Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fusarium Wilt of Banana: Current Knowledge on Epidemiology and Research Needs Toward Sustainable Disease Management

Banana production is seriously threatened by Fusarium wilt (FW), a disease caused by the soil-borne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc). In the mid-twentieth century FW, also known as “Panama disease”, wiped out the Gros Michel banana industry in Central America. The devastation caused by Foc race 1 was mitigated by a shift to resistant Cavendish cultivars, which are currently the source of 99% of banana exports. However, a new strain of Foc, the tropical race 4 (TR4), attacks Cavendish clones and a diverse range of other banana varieties. Foc TR4 has been restricted to East and parts of Southeast Asia for more than 20 years, but since 2010 the disease has spread westward into five additional countries in Southeast and South Asia (Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, India, and Pakistan) and at the transcontinental level into the Middle East (Oman, Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel) and Africa (Mozambique). The spread of Foc TR4 is of great concern due to the limited knowledge about key aspects of disease epidemiology and the lack of effective management models, including resistant varieties and soil management approaches. In this review we summarize the current knowledge on the epidemiology of FW of banana, highlighting knowledge gaps in pathogen survival and dispersal, factors driving disease intensity, soil and plant microbiome and the dynamics of the disease. Comparisons with FW in other crops were also made to indicate possible differences and commonalities. Our current understanding of the role of main biotic and abiotic factors on disease intensity is reviewed, highlighting research needs and futures directions. Finally, a set of practices and their impact on disease intensity are discussed and proposed as an integrative management approach that could eventually be used by a range of users, including plant protection organizations, researchers, extension workers and growers.
Intranetwork and Internetwork Effects of Navigated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Using Low- and High-frequency Pulse Application to the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex-A Combined rTMS-fMRI Approach.

PURPOSE Although transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is routinely applied in neuroscience and clinical settings, not much is known about its effects on brain networks. Therefore, this pilot study was set up using repetitive navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) combined with resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) to explore frequency-dependent stimulation effects on an intranetwork and internetwork level. METHODS Six healthy subjects (median age: 23.5 years) underwent two rTMS sessions (1 and 10 Hz), 7 days apart, and prestimulation and poststimulation rs-fMRI. Repetitive navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation was delivered to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, with the exact stimulation target being determined by independent component analysis. Alterations of functional connectivity strength were evaluated using seed-based correlation analyses within and between the salience network, central executive network, and posterior and anterior default mode network. RESULTS Low-frequency rTMS resulted in significant intranetwork alterations only for the anterior default mode network and primarily within the left hemisphere. In contrast, high-frequency rTMS led to changes within all four networks of interest. Moreover, the posterior and anterior default mode network largely showed opposite effects to rTMS, and the anterior default mode network was rather isolated from the other networks, which was especially true for low-frequency rTMS. Changes in functional connectivity strength because of low-frequency rTMS were even detectable 7 days after stimulation. CONCLUSIONS This is one of the first studies using neuronavigated TMS with independent component analysis-based target selection to explore frequency-dependent stimulation effects in a combined rTMS-fMRI approach. Future studies including higher subject numbers may define the underlying mechanisms for the different responses to low- and high-frequency rTMS.
Analysis and Integration of Nine Level Cascaded H-Bridge Multilevel Inverter Configuration in a Photovoltaic System

Power electronics converters are gaining importance due to the reliable performance of grid-connected solar system or standalone solar system. In this paper nine levels cascaded H-bridge Multi-level inverter (CHB-MLI) is analyzed. The effectiveness of this multilevel inverter is investigated by replacing the input dc source in cascaded inverter bridge with separate PV array and boost converters. This PV fed nine levels CHB is analyzed in two ways: (i) with equal magnitude of input voltage source to inverter and (ii) with unequal magnitude of input voltage source. Total harmonic distortion (THD) analysis for both cases has been carried out. Different multicarrier PWM strategies are also discussed. Further, the improvement in power quality by using passive filters at the output end of MLI is shown. Results are verified in MATLAB/SIMULINK environment by performing simulation.
Delay-Dependent Stability Analysis for Polynomial Fuzzy Systems with Time-V arying Delay via Delay-Partitioning Approach

For polynomial fuzzy system with time-varying delay, this paper presents an new SOS-based delay-dependent stability criteria via delay-partitioning approach. The stability analysis for the augmented systems of the polynomial fuzzy systems with time-varying delay employ parameter-dependent Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional. All the conditions in the proposed approach can be represented as sum-of-squares (SOS) problems.
Curcumin Inhibits Acute Vascular Inflammation through the Activation of Heme Oxygenase-1

Curcumin has several therapeutic properties such as anti-inflammatory effect. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) has been showed to have cytoprotective effects in some pathological conditions. However, the role of HO-1 in anti-inflammatory effect of curcumin is unknown. In this study, we investigate whether the anti-inflammatory effect of curcumin in vascular may be involved in the activation of HO-1. New Zealand white rabbits were fed regular control diet or control diet added with 0.3% curcumin (wt/wt) for four weeks. Acute vascular inflammation of rabbits was induced by putting a collar on the left common carotid artery for 24 hours. HO-1 inhibitor and siRNA were used to investigate the role of HO-1 in the anti-inflammatory effect of curcumin in collared vascular. We also explored the mechanism of curcumin-induced activation of HO-1 in vitro. The serum bilirubin and vascular, liver, and spleen HO-1 mRNA levels were significantly increased in curcumin-treated rabbits. The vascular inflammation was significantly decreased in the curcumin-treated animals compared with the control. Treatment of the rabbits with an inhibitor of HO or HO-1 siRNA to knock down the carotid artery HO-1 abolished the ability of curcumin to inhibit vascular inflammation. Treatment of cultured human artery endothelial cells with curcumin induced the HO-1 expression through the activation of nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and an antioxidant responsive element via the p38 MAPK signalling pathway. In conclusion, curcumin inhibits vascular inflammation in vivo and in vitro through the activation of HO-1.
Statistical Delay Bounds for Automatic Repeat Request Protocols with Pipelining

The recent trend towards low-latency wireless communication requires a notion of non-ergodic capacity that deals with delays. Significant research in areas, such as effective capacity, delay-constrained capacity, and stochastic service curves, has contributed such results for relevant physical layer aspects, like fading processes, interference, and multiple antenna systems. Less attention has been paid to actual implementations of link layer automatic repeat request protocols. Instead, error-free transmission using instantaneous channel state information, simple stop-and-wait protocols, or instantaneous feedback are frequently assumed. In this work, we investigate protocols with pipelining that deal with packet errors under non-negligible round-trip-times. We define a stochastic service curve model of a general class of automatic repeat request protocols with pipelining and derive statistical waiting time and sojourn time bounds. We discover two regimes: under low to moderate load retransmissions cause the largest part of the sojourn time, whereas under high load the waiting time dominates the sojourn time. Generally, with increasing round-trip-time the basic cases of stop-and-wait protocols or instantaneous feedback neglect relevant effects and provide less accurate estimates.
Reduced Message-Passing Bitwidth for Hardware Implementation of ADMM-LP Decoding

We consider the implementation in hardware of linear-programming (LP) decoding for low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes. Previous work has shown that the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) can be applied to solve LP decoding in a message passing manner amenable to hardware. Wasson et al. demonstrated the feasibility of a hardware implementation in a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). However, the area footprint and message bit-width of the implemenation was not competitive with classic alternatives such as min-sum decoding. In this paper we leverage recent work by Jiao et al. on implementating the central computational primative of ADMM-LP decoding (a certain Euclidean projection) via look-up tables (LUTs). While Jiao’s work indicated the possiblity of significant bit-width reduction, it left open a number of questions about how to translate those ideas into hardware and what algorithmic modifications would be required. In this paper we answer those questions and develop a modified version of Wasson’s ADMM-LP decoding algorithm, realizing a bit-width reduction of about 50%, thereby yielding a hardware implementation of ADMM-LP decoding that is competitive with min-sum.
The Intangible Cultural Heritage Show Mode Based on AR Technology in Museums - Take the Li Nationality Non-Material Cultural Heritage as an Example

The museum is an important display platform for cultural heritage protection and promotion, using AR technology as a medium for mobile terminal platform in museums is a kind of cultural propaganda method that advances with the times. This article takes intangible cultural heritage display of Hainan Provincial Museum as an example, discuss how to use AR technology to display the features and advantages of intangible cultural heritage to solve problems such as site constraints, single display forms and overly rigid display modes in current museum displays. The rational use of AR technology can exert the vitality and creativity of people as the main carrier in intangible cultural heritage better, and promote the spread of intangible culture. Integrating non-heritage cultures into ordinary people's life experiences is the best way to protect them.
The Influence of CYP3A4 Polymorphism in Sex Steroids as a Risk Factor for Breast Cancer

Abstract Objective Epidemiological studies have shown evidence of the effect of sex hormones in the pathogenesis of breast cancer, and have suggested a relationship of the disease with variations in genes involved in estrogen synthesis and/or metabolism. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between the CYP3A4*1B gene polymorphism (rs2740574) and the risk of developing breast cancer. Methods In the present case-control study, the frequency of the CYP3A4*1B gene polymorphism was determined in 148 women with breast cancer and in 245 women without the disease. The DNA of the participants was extracted from plasma samples, and the gene was amplified by polymerase chain reaction. The presence of the polymorphism was determined using restriction enzymes. Results After adjusting for confounding variables, we have found that the polymorphism was not associated with the occurrence of breast cancer (odds ratio = 1.151; 95% confidence interval: 0.714–1.856; p = 0.564). We have also found no association with the presence of hormone receptors, with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) overexpression, or with the rate of tumor cell proliferation. Conclusion We have not observed a relationship between the CYP3A4*1B gene polymorphism and the occurrence of breast cancer.
Impact of Quantum Capacitance on Transmission Characteristics of Carbon Nanotubes Filled Shielded Through-Silicon Vias

Shielded through-silicon vias (S-TSV) filled with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) in the via and the shielded layer, and benzocyclobutene or silicon in the insulation layer is presented in this paper. Then, the equivalent transmission line models of the two S-TSVs are established. Based on the model, the forward transmission coefficient and attenuation constant are calculated and the impact of quantum capacitance Cq of MWCNT on the transmission performance of S-TSVs is analyzed. The results indicate that the performance of S-TSVs with Si insulation layer in 0–100 GHz can be significantly improved by Cq. Also, the performance of S-TSV filled with BCB above 40 GHz can be improved. In addition, the temperature effect of silicon can be balanced by Cq. As a result, the heat stability of S-TSV with silicon insulation layer is improved.
Towards Stream Based Intrusion Detection System

This research paper showcases how machine learning can be effectively used in order to increase efficiency in stream-based approach which aims at detecting intrusion in real-time. Hence increasing efficiency in real-time intrusion detection using stream-based approach which is suitable for high-speed network. It uses four classifier namely Naïve Bayes, Random forest, Decision tree and KSVM. A comparative study of all the four classifier is done and the best one is chosen for finding maximum efficiency which can be obtained when stream-based approach is used along which machine-learning.
The Agenda for Accelerating Pancreatic Research.

T his issue of Pancreas contains several articles that document the work of the most recent National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) workshop on “Accelerating the Drug Delivery Pipeline for Acute and Chronic Pancreatitis: Knowledge Gaps and Research Opportunities,” (Fig. 1) as well as articles that describe the work of The Consortium for the Study of Pancreatitis, Diabetes, and Pancreatic Cancer (CPDPC) (Fig. 2). These programs are related to each other and represent a sustained effort to advance the understanding and treatment of pancreatic diseases. For the past 6 years, the Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition at NIDDK has sponsored multiple workshops, which brought together experts from a spectrum of disciplines to identify the research needed to advance our understanding and treatment of pancreatic disease. These included workshops on the mechanisms of the etiology, inflammation, and repair processes in acute and chronic pancreatitis, the relationships of pancreatitis and diabetes as risks and consequences of pancreatic cancer, the role of total pancreatectomy with islet autotransplantation for the treatment of refractory chronic pancreatitis, the role of new technological developments in bioimaging and bioengineering for the identification of useful biomarkers of pancreatic disease, the pathobiology and obstacles for further progress in chronic pancreatitis, advances in endoscopic ultrasound for the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic disease, and the interface of pancreatic cancer with diabetes, obesity, and inflammation. These workshops have helped create several multidisciplinary networks of investigators who are unraveling the complex mechanisms of both benign and malignant pancreatic disease. Most importantly, the current workshop nowengages the Food andDrugAdministration in developing a path forward for the treatment of pancreatitis and in assisting with the guidance for future drug trials in acute, recurrent acute, and chronic pancreatitis. The articles in this issue related to the “Accelerating the Drug Delivery Pipeline for Acute and Chronic Pancreatitis: Knowledge Gaps and Research Opportunities” workshop represent a significant effort by several working groups to develop a roadmap needed to quicken the progress in addressing the unmet medical needs to improve outcomes in patients with pancreatitis diseases. Since 2013, each workshop summary has been published in Pancreas, and some have been copublished in other journals to reach an even wider audience. The recommendations outlined in the summaries have provided strong bases for several investigator-initiated research grants, which have received NIDDK funding. Although basic research in pancreatic disease has received support, clinicians appreciate the fact that few studies have expanded our ability to diagnose pancreatic diseases at an early enough time point to alter the course of disease or to provide effective medical treatment. The need for clinical translational studies has been a common priority cited in all the workshops and led directly to the support for the CPDPC.
CDC Grand Rounds: New Frontiers in Workplace Health

Overview of Current U.S. Workplace Health Promotion Programs Approximately 150 million Americans go to work each day, and where and how they work are closely linked to health and disease. Thus, workplace health promotion programs provide an opportunity to affect the health of the nation. Workplace health promotion programs traditionally rooted in occupational safety and health focus on preventing injury and illness resulting from the workplace environment. As gains have been made in reducing workplace hazards, and the prevalence of disease has shifted toward chronic diseases, employers have encountered rising health care costs. In the United States, chronic diseases are responsible for approximately seven in 10 deaths and account for 86% of health care costs (1,2). Approximately 20% of employer health care spending is associated with 10 modifiable health risks in the U.S. workforce: depression, high blood glucose, high blood pressure, obesity, tobacco use, physical inactivity, high stress, high cholesterol, poor nutrition and eating habits, and high alcohol consumption (3). Many employers have sought to establish workplace health promotion programs to improve employee health and lower health care costs; results of these efforts have been mixed. For example, some employers, especially smaller firms with limited resources, report barriers to implementing workplace health promotion programs, including lack of knowledge of program design, difficulty identifying credible information, and lack of awareness of program benefits (4,5). Evaluation and research continue to increase knowledge about workplace health promotion program design and identify ways to overcome the challenges of establishing effective programs. State health departments can provide assistance to employers and employees. In 2017, the CDC Workplace Health Resource Center was launched as a source for reliable evidence and best practices to improve worker health and productivity, address research gaps, and potentially reduce health care costs.
Care to Share?: An Empirical Analysis of Capacity Enhancement by Sharing at the Edge

The exponential growth in online content consumption is a key concern for designing future generation network architectures. In this paper, we use content access patterns from a large trace of content accesses comprising about half the population of United Kingdom to make the case that a large portion of the backhaul load can be mitigated by content sharing amongst edge devices. We explore various models for edge devices to store and share content amongst each other, ranging from reactive opportunistic sharing to predicting future content access and speculatively placing content on strategic devices prior to request. We analyse the performance of each of these models in terms of content placement and traffic savings, which are constrained by the storage available on edge devices, the performance of the speculation engine and the wireless channel conditions. We formulate and solve at scale an optimisation problem for strategically placing content for sharing within a geographically localised cell to show such an approach can save up to 47% of the traffic generated from a small cell.
Learning Irregular Space Transformation for Person Re-Identification

Person re-identification (ReID) classifies the discriminative features of different people. Human perception usually depends on the minority of discriminative colors to classify targets, rather than the majority of mutual colors. ReID uses a small number of fixed cameras, which create a small account of similar backgrounds, leading to the majority of background pixels becoming non-discriminative (this is expanded in the feature map). This paper analyzes the distributions of feature maps to discover their different discriminative power. It also collects statistics that classify feature map values into individual ones and general ones according to the deviation of the mean value on each mini-batch. Finally, our findings introduce a learning irregular space transformation model in convolutional neural networks by enlarging the individual variance while reducing the general one to enhance the discrimination of features. We demonstrate our theories as valid on various public data sets, and achieve competitive results via quantitative evaluation.
Immediate Loading of Mandibular Overdentures Retained by Two Mini-Implants: A Case Series Preliminary Report.

PURPOSE This preliminary case series report sought to evaluate the efficacy of an immediate loading protocol for mandibular overdentures retained by two mini-implants with the outcome measures patient satisfaction, masticatory cycles, and masticatory efficiency at 1 year. MATERIALS AND METHODS A convenience sample of 11 patients was recruited, and the clinical protocol consisted of immediately loading two mini-implants (10 mm long and 2.4 mm or 2.9 mm in diameter) via a mandibular overdenture connection with Locator attachments. Each patient completed a satisfaction questionnaire and underwent masticatory cycle recordings and masticatory efficiency tests. Implant-related evaluations were carried out by assessing probing depth (PD), Plaque Index (PI), bleeding on probing (BOP), mobility, and pain. All tests and evaluations were carried out six times: before implant surgery (T0), just before implant surgery with patient under anesthesia (T1), following implant insertion with patient still under anesthesia (T2), and at 3 months (T3), 6 months (T6), and 1 year (T12) after implant insertion. RESULTS Implant survival rate was 95%, and statistically significant increases (P < .05) in masticatory cycle patterns, masticatory efficiency, comfort, stability, and phonetics were also recorded. CONCLUSION The employed treatment protocol suggests promise as a viable treatment option that in the short term provides improved prosthesis stability, comfort, and function while decreasing surgical invasiveness. Long-term follow-up outcomes in larger patient sample studies will be required to confirm and validate the merits of this preliminary report.
Advancing Recommender Systems by Mitigating Shilling Attacks

Considering the premise that the number of products offered grow in an exponential fashion and the amount of data that a user can assimilate before making a decision is relatively small, recommender systems help in categorizing content according to user preferences. Collaborative filtering is a widely used method for computing recommendations due to its good performance. But, this method makes the system vulnerable to attacks which try to bias the recommendations. These attacks, known as ‘shilling attacks’ are performed to push an item or nuke an item in the system. This paper proposes an algorithm to detect such shilling profiles in the system accurately and also study the effects of such profiles on the recommendations.