Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Synergy of the (Campus) Commons: Integrating Campus-Based Team Projects in an Introductory Sustainability Course

Faculty and staff at Duke have collaborated to teach a one-semester, introductory, undergraduate course on sustainability ten times over 12 years, including both theoretical and applied project-based content. This article describes the overall process and rhythm of the course, and provides a unique contribution by summarizing our process to accomplish on-campus sustainability projects where three- to five-person student teams collaborate with on-campus clients throughout the semester, researching questions posed by the client, and ultimately providing recommendations. The faculty/staff partnership on the instructional team permits five to six projects to be designed each year, with a much broader array of clients and authentic research questions than could be envisioned by an academic faculty member alone. Having a strong connection with the Sustainable Duke staff provides the trust with other staff on campus that project results can endure past the semester time period if warranted.
Sharp tuning of head direction by somatosensory fast-spiking interneurons

Head direction (HD) information is intricately linked to spatial navigation and cognition. We recently reported the co-existence of all currently recognized spatial cell types can be found in the hindlimb primary somatosensory cortex (S1HL). In this study, we carried out an in-depth characterization of HD cells in S1HL. We show fast-spiking (FS), putative inhibitory neurons are over-represented in and sharply tuned to HD compared to regular-spiking (RS), putative excitatory neurons. These FS HD cells are non-conjunctive, rarely theta modulated, not locally connected and are enriched in layer 4/5a. Their co-existence with RS HD cells and angular head velocity (AHV) cells in a layer-specific fashion through the S1HL presents a previously unreported organization of spatial circuits. These findings challenge the notion that FS, putative inhibitory interneurons are weakly tuned to external stimuli in general and present a novel local network configuration not reported in other parts of the brain.
End-to-End Speech Recognition on Conversations

Processing of conversations is a core technique in conversational AI. However, current speech recognition solutions, even the state-of-the-art systems, model a single, isolated utterance, not an entire conversation. These systems are therefore unable to use potentially important contextual information that spans across multiple utterances or speakers in a conversation. This thesis focuseson designing an End-to-End speech recognition system that processes entire conversations. To achieve this goal, I propose three novel techniques: 1) an efficient way to preserve long conversational contexts by creating a context encoder that maps spoken utterance histories to a singlecontext vector; 2) an effective way to integrate conversational contexts into End-to-End modelsusing a gating mechanism; and 3) various methods to encode conversational contexts by using previously spoken utterances and augmenting with world knowledge using external linguistic resources (e.g. BERT, fastText). I show accuracy improvements with three different large corpora,Switchboard (300 hours), Fisher (2,000 hours), and Medical conversation (1,700 hours), and share the analysis to demonstrate the effectiveness of my approach. This thesis will provide insight into designing conversational speech recognition systems and spoken language understandingsystems, which are becoming increasingly important as voice-driven device interfaces become mainstream.
From EFL classroom language to classroom lexicon: Importing formulaic story language into teacher talk

This paper reports on a language activity carried out in an Italian University with student teachers attending a primary education course. The activity was designed to train them to use authentic children’s picturebooks as a source for EFL language learning. It consisted of identifying and ‘noticing’ (Mackey 2006) multiword expressions and ready-made utterances in a number of authentic picturebooks and simulating instances of weaving the picturebook language into the fabric of daily classroom talk. Following the activity, the students wrote individual pieces of reflective writing describing their experience. Comments by student teachers assessed the use of picturebook-derived formulaic language on both their learning and perceived ability to teach English, and revealed much about their pedagogical perspectives on teacher talk. Results suggest that promoting the use of authentic and meaningful language in context can help student teachers conceive of classroom communication as lexicon (a shared communicative practice the rules of which are fully known only by a restricted community of speakers) rather than mere language-based interaction
Epidemiologic and Clinical Profiles of Uterine Cancer in the Gharbiah Province of Egypt

Epidemiologic and Clinical Profiles of Uterine Cancer in the Gharbiah Province of Egypt Saad Alshahrani, Ph.D. University of Nebraska Medical Center, 2017 Supervisor: Amr Soliman, M.D, Ph.D. Background: Uterine cancer is one of the top-ranking cancers of women with wide international variations in incidence rates. Egypt has a lower incidence of uterine cancer than other countries in the Middle East. In addition to the international incidence variation, there are also wide variations in incidence by rural and urban areas within countries. Therefore, this research project focused on the Gharbiah province, north of Cairo in the Nile Delta, with the aims of investigating demographic and clinical characteristics of uterine cancer, assessing rural/urban variation in incidence rates, and evaluating the possible role of hysterectomy in under-estimating the disease incidence in this population. Methods: Uterine cancer data of 660 cases were obtained from the Gharbiah Populationbased Cancer Registry in Gharbiah, Egypt during the period 1999-2010. The hysterectomy data of 1040 cases were abstracted from the main pathologic labs over the entire region. The Egypt 2006 data census was used to determine the total population of Gharbiah and the rural and urban subgroups. Crude, age-standardized (ASR), and agespecific rates were calculated and associated with demographic and clinical characteristics of patients. The uterine cancer incidence preand postadjustment for hysterectomy prevalence were compared and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated.
Efficacy of Unani formulation and Roghan-e-Dhatura in Adhesive Capsulitis: An open labeled interventional study

Background and Objectives: Adhesive Capsulitis (AC) is commonly known as Frozen Shoulder Syndrome (FSS) is a condition characterized by intense shoulder pain, gradual fibrosis of the glenohumeral joint that causes a limited range of motion, and contracture of the glenohumeral joint capsule. The disease peaks between 40 and 70 years of age and 10 to 36% of the individuals with Diabetes mellitus are mostly affected followed by Hypothyroidism and Hyperthyroidism. In conventional medicine it is being treated with pharmacologically, non-pharmacologically and with surgery. In Unani system of medicine AC is considered as a type of articular disease and treated according to the principles of Amraz-e-Mafasil with drugs and regimens. In this study a Unani formulation and Roghan-eDahtura is selected to validate its indication as effective in painful joints. Methods: This study was conducted as an open labeled interventional without control pre and post analysis on 30 patients with oral Unani formulation (Sibr, Halela Zard, Suranjan Sheerin, Saqmooniya and Aabe Mako) and local application of Roghan-e-Dhatura for 28 days with follow ups on, 7, 14, 21 and 28 day. The pre and post treatment effects were assessed objectively with VAS, SPADI. Results: The study outcome measured with mean and standard deviation in VAS, before treatment 8.33±0.55 and after treatment 2.23±0.73, with p value < 0.001 and SPADI 76.51±2.80 and 16.61±6.87, found statistically highly significant with p value <0.001 with Tukey-Kramer Multiple comparisons and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Interpretation & Conclusion: This study shows clinically and statistically significant difference in ameliorating the symptoms of adhesive capsulitis without any adverse effect. Therefore, it can be concluded that the test drugs are safe and effective in management of adhesive capsulitis symptoms.
Recent immigrants alter the quantitative genetic architecture of paternity in song sparrows

Quantifying additive genetic variances and cross‐sex covariances in reproductive traits, and identifying processes that shape and maintain such (co)variances, is central to understanding the evolutionary dynamics of reproductive systems. Gene flow resulting from among‐population dispersal could substantially alter additive genetic variances and covariances in key traits in recipient populations, thereby altering forms of sexual conflict, indirect selection, and evolutionary responses. However, the degree to which genes imported by immigrants do in fact affect quantitative genetic architectures of key reproductive traits and outcomes is rarely explicitly quantified. We applied structured quantitative genetic analyses to multiyear pedigree, pairing, and paternity data from free‐living song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) to quantify the differences in mean breeding values for major sex‐specific reproductive traits, specifically female extra‐pair reproduction and male paternity loss, between recent immigrants and the previously existing population. We thereby quantify effects of natural immigration on the means, variances, and cross‐sex covariance in total additive genetic values for extra‐pair paternity arising within the complex socially monogamous but genetically polygynandrous reproductive system. Recent immigrants had lower mean breeding values for male paternity loss, and somewhat lower values for female extra‐pair reproduction, than the local recipient population, and would therefore increase the emerging degree of reproductive fidelity of social pairings. Furthermore, immigration increased the variances in total additive genetic values for these traits, but decreased the magnitudes of the negative cross‐sex genetic covariation and correlation below those evident in the existing population. Immigration thereby increased the total additive genetic variance but could decrease the magnitude of indirect selection acting on sex‐specific contributions to paternity outcomes. These results demonstrate that dispersal and resulting immigration and gene flow can substantially affect quantitative genetic architectures of complex local reproductive systems, implying that comprehensive theoretical and empirical efforts to understand mating system dynamics will need to incorporate spatial population processes.
Predicting environmental risk of transmission of leptospirosis

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease distributed worldwide, caused by contact with the spirochete bacteria Leptospira. The bacteria are transmitted when animal and human reservoirs come into contact with an environment contaminated with the urine of an infected animal. The ecology of leptospirosis includes complex interactions between the environmental reservoir, the animal reservoir, human infection and the bacteria. Most of the knowledge built up about leptospirosis and human infection is related to medical epidemiology and the animal reservoir. In this thesis, some of the main issues related to the dynamics of Leptospira in the environment were explored and tools were developed to improve understanding of the dynamics of the bacteria in the environment. In order to improve parameter estimation related to the dynamics of the bacteria in the environment, some major gaps were identified and techniques to fill those gaps improved. The first technique developed was to improve animal abundance estimation using removal methods. The improvement of the technique showed that animal abundance could be estimated more accurately and precisely while also being robust to intrinsic variation. This method will provide a more accurate estimation of the level of environmental contamination by rats. Although models that estimate bacterial survival in the environment exist, no models specifically looked at the survivability of leptospires within the environment. Therefore, a survival model was developed that could estimate survival rates of leptospires in microcosms designed to replicate natural environments. The results provided very insightful results that can help planning the duration and frequency of an environmental intervention. Water has been shown to be very relevant for the transmission of human leptospirosis, where rainfall has been associated with infections in endemic regions. The last two studies developed here explored different hydrological techniques in order to produce fine scale environmental risk maps which can be used in disease management. The results obtained here demonstrated in particular the role of multidisciplinary research. Here, the research produced an improvement of the knowledge in different areas such as population ecology, microbiology, hydrology and public health.
Performance Evaluation of an Electromagnetic Free Piston Compressor Without Permanent Magnets

The performance of a linear free piston gas compressor is investigated in this study. Two compressor pistons are mounted on a robust reciprocating cage mover, which is driven by a double-stator linear induction machine. Since the beginning of the 21st century, many permanent-magnet machines were investigated due to their high power density and efficiency. Less attention has been paid to linear induction machines (LIMs) that stand out through the fact that they do not require expensive rare-earth magnets, and moreover, they are insensitive to strong magnetic fields, high temperatures, and harsh working conditions. This enables them to be used with corrosive media, e.g., for a hydrogen compressor. Therefore, a prototype of a potentially more robust electromagnetic free piston gas compressor was built. It is evaluated on two test benches: First, the LIM is tested with a load motor that enables the measurement of the mechanical output power, and second, the free piston gas compressor is tested with ambient air and the discharge pressure and output flow rate are measured. The electrical power consumption, the mechanical output power of the linear motor, and the pneumatic output power of the free piston compressor are determined for various operating conditions. The measurement results are presented and the average cycle efficiencies are calculated. Moreover, the average cycle power losses of the LIM are analyzed.
Brain Coding of Social Network Structure

Humans have large social networks, with hundreds of interacting individuals. How does the brain represent the complex connectivity structure of these networks? Here we used social media (Facebook) data to objectively map participants' real-life social networks. We then used representational similarity analysis (RSA) of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) activity patterns to investigate the neural coding of these social networks as participants reflected on each individual. We found coding of social network distances in the default-mode network (medial prefrontal, medial parietal, and lateral parietal cortices). When using partial correlation RSA to control for other factors that can be correlated to social distance (personal affiliation, personality traits. and visual appearance, as subjectively rated by the participants), we found that social network distance information was uniquely coded in the retrosplenial complex, a region involved in spatial processing. In contrast, information on individuals' personal affiliation to the participants and personality traits was found in the medial parietal and prefrontal cortices, respectively. These findings demonstrate a cortical division between representations of non-self-referenced (allocentric) social network structure, self-referenced (egocentric) social distance, and trait-based social knowledge. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Each of us has a social network composed of hundreds of individuals, with different characteristics and different relations among them. How does our brain represent this complexity? To find out, we mapped participants' social connections using Facebook data and then asked them to think about individuals from their network while undergoing functional MRI scanning. We found that the position of individuals within the social network, as well as their affiliation to the participant, are mapped in the retrosplenial complex, a region involved in spatial processing. Individuals' personality traits were coded in another region, the medial prefrontal cortex. Our findings demonstrate a neural dissociation among different aspects of social knowledge and suggest a link between spatial and social cognitive mapping.
Nuclear Medicine is the Best Approach for Detecting Coronary Artery Disease: From JSNC 2016 Evening Seminar

Diagnostic modalities including SPECT and CT are both useful for detecting coronary artery disease. Physiological and anatomical approaches are two sides of same coin. In a twist of irony, increasing of CT angiography and decreasing of SPECT field in Japan would be associated with in appropriate coronary interventions in terms of American appropriate use criteria of coronary interventions. Quantification of perfusion abnormality and myocardial flow reserve using dedicated CZT gamma camera would make it possible to identify the patients, in whom interventions may improve the long-term prognosis. Recent publication reported that initial non-invasive diagnostic modalities (SPECT or CT) did not affect patients’ outcome. Medical economical approach should be taken into account for the selection of those two modalities in future.
Risk Factors, Management and Outcomes of Drug Induced Hepatic Injury among Adult Patients with Liver Disease at Kenyatta National Hospital

Background: Globally, liver injury due to medicines is a growing medical, scientific and public health problem. Over the past two decades, reports from World Health Organization have shown that there has been a rising number of patients with drug induced liver disease. Published literature on the local prevalence of possible drug-induced liver disease cases, associated risk factors as well as management of these conditions remains scanty. Study Objectives: To assess drug induced liver disease in adult patients with liver disease with respect to the prevalence, risk factors, management and outcomes. Study Design: A cross-sectional survey of adult patients with liver disease. Study Area: Kenyatta National Hospital Liver Clinic and Medical Wards. Study Population: Four hundred and eighty five patients (485) aged 18 years and above, with diagnosed liver disease who met the study inclusion criteria. Methods: Patients attending the liver clinic were recruited consecutively as they came for their appointments. Those in the medical wards were selected consecutively using the admission list and then followed into the wards using their names and patient numbers. Results: There were slightly more males, at 257(53.1%), than females. The mean age of the study participants was 41.4 years (± 14.1). Majority of patients (59.8%) had hepatocellular injury and presented with elevated liver enzymes (97 %) and jaundice (78.4 %). The most frequently used and suspected drug causing liver disease among patients was alcohol at 37.7 %. However, the use of antiretrovirals (OR=0.31; 95 % CI: 0.17-0.57; p=0.05) and alcohol (OR=0.56; 95 % CI: 0.35-0.89; p=0.05) increased the likelihood of having an admission, relapse or death among patients by 31% and 56% respectively. Most of the management strategies (90.9%) was by withdrawal of the offending agent. Other strategies included use of steroids(OR=2.30;95% CI:1.46-3.64;p<0.00001), antihistamines(OR=4.52; 95% CI: 1.85-11.02;p<0.00001) and vitamin K(OR=3.09; 95% CI:1.82-5.22;p<0.00001) and these were found to increase the likelihood of having a desirable outcome by two times, five times and three times respectively. More than half (55.5 %) of the patients were admitted for more than 10 days during management and mortality was at 7%. Conclusion and Recommendations: Clinicians should be encouraged to be vigilant in monitoring and counseling liver disease patients who are on antiretrovirals or using alcohol. In addition use of steroids, antihistamines and vitamin K should be encouraged where possible in the management of liver disease patients. Other similar studies should also be carried out in other hospitals so as to improve on the management of liver disease patients. Case control studies should be carried out as well with the aim of determining the cause-effect relationships of the various risk factors associated with liver injury in the country. This may help mitigate the risk factors identified.
Physically unclonable functions based on small delay defects in QCA

Physically unclonable functions (PUFs) as a physical security entity are widely used in conventional CMOS technology. The specific structure of circuits in quantum dot cellular automata (QCA) technology does not allow the use of the same techniques of CMOS to effectively applied for implementation of PUF in QCA. However, the QCA technology is much susceptible to various random fabrication defects. A large group of these defects is small delay defects (SDDs) that cannot cause a fault at the nominal conditions. In this paper, we propose a PUF construction based on SDDs as a physical feature of QCA technology. For simulation, we randomly inject defects in a circuit, particularly the majority voter gates in an arithmetic unit. A set of picked challenges is applied to the circuit to excite SDDs. The existence of SDDs is disclosed using a new delay-based model that also converts the size of defect to a bit string. Finally a collection of bit strings corresponding to the size of SDDs forms the PUF response or the signature of the entity. The results of simulations exhibit the benefit of SDDs for the realization of PUF in QCA. The extracted signatures satisfy the required robustness and security measures for the PUF objectives such as identification.
Prevalence of Intestinal Parasitic Infections in Haftkel County, Southwest of Iran

Background: Nowadays, intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) are one of the most common and serious public health problems, which affected 3.5 billion people worldwide, especially in developing countries. During the time of distribution, the pattern of disease may alter as a result of changing the life style of residents. Objectives: The current study was aimed to determine the prevalence of IPIs in the town of Haftkel, southwest Iran. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 13698 stool specimens were collected during 2010 - 2013. For all samples, both direct smear and formalin ether concentration methods were done. Finally data analysis was performed using SPSS version 11.0.1 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Results: 658 (4.8%) out of 13698 specimens were positive for IPIs and Giardia lamblia was detected in 433 (3.16%) samples as the commonest parasite. Other parasites were included: Entamoeba histolytica/dispar (0.7%), E. coli (0.56%), E. hartmanni (0.21%), Blastocystis hominis (0.1%), Hymenolepis nana (0.04%), Taenia spp (0.014%), and Enterobius vermicularis (0.007%). A decreasing trend was observed in the prevalence of intestinal parasites in which the frequency was 281 (6.42%) cases in 2010 and declined to 114 (3.83) in 2013. The maximum and minimum infection was seen in the summer season (34.35%) and winter (15.35%), respectively. Furthermore, the number of infected men was significantly higher than women (64.5% against 35.5%). Interestingly, no hookworm, Ascaris lumbricoides, and Trichuris trichiura eggs were seen in the current study. Conclusions: Based on the current findings, IPIs particularly helminthic cases have been declined during the past decades. Therefore, health education and improving facilities environmental especially in rural and semi-urban areas can be helpful.