Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessing the potential for avifauna recovery in degraded forests in Indonesia

Continuing disappearance and degradation of primary tropical rainforests in Indonesia, and the ongoing conversion of degraded forest to monoculture plantations, threaten many bird species with local extinction. Yet, information on bird populations from the Sundaic region, which covers western Indonesia, is generally lacking, limiting our understanding of species responses to disturbance, extinction risks, and potential ways to counteract local species extinction processes. On the Indonesian island of Sumatra, bird density information is only known from two studies (on four hornbill species and one pheasant species). Here, we compare bird densities between less degraded and highly degraded forests within the Harapan Rainforest Ecosystem Restoration Concession in Sumatra. From a total of 148 bird species recorded, densities were calculated for 47 species with the highest encounter rate, 33 of which were recorded in forests of both disturbance levels, allowing comparisons to be made. We found five species with higher densities in the highly degraded forest and seven species with higher densities in the less degraded forest. While our species-specific results were generally consistent with previous biological insights, there were exceptions, such as a species previously considered to be sensitive to habitat degradation, the sootycapped babbler Malacopteron affine, being more abundant in the highly degraded forest. Our study revealed that despite its condition, degraded forest retains much value for Sumatran lowland forest birds, providing a compelling argument for securing its important conservation status under improved management, rather than assigning it for clearance as typically happens.
HER 2-positive Luminal B breast cancer according to the clinicopathological features : a population-based study from SEER program

This is the population-based study to analyze the prognostic value of the clinicopathological features in HER2-positive Luminal B-subtype breast cancer. Using the 2010-2012 Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) data, a retrospective, population-based cohort study to investigate the clinicopathological features in the overall survival (OS) and breast cancer-specific mortality (BCSM) in HER2-positive Luminal B subtype. Different characteristics, overall survival, breast cancer-specific mortality were compared. There were 16,662 patients with breast cancer (141 male; 16,521 female). Compared with females, males were more likely to be older, black (each P < 0.01). Male patients also showed lower grade, more advanced stages, larger tumor size and more lymph nodes metastasis (each P < 0.05). Males also were less likely to receive radiation compared with females (P < 0.01). Univariate analysis showed that a general decrease in OS in those patients who presented with age ≥ 50 years, black, male, more advanced stage and bilateral sides at diagnosis, had lower grade, larger size, more lymph nodes and distant metastasis, and those who did not receive radiation. In contrast, multivariate Cox analyses confirmed the independent prognostic significance of age at diagnosis, stage, tumor size and distant metastasis. Sex did not reach significance with this test. The similar results also performed in BCSM. We observed significant differences in patient characteristics according to age at diagnosis and race. In addition to tumor stage, tumor size and distant metastasis had clear influence on OS and BCSM in HER2-positive Luminal B.
Exploiting parallelism in 3D object recognition using the Connection Machine

The authors show how data parallelism can be exploited at various stages in the recognition and localization of 3D objects from range data. These stages are edge detection, segmentation, feature extraction; matching, and pose determination. Qualitative classification of surfaces based on the signs of the mean and Gaussian curvature is used to come up with dihedral feature junctions as features for matching and pose determination. Dihedral feature junctions are shown to be fairly robust to occlusion and offer a viewpoint-independent modeling technique for the curved objects under consideration. This offers a considerable saving in terms of storing the object models as compared to the viewpoint-dependent modeling techniques which need to store multiple views of a single object model. Dihedral feature junctions are quite easy to extract and do not require very elaborate segmentation. Experimental results on the Connection Machine showed the advantages of exploiting parallelism in 3D object recognition. <<ETX>>
NHS England Evidence review : Immediate initiation of anti-retroviral therapy

s relating to further analyses from the START trial recently presented at an international HIV conference were included in the discussion but their outcomes were excluded from the evidence tables as they have not undergone peer review process (Molina et al., 2016; Arenas-Pinto et al., 2016). Several randomized studies have assessed the benefits and risks of ‘early’ ART but they have largely enrolled patients with CD4 counts significantly lower than 500 cells/mm. In such studies, deferred-ART has been defined as ART initiation at CD4 counts of 200 or 250 cells/mm. Two systematic reviews/meta-analysis were identified: a 2009 Cochrane systematic review of RCTs comparing the effect of ‘early ART initiation’ in treatment naïve HIV positive individuals to deferred ART initiation at CD4 > 200 cell/mm or as defined by the trial (Siegfried et al., 2010). This review identified two trials involving 1,065 individuals; both studies defined “early ART” as ART initiated at CD4 of 350 cells/mm compared to deferred ART at CD4 of 250 cells/mm. The authors found evidence of moderate quality that initiating ART at CD4 levels > 250 cells/mm reduced mortality rates in asymptomatic ART naïve HIV positive people. Anglemeyer et al, conducted a systematic review of RCTs and cohort studies to support the revision of the 2013 WHO guidelines for ART initiation in low and middle-income countries (Anglemeyer et al., 2014), although the quality of the evidence was low, this systematic review identified 24 studies including 3 RCTs that reported reduced risks of mortality, reduced risk of progression to AIDS or death and diagnosis of non-AIDS defining illness in individuals starting ART at CD4 counts of at least 350 cells/mm; one good quality RCT included in this review reported no difference in
Will organic thermoelectrics get hot?

The generally low energy density from most heat sources—the Sun, Earth as well as most human activities—implies that solid-state thermoelectric devices are the most versatile heat harvesters since, unlike steam engines, they can be used on a small scale and at small temperature differences. In this opinion piece, we first discuss the materials requirements for the widespread use of thermoelectrics. We argue that carbon-based materials, such as conducting polymers and carbon nanotubes, are particularly suited for large area and low-temperature operation applications, as they are abundant, low-toxicity and easy to process. We combine experimentally observed macro-trends and basic thermoelectric relations to evaluate the major performance limitations of this technology thus far and propose a number of avenues to take the thermoelectric efficiency of organic materials beyond the state of the art. First, we emphasize how charge carrier mobility, rather than charge density, is currently limiting performance, and discuss how to improve mobility by exploiting anisotropy, high persistence length materials and composites with long and well-dispersed carbon nanotubes. We also show that reducing thermal conductivity could double efficiency while reducing doping requirements. Finally, we discuss several ways in which composites could further boost performance, introducing the concept of interface engineering to produce phonon stack-electron tunnel composites. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Energy materials for a low carbon future'.
Research of Hierarchical Intrusion Detection Model Based on Discrete Cellular Neural Networks

In this paper, a new method of hierarchical intrusion detection algorithm based on the Discrete Cellular Neural Networks (HDCNN) is put forward to solve the problems of low accuracy and slow speed in the existing intrusion detection algorithm. In order to obtain the template parameters for the HDCNN classifier, we use energy function constraint method to construct a new particle swarm optimization fitness function, jumping out the premature convergence. Emerging evidence has indicated that this new approach is affordable to parallelism and analog VLSI implementation. Experimental results and comparative studies based on the KDD cup 99 data sets are given, show that the proposed model exhibits an excellent performance owing to the higher attack detection rate and shorter processing time.
Testing Bioimpedance to Estimate Body Fat Percentage across Different Hip and Waist Circumferences

Many studies have validated the use of bioimpedance analysis (BIA) to quantify body fat percentage (BF%). However, it is unknown if some model types (i.e., hand to hand, foot to foot, and hand to foot) are differing in their validity depending on hip and waist circumferences. The purpose of this study was to compare the difference in BF% between three BIA models (i.e., hand to hand, foot to foot, and hand to foot) against the Bod Pod across different hip and waist circumferences. A total of 92 people aged 19-72 years were recruited in this study. After following the pretesting procedures recommended for BIA measures, BF% was estimated using three BIA models and the Bod Pod. Hip and waist circumferences were obtained using standard procedures and tertiles were computed. The Bland-Altman was plotted and 1-sample T-test as well as correlation between the average measure and the difference between the two measures was tested. Within the entire sample, across all BIA models, the Bland-Altman analysis showed significant difference compared to 0 and a significant difference for the proportional. However, when stratified by tertiles, the two measurements were only significant for the highest tertiles of hip and waist for all BIA apparatus (all p <0.01) and the proportional bias was nonsignificant for all tertiles and across all BIA apparatus. For the highest tertile of waist and hip, the average difference was between 1.67% and 3.29% compared with the Bod Pod estimation. In conclusion, the three BIA models offer a BF% measurement agreeing with the estimation obtained with the Bod Pod with the exception of people having a greater waist or greater hip.
Ethanolic Extract of Senna velutina Roots: Chemical Composition, In Vitro and In Vivo Antitumor Effects, and B16F10-Nex2 Melanoma Cell Death Mechanisms

Cutaneous melanoma is among the most aggressive types of cancer, and its rate of occurrence increases every year. Current pharmacological treatments for melanoma are not completely effective, requiring the identification of new drugs. As an alternative, plant-derived natural compounds are described as promising sources of new anticancer drugs. In this context, the objectives of this study were to identify the chemical composition of the ethanolic extract of Senna velutina roots (ESVR), to assess its in vitro and in vivo antitumor effects on melanoma cells, and to characterize its mechanisms of action. For these purposes, the chemical constituents were identified by liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry. The in vitro activity of the extract was assessed in the B16F10-Nex2 melanoma cell line using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and based on the apoptotic cell count; DNA fragmentation; necrostatin-1 inhibition; intracellular calcium, pan-caspase, and caspase-3 activation; reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels; and cell cycle arrest. The in vivo activity of the extract was assessed in models of tumor volume progression and pulmonary nodule formation in C57Bl/6 mice. The chemical composition results showed that ESVR contains flavonoid derivatives of the catechin, anthraquinone, and piceatannol groups. The extract reduced B16F10-Nex2 cell viability and promoted apoptotic cell death as well as caspase-3 activation, with increased intracellular calcium and ROS levels as well as cell cycle arrest at the sub-G0/G1 phase. In vivo, the tumor volume progression and pulmonary metastasis of ESVR-treated mice decreased over 50%. Combined, these results show that ESVR had in vitro and in vivo antitumor effects, predominantly by apoptosis, thus demonstrating its potential as a therapeutic agent in the treatment of melanoma and other types of cancer.
Diagnostic Radiation Exposure in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Background Because of the chronic and relapsing nature of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which often requires characterization with CT scan, IBD patients might be exposed to a large amount of radiation. As a cumulative effective dose (CED) ≥ 100 mSv is considered significant for stochastic risks of cancer, it is important to monitor and control the radiation exposure of the IBD patients. In the present work, we aimed to quantify the mean CED in IBD patients to assess any harmful effects of radiation. Methods This study includes 200 IBD patients, identified retrospectively, from the outpatient clinics of the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal between January 1, 2010, and February 15, 2017, from the gastroenterologists' patients lists. The number and type of each radiology test performed were listed for each patient during the study period and the CED was calculated using our institution's dose index when available and standardized tables. Results Among the 200 IBD patients, 157 patients had Crohn's disease (CD), 41 had ulcerative colitis (UC), and 2 had indeterminate colitis. The mean CED for IBD patients was 23.1 ± 45.2 mSv during a mean follow-up duration of 4.3 years. CED was higher among patients with CD than with UC (27.5 ± 49.5 versus 6.8 ± 14.8 mSv; p<0.01). Six patients were exposed to a high CED (>100 mSv) and all had CD. Conclusion While potentially harmful levels of radiation exposure are of concern in only a small number of patients, strategies to limit such exposure are encouraged when clinically appropriate.
ACME: An e-learning platform including desirable features for engineering courses

In this article we present a set of functionalities that we consider to be of fundamental importance for an e-learning platform that has to be applied in the context of engineering studies. As a practical case we describe the ACME platform, highlighting the automatic generation and assignation of problems with open solutions, the on-line correction and feed-back to the students, the automatic assessment of problems and the final assessment of students work. ACME has been used in the University of Girona in Spain, during the last years. The results, both qualitatively as well as quantitatively, confirm us that the application of the platform improves academic outcomes and also the learning process of the students. As a conclusion it can be said that elearning platforms that provide the described functionalities are suitable for engineering studies and overcome the main limitations of standard platforms.
Rupiah: Towards an Expressive Static Type System for Java

Programming languages, data management, and security. Specific topics include bidirectional languages, domain-specific languages, data synchronization, updatable views, view maintenance, security views, information-flow, confidentiality, integrity, provenance, XML, regular types, dependent types, hybrid type checking, logic, formal methods, mechanized proof, model transformations, software engineering.
Laterally positioned flap with chorion membrane for coverage of isolated gingival miller class III recession

The treatment of gingival recession (GR) defects is indicated for esthetic reasons, to reduce root sensitivity, to remove muscle pull, and to create or augment keratinized tissue. Various root coverage procedures have been used to cover localized GRs, such as laterally repositioned flaps (LPF), coronally advanced flaps, free gingival grafts, connective tissue pedicle flaps with a free gingival graft, subepithelial connective tissue grafts, acellular dermal matrix allografts, and guided tissue regeneration. The predictability of these perioplastic surgery procedures may be associated with different conditions, especially the initial recession classification. This report discusses Miller Class III isolated GR case with interproximal bone loss and wide and deep defects treated with a combination procedure of an LPF and chorion membrane.
Vehicle type classification from visual-based dimension estimation

This paper presents a visual-based dimension estimation method for vehicle type classification. Our method extracts moving vehicles from traffic image sequences and fits them with a simple deformable vehicle model. Using a set of coordination mapping functions derived from a calibrated camera model and relying on a shadow removal method, vehicle's width, length and height are estimated. Our experimental tests show that the modeling method is effective and the estimation accuracy is sufficient for general vehicle type classification.
A Secure Cloud Storage System with Secure Data Forwarding

CLOUD computing presents a new way to enhancement the current utilize and delivery model for IT services based on the Internet, by providing for dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources as a service over the Internet. To date, there are a number of notable commercial and individual cloud computing services, including Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Sales force [19]. Details of the services provided are abstracted from the users who no longer need to be experts of technology infrastructure. A novel highly decentralized information accountability framework to keep track of the actual usage of the users’ data in the cloud. In particular, an object-centered approach that enables enclosing our logging mechanism together with users’ data and policies. We leverage the JAR programmable capabilities to both create a dynamic and traveling object, and to ensure that any access to users’ data will trigger authentication and automated logging local to the JARs. In our proposed system we address the problem of forwarding data to another user by storage servers directly under the command of the data owner. We consider the system model that consists of distributed storage servers and key servers. Since storing cryptographic keys in a single device is risky, a user distributes his cryptographic key to key servers that shall perform cryptographic functions on behalf of the user. These key servers are highly protected by security mechanisms. The distributed systems require independent servers to perform all operations. We propose a new threshold proxy re-encryption scheme and integrate it with a secure decentralized code to form a secure distributed storage system. The encryption scheme supports encoding operations over encrypted messages and forwarding operations over encrypted and encoded messages.
On Regional Convergence in a Transitional Economy: The Roles of Migration and Wages/Zur Konvergenz von Regionen: Die Bedeutung von Migration und Lohnentwicklung

T h e convergence o f different national economies or different regions within one economy has emerged as one of the m a j o r topics in economic research 1) . Mot ivat ion for this kind o f research may have been originated in severe regional discrepancies during recessions as they occur in the United States between the northeastern and the southern states. However recent political and economic developments in Europe even increase their importance in a far broader aspect. In western Europe members of the E C and E F T A strive for a single market and a currency union. Such a goal can be reached and maintained only if the participating economies converge at least to some extent . Otherwise a European economic union will never show stability. Even more urgent, to avoid ma jor economic and social problems is the beginning of a convergence process between Eastern and Western Europe. T h e huge welfare gap between so closely located regions must lead to considerable social and economic tensions. Furthermore albeit to a lower extent, the transition process between Eastand West Germany also creates its convergence problems. There are t w o regions with considerable differences in key economic variables, which now belong to one single economy. This paper mainly addresses the latter convergence phenomena. A lot o f issues discussed below may have a close connect ion of problems caused by unification in Germany. However, the model setting is not yet sophisticated enough to grasp all features o f the unification procces like e.g. the impact of public transfers, to be mechanically applied on Germany. Hence the paper describes two abstract regions rather than both parts of Germany. T h e predominant intention is to investigate the effects o f migration and wages on the convergence process between two regions with fundamental differences. These show up particulary by regional gaps of output per capita, productivity and market shares. T o capture these impacts a small model is set up
The Nonstationarity of German Aggregate Output/Die Nicht-Stationarität der deutschen Gesamtproduktion

Since the seminal study by Nelson and Plosser (1982) the question of whether macro economic variables have a unit root has received a lot of attention. The most important implication of the existence of a unit root is that innovations are not transitory but permanent. This notion runs contrary to the belief that many time series can be described as fluctuating around a more or less stable growth path. Using quarterly data Wolters (1992) has recently presented evidence for Germany for the period 1961 to 1990, which suggests that output exhibits a high degree of persistence. Using annual data for the period 1870-1989 we find much less support for persistence of output. In the literature two methods have been used to examine the stationarity of output: parametric and non-parametric tests. Using a (modified) Dickey-Fuller approach, Perron and Phillips (1987), Perron (1988), and Schwert (1987) among others, have reached conclusions similar to those of Nelson and Plosser (1982). On the other hand, De Long and Summers (1988) have found that U.S. output can be described as a stationary autoregressive process. Cochrane (1988), using a non-parametric approach, has shown that the transient part of U.S. GNP is of much more importance than the permanent part. However, Campbel and Mankiw (1987a,b) reach opposite results. Perron (1989) argues that standard tests of the unit root hypothesis against trend stationary alternatives are biased if the true data generating process is that of stationary fluctuations around a trend function which contains a one-time break. In this paper we will examine the stationarity of GDP per capita for Germany using both the parametric and the non-parametric approach. We will follow the procedure suggested by Perron (1989), which allows for a one-time break in both the level and/or the slope of the trend function. Since Perron has been criticized for choosing the break dates by visual inspection, we have followed a method suggested by Christiano (1992) to determine the break date endogenously. We also examine the sensitivity of this procedure. We focus on the longest possible sample period, since Shiller and Perron (1985) have shown that the power of unit roots tests depends more on the span of available data than on the number of observations.