Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
META: A City-Wide Taxi Repositioning Framework Based on Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning

The popularity of online ride-hailing platforms has made people travel smarter than ever before. But people still frequently encounter the dilemma of “<italic>taxi drivers hunt passengers and passengers search for unoccupied taxis</italic>”. Many studies try to reposition idle taxis to alleviate such issues by using reinforcement learning based methods, as they are capable of capturing future demand/supply dynamics. However, they either coordinate all city-wide taxis in a centralized manner or treat all taxis in a region homogeneously, resulting in inefficient or inaccurate learning performance. In this paper, we propose a multi-agent reinforcement learning based framework named <bold>META</bold> (<bold><underline>M</underline></bold>ak<bold><underline>E</underline></bold> <bold><underline>T</underline></bold>axi <bold><underline>A</underline></bold>ct differently in each agent) to mitigate the disequilibrium of supply and demand via repositioning taxis at the city scale. We decompose it into two subproblems, i.e., taxi demand/supply determination and taxi dispatching strategy formulation. Two components are wisely built in <bold>META</bold> to address the gap collaboratively, in which each region is regarded as an agent and taxis inside the region can make two different actions. Extensive experiments demonstrate that <bold>META</bold> outperforms existing methods.
Is visceral adipose tissue or subcutaneous adipose tissue a risk factor for atherosclerotic heart disease in familial mediterranean fever?

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autoimmune chronic systemic inflammatory disease. Adipose tissue (AT) is an endocrine organ that causes systemic inflammation. Systemic inflammation is an important risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis. AT beneath the skin is called subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and the AT surrounding internal organs is called visceral adipose tissue (VAT). This study aimed to evaluate whether VAT and SAT areas differed in FMF patients compared to healthy controls and to evaluate the correlations among VAT and SAT areas with cardiovascular risk factors in FMF patients. This study was planned retrospectively. 46 patients in FMF group and 54 patients in control group were included the study. Laboratory data and demographic characteristics were detected from the hospital file system and recorded. The L3 vertebra reference point was selected to standardize the measurement location in all patients. VAT and SAT areas were separately determined as cm2. VAT area was significantly higher in FMF group (p<0.001). In FMF group, we found significantly positive correlation between insulin resistance (r= 0.61, p ˂ 0.001), systolic blood pressure (r= 0.38, p ˂ 0.05), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (r= 0.62, p ˂ 0.001), triglyceride (TG) (r= 0.49, p ˂ 0.001) and VAT. Negative correlation was found between high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and VAT (r= -0.71, p ˂ 0.001). VAT area was increased as the duration of diagnosis increased (r= 0.80, p ˂ 0.001). In conclusion, this study revealed that in FMF patients, VAT area was higher than control and associated with cardiovascular risk factors. Increased awareness of this risk can lead to some measures to be taken to prevent possible diseases.
Antibacterial Effectiveness of Purple Yam (Dioscorea alata L) Sap Extract in Inhibiting the Growth of Staphylococcus aureus & Escherichia coli

Purple yam sap extracts have secondary metabolite components which can be utilized as an antibacterial property. Secondary metabolite compounds found from the result of the preliminary study include saponins, tannins, flavonoids, phenols, alkaloids, and triterpenoids. The aim of this study was to analyze the antibacterial activity of sap extracts towards the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria. The maceration method of 96% ethanol as a solvent was used to obtain purple yam sap extracts with a 48-hour maceration time. The effectiveness of bacterial inhibition zones based on the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was carried out by testing eight concentrations of 0.01%, 0.02%, 0.04%, 0.06%, 0.08%, 0.15%, 0.20%, and 0.25% with tetracycline as a positive control and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as a negative control. The results showed that the minimum inhibition of purple yam sap extracts with the 0.01% concentration inhibited the growth of gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus bacteria with a medium category of inhibition zone of 8.62 mm. On the other hand, gram-negative Escherichia coli bacteria form a minimum inhibition zone of 9.30 mm. The maximum extract concentration in inhibiting the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria was 0.25% (21.77 mm,13.35 mm), which was categorized as the strongest inhibition zone for bacterial growth. Accordingly, purple yam sap extracts macerated with 96% ethanol during the 48hour period with 0.01% extract concentration were effective in inhibiting the growth of gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) and gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli).
Ergodic Rate Analysis of Massive Spatial Modulation MIMO System With NOMA in Cooperative Relay Networks

In this article, by introducing nonorthogonal multiple access (NOMA) scheme into the massive spatial modulation (SM) MIMO in cooperative relay networks, a massive cooperative NOMA-aided SM (NOMA-SM) system is presented. The ergodic rate performance of uplink massive cooperative NOMA-SM with finite alphabet inputs is investigated over Rayleigh fading channels. According to the performance analysis, the mutual information between the SM signals transmitted by users and the signal received at the base station (BS) is derived. Based on this, the theoretical lower bound and tight approximation of the ergodic rates are deduced for performance evaluation. With the aforementioned results, simple expressions of the ergodic rates are derived for the system with single-antenna relay, which can simplify the calculation of theoretical ergodic rate. Besides, when the number of receive antennas at the BS is very large, the asymptotic ergodic rate analysis is presented for massive cooperative NOMA-SM system, and the corresponding asymptotic lower bounds of the ergodic rate are derived. Simulation results indicate that the presented theoretical analysis is valid and can match the corresponding simulation well. Thus, the ergodic rate performance can be well assessed in theory.
Robust Optimal Proportional–Integral Controller for an Uncertain Unstable Delay System: Wind Process Application

In industrial practice, certain processes are unstable, such as different types of reactors, distillation columns, and combustion systems. To ensure greater maneuverability and improve the speed of response command, certain systems in the military and aviation fields are purposely configured to be unstable. These systems are often more difficult to control than stable systems and are of particular interest to designers and control engineers. Despite all advances in process control over the past six decades, the proportional–integral–derivative (PID) controller is still the most common. The main reasons are the simplicity, robustness, and successful applications provided by PID-based control structures. The design of proportional–integral (PI) controller for time-delay (TD) systems is a traditional and classical problem. On one hand, PI controllers are used in more than 95% of industrial processes. On the other hand, there are TD phenomena in almost all practical control systems. In this paper, we study the robustness of a PI controller in stabilizing systems containing uncertain parameters and delays. A robust controller for an unknown unstable second-order with margin TD is constructed using a generalized Kharitonov theorem for quasi-polynomials. A constructive method based on the Hermite–Biehler theorem is used to obtain all PI gains, which stabilize an uncertain and unstable second-order delay system. Genetic algorithms (GAs) and optimization methods are used to obtain optimal system and control parameters for providing the best PI control that makes the system robust and stable under uncertainty. By minimizing performance criteria such as the integral of square error, integral of absolute error, time-weighted integral of absolute error, and integral of time weighted square error, GAs and particle swarm optimization are used to optimize the PI parameters and system parameters that provide the best control under uncertainties.
Calculation of United Quality Latent Indices of Deschampsia antarctica plants adaptability of different origin grown in vitro

The research was to develop and describe in detail the algorithm for calculating the United Quality Latent Index (UQLI, Iq ) of plant adaptability from the collection of Deschampsia antarctica Ė. Desv. genotypes obtained from seeds collected at different sites in the Argentine Islands region, the maritime Antarctic, and grown in vitro at the laboratory conditions. Genome size and genetic distances by ISSR and IRAP markers according to data from published articles were used as basic indices of initial genetic heterogeneity for analyzed plant genotypes. To assess individual adaptability indices for eleven D. antarctica genotypes, we used measurement of the leaf length morphometric index and determination of the flavonoids content by rutin and the content of photosynthetic pigments. The spectra of reserve and protective proteins in leaves were investigated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. To obtain the United Quality Latent Index of Adaptability (Iqi, UQLI), the method of extreme grouping was used. The estimation of Iqi (UQLI) was performed using pairwise comparisons of indices from differences sets for each pair of genotypes. We developed and described in detail the algorithm for Iqi estimation for eleven D. antarctica genotypes. As an example of application, correlation models of probability relations of the indices are presented. To evaluate the complex adaptability for eleven D. antarctica genotypes grown in vitro we used developed algorithm for the UQLI calculation. The individuality of the adaptive portrait for all studied genotypes under in vitro cultivation conditions was shown. The influence of basic genetic characteristics (genome size and genetic distances) on auxin metabolism-related indices of leaf length and flavonoid content was shown. Such effect may be carried out by genetic characteristics both individually and together, probably via auxin metabolism. Among the eight genotypes researched, we distinguish four different variants by correlation models and two (positive and negative) by the general Iqi value. Thus the Iqi (UQLI) is proposed to describe a large number of source data at different organization levels which characterize sample genotypes by reducing the dimensions to one dimensionless number. This genotypes’ individuality and the peculiarities of their grouping by Iqi should be taken into account when doing experimental studies using these genotypes as model plants, especially in experiments studying the regulation of productivity and the effect of the various exogenous factors, etc.
Heavenly Freedom and Two Models of Character Perfection

Human persons can act with libertarian freedom in heaven according to one prominent view, because they have freely acquired perfect virtue in their pre-heavenly lives such that acting rightly in heaven is volitionally necessary. But since the character of human persons is not perfect at death, how is their character perfected? On the unilateral model, God alone completes the perfection of their character, and, on the cooperative model, God continues to work with them in purgatory to perfect their own character. I argue that although both models can make sense of all human persons enjoying free will in heaven on various assumptions, the cooperative model allows all human persons in heaven to enjoy a greater degree of freedom. This consideration about the degree of heavenly freedom provides a reason for God to implement the cooperative model.
Pengembangan Model Economic Production Quantity Mengakomodasi Continue dan Discrete Demand serta Kebijakan Rework Secara Simultan

Inventory of finished goods needs to be planned and controlled regularly. Fulfilling customer demand whenever and wherever is the main purpose of the supply. This issue is related to production activities. Many companies use the Economic Production Quantity (EPQ) Model in determining the size of their lot productions. This model is able to show how to minimize total production costs by reducing inventory costs. Customer behavior at PT XYZ makes product delivery divided into 2 types. The first type, finished goods is sent continuously in small amounts called continue demand. The second type, products is sent between certain time intervals in large quantities called discrete demand. Basic EPQ Model’s parameters do not accommodate a system like this. In addition, PT XYZ requires rework for products that do not pass the quality test. Therefore, this research was developed to formulate EPQ model that can accommodate two types of demand, continue and discrete, as well as the existence of rework policy. This study tries to provide another approach in solving the derivation problem using the "Arithmetic-Geometric Mean" method. The results of this study will display a mathematical formulation to find the optimal production cycle time for PT XYZ. Numerical examples are discussed to show practical models.
Correlation of Albumin Serum Levels as Inflammation Marker with Red Blood Cell Distribution Width Value in Regular Hemodialysis Patients at H. Adam Malik General Hospital Medan

Background: One of the modalities of renal replacement therapy in chronic kidney disease (CKD) is hemodialysis (HD). The role of inflammation in HD patients by uremic toxins and dialysis can be assessed by the marker of serum albumin. This inflammation also causes dysregulation of the hormone erythropoietin which results in increased variability or heterogeneity of red blood cell distribution width (RDW). Previous studies have revealed an association between RDW and albumin levels in regular HD patients which leads to increased patient morbidity and mortality. This study aims to determine the relationship between albumin serum levels and RDW as a marker of inflammation in regular HD patients. Method: This was a cross sectional study design, conducted in June to August 2020 at the HD unit of Haji Adam Malik General Hospital in Medan. Twenty subjects were included. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation test and T-test to find the correlation between albumin serum levels and RDW, and other variables. Results: Of the 20 subjects taken based on consecutive sampling, the majority was male, 13 people (65%), mean age was 50.30 ± 12.57 years with the most comorbid type 2 diabetes mellitus for 14 people (70%). The mean serum albumin level was 3.2 ± 0.65 mg/dl. The mean RDW value was 15.93 ± 1.87%. This study showed that there was a significant relationship between serum albumin levels and RDW values ​​(r = - 0.687; p = 0.001). RDW values ​​were also significantly associated with hemoglobin levels (r = 0.497; p = 0.026) and creatinine (r= 0.519; p= 0.019). Conclusion: Albumin, hemoglobin, and creatinine levels were significantly associated with RDW values ​​in regular HD patients. Keywords: inflammation, albumin, regular hemodialysis, RDW.
The value of sepsis biomarkers and their kinetics in the prognosis of septic shock due to bacterial infections

Background In this study, we aim to explore the value of procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP), and serum cholinesterase (SChE) activity kinetics as useful predictors of mortality in patients with septic shock admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods We conducted a prospective single-blinded study in the ICU of a university hospital during a period of 1 year. Were included all patients 18 years of age or older, with confirmed septic shock. For all included patients, blood samples of septic biomarkers (PCT, SChE activity, and CRP) were obtained. Serum was collected at the day of ICU admission (day 0), the day of septic shock (day 1), then 3 and 5 days after the septic shock development. Results During the study period, 60 patients were included. The mean age (± SD) was 47.7 ± 19 years. There were 46 male (74%) and 14 female (26%) patients. Mean SAPSII on ICU admission was 40.7 ± 16 (median: 37), and mean SOFA score on ICU admission was 16 ± 4 (median: 7). During their ICU stay, out of the 60 included patients, 37 patients died (61%). The comparison between the 2 groups (deaths and survivors) showed that the factors associated with poor outcome were age, SOFA score on ICU admission, and the need for invasive mechanical ventilation. The day of septic shock, there was no difference in the mean concentrations in those of plasma SChE activity or in the PCT and CRP plasma between survivors and non-survivors. However, the comparison of mean plasma SChE activity, and PCT and CRP plasma concentrations (on day 3 and day 5) between survivors and non-survivors, showed a significant difference between the 2 groups. Conclusions Our study suggests that, in a group of critically ill patients with severe septic shock, a rise or no change in procalcitonin and/or CRP level, and/or a decrease or no change in SChE activity should warn the clinician about the insufficiency and/or inadequacy of the therapy. However, a fall in procalcitonin and/or CRP levels, and/or a rise in SChE activity were associated with a favourable prognosis. Based on our study and some other data detailed above, we recommend that an estimation of SChE acti-vity, procalcitonin, and CRP on the day of septic shock, followed by estimation within the next 72–120 h, could help the prognostic assessment of critically ill patients with septic shock. Further studies are needed to define the critical values related to mortality.
Assessment of malaria diagnostic methods and treatments at a Ghanaian health facility

Introduction it has been more than a decade since the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended parasitological confirmation of malaria before treatment begins. Light microscopy and rapid diagnostic tests are currently being used for diagnosing malaria in routine clinical care settings. Many clinicians have however raised questions about the competencies of laboratory staff who perform these tests and the performance of these diagnostic methods. This study aimed at assessing the performance of microscopy and two rapid diagnostic test kits in the hands of routine laboratory staff compared to expert microscopy as well as assess the performance of clinical diagnosis. Methods this was a cross sectional study involving 799 participants of all ages who visited the out patient department of the University of Cape Coast Hospital with symptoms suggestive of malaria. Results when the different methods were compared to expert microscopy, the rapid diagnostic test kits had the highest sensitivities, Wondfo 94.83% (95% CI: 85.62-98.20) and CareStart 91.38 (95% CI: 81.02-97.14). Microscopy by laboratory staff had a sensitivity of 68.79 (95% CI: 55.46-80.46) whilst clinical diagnosis had the lowest sensitivity of 17.24 (95% CI: 8.59-29.43). Cohen´s kappa coefficient was used to measure the level of agreement of the methods with expert microscopy. Microscopy by laboratory staff, CareStart and Wondfo showed substantial measures of agreement (k = 0.737, 0.683, and 0.691 respectively). Conclusion these findings suggest that clinical diagnosis is highly unreliable whilst rapid diagnostic tests and microscopy performed by routine laboratory staff could be trusted by clinicians as reliable diagnostic methods.
Empleo y brecha digital de género en América Latina

Existe una amplia literatura que examina los determinantes de la brecha digital de género en los países en desarrollo y presenta recomendaciones de políticas para mitigarla. Sin embargo, pocos trabajos han estudiado cómo las diferencias de género en patrones de empleo afectan la adopción de TIC en general, y el uso de Internet en particular. Esto es importante porque la participación en la fuerza laboral y los tipos de trabajos que realizan hombres y mujeres a menudo se correlacionan con diferentes oportunidades para acceder a Internet y desarrollar habilidades TIC. Este estudio contribuye a llenar este vacío de conocimiento al explorar cómo las diferencias de género en el empleo afectan la brecha digital de género en tres países latinoamericanos (Ecuador, México y Perú). Los hallazgos identifican de manera concluyente el empleo como el factor que más contribuye a la brecha de uso de Internet entre hombres y mujeres, por delante de otros predictores tradicionales como la edad, la educación y los ingresos. Los resultados también sugieren que el estar ocupado afecta significativamente más el uso de Internet por parte de las mujeres que entre los hombres, lo que se atribuye al hecho de que las mujeres tienden a trabajar en sectores más intensivos en TIC (por ejemplo, servicios de salud y educación). Las estimaciones de límite inferior del análisis de descomposición indican que, si las mujeres estuvieran ocupadas a la misma tasa que los hombres, la brecha digital de género en estos países se reduciría en al menos una cuarta parte.
Ensuring social distancing using machine learning

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has affected our daily life and is slackening the global economy. In this fight against the COVID-19, social-distancing is proving to be an effective measure to slow down the transmission of coronavirus. In order to control the spread of transmission of COVID-19, social distancing is the best measure which aims to avoid close contact of people. In order to control the spread of transmission of COVID-19, social distancing is the best measure which aims to avoid close contact of people. With the aim of ensuring social- distancing norms in workplace and public places, we can develop a social-distancing detection tool that monitors if people are staying at a safe distance from each other. This can be done by examining real-time video streams from the cameras. In order to provide an effective solution, we are developing a model which has mainly two phases - firstly object detection phase where people will be detected from the video streams. Secondly showing the statistical analysis in the form of dashboards and sending alerts to concerned authorities to take necessary actions.
Interactions Between Humans, Crocodiles, and Hippos at Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe

Human–wildlife conflicts (HWCs) are on the increase due to shrinking space that results in increased competition for land, water, and other natural resources between humans and wildlife. Investigating the occurrence of HWCs is important in that the results can be used to formulate better management policies and strategies. In this paper, we describe the nature of HWCs emerging between humans and the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) and between humans and the African hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius; hippo) on Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe. Lake Kariba is the second largest manmade lake by volume in the world. Conflicts involving humans and these species are readily noticeable and played out around water bodies, which are sources of daily human sustenance and important habitats for aquatic wildlife. We used a mixed-methods approach to gather data on these conflicts, including questionnaires, face-to-face interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observation. The research participants involved national parks officials, fishing camp residents, and HWC victims. Our research confirmed that crocodiles and hippos have negatively affected humans through deaths, injuries, instilling fear, and destruction of sources of livelihood for fishermen such as fishing nets and boats. In retaliation, humans have implemented lethal methods to remove problem animals. The results of this research can inform the conservation community about the severity of the conflicts, which have been exacerbated by current economic hardships, to better inform conservation policies.