Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Author Manuscript, Published in "international Symposium on Crop Modeling and Decision Support: Iscmds a Functional-structural Plant Model--theory and Applications in Agronomy ‡

Functional-structural plant models (FSPM) simulate plant development and growth, usually accompanied with visualization of the plant 3D architecture. GreenLab is a generic and mechanistic FSPM: various botanical architectures can be produced by its organogenesis model, and the plant growth is governed by the competition on biomass among growing organs. A distinguished feature of GreenLab model is that, its organogenesis (in terms of the number of organs) and growth (in terms of organ biomass) are formulated with recurrent equations. It facilitates analytical study of model behaviour, bug-proof of simulation software, and application of efficient optimization algorithm for parameter identification or optimal control problems. Currently several levels of GreenLab model exist: (1) the deterministic one (GL1): plants have a fixed pattern for development without feedback from the plant growth; (2) the stochastic level (GL2): pant organogenesis parameters are probabilistic; (3) the feedback model (GL3): the plant development is dependent on the dynamic relationship between biomass demand and supply (and in turn the environment). It makes it possible to deal with different kinds of behaviour observed in real plants. This paper presents recent typical GreenLab applications: (1) calibration of GL1 for getting sink and source functions of maize; (2) fitting of GL2 on organogenesis of wheat plant; (3) rebuilt of the rhythmic pattern of cucumber using GL3; (4) optimization of model parameters to improve yield, such as leaf (for tea) or wood quantity (for trees); (5) the possible introduction of genetic information in the model through detection of quantitative trait loci for the model parameters; (6) simulation of plant competition for light.
Health staff perception regarding quality of delivered information to inpatients.

BACKGROUND Accreditation usually requires that healthcare staff assess the quality of care delivered to patients in their own hospitals. It is unknown whether this assessment depends on the workplace rather than on the professional category of health personnel. OBJECTIVE We aimed to identify major determinants of the perception of various categories of healthcare professionals concerning the quality of delivered information to inpatients in their ward, with a perspective to help the development of recommendations on how to compose self-assessment teams for the accreditation process. METHOD A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted in nine wards from five short-stay hospitals in Paris, France. Three hundred and fifteen healthcare professionals (physicians, nurses and nursing assistants) were included. The views of various categories of healthcare professionals regarding the compliance with a set of quality standards were compared by nonparametric statistical analyses. Determinants of the self-assessment of quality of care, including ward effect, were identified by fitting the data to a hierarchical model. RESULTS The participation rate was 86%, with 272 respondents (58 physicians, 149 nurses and 65 nursing assistants). Overall perceptions of various categories of healthcare professionals were not different. The final hierarchical model showed a strong ward effect (intracluster correlation coefficient=0.06, P<0.01) and a significant relationship between age of professionals and their opinion about quality of care. CONCLUSION We observed a ward cluster effect on healthcare staff perception of quality, but the category of healthcare professional was not a determinant. A satisfactory representativeness on age of professionals selected into the teams in charge of self-assessment during hospital accreditation is recommended.
Limitations of quantum simulation examined by simulating a pairing Hamiltonian using nuclear magnetic resonance.

Quantum simulation uses a well-known quantum system to predict the behavior of another quantum system. Certain limitations in this technique arise, however, when applied to specific problems, as we demonstrate with a theoretical and experimental study of an algorithm proposed by Wu, Byrd, and Lidar [Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 057904 (2002). 10.1103/PhysRevLett.89. 057904] to find the low-lying spectrum of a pairing Hamiltonian. While the number of elementary quantum gates required scales polynomially with the size of the system, it increases inversely to the desired error bound E. Making such simulations robust to decoherence using fault tolerance requires an additional factor of approximately 1/E gates. These constraints, along with the effects of control errors, are illustrated using a three qubit NMR system.
Says who?: automatic text-based content analysis of television news

We perform an automatic analysis of television news programs, based on the closed captions that accompany them. Specifically, we collect all the news broadcasted in over 140 television channels in the US during a period of six months. We start by segmenting, processing, and annotating the closed captions automatically. Next, we focus on the analysis of their linguistic style and on mentions of people using NLP methods. We present a series of key insights about news providers, people in the news, and we discuss the biases that can be uncovered by automatic means. These insights are contrasted by looking at the data from multiple points of view, including qualitative assessment.
Probiotics for Preventing Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of High-Quality Randomized Controlled Trials

Background Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is considered to be a worldwide issue along with the development of supportive ventilation. The preventing strategy is of great importance for its poor prognostic and difficulties in treatment. Probiotics have been advocated as one of the possible preventive measures. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the potential benefits of probiotics. Methods The databases, Web of science, PubMed, Ovid and Cochrane lib were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) publications that compared the effectiveness of probiotics with placebo in the prevention of VAP. The incidence of VAP was considered as the primary endpoint, mortality, length of stay in intensive care units (ICUs), etiology of the infections were considered as secondary endpoints. Results A total of 844 patients from 5 trials were subjected to meta-analysis. Probiotics did not significantly decrease the incidence of VAP (RR 0.94, 95%CI 0.85-1.04, p=0.22), however, the administration of probiotics reduced the risk of VAP caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) (RR 0.30, 95%CI 0.11-0.91, P=0.03). It failed to affect any other endpoints. Conclusion Probiotic prophylaxis of ventilator-associated pneumonia remained inconclusive and it failed to improve the prognosis of general mechanically ventilated patients. It was noteworthy that infections caused by P. aeruginosa was reduced by administration of probiotics. In further, it is recommended that advanced studies should exploit transformation in pathogenic microorganisms owing to administration of probiotics as well as the specific population.
User Participation and Technology Acceptance: Towards Ex-Ante Acceptance Predictions

The current work is positioned at the point where technology acceptance research and user participation in information systems development research intersect. More specifically, this paper purports to achieve three objectives: (a) explain how technology acceptance determinants can be elicited from users during their participation in the ISD activities, (b) investigate the influence of user participation on these determinants, and (c) investigate if the elicitation of these determinants at early stages of the ISD is predictive of post-implementation usage behavior. To this end, the research recommends adding new categories to the traditional system development stages so as to elicit acceptance determinants. Ten hypotheses are advanced to investigate the ex-ante predictability of acceptance determinants and how user participation impacts them. The proposed model, through its robust theoretical foundation, holds the promise of predicting systems acceptance/rejection at early stages of the development process thereby increasing the likelihood of successful systems development.
Sexual Dimorphism Floral MicroRNA Profiling and Target Gene Expression in Andromonoecious Poplar (Populus tomentosa)

Although the molecular basis of poplar sex-specific flower development remains largely unknown, increasing evidence indicates an essential role for microRNAs (miRNAs). The specific miRNA types and precise miRNA expression patterns in dioecious plant flower development remain unclear. Here, we used andromonoecious poplar, an exceptional model system, to eliminate the confounding effects of genetic background of dioecious plants. This system, combined with high-throughput sequencing and computational analysis, allowed us to characterize sex-specific miRNAomes from female and male flowers. Comparative miRNAome analysis combined with quantitative real-time PCR revealed the expression patterns of 27 miRNAs in poplar flower and showed that the targets of these miRNAs are involved in flower organogenesis, Ca2+ transport, phytohormone synthesis and metabolism, and DNA methylation. This paper describes a complex regulatory network consisting of these miRNAs expressed in sex-specific flower development in a dioecious plant. The conserved and novel miRNA locations were annotated in the Populus trichocarpa genome. Among these, miRNA Pto-F70 and 4 targets are located in the sex-determination regions of chromosome XIX. Furthermore, two novel miRNAs, Pto-F47 and Pto-F68, were shown for the first time to be regulatory factors in phytohormone interactions. To our knowledge, this report is the first systematic investigation of sex-specific flower-related miRNAs and their targets in poplar, and it deepens our understanding of the important regulatory functions of miRNAs in female and male flower development in this dioecious plant.
Enterprise Restructuring in Transition: A Quantitative Survey

We survey the empirical literature analysing the process of enterprise restructuring in transition economies. The survey provides new insights into the relative effectiveness of different reform policies, and into how this effectiveness varies across regions. We study the effects of privatization, the importance of different types of owners, the effects of foreign and domestic competition, the consequences of soft budgets, and the role of managerial incentives and managerial human capital, on enterprise restructuring.
Diversity, taxonomic composition, and functional aspects of fungal communities in living, senesced, and fallen leaves at five sites across North America

Background Fungal endophytes inhabit symptomless, living tissues of all major plant lineages to form one of earth’s most prevalent groups of symbionts. Many reproduce from senesced and/or decomposing leaves and can produce extracellular leaf-degrading enzymes, blurring the line between symbiotrophy and saprotrophy. To better understand the endophyte–saprotroph continuum we compared fungal communities and functional traits of focal strains isolated from living leaves to those isolated from leaves after senescence and decomposition, with a focus on foliage of woody plants in five biogeographic provinces ranging from tundra to subtropical scrub forest. Methods We cultured fungi from the interior of surface-sterilized leaves that were living at the time of sampling (i.e., endophytes), leaves that were dead and were retained in plant canopies (dead leaf fungi, DLF), and fallen leaves (leaf litter fungi, LLF) from 3–4 species of woody plants in each of five sites in North America. Our sampling encompassed 18 plant species representing two families of Pinophyta and five families of Angiospermae. Diversity and composition of fungal communities within and among leaf life stages, hosts, and sites were compared using ITS-partial LSU rDNA data. We evaluated substrate use and enzyme activity by a subset of fungi isolated only from living tissues vs. fungi isolated only from non-living leaves. Results Across the diverse biomes and plant taxa surveyed here, culturable fungi from living leaves were isolated less frequently and were less diverse than those isolated from non-living leaves. Fungal communities in living leaves also differed detectably in composition from communities in dead leaves and leaf litter within focal sites and host taxa, regardless of differential weighting of rare and abundant fungi. All focal isolates grew on cellulose, lignin, and pectin as sole carbon sources, but none displayed ligninolytic or pectinolytic activity in vitro. Cellulolytic activity differed among fungal classes. Within Dothideomycetes, activity differed significantly between fungi from living vs. non-living leaves, but such differences were not observed in Sordariomycetes. Discussion Although some fungi with endophytic life stages clearly persist for periods of time in leaves after senescence and incorporation into leaf litter, our sampling across diverse biomes and host lineages detected consistent differences between fungal assemblages in living vs. non-living leaves, reflecting incursion by fungi from the leaf exterior after leaf death and as leaves begin to decompose. However, fungi found only in living leaves do not differ consistently in cellulolytic activity from those fungi detected thus far only in dead leaves. Future analyses should consider Basidiomycota in addition to the Ascomycota fungi evaluated here, and should explore more dimensions of functional traits and persistence to further define the endophytism-to-saprotrophy continuum.
A Quality Management Approach to Implementing Point-of-Care Technologies for HIV Diagnosis and Monitoring in Sub-Saharan Africa

Technology advances in rapid diagnosis and clinical monitoring of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection have been made in recent years, greatly benefiting those at risk of HIV infection, those needing care and treatment, and those on antiretroviral (ART) therapy in sub-Saharan Africa. However, resource-limited, geographically remote, and harsh climate regions lack uniform access to these technologies. HIV rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and monitoring tools, such as those for CD4 counts, as well as tests for coinfections, are being developed and have great promise in these settings to aid in patient care. Here we explore the advances in point-of-care (POC) technology in the era where portable devices are bringing the laboratory to the patient. Quality management approaches will be imperative for the successful implementation of POC testing in endemic settings to improve patient care.
Bubbles and Capital Flow Volatility: Causes and Risk Management

Emerging market economies are fertile ground for the development of real estate and other financial bubbles. Despite these economies' significant growth potential, their corporate and government sectors do not generate the financial instruments to provide residents with adequate stores of value. Capital often flows out of these economies seeking these stores of value in the developed world. Bubbles are beneficial because they provide domestic stores of value and thereby reduce capital outflows while increasing investment. But they come at a cost, as they expose the country to bubble-crashes and capital flow reversals. We show that domestic financial underdevelopment not only facilitates the emergence of bubbles, but also leads agents to undervalue the aggregate risk embodied in financial bubbles. In this context, even rational bubbles can be welfare reducing. We study a set of aggregate risk management policies to alleviate the bubble-risk. We show that liquidity requirements, sterilization of capital inflows and structural policies aimed at developing public debt markets "collateralized" by future revenues, all have a high payoff in this environment.
Pyrosequencing the Canine Faecal Microbiota: Breadth and Depth of Biodiversity

Mammalian intestinal microbiota remain poorly understood despite decades of interest and investigation by culture-based and other long-established methodologies. Using high-throughput sequencing technology we now report a detailed analysis of canine faecal microbiota. The study group of animals comprised eleven healthy adult miniature Schnauzer dogs of mixed sex and age, some closely related and all housed in kennel and pen accommodation on the same premises with similar feeding and exercise regimes. DNA was extracted from faecal specimens and subjected to PCR amplification of 16S rDNA, followed by sequencing of the 5′ region that included variable regions V1 and V2. Barcoded amplicons were sequenced by Roche-454 FLX high-throughput pyrosequencing. Sequences were assigned to taxa using the Ribosomal Database Project Bayesian classifier and revealed dominance of Fusobacterium and Bacteroidetes phyla. Differences between animals in the proportions of different taxa, among 10,000 reads per animal, were clear and not supportive of the concept of a “core microbiota”. Despite this variability in prominent genera, littermates were shown to have a more similar faecal microbial composition than unrelated dogs. Diversity of the microbiota was also assessed by assignment of sequence reads into operational taxonomic units (OTUs) at the level of 97% sequence identity. The OTU data were then subjected to rarefaction analysis and determination of Chao1 richness estimates. The data indicated that faecal microbiota comprised possibly as many as 500 to 1500 OTUs.
Mixing Enhancement by Optimal Flow Advection

We consider the problem of optimal mixing control. Our objective is to best enhance mixing by flow advection while the flow is optimized in the sense that it is almost steady and is of the least magnitude and the least rotation. For this we define a mixing efficiency functional by penalizing the average of variance of a diffusive scalar, the average of the flow, and the average of its acceleration and strain tensor. By variational principles, we prove the existence of an optimal flow and derive optimality conditions that consist of a system of nonlinear advection-diffusion equations, wave equations, and Laplace's equation.
Inclusion of pupils with ADHD symptoms in mainstream classes with PBS

ABSTRACT Inclusion is never only a practical issue of placement. School-wide systemic change, together with well-functioning, multi-tiered support, can promote the inclusion of all pupils. This paper draws on research conducted in two mainstream primary schools in Finland. The primary focus was to gain insight into practical solutions to facilitate the inclusion of pupils with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in mainstream teaching. Using an experimental, multiple-baseline, single-case design, we examined the effects of Check-in Check-out (CICO) support on changes in the behaviour of two pupils who displayed ADHD-type behaviours. The key features of CICO are brief morning and afternoon meetings with an adult, the use of a daily report card, regular positive feedback during the day, and parental involvement. This study examined if behavioural gains made during the implementation of CICO support can be maintained. Visual data analysis revealed differences in two CICO-ending strategies on maintenance in pupils with ADHD symptoms. The results suggest that consistent universal positive behaviour support systems together with additional behavioural support can facilitate the successful inclusion of pupils observed by teachers to have even severe disruptive behaviours in a mainstream learning environment.
MadaBoost: A Modification of AdaBoost

We propse a new boosting algorithm that mends some of the problems that have been detected in the so far most successful boosting algorithm, AdaBoost due to Freund and Schapire [FS97]. These problems are: (1) AdaBoost cannot be used in the boosting by filtering framework, and (2) AdaBoost does not seem to be noise resistant. In order to solve them, we propose a new boosting algorithm MadaBoost by modifying the weighting system of AdaBoost. We prove that one version of MadaBoost is in fact a boosting algorithm, and we show how our algorithm can be used in detail. We then prove that our new boosting algorithm can be casted in the statistical query learning model [Kea93] and thus, it is robust to random classification noise [AL88].
Firm Turnover in Imperfectly Competitive Markets 1

This paper is motivated by the empirical regularity that industries differ greatly in the level of firm turnover, and that entry and exit rates are positively correlated across industries. Our objective is to investigate the effect of sunk costs and, in particular, market size on entry and exit rates, and hence on the age distribution of firms. We analyze a stochastic dynamic model of a monopolistically competitive industry. Each firm’s efficiency is assumed to follow a Markov process. We show existence and uniqueness of a stationary equilibrium with simultaneous entry and exit: efficient firms survive while inefficient ones leave the market and are replaced by new entrants. We perform comparative dynamics with respect to the level of sunk costs: entry costs are negatively and fixed production costs positively related to entry and exit rates. A central empirical prediction of the model is that the level of firm turnover is increasing in market size. The intuition is as follows. In larger markets, price-cost margins are smaller since the number of active firms is larger. This implies that the marginal surviving firm has to be more efficient than in smaller markets. Hence, in larger markets, the expected life span of firms is shorter, and the age distribution of firms is first-order stochastically dominated by that in smaller markets. In the empirical part, the prediction on market size and firm turnover is tested on an industry where firms compete in well-defined geographical markets of different sizes. Using data on hair salons in Sweden, we show that an increase in market size or fixed costs shifts the age distribution of firms towards younger firms, as predicted by the model. JEL Classification: L11, L13, D43
Discipline, level, genre: Integrating situational perspectives in a new MD analysis of university student writing

While there have been many investigations of academic genres, and of the linguistic features of academic discourse, few studies have explored how these interact across a range of university student writing situations. To counter misconceptions that have arisen regarding student writing, this article aims to provide comprehensive linguistic descriptions of a wide range of university assignment genres in relation to multiple situational variables. Our new multidimensional (MD) analysis of the British Academic Written English (BAWE) corpus identifies clusters of linguistic features along four dimensions, onto which academic disciplines, disciplinary groups, levels of study, and genre families are mapped. The dimensions are interpreted through text extracts as: (i) Compressed Procedural Information versus Stance towards the Work of Others; (ii) Personal Stance; (iii) Possible Events versus Completed Events; and (iv) Informational Density. Clusters of linguistic features from the comprehensive set of situational perspectives found across this framework can be selected to inform the teaching of a ‘common academic core’, and to inform the design of programmes tailored to the needs of specific disciplines.
Integrating Applications In The Teaching Of Fundamental Concepts

Patricia Campbell, Campbell-Kibler Associates, Inc Patricia B. Campbell, President of Campbell-Kibler Associates, Inc, has been involved in educational research and evaluation with a focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and issues of race/ethnicity, gender and disability since the mid 1970's. Dr. Campbell, formerly a professor of research, measurement and statistics at Georgia State University, has authored more than 100 publications.