Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Feature Selection Methods using Bagging and Boosting Ensemble Techniques on High Throughput Biological Data

Feature selection technique has become a basic but desired technique when analyzing high-throughput biological data due to its nature of large p and small n. In recent years, ensemble learning based feature selection methods have been widely proposed and studied. Ensemble methods employ multiple learning algorithms to obtain better predictive performance than any of the constituent learning algorithms separately. Also, the feature selected by ensemble classifiers can yield more accurate classification performance and more robust results. In our work, the bagging algorithm Random Forest (RF), and the boosting algorithms Gradient Boosting Decision Tree (GBDT), Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) are the main research objects. We compared the accuracy and robustness of three algorithms on six different datasets from TCGA database. Also, the three feature selection algorithms are further ensembled using a bagging procedure for the purpose of comparison with the original single classifier. The results of our work indicated that for single base feature selectors, boosting algorithms all outperform than bagging one in both performance and robustness. By applying the bagging-based feature selection procedure, the robustness of three single base feature selectors is improved significantly, but the accuracy of them is slightly reduced. GBDT with bagging-based feature selection procedure achieved the best performance using our proposed comprehensive metric which balances equally accuracy and robustness.
Life history of the moose (Alces alces): fecundity rates in relation to age and carcass weight [Moose, Norway]

The study is based on data from reproductive tracts of moose cows collected from different parts of Norway from 1968 to 1976. Estimated fecundity rate (number of calves produced per female per year) was highest among 4½–5½ year-old cows. Age-specific variation in fecundity rate was greatest among the lightest cows. The number of 3½ year-old cows with pigmented scars present (assumed to represent previous births) was not related to the number of calves produced in that year of life. Furthermore, the number of corpora lutea present shows a positive relationship with the number of calves produced the current year. Thus, no indication was found of an inverse relationship between current reproductive performance and that for previous years.
Real-time Updating Technology of Local Area Orthoimages Based on 3D Digital Earth

In order to solve the problems of poor real-time performance and single display method in traditional unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV) orthographic image mosaic, this paper proposes a real-time updating technology of local area orthoimages based on 3D digital earth, which can be widely used in the fields of emergency rescue, environmental monitoring and military reconnaissance.The technology is that in the process of UAV aerial photography, the server receives sequence aerial image in real time and synchronously completes orthographic image splicing, then automatically cuts them into regular image tiles and transmits the regular image tiles to the display terminal in an incremental manner. The display terminal software constructs a 3D digital earth based on quadtree LOD algorithm, and updates the terrain texture of the target range with the received high-definition orthographic image tiles, so as to realize real-time coverage monitoring of key areas. In this paper, the above work is verified by real aerial images, and the results prove the feasibility and effectiveness of the work.
Fast distributed bandits for online recommendation systems

Contextual bandit algorithms are commonly used in recommender systems, where content popularity can change rapidly. These algorithms continuously learn latent mappings between users and items, based on contexts associated with them both. Recent recommendation algorithms that learn clustering or social structures between users have exhibited higher recommendation accuracy. However, as the number of users and items in the environment increases, the time required to generate recommendations deteriorates significantly. As a result, these cannot be deployed in practice. The state-of-the-art distributed bandit algorithm - DCCB - relies on a peer-to-peer network to share information among distributed workers. However, this approach does not scale well with the increasing number of users. Furthermore, it suffers from slow discovery of clusters, resulting in accuracy degradation. To address the above issues, this paper proposes a novel distributed bandit-based algorithm called DistCLUB. This algorithm lazily creates clusters in a distributed manner, and dramatically reduces the network data sharing requirement, achieving high scalability. Additionally, DistCLUB finds clusters much faster, achieving better accuracy than the state-of-the-art algorithm. Evaluation over both real-world benchmarks and synthetic datasets shows that DistCLUB is on average 8.87x faster than DCCB, and achieves 14.5% higher normalized prediction performance.
Automated Detection of Intracranial Hemorrhage on Head Computed Tomography with Deep Learning

Intracranial hemorrhage is a serious health problem worldwide requiring rapid and often intensive medical treatment. However, the diagnosis process of intracranial hemorrhage is complicated and often time consuming when looking for the presence, location and type of hemorrhage on head computed tomography (CT), even for highly trained specialists. Therefore, it's a key challenge to achieve automated detection of intracranial hemorrhage on head CT with a promising detection accuracy at the examination level, leaving an urgent and critical issue to be addressed. In this paper, to accomplish this crucial task, we utilize a series of deep convolutional neural networks based on SE-ResNeXt50 and EfficientNet-B3 to simultaneously extract features from head CT and learn the classification for 5 subtypes of intracranial hemorrhage. The image dataset of head CT is provided by Radiological Society of North America through a featured competition on the Kaggle platform. The results show that the ensemble of SE-ResNeXt50 and EfficientNet-B3 trained with weighted multi-label logarithmic loss achieves an expert-level performance regarding the classification accuracy of intracranial hemorrhage. Our deep learning model obtain a score 0.0548 on the test set, which locates at the top 4% among all teams and can get a silver medal prize in the Kaggle competition.
Serological surveillance on South American wild canids for Neospora caninum

Esse trabalho objetivou pesquisar anticorpos para Neospora caninum em amostras de soro de canideos silvestres sul-americanos pela tecnica de imunofluorescencia indireta (IFI). As amostras foram coletadas de 48 lobos-guara (Chrysocyon brachyurus), provenientes de zoologicos e de vida livre e de dois cachorros-do-mato (Cerdocyon thous). Anticorpos para N. caninum nao foram detectados nas amostras testadas.
Empathics system: application of emotion analysis AI through smart glasses

Smart glasses are new wearable devices whose characteristics include following the wearer's eyesight and hands-free augmented reality (AR) capabilities that can be used for improving communication. We designed and built an emotion recognition system on smart glasses to help improve human-to-human communication. We identified doctors and autistic adults as two populations that could benefit from enhancing their ability to sense and respond to their conversation partner's emotional state. We explored what role emotions plays in communication, and developed an assistive tool by combining emotion recognition, AI and smart glasses. Lastly, we evaluated our prototypes for usability with both doctors and autistic adults and summarized our findings.
Understanding Failure and Runout Mechanisms of the Flims Rockslide/Rock Avalanche

The Flims rockslide/rock avalanche (FRRA) is the largest long runout landslide in Europe. This event provides a unique opportunity to study the pre-failure and failure behavior of a large rock slope, as both the source zone and deposit of this event are accessible. In this study, we perform engineering geological and geomorphic field mapping as well as stability and runout modeling in order to explore the preconditioning and triggering factors that resulted in failure of this event, and to infer the mechanisms that governed its runout. By combining these analyses, we qualitatively comment on the mechanisms that lead to the transition from a rockslide to a long runout, catastrophic rock avalanche. Our engineering geological and geomorphic field mapping has revealed that the FRRA failed along a sliding zone that features numerous, large scale steps. Previous work at the site, as well as new analysis of thin sections, has revealed the presence of marl-like layers within the failed stratigraphic unit. Our stability analysis shows that the presence of low strength layers at the depth of the rupture surface is required for failure to initiate, and that failure could be triggered either by strong seismic shaking, elevated pore-water pressures, or a combination of both. The results of the runout analysis show that this event likely remained coherent for a large portion of its motion, and that liquefaction of alluvial sediments at the toe of the slope may have enhanced the runout distance of this rock avalanche. Combining the mapping, stability and runout modeling has shown that the basal shear strength required for the runout analysis is ∼6°–10° lower than that back-analyzed for the stability of this event. Thus, a mechanism to reduce strength along the rupture surface immediately following the initial instability was required for catastrophic failure of this event. This mechanism is poorly understood at present, but is likely crucial for understanding the transition from an initially stable slope to a catastrophic, long runout rock avalanche.
HCV Replicon Systems: Workhorses of Drug Discovery and Resistance

The development of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) has revolutionized the state-of-the art treatment of HCV infections, with sustained virologic response rates above 90%. However, viral variants harboring substitutions referred to as resistance-associated substitutions (RASs) may be present in baseline levels and confer resistance to DAAs, thereby posing a major challenge for HCV treatment. HCV replicons have been the primary tools for discovering and evaluating the inhibitory activity of DAAs against viral replication. Interest in replicon systems has further grown as they have become indispensable for discovering genotype-specific and cross-genotype RASs. Here, we review functional replicon systems for HCV, how these replicon systems have contributed to the development of DAAs, and the characteristics and distribution of RASs for DAAs.
Cellulolytic activity of Actinomycetes isolated from termites (Termitidae) gut

Abstract Cellulolytic actinomycetes were isolated from the hindgut of four different termites: Macrotermes, Armitermes, Odontotermes and Microcerotermes spp. The isolated actinomycetes ( Streptomyces sp. and Micromonospora sp.) were grown on cellulosic substrates and their extracellular cellulase (C l , C x and cellobiase) activity evaluated; using filter paper as a substrate for C l , carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) for C x and d -cellobiose for cellobiase, all strains were shown to degrade soluble and insoluble cellulose; optimum pH for growth was 6.2–6.7 at 28°C; three strains could grow at 48°C on cellulosic substrates. Some strains exhibited high cellulase activity, constant for 5–7 days, but inhibition by glucose was a common feature for almost all isolates.
Practice Guidelines for Clinical Pharmacists in Middle to Low Income Countries

The profession of pharmacy is maturing as a clinical profession in South Africa and has experienced significant development over the past 10 years. The development of clinical pharmacy in Southern Africa started in the late 1980s. The Director-General of Health and Welfare requested an expansion of the pharmacist’s role in Southern Africa, in 1988, when he challenged pharmacists to be “more than just dispensers. ” South Africa experience human resource challenges in terms of healthcare service delivery and the shortage of pharmacists has been acknowledged. Due to the human resource shortage, it is very difficult to allocate pharmacists to work in a clinical unit on a daily basis. This document serves to set out practice guidelines for clinical pharmacy in South Africa, and to indicate areas where clinical pharmacist should concentrate to build practice.
Obtaining and Characterization of a Polydisperse System Used as a Transmembrane Carrier for Isosorbide Derivatives

Due to their effect of vasodilatation, isosorbide nitrates represent one of the most important and most used solutions for angina pectoris. Unfortunately, these compounds have multiple dose-related adverse drug reactions such as headache, weakness, mild dizziness, and occasionally heart rate changes, nausea, vomiting, and sweating. The main aims of this research were to obtain and to evaluate new polyurethane (PU) structures that can be used as a proper transmembrane carrier with an improved release kinetic. Chitosan-based PU structures were obtained by a polyaddition process between hexamethylene diisocyanate and a mixture of chitosan, butanediol, and polyethylene glycol in the presence of caffeine as a synthesis catalyst. The obtained samples (with and without isosorbide nitrates) were characterized regarding the encapsulation and release rate (UV-Vis spectra), chemical composition (FTIR), thermal stability (thermal analysis), morphology changes (SEM and SANS), and in vivo irritation tests. These methods revealed no significant differences between the two sample structures. Multipopulational structures with sizes between 73 and 310 nm, with an increased tendency to form clusters and a high resistance to heat (up to 280°C), were obtained. This study presents an alternative administration of isosorbide derivatives based on a PU carrier with a high biocompatibility and a prolonged release.
Predicting Plant-Soil Feedback in the Field: Meta-Analysis Reveals That Competition and Environmental Stress Differentially Influence PSF

Past research on plant-soil feedbacks (PSF), largely undertaken in highly controlled greenhouse conditions, has established that plant species differentially alter abiotic and biotic soil conditions that in turn affect growth of other conspecific and heterospecific individuals in that soil. Yet, whether feedbacks under controlled greenhouse conditions reflect feedbacks in natural environments where plants are exposed to a range of abiotic and biotic pressures is still unresolved. To address how environmental context affects PSF, we conducted a meta-analysis of previously published studies that examined plant growth responses to multiple forms of competition, stress, and disturbance across various PSF methodology. We asked the following questions: (1) Can competition, stress, and disturbance alter the direction and/or strength of PSF? (2) Do particular types of competition, stress, or disturbance affect the direction and/or strength of PSF more than others? and (3) Do methods of conducting PSF research (i.e., greenhouse vs. field experiments and whether the source of soil inoculum conditioning is from the field vs. greenhouse) affect plant growth responses to PSF or competition, stress, and disturbance, or their interactions? We discovered four patterns that may be predictive of what future PSF studies conducted under more realistic conditions might reveal. First, relatively little is known about how PSF responds to environmental stress and disturbance compared to plant-plant competition. Second, specific types of competition enhanced negative effects of soil microbes on plant growth, and specific environmental stressors enhanced positive effects of soil microbes on plant growth. Third, whether PSF experiments are conducted in the field or greenhouse can change plant growth responses. And, fourth, how the soil conditioning phase is conducted can change plant growth responses. With more detail than previously shown, these results confirm that environmental context writ large can change plant growth responses in PSF experiments. These data should aid theory and predictions for conservation and restoration applications by showing the relative importance of competition, stress, and disturbance in PSF studies over time. Lastly, these data demonstrate how variation in experimental methods can alter interpretation and conclusions of PSF studies.
Effects of Bisphenols on Testicular Steroidogenesis

Over the last decades, the adverse effects of human exposure to the so-called “endocrine disruptors” have been a matter of scientific debate and public attention. Bisphenols are synthetic chemicals, widely used in the manufacture of hard plastic products. Bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the best-known environmental toxicants proven to alter the reproductive function in men and to cause other health problems. Consumer concern resulted in “BPA free” products and in the development of bisphenol analogs (BPA-A) to replace BPA in many applications. However, these other bisphenol derivatives seem to have effects similar to those of BPA. Although a number of reviews have summarized the effects of BPA on human reproduction, the purpose of this article is to review the effects of bisphenols on testicular steroidogenesis and to explore their mechanisms of action. Testicular steroidogenesis is a fine-regulated process, and its main product, testosterone (T), has a crucial role in fetal development and maturation and in adulthood for the maintenance of secondary sexual function and spermatogenesis. Contradictory outcomes of both human and animal studies on the effects of BPA on steroid hormone levels may be related to various factors that include study design, dosage of BPA used in in vitro studies, timing and route of exposure, and other confounding factors. We described the main possible molecular target of bisphenols on this complex pathway. We report that Leydig cells (LCs), the steroidogenic testicular component, are highly sensitive to BPA and several mechanisms concur to the functional impairment of these cells.
Natal dispersal correlates with behavioral traits that are not consistent across early life stages

Behavioral differences between dispersers and residents have long been recognized in animal species, but it remains unclear whether these dispersal syndromes represent consistent differences over time and in different contexts (i.e., personalities) or short-term changes in behavior during dispersal. We analyzed interindividual differences in sociability (attraction to unfamiliar adult males or females), exploration, and locomotor activity in disperser and resident root voles, Microtus oeconomus. We recorded these behavioral traits in 50 animals before weaning, around weaning age but before dispersal, and after a dispersal test in the field. Dispersing root voles displayed marked social behavior at the youngest age, being more attracted to unfamiliar adult males than residents. Dispersers were also, on average, faster explorers and were more active than residents. However, the observed variation between individuals in terms of social, exploration, and activity behaviors was not consistent over early life stages. These data indicate that behavioral differences between dispersers and residents may be only temporary in some species. Copyright 2011, Oxford University Press.
Accelerating Therapeutics for Opportunities in Medicine: A Paradigm Shift in Drug Discovery

Conventional drug discovery is long and costly, and suffers from high attrition rates, often leaving patients with limited or expensive treatment options. Recognizing the overwhelming need to accelerate this process and increase success, the ATOM consortium was formed by government, industry, and academic partners in October 2017. ATOM applies a team science and open-source approach to foster a paradigm shift in drug discovery. ATOM is developing and validating a precompetitive, preclinical, small molecule drug discovery platform that simultaneously optimizes pharmacokinetics, toxicity, protein-ligand interactions, systems-level models, molecular design, and novel compound generation. To achieve this, the ATOM Modeling Pipeline (AMPL) has been developed to enable advanced and emerging machine learning (ML) approaches to build models from diverse historical drug discovery data. This modular pipeline has been designed to couple with a generative algorithm that optimizes multiple parameters necessary for drug discovery. ATOM's approach is to consider the full pharmacology and therapeutic window of the drug concurrently, through computationally-driven design, thereby reducing the number of molecules that are selected for experimental validation. Here, we discuss the role of collaborative efforts such as consortia and public-private partnerships in accelerating cross disciplinary innovation and the development of open-source tools for drug discovery.
A Comparison of FES and SCS for Neuroplastic Recovery After SCI: Historical Perspectives and Future Directions

There is increasing evidence that neuroplastic changes can occur even years after spinal cord injury, leading to reduced disability and better health which should reduce the cost of healthcare. In motor-incomplete spinal cord injury, recovery of leg function may occur if repetitive training causes afferent input to the lumbar spinal cord. The afferent input may be due to activity-based therapy without electrical stimulation but we present evidence that it is faster with electrical stimulation. This may be spinal cord stimulation or peripheral nerve stimulation. Recovery is faster if the stimulation is phasic and that the patient is trying to use their legs during the training. All the published studies are small, so all conclusions are provisional, but it appears that patients with more disability (AIS A and B) may need to continue using stimulation and for them, an implanted stimulator is likely to be convenient. Patients with less disability (AIS C and D) may make useful recovery and improve their quality of life from a course of therapy. This might be locomotion therapy but we argue that cycling with electrical stimulation, which uses biofeedback to encourage descending drive, causes rapid recovery and might be used with little supervision at home, making it much less expensive. Such an electrical therapy followed by conventional physiotherapy might be affordable for the many people living with chronic SCI. To put this in perspective, we present some information about what treatments are funded in the UK and the US.