Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Seeing and doing: Feasibility study towards valuing visual impairment using simulation spectacles

Elicitation of utilities from those who do not have the health condition of interest generally uses verbal description of health states. This paper reports on the results of a small-scale investigation on the feasibility of an alternative approach, where health states are simulated and thus directly experienced by respondents. Three visual impairment health states were simulated using plastic spectacles, and were evaluated using the time trade-off. The first group of respondents (n = 19) found it difficult to assess visually impaired health states without referring to their own current health. With a further group of respondents (n = 14), we investigated the use of the respondents’ current health as the upper anchor of the time trade-off. Regression analysis shows that whilst there is a positive effect (p = 0.05) of the respondent’s own health state on the values from the first group, there is a non-significant negative effect (p = 0.36) on the values from the latter group with this revised method. Thus, it is feasible to simulate visual impairment in valuation exercises, but care must be taken to ensure what health state is effectively being valued.
Native woodland expansion : soil chemical and microbiological indicators of change

The regeneration of native pine woodlands, a habitat of high biodiversity value, is being actively encouraged by conservation agencies as a positive future change in land use. A field study was carried out at Abernethy Forest, Scotland by sampling soil along three parallel transects running from open moorland, through an intermediate zone showing tree seedling colonization, into mature native pinewood forest with the aim of establishing a long-term monitoring site and providing baseline data. The specific objectives were to determine, first, which physical, chemical or microbiological properties in moorland soils would be affected by tree colonization and, secondly, what might be the implications of forest expansion on the soil carbon balance. Moving from moorland to forest, moisture and soil acidity decreased significantly and paralleled vegetation changes but there was little change in %C or %N. Microbial biomass, measured as the total carbon in the soil microflora, decreased markedly towards the forest while the metabolic quotient, a relative measure of microbial activity, showed a significant increase. None of the chemical or microbial indicators were able to detect changes due to seedling colonization at their present stage of development. However, microbial indicators appeared to be more sensitive than physico-chemical properties to the aboveground vegetation. Both the microbial biomass C and the metabolic quotient are likely to be good indicators of change as colonization develops. Estimation of the total sequestered soil carbon indicated more in the moorland (524 t C ha) than in the forest (288 t C ha), but this did not include the modest aboveground carbon stored in the tree biomass. At this particular site, forest expansion may result in some loss of soil C that would be partly offset by increases in aboveground C. q 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
To Study and Evaluate the Various Aspects in Manufacturing Amorphous Spray Dried Dispersion

Spray-dried dispersions have become an significant formulation technology for the pharmaceutical product development of poorly water-soluble compounds. Even though this technology is now widely used in the industry, especially in the early-phase development, the lack of mechanistic understanding still causes difficulty in selecting excipients and predicting stability of SDD-based drug products. In this review, the authors aim to discuss various principles of polymer science pertaining to the development of SDDs, in terms of selecting polymers and solvents, optimizing drug loading, as well as evaluating physical stability on storage and supersaturation maintenance after dissolution. Spray drying of polymer-API solutions, low critical solution temperature was discussed for setting the inlet temperature for drying. The impact of polymers on the supersaturation creation and maintenance of APIs in dissolution media was also discussed. Moreover, the nature of SDDs, with reference to solid solution and the notion of solid solubility, was examined in the context of pharmaceutical application. Finally, the importance of robust analytical techniques to characterize the SDD-based drug products was highlighted, considering their complexity.
Smallholder willingness to pay and preferences in the way irrigation water should be managed: a choice experiment application in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Efficient and sustainable utilization of irrigation water is the key to realizing the objective of enhancing agricultural productivity and commercializing smallholder irrigation farming. Valuing and recognizing the scarcity of irrigation water is essential for its sustainable use. Using cross-sectional data from 328 smallholders in and around Makhathini and Ndumo-B irrigation schemes in KwaZulu-Natal Province, the study aimed to assess smallholder farmers’ preferences for the way irrigation water resources should be managed and their willingness to pay for irrigation water. This was done employing a choice experiment method. The results suggest the need for irrigation water pricing to reflect irrigation intensity. They also show that improving agricultural production and productivity, with market access can enhance farmers’ willingness and ability to pay for irrigation water. The need to consider multiple uses of irrigation water for sustainable utilization of water resources is evident, while supporting women smallholders will have a positive impact on their willingness to pay for irrigation water. The paper recommends a shift towards on-farm volumetric water pricing in the irrigation schemes. The schemes should also have clearly defined boundaries and enforceable rules on collective use of water. The design of irrigation infrastructure should integrate other uses of irrigation water such as domestic and livestock purposes. Consequently, there is a need for further research to ensure that irrigation water prices reflect the marginal value of irrigation water use. Policies should address factors that inherently result in gender differences in terms of access to productive resources which negatively affect sustainable water utilization.
'In vitro' and 'in silico' screening for Andrographis paniculata quorum sensing mimics: New therapeutic leads for cystic fibrosis Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms

The clinical management and definitive treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF) biofilm-mediated chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection remains a challenge. The methanol extract of the popular ethanomedicinal herb Andrographis paniculata L. , which is traditionally used to treat respiratory illnesses, was shown to have growth and biofilm inhibitory activities against clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa from CF patients. Here, we report the antibiofilm activity of A. paniculata methanol extract on quorum sensing (QS) inhibition using both in vitro and molecular docking studies. The inhibitory activity of the extracts on exopolysaccharide and pigment production by the CF isolate and the QS indicator organism Chromobacterium violaceum ATCC 12472 and the interaction between the phytoconstituent, biofilm and QS proteins were determined. GC-MS analysis detected 32 plant phytochemicals of diverse nature that may account for its antibiofilm activity and its traditional use in the treatment of many illnesses, including respiratory infections. A number of compounds such as carbamic acid, N-phenyl-, 2-methylphenyl ester, and 2-methoxy-4-[(1-phenylpropan-2-ylamino)methyl]phenol, were found to possess better binding affinity (>= -5) to no less than two P. aeruginosa QS proteins without violation of Lipinski's rule. Furthermore, several compounds exhibited high drug-like molecular activity scores indicating their bioavailability and possible activity. These results indicate a significant affinity between the antibiofilm and quorum quenching activities and a probable use for the development of novel CF biofilm specific therapeutic strategies using A. paniculata extracts in the future. Moreover, the results also support the use of A. paniculata in traditional medicine.
Clause Structure of Javanese Language The Study of Lexical Functional Grammar Murdiyanto

The research aims to examine the clause structure phenomena in Javanese language, namely basic clause structure of Javanese language. This research uses lexical functional grammar theory as its underlying theory to solve the problems within the sentence structure in Javanese language. A qualitative approach is taken as the research methodology in this research. The research data consists of words, phrases, clauses, and sentences which is gathered from “Ting” by Dyah Kushar, and “Watesing Kesabaran” by Tiwiek, SA. The conclusion reveals that the basic clause structure of Javanese language could be classified into some types of a predicative clause such as base, derivative, non-verbal (predicate, adjective, predicate noun), and verbal. Keywords—basic clause structure; Javanese language
Design & Development of an Effective Framework for Empirical Evaluation of Pattern Classification Systems

In this research paper, we address one of the main open issues: evaluating at design phase the security of pattern classifiers, namely, the performance degradation under potential attacks they may incur during operation. We propose a framework for empirical evaluation of classifier security that formalizes and generalizes the main ideas proposed in the literature and give examples of its use in three real applications. Reported results show that security evaluation can provide a more complete understanding of the classifier’s behaviour in adversarial environments and lead to better design choices. KEYWORDS: Classification and Regression Trees (CART); Chi Square Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID); Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS); Naive Bayes; Fuzzy Logic
Avaliando Técnicas de Aprendizado Profundo para Detecção de Esquistossomose Mansoni em Imagens de Exames Parasitológicos

Resumo A Esquistossomose Mansoni é uma das Doenças Tropicais Negligenciadas com maior alcance epidêmico no mundo e uma das diretrizes da OMS é o diagnóstico prévio e célere para o mapeamento dos focos e aplicação do devido tratamento das pessoas infectadas. O processo atual para o diagnóstico ainda depende de uma análise em exames parasitológicos realizados por um ser humano em um microscópio em laboratório. A área de Reconhecimento de Padrões em imagens se apresenta como uma alternativa promissora como apoio e automatização de exames baseados em imagens, e técnicas de Aprendizado Profundo têm sido aplicadas com sucesso para este propósito. Com o intuito de automatizar este processo, é proposto neste trabalho a aplicação de métodos de aprendizado profundo para detecção de ovos de Esquistossomose, e é realizada uma comparação entre duas técnicas de aprendizado profundo, as Redes Neurais Convolucionais (CNN) e as Redes Neurais Piramidais Estruturadas (SPNN). Os resultados obtidos em uma base de dados reais indicam que as ténicas são eficazes no reconhecimento dos ovos da Esquistossomose, em que ambas obtiveram AUC (area under the curve) acima de 0,90, com a CNN mostrando superioridade neste aspecto. Entretanto, a SPNN mostrou ser mais rápida do que a CNN. Palavras-chaves: Esquistossomose, Exames de Imagens, Reconhecimento de Padrões, Aprendizado Profundo, CNN e SPNN.
Testosterone Cortisol Ratio after Two Months Regular Training on Obese Female Students

Testosterone controls and stimulates muscle, bone, skin, and the majorities of human characteristics. Cortisol protects the body against sudden changes through the control of carbohydrates, protein, and fat metabolism. The purpose of this research was to examine the ratio of testosterone to cortisol following an aerobic activity in fat women. Twenty healthy volunteer female subjects (BMI>29) participated in this research. The subjects performed 8 weeks of running program. Blood sample was collected at the start and termination of the protocol. Statistical analysis including independent t-test and Person correlation procedure was used. The testosterone level different following the aerobic exercise (P=0.6). Significant difference was observed between the cortisol level after the exercise program (P=0.008). In addition, no significant differences was present between the testosterone level of the experimental and control group upon the termination of the exercise program (P=0.89). Significant difference was found between the cortisol level of the experimental and control group after the exercise program (P=0.0001). The ratio of testosterone to cortisol was 0.002 nanogram in pretest and changed to 0.005 after the exercise program. The concentration of cortisol decreased. perhaps the intensity of the activities were not high enough to increase the concentration of cortisol level and cause the destruction of muscle cells. Considering the lower level of women in female compared to men, the concentration of this variable remains unchanged following two months of aerobic exercise. As a result, two months of exercise can not lead to stress on testosterone hormone. (Afshin Salehi, Hasan Ehteram, Mohammad Javad Pourvaghar, Mansour Sayyah. Testosterone Cortisol Ratio after Two Months Regular Training on Obese Female Students. Life Sci J 2013;10(2):1056-1060) (ISSN:1097- 8135). http://www.lifesciencesite. com . 148
The Value of Shareholder Activism: New Evidence from the Split-Share Structure Reform in China

We examine shareholder activism in the recent split-share structure reform in China. This unique event allows us to avoid the deficiencies in determining activism proxies and in measuring their effectiveness that plague the previous literature. We find that the effectiveness of shareholder activism is influenced by segmented institutional ownerships. Particularly, shareholder activism could have both positive and negative impacts on managerial behaviors in the presence of institutional investors' interest conflicts. We show that, even in its primitive stage, Chinese shareholder activism has demonstrated positive value in corporate governance.
Channel vector subspace estimation from sample covariance of low-dimensional projections

In this paper, we propose efficient algorithms for estimating the signal subspace of mobile users in a wireless communication environment with a multi-antenna base-station with M antennas. When M is large, because of the high angular resolution of the receiver, any realization of the random channel vector of any given user is approximately contained in a userspecific subspace of dimension p M . Efficient multiuser MIMO schemes can be obtained from such subspace information, which is stable in time and can be accurately estimated even in the presence of fast fading (e.g., for mm-Wave channels). We are interested in the massive MIMO regime of M 1. In order to reduce the RF front-end complexity and overall A/D conversion rate, the M -antenna base-station transmitter/receiver is split into the product of a baseband linear projection (digital) and an RF reconfigurable beamforming network (analog) with only m M RF chains. Hence, only m-dimensional analog observations can be obtained for subspace estimation. We develop efficient algorithms that estimate the dominant signal subspace of the users from sampling only m = O(2 √ M) specific array elements according to a coprime scheme. For a given target dimension of the signal subspace p ≤ M , our algorithms return a p-dimensional beamformer with a performance comparable with the best pdim beamformer designed by knowing the exact covariance matrix of the received signal. We assess the performance of our proposed estimators both analytically and empirically via numerical simulations, and compare it with that of the other state-of-the-art methods in the literature.
Regionalized tissue fluidization by an actomyosin cable is required for epithelial gap closure during insect gastrulation

Many animal embryos pull and close an epithelial sheet around the spherical or ellipsoidal egg surface during a gastrulation process known as epiboly. The ovoidal geometry dictates that the epithelial sheet first expands and subsequently compacts. Moreover, the epithelial sheet spreading over the sphere is mechanically stressed and this stress needs to be released. Here we show that during extraembryonic tissue (serosa) epiboly in the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum, the non-proliferative serosa becomes regionalized into two distinct territories: a dorsal region under higher tension away from the leading edge with larger non-rearranging cells, and a more fluid ventral region under lower tension surrounding the leading edge with smaller cells undergoing cell intercalation. Our results suggest that fluidization of the leading edge is caused by a heterogeneous actomyosin cable that drives sequential eviction and intercalation of individual cells away from the serosa margin. Since this developmental solution utilized during epiboly resembles the mechanism of wound healing in other systems, we propose actomyosin cable-driven local tissue fluidization as a conserved morphogenetic module for closure of epithelial gaps.
Title Pathologic Findings at Risk-Reducing Salpingo-Oophorectomy : Primary Results From Gynecologic Oncology Group Trial GOG-0199 Permalink

Purpose Risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO) lowers mortality from ovarian/tubal and breast cancers among BRCA1/2 mutation carriers. Uncertainties persist regarding potential benefits of RRSO among high-risk noncarriers, optimal surgical age, and anatomic origin of clinically occult cancers detected at surgery. To address these topics, we analyzed surgical treatment arm results from Gynecologic Oncology Group Protocol-0199 (GOG-0199), the National Ovarian Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Study. Participants and Methods This analysis included asymptomatic high-risk women age 30 years who elected RRSO at enrollment. Women provided risk factor data and underwent preoperative cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) serum testing and transvaginal ultrasound (TVU). RRSO specimens were processed according to a standardized tissue processing protocol and underwent central pathology panel review. Research-based BRCA1/2 mutation testing was performed when a participant’s mutation status was unknown at enrollment. Relationships between participant characteristics and diagnostic findings were assessed using univariable statistics and multivariable logistic regression. Results Invasive or intraepithelial ovarian/tubal/peritoneal neoplasms were detected in 25 (2.6%) of 966 RRSOs (BRCA1 mutation carriers, 4.6%; BRCA2 carriers, 3.5%; and noncarriers, 0.5%; P .001). In multivariable models, positive BRCA1/2 mutation status (P .0056), postmenopausal status (P .0023), and abnormal CA-125 levels and/or TVU examinations (P .001) were associated with detection of clinically occult neoplasms at RRSO. For 387 women with negative BRCA1/2 mutation testing and normal CA-125 levels, findings at RRSO were benign. Conclusion Clinically occult cancer was detected among 2.6% of high-risk women undergoing RRSO. BRCA1/2 mutation, postmenopausal status, and abnormal preoperative CA-125 and/or TVU were associated with cancer detection at RRSO. These data can inform management decisions among women at high risk of ovarian/tubal cancer. J Clin Oncol 32:3275-3283. © 2014 by American Society of Clinical Oncology
IEEE POWER ENGINEERING SOCIETY ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AND POWER GENERATING COMMITTEE PANEL SESSION: GLOBAL POWER SYSTEMS FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT Sponsored by: International Practices for Energy Development and Power Generation Subcommittee

This paper serves as an introduction to the panel session on “Global power system for sustainable development”. The concept of sustainability is not limited to the use of renewable energy sources; rather it extends to all levels in a power system. In the panel, sustainable development in the generation, transmission, distribution and consumption of electric energy will be discussed. Crucial issues like use and control of energy storage and application of power electronics in the sustainable grid will be discussed. In an attempt at treating these issues in a global perspective, the situation of developing countries and solutions for their electrification will also be discussed.
Scale‐dependence of natural variability of flow regimes in a forested landscape

The ecological integrity of riverine ecosystems is dependent upon the natural flow regime of the river system. Maintaining natural variability in the flow regime is critical for conserving the structure and function of riverine ecosystems. This research seeks to determine relations between natural variability in the flow regime and basin scale. A distributed hydrologic model was used to characterize the natural flow regime of basins from first to fifth order within tributaries of the Batchawana River in the Algoma Highlands of central Ontario using the range of variability approach (RVA). A 30‐year simulated flow record was used to calculate natural variability in the flow regime, defined by the S80 [(90th percentile – 10th percentile)/median]. Flow variability under wetter conditions was similar across all basins, regardless of scale. Conversely, flow variability under drier conditions was scale‐dependent, with smaller basins (<600 ha) showing a large range in variability and larger basins (>600 ha) showing a smaller range in variability that converged toward a constant with increasing area. The effect of basin area on flow variability suggested the existence of a representative elementary area (REA). Within the REA, morphometric sources of natural variability were determined through multivariate regression analyses. A combination of indices describing the near‐stream riparian area within a basin, median basin residence time, and basin curvature was significantly related to flow variability under drier conditions. These findings present a potential management template for establishing reference conditions against which impacts of disturbance on flows throughout a regional drainage basin may be measured.
The Arab Spring and Social Media Audiences

Although popular media narratives about the role of social media in driving the events of the 2011 “Arab Spring” are likely to overstate the impact of Facebook and Twitter on these uprisings, it is nonetheless true that protests and unrest in countries from Tunisia to Syria generated a substantial amount of social media activity. On Twitter alone, several millions of tweets containing the hashtags #libya or #egypt were generated during 2011, both by directly affected citizens of these countries and by onlookers from further afield. What remains unclear, though, is the extent to which there was any direct interaction between these two groups (especially considering potential language barriers between them). Building on hashtag data sets gathered between January and November 2011, this article compares patterns of Twitter usage during the popular revolution in Egypt and the civil war in Libya. Using custom-made tools for processing “big data,” we examine the volume of tweets sent by English-, Arabic-, and mixed-language Twitter users over time and examine the networks of interaction (variously through @replying, retweeting, or both) between these groups as they developed and shifted over the course of these uprisings. Examining @reply and retweet traffic, we identify general patterns of information flow between the English- and Arabic-speaking sides of the Twittersphere and highlight the roles played by users bridging both language spheres.