Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Text document clustering using statistical integrated graph based sentence sensitivity ranking algorithm

The proposed methodology employs a novel statistical integrated graph-based sentence sensitivity ranking algorithm for text document clustering. Clustering of documents is a task of grouping a document automatically into a list of meaningful clusters; in order for the documents inside a group to share the same topic. In this paper, first, a novel integrated graph-based methodology using the sentence sensitivity ranking is proposed to extract keyphrases from the documents. In the standard statistical approach, keyphrases are extracted on the basis of the sentence sensitivity ranking; and in the graph-based method, the candidate keyphrases are automatically created as graphs by applying the sentence sensitivity ranking. With the aid of the top listed keyphrases, the documents clustering are carried out by implementing the proposed sentence sensitivity ranking algorithm. The simulation results reveal that the proposed graph-based text document clustering using statistical integrated graph-based sentence sensitivity ranking algorithm obtained the best results for clustering the text documents.
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers and novel flame retardants: associations between dust and human milk

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers and novel flame retardants: associations between dust and human milk. Besides diet, house dust has been recognized as an important exposure media for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) [1]. Our previous work showed significant associations between levels in dust and in human plasma, for the congeners BDE-28, BDE-47 and BDE-100 as well as for ΣPBDE tri hexa [2]. Recent results from Sweden indicated that dust was a significant source of exposure for the octa- to decabrominated congeners in particular [3]. Moreover, several novel flame retardants (NFRs) have been detected in dust some of which might be replacement products of PBDEs [4]. Building on these findings, the objectives were to study whether i) the associations observed for plasma also existed for human milk, ii) the PBDE profiles in dust and milk could provide insights into the bioavailability and bioaccumulation of individual congeners, iii) NFRs were measurable in human milk, and iv) infants were exposed to significant amounts of NFRs via breast feeding. PBDEs were detected in all of the 40 milk samples analysed in this study. ΣPBDE tri-hepta ranged from 0.98-45.8 ng/g lw, with a median of 2.26 ng/g lw. The main congener in milk was BDE-153, accounting for 35% of ΣPBDE tri-hepta . This is much higher than in dust collected in
Electrical Breakdown Mechanism of Transformer Oil with Water Impurity: Molecular Dynamics Simulations and First-Principles Calculations

Water impurity is the essential factor of reducing the insulation performance of transformer oil, which directly determines the operating safety and life of a transformer. Molecular dynamics simulations and first-principles electronic-structure calculations are employed to study the diffusion behavior of water molecules and the electrical breakdown mechanism of transformer oil containing water impurities. The molecular dynamics of an oil-water micro-system model demonstrates that the increase of aging acid concentration will exponentially expedite thermal diffusion of water molecules. Density of states (DOS) for a local region model of transformer oil containing water molecules indicates that water molecules can introduce unoccupied localized electron-states with energy levels close to the conduction band minimum of transformer oil, which makes water molecules capable of capturing electrons and transforming them into water ions during thermal diffusion. Subsequently, under a high electric field, water ions collide and impact on oil molecules to break the molecular chain of transformer oil, engendering carbonized components that introduce a conduction electronic-band in the band-gap of oil molecules as a manifestation of forming a conductive region in transformer oil. The conduction channel composed of carbonized components will be eventually formed, connecting two electrodes, with the carbonized components developing rapidly under the impact of water ions, based on which a large number of electron carriers will be produced similar to “avalanche” discharge, leading to an electrical breakdown of transformer oil insulation. The water impurity in oil, as the key factor for forming the carbonized conducting channel, initiates the electric breakdown process of transformer oil, which is dominated by thermal diffusion of water molecules. The increase of aging acid concentration will significantly promote the thermal diffusion of water impurities and the formation of an initial conducting channel, accounting for the degradation in dielectric strength of insulating oil containing water impurities after long-term operation of the transformer.
Effects of a Perturbation-Based Balance Training on Compensatory Postural Responses to Backward Loss of Balance in Patients with Cerebellar Disease: A Case Study

OBJECTIVES The damage to the cerebellum primarily results in balance-related abnormalities that may affect performance of locomotion and postural adjustments, eventually contributing to an increased risk of fall and fear of falling in patients with cerebellar disease. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of a perturbation-based training that induced backward loss of balance on compensatory postural responses in patients with cerebellar disease. METHODS The participant was a 51-year-old female diagnosed with spinocerebellar ataxia and had the disease for 19 years. The perturbation-based backward balance training was performed over 8 weeks (a total of 24 training sessions) in order to facilitate the perception of postural perturbation onset and execution of rapid compensatory responses. RESULTS The patient demonstrated a noticeable reduction in the number of steps required to recover body balance after postural disturbances. The reduction of multi-step reactions in recovering balance could be attributed to improvements in the body center-of-mass displacement and trunk control during the landing of step. Besides, there were also improvements in subjective measures of functional mobility and psychological well-being after the balance training. CONCLUSION Although current research evidence of balance rehabilitation for cerebellar patients is lacking, this study offers the feasibility of adaptive training to improve postural stability through task-specific training intervention.
Sperm Abnormalities: In the Male Partners of Infertile Couples from Kanyakumari District

Infertility has been identified as a health issue worldwide and it is of great concern among married couples in our society. Scientifically, it has been established that both males and females can contribute to infertility. However, in most cases, women are held responsible for the same without proper diagnosis. Statistically, female factors contribute to about 40–60% of infertility cases, whereas 20–40% of infertility cases are due to factors contributed by males, of which, deficiency in semen quality is the major cause which accounts for 40–50% of infertility cases. A decrease in semen quality has been reported which can be due to lifestyle changes, occupational exposures to chemicals, heat, and stress. To study the prevalence of infertility, distribution of sperm abnormalities, and the impact of occupation on men visiting a tertiary clinic. Male partners of infertile couples who visited the fertility center were considered for the study. Seminal fluid was analyzed for volume, sperm concentration, motility (progressive motility), and morphology. In this study conducted in our center, we found that 55.8% of the patients had sperm abnormalities, among which teratozoospermia was the commonly observed anomaly. Male factors equally contribute to infertility as female factors. Semen analysis is the crucial diagnostic test for infertility assessment of the male partner. The incidence of male infertility has been increasing recently and the evaluation and prognosis of male subfertility are challenging. Although semen analysis is the primary test for the assessment of infertility in males, it does not recognize the abnormality in idiopathic infertility. Thus, new techniques and methods need to be developed to improve accuracy and reduce variation. Viswambharan N, Manavalan M. Sperm Abnormalities: In the Male Partners of Infertile Couples from Kanyakumari District. Int J Infertil Fetal Med 2020;11(1):16–19.
A Gene Knock-Down Approach in Tribolium castaneum to Study Survival and Priming Towards Bacillus thuringiensis var. tenebrionis

Insects possess an array of defense molecules allowing them to fight infections. They can also show a form of immune memory, named priming. However, the involvement of insect immune defense mechanisms in priming is unclear, since invertebrates lack the molecular machinery present in vertebrates to build an immune memory. In the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum, larvae can be primed via the oral route with Bacillus thurigiensis var. tenebrionids (Btt). This results in changes in the expression of a large number of genes, among which some belong to families of ancient defense genes. In the present work, we tested whether three chosen candidate genes (a Thaumatin, a C-type Lectin and an Osiris-like gene) could be involved in the survival to a Btt exposure, as well as in the priming phenotype. We assessed changes in their expression over time and according to the priming treatment, knocked them down individually by RNA interference (RNAi), and observed how it affected survival upon challenge. The quantification of gene expression patterns in our larvae with RT-qPCR showed that up- and/or down-regulation of the genes, after the priming treatment, was quite volatile and time dependent. Upon knock-down, we did not observe the expected decrease in survival to Btt or the abolishment of the priming phenotype. We conclude that knocking down genes individually is probably insufficient to affect survival and priming in our system. This gives us insight into the complexity of the molecular processes underpinning priming.
Exploring Water Landscape Adaptability of Urban Spatial Development Base on Coupling Coordination Degree Model A Case of Caidian District, Wuhan

Under the background of rapid urbanization, the study explored the adaptive relationship between urban spatial development and water landscape in different stages in Caidian District, Wuhan in order to reveal the characteristics and influencing factors of water landscape adaptability of urban spatial development and improve urban sustainability aiming at optimizing spatial development and improving water landscape function. Caidian District was seen as a complex adaptive system formed by the interaction between the base layer and the occupation layer. The assessment system of urban spatial development is constructed based on land use data and landscape pattern indices, and the coupling coordination degree model and correlation analysis were used to describe the characteristics of water landscape adaptability of urban spatial development. The results showed that: (1) the adaptation relationship between urban space and water landscape in Caidian District was becoming tense; (2) different spatial systems have unique adaptation cycles to water landscape; (3) the 1000 m buffer is the main area affected by water landscape adaptability of urban spatial development. This study provides a new perspective for the urban adaptability. Finally, improvement suggestions were put forward by three aspects of water landscape structure control, urban development control, and ecological space demarcation.
Determination of morphological and physiological changes of ornamental cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. acephala) against boron toxicity in phytoremediation

Boron toxicity in agricultural lands limits plant breeding as a plant nutrition problem. Some plants are able to tolerate high levels of heavy metals at potentially toxic doses, accumulate them in their bodies and remove them from the soil. In this study, it was aimed to determine the morphological and physiological responses of ornamental cabbage in phytoremediation against boron toxicity. This study was conducted under controlled greenhouse conditions, 4 different boron doses (0, 10, 25, and 50 mg kg B) were applied to 2 different soil structures (acidic (S1) and alkaline (S2) soils). Toxicity symptoms were appeared at 50 mg kg B. At alkaline soil, plant weights and visual properties of plants were found to be low in quality. Results show that as the boron dose increased, shoot-root fresh and dry weight, stomatal conductance, chlorophyll content, relative water content (RWC) were decreased. Boron accumulation in the shoot, root and whole plant was at 50 mg kg B. As a result, it is understood that ornamental cabbage used for decontamination of boron element by phytoremediation method for the first time in this study. We suggest that it has a potential to as hyper-accumulator plant for the remediation of boron-contaminated soil.
Bayesian detection of event spreading pattern from multivariate binary time series

Abstract This paper concerns the inference of the event spreading path from noisy event occurrence time series. We propose a probabilistic tree model for the event spreading path, and provide a full Bayesian approach with a Metropolis-Hastings (MH) algorithm to detect the tree path from multivariate binary time series. Our approach allows a node to spread the event in a probabilistic way to an arbitrary number of downstream nodes, the input data to contain an unknown number of nodes which are not inside the event spreading path, and the algorithm to sample only tree spreading structures. Efficient MH moves and iterative procedures guarantee the detection even if none or multiple event spreading paths are presented in the data. Simulations on synthesized data sets showed that our method can accurately detect the event spreading topologies, has good one-step-ahead prediction accuracy and outperforms existing approaches. We also analyzed the influence of model parameters on estimation accuracy in depth and obtained some interesting conclusions. Furthermore, we applied our method to the PM2.5 data in provincial capitals of north and east China. The inferred path is largely consistent with the known pollutant spreading trend.
Measuring welfare states beyond the three worlds: Refining state‐of‐the‐art tools

The past decades saw the expansion of the geography of comparative welfare state research beyond the three worlds embracing a heterogeneous set of mainly middle-income countries. In response, two leading state-of-the-art tools for measuring welfare states through social rights, Social Citizenship Indicators Program (SCIP) and Comparative Welfare Entitlements Dataset (CWED), integrated many new countries into their datasets. Comparative welfare state research has yet to address the extent to which these measurement tools originally developed for measuring classic welfare states work equally well for measuring welfare states beyond the three worlds. In this article, we explore a number of challenges these datasets face in measuring these new cases. These challenges, we believe, stem from a set of key institutional characteristics widely prevalent in these welfare states. These characteristics are overt and hidden conditionalities, unconventional instruments, informal practices, nature of changes in statutory pension age and labour market characteristics of the representative worker. We propose a set of solutions to refine these datasets for comparing all cases, old and new. We conclude by drawing lessons for comparative research focusing not only on welfare states beyond the three worlds but also on the three worlds themselves
Fast sonochemical exfoliation of Hematene type sheets and flakes from hematite nanoarchitectures shows enhanced photocurrent density

This work describes a sonochemical exfoliation technique for producing Hematene nanosheets and flakes from hematite nanopowder and a thin film. The optical properties of the resulting Hematene sheets and flakes differ from those of a pure Hematite film, allowing them to be utilized for the enhancement of photoelectrochemical functionality. In this study, we found that the ultrasonicated Hematite film containing Hematene flakes exhibits a greater photocurrent density than the non-sonicated Hematite film. The increased light absorption property of the Hematene flakes because of the scattering effect helps achieve this objective. The exfoliation process is further supported by the X-ray diffraction of the Hematene sheet, which demonstrates the splitting of the (104) plane Bragg peak following ultrasonication. The fast exfoliation of nanosheets and flakes is supported by a qualitatively predictable mechanism, which shows that the quick process of exfoliation is caused by the surface energy and hydroxylation of the crystal faces. Graphical abstract
Lowering the Bar? External Conditions, Opportunity Costs, and High-Tech Start-Up Outcomes

We assess the heterogeneous impact of economic downturns on individuals’ decisions to bring high-technology ideas to the market in the form of new ventures. We thereby examine how worsening labor market conditions influence individuals’ opportunity costs of starting new ventures, the resulting composition of the entrepreneurial pool, and start-up performance outcomes. Using a rich data set of start-up founders in the biotechnology and medical device sectors, we find that an increase in the unemployment rate is associated with a substantial rise in the share of entrepreneurs who are most sensitive to worsening labor market conditions. Additionally, we find that start-ups founded by these entrepreneurs display lower financial and innovative performance than start-ups founded by entrepreneurs who are relatively insensitive to business cycles. Finally, we provide suggestive evidence that individuals’ heterogeneous response to worsening labor market conditions is a relevant factor in explaining the negative relationship between unemployment and start-up performance outcomes.
Non-linear absorbtion of As2S3 glasses at the critical light intensities and for technological modifications

The effect of the linear and non-linear imaginary parts of polarizability or connected with them linear a and two-photon β absorption on transmission and optical damage threshold obtained at the different technology conditions As 2 S 3 glasses were investigated. It was established, that with increasing of the melting temperature T i and velocity of cooling V i values the forbidden gap width of glasses increase at the decreasing of their density, refractive indices (from 2.71 to 2.48) and two-photon absorption coefficient (from 0.37 to 0,15 cm/MW), that is accompanied by the appropriate increasing of optical damage threshold I d .
The algorithm audit: Scoring the algorithms that score us

In recent years, the ethical impact of AI has been increasingly scrutinized, with public scandals emerging over biased outcomes, lack of transparency, and the misuse of data. This has led to a growing mistrust of AI and increased calls for mandated ethical audits of algorithms. Current proposals for ethical assessment of algorithms are either too high level to be put into practice without further guidance, or they focus on very specific and technical notions of fairness or transparency that do not consider multiple stakeholders or the broader social context. In this article, we present an auditing framework to guide the ethical assessment of an algorithm. The audit instrument itself is comprised of three elements: a list of possible interests of stakeholders affected by the algorithm, an assessment of metrics that describe key ethically salient features of the algorithm, and a relevancy matrix that connects the assessed metrics to stakeholder interests. The proposed audit instrument yields an ethical evaluation of an algorithm that could be used by regulators and others interested in doing due diligence, while paying careful attention to the complex societal context within which the algorithm is deployed.
Outcomes and Prognostic Factors in Patients with Hematologic Malignancies in the Intensive Care unit: A Single-Center Cohort Study of 233 Cases in Taiwan

BackgroundPatients with a hematologic malignancies (HM) have one of the highest mortality rates among cancer patients admitted to the medical intensive care unit (ICU). The aim of this study was to identify outcomes and risk factors that predict the prognosis of critically ill patients with HM in the ICU.MethodsA retrospective observational study was conducted in a tertiary referral hospital in Taiwan over 40 months (January 1, 2017–April 30, 2020). All adult patients with HM who were admitted to medical ICU were enrolled. Clinical data upon hospital and ICU admission were collected. The predictors of ICU mortality were evaluated using a multivariate analysis.ResultsA total of 233 patients with HM met the inclusion criteria. The median age (SD) was 59.3 (15.1) years, and 76% of the HMs were classified as high-grade disease. The median (IQR) Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score at ICU admission was 11 (9–15); Simpliﬁed Acute Physiology Score II, 64 (51–80); and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, 28 (23–34). The most common reasons for ICU admission were acute respiratory failure (63.1%) and septic shock (19.7%). The ICU and hospital mortality rates were 54.1% and 67.8%, respectively. A multivariate analysis revealed that the initiation of renal replacement therapy in the ICU (odds ratio [OR], 3.88; 95% CI, 1.66–9.08) and SOFA score (OR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.03–1.31) were independently associated with ICU mortality.ConclusionsThe ICU and hospital outcomes of critically ill patients with HM are improving. Performance status, cancer status, invasive mechanical ventilation, severe neutropenia, and transplantation status were not identified as predictive factors of ICU outcome. Initiation of renal replacement therapy in the ICU and the SOFA score upon ICU admission were independently associated with ICU mortality. We suggest early and timely ICU admission of patients at risk of multiorgan failure.
Comparison of disk-diffusion and E-test methods for in-vitro susceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates to oxacillin and ceftriaxone

Susceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococci) to oxacillin and ceftriaxone was compared using disk diffusion and E-test methods. A total of 206 children attending Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital (GCH) were recruited. Sterile Copan Flocked Swabs were used to obtain nasopharyngeal swabs. Samples were inoculated on gentamicin blood agar and initial identification was done on the basis of colony morphology. Optochin test was performed to definitively identify the isolates as pneumococci. Antibiotic testing was done using disk diffusion and E-test methods on Muller Hinton agar enriched with 5% defibrinated sheep blood. A total of 42 (20%) isolates were recovered from the samples. Based on disk diffusion method, 74 and 40% of the isolates were resistant to oxacillin and ceftriaxone while; on the basis of E-test, 45 and 14% of the isolates were resistant to oxacillin and ceftriaxone, respectively. About 40% (n=17) of isolates that had zone diameters ≥ 20 mm which is considered susceptible to oxacillin by disk diffusion, had MICs ≤0.06 µg/ml correspondingly susceptible by E-test. Most isolates deemed susceptible to (≤0.5 µg/ml) ceftriaxone by E-test (72%, n=30) also exhibited susceptibility (≥27mm) to the antimicrobial agent by disk diffusion. E-test presents more sensitive results compared to disk diffusion. Isolates that exhibit resistance to penicillin and ceftriaxone by disk diffusion should be confirmed by E-test before being reported as resistant. Key words: E-test, disk diffusion, antibiotic resistance, ceftriaxone and oxacillin.