Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Is Economic Growth Increasing Disparities? A Multidimensional Analysis of Poverty in the Lao PDR between 2003 and 2013

Abstract The Asian story of miraculous growth and poverty reduction has reinforced mainstream views of development that equate high and sustained economic growth with progress in human wellbeing. But understanding development only in terms of economic growth is not sufficient. This paper offers a different perspective on possible effects of Laos’s transition from a subsistence-oriented economy to a market-oriented economy. We used a multidimensional poverty approach with panel data for the years between 2003 and 2013. Findings suggest that benefits were not equally distributed: 50 per cent of people moved in and out of poverty, and the other half was either non-poor (37%) or always poor (13%).
Inter- and intra-microcycle external load analysis in female professional soccer players: A playing position approach

This study analyzes the inter- and intra-differences in external load across the microcycle in professional female soccer players. External load during four consecutive microcycles (i.e., M1, M2, M3, and M4) and training sessions (i.e., MD-4, MD-3, MD-2, and MD-1) and a match day (i.e., MD) were registered in seventeen female professional soccer players (age: 26.3 ± 4.6 years; height: 166.3 ± 6.1 cm; body mass: 59.8 ± 6.8 kg; and body mass index: 21.6 ± 1.7 kg·m-2) who belonged to the same team in Spanish first division. A 10-Hz GPS that integrated a 100-Hz triaxial accelerometer was used to register external load. The results showed lower decelerations in M2 compared to M1 and M3 (p < 0.05), lower high-intensity distance (>16.0 km·h-1) in M3 vs. M2, and greater relative sprint distance (>21.0 km·min-1) in M4 vs. M1 and M3 (p < 0.05). MD-3 registered the highest load for all variables (p < 0.05). Forwards (FWs) performed (p < 0.05) significantly more sprints (meters and number > 21.0 km·h-1) than central midfielders (CMs) and central defenders (CDs) in MD-2 and MD. Both, fitness and conditioning staff should pay special attention to the external loads for each playing position in training sessions to optimize the training process.
Compact UWB Bandnotch Antenna for UWB Applications

In this paper, a compact UWB band notch antenna is proposed. Band notching is achieved by inserting a slot in the radiating patch. The antenna is analyzed for single band notch. The proposed antenna is operating in the frequency range of 3.4 to 10.6 GHz while its performance is not good in the WLAN band (5/6 GHz). The VSWR plot also shows that antenna has one stop band (5/6 GHz). The proposed antenna is simulated using Ansoft HFSS while its results is verified using CST Microwave studio suite. This miniature size has best matching in the UWB band because of low VSWR and advantageous radiation pattern. The ripples present in higher frequencies of the previous designed antenna has been removed by increasing the length of the ground plane. Moreover the antenna has a very compact size of (18×23 mm 2 ) and could be easily
Gene expression Exploiting sample variability to enhance multivariate analysis of microarray data

Motivation: Biological and technical variability is intrinsic in any microarray experiment. While most approaches aim to account for this variability, they do not actively exploit it. Here, we consider a novel approach that uses the variability between arrays to provide an extra source of information that can enhance gene expression analyses. Results: We develop a method that uses sample similarity to incorporate sample variability into the analysis of gene expression profiles. This allows each pairwise correlation calculation to borrow information from all the data in the experiment. Results on synthetic and human cancer microarray datasets show that the inclusion of this information leads to a significant increase in the ability to identify previously characterized relationships and a reduction in false discovery rate, when compared to a standard analysis using Pearson correlation. The information carried by the variability between arrays can be exploited to significantly improve the analysis of gene
Evidence for the Representation of Letter Quantity , Syllabic Roles and Digraph Structure The representation of double letters

At a minimum, our long-term memory representations of word spellings consist of ordered strings of single letter identities. While letter identity and position must certainly be represented, it is by no means obvious that this is the only information that is included in orthographic representations, nor that representations necessarily have a one-dimensional “flat” structure. Evidence favors the alternative hypothesis that orthographic representations, much like phonological ones, are internally rich, complex multi-dimensional structures, though many questions remain regarding the precise nature of the internal complexity of orthographic representations. In this investigation, we test competing accounts of the internal structure of orthographic representations by analyzing the perseveration errors produced by an individual with acquired dysgraphia, LSS. The analysis of preservation errors provides a novel and powerful method for investigating the question of the independence of different representational components. The results provide clear support the hypothesis that letter quantity and syllabic role information are associated with, but separable from, letter identity information. Furthermore, the results indicate that digraphs, letter pairs associated with a single phoneme (e.g. the SH in FISH) are units of orthographic representation. These results contribute substantially to the further development of the multi-dimensional hypothesis, providing both new and converging evidence regarding the nature of the internal complexity of orthographic representations.
Involuntary Bachelorhood in Rural China: A Social Network Perspective

If a man has a matchmaking network, will this increase his chance of marrying? Using survey data from X County in Anhui Province collected in 2008, we analyse the determinants of first marriage probability for 18 to 50-year-old rural Chinese men (N = 412) in terms of their social networks. We find that age at first marriage for rural Chinese men is concentrated in the interval between 22 and 27 years, and the probability of first marriage decreases sharply from age 28, and drops to almost zero above age 34. We also find that tie configuration, but not the size of the matchmaking network, has an important effect on the probability of men’s first marriage. The men who have no matchmaking network face a high risk of remaining single. Among men with a matchmaking network, different network configurations have slightly different effects: kin ties play a more important role in increasing men’s probability of marrying, especially at men’s most common marriage ages. The probability of first marriage for men with both kin and non-kin ties is the lowest, which may reflect the matchmaking strategy for some men who have more difficulties in getting married.
Sustainability and Genuine Saving: Empirical Evidence from Sudan Economy

This paper assesses economic development path of Sudan during the period 1977 -2009 via genuine saving rate GSR, determines factors affect genuine saving, using vector autoregression. Genuine saving estimates were obtained from World Bank over the period 1977 to the referendum on South Sudan succession in 2009. Results show that the past values of manufacturing share to GDP, GSR lagged once, and growth rate GR have positive effects on GSR, contrary to GSR lagged twice, and import duty rate values IDR. Almost half the period Sudan suffers from dis-saving, affecting adversely well-being and sustainability. Dutch disease DD is apparent since the export of oil in the last quarter 1999. Keyword: dis-saving, Dutch disease, genuine saving, growth, sustainability, well-being
Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy induce substantial and persistent changes in microbial communities and metabolic pathways

ABSTRACT Bariatric surgery induces significant microbial and metabolomic changes, however, links between microbial and metabolic pathways have not been fully elucidated. The objective of this study was to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the microbial, metabolomic, and inflammatory changes that occur following Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and sleeve gastrectomy (SG). A prospective clinical trial was conducted with participants undergoing RYGB, SG, and non-operative controls (CTRL). Clinical parameters, blood samples, and fecal samples were collected pre-intervention and at 3 and 9 months. A multi-omics approach was used to perform integrated microbial-metabolomic analysis to identify functional pathways in which weight loss and metabolic changes occur after surgery. RYGB led to profound microbial changes over time that included reductions in alpha-diversity, increased Proteobacteria and Verrucomicrobiota, decreased Firmicutes, and numerous changes at the genera level. These changes were associated with a reduction in inflammation and significant weight loss. A reduction in Romboutsia genera correlated strongly with weight loss and integrated microbial-metabolomic analysis revealed the importance of Romboutsia. Its obliteration correlated with improved weight loss and insulin resistance, possibly through decreases in glycerophospholipids. In contrast, SG was associated with no changes in alpha-diversity, and only a small number of changes in microbial genera. A cluster of Firmicutes genera including Butyriciccocus, Eubacterium ventriosum, and Monoglobus was decreased, which correlated with decreased weight, insulin resistance, and systemic inflammation. This work represents comprehensive analyses of microbial-metabolomic changes that occur following bariatric surgery and identifies several pathways that are associated with beneficial metabolic effects of surgery.
Carbon accumulation in vegetation and soils by reclamation of degraded areas.

A study was compiled to quantify organic carbon stock in reclaimed ecosystems in Iceland. The objective of this paper is to report the carbon mass in vegetation of such systems and to assess its contribution to total carbon sequestration. Organic carbon stock was measured in three components, i.e. in aboveground and belowground biomass, and soil on land with different conditions and under different reclamation methods. The study shows that reclamation of degraded land results in organic carbon sequestration and that a part of the sequestration is in the biomass. The annual rate of sequestration in aboveground biomass ranged from 0.01 to 0.5 t C ha–1, the amount depending on the reclamation method used and site conditions. More comprehensive dataset on carbon sequestration under diverse conditions is, however, needed to use as basis for modelling of organic carbon sequestration. These results show that reclamation measures designed to restore the ecological potential of degraded land can have the additional advantage of carbon sequestration.
NOGOB receptor deficiency increases cerebrovascular permeability and hemorrhage via impairing histone acetylation–mediated CCM1/2 expression

The loss function of cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM) genes leads to most CCM lesions characterized by enlarged leaking vascular lesions in the brain. Although we previously showed that NOGOB receptor (NGBR) knockout in endothelial cells (ECs) results in cerebrovascular lesions in the mouse embryo, the molecular mechanism by which NGBR regulates CCM1/2 expression has not been elucidated. Here, we show that genetic depletion of Ngbr in ECs at both postnatal and adult stages results in CCM1/2 expression deficiency and cerebrovascular lesions such as enlarged vessels, blood-brain-barrier hyperpermeability, and cerebral hemorrhage. To reveal the molecular mechanism, we used RNA-sequencing analysis to examine changes in the transcriptome. Surprisingly, we found that the acetyltransferase HBO1 and histone acetylation were downregulated in NGBR-deficient ECs. The mechanistic studies elucidated that NGBR is required for maintaining the expression of CCM1/2 in ECs via HBO1-mediated histone acetylation. ChIP-qPCR data further demonstrated that loss of NGBR impairs the binding of HBO1 and acetylated histone H4K5 and H4K12 on the promotor of the CCM1 and CCM2 genes. Our findings on epigenetic regulation of CCM1 and CCM2 that is modulated by NGBR and HBO1-mediated histone H4 acetylation provide a perspective on the pathogenesis of sporadic CCMs.
RibU is an essential determinant of Listeria pathogenesis that mediates acquisition of FMN and FAD during intracellular growth

Significance Riboflavin (vitamin B2) is converted into flavin mononucleotide (FMN) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), which are essential cofactors for many redox reactions across all domains of life. Listeria monocytogenes is a facultative intracellular pathogen that cannot synthesize riboflavin and must therefore obtain flavins from the host. In this study, we show that a previously identified riboflavin transporter (RibU) is essential for virulence and intracellular growth, but rather than transporting riboflavin, RibU transports FMN and FAD directly from the host cell cytosol. Mutants unable to convert riboflavin to FMN and FAD retained their capacity to grow intracellularly and were virulent, but they were unable to grow extracellularly and were thus converted from facultative to obligate intracellular pathogens.
An Adaptive QoS Model in Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

: How to get quality of service (QoS) support in the MAC layer is a hot topic in wireless ad hoc network (MANET). In this paper, a novel adaptive QoS model is presented in MANET, and its feasibility and reliability is analyzed and verified. Compared with traditional SWAN model, the proposed approach is improved by differentiated services in MAC layer in order to achieve high control rate of low-priority transactions. The simulations of the presented model are carried out and the results show that can improve the bandwidth utilization and increase the network throughput, as well as reduce transmission delay in MANET.
Plasma pressure in Mercury's equatorial magnetosphere derived from MESSENGER Magnetometer observations

Since insertion of the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft into orbit around Mercury on 18 March 2011, the probe's Magnetometer has routinely observed localized reductions of the magnetic field magnitude below the level predicted by a planetary dipole model corrected for magnetospheric magnetic fields. These magnetic depressions are observed on almost every orbit, and the latitude at which they are observed is local‐time dependent. The depression signatures are indicators of the presence of enhanced plasma pressures, which inflate the magnetic field locally to maintain pressure balance, thus lowering the magnetic flux density. Mapping the magnetic depressions in local time and latitude provides insight into the plasma distribution near the planet, which complements that provided by MESSENGER's Fast Imaging Plasma Spectrometer. The spatial distribution shows that magnetic depressions are concentrated in two distinct regions, one near the equator on the nightside and another at high latitudes principally on the dayside. Here we focus on the nightside, equatorial pressure signatures, which we attribute to the magnetotail plasma sheet. The plasma‐sheet pressures extend from dusk to dawn and are offset northward from the planetary geographic equator by about 10° in latitude, commensurate with the offset of the planetary dipole. The pressures associated with the plasma‐sheet depressions range from 0.1 to 3 nPa and are systematically higher at dawn than at dusk. Proton gradient‐curvature and convection drift in Mercury's dipole magnetic field with a dawn‐to‐dusk electric field result in low drift velocities near dawn, leading to systematically higher densities and pressures at dawn than at dusk, consistent with the observations.
Peroneal Electrical Transcutaneous NeuroModulation as a New Treatment for Patients with Overactive Bladder: An Initial Clinical Experience

Introduction: The aim of this study was to determine whether peroneal electrical Transcutaneous NeuroModulation (peroneal eTNM®) using the URIS® neuromodulation system can be used in individuals with refractory overactive bladder (OAB). Methods: Eighteen female patients with idiopathic OAB who failed previous behavioral and pharmacological therapy were enrolled. Patients were treated with the URIS® neuromodulation system using active electrodes placed on the popliteal fossa, targeting the peroneal nerve for 30 min once a week for 12 weeks. Changes in OAB symptoms and patient-reported outcomes from baseline to the end of the study were analyzed. A nonparametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to assess changes in variables. Statistical significance was defined as p ≤ 0.05. Results: We observed a significant reduction in micturition frequency (p = 0.022), number of severe urgency episodes (p < 0.001), urgency incontinence episodes (p = 0.001), and nocturia episodes (p = 0.027). A decrease in Patient Perception of Bladder Condition score (p < 0.001) was also observed. Posttreatment, 15 patients (83.3%) reported a moderate or significant reduction in their bladder bother. Throughout the study, two adverse events were recorded with no causal relationship to the study treatment. Discussion/Conclusions: Our study documented a significant reduction in all OAB symptoms and an improvement in all patient-reported outcomes in patients treated with peroneal eTNM® using the URIS® neuromodulation system.
Rotation-Invariant Point Cloud Representation for 3-D Model Recognition

Three-dimensional (3-D) data have many applications in the field of computer vision and a point cloud is one of the most popular modalities. Therefore, how to establish a good representation for a point cloud is a core issue in computer vision, especially for 3-D object recognition tasks. Existing approaches mainly focus on the invariance of representation under the group of permutations. However, for point cloud data, it should also be rotation invariant. To address such invariance, in this article, we introduce a relation of equivalence under the action of rotation group, through which the representation of point cloud is located in a homogeneous space. That is, two point clouds are regarded as equivalent when they are only different from a rotation. Our network is flexibly incorporated into existing frameworks for point clouds, which guarantees the proposed approach to be rotation invariant. Besides, a sufficient analysis on how to parameterize the group SO(3) into a convolutional network, which captures a relation with all rotations in 3-D Euclidean space $\mathbb {R}^{3}$ . We select the optimal rotation as the best representation of point cloud and propose a solution for minimizing the problem on the rotation group SO(3) by using its geometric structure. To validate the rotation invariance, we combine it with two existing deep models and evaluate them on ModelNet40 dataset and its subset ModelNet10. Experimental results indicate that the proposed strategy improves the performance of those existing deep models when the data involve arbitrary rotations.
Viewpoint: Virtual and Augmented Reality in Basic and Advanced Life Support Training

The use of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) for life support training is increasing. These technologies provide an immersive experience that supports learning in a safe and controlled environment. This review focuses on the use of AR and VR for emergency care training for health care providers, medical students, and nonprofessionals. In particular, we analyzed (1) serious games, nonimmersive games, both single-player and multiplayer; (2) VR tools ranging from semi-immersive to immersive virtual and mixed reality; and (3) AR applications. All the toolkits have been investigated in terms of application goals (training, assessment, or both), simulated procedures, and skills. The main goal of this work is to summarize and organize the findings of studies coming from multiple research areas in order to make them accessible to all the professionals involved in medical simulation. The analysis of the state-of-the-art technologies reveals that tools and studies related to the multiplayer experience, haptic feedback, and evaluation of user’s manual skills in the foregoing health care-related environments are still limited and require further investigation. Also, there is an additional need to conduct studies aimed at assessing whether AR/VR-based systems are superior or, at the minimum, comparable to traditional training methods.
Response of the Middle Atmosphere in the Southern Hemisphere to Energetic Particle Precipitation in the Latest Reanalysis Data

Research on the effects of energetic particle precipitation (EPP) on earth’s atmosphere is rapidly growing. However, these effects have not been well distinguished from those of other climate forcings. This study extracts EPP effects on the middle atmosphere in the southern hemisphere from the latest reanalysis datasets using multiple regression analysis and composite analysis. Statistically significant temperature anomalies in the winter polar upper stratosphere and lower mesosphere are found, but a simple dynamical signature explaining the anomalies is not evident. On the other hand, it is found that a negative temperature anomaly extending from the polar lower mesosphere to the midlatitude upper stratosphere in July is driven by anomalous Eliassen-Pam flux divergence in the midlatitude lower mesosphere. This result suggests that EPP effects are distinguishable from other climate forcings in the latest reanalysis data.
Disruption and adaptation in response to the coronavirus pandemic – Assets as contextual moderators of enactment of health behaviours

Purpose During the COVID‐19 UK first national lockdown (March–July 2020) enactment of healthy behaviours was fundamentally changed due to social restrictions. This study sought to understand perspectives on health behaviour change, as part of a wider study tracking reported health behaviour change over time. Methods A purposive sample was selected. N = 40 qualitative interviews were conducted remotely (phone/video) from participants across England and Wales, and transcribed verbatim. Descriptive case studies were shared at regular analysis meetings. Inductive reflexive thematic coding was undertaken and coding was discussed using a team approach to agreeing analytical codes. A multiple lens theoretical perspective was adopted to illuminate the perceived influences and restrictions on participants' reports of health behaviour change. Results There was a clear progressive narrative for all participants, through initial responses and reactions to the pandemic, framed as ‘disruption’, then, as lockdown was acclimatized to, evidence of ‘adaptation’. Adaptation was seen in terms of modification, substitution, adoption, discontinuation/cessation, stultification, maintenance and recalibration of health behaviours. An illustrative case study exemplifies the narrative encompassing these features and demonstrating the complex non‐linear interactions between context and enacted health behaviours. Conclusions Individuals responded to pandemic‐related social restrictions in complex ways. Those in contexts with existing social assets, community links and established patterns of healthy behaviours were able to respond positively, adapting by modifying behaviour and using technology to engage in healthy behaviours in new and innovative ways. For those in more vulnerable contexts, enacting (negative) health behaviour change was an expression of frustration at the limitations imposed by social restrictions.