Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The impact of covariance priors on arm‐based Bayesian network meta‐analyses with binary outcomes

Bayesian analyses with the arm‐based (AB) network meta‐analysis (NMA) model require researchers to specify a prior distribution for the covariance matrix of the treatment‐specific event rates in a transformed scale, for example, the treatment‐specific log‐odds when a logit transformation is used. The commonly used conjugate prior for the covariance matrix, the inverse‐Wishart (IW) distribution, has several limitations. For example, although the IW distribution is often described as noninformative or weakly informative, it may in fact provide strong information when some variance components are small (eg, when the standard deviation of study‐specific log‐odds of a treatment is smaller than 1/2), as is common in NMAs with binary outcomes. In addition, the IW prior generally leads to underestimation of correlations between treatment‐specific log‐odds, which are critical for borrowing strength across treatment arms to estimate treatment effects efficiently and to reduce potential bias. Alternatively, several separation strategies (ie, separate priors on variances and correlations) can be considered. To study the IW prior's impact on NMA results and compare it with separation strategies, we did simulation studies under different missing‐treatment mechanisms. A separation strategy with appropriate priors for the correlation matrix and variances performs better than the IW prior, and should be recommended as the default vague prior in the AB NMA approach. Finally, we reanalyzed three case studies and illustrated the importance, when performing AB‐NMA, of sensitivity analyses with different prior specifications on variances.
A robust lane detection method for low memory and computation resource platform

Traditional monocular vision based methods for lane detection are mostly implemented in high performance PC or embedded systems so that those methods can use complicated algorithm and utilize big storage space. However, automotive companies are very sensitive to hardware cost, so they more prefer to lane detection method that can be used in low cost but thus low resource and computation ability platform. In order to apply lane detection on this low resource platform, a lane detection method based on improved Hough transform is proposed. The feature points are obtained by template matching and the distance is used to cluster the feature points, and a coarse to fine Hough transform is used to generate the lane equation. Experiments demonstrate that this method achieved very high detection rate of road lane in low resource platform and is with significant application value.
Role of root exudates on assimilation of phosphorus in young and old Arabidopsis thaliana plants

The role of root exudates has long been recognized for its potential to improve nutrient use efficiency in cropping systems. However, studies addressing the variability of root exudates involved in phosphorus solubilization across plant developmental stages remain scarce. Here, we grew Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings in sterile liquid culture with a low, medium, or high concentration of phosphate and measured the composition of the root exudate at seedling, vegetative, and bolting stages. The exudates changed in response to the incremental addition of phosphorus, starting from the vegetative stage. Specific metabolites decreased in relation to phosphate concentration supplementation at specific stages of development. Some of those metabolites were tested for their phosphate solubilizing activity, and 3-hydroxypropionic acid, malic acid, and nicotinic acid were able to solubilize calcium phosphate from both solid and liquid media. In summary, our data suggest that plants can release distinct compounds to deal with phosphorus deficiency needs influenced by the phosphorus nutritional status at varying developmental stages.
An Improved Analytical Model of Permanent Magnet Eddy Current Magnetic Coupler Based on Electromagnetic-Thermal Coupling

There is a serious nonlinear between the sensitive parameters and the transmission capacity of the permanent magnet eddy current magnetic coupler (PMEC), and how to establish the accurate analytical model is very important to study its characteristics, optimize design and improve control accuracy. In order to solve the problem that the accuracy of analytical model deteriorates under the variable parameters of the PMEC, based on the electromagnetic-thermal theory, the electromagnetic-thermal nonlinearity of materials, such as the thermal effect of magnetic properties, the thermal effect of permeability, the thermal effect of conductivity, the magnetic saturation effect, the skin effect, the eddy current inductive reactance, have been deeply studied in this paper. On this basis, the multi-field coupling analytical model of the PMEC sensitive parameters and material electromagnetic thermal nonlinearity is established by using the magnetic equivalent circuit theory and lumped parameter thermal network method. Combined with numerical simulation and experiment, the research on electromagnetic characteristics, temperature characteristics and transmission characteristics of the PMEC are carried out. The comparative study shows that the proposed analytical model can accurately analyze the electromagnetic characteristics, temperature characteristics and transmission characteristics of the PMEC without any correction coefficient under different parameters. The accuracy of the analytical model with variable parameters is effectively solved, and the model theory of the PMEC is improved. The accurate analytical modeling method has laid theoretical foundation for the rapid optimization design and wide application of the PMEC.
Privacy Concerns about common IoT devices: first approach in Costa Rica

The Internet of Things (IoT) devices have grown in popularity. The companies that built them have not included good security and privacy measures to protect the identification of the devices through an analysis of the metadata contained in the traffic packets. A case study was implemented with five IoT devices (Foscam camera, baby monitor, smart TV box, smart TV set, Hue Bridge light system) connected by an intranet. The traffic generated by those devices is analyzed in terms of packet size, external communications, DNS requests, traffic direction, and protocols used.The packet traffic lets us determine that during normal operation the IoT devices communicate with many sites around the world, sometimes in unexpected ways. We arrive at the conclusion that the IoT devices disclose private information about the life and costumes of the family members using them.
A Proposal to Improve the Early Diagnosis of Symptomatic Cancers in the United States

Many people are diagnosed with cancer after presenting with signs and symptoms of their disease to a healthcare provider. Research from developed countries suggests that, in addition to indicating later-stage disease, symptoms can also indicate earlier-stage disease, leading to investment in research and quality improvement efforts in the early detection of symptomatic cancers. This approach, labeled early diagnosis of symptomatic cancers, focuses on identifying cancer at the earliest possible stage in patients with potential signs and symptoms of cancer, and subsequently diagnosing and treating the cancer without delay. In the United States, early detection has focused on cancer screening, with relatively less research focused on early diagnosis of symptomatic cancers. In this commentary, we propose that research focused on early diagnosis of symptomatic cancers provides an important opportunity to achieve more earlier-stage cancer diagnoses in the United States. We highlight the potential of these efforts to improve cancer outcomes, and outline a research agenda to improve early diagnosis of symptomatic cancers in the United States focused on defining and describing pathways to cancer diagnosis, identifying signs and symptoms that can be used to promote early cancer detection, and developing interventions to improve early diagnosis of symptomatic cancers.
Multi-functional EV Charging Methodology Maximizing Capability for Coordinated Grid Frequency Control

This paper proposes a V2G operation method of EV to be able to perform frequency regulation, EV charging, and SOC management. This method exhibits the multifunctionality in regard to instantaneous discharging EVs during the charging against frequency drop; primary driving and power grid ancillary services for example, frequency stabilization by simultaneously managing the desired state of charge (SOC) of the batteries. Hence, it can bring the benefits in stabilizing grid frequency under high penetration of renewable energy. We also develop the mathematical models based on characteristics of the proposed EV charging method for analysis and design. The outcomes indicate charging/charged EV can participate in frequency regulation so that EV demand adjustment helps embrace renewable energy variation and stabilize the power system. The feasibility of this method is verified for a real power grid model to demonstrate efficacy of EV charging control for SOC management using DIgSILENT/PowerFactory.
Ontogenetic Reaction Norms in Lobelia Siphilitica (Lobeliaceae): Response to Shading

Research on the genetics of development and on reactions to environmental changes (phenotypic plasticity) is important to understand the evolution of natural popu- lations, mostly because of the possible adaptive meaning of some plastic responses, and because of the suggested role of plasticity in maintaining genetic variation. In this paper, we present a study of developmental norms of reaction of two populations of Lobelia siphilitica (Lobeliaceae) to three levels of light availability. We investigated: (1) the plas- ticity to light of characters determining phenological timing and of end-of-season traits, and (2) the shape of the ontogenetic reaction norms of plant height and number of leaves in the (Time, Environment, Phenotype) space. We found genetic variation for bolting time, fruit production, final leaf number, rate of stem elongation, and rate of leaf production. We detected plasticity for final height, number of leaves, and rates of height growth and leaf production, and genetic variation for plasticity of height growth rate. The ontogenetic reaction norms for leaf number reveal differences among populations and genotypes both in their average (i.e., across environments) ontogenies and in the plastic responses of the ontogenetic trajectories. The ontogenetic reaction norms for plant height, on the other hand, show only a significant Time by Treatment by Genotype effect. The variation among ge- notypes for both characters can be due to differences in either the rate of growth or its duration. In addition, the same final phenotype may be produced by different ontogenetic trajectories, e.g., rapid early height growth and short duration vs. slower growth and longer duration. The response to selection on plant height or leaf number will depend on the degree of separation in their genetic control and on the amount of genetic variation for these aspects of development. These results suggest that including ontogenetic data in plasticity studies broadens considerably our understanding of how phenotypes may respond to se- lection and evolve.
Sweat Detection with Thermal Imaging for Automated Climate Control and Individual Thermal Comfort in Vehicles

In addition to autonomous driving, the automation of comfort functions is currently one of the development focuses of the automotive industry. In particular, the automation of the climate function is considered, as manual operation often leads to distraction from the driving task. In order to implement this automation, various data about the vehicle interior and the occupants are needed. Besides interior temperature, gender or air speed, the sweat status of the occupants is relevant. In this work it is examined to what extent the sweat status can be detected with the help of a thermal imaging camera. The aim is to show if it is possible to distinguish the status not sweating, shortly before sweating and sweating using thermal imaging. For this the part of the thermal image showing the forehead is analyzed. More specifically, the difference between minimum and maximum temperature is compared for the different sweat statuses. At an ambient air temperature of 21 °C the thermal comfort level and sweat status of 20 subjects is inquired and skin temperature is measured by a thermal camera during sport activity. Results indicate that there is a significant difference (p < 0.05) between status not sweating and shortly before sweating and also between status not sweating and sweating. Sweat can therefore be detected with the help of thermal imaging cameras. This result provides important input for automated air conditioning. If sweat is detected for one or more occupants, then with the climate control a corresponding regulation can take place to dry the sweat and to prevent further sweating.
Effect of pH Variations on the Yield Stress of Calcium Bentonite Slurry Treated with pH-Responsive Polymer

The pH-responsive polymers, such as polyacrylamide (PAM), show distinct conformational states according to the pH of their environmental groundwater. Therefore, the interactions between clay–polymer and polymer–water molecules, which determine the yield stress of bentonite–polymer composites, can be affected by the pH of groundwater. This study aims to evaluate the effect of pH variation on the yield stress of calcium bentonite treated with PAM. The yield stresses (τy) of untreated and PAM treated clays were measured with varying volume fractions of solid (VF = 10–23%) and under varying pH conditions (pH = 7.6–9.6). In addition, the zeta potential was measured for both untreated and treated clays to figure out the change in the surface charge of the mineral surface due to PAM treatment. The results of this study demonstrate that τy for treated clay is higher than that for untreated clay at a given VF, because van der Walls attraction dominates electrostatic repulsion in the case of treated clay. Due to the change in conformational states of PAM and the consequent change in surface charge that comes with varying pH, the pH-dependent change in τy of treated clay is significantly different from that of untreated clay.
Treatment of Chylothorax after Lung Resection: Indications, Timing, and Outcomes

Abstract Background Chylothorax following pulmonary resection and lymphadenectomy for cancer is a potential severe complication in thoracic surgery. In the present study, we investigated the efficacy of the nonsurgical approach as well as the need for reoperation after conservative approach failure. Methods Chylothorax was diagnosed when chylous leakage from the chest drainage was observed and confirmed by the presence of triglycerides in the pleural fluid. We initially treated all the patients conservatively with complete oral intake cessation and total parenteral nutrition; if drainage output remained more than 800 mL/d after the first 5 days or major pleural effusion was observed at chest X-ray after chest tube removal, surgical treatment of chylothorax was indicated. Results Between January 1998 and December 2018, 5,072 patients underwent standard anatomical resection and mediastinal lymph node dissection for cancer at our institution. Among them, 30 patients (0.6%) developed chylothorax: 20 patients were effectively treated only by nil per os and low-fat diet, while 10 patients (33.3%) required surgical treatment. Mean age was 63 years; there were 24 male patients (80%); right-sided chylothorax was more frequent than left-sided chylothorax (22 vs. 8, respectively) although not statistically significant (p = 0.38); the only factor that seems to influence the need for reoperation is chylothorax flow rate during conservative treatment (p = 0.06). Conclusion Conservative treatment is effective in the case of low flow-rate chylothorax (< 800 mL/d); in the case of a higher flow rate, surgical exploration is needed and thoracic duct ligation—with or without lymphatic sites clipping—provides definitive lymphostasis.
Day-ahead Market Clearing of Energy and Reserve for Wind Integrated Deregulated System

The aim of the paper is to simultaneously clear the energy and spinning reserve market for deregulated system involving uncertainties in wind generation. The volatility of wind is represented by Weibull density function (WDF). The objective in the paper is to minimize the total cost which involves cost of energy supplied by thermal and wind generating units, cost of reserve procured by thermal units, and cost owing to overestimation and underestimation of wind generation. The optimization is carried out using gravitational search algorithm (GSA). The efficacy of the presented model is investigated on IEEE 30-bus power system.
Distributed Output-Feedback Consensus Control for Nonlinear Multiagent Systems Subject to Unknown Input Delays

This article considers the distributed output-feedback consensus control problem for nonlinear multiagent systems subject to input delays. Different from the existing related works, the input delay of each agent is described as an unknown time-varying function and is different from each other in this article. To deal with this problem, for each follower, we first construct a novel distributed observer based on the relative output information to asymptotically estimate the state information of the leader, then we introduce a classical observer to asymptotically estimate the state information of the follower based on its output information. By means of two observers, the leader-following consensus problem is transformed into the stability problem of the nonlinear system with unknown input delays. Subsequently, the distributed controller independent of delays is proposed for each follower by the use of the truncated prediction method under some conditions. Based on the Lyapunov stability theory, it is strictly proved that the distributed controller can render all agents achieving consensus. Finally, the effectiveness of the theoretical results is illustrated on the basis of numerical simulations on a group of single-link manipulators.
Molecular evidence for a fourth species within the Isotoma viridis group (Insecta, Collembola)

For identification of single species within the Isotoma viridis group, we present polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR–RFLP) as a fast and efficient DNA‐based molecular method. We used five PCR primers amplifying the cytochrome oxidase II (COII) region (760 bp) of the mitochondrial DNA. The sequences clearly separated four species (I. viridis, I. riparia, I. anglicana and I. caerulea) out of samples from Norway, Sweden, Germany and Switzerland. Examination of genetic variation and phylogenetic relationship did not support the separation of two colour pattern forms of I. viridis into distinct species. For RFLP, several restriction enzymes were tested for their ability to produce not only species‐specific restriction fragment patterns but to discriminate more than one species per enzyme used with as few cleavage sites as possible. Such a design should render a clear fragment pattern when performing a double digest. These demands appear to be fulfilled best by the combination of the restriction enzymes Mfe I, Nci I and one of Aci I, Bst EII, Nde I, or Sfc I. From the enzymes tested in a previous study, Ase I proved to be reliable, whereas Mbo I can no longer be recommended.
BIRD ACTIVITY AND SEED DISPERSAL OF A TROPICAL WET FOREST TREE

Feeding assemblages of birds were observed throughout a fruiting season at a Costa Rican population of the rain forest tree Casearia corymbosa in order to distinguish effective dispersal agents from visitors which used arils for food without dispersing seeds. This system is of special interest because the tree fruits during an annual period of fruit scarcity in a forest characterized by high proportions of animal-dispersed plants and obligate frugivores. Results show that the Masked Tityra (Tityra semifasciata) is an effective dispersal agent of seeds of this tree because it: (1) regurgitates viable seeds, (2) is a common and regular visitor throughout the season, (3) has high feeding rates, (4) removes seeds from the vicinity of the parent tree before processing them, and (5) depends on this rather than other plants fruiting at the same time. Twenty-one other visitors were deficient dispersers, although some depended heavily on fruit of this tree for food. Two parrots (Amazona autumnalis and Amazona farinosa) preclude dispersal by strip- ping arils with their bills and dropping all seeds in situ. Fourteen species are occasional visitors. Five visitors (Ramphastos sulfuratus, Ramphastos swainsonii, Pteroglossus torquatus, Myiozetetes similis, and Myiozetetes granadensis) process seeds undamaged and are sometimes numerically abun- dant, but are absent part of the season and tend to regurgitate seeds in situ. Because fruiting activity of this tree occurs during annual scarcity, it represents a pivotal species in the community. Three obligate frugivores, including one effective disperser and two fruit thieves, depend almost entirely on it for food for periods of 2-6 wk. I hypothesize that extinction of this plant at this site would lead to disappearance of these birds, and would almost certainly depress recruitment of other species of trees for which they serve as dispersal agents at other times of the year.
Linear and Nonlinear Experiments for a Spin Model with Cooperative Dynamics

In this paper we discuss a simple spin model for the description of dynamical properties of viscous liquids in the vicinity of their glass transition. The model was constructed to reflect the belief that structural relaxation phenomena in dense fluids are very highly cooperative. Monte Carlo simulations that probe the linear and nonlinear dynamical response of the spin system are presented. The equilibrium relaxation properties of the model were investigated in collaboration with Steven A. Brawer and Hans C. Andersen. Analytical work on the model has been described in two publications,‘*2 and a detailed Monte Carlo study of its equilibrium properties and linear response has recently been ~ o m p l e t e d . ~ The present paper contains the first quantitative analysis of nonlinear relaxation in the spin model. Viscous (supercooled) liquids exhibit a variety of anomalous kinetic properties in the vicinity of their glass t r a n ~ i t i o n . ~ . ~ These anomalous properties are “universal” in the sense that many different classes of glass-forming substances exhibit the same qualitative behavior. For example, amorphous polymers such as polystyrene show relaxation spectra and temperature dependence of viscosity that are very similar to the corresponding properties of low-molecular-weight glasses such as gIyceroLM We need to understand why such diverse types of materials behave similarly if the glass transition and relaxation phenomena are to be completely understood. One of the most characteristic dynamical properties of a supercooled liquid is that the decay of fluctuations about the (metastable) equilibrium liquidus line is nonexponential. A variety of experiments show that the decay of density or enthalpy fluctuations can be accurately fit over many decades in time to the KohlrauschWilliams-Watts (KWW) empirical expression