Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CLASSIC OR BAYESIAN RESEARCH DESIGN AND ANALYSIS

Objective: The role of classical and Bayesian statistical approaches remains in dispute in health services research and policy. The goal of this study was to determine if results differ when both analytic techniques are used with the same data set. Design: We searched MEDLINE and related databases for English-language articles published January 1, 1978 through August 31, 1999. We combined Bayesian and classical statistics search terms and their variants with randomized control trials (RCTs) and meta-analyses. Results: Searches found 18 studies in 14 publications that met all review criteria—nine RCTs, eight meta-analyses, and one epidemiologic estimate. Statistical analyses using both methods agreed in five RCTs , four meta-analyses, and for the epidemiologic estimates. For four RCTs where results disagreed, classical analysis found the experimental intervention was efficacious compared with the control, and Bayesian reanalysis concluded the intervention was not proven efficacious. Classical meta-analyses of the four studies where results disagreed concluded the experimental intervention was not better than the control; Bayesian reanalysis concluded it was efficacious. Conclusion: Classical and Bayesian methods in this review exhibited important divergence of results. Disagreement on many fundamental beliefs between classical and Bayesian statistics means continuing debate. One way to resolve this debate is for proponents of each technique to decide together the circumstances for use of each method and analytic framework. If the experts do not agree on the methodologic requirements, other decision makers likely will force their own views.
The converging flow of viscoplastic fluid in a wedge or cone

Abstract Converging flows of viscoplastic fluids, driven steadily through wedges and axisymmetric cones, are studied analytically and numerically. When the yield stress is relatively large, the bulk of the fluid flows plastically apart from within thin layers where the fluid is strongly sheared in order to achieve no slip at the boundary. Conversely, when the yield stress is relatively small, the motion is viscously dominated with weak corrections to the velocity and stress fields due to viscoplastic effects. For both regimes, viscoplasticity induces a weak angular velocity, directed away from the boundaries, and purely radial flow is not possible. The structure of the flow is calculated using asymptotic methods, confirmed by finite element numerical simulations. Flows of both Bingham and Herschel–Bulkley fluids are analysed, and both planar and axisymmetric geometries are considered. Although these cases differ in their details, they share the same qualitative structure. In particular, the viscoplastic boundary layers that emerge when the yield stress is relatively large, ensure not only that no slip is enforced, but also, through an intermediate matching layer, that the shear rates remain bounded.
Raman Imaging and Spectroscopy of Heterogeneous Individual Carbon Nanotubes

Isolated single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were grown by chemical vapor deposition methods on Fe/Mo/Al2O3 catalysts, which were patterned by microcontact printing. The pattern allowed us to trace back and investigate the same isolated CNT by atomic-force (AFM) and confocal Raman microscopy with different excitation wavelengths. A change of the Raman intensity could be correlated with structural defects revealing that the molecular structure of the tubes is changing along the tube axis. By investigating the same tube segments with different excitation energies, we found that the D-line of isolated tubes shows a strong dispersive effect of 45−50 cm-1/eV. In contrast, the spectral position of the G-line shows no frequency shift with changing excitation energy but is different for various tube segments.
The prediction of live weight from body measurements on female Holstein calves by digital image analysis

SUMMARY The objective of the current study was to determine the accuracy of the prediction of live weight (LW) from body measurements (BMs) by using digital image analysis on female Holstein calves. The calves were measured with a measurement stick and digital image analysis. The following linear parameters were taken: body length (BL), wither height (WH), chest depth (CD), hip height (HH) and hip width (HW). LW and BMs were recorded at birth, at weaning and at 24 weeks of age. Regression coefficients, which included all BMs at birth, gave a low R2 value (66·7%), but the R2 value was found to be 87·6 and 86·0% at weaning and 24 weeks of age, respectively. A high correlation coefficient was found among LW and CD, HH and HW at weaning (0·90, 0·91 and 090, respectively) and at 24 weeks of age (0·89, 0·90 and 0·91, respectively). The results confirm that for female Holstein calves, digital image analysis is an effective measuring system for the prediction of LW from BMs.
Structural equation modelling with complex sampling designs and non-random attrition: A tutorial using lavaan and Mplus

Complex sampling designs involving features such as stratification, cluster sampling, and unequal selection probabilities are often used in large-scale longitudinal surveys to improve cost-effectiveness and ensure adequate sampling of small or under-represented groups. However, complex sampling designs create challenges when there is a need to account for non-random attrition; a near inevitability in social science longitudinal studies. In this article we discuss these challenges and demonstrate the application of weighting approaches to simultaneously account for non-random attrition and complex design in a large UK-population representative survey. Using an auto-regressive latent trajectory model with structured residuals (ALT-SR) to model the relations between relationship satisfaction and mental health in the Understanding Society study as an example, we provide guidance on implementation of this approach in both R and Mplus is provided. Two standard error estimation approaches are illustrated: pseudo-maximum likelihood robust estimation and Bootstrap resampling. A comparison of unadjusted and design-adjusted results also highlights that ignoring the complex survey designs when fitting structural equation models can result in misleading conclusions.
Towards a high-throughput system for high-pressure cooling of cryoprotectant-free biological crystals

A prototype of a high-pressure cooling apparatus dedicated to macromolecular crystallography on synchrotrons is reported. The system allows cooling of biological crystals without the addition of penetrating or nonpenetrating exogenous cryoprotectant by transforming the aqueous solvent into high-density amorphous ice at a pressure of 200 MPa. The samples are directly fished from crystallization trays with cryopins specifically designed for the pressurizing device and which are compatible with robotized sample changers on synchrotron beamlines. Optionally, the system allows noble gas derivatization during the high-pressure cooling procedure. Some technical details of the equipment and of the method are described in this article. A representative series of test crystals shows that the system is capable of successfully cooling samples that normally require a wide variety of cryoprotection conditions. The last section focuses on pressure-induced structural modifications of these proteins, which are shown to be few but nevertheless of interest.
DESIGN AND EVALUATION OF SELF NANO-EMULSIFYING DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM (SNEDDS) OF AMIODARONE

To design and evaluation of self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system using novel biomaterial isolate from the seeds of Cicer arietinum acts as a bio emulsifier and amiodarone as a model drug. The Cicer arietinum (chickpea) is a legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Cicer arietinum are a helpful source of zinc, folate and protein. They are also very high in dietary fibres and hence a healthy source of carbohydrates for persons with insulin sensitivity or diabetes. Chickpeas are low in fat and most of this is polyunsaturated. Nutrient profile of desi Chana (the smaller variety) is different, especially the fibre content which is much higher than the light-coloured variety. Nano-emulsion is clear and isotropic mixture. Size range of nano-emulsion 10-100nm. The drug interaction studies were performed by FT-IR spectrometry in different ratio of drug: polymer. The formulations were then subjected for various evaluation parameter like pH, drug contentand Dispersibility test, viscosity determination. Formulation F3(1:50), F4 (l:30) F5 (1:65) showed the best release in all formulation. Therefore, it was concluded that a novel biopolymer isolate from Cicer arietinum can serve a novel-bio emulsifier for formulation various drug loaded SNEDDS.
Trace Metal Levels and Speciation Pattern in the Surface Water of Aiba Reservoir, after Sorption on Amberlite XAD-16 Resin

A study was carried out to assess the concentration of five trace metals and speciation pattern in surface water Aiba reservoir in Iwo, Nigeria, after sorption with Amberlite XAD-16. Atomic absorption spectrophotometer was used for estimation of trace metals. The total mean concentrations of trace metals in the surface water of the reservoir was in the decreasing order of Fe (0.47 ± 0.15) > Mn (0.26 ± 0.09) > Zn (0.16 ± 0.07) > Cu (0.07 ± 0.02) > Pb (0.005 ± 0.001) mg/L. Fe and Mn were above the WHO-specified limit, Zn and Cu were below limit and Pb was exactly equal to the specified limit. The speciation pattern revealed that suspended metal, organic bound, and free metal ions had the highest percentage distribution in Mn and Fe, Pb, Zn and Cu, respectively. The suspended particulate metals and those that are bounded to humic and fulvic acid in the natural organic matter present in water, have very low toxicity. In this study, the free metal ion had the highest percentage of Zn and Cu and this was an indication that they were potentially toxic and may have adverse effects on the aquatic habitats living in the reservoir. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Survey of Cadmium Levels in Vegetables and Soils of Greater Sydney, Australia

Cadmium in 10% of root and leafy vegetables sold through the Sydney Market exceeds the maximum permitted concentration (MPC) set by the Australia New Zealand (ANZ) Food Authority (0.05 mg kg -1 fresh weight). The leafy vegetables are mostly produced in the Greater Sydney Region; therefore, we investigated Cd contamination in the soils and vegetables of the Region. The crops and topsoils (0-15 cm) from 29 farms and uncropped (background) top soils were sampled and analyzed. Fruit generally had the lowest Cd levels and leafy vegetables the highest, with 0 and 27% exceeding the MPC. Cadmium in cropped soils was 0.11 to 6.37 mg kg -1 (mean 1.33 mg kg ') and in background soils averaged 0.36 mg kg -1 . Soils derived from shale had the highest background Cd levels. Additions of P, Zn, and Cd in fertilizer and poultry manure explained significant proportions of the increases in soil concentrations of P (r 2 = 0.62, P < 0.001) and Zn (r 2 = 0.29, P < 0.05), but not of Cd. Cadmium increases were more closely related to increases in Zn (r 2 = 0.26) and exchangeable cations (r 2 = 0.34), which result from a history of heavy, annual applications of poultry manure. Typical rates of Cd addition were about 10 times the sustainable rate. Finally, the ANZ environmental investigation guideline for soil Cd (3 mg kg -1 ), was a poor indicator of crop contamination, because 0.3 mg Cd kg -1 soil resulted in lettuce (Lactuca saliva L.) and broccoli (Brassica oleracea) exceeding the MPC.
Using planar lipid-bilayers to study plant ion channels

Ion channels are found in most plant membranes. They catalyse the rapid passive uniport of particular ions with varying selectivity. Planar lipid-bilayer (PLB) techniques have been developed to study the electrical activities of single ion channels in well-defined lipid and aqueous environments. They greatly facilitate both the biophysical and biochemical characterisation of ion channels and complement both conventional impaling electrode and membrane-patch voltage-clamping (patch-clamping) electrophysiological techniques applied in vivo. Bilayers can be formed across the end of patch-clamp pipettes or across apertures in specifically designed chambers. Ion channels in native membranes and purified, genetically altered or synthetic ion channels, proteins and peptides can all be studied in PLBs. The main applications of PLBs are (1) to study ion channels in membranes inaccessible to patch-clamp electrodes, (2) to provide a functional assay system during channel-protein purification and (3) to investigate the relationship between the molecular structure of ion channels and their conductance properties. In the present article we describe the techniques available for reconstitution and analysis of ion channels in PLBs and discuss how the PLB technique has been, and may be, useful to the study of plant ion channels.
EIGENFACES AND FISHERFACES

This project describes a study of two traditional face recognition methods, the Eigenface [10] and the Fisherface [7]. The Eigenface is the ﬁrst method considered as a successful technique of face recognition. The Eigenface method uses Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to linearly project the image space to a low dimensional feature space. The Fisherface method is an enhancement of the Eigenface method that it uses Fisher’s Linear Discriminant Analysis (FLDA or LDA) for the dimensionality reduction. The LDA maximizes the ratio of between-class scatter to that of within-class scatter, therefore, it works better than PCA for purpose of discrimination. The Fisherface is especially useful when facial images have large variations in illumination and facial expression. In this project, a comparison of the Eigenface and the Fisher-face methods respect to facial images having large illumination variations is examined.
THE ROLE OF MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES FOR WORLD SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AGENDA

In a year 1962 was a turning point to sustainability. Rachel Carson through her remarkable work, Silent Spring, had reported the catastrophic levels of agricultural pesticides in environment, causing harm to animal species as well as to human health (IISD, 2012). Her work inspired environmentalism worldwide. Ten years later (1971), Maurice Strong, a Secretary General of UN conference on Human Environment commissioned a report ‘Only One Earth’. The document was for the first UN meeting, 1972 on environment in Stockholm (UN Millennium Project [UNMP], 2005), reporting on important findings of 152 leading experts from 58 countries. The results stressed on anthropogenic impact on biosphere. This was a wake-up call to all stakeholders for them to create a common future (IISD, 2012). The effort for sustainable development progressed to Earth Summit, 1992 in Rio de Janeiro with significant outcomes of Agenda 21, Convention on Biological Diversity, the Framework Convention on Climate Change, Rio Declaration and non-binding Forest Principles (IISD, 2012). A decade later, the world moved assertively to address challenges of development in an interdependent world (UN News Center, 2002). The agenda was tabled at World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), 2002, Johannesburg under the leadership of Kofi Annan.
ANTIOXIDANT, MINERAL AND PHYTOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF CLERODENDRUM COLEBROOKIANUM WALP, A WELL KNOWN HOME REMEDY HERBAL FOR HUMANKIND

Phytochemical and mineral constituents in crude extract of indigenous herbal Clerodendrum colebrookianum Walp, habitat wild belonging to Verbenaceae, has been explored. A number of novels bioactive organic compounds viz. antioxidant 60 µg/ml, saponin, 50 mg/g, flavonoid 20.641 mg/g ,alkaloid 25 mg/g, phenol 19.36 mg/g. tannin 18.374 mg/g, magnesium 5.31 mg/g, iron 0.38 mg/g, sulfur 1.35 mg/g, potassium 6.4 mg/g , manganese 0.66 mg/g ,calcium 10.3 mg/g, phosphorous 0.198 mg/g, zinc 0.13 mg/g, copper 0.06 mg/g, an indispensible sources of precious chemodiversity, the only means of survival forever on earth have depicted in the natures gifted region of north east India. The bioactive components not only add to supplements to food but also intensify the therapeutic chemicals for saving life from dreadful diseases, consequently reflect the sustainable development in hill plantation of the region.
UNCERTAINTY IN COST-EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS

Interest is growing in the application of standard statistical inferential techniques to the calculation of cost-effectiveness ratios (CER), but individual level data will not be available in many cases because it is very difficult to undertake prospective controlled trials of many public health interventions. We propose the application of probabilistic uncertainty analysis using Monte Carlo simulations, in combination with nonparametric bootstrapping techniques where appropriate. This paper also discusses how decision makers should interpret the CER of interventions where uncertainty intervals overlap. We show how the incorporation of uncertainty around costs and effects of interventions into a stochastic league table provides additional information to decision makers for priority setting. Stochastic league tables inform decision makers about the probability that a specific intervention would be included in the optimal mix of interventions for different resource levels, given the uncertainty surrounding the interventions.
One Protocol to Rule Them All: Wireless Network-on-Chip using Deep Reinforcement Learning

– Wireless Network-on-Chip (NoC) has emerged as a promising solution to scale chip multi-core processors to hundreds and thousands of cores. The broadcast nature of a wireless network allows it to signiﬁcantly reduce the latency and overhead of many-to-many multicast and broadcast communication on NoC processors. Unfortunately, the trafﬁc patterns on wireless NoCs tend to be very dynamic and can change drastically across different cores, different time intervals and different applications. New medium access protocols that can learn and adapt to the highly dynamic trafﬁc in wireless NoCs are needed to ensure low latency and efﬁcient network utilization. Towards this goal, we present NeuMAC, a uniﬁed approach that combines networking, architecture and deep learning to generate highly adaptive medium access protocols for wireless NoC architectures. NeuMAC leverages a deep reinforcement learning framework to create new policies that can learn the structure, correlations, and statistics of the trafﬁc patterns and adapt quickly to optimize performance. Our results show that NeuMAC can quickly adapt to NoC trafﬁc to provide signiﬁcant gains in terms of latency, throughput, and overall execution time. In particular, for applications with highly dynamic trafﬁc patterns, NeuMAC can speed up the execution time by 1 . 37 ×− 3 . 74 × as compared to 6 baselines.
Characterization of coal liquefaction resids by field ionization mass spectrometry: correlating spectral features with processing parameters

Field ionisation mass spectrometric (FIMS) analysis of 15 resid samples, taken from three sampling points in five close-coupled two-stage liquefaction runs at the Wilsonville facility, was performed to help understand how coal characteristics and/or variations in process configuration impact resid reactivity. Despite general similarity in overall profiles, FIMS analysis of these rather similar samples nevertheless showed significant differences. Most spectral profiles appeared as if they resulted from the superposition of two curves, with intensities peaking at about 350 and 600 Da. To quantify the differences in the spectra, we mathematically deconvoluted the profiles into lumped components A and B
TRGM: Generating Informative Responses for Open Domain Dialogue Systems

Sequence-to-sequence (seq2seq) neural network models are able to generate natural sounding conversational responses for open domain dialogue systems. However, these models tend to produce safe, universal responses ( e.g. , I don’t know) regardless of the input, which carry little information and can easily lead to the end of a conversation. In this paper, we propose a new Topic-driven Response Generation Model (TRGM). The proposed model leverages topic information to generate interesting and informative responses. Firstly, we design a topic generation model based on BERT to learn the topic information of the input. Then a response generation model utilizes a gate mechanism and a mixed probability model to integrate topic knowledge into a seq2seq model. We implement the two components using an end-to-end neural network and jointly train each component as a sub-task. Experimental results on a public dataset demonstrate that our method signiﬁcantly outperforms state-of-the-art baselines on both automatic evaluation metrics and human judgment.
Syntheses, Evaluation and Characterization of Some 1, 3, 4-Oxadiazoles as Antimicrobial Agents

1,3,4-Oxadiazoles show various biological activities and have been synthesized from different compounds. 1,3,4-oxadiazole is popularly known for its antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, pesticidal and antihypertensive activities etc. It is well known that the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds tend to contain multi-structure in a molecule. The ring formation involves the condensation reaction. The challenge is to develop the ring system by incorporating the indole nucleus into it through the proposed reaction scheme. There are two free positions for the substitution in the oxadiazole ring system. In this study, it was planned to incorporate the oxadiazole ring system into indole ring. Synthesis of derivatives of 1,3,4-oxadiazoles from different benzaldehydes Characterization of the synthesized compounds along with their antimicrobial activity on different strains.
Automated determination of sulfide as hydrogen sulfide in waste streams by gas-phase molecular absorption spectrometry

The gas-phase molecular absorption spectrometric method for determining sulfide was applied to the determination of sulfide in waste water using a fully automated system. The instrumentation utilizes a commercially available vapour generator and an absorption cell placed in the optical path of an atomic absorption spectrometer set at 200 nm. A sulfide anti oxidant buffer (SAOB) consisting of sodium hydroxide (0.5 mol l - 1 ), sodium tetrahydroborate (0.2 mol l - 1 ) and sodium citrate (0.2 mol l - 1 ) was found to have advantages in terms of shelf-life over existing SAOB formulations. A gas–liquid separator was designed that also assisted in the transport of the hydrogen sulfide, generated by hydrochloric acid (0.6 mol l - 1 ), to the absorption cell. The limit of detection was 0.13 mg l - 1 of sulfide and the calibration was linear up to 100 mg l - 1 . Of 16 ions tested for interference, at a 50-fold excess, only copper, lead, zinc and arsenic gave serious interference problems. The method was applied to the determination of sulfide in waste waters and good agreement was found with the stabilized iodine titration procedure. Spike recoveries from the waste water ranged between 97 and 101%. Unattended operation allowed the analysis of up to 90 samples per hour.
Making Sense of What Sounds Similar: Modelling Mutual Intelligibility among Related Languages

Closely-related languages, or language varieties, usually form a temporal and/or spatial continuum, whereby speakers of different varieties can usually communicate with each other efﬁ-ciently using their own mother tongue. The degrees of similarity at different levels of the linguistic structural organization can be seen as preconditions, as well as predictors, of successful oral intercomprehension. For closely-related languages, similarities at the pre-lexical, that is the acoustic-phonetic and phonological, level have been found to be better predictors of cross-lingual speech intelligibility than lexical similarities. In my PhD research, the goal is to take inspiration from the speech technology ﬁeld and build computational models to quantify mutual intelligibility and oral intercomprehension be-tween related languages.