Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Empirical Likelihood for a Varying Coefficient Model With Longitudinal Data

In this article local empirical likelihood-based inference for a varying coefficient model with longitudinal data is investigated. First, we show that the naive empirical likelihood ratio is asymptotically standard chi-squared when undersmoothing is employed. The ratio is self-scale invariant and the plug-in estimate of the limiting variance is not needed. Second, to enhance the performance of the ratio, mean-corrected and residual-adjusted empirical likelihood ratios are recommended. The merit of these two bias corrections is that without undersmoothing, both also have standard chi-squared limits. Third, a maximum empirical likelihood estimator (MELE) of the time-varying coefficient is defined, the asymptotic equivalence to the weighted least-squares estimator (WLSE) is provided, and the asymptotic normality is shown. By the empirical likelihood ratios and the normal approximation of the MELE/WLSE, the confidence regions of the time-varying coefficients are constructed. Fourth, when some components are of particular interest, we suggest using mean-corrected and residual-adjusted partial empirical likelihood ratios to construct the confidence regions/intervals. In addition, we also consider the construction of the simultaneous and bootstrap confidence bands. A simulation study is undertaken to compare the empirical likelihood, the normal approximation, and the bootstrap methods in terms of coverage accuracies and average areas/widths of confidence regions/bands. An example in epidemiology is used for illustration.
Effect of milking routines and hygiene practices and evolution along the market value chain on raw camel milk quality in Tunisia

Abstract This study investigated the effect of on-farm practices on milk production, chemical and microbiological quality and on Somatic Cell Count (SCC) as well as the evolution of milk quality along the camel dairy value chain in southern Tunisia. A survey of 12 periurban dairy camel farms showed that the use of machine milking is limited (16.7%). The milking hygiene practices need to be improved with only 25% of farmers practiced teat dipping and washed the material with hot water and detergents. In addition, 75% of farmers milked their animals in bedding area. Conservation and marketing conditions for raw camel milk were mediocre. Analysis of on-farm milk quality showed that use of machine milking was related to increased milk production but also caused an increase in the microbial load. Quality assessment at different stages of the production chain showed that the chemical composition of milk was conserved, whereas the physical and microbiological quality was altered. At production, the load in Mesophilic Total Aerobic Flores (MTAF) was low with 17.4 × 104 cfu/mL, compared to bulk and point of sale milk, which had a significantly higher load (21.2 × 105 cfu/mL and 61.2 × 105 cfu/mL, respectively). The acceptability threshold of Acidity, MTAF, Total Coliforms and S. aureus prevalence were exceeded in all samples purchased from points of sale. Therefore, improvements in milking hygiene, milk storage, and transport conditions are essential in order to guarantee the quality of camel’s milk to meet the needs of the consumer. Highlights The use of machine milking for dromedary camels in Southern Tunisia is limited and most she camels are milked by hand with suckling of the calf. Milking routine affect significantly the bacterial load of camel milk. Sanitation problems and keeping the cold chain are the biggest challenge in the dairy camel sector.
TWO-DIMENSIONAL RANDOM FIELD OF MECHANICAL SOIL PROPERTIES

In situ tests were performed and samples were taken from a uniform layer of clay used as a material for the production of bricks. The shear resistance was measured, using Geonor Inspection Vane Tester H-60, in a quadratic mesh of 961 test points in the horizontal plane, spaced at 15 cm. Vane resistance tests were also performed in the laboratory on 76 undisturbed samples, on which the constrained modulus in consolidometers was determined. The aim of the research was to find the parameters of the 2D random field of shear strength and the correlation of this field with that of constrained modulus. The strong correlation obtained eventually enabled estimating the autocorrelation function of the constrained modulus describing the elastic behavior of the soil. A simple estimation procedure is proposed, enabling curve fitting of different isotropic and anisotropic correlation functions. Additionally, some statistical analyses of data were performed, including regression and time series analysis. The problem of the local and global variabilities of soil properties and their ramifications is also considered.
Emergent spin-glass state in the doped Hund's metal 
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Hund's metal is one kind of correlated metal, in which the electronic correlation is strongly influenced by the Hund's interaction. At high temperatures, while the charge and orbital degrees of freedom are quenched, the spin degrees of freedom can persist in terms of frozen moments. As temperature decreases, a coherent electronic state with characteristic orbital differentiation always emerges at low temperatures through an incoherent-to-coherent crossover, which has been widely observed in iron-based superconductors (e.g., iron selenides and AFe2As2 (A = K, Rb, Cs)). Consequently, the above frozen moments are"screened"by coupling to orbital degrees of freedom, leading to an emergent Fermi-liquid state. In contrast, the coupling among frozen moments should impede the formation of the Fermi-liquid state by competitive magnetic ordering, which is still unexplored in Hund's metal. Here, in the iron-based Hund's metal CsFe2As2, we adopt a chemical substitution at iron sites by Cr/Co atoms to explore the competitive magnetic ordering. By a comprehensive study of resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, specific heat and nuclear magnetic resonance, we demonstrate that the Fermi-liquid state is destroyed in Cr-doped CsFe2As2 by a spinfreezing transition below T_g ~ 22 K. Meanwhile, the evolution of charge degrees of freedom measured by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy also supports the competition between the Fermi-liquid state and spin-glass state.
Inhibition of miR-182-5p Targets FGF9 to Alleviate Osteoarthritis

Background The pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA) is complex and there is no specific drug for treatment. The aim of this study was to identify the molecular targets of OA therapy, focusing on the expression and biological functions of miR-182-5p and its target genes in OA. Methods miR-182-5p and fibroblast growth factor 9 (FGF9) were overexpressed or knocked down in IL-1β-induced chondrocytes. An OA knee model was performed by surgically destroying the medial meniscus. The gene expression of miR-182-5p and FGF9 was calculated. The protein FGF9 was tested by western blotting. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK8), plate cloning assay, and flow cytometry were conducted to evaluate cell proliferation and apoptosis. The expression of inflammatory factors, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6, and interleukin (IL)-8, was evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Dual-luciferase reporter assays validated the targeting relationship between miR-182-5p and FGF9. Hematoxylin–eosin (HE) and safranin O-fast Green (S–O) staining were utilized to access cartilage damage. Ki67 expression in cartilage was detected using immunohistochemistry (IHC). TdT-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assays were used to calculate the apoptosis rate of cartilage. Results The expression of miR-182-5p was upregulated, and FGF9 was downregulated in the IL-1β-induced chondrocytes. OA chondrocytes proliferation ability in the miR-182-5p mimics group was decreased, and the apoptosis rate and inflammatory factor were increased. Transfection with miR-182-5p inhibitor increased the proliferative ability and decreased the apoptosis rate in the IL-1β-induced chondrocytes. Transfection with miR-182-5p inhibitor reversed IL-1β-induced inflammatory factor release in chondrocytes. Targeted binding sites existed between miR-182-5p and FGF9. After overexpression of FGF9, the miR-182-5p effect on OA chondrocytes was reversed. The hyaline cartilage thickness and proteoglycan content decreased in OA rats, and this was reversed by miR-182-5p inhibitor treatment. Conclusions miR-182-5p expression levels were increased in OA chondrocytes and regulated chondrocyte proliferation, apoptosis, and inflammation by targeting FGF9. miR-182-5p is a potential gene for OA treatment.
Sub-5 fs pulse generation from a noncollinear optical parametric amplifier

Transform-limited visible pulses with as short as sub-4 fs duration have been generated for the first time by several improvements made to our previous noncollinear optical parametric amplifier (NOPA). All of the signal–idler group-velocity matching and pump–signal pulse-front matching and angular dispersion matching of the parametric amplification processes and the final fine tuning of dispersion compensation using deformable mirror after a pair of chirped mirrors are essentially important to generate such short pulses. We demonstrated the generation of a continuous, simultaneously phase-matched 250 THz parametrically amplified spectrum. Resulting visible–near-IR signal-wave pulses have been compressed to a 4 fs duration using a micro-machined flexible mirror. Feedback for the iterative computer-controlled dispersion compensation algorithm is based on pulse characterization by a second-harmonic generation frequency-resolved optical gating. Tunable operation with bandwidth-limited sub-10 fs pulses in the visible (550–700 nm) and near infrared (900–1300 nm) was also performed by changing the seed delay with respect to the pump after increasing the seed chirp. The NOPA is one of the most useful light sources for ultrafast spectroscopy at the present stage on an extremely short timescale. Application to the vibrational wavepacket dynamics in terms of dynamic mode coupling is discussed. The future prospect of the NOPA is described at the end.
Examining Individualistic Driving Volatility Changes During and One Year into the COVID-19 Pandemic Using Paneled Connected Vehicle Trajectories

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to a substantial reduction in activity-travel resulting from a shift in the primary purpose of travel from work/study to shopping and essential trips. Further, several researchers noted changes to roadway safety during the early phases of the pandemic, such as a decrease in traffic crashes but an increase in traffic fatalities with respect to vehicle miles traveled. However, the existing literature is limited to holistic trends, with little inference to microscopic driving styles. This research utilizes a paneled approach to compare the freeway behavior of select passenger car drivers with respect to changes in driving volatility stemming from the lockdown period and one year into the COVID-19 pandemic. The methodological design employs a rich paneled dataset obtained from the connected vehicles pilot study in Tampa, Florida. Crash data visualization is also performed to identify crash hotspots within the study area. Volatility measures such as the standard deviation, coefficient of variation, and time-varying stochastic volatility (TVSV) are then generated and fused with traffic and weather information. Hierarchical modeling is then performed using a panel approach to account for unobserved heterogeneity within multiple observations per individual driver. The results show that the series of jerk-related driving volatility measures and the TVSV of speed increase one year into the pandemic, suggesting a reduction in overall roadway safety along the study segment. Based on the observed individual volatility changes, policy recommendations such as enhanced traffic enforcement guidelines, data-driven safety campaigns, and systematic implementation of lockdown protocols were identified.
Logit-based stock prediction network

Stock investors have been making accurate predictions about the stock market in search of maximum profits. However, the stock market has a high degree of uncertainty, which makes it difficult to predict the development trend of the stock market. Existing stock prediction models generally improve the accuracy by changing the network structure and lack in-depth research on abnormal stock data. To solve this problem, we propose a logit-based stock prediction network LogNet, which uses the correctly predicted logits to measure the reliability of stock data, then calculate the confidence interval of the stock data, and use the credible data to make stock predictions. In addition, the model uses the theory of the Extremely Randomized Trees (ExtraTrees) theory to select the historical price data features of stocks. Experimental results show that LogNet has state-of-the-art performance on Twitter data and historical price datasets.
PREVALENCE OF PULMONARY ASPERGILLOSIS AND DRUG SUSCEPTIBILITY TESTING AMONGST ADULT HIV PATIENTS AT KISUGU HEALTH CENTRE III, MAKINDYE DIVISION, IN UGANDA

Background: Pulmonary aspergillosis is one of the respiratory conditions that are missed to be diagnosed and neglected in Uganda and it has been reported to be common worldwide, especially among people living with HIV. With azole resistance common to aspergillus fumigatus becoming a global concern; a species that causes invasive disease, epidemiological data are necessary to guide clinical practice. This study determined the prevalence of pulmonary aspergillosis and drug susceptibility testing amongst adult HIV patients at Kisugu Health Centre III Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at Kisugu Health Centre III among 254 HIV clients. Early morning sputa were cultured on Sabroud Dextrose Agar at 300C for 7 days using a high-volume culture technique. Microscopy using lactophenol cotton blue stain was carried out to identify the species. Antifungal susceptibility testing was done using the agar-based disc diffusion method, and data were analyzed as proportion. Results: There were 79.5%(N=202) female participants. Participants' mean age was 34.20±10.27 (range: 18-67) years. The prevalence of pulmonary aspergillosis was 42.5% (N=108) with the commonest species being aspergillus niger (28%, N=71), fumigatus (9%, N=23), terreus(4.7%, N=12), co-species infection at 1.2% (N=3). 98.6% of aspergillus niger isolates were sensitive to voriconazole,87.5% of aspergillus fumigatus isolates were sensitive to voriconazole and 100% of the aspergillus terreus isolates were sensitive to voriconazole. Major resistance in this study was seen in aspergillus fumigatus with 12.5% resistance to itraconazole, resistance was also noticed amongst 8.3% of aspergillus terreus isolates on amphotericin B. Conclusion: The prevalence of Pulmonary aspergillosis was high, and different species were isolated. Moreover, a varied antifungal susceptibility pattern was established Recommendation: Routine testing for pulmonary aspergillosis should be included in HIV clinics.
Using KNX-Based Building Automation and Control Systems for Data Exfiltration

When it comes to protecting confidential and/or sensitive information, organizations have a plethora of recommendations, standards, policies, and security controls at their disposal, conceived to deal with a wide variety of threats. However, most of them share the same fundamental premise: that weaknesses are inline by nature, as a consequence of infrastructure, social and/or technological gaps that can be detected, controlled, mitigated or constrained. Side channel threats are a different matter, though. Stemming from unconventional intrusion or attack vectors whose existence was inconceivable, unexpected or deemed unfeasible, their successful exploitation may provide attackers with the means to bypass and render most security controls ineffective or even useless. In this article, we address one such case: the use of a KNX-based building automation and control system to exfiltrate data from an air-gapped infrastructure. The introduction of a small device provides connectivity to the existing KNX fieldbus and enables sending data through it or even control other devices, with no interference in the operation of the building automation and control network. We validated the feasibility of this approach by means of an experimental setup, which was used to successfully evaluate two different techniques: 1) inline bus exfiltration and 2) optical transmission, via dimmer control. Finally, some measures for detecting and mitigating this type of attacks are proposed.
A GENERALIZED ENTROPY-BASED RESIDUAL LIFETIME DISTRIBUTIONS

The present communication considers Havrda and Charvat entropy measure to propose a generalized dynamic information measure. It is shown that the proposed measure determines the survival function uniquely. The residual lifetime distributions have been characterized. A bound for the dynamic entropy measure in terms of mean residual life function has been derived, and its monotonicity property is studied.
Patient Self-Inflicted Lung Injury—A Narrative Review of Pathophysiology, Early Recognition, and Management Options

Patient self-inflicted lung injury (P-SILI) is a life-threatening condition arising from excessive respiratory effort and work of breathing in patients with lung injury. The pathophysiology of P-SILI involves factors related to the underlying lung pathology and vigorous respiratory effort. P-SILI might develop both during spontaneous breathing and mechanical ventilation with preserved spontaneous respiratory activity. In spontaneously breathing patients, clinical signs of increased work of breathing and scales developed for early detection of potentially harmful effort might help clinicians prevent unnecessary intubation, while, on the contrary, identifying patients who would benefit from early intubation. In mechanically ventilated patients, several simple non-invasive methods for assessing the inspiratory effort exerted by the respiratory muscles were correlated with respiratory muscle pressure. In patients with signs of injurious respiratory effort, therapy aimed to minimize this problem has been demonstrated to prevent aggravation of lung injury and, therefore, improve the outcome of such patients. In this narrative review, we accumulated the current information on pathophysiology and early detection of vigorous respiratory effort. In addition, we proposed a simple algorithm for prevention and treatment of P-SILI that is easily applicable in clinical practice.
Against the definition of types

“What is the definition of type? ” Having a clear and precise answer to this question would avoid many misunderstandings and prevent meaningless discussions that arise from them. But having such clear and precise answer to this question would also hurt science, “hamper the growth of knowledge” 1 and “deflect the course of investigation into narrow channels of things already understood” 2 . In this essay, I argue that not everything we work with needs to be precisely defined. I explore how the meaning of types is understood in programming language communities, how the meaning changes and why this is good for science and, finally, how can we think about this imprecise notion of ‘types’.
Clinical Aspects of Bacterial Distribution and Antibiotic Resistance in the Reproductive System of Equids

Antibiotic administration is a standard therapeutic practice for the treatment of reproductive disorders of equids. This might lead to undesirable microbial imbalance and could favour the acquisition of antibiotic resistance. Therefore, it is imperative for clinicians to understand patterns of antibiotic resistance when considering and developing treatment regimes. Continued engagement of clinicians with novel alternative approaches to treat reproductive infections would be essential in order to address this rising threat within the One Health perspective. The objectives of the present review were to present the bacterial infections in the reproductive system of equids (horses, donkeys), to upraise the literature related to the issue of antibiotic resistance of bacteria causing these infections and to discuss the topic from a clinical perspective. Initially, the review summarised the various infections of the reproductive system of equids (genital system of females, genital system of males, mammary glands) and the causal bacteria, providing relevant information about horses and donkeys. Subsequently, the clinical therapeutics of these infections were presented, taking into account the significance of antibiotic resistance of bacteria as a limiting factor in treating the infections. Finally, approaches to circumvent antibiotic resistance in clinical settings were summarized. It was concluded that awareness regarding antibiotic resistance in equine reproductive medicine would increase, as we would recognise the multifaceted problem of resistance. Actions and initiatives within the One Health approach, minimizing the potential dissemination of resistant strains to humans and to the environment, with specific applications in medicine of equids should be appropriately instituted internationally.
Statistical assessment of bilateral symmetry of shapes

SUMMARY This paper formulates the problem of measuring bilateral symmetry of objects analytically for landmark data, and develops various new testing procedures and exploratory data analyses. The development is linked with the fundamental biological problem of measuring directional asymmetry and fluctuating asymmetry. We distinguish two types of symmetry, object symmetry and matching symmetry, and provide tests under assumptions of isotropic landmark variability as well as non-isotropy. The tests require novel statistical and geometrical analyses of the Procrustes shape manifold. For describing components of symmetry and asymmetry within samples, an extension of principal component analysis is introduced and illustrated by appropriate deformation techniques. Various real examples are used to illustrate the practical relevance of this work.
Pharmacotherapy for Pulmonary Hypertension in Infants with Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia: Past, Present, and Future

Approximately 8–42% of premature infants with chronic lung disease of prematurity, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), develop pulmonary hypertension (PH). Infants with BPD-PH carry alarmingly high mortality rates of up to 47%. Effective PH-targeted pharmacotherapies are desperately needed for these infants. Although many PH-targeted pharmacotherapies are commonly used to treat BPD-PH, all current use is off-label. Moreover, all current recommendations for the use of any PH-targeted therapy in infants with BPD-PH are based on expert opinion and consensus statements. Randomized Control Trials (RCTs) are needed to determine the efficacy of PH-targeted treatments in premature infants with or at risk of BPD-PH. Prior to performing efficacy RCTs, studies need to be conducted to obtain pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, and safety data for any pharmacotherapy used in this understudied and fragile patient population. This review will discuss current and needed treatment strategies, identify knowledge deficits, and delineate both challenges to be overcome and approaches to be taken to develop effective PH-targeted pharmacotherapies that will improve outcomes for premature infants with or at risk of developing BPD-PH.