Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Food Science of Animal Resources

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of the total digestible nutrients (TDN) level of commercial concentrates on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and meat composition of late fattening Hanwoo steers. A total of 28 steers were randomly assigned to one of four dietary groups; T1 (73.30% TDN), T2 (74.50% TDN), T3 (76.40% TDN), and T4 (77.10% TDN). Average daily gain (ADG) was slightly but not significantly higher in the T2 than in the other treatments. Dry matter intake (DMI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were higher in the T2 than in the other treatments; however, the differences were not statistically significant. Carcass back fat thickness was thicker in the T4 and marbling score was higher in the T2 than in the other treatments; however, the differences were not statistically significant. The TDN level of concentrates had no effect on the physicochemical characteristics and fatty acid composition of the longissimus muscle. The finding of this study indicate that less than 74% or greater than 75% TDN in the commercial concentrate did not contribute to improve ADG, FCR, marbling score; therefore, in the present study, the recommendable TDN level in the commercial concentrate for late fattening period was 74% to 75% in terms of growth performance and marbling score of Hanwoo steer.
Habitat suitability modelling revealing environmental-driven abundance variability and geographical distribution shift of winter–spring cohort of neon flying squid Ommastrephes bartramii in the northwest Pacific Ocean

To identify climate-related habitat changes and variations in abundance and distribution of Ommastrephes bartramii in the northwest Pacific Ocean, an habitat suitability index (HSI) model was developed in this study including sea surface temperature (SST), photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), and sea surface height anomaly (SSHA). The catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) of O. bartramii gradually decreased between 2006 and 2015, and the latitudinal gravity centres (LATG) of the fishing effort shifted southward. Correlation analyses suggested that CPUE was positively related to SST, PAR, and the areas of suitable and optimal habitat, but negatively correlated with SSHA and the percentages of poor habitat. A significantly positive correlation was found between the LATG and the average latitude of the most preferred SST, PAR, and the average latitude of the area with an HSI between 0.9 and 1.0. From 2006 to 2015, the annual declined CPUE was highly consistent with the increase in areas of poor habitat and the reduction in areas of suitable and optimal habitats. The south-approaching LATG coincided with the southward migration pattern of the latitude of the HSI area in the range of 0.9–1.0. Moreover, compared to the El Niño events, the La Niña events, and normal climate condition yielded enlarged suitable habitat areas for O. bartramii, and the LATG moved further north.
Automatic Lyrics-to-audio Alignment on Polyphonic Music Using Singing-adapted Acoustic Models

Lyrics-to-audio alignment is to automatically align the lyrical words with the mixed singing audio (singing voice+musical accompaniment). Such alignment can be achieved with an automatic speech recognition (ASR) system. We propose to adapt the acoustic model of a speech recognizer towards solo singing voice. This avoids the hurdles of annotating a large polyphonic music training dataset. Moreover, a lexicon-modification based duration modelling has been incorporated to account for the long duration vowels in singing. As practical application demand the alignment on polyphonic music, we study the effect of different singing vocal separation methods in the task of lyrics-to-audio alignment in polyphonic music. The extracted vocals are forced-aligned with the singing-adapted models. We demonstrate that the use of audio source separation method and effective end-pointing of the songs has a high impact on the alignment performance through the experiments. We report a mean average absolute error of 3.87 seconds, which is comparable with the state-of-the-art lyrics-to-audio alignment system that is trained on a large polyphonic music database.
Antieavesdropping With Selfish Jamming in Wireless Networks: A Bertrand Game Approach

Wireless communications are vulnerable to eavesdropping attacks due to their broadcast nature. To deal with their emerging challenge of physical layer security, in this paper, we study the antieavesdropping problem in the presence of selfish jammers, who desire to achieve maximum profit for themselves. We consider both the single-channel multijammer (SCMJ) model and the multichannel single-jammer (MCSJ) model. We investigate the interaction between the source that transmits secret information and friendly jammer nodes who assist the source by interfering with the eavesdropper. This problem is formulated as an oligopoly market consisting of a few firms and a buyer. By modeling the problem as a Bertrand game based on price competition, we obtain the optimal pricing scheme for the friendly, while for selfish jammers, the utility of those jammers is maximized. For the SCMJ model, we prove the existence of Bertrand Equilibrium by deriving a closed-form expression for the optimal price strategy. For the MCSJ model, a closed-form expression for power allocation is derived, based on which a new algorithm is designed to obtain the optimal strategy of the jammer. Finally, via simulations, we verify our theoretical analysis.
Willing to Evade An Experimental Study of Italy and Denmark

Tax evasion varies widely across countries and follows a geographical pattern: Southern European countries such as Italy, Spain and Greece, are plagued by higher evasion rates than Northern European countries. This suggests a testable research question: Can national identity explain North-South discrepancies in European tax compliance? We address this issue by conducting identical laboratory experiments in Denmark and Italy, two countries that lie not only at the opposite ends of the spectrum on tax compliance but also at the extremes of cultural differences and citizen trust in the government. We adopt a double-hurdle model to separate the decision of whether to evade or not (extensive margin), from the decision of how much to evade (intensive margin). This study innovates both theoretically and methodologically. Theoretically, it contributes in two ways to the literature on tax compliance: 1) by showing that taxpayers’ attitudes toward evasion are not predictive of behavior; and 2) by showing that tax compliance is not related to trust in government or one’s fellow citizens. Methodologically, the paper innovates by being the first to examine tax compliance in Denmark, and by testing the effects of an extended vector of covariates on both the intensive and extensive margins of tax behavior. Empirically, we find that--contrary to expectations-Danes are more likely to evade tax than Italians; at the same time, Danes are less tolerant of tax evasion by others. We find that individual evasion choices are strongly affected by risk aversion and individual perception about others' compliance behavior. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for tax policies and future research.
Novel concepts for device-to-device communication using network coding

Device-to-device communication is currently a hot research topic within 3GPP. Even though D2D communication has been part of previous ad hoc, meshed and sensor networks proposals, the main contribution by 3GPP is that the direct communication among two devices is carried out over a dynamically assigned, licensed spectrum; thus, it is under full control of the cellular network. D2D communication creates a market potential for new services, new approaches to efficient spectrum use, and security concepts. This is especially true if D2D communication is extended to larger communication groups organized in meshed clusters. In this article, we discuss the potential and shortcomings of D2D communication as proposed today, advocating for the use of network coding as an enabling technology for enhanced security and communication efficiency using the PlayNCool and CORE protocols as key examples to deliver smarter D2D systems.
Ecogenomics: using massively parallel pyrosequencing to understand virus ecology

Environmental samples have been analysed for viruses in metagenomic studies, but these studies have not linked individual viruses to their hosts. We designed a strategy to isolate double‐stranded RNA, a hallmark of RNA virus infection, from individual plants and convert this to cDNA with a unique four nucleotide Tag at each end. Using 96 different Tags allowed us to pool samples and still retain the link to the original sample. We then analysed the sequence of pooled samples using massively parallel sequencing with Roche 454 pyrosequencing such that 384 samples could be assessed per picotiter plate. Using this method we have been able to analyse thousands of plants, and we have discovered several thousand new plant viruses, all linked to their specific plant hosts. Here we describe the method in detail, including the results and analysis for eight pools of samples. This technology will be extremely useful in understanding the full scope of plant virus biodiversity.
Impacts of Implementing an Automatic Advancement Feature in Mobile and Web Surveys

As more surveys are administered online and taken on mobile devices, researchers need to continue to work toward defining best practices. A relatively new technical feature is an automatic advancement feature, which automatically scrolls the screen to the next item on a page of a survey instrument once a respondent selects an answer to the current question. This and other related forms of automatic advancement methods, such as the horizontal scrolling matrix, have so far produced mixed effects in terms of their impact on data quality, break off rates, and other survey measures. We present findings from an experiment conducted in 2017 using a survey of law school students in which we randomly assigned an automatic advancement feature to half of the respondents in a sample of nearly 40,000 students in the United States and Canada. We do not find significant differences in survey duration time, straight-lining, breakoff rates, or item nonresponse (for mobile users) between the two experimental groups, but desktop users without the automatic advancement feature had higher item nonresponse. More significantly, we find that respondents receiving the automatic advancement treatment on average changed about 50% fewer answers across the survey instrument than those who did not receive the automatic advancement design. We incorporate qualitative data to help us understand why this might have happened. Finally, respondents rated the automatic advancement feature as being easier to use and having a better visual design. This research extends the limited amount of work on automatic advancement features for surveys, helps move the field closer to best practices for survey design for mobile devices, and provides context and understanding about a particular respondent behavior related to data quality.
Estimation of genetic parameters and accuracy of genomic prediction for production traits in Duroc pigs

Abstract: Genetic parameters and accuracy of genomic prediction for production traits in a Duroc population were estimated. Data were on 24 828 purebred Duroc pigs born in 2000–2016. After quality control procedures, 30 263 single nucleotide polymorphism markers and 560 animals remained that were used to predict the genomic breeding values of individuals. Accuracies of predicted breeding values for average daily gain (ADG), backfat thickness (BF), loin muscle area (LMA), lean percentage (LP) and age at 90 kg (D90) between pedigree-based and single-step methods were compared. Analyses were carried out with a multivariate animal model to estimate genetic parameters for production traits while univariate analyses were performed to predict the genomic breeding values of individuals. Heritability estimates from pedigree analysis were moderate to high. Heritability estimates and standard error for ADG, BF, LMA, LP and D90 were 0.35 ± 0.01, 0.35 ± 0.11, 0.24 ± 0.04, 0.42 ± 0.11 and 0.37 ± 0.03, respectively. Genetic correlations of ADG with BF and LP were low and negative. Genetic correlations of LMA with ADG, BF, LP and D90 were –0.37, –0.27, 0.48 and 0.31, respectively. High correlations were observed between ADG and D90 (–0.98), and also between BF and LP (–0.93). Accuracies of genomic breeding values for ADG, BF, LMA, LP and D90 were 0.30, 0.33, 0.38, 0.40 and 0.28, respectively. Corresponding accuracies using pedigree-based method were 0.29, 0.32, 0.38, 0.39 and 0.27, respectively. The results showed that the single-step method did not show significant advantage compared to the pedigree-based method.
A recursive construction of the set of binary entropy vectors

The primary contribution is a finite terminating algorithm that determines membership of a candidate entropy vector in the set of binary entropy vectors Φ<inf>N</inf>. We outline the relationship between Φ<inf>N</inf> and its unbounded cardinality discrete random variable counterpart f<inf>N</inf> (or its normalization Ω<inf>N</inf>). We discuss connections between Φ<inf>N</inf> and Ω<inf>N</inf>. For example, for any outer bound, say the Shannon outer bound P <inf>N</inf>, to Ω<inf>N</inf>, we provide a finite terminating algorithm to find a polytopic inner bound on Ω<inf>N</inf> that agrees on tight faces of the outer bound.
Survival of Legionella pneumophila in the cold-water ciliate Tetrahymena vorax

The processing of phagosomes containing Legionella pneumophila and Escherichia coli were compared in Tetrahymena vorax, a hymenostome ciliated protozoan that prefers lower temperatures. L. pneumophila did not multiply in the ciliate when incubated at 20 to 22 degrees C, but vacuoles containing L. pneumophila were retained in the cells for a substantially longer time than vacuoles with E. coli. Electron micrographs showed no evidence of degradation of L. pneumophila cells through 12 h, while E. coli cells in the process of being digested were observed in vacuoles 75 min after the addition of the bacterium. T. vorax ingested L. pneumophila normally, but by 10 to 15 min, the vacuolar membrane appeared denser than that surrounding nascent or newly formed phagosomes. In older vacuoles, electron-dense particles lined portions of the membrane. Acidification of the phagosomes indicated by the accumulation of neutral red was similar in T. vorax containing L. pneumophila or E. coli. This ciliate could provide a model for the analysis of virulence-associated intracellular events independent of the replication of L. pneumophila.
FYVE1/FREE1 Interacts with the PYL4 ABA Receptor and Mediates Its Delivery to the Vacuolar Degradation Pathway

This study describes the turnover of ABA receptors through the endosomal pathway and provides insights on FYVE1 function in the ESCRT pathway to regulate ABA signaling. Recently, we described the ubiquitylation of PYL4 and PYR1 by the RING E3 ubiquitin ligase RSL1 at the plasma membrane of Arabidopsis thaliana. This suggested that ubiquitylated abscisic acid (ABA) receptors might be targeted to the vacuolar degradation pathway because such ubiquitylation is usually an internalization signal for the endocytic route. Here, we show that FYVE1 (previously termed FREE1), a recently described component of the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) machinery, interacted with RSL1-receptor complexes and recruited PYL4 to endosomal compartments. Although the ESCRT pathway has been assumed to be reserved for integral membrane proteins, we show the involvement of this pathway in the degradation of ABA receptors, which can be associated with membranes but are not integral membrane proteins. Knockdown fyve1 alleles are hypersensitive to ABA, illustrating the biological relevance of the ESCRT pathway for the modulation of ABA signaling. In addition, fyve1 mutants are impaired in the targeting of ABA receptors for vacuolar degradation, leading to increased accumulation of PYL4 and an enhanced response to ABA. Pharmacological and genetic approaches revealed a dynamic turnover of ABA receptors from the plasma membrane to the endosomal/vacuolar degradation pathway, which was mediated by FYVE1 and was dependent on RSL1. This process involves clathrin-mediated endocytosis and trafficking of PYL4 through the ESCRT pathway, which helps to regulate the turnover of ABA receptors and attenuate ABA signaling.
Numerical methods for reliability evaluation of Markov closed fault-tolerant systems

This paper compares three numerical methods for reliability calculation of Markov, closed, fault-tolerant systems which give rise to continuous-time, time-homogeneous, finite-state, acyclic Markov chains. The authors consider a modified version of Jensen's method (a probabilistic method, also known as uniformization or randomization), a new version of ACE (acyclic Markov chain evaluator) algorithm with several enhancements, and a third-order implicit Runge-Kutta method (an ordinary-differential-equation solution method). Modifications to Jensen's method include incorporating stable calculation of Poisson probabilities and steady-state detection of the underlying discrete-time Markov chain. The new version of Jensen's method is not only more efficient but yields more accurate results. Modifications to ACE algorithm are proposed which incorporate scaling and other refinements to make it more stable and accurate. However, the new version no longer yields solution symbolic with respect to time variable. Implicit Runge-Kutta method can exploit the acyclic structure of the Markov chain and therefore becomes more efficient. All three methods are implemented. Several reliability models are numerically solved using these methods and the results are compared on the basis of accuracy and computation cost.
Analysis of the HIV eradication phenomenon at the early stage of infection with an extracellular deterministic model

We investigate the phenomenon of HIV eradication at the early stage of the infection and evaluate the chance of the eradication with a mathematical model. We employ an extracellular deterministic model of the HIV infection dynamics and modify the model to include the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of antiretroviral HIV drugs. In addition we consider clinical experiments for the prevention of HIV infection using pre-exposure chemoprophylaxis treatment. Exploiting the mathematical model we implement the experiment numerically. The study in this paper is supported by the clinical results and provides a theoretical explanation for the results. The result suggests that the protocol of the experiment eradicates the virus in HIV infected patients.
RDF-3X: a RISC-style engine for RDF

RDF is a data representation format for schema-free structured information that is gaining momentum in the context of Semantic-Web corpora, life sciences, and also Web 2.0 platforms. The "pay-as-you-go" nature of RDF and the flexible pattern-matching capabilities of its query language SPARQL entail efficiency and scalability challenges for complex queries including long join paths. This paper presents the RDF-3X engine, an implementation of SPARQL that achieves excellent performance by pursuing a RISC-style architecture with a streamlined architecture and carefully designed, puristic data structures and operations. The salient points of RDF-3X are: 1) a generic solution for storing and indexing RDF triples that completely eliminates the need for physical-design tuning, 2) a powerful yet simple query processor that leverages fast merge joins to the largest possible extent, and 3) a query optimizer for choosing optimal join orders using a cost model based on statistical synopses for entire join paths. The performance of RDF-3X, in comparison to the previously best state-of-the-art systems, has been measured on several large-scale datasets with more than 50 million RDF triples and benchmark queries that include pattern matching and long join paths in the underlying data graphs.
Trusted products evaluation

computer and communications technologies and trends toward standardization , interoperability, and connectivity pose a growing security threat to Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and te][ecommunications systems that process sensitive or classified information. The activation of a threat could result in: disclosure, modification, or destruction of' sensitive or classified information; modification to hardware or software; and/or nonavailability of the system services. ~F" / / // / ,/ / /
Overview of TASS 2016

This paper describes TASS 2016, the fifth edition of the Workshop on Sentiment Analysis at SEPLN. The main aim is the promotion of the research and the development of new algorithms, resources and techniques on the field of sentiment analysis in social media (specifically Twitter) focused on the Spanish language. This paper presents the TASS 2016 proposed tasks, the description of the corpora used, the participant groups, the results and analysis of them.
A feature-based personalized recommender system for product-line configuration

Today’s competitive marketplace requires the industry to understand unique and particular needs of their customers. Product line practices enable companies to create individual products for every customer by providing an interdependent set of features. Users configure personalized products by consecutively selecting desired features based on their individual needs. However, as most features are interdependent, users must understand the impact of their gradual selections in order to make valid decisions. Thus, especially when dealing with large feature models, specialized assistance is needed to guide the users in configuring their product. Recently, recommender systems have proved to be an appropriate mean to assist users in finding information and making decisions. In this paper, we propose an advanced feature recommender system that provides personalized recommendations to users. In detail, we offer four main contributions: (i) We provide a recommender system that suggests relevant features to ease the decision-making process. (ii) Based on this system, we provide visual support to users that guides them through the decision-making process and allows them to focus on valid and relevant parts of the configuration space. (iii) We provide an interactive open-source configurator tool encompassing all those features. (iv) In order to demonstrate the performance of our approach, we compare three different recommender algorithms in two real case studies derived from business experience.
Classify Hyperdiploidy Status of Multiple Myeloma Patients Using Gene Expression Profiles

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a cancer of antibody-making plasma cells. It frequently harbors alterations in DNA and chromosome copy numbers, and can be divided into two major subtypes, hyperdiploid (HMM) and non-hyperdiploid multiple myeloma (NHMM). The two subtypes have different survival prognosis, possibly due to different but converging paths to oncogenesis. Existing methods for identifying the two subtypes are fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and copy number microarrays, with increased cost and sample requirements. We hypothesize that chromosome alterations have their imprint in gene expression through dosage effect. Using five MM expression datasets that have HMM status measured by FISH and copy number microarrays, we have developed and validated a K-nearest-neighbor method to classify MM into HMM and NHMM based on gene expression profiles. Classification accuracy for test datasets ranges from 0.83 to 0.88. This classification will enable researchers to study differences and commonalities of the two MM subtypes in disease biology and prognosis using expression datasets without need for additional subtype measurements. Our study also supports the advantages of using cancer specific characteristics in feature design and pooling multiple rounds of classification results to improve accuracy. We provide R source code and processed datasets at www.ChengLiLab. org/software.