Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Dynamic Data Trading Marketplace With Externalities

With huge amounts of data generated from Internet of Things (IoT) devices, data-driven technologies are increasingly applied by firms to improve their IoT-based services in real time. To facilitate efficient utilization of the collected data, the design of data trading markets becomes crucial. Two important practical concerns are: 1) the data buyers arrive in a sequential and arbitrary manner and 2) a firm faces externalities when data is purchased by competing firms. In this article, we design a data trading marketplace for data buyers arriving dynamically in real time where the early arrived data buyers will exert negative externalities on the late arrivals within the same competition. Specifically, in market operations, when a data buyer arrives, it needs to submit a bid based on the price and the current externalities posted by the market operator. After receiving the bid, the market operator will announce the data allocation and payment as well as update the price. To construct the detailed market mechanism, we propose the allocation rule, payment rule, and price update method, which can be proven theoretically to guarantee the desirable properties, including incentive compatibility, individual rationality, revenue maximization, and computation efficiency. These theoretical conclusions are also validated via our numerical experiments.
Phylogenomics of Life Kingdom's Deubiquitinases

Eukaryotic organisms typically have many types of deubiquitinases, which differ in substrate specificity and the type of linkage of polyubiquitin chains [1]. Despite the high degree of structural variability of deubiquitinases, the catalytic domains of these enzymes are quite conservative. For example, all eukaryotic cysteine proteases have a characteristic papain-like fold [2]. In contrast to eukaryotes, the diversity of bacterial deubiquitinating enzymes is significantly reduced: globally, majority of bacterial deubiquitinases belong to either the OTU family or the CE-clan, which are also papain-like enzymes. [3]. Another difference between bacterial deubiquitinases is their narrower substrate specificity. Archaeal deubiquitinases belong to the JAMM family of metalloproteases and are similar to the eukaryotic deubiquitinase RPN11 [4]. Despite the obvious differences in the diversity and representation of various types of deubiquitinating enzymes in different domains of living organisms, one can trace common features in the structure of individual classes of deubiquitinases from evolutionarily distant groups of organisms. Here we report phylogenetic analysis of this group of proteins in different representatives of the three main domains of living organisms. The results, obtained in this research can suggest the events of horizontal exchanges between the members of Life Kingdoms.
Serum sulfatide level is associated with severe systemic vasculitis with kidney involvement

Sulfatides are a type of sulfated glycosphingolipid that are secreted with lipoproteins into the serum. These molecules are involved in the inflammatory pathway of vessels in addition to coagulation and platelet aggregation. Previous studies have proposed that sulfatides play a pivotal role in regulating inflammation-related disorders. Systemic vasculitis (SV) diseases are generally caused by autoimmune diseases and often involve kidney vasculitis, which may lead to rapidly progressive kidney dysfunction and end-stage kidney disease. Our earlier pilot study revealed that the level of serum sulfatides (SSs) was significantly decreased in patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV), a representative disease-causing SV with kidney involvement (SVKI), especially in patients exhibiting active crescentic findings on kidney biopsy. To further explore the clinical significance of an association between SS and SVKI, we analyzed and compared the SS level of patients with various SVKI diseases in this retrospective cohort study. Among patients admitted to our hospital between 2008 and 2021, we ultimately enrolled 26 patients with IgA vasculitis (IgAV), 62 patients with AAV, and 10 patients with anti-glomerular basement membrane disease (GBM) as examples of SVKI diseases, as well as 50 patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN) and 23 donors for living kidney transplantation as controls. The mean ± standard deviation SS level in the donor, IgAN, IgAV, AAV, and GBM groups was 8.26 ± 1.72, 8.01 ± 2.21, 6.01 ± 1.73, 5.37 ± 1.97, and 2.73 ± 0.99 nmol/mL, respectively. Analysis of patients in the SVKI disease group showed that those with the crescentic class kidney biopsy finding exhibited a significantly lower SS level than did those with other class biopsy features. Additionally, the SS level had a higher detection ability for SVKI patients with crescentic class kidney biopsy findings (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve 0.90, 95% confidence interval 0.82–0.99) than did several other predictor candidates. Our results indicate that the SS level is decreased in more severe SVKI diseases and may be associated with active glomerular lesions in SVKI kidney biopsy samples.
The Influence of Economic Uncertainty on Food Security and the Moderating Role of Trade Openness in Developing Countries

This research examined the influence of economic uncertainty and the moderating role of trade openness on food security in 58 developing countries from 2012 to 2021. The dynamic panel data from the two-step System GMM was utilized to accomplish this. The findings of this research revealed that economic uncertainty did not exert a significant influence on food security in developing countries. Conversely, trade openness demonstrated a positive and significant effect in enhancing food security. Trade openness strengthened the adverse influence of economic uncertainty on food security in developing countries. The estimation results show trade openness has a significant positive effect of 0.0518, economic uncertainty has a positive but insignificant effect on food security, and Economic uncertainty when moderated by trade openness, shows a significant negative effect of -0.0533. The findings indicate that economic uncertainty does not significantly affect food security in developing countries. However, trade openness positively and significantly influences food security, suggesting that increased trade openness can enhance a country’s food security. The results reveal a significant negative effect when considering both trade openness and economic uncertainty. It implies that implementing policies that reduce trade openness can enhance food security in high economic uncertainty.
AVO attributes of deep coal seam

Based on rock physics theory and real well log data of deep coal seam,studied the AVO attributes of deep coal seam in order to establish a coal seam prediction method by using seismic data.Coal seams typically have high elastic contrasts with the overlaying sandstones,therefore most coal seams can cause strong seismic reflections similar to the bright spots in class three gas sand cases.By using AVO intercept-gradient crossplots,most coal seams can be discriminated and still part of coaly shale beds could be interpreted as coal seam.Furthermore,the distribution of coal seams in intercept-gradient crossplots can indicate the high-porosity areas of sandstone.
Factors Influencing ASEAN Undergraduate Student Satisfaction with Guangxi’s Universities

With the development of internationalization in higher education, research on the satisfaction of international students has grown in importance in the field of higher education. This study aims to examine the satisfaction level of ASEAN undergraduate students studying in Guangxi and analyze the factors influencing ASEAN undergraduate student satisfaction with Guangxi’s universities. This study adopted a quantitative approach to collect questionnaires from 468 ASEAN undergraduate students currently studying in 9 public universities in Guangxi, China. The results showed that ASEAN undergraduate students have a high overall satisfaction level with higher education in China. The findings indicated that perceived quality, and perceived cultural distance have a significant positive effect on ASEAN undergraduate students' satisfaction. This paper provides reference value for understanding the formation mechanism of international student satisfaction, and for policymakers and managers to enhance international student satisfaction.
Scrum in Practice: City Reconstruction as a Pedagogical Game Challenge

This paper presents an experience report on the dynamics of the Scrum Game Challenge through the customization of LEGO4Scrum. The game’s objective is to teach Scrum concepts through the simulation of the reconstruction of a city of Mariana, Minas Gerais, exploring the use of Scrum and experimenting with tools used by the software industry. As a result, we present the customizations performed, as well as the students’ and teachers’ perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of applying the practice of the dynamic in the classroom. Our findings reveal that most students felt that the concepts covered in the dynamics could be applied during their professional practice as software developers in the industry. Moreover, the dynamic allowed them to understand how the application of Scrum works during the software development process in a clear, easy, and fun way. The students and teachers also stated that besides theoretical knowledge, it is essential to consider practical knowledge about the application of agile software development methodologies during Computer Science coursework.
Land Suitability Evaluation for Reclamation of Bauxite Region in Pingguo County of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

This paper classifies the types of land evaluation units using a four hierarchy of indexes step by step and evaluates the land suitability for reclamation of bauxite region in Pingguo County of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region by the way of sum of weighing and indexes.Results are as follows:(1) The best suitability of the thick platform non-polluted,which is composed of top soil and surface soil and the ratio of top soil to surface soil is 4:1,is the third-class dryland. (2) The best suitability of the thick platform non-polluted,which is composed of bottom soil and fly ash and the ratio of bottom soil to fly ash is 3:1,is the second-class dryland. (3) The best suitability of the thin slop non-polluted,which is composed of top soil and surface soil and the ratio is 4:1,is the first-class garden plot. (4) The best suitability of the thin slop non-polluted,which is composed of bottom soil and fly ash and the ratio is 3:1,is the woodland of the third grade.The result may provide a scientific basis of reclamation planning for mining enterprises and it is beneficial for reducing cost and the sustainable development and utilization of land resources in bauxite region in Pingguo County.
Business Cycle Downturn Likelihood Estimation for Ciudad Juarez

A monthly frequency metropolitan business cycle downturn likelihood equation is estimated for Ciudad Juarez. The binary index of economic conditions is based upon monthly IMMEX export oriented manufacturing employment. A dynamic probit methodology is used for parameter estimation. Continuous explanatory variables include a 1-year minus 1-month Mexico interest rate spread, a 2015 = 100 weighted real exchange rate index, and a 10-year minus 3-month USA interest rate spread. Parameter estimation results confirm the various hypotheses examined. However, model simulation outcomes are less favorable with the results indicating that accurate forecasting of the post-2010 business cycles may require additional refinement to the index.
Degradation state detection and local map optimization for enhancing the SOTIF of map-matching-based fusion localization system

In scenarios involving local map missing and local environmental changes, map-matching localization systems (MMLS) may experience degradation in localization due to the deficiency of texture and geometrical features. This consequently leads to a decrease in localization accuracy or divergence in a map-matching-based fusion localization system (MMBFLS). To address this issue and ensure the safety of the intended functionality of autonomous vehicles, this study proposes a degradation state detection and local map optimization-based fusion localization frame. To detect the degradation state of pose estimation in MMLS, the analysis of the mathematical mechanisms underlying the localization degradation in MMLS is conducted first. Subsequently, a degradation state detection method based on incremental matrix eigenvalue analysis is proposed, which leverages the magnitude of individual eigenvalues of the incremental matrix to determine the corresponding degradation state and isolates it accordingly. Furthermore, we employ sliding window-based factor graph optimization to maintain a local map that matches Light detection and ranging point clouds, compensating for the degraded states and thereby ensuring the localization performance of MMBFLS. Real-world sensor data is collected to validate the proposed method. The results indicate that the accuracy of the proposed degradation detection method reached as high as 94.67%. Moreover, the proposed localization framework can effectively ensure the localization accuracy of MMBFLS in typical highway scenarios.
Analysis of Evaluation Criteria for Selecting Applications of New Technologies

Evaluation and selection of technology applications play a critical role in transforming industries, addressing global challenges, and determining business success. However, little research exists on specific criteria used to evaluate applications, often leading to decisions based on intuition. This study analyzes evaluation criteria to identify key factors, ranking them based on the frequency of mention and publication year. The analysis reveals that Novelty and Market are highly important criteria, while Quantity and Intuition receive less attention. Criteria like External Environment, Resources, and Strategy remain relevant and evolving. Ranking provides a valuable starting point for decision-making, untangling the complexity of evaluation criteria. Organizations can use this information, combined with other frameworks and expert input, to make informed decisions about technology applications.
Knowledge, Attitude, and Behavior Levels of Postmenopausal Women about Osteoporosis

Background Osteoporosis can be delayed by providing accurate and adequate information to people at risk. Therefore, we aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude, and behavior levels of women in the postmenopausal period, which is the largest group at risk. Methods The study was conducted in a tertiary Training and Research Hospital between 1 December 2018 and 1 May 2019 in 225 postmenopausal women who applied to the Family Medicine outpatient clinic and bone mineral density (BMD) outpatient clinics for BMD measurement or had previously had this measurement at least once. A questionnaire evaluating the knowledge, attitudes, and behavior levels related to osteoporosis was applied to all patients included in the study. Results The mean age was 58.05±9.1 years. The median osteoporosis knowledge score was 7 out of 19 points. A total of 119 (52.9%) had low knowledge scores and 106 (47.1%) had higher knowledge scores. Of the individuals with high scores, 40 (37.7%) were smoking, 64 (60.4%) did not sunbathe, 89 (84%) did not consume the recommended daily amount of calcium, and 58 (54.7%) were not exercising in the recommended time. It was seen that those who were university graduates, who had previously learned about osteoporosis from a health professional, and who had a family history of osteoporosis had higher knowledge levels. Conclusions Even in postmenopausal women who are aware that they are in the risk group and that they should have BMD, their knowledge, attitude, and behavior levels on osteoporosis were found to be quite low.
Beyond UCT: MAB Exploration Improvements for Monte Carlo Tree Search

Monte Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) employs Multi-Armed Bandit (MAB) techniques to direct the policy for child node selection during tree construction. Typical MCTS implementations have relied on the Upper Confidence Bounds for Trees (UCT) strategy, which leverages a specific variant of the general Upper Confidence Bounds (UCB) approach. The success of such strategies relies heavily on the proper tuning of the UCB C parameter to guide exploration effectively. This paper examines (1) the advantages of per-arm tuning of C, (2) the potential for a parameter-less UCB variant called UCBT to provide opportunities for automatic derivation of effective C values without prior tuning in a strategy called Poly-UCB1, and (3) the application of both of these concepts toward operational tuning of C during MCTS node expansion and tree construction in a strategy called UCB-Multi. We evaluate our approach in three turn-based, adversarial board games.
Geometric Characteristics of Step-Pool Streams

The scouring process which forms step-pool systems in high-gradient gravel bed streams is examined. To quantify a relationship between streambed morphology and hydraulic parameters, a hydraulic model was constructed in a flume. Several sediment gradations were utilized over a range of slopes and flowrates, and the change in the streambed elevation was surveyed after each test run. Degradation of the bed is shown empirically to be related to flowrate, flow depth, and sediment size. The results of this hydraulic model study are used to develop a predictive formula which allows computation of bed-height change due to a flow event. This formula can be used in design of culvert structures and stream restoration in steep-sloped areas.
Genome-Wide Association Study Reveals Novel Loci Associated with Body Conformation Traits in Qinchuan Cattle

Simple Summary The meat production of beef cattle is a major economic factor that is closely linked to body conformation traits. Qinchuan cattle are a local breed in China with a unique flavor. However, meat production needs improvement compared to commercial breeds. In this study, we selected 254 individuals, measured 14 phenotypic data points, and used genome-wide association analysis to identify loci and genes closely related to these traits. In total, we identified 250 suggestive loci and 37 candidate genes. These genetic markers will aid in the exploration of traits for Qinchuan cattle and provide a reference for breeding. Abstract A genome-wide association study (GWAS) is an effective tool for identifying the dominant genes of complex economic traits in livestock by statistical analysis of genotype data and measured phenotype data. In this study, we rigorously measured 14 body conformation traits in 254 Qinchuan cattle, comprising body weight (BW), body height (BOH), back height (BAH), buttock height (BUH), chest depth (CD), chest width (CW), hip cross height (HCH), body length (BL), hip width (HW), rump length (RL), pin bone width (PBW), chest girth (CG), abdomen circumference (AG), and calf circumference (CC). After quality control, 281,889 SNPs were generated for GWAS with different traits. A total of 250 suggestive SNPs (p < 3.54 × 10−6) were screened and 37 candidate genes were annotated. Furthermore, we performed a linkage disequilibrium analysis of SNP loci and considered published studies, identifying the eight genes (ADAMTS17, ALDH1A3, CHSY1, MAGEL2, MEF2A, SYNM, CNTNAP5, and CTNNA3) most likely to be involved in growth traits. This study provides new insights into the regulatory mechanisms of bovine body size development, which can be very useful in the development of management and breeding strategies.
Dematerializing materials: description of the first stages to digitize a museum exhibition with 3D technologies

The following paper delves into the development of a virtual exhibition planned to be simultaneously inaugurated with a physical exhibit, which will open in March 2024 in the Municipal Museum of Faro, Portugal. This double presentation, dedicated to a set of rare Italian cinema posters from the early 20th century, is planned to be displayed concurrently in one of the temporary exhibit rooms of the Museum and in an online 3D recreation of the same space. This project is one of several initiatives brought forward by a collaboration, initiated in 2022, between CIAC - Research Center for Arts and Communication and the Faro Museum. This cooperation is built upon a unique legacy composed of 330 posters that the Museum inherited from Joaquim António Viegas, a Portuguese painter and scenographer. In this paper we will describe the first stages of the production of a 3D real-time virtual exhibition by listing the tasks developed so far and presenting other concepts we intend to explore in the following months. We expect that this virtual display can serve not only as a digital replica of a physical place and event, but to also be a complement to its physical counterpart by presenting unique information and objects that are not possible to be shown in the material dimension due to common constraints like space limitations or conservation issues. Besides that, we also hope that the prototype and experiments we are currently working on might provide us with a model for future digital exhibitions of this singular heritage.
Bacterial diversity and community structure of salt pans from Goa, India

In Goa, salt production from the local salt pans is an age-old practice. These salt pans harbor a rich diversity of halophilic microbes with immense biotechnological applications, as they tolerate extremely harsh conditions. Detecting the existence of these microbes by a metabarcoding approach could be a primary step to harness their potential. Three salt pans viz. Agarwado, Curca, and Nerul adjoining prominent estuaries of Goa were selected based on their unique geographical locations. The sediments of these salt pans were examined for their bacterial community and function by 16S rRNA amplicon-sequencing. These salt pans were hypersaline (400–450 PSU) and alkaline (pH 7.6–8.25), with 0.036–0.081 mg/L nitrite, 0.0031–0.016 mg/L nitrate, 6.66–15.81 mg/L sulfate, and 20.8–25.6 mg/L sulfide. The relative abundance revealed that the Pseudomonadota was dominant in salt pans of Nerul (13.9%), Curca (19.6%), and Agarwado (32.4%). The predominant genera in Nerul, Curca, and Agarwado salt pan sediments were Rhodopirellula (1.12%), Sulfurivermis (1.28%), and Psychrobacter (25.5%) respectively. The highest alpha diversity (Shannon-diversity Index) was observed in the Nerul salt pan (4.8) followed by Curca (4.3) and Agarwado (2.03). Beta diversity indicated the highest dissimilarity between Agarwado and the other two salt pans (0.73) viz. Nerul and Curca and the lowest dissimilarity was observed between Nerul and Curca salt pans (0.48). Additionally, in the Agarwado salt pan, 125 unique genera were detected, while in Nerul 119, and in Curca 28 distinct genera were noted. The presence of these exclusive microorganisms in a specific salt pan and its absence in the others indicate that the adjacent estuaries play a critical role in determining salt pan bacterial diversity. Further, the functional prediction of bacterial communities indicated the predominance of stress adaptation genes involved in osmotic balance, membrane modification, and DNA repair mechanisms. This is the first study to report the bacterial community structure and its functional genes in these three salt pans using Next-Generation Sequencing. The data generated could be used as a reference by other researchers across the world for bioprospecting these organisms for novel compounds having biotechnological and biomedical potential.