Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spatial dynamics of land cover in the Sdamas region (Tiaret, Algeria)

The Sdamas massif to which our contribution relates is located in West Algeria, it is an integral part of the Tiaret mountains. The aim of our study is to analyze the land cover of the Sdamas region over a 43-year interval grouped into 9 thematic classes: mineral surfaces (urban planning), wetland, vegetation, bare soils and fallow etc. The spatial and temporal dynamics of land use require regular monitoring of vegetation cover from remote sensing imagery. It is for this reason that we relied on field data to perform the diachronic analysis with three well-defined scenes 1972, 1998 and 2015, using Landsat satellite images (MSS, TM and ETM +). The analysis of these maps covering the same region shows the different changes that have taken place at ground level. We found that our natural plant space has undergone a strong degradation, disruption and regression because of different human activities, namely: overgrazing, clearing, fires, urbanization, (there has been a remarkable increase in the population of the communes of the study area). Inadequate and ineffective forestry interventionsand work, and lack of sustained protection are reasons of these processes. Factors affecting the forest ecosystem are bioclimate and human action. Indeed, the bioclimate, through atmospheric drought, is the main factor governing the diversity of these formations of the Sdamas mountains.
Retrieving chlorophyll content in conifer needles from hyperspectral measurements

Spectrally continuous hyperspectral data can be used to detect subtle features in the leaf optical spectra, which correlate especially well with major leaf pigments such as the leaf chlorophyll content. Extensive field and laboratory measurements were carried out at 10 sites in black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.)) forests near Sudbury, Canada, to collect leaf optical spectra, leaf pigment contents, and leaf biophysical parameters. It was found that black spruce needles sampled from different sites, age classes, and branch orientations demonstrated variability in both optical properties and chlorophyll contents. The variability in needle optical spectra showed a good correlation (R2 = 0.63) between the average visible absorptance and needle chlorophyll content. The leaf optical model PROSPECT was modified to incorporate the edge effects of needles on light transfer through them. Two leaf biophysical parameters, namely needle width and thickness, were introduced into the model to take into account the effects of leaf morphology on chlorophyll content retrieval. With the modifications to PROSPECT, the model can capture the variability of needle optical properties and chlorophyll content from the measurements. The retrieval of needle chlorophyll contents was improved with an accuracy of R2 = 0.59 and root mean squared error of RMSE = 6.32 µg/cm2 compared with the original PROSPECT model with an accuracy of R2 = 0.31 and RMSE = 9.51 µg/cm2.
Analysis of the Microbiota in Naturally Fermented Cabbage of Northeastern Part of China by High-throughput Sequencing of the V3-V4 Regions of the 16S rRNA Gene

In order to explore the microbiota in naturally fermented cabbage of northeastern part of China, the sequencing of the V3-V4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene of the microbiota in naturally fermented cabbage of northeastern part of China was made in this experiment by using the 454 FLX+ platform. A total of 302,327 valid sequences of 16 samples were obtained by 454 pyrosequencing. Evaluation of the richness of microflora of the samples by calculating Chao1 index showed that the microbiota of the samples from Daqing presented a higher richness. Beta diversity analysis showed species overlap with a very low content in the samples from Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning. Heat-map showed significant differences among the dominant bacteria of different provinces. The results of sample analysis based on microbiota showed that the Lactobacilli content of the samples from Daqing, Heihe and Songyuan was more than 50%, and that from Heihe was up to 69.6%. In addition, Wohlfahrtiimonas was found for the first time in fermented food in this experiment, revealing the security risks of traditional methods. © 2016 Friends Science Publishers
The use of phytomedicines as effective therapeutic agents in sickle cell anemia

Medicinal plants are parts of a plant or the whole plant that possess healing properties and unlike orthodox (synthetic) medicines, which may have adverse side effects, medicinal plant formulations are considerably cheaper and safer to use. In this review, selected medicinal plants with anti-sickling properties which are currently in use for the management of sickle cell anemia are highlighted, their methods of extraction, the various methods of analyzing herbal extracts for anti-sickling activity via efficacy tests and analyses and research findings are also discussed. Key words: Phytomedicines, Fagara, Niprisan, ajawaron HF, Cajanus cajan
RRR-- Tocopheryl Succinate Induces MDA-MB-435 and MCF-7 Human Breast Cancer Cells to Undergo Differentiation 1

RRR-Tocopheryl succinate (vitamin E succinate, VES) is a potent antitumor agent, inducing DNA synthesis arrest, differentiation, and apoptosis. Because little is known about VES-induced differentiation, studies reported here characterize VES effects on the differentiation status of human breast cancer cell lines and investigate possible molecular mechanisms involved. VES-induced differentiation of human MCF-7 and MDA-MB-435 breast cancer cells was characterized by morphological changes, induction of lipid droplets, induction of -casein mRNA expression, and down-regulation of Her2/neu protein. In contrast, VES treatment of normal human mammary epithelial cells, MCF-10A cells, and T-47D cells did not induce differentiation. Studies addressing mechanisms showed that neither antibody neutralization of the transforming growth factorsignaling pathway nor expression of a dominant-negative mutant of c-Jun N-terminal kinase blocked the ability of VES to induce differentiation; however, treatment of cells with PD 98059, a chemical inhibitor of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK1/2), blocked the ability of VES to induce differentiation.
Vortex particle method in parallel computations on graphical processing units used in study of the evolution of vortex structures

Understanding the dynamics and the mutual interaction among various types of vortical motions is a key ingredient in clarifying and controlling fluid motion. In the paper several different cases related to vortex tube interactions are presented. Due to problems with very long computation times on the single processor, the vortex-in-cell (VIC) method is implemented on the multicore architecture of a graphics processing unit (GPU). Numerical results of leapfrogging of two vortex rings for inviscid and viscous fluid are presented as test cases for the new multi-GPU implementation of the VIC method. Influence of the Reynolds number on the reconnection process is shown for two examples: antiparallel vortex tubes and orthogonally offset vortex tubes. Our aim is to show the great potential of the VIC method for solutions of three-dimensional flow problems and that the VIC method is very well suited for parallel computation.
How perceptions of empowerment and commitment affect job satisfaction : a study of managerial level effects

This study examines factors that affect an employee’s level of job satisfaction. Understanding job satisfaction is important because it has implications for positive or negative workplace outcomes. This study examines the main effect of the association between a manager’s level of psychological empowerment, organisational commitment and job satisfaction, and the interaction effect of these associations moderated by the level of the manager’s position within the organisation. Specifically, the managerial employee’s level of job satisfaction is examined because managerial perceptions may have flow-down effects throughout an organisation. A sample of 301 Australian chief financial officers (CFOs), human resource (HR) managers and chief executive officers was surveyed. The results of the regression analyses revealed partial support for the main effects of the associations between managers’ perceptions of organisational commitment, psychological empowerment and job satisfaction, as well as how the association is moderated by managerial level. The findings of the study show that CFOs and HR managers sought autonomy to have job satisfaction, while all three managerial levels sought affective commitment to be able to experience job satisfaction.
Real-Time Computation at the Edge of Chaos in Recurrent Neural Networks

Depending on the connectivity, recurrent networks of simple computational units can show very different types of dynamics, ranging from totally ordered to chaotic. We analyze how the type of dynamics (ordered or chaotic) exhibited by randomly connected networks of threshold gates driven by a time-varying input signal depends on the parameters describing the distribution of the connectivity matrix. In particular, we calculate the critical boundary in parameter space where the transition from ordered to chaotic dynamics takes place. Employing a recently developed framework for analyzing real-time computations, we show that only near the critical boundary can such networks perform complex computations on time series. Hence, this result strongly supports conjectures that dynamical systems that are capable of doing complex computational tasks should operate near the edge of chaos, that is, the transition from ordered to chaotic dynamics.
Kinematic analysis following implantation of the

Background: The clinical success of cervical arthroplasty hinges on the ability to preserve or improve the biomechanics of the functional spinal unit. The purpose of this study was to conduct a radiologic assessment of kinematic parameters preimplantation and postimplantation of the PRESTIGE LP Cervical Disc System (Medtronic, Memphis, Tennessee). Methods: A total of 120 radiographs of 20 patients following single-level implantation of the PRESTIGE LP were retrospectively reviewed. Static and dynamic radiologic assessments were performed before surgery and at 1 year postoperation. Kinematic parameters including range of motion (ROM), horizontal translation, center of rotation (COR X, Y), anterior disc height and posterior disc height, and disc angle and shell angle were assessed for each spinal level using quantitative motion analysis software. Clinical outcomes were assessed using the short form health survey physical component scores and mental component scores. Results: The mean physical component scores and mental component scores of the short form health survey (SF-36) improved significantly following surgery. At 1 year postoperation, ROM, translation, and COR X were preserved. The COR Y shifted superiorly from 3.17 2.08 mm preoperation to 0.98 2.23 mm postoperation (P o .001). The anterior disc height and posterior disc height were significantly increased following surgery (3.97 1.01 to 4.78 1.11 mm and 3.04 0.69 to 3.66 0.61 mm, respectively; P o .01). The preoperative disc angle was 3.321 2.921 and the postoperative shell angle was 1.111 4.291, with a mean change of 2.221 4.631 (P o .05). Conclusions: The PRESTIGE LP maintained preoperative ROM, translation, and COR X values. The postoperative COR Y value changed significantly by shifting superiorly, accompanied by an increase in DH. There was a loss of lordosis at the level of surgery, with the PRESTIGE LP endplates having an almost parallel endplate configuration. JC 2013 ISASS – The International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Effect of Hydrotropes on Solubility and Mass Transfer Coefficient of Methyl Salicylate

This paper presents a comprehensive study on the effect of citric acid, sodium benzoate, sodium salicylate, and urea (hydrotropes) on the solubility and mass transfer coefficient for the extraction of methyl salicylate in water. A Minimum Hydrotropic Concentration (MHC) in the range between 0.20 and 0.90 mol/L was found essential to show a significant increase in the solubility and mass transfer coefficient for the methyl salicylate−water system. The solubility of methyl salicylate has been increased to a maximum value of 22.84 in the presence of citric acid as hydrotrope at concentration of 2.00 mol/L and temperature of 333 K. The maximum enhancement factor for the mass transfer coefficient was found to be 7.88 in the presence of citric acid as hydrotrope at a concentration of 2.00 mol/L at 303 K at 600 rpm. The Setschenow constant, Ks, a measure of the effectiveness of the hydrotrope, has been determined for each case, and the highest value has been observed as 0.743 in the case of citric acid.
A Ten Year Follow-up Investigation of Preservice Generalist Primary Teachers' Background and Confidence in Teaching Music

This paper reports the findings of a study involving 138 NSW preservice generalist teachers and compares them with similar findings from a similar group of students from a previous study. Students' perceptions of their background in formal music education and their confidence in teaching music lessons are analysed. The paper also examines the data to identify if there is a correlation between the students' background and their confidence in music teaching. Results indicated that preservice teachers entering the creative arts unit had little formal music education and lacked confidence in teaching music lessons, however about half of them felt positive about teaching music lessons. These results are compared with current and past research as well as with the findings from the previous study and indicate that students in the previous study had a stronger formal musical background than those in the recent study. Further research suggestions are considered along with suggestions for addressing these challenges in Teacher Education courses.
Evidence of improved surgical outcome following endoscopy for nonfunctioning pituitary adenoma removal Personal experience and review of the literature

Object. Because of their size and lateral extension, total removal of nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs) remains a challenge and postoperative tumor remnants are frequent. Endoscopy has improved the surgeon’s view; how-ever, its superiority in terms of surgical outcome remains undetermined. The authors’ aim in this study was to compare the clinical results and morbidity between microscopic and endoscopic techniques in 164 patients with NFPAs. Methods. Tumoral (3D MR imaging), endocrinological, and ophthalmological results and morbidity were com- pared between 2 groups of 82 patients with newly diagnosed NFPAs surgically treated via either a sublabial microscopic approach (Group B) or a fully endonasal endoscopic technique (Group A). Results. The groups showed no difference in terms of clinical features, tumor size, or cavernous sinus invasion (p > 0.05). One year postoperatively, the quality of resection was significantly improved in Group A (gross-total removal [GTR]: 74% vs 50% in Group B, p = 0.002) with greater control of lateral extension (Knosp
ENETS Consensus Guidelines Update for Gastroduodenal Neuroendocrine Neoplasms

were found to represent 8.7% of all en-teric NENs [3] , and quite similar to a recent prospective Austrian study by Niederle et al. [4] , where g-NENs represented 5.6% of all digestive NENs. The proportions of g-NENs with respect to the overall NEN rates do vary, however; g-NENs represented 23% of all NENs in the Austrian study compared to 6% in the SEER data, 5% in a Canadian study (Ontario) and 7.4% in a Taiwanese study [4–7] . These differences underline the need for multicenter prospective studies with long-term analysis to better describe the European epidemiology of these tumors.
Getting to the bottom of L2 listening instruction: Making a case for bottom-up activities

This paper argues for the incorporation of bottom-up activities for English as a foreign language (EFL) listening. It discusses theoretical concepts and pedagogic options for addressing bottom-up aural processing in the EFL classroom as well as how and why teachers may wish to include such activities in lessons. This discussion is augmented by a small-scale classroom-based research project that investigated six activities targeting learners’ bottom-up listening abilities. Learners studying at the lower-intermediate level of a compulsory EFL university course were divided into a treatment group (n = 21) and a contrast group (n = 32). Each group listened to the same audio material and completed listening activities from an assigned textbook. The treatment group also engaged in a set of six bottom-up listening activities using the same material. This quasi-experimental study used dictation and listening proficiency tests before and after the course. Between-group comparisons of t-test results of dictation and listening proficiency tests indicated that improvements for the treatment group were probably due to the BU intervention. In addition, results from a posttreatment survey suggested that learners value explicit bottom-up listening instruction.
The Diffi cult Transition to Adulthood for Foster Youth in the US : Implications for the State as Corporate Parent

Although they make up a relatively small proportion of all children in the U.S. foster care system, foster youth approaching adulthood have over the years attracted considerable attention from policymakers. Three times in the past 25 years the Social Security Act has been amended to try to better support the transition to adulthood for foster youth. The new Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act represents a fundamental shift away from the goal of preparing foster youth to be independent of state assistance by the age of majority towards an active engagement by government in parenting foster youth into adulthood. This policy shift refl ects an evolving understanding of normative transitions to adulthood and growing knowledge of the particular challenges faced by foster youth in transition. In this report, I briefl y describe the U.S. child welfare system, summarize research on the transition to adulthood for foster youth showing that they generally face a very diffi cult transition, and examine the evolution of U.S. policy towards foster youth using the concept of “corporate parenting. ” I conclude that recent policy developments provide an excellent opportunity to improve transition outcomes for foster youth, but that lingering challenges still exist including: likely state reluctance to expand the parenting role; a poor knowledge base regarding the effectiveness of independent living services; the lack of established and well-evaluated models of coordination between child welfare agencies and other public institutions in supporting foster youth; the complex nature of “permanency” for foster youth in transition; and the fact that the new law still excludes important populations of foster youth. I argue that policy and program development must be accompanied by strategic use of research and evaluation to maximize the opportunity provided by the new policy regime. SOCIAL POLICY REPORT GIVING CHILD AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT KNOWLEDGE AWAY Volume XXIII, Number I 2009
Empirical Investigation into Impact of Electronic Commerce Systems Richness on User Behavior: The Case of a Complex Product

There is no doubt that growth of electronic commerce (EC) on the Internet/Web is only going to accelerate even more. However, given that commerce in these environments are virtual in nature and that most consumers feel uncomfortable with this virtuality a more compelling issue is how can the EC environments be made more acceptable to consumers to approximate their real-world physical store purchases behavior. Drawing upon previous literature, this study uses the theme of “fit” between EC environment and the product type, develops four different prototype systems depicting different EC environments, and using laboratory-based experiments examines the influence of “fit” on four user outcomes. Significant support to the “fit” theory is obtained.
Cladistics Is Useful for Reconstructing Archaeological Phylogenies: Palaeoindian Points from the Southeastern United States

Cladistics, a method used to create a nested series of taxa based on homologous characters shared only by two or more taxa and their immediate common ancestor, offers a means of reconstructing artifact lineages that reflect heritable continuity as opposed to simple historical continuity. Although cladistically derived trees are only hypotheses about phylogeny, they are superior both to trees created through phenetics, which employs characters without regard as to whether they are analogous or homologous, and to trees created by using undifferentiated homologous characters. To date, cladistics is an unused approach to constructing archaeological phylogenies but one that holds considerable potential for resolving some of archaeology's historical problems. For example, it has long been noted that the southeastern United States exhibits the greatest diversity in fluted-point forms in North America—an observation that prompted Mason (1962) to propose that fluted points originated in the Southeast and then spread to other areas. However, because of a paucity of such points from well-dated contexts in the Southeast, it is difficult to ascertain chronological, let alone phylogenetic, relations among the various forms. Evolutionary trees derived from cladistical analysis are testable hypotheses about those phylogenetic relations.
ENDORSING MOTIVATION: IDENTIFICATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES

This paper presents some results of a larger study that investigates the relationship between instructional practices in the mathematics classroom and students’ motivation and their achievement in mathematics. Data were collected from 321 sixth grade students through a questionnaire comprised of three Likert-type scales measuring motivational constructs, a test measuring students’ understanding of the fraction concept and an observation protocol for teachers’ instructional practices in the classroom. Findings revealed the importance of multi-level modelling in the analysis of instructional practices suggested by achievement goal theory and mathematics education research that promote both students’ motivation and achievement in mathematics.
Cinema and Violence against Women: Contribution to the Formation of Clinical Psychologist

The research objectives were analyze business / fi ctional fi lms about Violence Against Woman (VAW). The selection of fi lms was systematic and carried out in specialized sites on the subject (AdoroCinema, Cinepop etc.), across terms like “violence” and “woman” (N = 19). The analysis assumed three steps: observation of motion pictures; data entry observed in spreadsheets; simple frequency ratio concerning VAW scenarios with theoretical aspects pointed out by the literature (quantitative and qualitative approach). The aggressor were strangers (n = 11, 39%), husbands (n = 9, 33%), boyfriends (n = 4, 14%) and others (n = 4, 14%). There were performances of the following types of violence: psychological (n = 19, 27%), physical (n = 18, 25%), sexual (n = 16, 22%), moral (n = 12, 16%) and patrimonial (n = 7, 10%). The fi lmic representations showed general signs of psychological traumatization in characters (n = 17, 37%). The studied fi lms are illustrative of the reality of women in situations of violence; as such can be converted to amplifying teaching tool for discussion and refl ection on gender issues and on health promotion in the context of VAW.