Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Some Dormancy Breaking Agents on Flowering, Fruiting and Fruit Characteristics of 'Canino' Apricot Cultivar

This study was carried out during two successive seasons (2009 and 2010) on nine year old Canino apricot trees (Prunus armeniaca L.) budded on Nemaguard peach rootstock growing in sandy soil at a private orchard, Noubaria, Behira Governorate, Egypt. The aim of this investigation is to study the effect of the following treatments: Urea at 5, 10 and 15%, zinc sulphate at 5, 10 and 15%, hydrogen cyanamide (H CN 49%) 22 at 1, 2 and 3% and control (sprayed with water), sprayed at four weeks before full bloom on flowering and harvesting time, flower and vegetative bud percentage, initial and final fruit set and fruit characteristics (fruit length, diameter, weight, volume, length/diameter ratio, seed weight, total soluble solids, firmness and fresh weight). From the obtained results, it was noticed that flowering and harvesting time were enhanced and earlier by treatments, flower and vegetative bud percentage were increased also initial and final fruit set were improved. Also, fruit characteristics were improved by spraying these chemicals while hydrogen cyanamide at 1, 2, 3% and zinc sulphate 10 and 15% were more effective than urea and control treatments.
From Argument Diagrams to Argumentation Mining in Texts: A Survey

In this paper, the authors consider argument mining as the task of building a formal representation for an argumentative piece of text. Their goal is to provide a critical survey of the literature on both the resulting representations i.e., argument diagramming techniques and on the various aspects of the automatic analysis process. For representation, the authors also provide a synthesized proposal of a scheme that combines advantages from several of the earlier approaches; in addition, the authors discuss the relationship between representing argument structure and the rhetorical structure of texts in the sense of Mann and Thompsons 1988 RST. Then, for the argument mining problem, the authors also cover the literature on closely-related tasks that have been tackled in Computational Linguistics, because they think that these can contribute to more powerful argument mining systems than the first prototypes that were built in recent years. The paper concludes with the authors' suggestions for the major challenges that should be addressed in the field of argument mining.
Who Cares about the Environmental Impact of Cars?

This study examines preference for commuting towork by car or public transportation (PT) within an expanded social dilemma framework (i.e., one that recognizes the importance of both social and temporal concerns). Commuters completed scales assessing commuting preferences, beliefs regarding the environmental impact of cars, social value orientation (SVO), and the consideration of future consequences (CFC). Preference for PT was higher among commuters who believed that commuting by car harms the environment and among those scoring high in CFC. Most important, a significant two-way interaction revealed that preference for commuting by PT was positively related to beliefs regarding the harmful environmental consequences of commuting by car only among those high in CFC. SVO was unrelated to commuting preferences. In sum, a future orientation may be more important than a prosocial orientation in shaping commuting preferences.
The effect of microstructure heterogeneity on the microscale deformation of ultrafine-grained aluminum

A combined approach of scanning electron microscopy and digital image correlation was used to examine microstructure-scale strain localization and active deformation mechanisms in ultrafine-grained (UFG) high purity (99.99%) aluminum processed by equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP). The results from tensile tests demonstrate a strong relationship between the heterogeneous microstructure and strain localization. The localized deformation was investigated in areas that contain significantly different microstructural features typical of ECAP processed aluminum. It was found that areas of the UFG microstructure containing primarily low angle grain boundaries deformed by dislocation slip and behaved similarly to a coarse-grained material. The greatest strain localization occurred at high angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) separating distinct microstructure regions and with median surface trace angles of approximately 26.6°. In areas of banded microstructure, shear strain localization as high as 30% and shear displacements of up to 500 nm occurred at the HAGBs separating bands, suggesting grain boundary sliding.
Sciencedirect 17 Th International Conference in Knowledge Based and Intelligent Information and Engineering Systems - Kes2013 a Preliminary Examination of the Effect of White and Blue Backgrounds on Web-based English Listening Tests

Previous studies conducted by Yamazaki and Eto on the background colors of on-line tests indicated that a combination of black text and a white background color was not considered preferable for Web-based tests (WBTs). In this study, the authors conducted an experiment to see if a background color can affect the scores of a Web-based English listing test. Thirty three subjects in their twenties took Web-based English listening tests and non-linguistic tests with blue and white background colors with black text. The average test scores of the subjects showed no significant differences between the blue and white backgrounds. The brain functions of the subjects were also examined by observing relative changes in hemoglobin (Hb) concentrations in their brains with near-infrared spectroscopy. Two dimensional images of the Hb concentration changes obtained in the experiment indicated that areas in the brain associated with language processing tended to have higher Hb concentrations while the subjects were taking the listening test with both background colors. On the other hand, areas in the brain related to the frontal eye field were observed to be more active while they were taking the test with the white background than with the blue background, even though the questionnaire result obtained from the subjects showed that they felt more tired when they took the tests with the combination of black text and a blue background.
Mutations in Influenza Virus M1 CCHH, the Putative Zinc Finger Motif, Cause Attenuation in Mice and Protect Mice against Lethal Influenza Virus Infection

ABSTRACT Mutations in CCHH, the putative zinc finger motif, apparently do not play an important role in virus replication in MDCK cells in culture (E. K.-W. Hui, K. Ralston, A. K. Judd, and D. P. Nayak, J. Gen. Virol. 84:3105-3113, 2003). In this report, however, we demonstrate that the CCHH motif plays a critical role in virulence in mice and that some CCHH mutants are highly attenuated in BALB/c mice. Some of the mutant viruses replicated the least in mice lungs, induced little or no lung lesions, and caused highly reduced morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, growth patterns of mutant viruses in different cell lines (MDCK, MLE12, 3LL, A549, and 293T) varied. Mutant viruses that were attenuated in mice also grew poorly in mouse and human cells in culture. However, wild-type (WT) and all mutant viruses replicated to the same titer in MDCK (canine) cells or embryonated chicken eggs. Attenuation in mice correlated with reduced growth in mouse cells in culture, suggesting that potential attenuation in a given host can be predicted from the growth characteristics of the virus in cultured cells (preferably lung cells) from the same species. In challenge experiments, mice immunized by infection with attenuated mutant viruses were fully protected from lethal challenge with WT virus. In summary, the replication and attenuating properties of these mutants suggest that the CCHH motif provides a critical determinant for virulence in mouse and that mutations in the CCHH motif yield potential vaccine candidates for the development of live species-specific attenuated influenza virus vaccines.
Met polymorphism affects extinction of conditioned aversive memory Abbreviated title : BDNF Val 66 Met and extinction of aversive memory

Department of Neurobiology, School of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China; Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065; Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York 10065; Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Remodeling and Function Research, Chinese Ministry of Education and Chinese Ministry of Health, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China
The Subcellular Localizations of Atypical Synaptotagmins III and VI

Multiple synaptotagmins are expressed in brain, but only synaptotagmins I and II have known functions in fast, synchronous Ca2+-triggered neurotransmitter release. Synaptotagmin III was proposed to regulate other aspects of synaptic vesicle exocytosis, particularly its slow component. Such a function predicts that synaptotagmin III should be an obligatory synaptic vesicle protein, as would also be anticipated from its high homology to synaptotagmins I and II. To test this hypothesis, we studied the distribution, developmental expression, and localization of synaptotagmin III and its closest homolog, synaptotagmin VI. We find that synaptotagmins III and VI are present in all brain regions in heterogeneous distributions and that their levels increase during development in parallel with synaptogenesis. Furthermore, we show by immunocytochemistry that synaptotagmin III is concentrated in synapses, as expected. Surprisingly, however, we observed that synaptotagmin III is highly enriched in synaptic plasma membranes but not in synaptic vesicles. Synaptotagmin VI was also found to be relatively excluded from synaptic vesicles. Our data suggest that synaptotagmins III and VI perform roles in neurons that are not linked to synaptic vesicle exocytosis but to other Ca2+-related nerve terminal events, indicating that the functions of synaptotagmins are more diverse than originally thought.
Religious Terms and Attitudes in the Classroom (Part 2)

Part 1 of this article (BJRE 22(2), 81‐90) reported on research involving a survey of 2,879 Year 9 pupils in 22 schools in the maintained sector in England and Wales in three different English local education authorities. The research indicated the confusion that arises in pupils’ minds when more than four world religions are studied in religious education lessons. This confusion is particularly noticeable where a mixture of methods of grouping religious material is employed. Part 2 deals with the attitude to different religions that are associated with different approaches to the content of teaching. It shows that the systematic approach to religions is associated with more favourable attitudes to religions than thematic or mixed approaches. Since the systematic approach to religion in the classroom was also associated with less pupil confusion, it makes sense to suggest this method as the best one for future use.
’ s Choice Series on the Next Generation of Biotech Crops Targets for Crop Biotechnology in a Future High-CO 2 and High-O 3 World 1

Photosynthesis Research Unit, U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service, Urbana, Illinois 61801 (E.A.A.); Environmental Sciences Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973 (A.R.); and Department of Plant Biology (E.A.A., A.D.B.L.), Department of Crop Sciences (E.A.A., A.R.), and Institute for Genomic Biology (E.A.A., A.D.B.L.), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801
Counterfactual Distributions in Bivariate Models—A Conditional Quantile Approach

This paper proposes a methodology to incorporate bivariate models in numerical computations of counterfactual distributions. The proposal is to extend the works of Machado and Mata (2005) and Melly (2005) using the grid method to generate pairs of random variables. This contribution allows incorporating the effect of intra-household decision making in counterfactual decompositions of changes in income distribution. An application using data from five latin american countries shows that this approach substantially improves the goodness of fit to the empirical distribution. However, the exercise of decomposition is less conclusive about the performance of the method, which essentially depends on the sample size and the accuracy of the regression model.
Student perception of teachers' National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education and California Commission on Teacher Credentialing dispositions

The purpose of this quantitative study is to identify what relationship, if any, exists between (a) teachers' perception of their own moods and behaviors that align with National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education's (NCATE) teaching dispositions and California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC) standards within the classroom and (b) their students' perception of teachers' moods and behaviors that align with NCATE teaching dispositions and CCTC standards within the classroom. This study focused on students in Grades 9 through 12. This study also examined whether students' academic achievement, as measured by their course grades, affects students' perception of their teachers' in-class moods and behaviors. The study gathered self-report data about (a) students' perceptions of the teacher's dispositions based on students' observations of teacher behavior in the classroom and (b) teachers' self report about their own dispositions. These dispositions are conceptually equated with teacher attitudes and are based on the NCATE dispositions. The Student Perception Survey created by the researcher was used to gauge the students' perspective of particular dispositions observed within the classroom setting. The National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education dispositions state there are certain attitudes and behaviors teachers should use in the classroom, which align with the dispositions measured by the Student Perception Survey. This method was selected to assess the relationship between (a) the NCATE dispositions as indicated by current observable moods, attitudes, and behaviors as perceived by students, and (b) student grades. The results of the study suggest that the disposition of belief of a student's ability to learn is being accurately perceived and being displayed by the teachers in the classroom. The findings also suggest that although the students like their teachers, the students perceive that their teacher's treatment as unfair whether it be toward themselves or other students, therefore the disposition of fairness is not being accurately displayed in the classroom. The research shows that there is a relationship between average student's course grades and the teacher's disposition within the classroom.
Panton-Valentine Leukocidin Is Not the Primary Determinant of Outcome for Staphylococcus aureus Skin Infections: Evaluation from the CANVAS Studies

The impact of Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) on the severity of complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSI) caused by Staphylococcus aureus is controversial. We evaluated potential associations between clinical outcome and PVL presence in both methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) isolates from patients enrolled in two large, multinational phase three clinical trials assessing ceftaroline fosamil for the treatment of cSSSI (the CANVAS 1 and 2 programs). Isolates from all microbiologically evaluable patients with monomicrobial MRSA or MSSA infections (n = 473) were genotyped by PCR for pvl and underwent pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Genes encoding pvl were present in 266/473 (56.2%) isolates. Infections caused by pvl-positive S. aureus were associated with younger patient age, North American acquisition, and presence of major abscesses (P<0.001 for each). Cure rates of patients infected with pvl-positive and pvl-negative S. aureus were similar overall (93.6% versus 92.8%; P = 0.72), and within MRSA-infected (94.5% vs. 93.1%; P = 0.67) and MSSA-infected patients (92.2% vs. 92.7%; P = 1.00). This finding persisted after adjustment for multiple patient characteristics. Outcomes were also similar when USA300 PVL+ and non-USA300 PVL+ infections were compared. The results of this contemporary, international study suggest that pvl presence was not the primary determinant of outcome in patients with cSSSI due to either MRSA or MSSA.
Exclusionary reactions to foreign cultures: Effects of simultaneous exposure to cultures in globalized space

In globalized economies, people often encounter symbols of dissimilar cultures simultaneously. Research on the psychological effects of simultaneous exposure to dissimilar cultures is therefore strategically located at the intersection of globalization, culture, and psychology. In seven experiments, we showed that exposure to a commercial product that embodies symbols of two dissimilar cultures can enhance perceptibility of cultural differences (Experiments 2, 5, and 6) and perceptions of cultural incompatibility (Experiment 1). Furthermore, following simultaneous exposure to two dissimilar cultures, individuals may display defensive responses to “cultural contamination” of an iconic cultural brand when mortality concerns are salient (Experiments 3, 4, and 7). Finally, although we obtained a robust bicultural exposure effect across experiments, thoughtful elaboration about cultural complexities can attenuate this effect and its attendant defensive responses to “cultural contamination” (Experiments 5–7).
Career Practitioners' Views of Social Justice and Barriers for Practice

Increasing attention is being paid to the value of social justice in the field of career development. Social justice has strong historical roots in vocational psychology; however, the current literature is primarily conceptual in nature, and there are few resources that provide suggestions about how career practitioners can incorporate social justice into their practices with clients. This article orients readers to the topic of social justice and discusses various perspectives that are relevant for career development practice. Preliminary research results are reported about how Canadian career practitioners (N= 151) view social justice and their perceived barriers to incorporating social justice interventions.
Grandet: A Unified, Economical Object Store for Web Applications

Web applications are getting ubiquitous every day because they offer many useful services to consumers and businesses. Many of these web applications are quite storage-intensive. Cloud computing offers attractive and economical choices for meeting their storage needs. Unfortunately, it remains challenging for developers to best leverage them to minimize cost. This paper presents Grandet, an extensible storage system that significantly reduces storage cost for web applications deployed in the cloud. Grandet provides both a key-value interface and a file system interface, supporting a broad spectrum of web applications. Under the hood, it supports multiple heterogeneous stores and unifies them by placing each data object at the store deemed most economical. We implemented Grandet on Amazon Web Services and evaluated Grandet on a diverse set of four popular open-source web applications. Our results show that Grandet reduces their cost by an average of 42.4%, and it is fast, scalable, and easy to use. The source code of Grandet is at http://columbia.github. io/grandet.
A Survey of Software Engineering Practice: Tools, Methods, and Results

The results of a survey of software development practice are reported and analyzed. The problems encountered in various phases of the software life cycle are measured and correlated with characteristics of the responding installations. The use and acceptance of the term "software engineer" is investigated, and the functions and background of persons identified as software engineers are reported. The usage of a wide variety of software engineerilng tools and methods is measured; conclusions are drawn concerning the usefulness of these techniques.
Impact of maternal age on obstetric and neonatal outcome with emphasis on primiparous adolescents and older women: a Swedish Medical Birth Register Study

Objectives To evaluate the associations between maternal age and obstetric and neonatal outcomes in primiparous women with emphasis on teenagers and older women. Design A population-based cohort study. Setting The Swedish Medical Birth Register. Participants Primiparous women with singleton births from 1992 through 2010 (N=798 674) were divided into seven age groups: <17 years, 17–19 years and an additional five 5-year classes. The reference group consisted of the women aged 25–29 years. Primary outcome Obstetric and neonatal outcome. Results The teenager groups had significantly more vaginal births (adjusted OR (aOR) 2.04 (1.79 to 2.32) and 1.95 (1.88 to 2.02) for age <17 years and 17–19 years, respectively); fewer caesarean sections (aOR 0.57 (0.48 to 0.67) and 0.55 (0.53 to 0.58)), and instrumental vaginal births (aOR 0.43 (0.36 to 0.52) and 0.50 (0.48 to 0.53)) compared with the reference group. The opposite was found among older women reaching a fourfold increased OR for caesarean section. The teenagers showed no increased risk of adverse neonatal outcome but presented an increased risk of prematurity <32 weeks (aOR 1.66 (1.10 to 2.51) and 1.20 (1.04 to 1.38)). Women with advancing age (≥30 years) revealed significantly increased risk of prematurity, perineal lacerations, preeclampsia, abruption, placenta previa, postpartum haemorrhage and unfavourable neonatal outcomes compared with the reference group. Conclusions For clinicians counselling young women it is of importance to highlight the obstetrically positive consequences that fewer maternal complications and favourable neonatal outcomes are expected. The results imply that there is a need for individualising antenatal surveillance programmes and obstetric care based on age grouping in order to attempt to improve the outcomes in the age groups with less favourable obstetric and neonatal outcomes. Such changes in surveillance programmes and obstetric interventions need to be evaluated in further studies.
Aggressive quadrotor flight using dense visual-inertial fusion

In this work, we address the problem of aggressive flight of a quadrotor aerial vehicle using cameras and IMUs as the only sensing modalities. We present a fully integrated quadrotor system and demonstrate through online experiment the capability of autonomous flight with linear velocities up to 4.2 m/s, linear accelerations up to 9.6 m/s2, and angular velocities up to 245.1 degree/s. Central to our approach is a dense visual-inertial state estimator for reliable tracking of aggressive motions. An uncertainty-aware direct dense visual tracking module provides camera pose tracking that takes inverse depth uncertainty into account and is resistant to motion blur. Measurements from IMU pre-integration and multi-constrained dense visual tracking are fused probabilistically using an optimization-based sensor fusion framework. Extensive statistical analysis and comparison are presented to verify the performance of the proposed approach. We also release our code as open-source ROS packages.
Security assurance with program path analysis and metamorphic testing

The correctness of mission-critical software is an important part of information security and oracle problem[1] is often a great constraint for their testing. Metamorphic testing(MT) is practical for oracle problem, but calls for more executions and only focuses on program's mathematics properties in most situations. This article provides the Path-Combination-Based MT method, which mines the relationships among inputs that could execute different paths and their corresponding outputs based on the analysis of program structure, and then tests the program with these relationships. The experimental results prove its efficiency.