Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
BCDU-Net and chronological-AVO based ensemble learning for lung nodule segmentation and classification

ABSTRACT Lung cancer is the deadly disorder occurring worldwide among all age groups and it causes high mortality rate. Traditionally, Computed Tomography (CT) is employed as a non-invasive tool to detect the position of tumour in the lung and its severity level. It is quintessential to detect the nodules concealed in the lung that is mainly responsible for deadly cancer disease. Lung nodule segmentation has been recognised as a significant topic for research discussion among researchers and major obstacle faced in this lung nodule segmentation is accuracy, which is mainly deteriorated because of the visual variations and diversity in lung nodules. Therefore, to enhance the segmentation performance level of lung nodule detection, this research proposes an effective strategy for lung nodule segmentation and classification using newly devised method named Chronological-African Vultures Optimisation (CAVO) algorithm. Here, lung nodule segmentation is carried out using Bi-directional ConvLSTM-U-Net (BCDU-Net) and lung nodule classification is done using ensemble classifier, such as Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP), Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), and Deep Residual Network (DRN). Meanwhile, the proposed CAVO-based ensemble learning has provided better insights with high testing accuracy, maximum sensitivity, and maximum specificity with measures of 0.946, 0.930, and 0.890 using dataset-1.
Estimation of the basic reproduction number for infectious diseases from age‐stratified serological survey data

The basic reproduction number of an infection, R0, is the average number of secondary infections generated by a single typical infective individual in a totally susceptible population. It is directly related to the effort required to eliminate infection. We consider statistical methods for estimating R0 from age‐stratified serological survey data. The main difficulty is indeterminacy, since the contacts between individuals of different ages are not observed. We show that, given an estimate of the average age‐specific hazard of infection, a particular leading left eigenfunction is required to specify R0. We review existing methods of estimation in the light of this indeterminacy. We suggest using data from several infections transmitted via the same route, and we propose that the choice of model be guided by a criterion based on similarity of their contact functions. This approach also allows model uncertainty to be taken into account. If one infection induces no lasting immunity, we show that the only additional assumption required to estimate R0 is that the contact function is symmetric. When matched data on two or more infections transmitted by the same route are available, the methods may be extended to incorporate the effect of individual heterogeneity. The approach can also be applied in partially vaccinated populations and to populations comprising loosely linked communities. The methods are illustrated with data on hepatitis A, mumps, rubella, parvovirus, Haemophilus influenzae type b and measles infection.
A Low-Profile Broadband Multimode Patch Antenna for 5G Mobile Applications

A low-profile broadband multimode patch antenna is proposed for fifth-generation mobile applications. The proposed antenna is made up of a single metal patch, a FR-4 dielectric substrate layer, an air cavity, and eight metal pins. The patch can form a magnetic wall by adding the eight metal pins, which can also generate a pair of TM1/2,0 modes and TM10 mode. Based on these modes, two narrow rectangles with 0. 169λ (about 0.011λ at 3.9 GHz) are etched on the patch, which can simultaneously form two kinds of new modes (TM1/2,1 and TM1/2,2) to achieve the broadband operation (3.3–4.2 GHz). To ensure the accuracy of this principle, the antenna sample is made and measured. The measured outcomes are in good accordance with the simulated ones, and the sample can still operate at 3.3–4.2 GHz, covering the 5G N77 band. The in-band total efficiency can reach up to −0.491 dB (89.3%). The maximum gain in the entire band is 9.4 dB.
Industry-specific upskilling of seasonal tourism workers: Does occupational gender inequality matter?

Due to technological change and growing digitalization of the workplaces, the post-pandemic economic recovery offers opportunities for workers to upgrade their industry-specific skills in different sectors, including tourism, where an increasing shortage in the seasonal tier of the labor market is emerging. Various barriers have been identified as key factors preventing both tourism firms from implementing skill development interventions, and workers from co-investing in training. An under-investigated possible barrier is women’s occupational segregation, both horizontal and vertical. This paper looks at the former type of segregation, the most frequent in the tourism industry, by showing that this condition penalizes women’s willingness to invest in specific training. Data come from a dedicated survey administered to a sample of seasonal employees who worked in the Rimini Province (Italy) during the summer of 2019 and applies a twofold regression analysis followed by an Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition. Our findings contribute to the debate on gender equality in the tourism industry and on the gendered impact of COVID-19 on workers’ careers.
A sub‐grid scale finite element agglomeration multigrid method with application to the Boltzmann transport equation

This article describes a new element agglomeration multigrid method for solving partial differential equations discretised through a sub‐grid scale finite element formulation. The sub‐grid scale discretisation resolves solution variables through their separate coarse and fine scales, and these are mapped between the multigrid levels using a dual set of transfer operators. The sub‐grid scale multigrid method forms coarse linear systems, possessing the same sub‐grid scale structure as the original discretisation, that can be resolved without them being stored in memory. This is necessary for the application of this article in resolving the Boltzmann transport equation as the linear systems become extremely large. The novelty of this article is therefore a matrix‐free multigrid scheme that is integrated within its own sub‐grid scale discretisation using dual transfer operators and applied to the Boltzmann transport equation.
Variable selection for functional density trees

In this paper, the exhaustive search principle used in functional trees for classifying densities is shown to select variables with more split points. A new variable selection scheme is proposed to correct this bias. The Pearson chi-squared tests for associated two-way contingency tables are used to select the variables. Through simulation, we show that the new method can control bias and is more powerful in selecting split variable.
Lithographic positioning of self-assembled Ge islands on Si(001)

Ge islands were deposited on Si(001) partially covered with patterned oxide. Selective Si was deposited on some wafers before Ge deposition to form raised Si(001) plateaus with well-defined sidewall facets. On narrow lines, the Ge islands locate preferentially at the edges of the raised Si(001) regions, and the preference is strongest on the narrowest patterns aligned along a 〈100〉 direction. For a 450 nm wide plateau aligned in this direction, all the islands are positioned along the edges of the pattern, with a 300 nm space near the center of the pattern free of Ge islands. The islands appear to be uniformly spaced along the pattern edges. On wider lines, several rows of islands are aligned near the edges of the pattern, with the order decreasing farther from the edge.
An Analysis of Local Government Financial Statement Audit Outcomes in a Developing Economy Using Machine Learning

Good financial management provides economic stability and sustainability to an organization. It enables an organisation to make good use of its resources and plan effectively. South Africa’s public financial management has deteriorated over time, with only 16% of municipalities receiving a clean audit in the 2020-21 financial period as reported by the Auditor General of South Africa. This work aims to find an appropriate model for analysing and predicting audit outcomes for South African municipalities. The data used in the study include 1560 observations of which 55% were unqualified audit opinions. The features used are 13 financial ratios obtained from financial statements from years 2012 to 2018. Feature selection is performed using random forest, correlation analysis and stepwise regression analysis. The performances of three machine learning algorithms are compared; decision tree, artificial neural network (ANN) and logistic regression models. The findings indicate that ANN is the appropriate model for predicting audit opinions in South African municipalities with overall average area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.6918 and overall average area under the Precision–Recall curve of 0.7074 across all feature selection methods. In addition, debt to operating ratio, current ratio and net operating surplus margin are found to be the common three important financial ratios across the various feature selection techniques.
Usefulness of serum S100A4 and positron‐emission tomography on lung cancer accompanied by interstitial pneumonia

The S100 calcium‐binding protein A4 (S100A4) and the accumulation of [18F]‐fluoro‐2‐deoxy‐D‐glucose (FDG) in noncancerous interstitial pneumonia (IP) area are predictors of postoperative acute exacerbation (AE) of IP after pulmonary resection for lung cancer with IP. However, the significance of combining these markers for predicting short‐term outcome and long‐term prognosis is not known.
K3-50A: An Ultracompact H II Region Ionized by a Massive Stellar Cluster

We have made imaging and spectroscopic observations of the ultracompact H II region K3-50A with a spatial resolution of 0. ″4 using a new mid-infrared instrument, the Cooled Mid-Infrared Camera and Spectrometer, on the 8.2 m Subaru Telescope. The spectra show thermal dust emission, 9.7 μm silicate absorption, and fine-structure line emissions of [Ne II] at 12.8 μm, [Ar III] at 8.99 μm, and [S IV] at 10.51 μm. From the maps of the continuum, line emissions, and/or derived dust parameters, we identify eight mid-infrared sources in K3-50A. Especially the central [Ne II] emission has been resolved into two peaks clearly. The ionization condition is investigated with the line flux ratios I([Ar III])/I([Ne II]) and I([S IV])/I([Ne II]). It is suggested that the spectral types of the ionizing stars in K3-50A correspond to B0-O8 V, which is much later than O5.5 V, the type estimated from radio continuum observations under a single-star assumption. The three line fluxes suggest a number of Ne+ ions greater than what is ionized by a single star of any spectral type, but the numbers of Ar2+ and S3+ are similar to that formed by a single O8-O9 V star and that by a single O7-O9 V star, respectively. From these features as well as the dust temperature and the correspondence of each identified source with the near-infrared source, we propose that K3-50A is excited by at least two (possibly three) ionizing stars. This is the first convincing example that a massive stellar cluster is ionizing an ultracompact H II region.
Luminescent photoelastic coating image analysis and strain separation on a three-dimensional grid

The luminescent photoelastic coating (LPC) technique is an optical technique to measure the full-field strain on three-dimensional (3D) structural components. A luminescent dye within a photoelastic binder is excited with circular polarized light, and the corresponding coating emission intensity is detected via a digital camera for loaded and unloaded states of the specimen to which the coating is applied. Images are processed to find the relative change in emission with respect to camera analyzer position, and, subsequently, analyzed to determine maximum in-plane shear strain and the principal strain directions. For 3D structures with moderate movement or deflection in the field-of-view, especially when implementing an oblique excitation approach to separate the principal strains while accounting for non-strain related polarization changes due to surface inclination, the image analysis is preferably performed on a 3D grid. This study describes such an approach and discusses the analysis procedures to separate the principal strains and to obtain full-field strain distribution. The theoretical results are compared to experimental data from a 3D test specimen.
Intracavity frequency doubling of an InGaAs diode laser passively Q-switched with GaAs saturable absorber

A mathematical model describing the dynamic emission of the intracavity frequency doubling (IFD) of a Q-switched InGaAs/KTP diode laser with a GaAs saturable absorber has been developed. The suggested model describes the temporal behavior of the diode laser system, GaAs saturable absorber and the KTP crystal. This model allows studying the impact of the variations of the input pumping diode laser parameters on the characteristics of the IFD of a passive Q-switched InGaAs/KTP output pulse. The simulation shows that the effect of the two-photon absorption plays an important role in the formation of the output laser pulse. Moreover, the nonlinear losses in the GaAs wafer can limit the obtainable pulse power. The numerical calculations show that the Q-switching process eliminates the tail of the original diode laser pulse and gives single peak picosecond output pulses. A method for deduction of the rate equation parameters is presented. The rate equations can be resolved analytically using small-signal measurements. Moreover, a reduction of the unknown parameters has been described based on the treatment of the threshold of the steady-state and small-signal response methodology.
Effects of Dietary L-TRP on Immunity, Antioxidant Capacity and Intestinal Microbiota of the Chinese Mitten Crab (Eriocheir Sinensis) in Pond Culture

L-tryptophan (L-TRP) is an essential amino acid for the normal growth of crustaceans. As a nutritional supplement and antioxidant, L-TRP has the function of immune and antioxidant capacity regulation. From July to November, the effects of L-TRP on the immunity, antioxidant capacity and intestinal microflora of the Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) in pond culture were investigated. After feeding an L-TRP diet for 30 (named as August), 60 (named as September) and 106 (named as November) days, respectively, the activities of the immune and antioxidant enzymes in the hepatopancreas and hemolymph were evaluated, and the intestinal microbiota were profiled via high-throughput Illumina sequencing. The results showed that supplementation of L-TRP significantly increased the activities of AKP in the hepatopancreas in September, and significantly increased the activities of ACP in the hepatopancreas in August and September, and the hemolymph’s ACP activities also significantly increased in August and November (p < 0.05). Similarly, the activities of SOD, AOC and POD in the hepatopancreas significantly increased in September and November (p < 0.05) after feeding the L-TRP diet; meanwhile, the activities of SOD and AOC in the hemolymph also significantly increased in August (p < 0.05). However, in August, the L-TRP diet resulted in a significant increase in MDA activity in the hepatopancreas and hemolymph (p < 0.05). In addition, the results of the intestinal microbiota analysis showed that Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria were the dominant phyla in August, September and November, and Patescibacteria was the dominant phylum in September and November. After feeding the L-TRP diet, the richness of Cyanobacteria and Desulfobacterota significantly increased in August (p < 0.05), and the richness of Actinobacteriota significantly decreased in September (p < 0.05). Moreover, the L-TRP supplementation significantly reduced the abundance of ZOR0006 in the Firmicutes in September (p < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary L-TRP could improve the immunity and antioxidant ability and impact the intestinal health of E. sinensis at the early stage of pond culturing. However, long-term feeding of an L-TRP diet might have no positive impact on the activities of the immune, antioxidant enzymes and intestinal microbiota.
Classification of alluvial soils - problematic issues on the examples from South Baltic Lakelands, north Poland

Alluvial soils constitute a group of soils that is very diverse in terms of their genesis and what is the effect of it – most of properties, e.g. organic carbon content, features connected with ground or stag-nating water, development of B horizons or texture. It is also re ﬂ ected in their systematic position. Currently, the Polish Soil Classi ﬁ cation (PSC, 2019) distinguishes as many as 3 types of soils developed from ﬂ uvic materials: ordinary, chernozemic and brown alluvial soils. Some of soils with allu-vial sediments strongly in ﬂ uenced by water but without diagnostic horizons can be also classi ﬁ ed as gleysols or stagnosols. The aim of the article was to check the criteria and to verify completeness of units in the rank of types and subtypes for distinguishing alluvial soils in latest version of Polish Soil Classi ﬁ cation (PSC, 2019). The study was carried out in area covered by Vistulian glaciation in Northern Poland. 87 pro ﬁ les to the maximum depth of 210 cm were studied. 18 pedons belong to cher-nozemic alluvial soils, the most common type (48) was classi ﬁ ed as brown alluvial soils, ordinary alluvial soils occurred 11 times. Moreover, 7 pedons with ﬂ uvic material were classi ﬁ ed as gleysols. Other 3 soils represented organic and colluvial soils. Based on the conducted research some changes in Polish Soil Classi ﬁ cation have been proposed. They are regarding the minimum thickness of ﬂ u-vic materials for classifying alluvial soils, the revision of the humus subtype, the introduction of the type of gleyzemic alluvial soils in gleyzemic order or subtype of alluvial soils in type of gleysols and subtype of waterlogged soils in chernozemic alluvial soil type. The article also addresses important issues of the origin and classi ﬁ cation of B horizons in the studied soils, and con ﬁ rmed signi ﬁ cant usefulness of soil-agricultural maps in determining the places of occurrence of alluvial soils.
An Improved Fuzzy C-Means Clustering Algorithm and Application in Meteorological Data

The fuzzy clustering algorithm is sensitive to the m value and the degree of membership. Because of the deficiencies of traditional FCM clustering algorithm, we made specific improvement. Through the calculation of the value of m, the amendments of degree of membership to the discussion of issues, effectively compensate for the deficiencies of the traditional algorithm and achieve a relatively good clustering effect. Finally, through the analysis of temperature observation data of the three northeastern province of china in 2000, the reasonableness of the method is verified.
Effect of attractor on the desynchronization events in coupled chaotic circuits

The phenomenon of attractor bubbling consists in incomplete or imperfect synchronization between two coupled chaotic oscillators, which synchronization regime is broken for brief escapes of different sizes.Here, we use as oscillators two chaotic electronic circuits coupled through unidirectional linear feedback in the regime of moderate coupling to study the occurrence of attractor bubbling in this system. For two different dynamical states, the system exhibits different chaotic attractors. Analysing temporal series, we build empirical distributions of the amplitudes of desynchronization events for different values of the coupling parameter. We observe that in the regime of attractor bubbling the distributions are characterized by a heavy tail, bearing similarity to the ones observed in complex systems with self-organized criticality. A given heavy-tailed distribution is exhibited by the two chaotic states for different coupling strengths. We explain this effect of the attractor shape on the statistics of the desynchronization as caused by a region of instability, which is more often visited for one of the attractors than it is by the other.
Performance Analysis and Optimization of a Single-Barrier Solid-State Thermionic Refrigerator With External Heat Transfer

A model of a single-barrier solid-state thermionic refrigerator with external heat transfer is established in this paper. The performance of the refrigerator is analyzed and optimized by using the combination of finite-time thermodynamics and nonequilibrium thermodynamics. The general expressions for cooling load and coefficient of performance (COP) of the refrigerator are derived. The optimum regions of cooling load and COP are obtained and the effects of the heat reservoir temperature and thermal conductance of the barrier material on the performance of the refrigerator are analyzed by detailed numerical examples. The results obtained are compared with those obtained by using traditional analysis without considering external heat transfer. For the fixed total heat transfer surface area of two heat exchangers, the ratios of the heat transfer surface area of the hot-side heat exchanger to the total heat transfer surface area of the heat exchangers are optimized for maximizing the cooling load and COP of the refrigerator, respectively. The effects of the total heat transfer surface area and the applied voltage on the optimum performance of the refrigerator are analyzed. The results obtained herein may provide some theoretical guidelines for the design and application of practical solid-state thermionic refrigerators.
Effective hybrid PSO and K-means clustering algorithm for gene expression data

DNA micro-array technology helps monitor the expression levels of thousands of genes. This paper presents clustering of gene expression data using particle swarm optimisation (PSO) and K-means algorithm combined. Recent studies have shown that partition-based clustering algorithms are more suitable for clustering large datasets. Partition-based K-means is used mostly because of its simple implementation and fast convergence. But it suffers local optima. PSO is a population-based stochastic search process, which searches automatically for the optimal solution in the search space. So, it is combined with K-means algorithm for clustering. In the previous PSO employing papers, particles flock at boundary. Our technique removes boundary blocks by moving the boundary particles towards the global best particle to improve effectiveness of PSO. The results of hybrid PSO, K-means and PSO algorithms are compared for several datasets. Among the three algorithms, the hybrid PSO algorithm performs well for most of the datasets.
Estimation of Fiber Orientation and Length in Fiber Assemblies

General formulas are derived for the estimation of fiber orientation and distribution in fiber assemblies whose constituent fibers are arbitrarily crimped. It is found that the density function of orientation can be estimated by solving an integral equation which relates it to the average numbers of fiber cross sections formed on the unit areas of randomly positioned and variously-oriented secant planes. The formula is: ν(Θ, Φ) = L ∫π 0 dθ ∫π 0 dϕ. 1(θ, ϕ; Θ, Φ)Ω(θ. ϕ) sin θ , where L is the total length of the fibers in a unit volume, Ω(θ, ϕ) sin θ is the density function of fiber orientation, ν Θ, Φ is the areal density of the number of intersections formed by a secant plane with an orientation of (Θ, Φ), and 1 θ, ϕ; Θ,Φ is defined as | sin θ sin Θ cos(ϕ - Φ) + cosθ cos Φ. It is shown also that the total fiber length can be calculated by two methods.