Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chest CT Super-resolution and Domain-adaptation using Memory-efficient 3D Reversible GANs

Recently, paired (e.g. Pix2pix) and unpaired (e.g. CycleGAN) image-to-image translation methods have shown effective in medical imaging tasks. In practice, however, it can be difficult to apply these deep models on medical data volumes, such as from MR and CT scans, since such data volumes tend to be 3-dimensional and of a high spatial resolution pushing the limits of the memory constraints of GPU hardware that is typically used to train these models. Recent studies in the field of invertible neural networks have shown that reversible neural networks do not require to store intermediate activations for training. We use the RevGAN model that makes use of this property to perform memory-efficient partially-reversible image-to-image translation. We demonstrate this by performing a 3D super-resolution and a 3D domain-adaptation task on chest CT data volumes.
Frequency of tooth brushing and associated factors among adolescents in western Norway

Dental caries is the most prevalent disease in Norway and worldwide, and daily tooth brushing with fluoridated toothpaste is the main preventative measure when diets contain sugary foods. Tooth brushing is an important public health indicator, as the frequency of brushing also has been positively associated with good health in general. In Norway, brushing twice a day is the official recommendation. Our aim was to assess the frequency of tooth brushing among pupils in secondary school in two counties in western Norway, and to identify factors associated with brushing more than once a day. All 59 borough administrations in the two counties were invited to participate in the Ungdata survey in 2015-16; 26 agreed. In total 8,725 pupils filled in the electronic questionnaire (82%). Some 69% brushed their teeth more frequently than once a day, specifically 76% of whom were girls and 63% were boys (adjusted odds ratio=2.0). Of the boys, 6.5% did not brush daily. In 8-10th school grade 71% brushed more than once a day, compared to 65% in 11-13th grade. Out of 28 a priori selected factors, eight were independently associated with frequency of tooth brushing. Besides gender, the strongest associations observed were for frequency of brisk physical exercise, parents being informed about their adolescent’s whereabouts, and satisfaction with one’s own health.
Opinion mining: a hybrid framework based on lexicon and machine learning approaches

ABSTRACT Sentiment analysis is a practical technique that allows businesses, researchers, governments, politicians, and organizations to know about people's sentiments, which play an important role in decision-making processes. Sentiment classification techniques are mainly divided into lexicon-based methods, machine learning methods, and hybrid methods. There are limitations in each approach; Traditional machine learning approaches are based on complex features extraction process, and lexicon-based approaches suffer from scalability and are limited by unreliable sentiment lexicons that are commonly created manually by experts. In this paper, we seek to improve the performance of machine learning techniques by integrating it with our enhanced lexicon based technique Sum-of-Votes Model. Sum-of-Votes model is a generic extendable lexicon based model that beats traditional lexicon based models in accuracy and provides good solutions to previous challenges and drawbacks such as scalability, domain dependency, and unreliability, but its accuracy was 81.62%. So, in this paper we proposed a novel framework based upon both Sum-of-Votes and Bag-of-Words models; we applied them, then their outputs were fed as features to Machine Learning Classifiers. We got higher accuracy than all the individual lexicons and the entire old framework.
Revisiting the Bulge–Halo Conspiracy. I. Dependence on Galaxy Properties and Halo Mass

We carry out a systematic investigation of the total mass density profile of massive ( log M star / M ⊙ ≳ 11.3 ) early-type galaxies and its dependence on galactic properties and host halo mass with the aid of a variety of lensing/dynamical data and large mock galaxy catalogs. The latter are produced via semi-empirical models that, by design, are based on just a few basic input assumptions. Galaxies with measured stellar masses, effective radii, and Sérsic indices, are assigned, via abundance matching relations, host dark matter halos characterized by a typical ΛCDM profile. Our main results are as follows. (1) In line with observational evidence, our semi-empirical models naturally predict that the total, mass-weighted density slope at the effective radius γ′ is not universal, steepening for more compact and/or massive galaxies, but flattening with increasing host halo mass. (2) Models characterized by a Salpeter or variable initial mass function (IMF) and uncontracted dark matter profiles are in good agreement with the data, while a Chabrier IMF and/or adiabatic contractions/expansions of the dark matter halos are highly disfavored. (3) Currently available data on the mass density profiles of very massive galaxies ( log M star / M ⊙ ≳ 12 ), with M halo ≳ 3 × 10 14 M ⊙ , favor instead models with a stellar profile flatter than a Sérsic one in the very inner regions (r ≲ 3–5 kpc), and a cored NFW or Einasto dark matter profile with median halo concentration a factor of ∼2 or ≲1.3, respectively, higher than those typically predicted by N-body numerical simulations.
Guided GA-Based Multiobjective Optimization of Placement and Assignment of TSVs in 3-D ICs

The advent of 3-D IC technology facilitates the fabrication of large electronic circuits on small-area chips ensuring high performance. For a 3-D IC, the problem of placement followed by the assignment of through-silicon vias (TSVs) involves optimizing various design objectives such as intertier wirelength, power density, congestion, and separation between the TSVs. Each of the existing techniques for the placement of TSVs deals only with a subset of these objectives. In this paper, we propose an evolutionary computation approach $MO\_{}TSV$ to handle this multiobjective optimization problem. The operators, parameters, and constituents of the framework of genetic algorithm (GA)-based multiobjective optimization have been designed in a novel way so that, on exploration of a variety of nondominated solutions, the search process converges to a near-optimum solution in reasonable time. Experimental results on ISCAS’85, ISCAS’89, ITC’99, and IBM (ISPD’98) benchmarks yield quality solutions in terms of all the parameters as well as convergence times, which are encouraging.
High-Speed Idea Filtering with the Bag of Lemons O

Various models for the diffusion of information and behavior in a social network have been introduced in various disciplines. This paper (a companion to tutorials presented at IJCAI-2015 and AAAI-2016) provides an overview of several major families of models. In particular, we describe deterministic tipping, linear threshold/independent cascade, logic programming diffusion models, and evolutionary graph theory.
Nutritional Effects on Swine Nutrient Excretion and Air

Animal production involves the feeding and care of animals to obtain usable end products, such as meat or milk. Since the efficiency with which animals use nutrients is less than 100%, a portion of the nutrients supplied to the animal is excreted as feces. The end/byproducts of metabolism are excreted in urine. Traditionally, these excreta were used as fertilizers for crops and thus were an integral part of the nutrient cycle.
Prognostic evaluation of resectable colorectal cancer using platelet-associated indicators

Colorectal cancer (CRC) represents the third most common malignancy worldwide. The aim of the present study was to investigate the predictive values of platelet-associated indicators, including platelet count (PLT), plateletcrit (PCT), mean platelet volume (MPV) and platelet distribution width (PDW) in patients with resectable CRC. The current retrospective study included 153 patients who were pathologically diagnosed with resectable CRC. The patients were divided into two groups according to the median value of PLT, PCT, MPV or PDW. To evaluate the changes in PLT, PCT, MPV and PDW following resection and adjuvant chemotherapy, the concept of post-/pre-treatment PLT, PCT, MPV and PDW ratios was introduced, where <1 indicated decreased PLT, PCT, MPV and PDW values after treatment, and where ≥1 suggested stable or increased values. It was revealed that a low MPV prior to treatment correlated with a higher tumor stage. Surgery significantly decreased MPV, but had no impact on PLT, PCT or PDW. Adjuvant chemotherapy significantly decreased PLT and PCT, increased MPV and had no effect on PDW. After the whole course of treatment (surgery combined with adjuvant chemotherapy), PLT, PCT and PDW were significantly decreased. Kaplan-Meier plots illustrated that patients with a post-/pre-treatment MPV ratio <1 had poorer overall survival (OS), whereas the post-/pre-treatment ratios for PLT, PCT and PDW did not correlate with patient outcome. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that sex, tumor size and the post-/pre-treatment MPV ratio were prognostic factors for OS. Therefore, the present results may suggest MPV as a potential prognostic factor in resectable CRC.
ESDRA: An Efficient and Secure Distributed Remote Attestation Scheme for IoT Swarms

An Internet of Things (IoT) system generally contains thousands of heterogeneous devices which often operate in swarms—large, dynamic, and self-organizing networks. Remote attestation is an important cornerstone for the security of these IoT swarms, as it ensures the software integrity of swarm devices and protects them from attacks. However, current attestation schemes suffer from single point of failure verifier. In this paper, we propose an Efficient and Secure Distributed Remote Attestation (ESDRA) scheme for IoT swarms. We present the first many-to-one attestation scheme for device swarms, which reduces the possibility of single point of failure verifier. Moreover, we utilize distributed attestation to verify the integrity of each node and apply accusation mechanism to report the invaded nodes, which makes ESDRA much easier to feedback the certain compromised nodes and reduces the run-time of attestation. We analyze the security of ESDRA and do some simulation experiments to show its practicality and efficiency. Especially, ESDRA can significantly reduce the attestation time and has a better performance in the energy consumption comparing with list-based attestation schemes.
ANALYSIS OF EXTERNAL LOAD RESISTANCE INFLUENCE ON THE SINGLE-CRYSTALLINE SILICON PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULE (PV)

The solar photovoltaic is the important energy for many countries in Africa nowadays. But the quality of the commercial photovoltaic (PV) module is a real obstruction of progress of this energy despite the large availability of solar radiation. The main purpose of this work is to contribute to the understanding of external load resitance (RL) influence on a comercial PV module. Hence, an experimental study is leaded to evaluate the effects of the RL on the output current, the output voltage, the output electric power, the serie resistance (Rs) and the shunt resistance (Rsh) of a comercial PV module. This study has allowed to observe that the behavior of theses five electrical parameters under real condition. Then, the optimum electric power is obtained for the weak RL.
Lipid-based Fe- and Zn- nanoformulation is more effective in alleviating Fe- and Zn- deficiency in maize

Abstract Improving uptake, translocation, and utilization of foliar applied Fe and Zn is essential for increasing biomass and grain yield under deficient conditions. We compared the effect of foliar applied lipid-based Pheroid Fe- or Zn- nanoformulation, chelate and sulfate forms on biomass, nutrient uptake and mobilization in maize grown under Fe and Zn deficiency scenarios in hydroponic systems and field trials. Foliar spray of Fe-Pheroid nanoformulation resulted in complete re-greening. Partial and no re-greening of mature and young leaves, respectively, were observed under FeSO4 and Fe-HEDTA treatments. Foliar spray of Zn-Pheroid nanoformulation increased the Zn concentration of young leaves. In field trials, foliar spray of Fe- or Zn- chelate did not improve leaf Fe and Zn concentration or grain yield. Fe- and Zn-Pheroid nanoformulation improved the mobility of Fe and Zn within the plant. Field trials indicated that non-lipid-based formulation was not effective in amelioration of Fe- and Zn deficiency.
Intact Forests in the United States: Proforestation Mitigates Climate Change and Serves the Greatest Good

Climate change and loss of biodiversity are widely recognized as the foremost environmental challenges of our time. Forests annually sequester large quantities of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), and store carbon above and below ground for long periods of time. Intact forests – largely free from human intervention except primarily for trails and hazard removals - are the most carbon-dense and biodiverse terrestrial ecosystems, with additional benefits to society and the economy. Internationally, focus has been on preventing loss of tropical forests, yet U.S. temperate and boreal forests remove sufficient atmospheric CO2 to reduce national annual net emissions by 11%. U.S. forests have the potential for much more rapid atmospheric CO2 removal rates and biological carbon sequestration by intact and/or older forests. The recent 1.5 Degree Warming Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change identifies reforestation and afforestation as important strategies to increase negative emissions, but they face significant challenges: afforestation requires an enormous amount of additional land, and neither strategy can remove sufficient carbon by growing young trees during the critical next decade(s). In contrast, growing existing forests intact to their ecological potential – termed proforestation – is a more effective, immediate and low-cost approach that could be mobilized across suitable forests of all types. Proforestation serves the greatest public good by maximizing co-benefits such as nature-based biological carbon sequestration and unparalleled ecosystem services such as biodiversity enhancement, water and air quality, flood and erosion control, public health benefits, low impact recreation and scenic beauty.
European Union Policy and Local Perspectives: Nature Conservation and Rural Communities in Cyprus

Many nature conservation policies led by national and international institutions are often based on the assumption that local people found in areas of conservation importance do not have favourable attitudes towards the environment. This assumption not only affects rural communities, but is sometimes prejudicially directed towards countries in the southern hemisphere and the Mediterranean region. This paper describes the findings of qualitative inquiry conducted in 2001 in three mountain communities in the Pafos Forest, Cyprus, aiming to examine how people value the local environment and how they feel about the future of their villages, in light of the implementation of European Union conservation policies. In addition to the qualitative inquiry, a telephone survey was administered to 1,010 individuals in Cyprus to examine the environmental attitudes of the wider public in Cyprus. The inquiry in the Pafos Forest showed that contrary to prevalent assumptions, rural people have a deep appreciation for the local environment and a strong conservation ethic. At the same time, they are concerned about the future of their communities with respect to the implementation of EU policies, which place a priority on nature conservation, but do not always address the pluralistic needs of local people. The larger public in Cyprus also holds favourable values towards the environment and supports the survival of rural communities in Cyprus, indicating the importance of policy that addresses both environmental and cultural sustainability in Cyprus.
Mobile Payments—Why They Are So Successful?

Mobile payment service is exploding at an impressive rate as the global mobile payment revenue almost tripled over the last five years. But the reasons behind this phenomenon are still not clear. This paper thus focuses on identifying the key factors that contribute to the success of mobile payments. We firstly take a look at the current status of mobile payments. With this brief background in mind, we then address several questions associated with three key actors of mobile payment ecosystem: m-payment service provider, consumer, merchants. Specifically, the business model of mobile payments firms (including value proposition, market contribution, revenue source), consumer preferences and merchant. Conclusions: Mobile payment is gradually developing towards diversification and cross-border integration with highly sophisticated technology behind; the success of mobile payments application is based on aprofitable and valuable business model; in order to gain a competitive advantage when facing with fierce competition in the market, firms should respond best to consumer change and merchant feedback.
Mechanisms of Hydrogen Related Fracture of Metals

Abstract : The number of studies of hydrogen related fracture in recent years in quite impressive both in the variety of systems studied and in the amount of materials characterization which has been obtained 1-3. Despite this effort there is still incomplete understanding of the mechanism by which the hydrogen related failures occur and hence each material becomes a new and novel problem. Teh advantage of obtaining an adequate understanding of the failure mechanism is that general rules of behavior can than guide the selection and application of new materials in aggressive environments. Keywords: Hydrogen embrittlement; Metals.
Words by Default: Optimizing Constraints and the Persian Complex Predicate

Complex predicates (CPs) are predicates which act in some way as a single word, and in another way like more than one word. Persian (Farsi) has many such complex predicates that consist of a non-verbal element, the host, followed by a light verb. These CPs are of interest because they display both lexical and phrasal properties. This paper o ers an account in which the Persian CP is treated as a construction represented in the lexicon. It is argued that its expression as a simple word or as a phrasal entity is determined by the interaction of a set typologically natural ranked constraints. An outcome of this analysis is that the categorial status of the CP can be viewed as a simple verb by default. V0 status is motivated by the CPs lexical properties. It entails that the host and light verb be unseparated and that they may undergo derivational processes. The V0 status is a default in the sense that it can be overridden if and only if there is a competing higher ranked constraint. One implication of this proposal is that words and phrasal constructions are treated as the same basic type of entity in that one and the same stored item can appear either as a lexical item or as a phrasal entity, depending on what other constructions it interacts with. This possibility is natural within theories such as Construction Grammar, Cognitive Grammar or HPSG, in which grammar consists of CONSTRUCTIONS which are not-strictly predictable form meaning patterns that are morphological or phrasal (e.g., Fillmore, Kay, & O'Connor 1988; Pullum & Zwicky 1991; Fillmore & Kay 1993; Goldberg 1992, 1995; Jurafsky 1992, Lako 1987, Langacker 1987, 1991; Pollard & Sag 1987). The idea that there are general tendencies in languages that are sometimes violated due to competing motivations has been a long held tenet of functional approaches (cf. Haiman 1985, Bates & MacWhinney 1987, Langacker 1990, and Lako 1987). For clarity, I adopt the representation of Optimality Theory to capture the ranked constraints (see Prince & Smolensky 1993; McCarthy & Prince 1993; Legendre et al. 1993; Grimshaw 1995). The formalism is attractive because it provides a concrete way of capturing defaults, overrides and motivating tendencies. The constraints required for the present analysis are argued to be typologically natural, but no claim is made that they are absolutely universal or that they are innate.
Toward unfolding the bioeconomy of nopal (Opuntia spp.)

Besides being a source of healthy food and water in arid and semi‐arid lands, the Opuntia cactus plant (nopal) provides unique ecosystem services. In the last decade the plant's cladodes, fruits, flowers, and byproducts have become a source of valued bioproducts, increasingly used in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food, beverage, and nutraceutical industries. Following an updated examination of the new uses of nopal's biological resources, this study suggests avenues to overcome the main obstacles to unleashing the full potential of Opuntia's bioeconomy. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Planar Porous Components for Low‐Loss Terahertz Optics

There is a strong interest in using the terahertz (THz) frequency band for applications in sensing, imaging, and wireless communications. To enable many of these applications, compact low‐loss components for beamforming are required. Typically, such components are made using solid dielectric elements with spatially variable thickness, for example, planoconvex lenses or spiral phase plates. However, as losses in dielectrics typically greatly increase with THz frequency, so do the losses of the solid components. This work demonstrates that when introducing low‐refractive index, low‐loss subwavelength inclusions (air holes) into a solid material matrix, the loss of porous components can be greatly reduced compared to the loss of solid components with otherwise identical optical properties, thus opening a way to create efficient optical components even with nominally high‐loss materials. Additionally, porous optical components can be created completely flat as spatially dependent optical path difference is achieved by varying the local porosity rather than the component thickness. This offers additional advantages for free‐space alignment and integration of such components into optical systems. As an example, the design, fabrication, and experimental characterization of planar lenses and planar orbital angular momentum phase plates are carried out. It is then demonstrated how these porous components outperform their all‐solid counterparts.
Cytotoxic Isoprenoids from the Red Sea Soft Corals Sarcophyton glaucum and Xenia umbellate

Three cytotoxic cembranoids , sarcophytolol (1), sarcophytolide B (2) and sarcophytolide C (3) were identified from the Et2O-soluble fraction derived from the crude extract of the soft coral Sarcophyton glaucum, along with three known aromadendrane-type sesquiterpenoids, aromadendrene (4), palustrol (5) and viridiflorol (6) were isolated from Xenia umbellata collected from the Red Sea water, Jeddah. Chemical structures were determined by analyzing their NMR and MS data. Compounds 1-6 were evaluated for potential cytotoxic activities, employing five cancer panels; HepG2, MCF-7, A549, PC-3 and VERO. Interestingly, compounds 1 and 3 exhibited selective cytotoxic effects on HepG2 and showed no toxicity to the other cell lines. However, 2 showed selective cytotoxic effect on MCF-7 with no toxicity on other cell lines. Meanwhile compounds 4-6 showed cytotoxic activity against both MCF-7 and HepG2 with no toxicity on normal VERO cells.