Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Clustering Algorithms for Learning Analytics with Educational Datasets

Learning Analytics is becoming a key tool for the analysis and improvement of digital education processes, and its potential benefit grows with the size of the student cohorts generating data. In the context of Open Education, the potentially massive student cohorts and the global audience represent a great opportunity for significant analyses and breakthroughs in the field of learning analytics. However, these potentially huge datasets require proper analysis techniques, and different algorithms, tools and approaches may perform better in this specific context. In this work, we compare different clustering algorithms using an educational dataset. We start by identifying the most relevant algorithms in Learning Analytics and benchmark them to determine, according to internal validation and stability measurements, which algorithms perform better. We analyzed seven algorithms, and determined that K-means and PAM were the best performers among partition algorithms, and DIANA was the best performer among hierarchical algorithms
Characterization of a thermostable κ-carrageenase from a hot spring bacterium and plant protection activity of the oligosaccharide enzymolysis product.

BACKGROUND Seaweed oligosaccharides are environmentally-friendly natural products and their use for disease control in sustainable agriculture is extremely promising. Enzymatic digestion to prepare seaweed oligosaccharides has drawn considerable interest. However, the study of enzymatically degraded products of carrageenan is still in its infancy compared with that of other hydrocolloids such as agar and alginate. To prepare degraded carrageenan on a commercial scale, it is necessary to select superior producer bacterial strains to improve the yield and thermostability of carrageenases. RESULTS The carrageenan-degrading bacterium Bacillus sp. HT19 was isolated from sediment of a hot spring in Indonesia, and a κ-carrageenase with high activity was purified from the culture supernatant. The purified enzyme, named Car19, had maximum activity (538 U mg-1 ) at 60 °C and pH 7.0. Notably, the enzyme retained >90% of its initial activity after incubation at 60 °C for 24 h. The Ca2+ obviously improved the thermostability of Car19 at 70 °C. The Km and Vmax values of purified Car19 were 0.061 mg mL-1 and 115.13 U mg-1 , respectively, with κ-carrageenan as substrate. Thin-layer chromatography and electrospray ionization mass-spectrometry analysis of hydrolysates indicated that the enzyme exolytically depolymerized κ-carrageenan to neo-carrabiose. The hydrolysate enhanced the resistance of cucumber to cucumber mosaic virus and increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes in infected plants. CONCLUSION To our knowledge, Car19 is the most thermostable κ-carrageenase reported so far. Its high optimal reaction temperature and thermostability, and unitary hydrolysate constituent, makes Car19 a promising candidate for the preparation of carrageenan oligosaccharides with plant protection activity. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.
Review: Chlorpromazine Versus Penfluridol for Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a chronic and relapsing mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels and behaves. Symptoms typically first appear in people between the ages of 16 and 30 years of age and can be so severe as to be disabling. Sufferers experience formal thought disorder and some cognitive disturbances with symptoms categorised as positive or negative in nature. Positive symptoms include delusions and hallucinations while negative symptoms include poverty of speech, flattened affect, anhedonia and lack of motivation (Nikvarz, Vahedian, & Khalili, 2017). Front-line treatment to manage the symptoms of schizophrenia involves the use of anti-psychotic medications, such as chlorpromazine and penfluridol; however, patient compliance can be problematic due to the adverse side effects of the drugs and/or lack of insight in to their illness (Nikvarz et al., 2017). Chlorpromazine is recognised as benchmark anti-psychotic drug against which others are measured (Adams, Awad, Rathbone, Thornley, & Sores-Weiser, 2014). Its use is associated with a wide range of side effects, including extrapyramidal, anti-cholinergic and anti-histaminergic effects, for example dry mouth, blurred vision, urinary retention and tremors (Adams et al., 2014). Penfluridol is a long-acting anti-psychotic drug with similar side effects to chlorpromazine, however has the advantage of being able to be administered weekly.
Case Report: Visceral Leishmaniasis with Salmonella Paratyphi and Brucella melitensis Coinfection as a Cause of Persistent Fever in a Patient from Sudan

Abstract. We describe the case of a 12-year-old boy from Sudan who presented with fever of 1-week duration, headache, cough, and vomiting. A set of diagnostic tests led to the diagnosis of three infectious diseases: visceral leishmaniasis (probable diagnosis based on positive direct agglutination test), enteric fever (blood culture grown with Salmonella Paratyphi), and brucellosis (blood culture grown with Brucella melitensis). The patient received specific treatment of the three infections and recovered. This case illustrates the occurrence and possible implications of coinfections in patients with persistent fever, including conditions that are hard to diagnose in field settings, such as brucellosis and enteric fever.
Stigmatizing images in the media – a cross‐national survey

Images accompanying articles on obesity in the media may contribute to a stigmatizing narrative of personal blame for the condition. We report a pilot study of online newspapers in 15 countries to determine the use of positive and negative imagery used to accompany articles on obesity. We undertook a visual content analysis of images accompanying articles on obesity from the top five newspapers of each country. We then ranked countries according to the ratio of positive to negative imagery used. A total of 195 images were analysed. The majority of images scored negatively (i.e. were likely to be stigmatizing). Media in Hong Kong, South Africa, Italy and Morocco had the highest prevalence of stigmatizing imagery, whereas Japan and New Zealand displayed the lowest. Public media in all the countries surveyed show stigmatizing imagery associated with obesity, but there was variability between countries. As the global prevalence of obesity rises and advocacy groups raise awareness of stigma, we hope for an improvement in the images used in the media.
Adaptive mechanism for distributed query processing and data loading using the RDF data in the cloud

With the development of semantic web, the Resource Description Framework (RDF) data management has gained more importance in the recent years. The RDF data management involves processing the large datasets. The existing mechanism had performance issues with respect to data loading and query response time. In this paper, we developed an efficient mechanism for handling the RDF data using the data partitioning approach. The proposed approach follows the low‐level indexing and runtime indexing for the statements in the query to reduce the data loading time as well as to reduce the communication overhead over the nodes. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated using the Amazon web services. The proposed achieved faster loading time and better query response time compared to the RDF‐3X and SHARD models.
Efficacy of low-dose spironolactone on top of angiotensin receptor blockade in patients with glomerulonephritis

Background Previous studies have shown that aldosterone antagonists have a proteinuria-lowering effect in patients with proteinuria and progressive proteinuric disease not adequately controlled by the use of angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). Aldosterone antagonists, in combination with ARBs, might improve proteinuria in patients with glomerulonephritis (GN). Methods In the present retrospective study, we evaluated the proteinuria-lowering effect and drug safety of low-dose spironolactone (12.5 mg/day) in 42 patients with GN being treated with an ARB. Results Proteinuria decreased from a mean total-protein-to-creatinine (TP/Cr) ratio of 592.3 ± 42.0 mg/g at baseline to 335.6 ± 43.3 mg/g after three months of treatment with spironolactone (P < 0.001). After the initial three months, the mean TP/Cr ratio increased progressively at six, nine, and 12 months; however, it was still less than the baseline value (P = 0.001, < 0.001, and < 0.001, respectively). Although serum Cr levels increased significantly at three and nine months compared with baseline (P = 0.036 and 0.026, respectively), there was no time effect of treatment (P = 0.071). Serum potassium levels tended to increase with time (P = 0.118), whereas systolic and diastolic blood pressures decreased with time (P = 0.122 and 0.044, respectively). Conclusion Low-dose spironolactone in combination with an ARB reduced proteinuria in patients with GN, which could represent a novel treatment option in individuals whose proteinuria is not optimally controlled by the use of ARBs alone.
Intravitreal S100B Injection Leads to Progressive Glaucoma Like Damage in Retina and Optic Nerve

The glial protein S100B, which belongs to a calcium binding protein family, is up-regulated in neurological diseases, like multiple sclerosis or glaucoma. In previous studies, S100B immunization led to retinal ganglion cell (RGC) loss in an experimental autoimmune glaucoma (EAG) model. Now, the direct degenerative impact of S100B on the retina and optic nerve was evaluated. Therefore, 2 μl of S100B was intravitreally injected in two concentrations (0.2 and 0.5 μg/μl). At day 3, 14 and 21, retinal neurons, such as RGCs, amacrine and bipolar cells, as well as apoptotic mechanisms were analyzed. Furthermore, neurofilaments, myelin fibers and axons of optic nerves were evaluated. In addition, retinal function and immunoglobulin G (IgG) level in the serum were measured. At day 3, RGCs were unaffected in the S100B groups, when compared to the PBS group. Later, at days 14 and 21, the RGC number as well as the β-III tubulin protein level was reduced in the S100B groups. Only at day 14, active apoptotic mechanisms were noted. The number of amacrine cells was first affected at day 21, while the bipolar cell amount remained comparable to the PBS group. Also, the optic nerve neurofilament structure was damaged from day 3 on. At day 14, numerous swollen axons were observed. The intraocular injection of S100B is a new model for a glaucoma like degeneration. Although the application site was the eye, the optic nerve degenerated first, already at day 3. From day 14 on, retinal damage and loss of function was noted. The RGCs in the middle part of the retina were first affected. At day 21, the damage expanded and RGCs had degenerated in all areas of the retina as well as amacrine cells. Furthermore, elevated IgG levels in the serum were measured at day 21, which could be a sign of a late and S100B independet immune response. In summary, S100B had a direct destroying impact on the axons of the optic nerve. The damage of the retinal cell bodies seems to be a consequence of this axon loss.
Reply to "Comment on 'Nodal infection in Markovian susceptible-infected-susceptible and susceptible-infected-removed epidemics on networks are non-negatively correlated' ".

We emphasize that correlations between infection states in both the SIS and SIR model are always positive and that the title of the article "Nodal infection in Markovian susceptible-infected-susceptible and susceptible-infected-removed epidemics on networks are non-negatively correlated" [Phys. Rev. E 89, 052802 (2014)PLEEE81539-375510.1103/PhysRevE.89. 052802] is correct. The history and motivation that led to the proof is placed in perspective.
Impact of Premorbid Malnutrition and Dysphagia on Ischemic Stroke Outcome in Elderly Patients: A Community-Based Study

Abstract Objective: The present study was performed to assess nutritional status and its relationship with clinical outcomes in elderly stroke patients. Method: In this cross-sectional study, 253 stroke patients were studied. Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) was used to assign patients to three groups: malnourished, at risk of malnutrition, and well nourished. Northwestern Dysphagia Patient Check Sheet was administered to all patients. Anthropometric measures, including body mass index (BMI), calf circumferences (CC), mid-arm circumferences (MAC), and triceps skinfold thickness were brought out. In addition, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), modified Rankin Scale (mRS), and biochemical tests were performed. Results: Of 253 patients, 34.4% were malnourished, 42.3% were at risk of malnutrition, and 23.3% were well nourished. The malnourished patients had significantly lower BMI, CC, and MAC (p < 0.05). The levels of albumin and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein were significantly different among the groups (p < 0.001). The admission and 3-month follow-up mRS scores, as well as dysphagia, were significantly higher in the malnourished patients and those at risk of malnutrition (p < 0.001). In addition, mRS scores at admission and 3-month follow-up scores, as well as the length of hospital stay (LOS), were significantly correlated with MNA score, dysphagia, BMI, CC, MAC, albumin, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (p < 0.05). Significant unadjusted associations were observed among MNA scores, BMI, CC, MAC, dysphagia scores, NIHSS scores, length of hospital stay (LOS), albumin, hs-C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) with a poor outcome. With a multivariate logistic regression analysis, NIHSS scores and MNA scores remained significantly associated with the poor outcome in patients with ischemic stroke. Conclusions: The findings of the present study underline the importance of nutritional status in elderly stroke patients.
Towards a VR-based Cognitive Assessment and Rehabilitation Tool for Cognitively Impaired Elderly People

With increased life expectancies and improved quality of life conditions, many people find themselves living long and healthy lives until they reach old age, when the body starts decaying, and the brain is no exception. The primary objective of this paper is to introduce a novel approach on the evaluation, prevention and training of the elderly afflicted by cognitive disorders, within a virtual reality environment. By adapting and enhancing examinations normally used in the specialized medical field combined with the potential of virtual reality, a path to new possibilities opens up. The data gathered from various studies strongly suggests that mental exercise is a key factor in the prevention and alleviation of the evolution of dementia. The aim of our system is not only to detect and mitigate early signs of dementia, but to offer a mentally stimulating VR-assisted activity for the elderly, an important step in the rehabilitation of the elderly and potentially a forward step in the research field of cognitive impairments.
POROVNÁNÍ PŘESNOSTI MODELOVÁNÍ VÝNOSŮ PORTFOLIA PRO RŮZNÁ OBDOBÍ NA TRHU

The article is focused on the portfolio returns modelling, to be specific on the estimation of VaR as a portfolio risk measure. The goal of the article is to discover, how the characteristics of a market evolution influence the accuracy of VaR estimation of the internationally diversified portfolio of stock indices. Returns of portfolio are modelled by NIG model coupled together by Student copula function. The VaR estimation is back tested in different periods. The volatility of returns in each considered period evolves differently. The accuracy of VaR estimation is measured on the basis of the number of observed exceptions and its comparison to expected number of exceptions. It is apparent from the results, that for constant volatility period the model is accurate. When volatility changes in considered period, the model underestimates or overestimates the VaR. Úvod Při řízení finančních institucí je modelování výnosů portfolia a následný odhad rizika tohoto portfolia jednou z klíčových činností. Jako ukazatel míry rizika se nejčastěji používá hodnota Value at Risk (VaR), jejíž odhad je pro finanční instituce povinný (pro banky dle Basel II, pro pojišťovny dle Solvency II). Metodologie Value at Risk je v současné době nejpoužívanější mírou rizika i přes častou kritiku z důvodů nesplňování podmínek tzv. koherentní míry rizika, viz Artzner a kol. (1999). Někteří autoři proto doporučují použít jako míru rizika hodnotu conditional Value at Risk (cVaR). 1 Tento příspěvek vznikl v rámci projektu SGS VŠB-TUO 2011/7 a s využitím výpočetních zdrojů MetaCentra poskytnutých v rámci programu "Projekty velkých infrastruktur pro VaVaI" LM2010005.
Neurogenetic determinants and mechanisms of addiction to nicotine and smoked tobacco

The single most preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the United States is tobacco use. Decades of study show that the risk of becoming addicted to smoked cigarettes varies greatly amongst individuals and is heritable, yet environmental factors are also important contributors. In this review, we consider a wide range of methodologies and key published reports that have defined the inheritance of different stages of nicotine‐dependent smoking behavior, including preference, initiation, regular use, withdrawal and dependence as well as cessation and relapse. Major findings from both animal and human studies are discussed. Current findings converge primarily on the role of nicotinic cholinergic receptor subunits, although other neurotransmitter systems as well as nicotine metabolism enzymes are implicated. Various stages of nicotine addiction may share common genetic mechanisms, yet several lines of evidence indicate that each stage also has its own unique genetic determinants. Studies on the heritability of smoking initiation demonstrate substantial evidence for gene–environment interaction, although the precise molecular genetic mechanism(s) remains unknown. Considering the relatively few genes identified so far and the small to modest fraction of the variance in risk for a particular smoking phenotype (e.g., smoking initiation in late adolescence) attributable to these genes, a large gap remains to be filled in order to account for the heritability of key phenotypes involved in each stage of addiction to smoked tobacco. Looking forward, new research strategies involving both human and animal studies will produce the fundamental genetic insights that are the foundation for the precision medical treatment of individuals addicted to smoked tobacco.
Fully Implicit Online Learning

Regularized online learning is widely used in machine learning applications. In online learning, performing exact minimization ($i.e.,$ implicit update) is known to be beneficial to the numerical stability and structure of solution. In this paper we study a class of regularized online algorithms without linearizing the loss function or the regularizer, which we call \emph{fully implicit online learning} (FIOL). We show that for arbitrary Bregman divergence, FIOL has the $O(\sqrt{T})$ regret for general convex setting and $O(\log T)$ regret for strongly convex setting, and the regret has an one-step improvement effect because it avoids the approximation error of linearization. Then we propose efficient algorithms to solve the subproblem of FIOL. We show that even if the solution of the subproblem has no closed form, it can be solved with complexity comparable to the linearized online algoritms. Experiments validate the proposed approaches.
The expression of two isoforms of matrix metalloproteinase-2 in aged mouse models of diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease

Background This study was undertaken to explore the effects of aging on the kidneys in mouse models of diabetes and chronic kidney disease (CKD), and to compare the expression of two isoforms of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2)–secretory full-length MMP-2 and intracellular N-terminal truncated MMP-2 (NTT-MMP-2)–in these models. Methods Two experimental ICR mouse models were used: a streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type 1 diabetes mellitus model and a 5/6 nephrectomized (5/6Nx) CKD model. The abundance of each isoform of MMP-2 was determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and functional analyses were conducted. Moreover, the protein levels of the two MMP-2 isoforms were determined semi-quantitatively by immunohistochemical staining, and their association with tissue damage was assessed. Results Both isoforms of MMP-2 were upregulated in the kidney tissues of STZ-induced diabetic mice and 5/6Nx mice, irrespective of age. Characteristically, NTT-MMP-2 protein expression was elevated in old control mice, in line with the qPCR results. NTT-MMP-2 expression was limited to the renal cortex, and to the tubulointerstitial area rather than the glomerular area. In terms of tissue damage, tubulointerstitial fibrosis was more severe in old 5/6Nx mice than in their young counterparts, whereas glomerulosclerosis was comparable in old and young 5/6Nx mice. Conclusion The intracellular isoform of MMP-2 was induced by ageing, irrespective of the presence of diabetes or CKD, and its induction may be related to tubulointerstitial fibrosis in chronic kidney disease.
Automatic extraction of abnormal lip movement features from the alternating motion rate task in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Abstract Purpose: With the long-term goal to develop a clinically feasible tool for assessing articulatory involvement in ALS, we designed an algorithmic approach to automatically extract lip movement features during an alternating motion rate (AMR) task and assessed their efficacy for detecting and monitoring articulatory involvement in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Method: Twenty three spatial, temporal, and spatiotemporal AMR features were extracted from 161 samples of lip movements (139 from participants with ALS; 22 from neurologically-intact participants). The diagnostic value of these features was assessed based on their (1) sensitivity for detecting early bulbar motor involvement, and (2) associations with accepted clinical measures of bulbar disease progression. Result: Among all AMR features, two temporal features were the most affected – temporal variability and syllable frequency, which (1) showed large changes during early disease stages and (2) predicted the progression of bulbar motor involvement and speech intelligibility decline. Spatial features were in general, less sensitive to early bulbar motor involvement. Conclusions: The findings provided preliminary support for the algorithmic approach to quantifying articulatory features predictive of bulbar motor and speech decline in ALS. The differential disease effects on spatial and temporal AMR features might shed light on the mechanism of articulatory involvement during ALS progression.
Zika Virus: A Review of Literature

Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arthropod-borne virus that was first isolated in 1947. Since then, multiple outbreaks of ZIKV have been reported in different countries. It is transmitted mostly by Aedes mosquitoes, and the symptoms of fever, joint pain, red eyes, headache, and maculopapular rash closely resemble chikungunya and dengue. The most severe complications of ZIKV infection include the risk of microcephaly and other congenital brain anomalies in infected pregnant women. It is a condition that can be easily prevented with proper education. In this review, we focussed on different aspects of the recent outbreaks of Zika virus disease, including its epidemiological background, transmission routes, presentation, as well as diagnosis and prevention.