Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prospect of phytoaccumulation of arsenic by Brassica juncea (L.) in Bangladesh

ABSTRACT The phytoaccummulation of arsenic by Brassica juncea (L.) was investigated for varying concentrations selected within the range that is evident in Bangladeshi soil. B. juncea (Rai and BARI-11) was grown in the hydroponic media under greenhouse condition with different concentrations (0.5, 1.0, 15, 30, 50 and 100 ppm) of sodium arsenite. Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) was used to analyze the data. Mapping of potential area of phytoaccumulation of arsenic by B. juncea was done using Geographic information system (GIS). Arsenic was detected at lower concentrations (0.5 and 1.0 ppm) only at root system of the plant. For higher concentrations (15, 30, and 50 ppm) arsenic was detected both in the root and shoot systems. The results suggested that at 15 and 50 ppm uptake was higher compared to 30 ppm. For 100 ppm of arsenic no plant growth was observed. In Bangladesh, where concentration of arsenic is at lower level and present only at rooting zone, B. juncea may be used for phytoaccumulation of arsenic keeping usual agronomic practices. However, for higher concentrations, B. juncea can be regarded as a good accumulator of arsenic where uptake of arsenic was up to 1% of total biomass of the plant.
Lung injury does not aggravate mechanical ventilation-induced early cerebral inflammation or apoptosis in an animal model

Introduction The acute respiratory distress syndrome is not only associated with a high mortality, but also goes along with cognitive impairment in survivors. The cause for this cognitive impairment is still not clear. One possible mechanism could be cerebral inflammation as result of a “lung-brain-crosstalk”. Even mechanical ventilation itself can induce cerebral inflammation. We hypothesized, that an acute lung injury aggravates the cerebral inflammation induced by mechanical ventilation itself and leads to neuronal damage. Methods After approval of the institutional and state animal care committee 20 pigs were randomized to one of three groups: lung injury by central venous injection of oleic acid (n = 8), lung injury by bronchoalveolar lavage in combination with one hour of injurious ventilation (n = 8) or control (n = 6). Brain tissue of four native animals from a different study served as native group. For six hours all animals were ventilated with a tidal volume of 7 ml kg-1 and a scheme for positive end-expiratory pressure and inspired oxygen fraction, which was adapted from the ARDS network tables. Afterwards the animals were killed and the brains were harvested for histological (number of neurons and microglia) and molecular biologic (TNFalpha, IL-1beta, and IL-6) examinations. Results There was no difference in the number of neurons or microglia cells between the groups. TNFalpha was significantly higher in all groups compared to native (p < 0.05), IL-6 was only increased in the lavage group compared to native (p < 0.05), IL-1beta showed no difference between the groups. Discussion With our data we can confirm earlier results, that mechanical ventilation itself seems to trigger cerebral inflammation. This is not aggravated by acute lung injury, at least not within the first 6 hours after onset. Nevertheless, it seems too early to dismiss the idea of lung-injury induced cerebral inflammation, as 6 hours might be just not enough time to see any profound effect.
Boundary Condition for the Modeling of Open-circuited Devices in Non-equilibrium

A boundary condition specifically designed to model open-circuited devices in a macroscopic device simulator is introduced. Other simulation techniques have relied on an external circuit model to regulate the current flow out of a contact thus allowing the potential to remain the controlled variable at the boundary. The limitations of these methods become apparent when modeling open-circuited devices with an exceptionally small or zero output current. In this case, using a standard ohmic-type Dirichlet boundary condition would not yield satisfactory results and attaching the device to an arbitrarily large load resistance is physically and numerically unacceptable. This proposed condition is a true current controlled boundary where the external current is the specified parameter rather than the potential. Using this model, the external current is disseminated into electron and hole components relative to their respective concentration densities at the contact. This model also allows for the inclusion of trapped interface charge and a finite surface recombination velocity at the contact.
The Winning Approach for Author Profiling of Mexican Users in Twitter at MEX.A3T@IBEREVAL-2018

This paper describes the best performing system for Author Profiling of Mexican Twitter-Users presented at MEX.A3T@IBEREVAL-2018. This competition addresses two tasks: author profiling and aggressiveness detection. The first one, is aimed to predict two traits from authors profile: occupation and place of residence. Our proposed approach exploits the relevance of personal information by means of feature selection and term weighting methods. The aforementioned approach was previously studied in English texts; in this paper we adapt and evaluate it for Spanish texts. The approach considers that sentences where users talk about themselves expose highly valuable information like interests, habits and fears. Our hypothesis is that such personal personal information can reveal characteristics of their profile or aggressive behavior. In the test stage our system obtained the first place in author profiling task and the sixth position in aggressiveness detection. The results showed evidence of the usefulness of the proposed approach in Spanish language, particularly to determine occupation and place of residence profiles. On the other hand, for aggressiveness detection we lay the ground for future research in emphasizing personal information.
Visual Analysis of Public Transport Vehicle Movement

Public transport vehicles record detailed operational logs. In major networks, this quickly amounts to massive datasets. Traditionally, these are analysed only using statistical tools, yet they show great potential for the successful application of visual analytics techniques and the integration of different visualizations in order to improve service quality and passenger comfort. We present a visual analytics tool for the analysis of such data and apply it to a real-world dataset of actual public transport vehicle movements.
Epidemiology of snake bites in selected areas of Kenya

Introduction Snake bites are a silent public health problem in Kenya. Previous studies on snake bites in the country have mainly focused on identifying offending snake species, assessing the severity of envenomation and testing the efficacy of antivenom. Factors associated with snake bites in the country are yet to be fully understood. The aim of this work was to determine pharmaco-epidemiological factors associated with snake bites in areas of Kenya where incidence, severity and species responsible for snake bites have been reported. Methods Kakamega provincial hospital, Kabarnet, Kapenguria and, Makueni district hospitals were selected as study sites based on previous findings on incidence, severity and species responsible for snake bites in catchment areas of these hospitals. Persistent newspaper reports of snake bites in these areas and distribution of snakes in Kenya were also considered. Cases of snake bites reported between 2007-2009 were retrospectively reviewed and data on incidence, age, site of the bites, time of bite and antivenom use was collected. Results 176 bites were captured, 91 of which occurred in 2009. Individual incidence was between 2.7/100,000/year and 6.7/100,000/year. Bites peaked in the 1-15 year age group while 132/176 bites were in the lower limb area and 49/176 victims received antivenom. Most bites occurred during the dry season, in the bush and in the evening. Overall mortality was 2.27%. Conclusion There is a need to sensitize the Kenyan public and healthcare personnel on preventive measures, first aid and treatment of snake bites.
Gene alterations and expression spectrum of SPATA33 in nonobstructive azoospermic Iranian men

Genetic abnormalities have been considered a significant cause of male infertility. Increased expression of SPATA33 during the first wave of spermatogenesis indicates its possible association with the meiotic process. The aim of the current study was to investigate the genetic variations in the SPATA33 gene and its expression in patients with nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA). A total of 100 Iranian NOA men with idiopathic infertility were taken as the case group. The control group comprised 100 fertile men who had at least one child. The presence of nucleotide variations was analyzed in both groups using the standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR) sequencing technique. For mRNA and protein expression studies, testicular biopsy specimens from 27 patients were subdivided into three groups: nine obstructive azoospermic patients with hypospermatogenesis as control; nine maturation arrest (MA) and nine Sertoli cell‐only syndromes (SCOS) as case groups. The expression of SPATA33 at both mRNA and protein levels was compared among these three groups using the reverse transcription PCR technique, the realtime‐PCR technique, and immunohistochemistry. Mutation analysis of the SPATA33 gene revealed five nucleotide changes among the population studied. All but one showed no significant differences between the groups. The genotype distributions of rs112536073A > T in the transcription factor binding site region with heterozygote and homozygote genotypes were significantly different ( p < 0.05) between the two groups. More heterozygotes of this polymorphism were observed in patients, whereas more homozygotes were detected in controls. Accordingly, the current study illustrated that alterations in SPATA33 gene, at least those found in this study, may not impair spermatogenesis in patients with NOA. Reduction of gene expression at the level of mRNA in patients with SCOS can be interpreted by the absence of germ cells in the testicular tissue of these patients.
Rhodobacterales use a unique L‐threonine kinase for the assembly of the nucleotide loop of coenzyme B12

Several of the enzymes involved in the conversion of adenosylcobyric acid (AdoCby) to adenosylcobamide (AdoCba) are yet to be identified and characterized in some cobamide (Cba)‐producing prokaryotes. Using a bioinformatics approach, we identified the bluE gene (locus tag RSP_0788) of Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4. 1 as a putative functional homolog of the L‐threonine kinase enzyme (PduX, EC 2.7.1.177) of S. enterica. In AdoCba, (R)‐1‐aminopropan‐2‐ol O‐phosphate (AP‐P) links the nucleotide loop to the corrin ring; most known AdoCba producers derive AP‐P from L‐Thr‐O‐3‐phosphate (L‐Thr‐P). Here, we show that RsBluE has L‐Thr‐independent ATPase activity in vivo and in vitro. We used 31P‐NMR spectroscopy to show that RsBluE generates L‐Thr‐P at the expense of ATP and is unable to use L‐Ser as a substrate. BluE from R. sphaeroides or Rhodobacter capsulatus restored AdoCba biosynthesis in S. enterica ΕpduX and R. sphaeroides ΕbluE mutant strains. R. sphaeroides ΕbluE strains exhibited a decreased pigment phenotype that was restored by complementation with BluE. Finally, phylogenetic analyses revealed that bluE was restricted to the genomes of a few Rhodobacterales that appear to have a preference for a specific form of Cba, namely Coᴽ‐(ᴽ‐5,6‐dimethylbenzimidazolyl‐Coᵦ‐adenosylcobamide (a.k.a. adenosylcobalamin, AdoCbl; coenzyme B12, CoB12).
Health information behavior research with marginalized populations

As part of an increasingly vibrant area of research, information behavior scholars have shown that traditionally marginalized populations (e.g., older adults, LGBTQ people, people of color, low‐income people and people with chronic diseases or disabilities) may have distinct health information needs and information behaviors. These differences may arise from unique patterns in marginalized groups' life experiences, health risks and burdens, social networks and available resources, as well as dynamics of social marginalization and exclusionary service design. This subfield of information studies challenges established notions of health information‐seeking behaviours to further develop theories and models, as well as propose new models for information services and technologies. The unique characteristics of marginalized populations have necessitated the development of novel research approaches and methods, as well as interdisciplinary collaborations and community‐based partnerships. This panel invites audience members to think critically about what it means to engage marginalized populations in research and the methods and approaches needed to do so in a health context. It will also allow participants to broaden their understanding about the health information‐seeking behaviors of marginalized populations. Panelists will introduce and contextualize marginalized populations' health information‐seeking behaviours and explore potential or existing connections between themes from a variety of disciplines. Following a brief introduction and presentations from five panelists (who are themselves exploring marginalized populations' health information‐seeking behaviours), there will be an open discussion session with the audience in a World Café format.
Data ecosystem in self‐tracking health and wellness apps

To understand information behavior associated with self‐tracking and to facilitate exploration of various issues associated with quantified‐self data, such as data quality and data sharing, to name a few, we logged the data in self‐tracking health and wellness apps. Specifically, we selected 10 of the most popular health and wellness self‐tracking apps for both iOS and Android platforms, used these apps for a period of time, and logged data input into, generated by and exported out of the apps. The data were then grouped into categories and mapped to form a data ecosystem that can be queried to reveal latent research opportunities.
Improving Provenance Data Interaction for Visual Storytelling in Medical Imaging Data Exploration

Effective collaborative work in diagnostic medical imaging is not trivial due to the large amounts of complex data involved, a (non-linear) workflow involving experts in different domains, and a lack of versatility in the current tools employed in healthcare. In this paper, we aim to introduce how the integration of visual storytelling techniques together with provenance data in the analytic systems used in medicine can compensate for these issues, by enhancing communication of results and reproducibility of findings through diagnostic provenance data. To this end, we illustrate how we can improve the interaction with provenance data displayed in a graph in order to facilitate authoring and the creation process of visual data stories
Real-time Estimation of the 3D Transformation between Images with Large Viewpoint Differences in Cluttered Environments

This work focuses on estimating an accurate 3D transformation in real time, which is used to register images acquired from different viewpoints. The main challenges are significant image appearance differences, which originate from lateral displacements and parallax, inconsistencies in our 3D model and achieving real-time execution. To this end, we propose a featurebased method using a single synthesized view, which can cope with significant image appearance differences. The 3D transformation is estimated using an EPnP refinement to minimize the influence of inconsistencies in the 3D model. We demonstrate that the proposed method achieves over 95% transformation accuracy for lateral displacements up to 350 cm, while still achieving 85% accuracy at displacements of 530 cm. Additionally, with a running time of 100 milliseconds, we achieve real-time execution as a result of efficiency optimizations and GPU implementations of time-critical components.
The data sharing practices and challenges in Uganda

With the rapid development and increased use of information and communication technology (ICT), the demand for data sharing and reuse is growing even in developing countries. This study aims to contribute to the recently emerging discussions on data sharing in developing countries with a focus on the case of Uganda. The goal of this study is to uncover the current practices of and efforts for data sharing in the public sector in Uganda and to understand the relevant stakeholders' perceptions of data sharing and reuse practices/services.
Unified Simulation of Rigid and Flexible Bodies Using Position Based Dynamics

In this paper we present a new position based approach for simulating rigid and ﬂexible bodies with two-way coupling. This is achieved by expressing all the dynamics as constraints and running them in the same solver. Our main contribution is an accurate contact and Coulomb friction model based on a ﬁxed point iteration of a cone complementarity problem. We formulate the problem as a nonlinear convex minimization at position level and solve it using a new accelerated form of projected Jacobi. We add elasticity to the constraints by means of regularization and show how to add more damping in a credible manner. We also use this viscoelastic model to build an accurate position-based ﬁnite element solver for soft bodies. The novelty of this solver is that it is no longer an approximation and it is based directly on the elasticity theory of continuous media.
The use of a standardized order set reduces systemic corticosteroid dose and length of stay for individuals hospitalized with acute exacerbations of COPD: a cohort study

Background Systemic corticosteroids (SC) are an integral part of managing acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD). However, the optimal dose and duration vary widely in clinical practice. We hypothesized that the use of a “PowerPlan” order set in the electronic health system (EHS) that includes a 5-day SC order would be associated with a reduced steroid dose and length of stay (LOS) for individuals hospitalized with AECOPD. Patients and methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of Medicare recipients discharged with an AECOPD diagnosis from our University Hospital from 2014 to 2016. Our EHS-based “COPD PowerPlan” order set included admission, laboratory, pharmacy, and radiology orders for managing AECOPD. The default SC option included intravenous methyl-prednisolone for 24 hours followed by oral prednisone for 4 days. The primary endpoint was the difference in cumulative steroid dose between the PowerPlan and the usual care group. Secondary endpoints included hospital LOS and readmission rates. Results The 250 patients included for analysis were 62±11 years old, 58% male, with an FEV1 55.1%±23.6% predicted. The PowerPlan was used in 72 (29%) patients. Cumulative steroid use was decreased by 31% in the PowerPlan group (420±224 vs 611±462 mg, P<0.001) when compared with usual care. PowerPlan use was independently associated with decreased LOS (3 days; IQR 2–4 days vs 4 days; IQR 3–6 days, P=0.022) without affecting 30- and 90-day readmission rates. Conclusion Use of a standardized EHS-based order set to manage AECOPD was associated with a reduction in steroid dose and hospital LOS.
Identifying Student Difficulties with Basic Data Structures

To be effective instructors and CS education researchers, we must identify and understand student difficulties surrounding core computing topics. This study examines student difficulties with the basic data structures commonly found in CS2 courses. Initial exploration of student thinking began with think-aloud interviews with students. These interviews centered on open-ended questions that were iteratively improved upon based on analysis of interview transcripts. The revised open-ended questions were then posed to 249 students during an end-of-term final exam study session. Using the explanations and justifications included by students, responses to the questions were coded and summarized. This work characterizes the difficulties revealed by student responses, and provides details of their prevalence among the examined student population.
Automatic Face Texture Generation from Irregular Texture in 3-D Character Creation Applications

In this paper, we propose a novel face texture generation algorithm to enhance compatibility and reusability of 3-D face reconstruction results of real-world 3-D character creation applications. Our approach can handle irregular types of input textures of 3-D reconstructed face models using the proposed multi-projection texture generation technique. We automatically calculate exact pixel values of the frontal face region in the template texture map by ﬁnding correspondences between input and template 3-D models and textures, respectively. After matching tones of the frontal face region and the remaining parts, the ﬁnal texture of a 3-D face model is successfully generated without manual editing or post-processing of textures
“It lives all around us”: Aspects of data literacy in teen's lives

In this paper, we examine young people's data literacy in terms of their awareness of data and the rhetoric that surrounds it, as well as their knowledge of data flows. This is the first phase of the Exploring Data Worlds at the Public Library research study research study, a two‐year research study that explores the ways that libraries can address data literacy programming by helping teens understand, create and manage the digital traces of their data in meaningful, efficacious, and ethical ways. In this first phase of the study we explored the question What do young people understand about data within the context of their everyday lives and in relation to personal data management. We present here the findings from a series of semi‐structured interviews with young people, ages 11 to 18, that examined teens' perceptions and general knowledge of data in their lives. Results suggest that the teens in this study had varying interpretations of the nature of data and a broad understanding of the lifecycle of data, but most found it difficult to connect with data at a concrete and personal level, with the notion of a personal data dossier either non‐existent or abstract.
Surgical management of a conjunctival nevus with amniotic membrane transplantation

Purpose Nevi of the conjunctiva are usually benign pigmented tumorous lesions located in the bulbar conjunctiva. In most conjunctival nevus cases, the patient wants the lesion to be removed for cosmetic reasons, but excisional biopsies are best for lesions suspicious for malignancy. This case report illustrates the intraoperative surgical management, histological findings, and the course of healing in a conjunctival nevus patient. Case report A 26-year-old man was referred to our eye hospital with a large bulbar conjunctival nevus of the right eye. Upon examination, there was a large pigmented lesion with numerous small cysts present on the superior bulbar conjunctiva. The conjunctival tumor was resected, and an amniotic membrane transplantation was performed for the bulbar conjunctival reconstruction. The histopathological diagnosis suggested a conjunctival nevus. After the resection, a reduction in the inflammation and healing of the conjunctival lesion could be seen. The epithelialization of the bulbar conjunctiva over the amniotic membrane was complete 4 weeks after the resection. At the 6-month follow-up, there was no sign of recurrence or any postoperative complications. Conclusion A surgical excision combined with reconstruction via amniotic membrane transplantation is effective and economical for the treatment of large conjunctival lesions.