Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice toward Antibiotic Use among Harar City and Its Surrounding Community, Eastern Ethiopia

Purpose Community plays significant role in the process of emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance. The aim of this study is to assess knowledge, attitude, and practice toward antibiotic use among Harar city and its surrounding community, Eastern Ethiopia. Patient and Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 384 subjects from February 1 to May 1, 2017, through interview using pretested structured questionnaires. The data was entered into EpiData 3.1 and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science for windows version 20. Results A large number of the respondents (83%) replied that antibiotics speed up the recovery from coughs and colds. The majority of participants (78.4%) agreed that the unnecessarily use of antibiotics can increase the resistance of bacteria. Many respondents agreed on the importance of taking full dose (92.1%) and not to keep antibiotics for future use in their home (87.2%). They (90%) also had belief that antibiotics should not be shared from family or friends without a physician consultation and significant participants (73.1%) emphasized on the need for prescription to collect antibiotics from pharmacy. Around 79% of the subjects reported the use of antibiotic 1 year prior to study period at least once. During this period many subjects (65.3%) self-prescribed antibiotics without consulting physicians. Conclusion In the present study, widespread use of antibiotics was reported, most of this antibiotics being accessed without prescription. Respondent exhibited poor knowledge and attitude toward antibiotics use. There were also malpractices such as failing to take full dose. Therefore, educational interventions on antibiotics use and its association with drug resistance are needed to promote judicious use of antibiotic. Introducing and enforcing antibiotics regulations should be also considered to reduce antibiotics self-prescription.
Extensive Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma of the Feet Treated with High-Dose-Rate Brachytherapy and External Beam Radiation

Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is a chronic, debilitating disease that has a severe impact on quality of life. We present a patient with multiple CTCL lesions on the bilateral feet, which impaired his ability to ambulate. His lesions on both feet were successfully treated with a total of 8 Gy in two fractions via high-dose-rate surface brachytherapy using the Freiburg Flap applicator. The deeper aspects of the bulkier lesions on the left foot were boosted with electron beam therapy. The radiation therapy was well tolerated, and the patient was able to regain his mobility after completing radiation therapy. To our knowledge, there are few reports utilizing brachytherapy in treating CTCL. Our case describes treatment of larger, more extensive CTCL lesions than previously reported.
Evaluation of Body Composition in Hemodialysis Thai Patients: Comparison between Two Models of Bioelectrical Impedance Analyzer and Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry

Background Body composition measurement is very important for early nutritional care in hemodialysis patients. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is a gold standard test, but clinically limited. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) with multifrequency technique is a practical and reliable tool. Objective This cross-sectional study was aimed to compare the agreement of BIA with DXA in measurement of body composition in hemodialysis patients and to evaluate their associated factors. Methods Body composition was measured by 2 BIA methods (InBody S10 and InBody 720) and DXA after a hemodialysis session. A total of 69 measurements were included. Pearson's correlation and Bland and Altman analysis were used to determine the correlation of body composition between methods and to compare the methods agreement, respectively. Results The correlation coefficients of body compositions were strong between DXA and InBody S10 (fat mass index (FMI): r=0.95, fat-free mass index (FFMI): r=0.78) and also between DXA and InBody 720 (FMI: r=0.96, FFMI: r=0.81). Comparing to DXA, the means of each body composition measured by InBody S10 method were not significantly different in each gender, but differences were found in FM, %FM, and FMI measured by InBody 720. Conclusions In maintenance hemodialysis patients, the measurement of body composition with DXA and both BIA methods had highly significant correlations; practically, BIA method could be used as an instrument to follow FM and FFM and to measure the edematous stage. Further studies with large populations are warranted.
Congo Red Decolorization and Detoxification by Aspergillus niger: Removal Mechanisms and Dye Degradation Pathway

Congo red is one of the best known and used azo dyes which has two azo bonds (-N=N-) chromophore in its molecular structure. Its structural stability makes it highly toxic and resistant to biodegradation. The objective of this study was to assess the congo red biodegradation and detoxification by Aspergillus niger. The effects of pH, initial dye concentration, temperature, and shaking speed on the decolorization rate and enzymes production were studied. The maximum decolorization was correlated with lignin peroxidase and manganese peroxidase production. Above 97% were obtained when 2 g mycelia were incubated at pH 5, in presence of 200 mg/L of dye during 6 days at 28°C and under 120 to 150 rpm shaking speed. The degraded metabolites were characterized by using LC-MS/MS analyses and the biodegradation mechanism was also studied. Congo red bioconversion formed degradation metabolites mainly by peroxidases activities, i.e., the sodium naphthalene sulfonate (m/z = 227) and the cycloheptadienylium (m/z = 91). Phytotoxicity and microtoxicity tests confirmed that degradation metabolites were less toxic than original dye.
Bit simulator, an electromagnetic nanonetworks simulator

Electromagnetic nanonetworks form an exciting new field of investigation. The frequency band and the channel access methods impose peculiar constraints on upper layer protocols. Given that research is impaired by the unavailability of ready to use hardware, simulation tools are needed to evaluate protocols and applications. This paper presents BitSimulator, a network simulator specifically targeting wireless nanonetworks. It is designed to accurately simulate collisions up to the bit level, allowing studies on coding, channel access, routing or congestion control. Being dedicated to this specific environment, it is highly optimized for speed and supports a large number of nodes.
Sexual maturation and smoltification in domesticated Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) – is there a developmental conflict?

We present data from two experiments that examined how the developmental processes of smoltification and sexual maturation proceed in parallel in domesticated Atlantic salmon. Onset of maturation and smoltification was stimulated using temperature and photoperiod. Our observations on gonadosomatic index (GSI), spermatogenic activity, gill Na+, K+‐ATPase enzyme (NKA) activity, and plasma 11‐ketotestosterone (11‐KT), Na, Cl, and Ca show that smoltification and maturation were both triggered and developed in parallel in male Atlantic salmon, but that the progressing maturation impaired hypoosmoregulation. Female maturation started after completion of smoltification. Furthermore, we present data showing that domesticated salmon can physiologically smoltify–desmoltify–resmoltify within a short period of time, and that development of a secondary sexual characteristic, such as a kype, depends on size in male postsmolts.
In situ gelling and mucoadhesive polymers: why do they need each other?

ABSTRACT Introduction: Mucosal drug delivery is an attractive route of administration, particularly in overcoming deficits of conventional dosage forms including high first-pass metabolism and poor bioavailability. Fast drainage from the target mucosa, however, represents a major limitation as it prevents sufficient drug absorption. In order to address these problems, mucoadhesive in situ gelling drug delivery systems have been investigated as they facilitate easy application in combination with a longer residence time at the administration site resulting in more desirable therapeutic effects. Areas covered: The present review evaluates the importance of the combination of mucoadhesive and in situ gelling polymers along with mechanisms of in situ gelation and mucoadhesion. In addition, an overview about recent applications in mucosal drug delivery is provided. Expert opinion: In situ gelling and mucoadhesive polymers proved to be essential excipients in order to prolong the mucosal residence time of drug delivery systems. Due to this prolonged residence time both local and systemic therapeutic efficacy of numerous drugs can be substantially improved. Depending on the site of administration and the incorporated drug, combinations of different polymers with in situ gelling and mucoadhesive properties are needed to keep the delivery system as long as feasible at the target site.
Forward Genetics Approach Reveals a Mutation in bHLH Transcription Factor-Encoding Gene as the Best Candidate for the Root Hairless Phenotype in Barley

Root hairs are the part of root architecture contributing significantly to the root surface area. Their role is particularly substantial in maintaining plant growth under stress conditions, however, knowledge on mechanism of root hair differentiation is still limited for majority of crop species, including barley. Here, we report the results of a map-based identification of a candidate gene responsible for the lack of root epidermal cell differentiation, which results in the lack of root hairs in barley. The analysis was based on the root hairless barley mutant rhl1.b, obtained after chemical mutagenesis of spring cultivar ‘Karat’. The rhl1 gene was located in chromosome 7HS in our previous studies. Fine mapping allowed to narrow the interval encompassing rhl1 gene to 3.7 cM, which on physical barley map spans a region of 577 kb. Five high confidence genes are located within this region and their sequencing resulted in the identification of A>T mutation in one candidate, HORVU7Hr1G030250 (MLOC_38567), differing the mutant from its parent variety. The mutation, located in the 3′ splice-junction site, caused the retention of the last intron, 98 bp long, in mRNA of rhl1.b allele. This resulted in the frameshift, the synthesis of 71 abnormal amino acids and introduction of premature STOP codon in mRNA. The mutation was present in the recombinants from the mapping population (F2 rhl1.b × ‘Morex’) that lacked root hairs. The candidate gene encodes a bHLH transcription factor with LRL domain and may be involved in early stages of root hair cell development. We discuss the possible involvement of HORVU7Hr1G030250 in this process, as the best candidate responsible for early stages of rhizodermis differentiation in barley.
Boosting Binary Optimization via Binary Classification: A Case Study of Job Shop Scheduling

Many optimization techniques evaluate solutions consecutively, where the next candidate for evaluation is determined by the results of previous evaluations. For example, these include iterative methods, "black box" optimization algorithms, simulated annealing, evolutionary algorithms and tabu search, to name a few. When solving an optimization problem, these algorithms evaluate a large number of solutions, which raises the following question: Is it possible to learn something about the optimum using these solutions? In this paper, we define this "learning" question in terms of a logistic regression model and explore its predictive accuracy computationally. The proposed model uses a collection of solutions to predict the components of the optimal solutions. To illustrate the utility of such predictions, we embed the logistic regression model into the tabu search algorithm for job shop scheduling problem. The resulting framework is simple to implement, yet provides a significant boost to the performance of the standard tabu search.
‘Hyowon6’, a Mid-Late Maturing Rice Variety with High Quality

Hyowon6, a mid-late maturing, good eating quality rice variety with multi-resistance, was developed by the rice breeding team of Pusan National University in 2013. This variety was derived from a cross between Hwayeong (as a multi-resistant parent) and Koshihikari (as a good eating quality parent). Selection by the pedigree breeding method was carried out until the F 8 generation. A promising line, JS14-12-36-8-5-3-1-1-1, was developed and designated as HY103 in 2013. This variety headed on August 22, which was 11 days later than that of Hwayeong. The culm length and panicle length of Hyowon6 was 85.7 cm and 21.1 cm, respectively. The number of panicles per hill was 14.5 and the number of grains per panicle was 101.7. The ratio of ripened grain was approximately 92% and the 1,000-grain weight was approximately 21.36 g for brown rice, which were similar to those of Hwayeong. Hyowon6 was moderately resistant to lodging and also to neck blast, leaf blight, and stripe virus. The glossiness value of Hyowon6 was 83, which was considerably higher than that of Hwayeong.
Learning in Memristive Neural Network Architectures Using Analog Backpropagation Circuits

The on-chip implementation of learning algorithms would speed up the training of neural networks in crossbar arrays. The circuit level design and implementation of a back-propagation algorithm using gradient descent operation for neural network architectures is an open problem. In this paper, we propose analog backpropagation learning circuits for various memristive learning architectures, such as deep neural network, binary neural network, multiple neural network, hierarchical temporal memory, and long short-term memory. The circuit design and verification are done using TSMC 180-nm CMOS process models and TiO2-based memristor models. The application level validations of the system are done using XOR problem, MNIST character, and Yale face image databases.
Use of Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Histogram in Differentiating Between Medulloblastoma and Pilocytic Astrocytoma in Children

Background This research aimed to investigate the value of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram in differentiating between medulloblastoma and pilocytic astrocytoma in children. Material/Methods Thirty-three children with posterior cranial fossa tumor confirmed by operation and pathology participated in this retrospective study, including 18 children with medulloblastoma and 15 children with pilocytic astrocytoma. ADC images of the maximum lay of tumors were selected, and the region of interest was delineated by Mazda software and analyzed by histogram. Histogram characteristic parameters of the 2 tumors were statistically analyzed to determine the significantly different characteristic parameters between the 2 tumor types. Results There were significant differences in the mean value, variance, skewness, kurtosis, and 1th, 10th, 50th, and 90th percentiles of 9 characteristic parameters extracted by histogram (P<0.05). The corresponding receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were drawn, in which the mean value and 50th percentile were best identified. When the maximum area under the ROC curve was 1 and the optimal threshold was 137.7 and 125.5, the specificity and sensitivity were both 100%. Conclusions ADC histograms can be used to differentiate between medulloblastoma and pilocytic astrocytoma in children and provide reliable and objective evidence for the differentiation.
FRnet-DTI: Deep Convolutional Neural Networks with Evolutionary and Structural Features for Drug-Target Interaction

The task of drug-target interaction prediction holds significant importance in pharmacology and therapeutic drug design. In this paper, we present FRnet-DTI, an auto encoder and a convolutional classifier for feature manipulation and drug target interaction prediction. Two convolutional neural neworks are proposed where one model is used for feature manipulation and the other one for classification. Using the first method FRnet-1, we generate 4096 features for each of the instances in each of the datasets and use the second method, FRnet-2, to identify interaction probability employing those features. We have tested our method on four gold standard datasets exhaustively used by other researchers. Experimental results shows that our method significantly improves over the state-of-the-art method on three of the four drug-target interaction gold standard datasets on both area under curve for Receiver Operating Characteristic(auROC) and area under Precision Recall curve(auPR) metric. We also introduce twenty new potential drug-target pairs for interaction based on high prediction scores. Codes Available: https: // github. com/ farshidrayhanuiu/ FRnet-DTI/ Web Implementation: http: // farshidrayhan. pythonanywhere. com/ FRnet-DTI/
The application of computational models to social neuroscience: promises and pitfalls

ABSTRACT Interactions with conspecifics are key to any social species. In order to navigate this social world, it is crucial for individuals to learn from and about others. From learning new skills by observing parents perform them to making complex collective decisions, understanding the mechanisms underlying social cognitive processes has been of considerable interest to psychologists and neuroscientists. Here, we review studies that have used computational modelling techniques, combined with neuroimaging, to shed light on how people learn and make decisions in social contexts. As opposed to standard social neuroscience methods, the computational approach allows one to directly examine where in the brain particular computations, as estimated by models of behavior, are implemented. Findings suggest that people use several strategies to learn from others: vicarious reward learning, where one learns from observing the reward outcomes of another agent; action imitation, which relies on encoding a prediction error between the expected and actual actions of the other agent; and social inference, where one learns by inferring the goals and intentions of others. These computations are implemented in distinct neural networks, which may be recruited adaptively depending on task demands, the environment and other social factors.
Regarding the strength calculations of complex combined tools

The complex combined tools for sequential impact by chip removal and subsequent plastic deformation have a complex load of cutting forces and friction forces. Their design is abundant in different stress concentrators. This fact leads to the choice of a certain approach in determining the security coefficients and the strength conditions of the individual details of the complex system. The results obtained show that when using CAE design systems, it is necessary to strictly observe the ways of contact and interconnection between the individual parts and assemblies in the product.
The impact of time‐varying clinical surrogates on disparities in African‐American kidney transplant recipients – a retrospective longitudinal cohort study

An improved understanding of the impact of clinical surrogates on disparities in African‐American (AA) kidney transplantation (KTX) is needed. We conducted a 10‐year retrospective longitudinal cohort study of electronically abstracted clinical data assessing the impact of surrogates on disparities in KTX. Clinical surrogates were assessed by posttransplant year (1, 2, 3 or 4) and defined as acute rejection (Banff ≥1A), mean SBP >140 mmHg, tacrolimus variability (CV) >40%, mean glucose >160 mg/dl and mean hemoglobin <10 g/dl. We utilized landmark methodology to minimize immortal time bias and logistic and survival regression to assess outcomes; 1610 KTX were assessed (54.2% AAs), with 1000, 468, 368 and 303 included in the year 1, 2, 3 and 4 complete case analyses, respectively. AAs had significantly higher odds of developing a clinical surrogate, which increased in posttransplant years three and four [OR year 1 1.99 (1.38–2.88), year 2 1.77 (1.20–2.62), year 3 2.35 (1.49–3.71), year 4 2.85 (1.72–4.70)]. Adjusting for the five clinical surrogates in survival models explained a significant portion of the higher risks of graft loss in AAs in post‐transplant years three and four. Results suggest focusing efforts on improving late clinical surrogate management within AAs may help mitigate racial disparities in KTX.
MobiBits: Multimodal Mobile Biometric Database

This paper presents a novel database comprising representations of five different biometric characteristics, collected in a mobile, unconstrained or semi-constrained setting with three different mobile devices, including characteristics previously unavailable in existing datasets, namely hand images, thermal hand images, and thermal face images, all acquired with a mobile, off-the-shelf device. In addition to this collection of data we perform an extensive set of experiments providing insight on benchmark recognition performance that can be achieved with these data, carried out with existing commercial and academic biometric solutions. This is the first known to us mobile biometric database introducing samples of biometric traits such as thermal hand images and thermal face images. We hope that this contribution will make a valuable addition to the already existing databases and enable new experiments and studies in the field of mobile authentication. The MobiBits database is made publicly available to the research community at no cost for non-commercial purposes.
Shaping of Shared Autonomous Solutions With Minimal Interaction

A fundamental problem in creating successful shared autonomy systems is enabling efficient specification of the problem for which an autonomous system can generate a solution. We present a general paradigm, Interactive Shared Solution Shaping (IS3), broadly applied to shared autonomous systems where a human can use their domain knowledge to interactively provide feedback during the autonomous planning process. We hypothesize that this interaction process can be optimized so that with minimal interaction, near-optimal solutions can be achieved. We examine this hypothesis in the space of resource-constrained mobile search and surveillance and show that without directly instructing a robot or complete communication of a believed target distribution, the human teammate is able to successfully shape the generation of an autonomous search route. This ability is demonstrated in three experiments that show (1) the IS3 approach can improve performance in that routes generated from interactions in general reduce the variance of the target detection performance, and increase overall target detection; (2) the entire IS3 autonomous route generation system's performance, including cost of interaction along with movement cost, experiences a tradeoff between performance vs. numbers of interactions that can be optimized; (3) the IS3 autonomous route generation system is able to perform within constraints by generating tours that stay under budget when executed by a real robot in a realistic field environment.