Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intestinal Homeostasis under Stress Siege

Intestinal homeostasis encompasses a complex and balanced interplay among a wide array of components that collaborate to maintain gut barrier integrity. The appropriate function of the gut barrier requires the mucus layer, a sticky cushion of mucopolysaccharides that overlays the epithelial cell surface. Mucus plays a critical anti-inflammatory role by preventing direct contact between luminal microbiota and the surface of the epithelial cell monolayer. Moreover, mucus is enriched with pivotal effectors of intestinal immunity, such as immunoglobulin A (IgA). A fragile and delicate equilibrium that supports proper barrier function can be disturbed by stress. The impact of stress upon intestinal homeostasis results from neuroendocrine mediators of the brain-gut axis (BGA), which comprises a nervous branch that includes the enteric nervous system (ENS) and the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, as well as an endocrine branch of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. This review is the first to discuss the experimental animal models that address the impact of stress on components of intestinal homeostasis, with special emphasis on intestinal mucus and IgA. Basic knowledge from animal models provides the foundations of pharmacologic and immunological interventions to control disturbances associated with conditions that are exacerbated by emotional stress, such as irritable bowel syndrome.
Filter Synthesis and Design Techniques for Highly Adaptable Systems

Naglich, Eric J. Ph.D., Purdue University, December 2013. Filter Synthesis and Design Techniques for Highly Adaptable Systems. Major Professors: William J. Chappell and Dimitrios Peroulis. Software defined radio and cognitive radio (SDR/CR) are promising concepts toward more optimally using the electromagnetic spectrum for communications and data transfer. These systems are highly agile in terms of modulation technique and frequency of operation due to early digitization and software processing of received radio frequency signals. However, the front ends of SDR/CR systems often use static antennas and switched banks of static, wide bandwidth filters before the digitization process. These components limit the ability of SDR/CR systems to operate in environments with high levels of interference and are therefore a bottleneck in the path to achieving optimal adaptation of wireless systems. This dissertation focuses on tunable and reconfigurable filter synthesis and design techniques that have the potential to alleviate the hardware adaptation bottleneck currently experienced by SDR/CR systems. The presented filter techniques and structures promise the capability to dynamically adapt the center frequency, order, response shape, bandwidth, group delay, passband insertion loss-stopband attenuation tradeoff, and transmission zero spectral location of a filter response in the field. Such reconfiguration capability is made possible through the use of new coupling relationships and structures that enable dynamic reconfiguration between electric, magnetic, and zero coupling values.
A new labour era for South African Airways

Purpose: In the light of the South African Airways (SAA) (and Heathrow airport) strike in July 2005, an opportunity exists to evaluate the situation in order to address related problems in the future. The role of labour and specifically labour relations in the air travel industry highlights some important factors related to the industry. This paper aims to highlight the specific factors that will address possible reasons for poor workplace relations in SAA. Furthermore, a workable labour relations model for the organisation and other air travel organisations is proposed. In allowing a strike of the magnitude of the SAA strike of 2005 (e.g. a loss of income of R25 million per day), serious labour relations problems in the organisation are obvious. In order to prevent this action, an in-depth study of workplace relations is necessary to focus on the real problems and to adapt and make changes. Design/Methodology/Approach : This paper is an exploratory exercise based on literature that provides an overview of scholarship in the air travel industry through an analysis of trends and debates, telephonic interviews with role players in the industry and discussions with academics in the tourism industry and in labour relations. Findings: Taking into account that the air travel industry is technologically advanced, highly labour intensive, very sensitive towards external influences and very competitive, it is therefore important for every employer (including SAA) to design a labour relations system that is fit for the organisation. A suggested labour relations model for SAA is about the ability to build and sustain relationships characterised by shared goals, shared knowledge and mutual respect. Implications: The effects of strikes and other labour actions in the air travel industry have far reaching impacts on the air travel industry, the tourism industry, as well as the national economy. Originality/Value: This study highlights the importance of sound labour relations in the industry.
A Simulation Framework for Evaluating Statistical Methods for Quality Control in Manufacturing

Statistical methods are commonly used to monitor quality in manufacturing processes. We consider a set of problems where the probability that a unit is defect, i.e., the defect probability, is influenced by a large number of sub-processes, and where the overall aim is to monitor the defect probability and link abnormalities in quality to observed production variables. We developed a simulation framework for studying the performances of statistical methods used to solve the considered problem. Fourteen prediction procedures were obtained by combining six prediction methods (linear regression, logistic regression, LASSO, penalized logistic regression, support vector machines, gradient boosting decision trees) and two pre-processing procedures. These prediction procedures were evaluated on four types of simulated datasets with different relationships between the explanatory variables and the defect probabilities. Additionally, two established methods for variable selection were compared to a novel method called mixed moments selection (MMS). MMS was more robust than the other methods, performed well on all dataset types, and can easily be combined with any type of prediction method. Additionally, it was shown that it can be advantageous to complement the original explanatory variables with their squared values prior to analyzing the data. Overall, a procedure combining MMS, including additional quadratic terms and using PLR had the best performance. The proposed framework can be applied to evaluate any type of prediction procedure for the general problem we consider. This would increase the understanding of different procedures and facilitate the selection of procedures for a specific problem.
Effects of interface conditions and long-term stability of passive intermodulation response in printed lines

An experimental investigation of the effect of conductor-to-substrate interface on distributed passive intermodulation (PIM) generation in printed microstrip lines has been undertaken using the custom-designed microwave laminates with removed surface bonding layers and with the commercial adhesion promotion applied to the conductor underside. The study of long-term stability of PIM performance of the printed circuits is reported for the first time. The comprehensive measurement results, observations of the self-improvement of the PIM performance and the effect of panel bending on PIM generation in printed boards with different finishing are presented. A consistent physical interpretation of the observed phenomena is proposed. The results of this study provide new important considerations for the design and characterisation of low-PIM printed circuits.
Moving into the future with James Bay: Laforge-1 meets the challenges

Hydro-Quebec is commissioning the final unit of its 840-MW Laforge-1 hydropower facility. Faced with substantial logistical, technical, and environmental challenges, project managers have relied on extended and detailed planning, aggressive project management, and creativity from contractors to bring the giant project on-line within budget and more than a year ahead of schedule.
Food and Nutrition Literacy (FNLIT) is Associated to Healthy Eating Behaviors in Children

Background and Objectives: The objective of the current study was to investigate associations between food and nutrition literacy (FNLIT) and eating behaviors of elementary school children in Tehran, Iran. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 803 students aged 10–12 years were participated from 44 primary schools in Tehran, Iran. A valid, reliable self-administered questionnaire was used to investigate participants’ food and nutrition literacy. A research-made questionnaire was used to assess eating behaviors of the students. Furthermore, the multinomial adjusted odds ratios of food and nutrition literacy for eating behaviors were analyzed. Results: Food and nutrition literacy cognitive domain included understanding food and nutrition information and nutritional health knowledge. Food and nutrition literacy skill domain included functional, interactive, critical food and nutrition literacy, food choice and food label literacy. High levels of food and nutrition literacy scores in the cognitive domain were negatively associated to irregular breakfast intakes compared to everyday eating breakfast (1–2 times a week, OR = 0.32, CI = 0.17–0.60), irregular lunch intakes compared to everyday eating lunch (never/1–2 times a week, OR = 0.40, CI = 0.17–0.93; 3–6 times a week, OR = 0.45, CI = 0.25–0.80) and irregular dinner intakes compared to everyday eating dinner (never/1–2 times a week, OR = 0.32, CI = 0.17–0.68). High food and nutrition literacy scores in the cognitive domain were attributed to never eating sausage/hamburger (OR = 2.20, CI = 1.01–4.83) and eating salty snacks 3–4 times a week (OR = 2.58, CI = 1.09–6.13). The FNLIT scores in the skill domain were negatively associated to irregular breakfast intakes compared to everyday eating breakfast (3-6 times a week, OR = 0.33, CI = 0.13–0.78). Food and nutrition literacy scores in the skill domain were positively associated to never eating sweet snacks (OR = 4.19, CI = 1.39–12.62). Conclusions: The current manuscript highlights the necessity of continuous improvements in health education curriculum of schools in Iran, particularly highlighting the importance of greater attention needs to practical and skillbased lessons rather than theoretical lessens. Further studies with long-term follow-up plans are needed to understand associations between food and nutrition literacy and eating behaviors more comprehensively.
Staphylococcus aureus colonization in Qazvin University hospitals healthcare workers

Abstract Background: Staphylococcus aureus (SA) colonization of hospital personnel is a source of hospital acquired infections. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of nasal carriage rate of SA and methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among Health Care Workers (HCWs) at Qazvin university hospitals. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 396 employees of five teaching hospitals from October 2016 to April 2017. After obtaining informed consent and completion of the questionnaire, a sample was taken from the anterior nasal cavity for microbiology. The isolation of SA and their antimicrobial sensitivity were carried out by standard bacteriological procedures (disk diffusion and E-Test method). MRSA were confirmed by cefoxitin disk diffusion test. Chi square and independent t test were used to analyze the collected data. Findings: From the 198 HCWs, 32 people (16.1%) carried SA that the most carriers were workers of intensive care units (20.3%). 3% of all HCWs were identified as MRSA carriers. Colonization with SA is significantly lower among nursing and higher education. All SA isolates were sensitive to vancomycin and rifampin. Conclusion: The rate of nasal SA (especially MRSA) carriage among HCWs of Qazvin university hospitals is low. Also, staff teaching appears to be a promising approach for reducing nasal carrier. Rifampin and mupirocin, for eradication of Staphylococcus colonization in health workers (even MRSA) are acceptable.
Implications of macroeconomic conditions on Romanian portfolio credit risk. A cost-sensitive ensemble learning methods comparison

Abstract Credit risk assessment represents a key instrument in the decision-making of the banking and financial institutions. In this article, we present a framework for credit risk strategies to improve portfolio efficiency under a change of macroeconomic regime. The aim is to compare the accuracy of several ensemble methods (AdaBoost, Logit Boost, Gentle Boost and Random Forest) on a default retail Romanian loan portfolio under different risk adversity scenarios, a priori and posteriori the financial distress. Using cost-sensitive ensemble learning models, we concluded that regime-based credit strategy can offer a better alternative in both terms of loss allocated to the strategy as well as defaulters’ classification accuracy.
After Desert Storm: The U.S. Army and the Reconstruction of Kuwait

Abstract : The effort to rebuild Kuwait was unique, complex, and challenging. The reconstruction was rooted in various authorities and paid for from various pots of money. Both the funding and the work itself were diffuse and diverse in unprecedented ways. My goal was to give a structure and sense of order to the complex story of how a small, independent country recovered in record time from the devastating effects of a seven month occupation by Iraqi troops, in large part through the efforts of the U. S. Army. To promote greater order and clarity, I have presented the operation both topically and chronologically. This book originated in 1991 when I was documenting the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers' involvement in the Persian Gulf War. Documenting the Corps' critical role in the Kuwait recovery operation after the end of the war was a natural progression. The Corps of Engineers, however, was not the only Army element with significant involvement in the recovery operations. Recognizing this, the U. S. Army Center of Military History requested that I broaden my account to encompass the activities of the other Army elements. The story of how American soldiers, working alongside Kuwait's residents, helped bring the country back to life within a few short months is truly remarkable. I feel fortunate to have witnessed some of the recovery process firsthand, to have talked to some of the participants, and now to tell their story. I made two trips to Kuwait to collect records, interview participants, and tour project sites such as the Parliament Building and Doha power plant. I made the first trip into Kuwait a week after the Iraqi withdrawal when the sky was still dark with smoke from the oil fires and water and electrical power were in short supply. There I marveled at the courage and commitment of the soldiers and civilians who worked in that dangerous and stressful environment. When I returned the following September, few visible signs of the occupation remained.
Competence Development Program for the Farmer with Reference to Life as Well as Business

The accelerating changes in the surrounding world and also increasing demands from politicians, consumers, their family etc., makes many farmers feel stressed, focus a lot on threats and weaknesses, and so they become rather indistinct in their relations between private life and business. At the same time, physical work tends to exclude creative work and strategic thinking. This paper will describe a program, developed for Swedish farmers and other rural businessmen in co-operation between Swedish Farmers Union, (project-owner), and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Step 1 is done in groups of 8 to 12 farmers, guided by tutors, who have been given a four days training program in coaching a group to grow individually in their personality and self-confidence. Each farmer does a "SWOT"-analysis focused on opportunities and strengths. After formulating the idea/mission, goals and activities needed to reach the goals for the business, they formulate the same for their own life. Especially, they focus on their need of competence development, and bring them into a net-based "marketplace for competence". In step 2 a number of new "blocks" have been developed. One is a "Balanced Scorecard" for farmers and rural entrepreneurs. The farmers joining the program find themselves more distinct in relation to the surrounding world and in the relation between life and business. The discussions about life ideas and life quality have been much appreciated. The possibility for strategic thinking and the close connection between strategy and daily work, the focusing on "opportunities and strengths" and the balancing process in the "Balanced Scorecard" are some of the most valuable aspects.
StocHD: Stochastic Hyperdimensional System for Efficient and Robust Learning from Raw Data

Hyperdimensional Computing (HDC) is a neurally-inspired computation model working based on the observation that the human brain operates on high-dimensional representations of data, called hypervector. Although HDC is significantly powerful in reasoning and association of the abstract information, it is weak on features extraction from complex data such as image/video. As a result, most existing HDC solutions rely on expensive pre-processing algorithms for feature extraction. In this paper, we propose StocHD, a novel end-to-end hyperdimensional system that supports accurate, efficient, and robust learning over raw data. Unlike prior work that used HDC for learning tasks, StocHD expands HDC functionality to the computing area by mathematically defining stochastic arithmetic over HDC hypervectors. StocHD enables an entire learning application (including feature extractor) to process using HDC data representation, enabling uniform, efficient, robust, and highly parallel computation. We also propose a novel fully digital and scalable Processing In-Memory (PIM) architecture that exploits the HDC memory-centric nature to support extensively parallel computation. Our evaluation over a wide range of classification tasks shows that StocHD provides, on average, 3.3x and 6.4x (52.3x and 143.Sx) faster and higher energy efficiency as compared to state-of-the-art HDC algorithm running on PIM (NVIDIA GPU), while providing 16x higher computational robustness.
Prognostic factors and patients’ profile in treated stage I and II lung adenocarcinoma: a Hospital’s Cancer Registry-based analysis

Background It is known that survival from lung cancer can differ between countries and even between different regions of the same country. The variability between hospitals, the age and social profile, and the time when this patient was treated, can influence survival, and these factors are intrinsic to each region. Knowing the profile of patients, hospitals, and other factors associated with the treatment of stage I and II lung cancer in a given region is important to understand outcomes and propose improvements that can be replicated in any region of the world that presents the same profile of patients and care structure. This study evaluates survival and possible predictors in all patients with stage I and II lung cancer adenocarcinoma through the Hospital’s Cancer Registry (HCR), responsible for the State of Sao Paulo’s cancer registry, a geographical area with 40 million inhabitants. Methods Based on the HCR, an observational study was conducted, including 1,278 patients diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma at clinical stages (CS) I and II. Sex, age at diagnosis, education, neighbourhood, CS at diagnosis, the time between diagnosis and treatment, 5-year periods in which patients were treated, treatment modality and hospitals where patients were treated were analysed. Cox univariate and multiple regression analyses were used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR). Results A total of 1,278 lung cancer patients with clinical lung cancer adenocarcinoma stages I and II were included. About 40.06% of patients did not receive surgery, and only 55.8% started the treatment within 2 months. The majority of the patients were treated in high complexity hospitals, 69%. Five-year overall survival (OS) was 45.6% in CS I and 27.5% in CS II. Patients treated in high complexity centres have lower mortality rates than those treated in Partial Hospital Complexity Centers in Oncology (PHCCO) (adjHR 1.18; 95% CI: 1.00–1.40; P=0.047). Patients diagnosed between 2010–2014 had a protective factor against the risk of death concerning patients diagnosed between 2000–2004. Conclusions The 5-year OS has significantly improved as long as the 5-year group analysed. Also, the 5-year OS of the patients treated in high complexity hospitals is higher than those treated in PHCCO.
A Digital Health System for Disease Analytics

Data science, data mining and machine learning have been applied in numerous real-life applications and services including disease and healthcare analytics, such as identification and predictive analytics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Many of these existing works usually require large volumes of data train the classification and prediction models. However, these data (e.g., computed tomography (CT) scan images, viral/molecular test results) that can be expensive to produce and/or not easily accessible. For instance, partially due to privacy concerns and other factors, the volume of available disease data can be limited. Hence, in this paper, we present a digital health system for disease analytics. Specifically, the system make good use of autoencoder and few-shot learning to train the prediction model with only a few samples of more accessible and less expensive types of data (e.g., serology/antibody test results from blood samples), which helps to support prediction on classification of potential patients (e.g., potential COVID-19 patients). Moreover, the system also provides users (e.g., healthcare providers) with interpretable explanation of the prediction results, which increases their trust in the system. With this system, users could then focus and provide timely treatment to the true patients, thus preventing them for spreading the disease in the community. The system is helpful, especially for rural areas, when sophisticated equipment (e.g., CT scanners) may be unavailable. Evaluation results on a real-life datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of our digital health system in disease analytics, especially in classifying and explaining crucial information about patients.
Relation between drying shrinkage behavior and the microstructure of metakaolin-based geopolymer

The drying shrinkage of geopolymers poses significant limitations on their potential as constructive materials. In this study, the drying shrinkage of metakaolin-based geopolymer (MKG) with different initial water/solid ratios and pore structures was investigated experimentally. According to mini-bar shrinkage experiments, the drying shrinkage-water loss relation of MKG showed two-stage behavior. The initial water/solid ratio influences the critical water loss and span of the pausing period of the shrinkage curves but not the general trend. Combined with the microstructure characterization and physical estimation, the underlying dependency of the shrinkage on the pore structure of the binder was elucidated. Capillary pressure, surface energy change, and gel densification dominate the drying shrinkage of MKG at different water loss stages. The findings indicate that besides porosity control, finer tuning of the pore size distribution is needed to control the drying shrinkage of MKG.