Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Practical Semiparametric Inference With Bayesian Nonparametric Ensembles

Set in the practical situation where the data-generating process is not known and there are multiple imperfect candidate models available, this thesis studies how to construct an approximation model that optimally captures the relevant aspect of the data, for the purpose of conducting sound inference. We consider three types of inference objectives: hypothesis testing (Chapter 2), spatiotemporal prediction (i.e. estimating conditional mean) (Chapter 3), and uncertainty quantification (i.e. estimating distribution function) (Chapter 4). We focus on regression models for continuous outcome. Specifically, we propose Bayesian Nonparametric Ensemble (BNE), a general modeling approach that combines the a priori information encoded in candidate models using ensemble methods, and then addresses the systematic bias in the candidate models using Bayesian nonparametric machinery. As a result, BNE specifies a large model space that is centered around the ensemble of candidate models. Through both theoretical investigation and extensive numeric studies, we show that the proposed approach achieves a valid and powerful test for nonlinear effects (Chapter 2), improves predictive performance (Chapter 3), and provides calibrated quantification of its varying degree of model uncertainty over the feature space (Chapter 4). The proposed method is applied to the detection of nutrition-environment interaction effect on early-stage neuro-development in Bangladesh children, and the integration of multiple spatial prediction models for PM2.5 levels in Eastern Massachusetts, USA.
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin and Testosterone in Normal and Preeclamptic Pregnancies in Relation to Fetal Gender

Background: Preeclampsia-eclampsia is still one of the leading causes of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Despite active research for many years, the etiology of this disorder exclusive to human pregnancy is an enigma. Objective: To evaluate the effect of fetal gender on serum human chorionic gonadotropin and testosterone in normotensive and preeclamptic pregnancies. Patients and Methods: A-case control study was conducted in AL-Kadhymia Teaching Hospital from May 2008 through March 2009. The sample consists of eighty women with singleton pregnancies. Forty pregnancies were complicated by mild preeclampsia; twenty male and twenty female fetuses. Forty pregnancies were uncomplicated; twenty male and twenty female fetuses. Maternal serum human chorionic gonadotropin and total testosterone were measured. Results: In preeclamptic pregnancies with genders, maternal human gonadotropin and testosterone serum levels were significantly higher than normotensive mothers. In uncomplicated pregnancies with female fetuses, the maternal serum human chorionic gonadotropin was significantly higher than those with male fetuses (P value = 0.0008) whereas no significant gender difference was found in preeclamptic group. Male-bearing preeclamptic pregnancies had significantly higher maternal serum testosterone levels than female-bearing pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia (P value = 0.00226). Conclusion: In preeclamptic pregnancies with either gender, both the maternal serum human chorionic gonadotropin and testosterone levels were significantly higher than in uncomplicated pregnancies.
On the automated analysis of preterm infant sleep states from electrocardiography

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Dynamic connectedness between Bitcoin and equity market information across BRICS countries

Recent trends and developments in Bitcoin have led to a proliferation of studies that analyzed the Bitcoin returns and volatility; however, the volatility connectedness between Bitcoin and equity market information in emerging countries quietly remains scarce. Regarding this deficiency, the purpose of this paper is to examine the dynamic connectedness between Bitcoin and equity market information. ,Daily data from January 1, 2012 to May 31, 2018 are used. The paper applies a novel time-varying parameter vector autoregression (TVP-VAR) model extended by Antonakakis and Gabauer (2017). This model addresses the biases in coefficient estimates, considering innovations from sources of time variation. ,The findings reveal that the volatility transmission of Bitcoin return is not an important source of shocks of market returns in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS), suggesting that Bitcoin return contributes less volatility to equity market information. The results further show that Bitcoin is the main receiver of volatility while market price risk is the dominant transmission catalysts for innovations in the rest of the stock market returns. ,Important implications can be derived from these findings, signaling of the demand to develop and implement volatility connectedness policy measures in order to guarantee the stability of financial assets. However, the most significant limitation lies in the fact that the analysis of this paper is restricted to the volatility connectedness between Bitcoin and equity market information in BRICS countries. ,By acknowledging the wide range of econometric models, the paper uses TVP-VAR model because this methodology is a useful and relevant tool in modeling the volatility connectedness of financial variables, thus providing meaningful information to policy makers and international investors.
Synthesis of Ag and AgCl co-doped ZIF-8 hybrid photocatalysts with enhanced photocatalytic activity through a synergistic effect

Recently, Ag/AgCl composites with different structures have been widely studied and used as photocatalysts to degrade dye pollutants, due to their high separation efficiency of electron–hole pairs under visible light irradiation. Herein, we adopted a nucleation, precipitation, growth and photoreduction method to prepare Ag and AgCl co-doped ZIF-8 hybrid photocatalysts and explored the influence of Ag content on their physical and chemical properties. All as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) measurements, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), UV-vis diffuse reflectance and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). XRD indicated that ZIF-8 and AgCl were formed and some of the AgCl was reduced into Ag0 after 30 min of UV light irradiation. SEM and TEM images verified that Ag/AgCl nanoparticles were inlaid in the body of ZIF-8 and Ag ions could hinder the growth of the ZIF-8 crystal. BET data indicated that Ag/AgCl nanoparticles did not alter the pore size of ZIF-8. The UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra showed that Ag/AgCl@ZIF-8 has excellent ability to absorb visible light, indicating the high efficiency of the electron–hole pair separation of Ag/AgCl@ZIF-8. Finally, the photocatalytic activities of all of the as-synthesized samples were evaluated by degradation of RhB under visible light irradiation. Ag and AgCl co-doped ZIF-8 hybrid photocatalysts exhibited high photocatalytic activity due to the synergistic effect of ZIF-8, AgCl and Ag. After 60 min of visible light irradiation, Ag/AgCl(15)@ZIF-8 exhibited the best photocatalytic activity and could degrade 99.12% RhB, which was higher than Ag/AgCl (94.24%) and ZIF-8 (5.17%). Additionally, a photocatalytic mechanism for dye pollutant degradation over the Ag and AgCl co-doped ZIF-8 hybrid photocatalysts was proposed.
Nonpharmacological management of atopic dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis is an immunologically mediated chronic inflammatory disease which cannot be controlled always with topical agents. Systemic drugs play important role in these difficult to manage cases. Systemic agents are also important in controlling the acute flare. Unfortunately these agents are very limited in number. Moreover none of them starting from corticosteroid to azathioprine can provide complete cure. Continuous research is unfolding different aspects of AD pathogenesis which was not known previously. Scientists are engaged in developing newer molecules targeting those novel pathological pathways thus adding in the armamentarium of existing drugs. This article is dedicated to current systemic treatment options available with their individual merit and demerit along with recent advances in this field.
Hybrid metric to reduce labour costs in assessing the complexity of the programs

The article deals with the problem of assessing the complexity of software products. A review of widely used metrics (number of lines of code, average number of lines for functions, Halstead’s metrics, Jilb’s metrics, ABC-metric) is being conducted, on the basis of which a conclusion is drawn about their deficiencies. Also, indicators are analyzed, subtracted when assessing the complexity of programs, such as: program saturation with conditional operators or cycle operators, complexity of program understanding, program coding complexity, program content. A hybrid metric based on a composition of already well-known ones is proposed. As a result of the experiment to assess the complexity of the program, it is shown that the proposed hybrid metric allows us to more effectively evaluate the program. The use of such a metric can significantly reduce the computation time.
Isolation, Selection and Characterization of Root-Associated Rock Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria in Moroccan Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Abstract Phosphorus (P) is the most important macronutrient next to nitrogen for the growth and development of plants. But often unavailable for plants because of its high reactivity with many soil constituents. Thus, the use of phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSBs) as biofertilizers seems to be an effective way to resolve the soluble phosphorus availability in soil. The present study was conducted to isolate and characterize rock PSB associated with the rhizosphere of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) from fourteen different wheat-growing sites of Meknes region in Morocco. A total of one hundred ninety-eight (198) rock PSBs were isolated employing NBRIP medium amended with rock phosphate (RP), out of which five strains (A17, A81, B26, B106, and B107) were selected for their strong ability to dissolve RP and were tested in vitro for plant growth-promoting (PGP) traits including production of indole acetic acid (IAA), siderophores, hydrogen cyanide (HCN), and antifungal activity, as well as their response to the effect of extrinsic and intrinsic stress. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis identified these isolates belong to four genera, Pantoea, Pseudomonas, Serratia, and Enterobacter. The phosphate solubilization index (SI) of selected isolates ranged between 2.3 and 2.7, and the amount of solubilized phosphorus in the liquid medium varied from 59.1 to 90.2 µg mL−1. HPLC analysis revealed that all the selected isolates produced multiple organic acids (oxalic, citric, gluconic succinic, and fumaric acids) from glucose under aerobic conditions. Except for the A81 strain, all selected isolates were able to produce IAA ranging between 2.9 and 21.2 µg mL−1. The isolates A17, B26, and B107 showed the ability to produce siderophores ranging from 79.3 to 20.8% siderophore units. Only two strains (A17 and B26) were able to produce HCN. All selected isolates showed good resistance against different environmental stresses like 10–50 °C temperature, 0.5–2 g L−1 salt concentration and 4.5–9 pH range, and against different antibiotics. The antagonistic effect showed that among the five selected strains, only two strains (B26 and A17) were able to suppress the growth of tested fungi. This study clearly indicates that our selected rock PSBs can be used as biofertilizers for grain crops after studying their interaction with the host crop and field evaluation.
Measurement Integrity Attacks Against Network Tomography: Feasibility and Defense

Network tomography is an important tool to estimate link metrics from end-to-end network measurements. An implicit assumption in network tomography is that observed measurements indeed reflect the aggregate of link performance (i.e., seeing is believing). However, it is not guaranteed today that there exists no anomaly (e.g., malicious autonomous systems and insider threats) in large-scale networks. Malicious nodes can intentionally manipulate link metrics via delaying or dropping packets to affect measurements. Will such an assumption render a vulnerability when facing attackers? The problem is of essential importance in that network tomography is developed towards effective network diagnostics and failure recovery. In this article, we demonstrate that the vulnerability is real and propose a new attack strategy, called measurement integrity attack, in which malicious nodes can substantially damage a network (e.g., delaying packets) and at the same time maliciously manipulate end-to-end measurement results such that a legitimate node is misleadingly identified as the root cause of the damage (thereby becoming a scapegoat) under network tomography. We formulate three basic attack approaches and show under what conditions attacks can be successful. We also reveal conditions to detect and locate such attacks in a network. Our theoretical and experimental results show that simply trusting measurements leads to measurement integrity vulnerabilities. Thus, existing methods should be revisited accordingly for security in various applications.
Antimicrobial Activities of Three Commercial Essential Oils Derived from Plants Belonging to Family Pinaceae

The aim of this study was to compare the antibacterial effects of several essential oils derived from plants belonging to family Pinaceae and subfamily Abietoideae (cedar oil, fir oils derived from Silver fir Abies alba Mill. and Siberian fir Abies sibirica L., respectively) against some Gram-positive and Gramnegative bacteria. The Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion test for measuring zone diameters of bacterial growth inhibition was used. The fir oil derived from Silver fir Abies alba showed considerably more profound activity than the cedar oil and fir oil derived from Siberian fir Abies sibirica. Maximum antibacterial activity was shown by essential oil of silver fir oil against Escherichia coli, methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Silver fir essential oil was found to be active against K. pneumoniae while Siberian fir essential oil showed the mild activity of clear inhibition zone against P. aeruginosa and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus. Silver fir essential oil has the highest antibacterial potential from all tested essential oils and could be a promising candidate concerning possible applicability in the prevention of bacterial growth. Moreover, essential oils may play an important role in the discovery of new drugs for the treatment of a wide range of pathogenic microorganisms in the near future. This study provides insight into the in vitro antibacterial activity of a wide variety of essential oils derived from many different plant genera against pathogenic bacteria. The data contributes to the ongoing scientific investigation regarding the application of essential oils as natural antibacterial agents.
Determinant of Quality Audit in Sustainable Development Goals

: The inclusive role of the auditor towards Sustainable Development Goals, encouraging public accounting offices to improve their audit performance by improving the quality of audits. This study is aimed at explaining the determinant of audit quality in the Indonesian context. We hypothesize that the influence of the work experience, auditor ethics, audit tenure, and time budget pressure impact to the audit quality produced by auditors that work in the Public Accountant Firms. The research used questionnaires to collect data with a total sample of 102 respondents. This study uses a quantitative approach and using multiple linear regression analysis. The result of testing the hypothesis stated that work experience, auditor ethics, and audit tenure variables partially influence the quality of the audit. Finally, our results contribute to the regulatory agencies that must make strict rules to ensure auditor compliance on audit tenure, and code of ethics, so that SNP Finance failures cases do not occur in Indonesia.
Impact of Environmental Factors on the International Trade of Nigeria

Environmental factors’ influence on the exchange of goods and services across countries cannot be quantified. The study examined the effect of environmental factors on international trade by viewing of political, economic, social, and technological forces on global trade flow in Nigeria. The uniqueness of the study was the concentration on the trend of political factors such as tariff and government expenditure, economic factors such as exchange rate and inflation rate, social factors such as population rate and education level and technological elements such as electricity consumption and their impact on international trade in Nigerian economy from the period of 1997 to 2017. This quantitative method was adopted using secondary data and Regression Analysis, and Granger Causality Walds Test was used to explore the relationship among identifiable. At a significance level of 0.05, the F-statistics is 8.18 while the p-value of the F-statistics is 0.0002, which is less than 0.05. This implies that the combination of the independent variables significantly influences the balance of payment.
TÜRKÇE DERSİ ÖĞRETİM PROGRAMINI DEĞERLENDİRME ÖLÇEĞİ: GEÇERLİK VE GÜVENİRLİK ÇALIŞMASI

Bu arastirmanin temel amaci, ogretmenlerin Ilkokul Turkce Dersi Ogretim Programini degerlendirmesini saglayacak bir olcme araci gelistirmektir. Bu amac dogrultusunda, program gelistirme ve degerlendirme kaynaklari da dikkate alinarak bir olcek olusturulmustur. Pilot calismasi yapilmak uzere hazirlanan ilk olcekte 47 madde yer almis ve maddeler besli Likert olarak olusturulmustur. Guvenirlik ve gecerlik calismalari kapsaminda olcek, Adana, Mersin, Urfa, Mardin, Gaziantep, Istanbul, Kayseri ve Hatay illerinde birinci sinif okutan 210 ogretmene uygulanmistir. Acimlayici ve dogrulayici faktor analizleri ile olcegin yapi gecerligi sinanmis; ayrica olcut bagintili gecerligine bakilmistir. Acimlayici faktor analizi sonucunda, faktor yuku . 50'nin altinda olan veya iki faktore birden yuklenen maddeler atilmis, bes faktorlu 26 maddelik bir yapi ortaya cikmistir. Olcegin alt faktorleri, “kazanim, tema, olcme ve degerlendirme, dil bilgisi ile ilk okuma yazma” olarak adlandirilmistir. Ortaya cikan bu bes faktorlu yapi, dogrulayici faktor analizi ile sinanmistir. Sonucta olcegin iyi uyum degerlerine sahip oldugu belirlenmistir. Bu olcegin guvenirligini test etmek icin Cronbach Alfa guvenirlik katsayilari, maddeler ve alt olcekler arasindaki korelasyon katsayilari hesaplanmistir. Sonuc olarak, "Turkce Dersi Ogretim Programini Degerlendirme Olcegi"nin guvenilir ve gecerli bir olcme araci oldugu saptanmistir.
Advanced Whole Genome Sequencing Using an Entirely PCR-free Massively Parallel Sequencing Workflow

Background Systematic errors can be introduced from DNA amplification during massively parallel sequencing (MPS) library preparation and sequencing array formation. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-free genomic library preparation methods were previously shown to improve whole genome sequencing (WGS) quality on the Illumina platform, especially in calling insertions and deletions (InDels). We hypothesized that substantial InDel errors continue to be introduced by the remaining PCR step of DNA cluster generation. In addition to library preparation and sequencing, data analysis methods are also important for the accuracy of the output data.In recent years, several machine learning variant calling pipelines have emerged, which can correct the systematic errors from MPS and improve the data performance of variant calling. Results Here, PCR-free libraries were sequenced on the PCR-free DNBSEQ™ arrays from MGI Tech Co., Ltd. (referred to as MGI) to accomplish the first true PCR-free WGS which the whole process is truly not only PCR-free during library preparation but also PCR-free during sequencing. We demonstrated that PCR-based WGS libraries have significantly (about 5 times) more InDel errors than PCR-free libraries.Furthermore, PCR-free WGS libraries sequenced on the PCR-free DNBSEQ™ platform have up to 55% less InDel errors compared to the NovaSeq platform, confirming that DNA clusters contain PCR-generated errors.In addition, low coverage bias and less than 1% read duplication rate was reproducibly obtained in DNBSEQ™ PCR-free using either ultrasonic or enzymatic DNA fragmentation MGI kits combined with MGISEQ-2000. Meanwhile, variant calling performance (single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) F-score>99.94%, InDels F-score>99.6%) exceeded widely accepted standards using machine learning (ML) methods (DeepVariant or DNAscope). Conclusions Enabled by the new PCR-free library preparation kits, ultra high-thoughput PCR-free sequencers and ML-based variant calling, true PCR-free DNBSEQ™ WGS provides a powerful solution for improving WGS accuracy while reducing cost and analysis time, thus facilitating future precision medicine, cohort studies, and large population genome projects.
Confidence-based voting procedure for combining fuzzy systems and neural networks

In this study the confidence-based voting of neural net classifier and fuzzy logic based classifiers is proposed. In this method, for the cases when the fuzzy system is confident enough in its decision, i.e. when the membership value is large enough, fuzzy system makes the decision, otherwise, the neural net is applied. This allows classifying most of the objects by explainable interpretable fuzzy system, while using the more accurate neural network for the most difficult cases. The experiments are performed on a set of test datasets, and two problems of identifying the emotional state of a person using the data collected by non-contact vital Doppler sensors. The results show that this setup allows not only improving the classification quality, but also allows to explain the classification process the explanation of the classifier functioning.
Trinucleon Electric Dipole Moments in Chiral EFT

Time reversal violation (TRV) sources in fundamental theories induce interactions between nucleons which can be revealed by looking at the presence of permanent electric dipole moments (EDM) of light nuclei. By using the chiral effective filed theory (χEFT) it is possible to connect the nuclear observables to the fundamental terms which induce TRV. In this work we derive the TRV nucleon-nucleon and three-nucleon potential up to next-to-next-to leading order (N2LO) by using χEFT. The TRV interaction is then used to evaluate the EDM of 3H and 3He focusing in particular on the calculation of the theoretical errors and the convergence of the chiral expansion.