu/actions/CA15111/#tabs|Name:overview).
Residential Electricity Consumption in Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA

This study examines how residential electricity consumption (KWHC) reacts to changes in the price of electricity, the price of natural gas, real income per capita, heating degree days, and cooling degree days. Annual frequency data analyzed are for Las Cruces, the second largest metropolitan economy in New Mexico. The sample period is 1977 to 2016. An AutoregressiveDistributed Lag model (ARDL) is employed to obtain long-run and short-run elasticities. In the long-run, residential consumption does not respond in a statistically reliable manner to any of the explanatory variables. All of the coefficient signs are as expected and those for real per capita income and total degree days appear plausible. In the short-run, residential consumption responds reliably to variations in all of the variables except per capita income. Somewhat surprisingly, the short-run results also include an own-price elasticity that is close to zero, implying that residential electricity has a horizontal demand curve in Las Cruces.