Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improving Video Quality in 802.11 Networks

Many new emerging applications involving real-time multimedia communications require sufficient bandwidth, as well as limited delay and minimized packet loss. In special, video streaming, that accounts for a large portion of the traffic in future networks, poses a difficult challenge to wireless networks, due to their strong requirements as well as to the great variability of channel conditions and contention based access commonly present in the wireless transmission medium. When considering an infrastructured WLAN, a performance anomaly is inherent to the use of the different versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard: when stations operate at different rates, the lowest rate station penalizes the higher rate stations, producing a degradation of the performance of the network. Moreover, the instability in the transmission rates and a low tolerance to noises and interferences lead to a difficulty of these nets to support delay sensitive traffics. These aspects make clear the strong need of development of QoS techniques to provide an effective resources management. In this paper we propose a new mechanism, to be implemented at Access Points, that involves a classification of stations based on the control of CTS and a limitation on the time the stations can use the media to accomplish their transmissions. Then, considering specific network requirements of video transmission as well as objective and subjective metrics of video quality, we conduct several discrete event based simulations with the use of NS-2 [3] and the Evalvid toolset [4][20], which prove the efficiency of the solution.
Financial applications of fuzzy case-based reasoning to residential property valuation

We present PROFIT, an advanced prototype system developed to estimate residential property values for real estate transactions. The system enhances case-based reasoning (CBR) techniques with fuzzy predicates expressing preferences in determining similarities between subject and comparable properties. These similarities guide the selection and aggregation process, leading to the final property value estimate. Fuzzy techniques are also used to generate a confidence value qualifying such estimate. PROFIT has been successfully tested on thousands of real estate transactions.
Pollen studies in subtribe Centaureinae (Asteraceae): the Jacea group analysed with electron microscopy

Abstract Although it has been recognized for many years that the genus Centaurea L. is an artificial assemblage of taxa, its partition into more natural affiliations has been impossible due to its incredible complexity. One of the most reliable characteristics for establishing the phylogeny within this group is the type of pollen. Most of the classification difficulties centre in the Jacea group, which has a characteristic Jacea pollen type. Recent molecular studies indicate that this assemblage is probably polyphyletic. Specifically, previous DNA sequence analyses indicate that Centaurea pulchella and the genera Oligochaeta and Zoegea represent different lineages. This finding prompted an investigation of their pollen types, using scanning electron microscopy, and for some species, transmission microscopy. For a rigorous comparison, the study also included a wide representation of other species across the entire Jacea group. Results showed that both Oligochaeta and Zoegea , but not C. pulchella , can be clearly distinguished from the Jacea group on the basis of pollen morphology. The genus Oligochaeta has a peculiar pollen type that may represent a simplified form of the Serratula pollen type, and the genus Zoegea has Serratula pollen type.
Tip-position tracking for flexible-link manipulators using artificial neural networks: experimental results

Presents experimental evaluation of the performance of neural network-based controllers for tip position tracking of flexible-link manipulators. Four different neural network schemes are proposed based on the output re-definition approach. The new output is defined assuming no a priori knowledge about the payload mass. The first two schemes are developed using a modified version of the "feedback-error-learning" approach to learn the inverse dynamics of the flexible manipulator. Both schemes require only a linear model of the system for defining the new outputs and for designing conventional PD-type controllers. This assumption is relaxed in the third and fourth schemes. The proposed neural network controllers are implemented on a single flexible-link experimental test-bed. Experimental and simulation results are presented to illustrate the advantages and robust performance of the proposed schemes in the presence of unmodeled dynamics such as hub friction, stiction and payload variations.
Atividade de desinfetantes e produção de biofilme em Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis

ABSTRACT. - Sa M.C. A. , Veschi J.L. A. , Santos G.B. , Amanso E.S. , Oliveira S.A. S. , MotaR.A. , Ve-neroni-Gouveia G. & Costa M.M. 2013. Activity of disinfectants and biofilm production of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis. Pesquisa Veterinaria Brasileira 33(11):1319-1324. Laboratorio de Microbiologia e Imunologia Animal, Universidade Federal do Vale do Sao Francisco, Petrolina, PE 56300-990, Brazil. E-mail: giseleveneroni@yahoo.com. brTo verify the occurrence of caseous lymphadenitis in sheep and goats on farms of Per-nambuco, Brazil, and in animals slaughtered in two Brazilian cities (Petrolina/PE and Jua-zeiro/BA), and to characterize the susceptibility profile of Corynebacterium pseudotubercu -losis to disinfectants and antimicrobials, and its relationship with biofilm production were the objectives of this study. 398 samples were tested for sensitivity to antimicrobial drugs, disinfectants, and biofilm production. Among the 108 samples collected on the properties, 75% were positive for
Efficiency of the Columbus Failure Management System

The following paper has the intention to investigate how efficient failures in the Environment Control/Life Support Subsystem as well as for the Thermal Control System were autonomously managed by the vehicle. The evaluation is based on Columbus flight data gained in the last two years of Columbus operation und is performed under three aspects. The first aspect is a classification of all occurred failures (false alarm/confirmed alarm / missed alarm; transient failure / design failure / equipment failures / operator error) to establish a failure data base. This failure categorization allows an assessment of the assumptions made in the design phase versus real time occurrences. The second aspect is related to the efficiency of the implemented monitoring methods. Based on flight data it can be shown how accurate failures were detected. It can be also shown when false alarms were raised or where failures were not detected. The third aspect covers the experience from the space craft operation point of view. The capabilities of the Failure Management System are compared to the operational needs. It will cover the aspects, which have not been considered sufficiently in the C/D design phases.
Ageing effects in an iteroparous plant species with a variable life span

† Background and Aims Ageing effects may be due to dysfunction leading to decreasing reproduction and survival with age. In plants, however, other ( physiological) causes, associated with size for example, may also play a role. Iteroparous plants with genetically variable life spans can be helpful in unravelling these two aspects of changes associated with growing older. † Methods In a long-term experiment, Beta vulgaris ssp. maritima (sea beet) plants from the same set of populations but with different ages were compared for flowering date over several years. Flowering date, root growth and seed production were measured in a synthetic population and in progenies derived from reciprocal crosses over three consecutive years and analysed with respect to the number of years yet to live. Heritabilities of these three characters and of life span were estimated. † Key Results Flowering occurred on average 1.3 d later each year over a plant’s whole lifetime. In the year before dying, plants flowered on average 3.3 d later and both root investment and seed production decreased significantly compared with plants that remained alive for at least 1 further year. The negative relationship (trade-off ) between reproduction and root investment in early life became positive near the end of life, and the positive relationship between flowering date and root growth became negative. † Conclusions Effects of ageing ‐ in the sense of a decline in reproduction and root storage ‐ combined with later flowering were particularly pronounced in the year before death. The gradual change in flowering phenology, observed over the whole lifetime, could have a physiological basis unrelated to dysfunction.
Stimulation of Sexual Reproduction of Phytophthora cactorum by Phospholipids

Summary: In a chemically defined liquid medium, soybean lecithins (99% pure) were much more effective than. -sitosterol and cholesterol in stimulating oospore formation by isolate Pct N of Phytophthora cactorum at 20 and 24 °C. Assuming that the 1% impurity is all sterols, such sterol impurity would account for less than 2% of the oospores produced in the presence of lecithins. Lecithins were also stimulatory to sexual reproduction of Phytophthora capsici and Pythium aphanidermatum but not Pythium vexans, whereas sterols were stimulatory to sexual reproduction of Pythium aphanidermatum and Pythium vexans but not Phytophthora capsici. Lecithins from soybean were more effective in inducing sexual reproduction by isolate 121F of Phytophthora cactorum than were those from egg yolk. L-α-Phosphatidylethanolamine from soybean was as effective as lecithins in inducing sexual reproduction, whereas L-α-phosphatidylinositol from soybean and L-α-phosphatidyl-L-serine from bovine brain were ineffective. Of four synthetic lecithins tested, only dioleoyl-L-α-phosphatidylcholine was active. The triglycerides and fatty acids tested were inactive. The results suggest that the activity of lecithins is determined by the type and position of fatty acids in the molecular structures.
The typology and topography of the tarsal chemoreceptors of the blow flies Calliphora vicina Robineau‐Desvoidy and Phormia terranovae Robineau‐Desvoidy and the Housefly Musca domestica L

A comparative morphological study concerning typology and topography of chemoreceptors on the prothoracic legs of Calliphora vicina, Phormia terranovae and Musca domestica has been carried out. The typological criteria of Grabowski and Dethier ('54) and Hansen and Heumann ('71) were used. A single criterion, the shape of the tip, was used to define the different types of chemoreceptors.
Free amino acid composition in primary and secondary inflorescences of 11 broccoli (Brassica oleracea var italica) cultivars and its variation between growing seasons

Eleven broccoli cultivars were grown in the field in spring/summer (April–July) and summer/winter (September–January). Free amino acid composition was determined by HPLC in primary and secondary inflorescences separately. A total of 17 amino acids were identified: L-alanine (Ala), L-arginine (Arg), L-asparagine (Asn), L-aspartic acid (Asp), glycine (Gly), L-glutamic acid (Glu), L-glutamine (Gln), L-histidine (His), L-isoleucine (Ile), L-leucine (Leu), L-methionine (Met), L-phenylalanine (Phe), L-serine (Ser), L-threonine (Thr), L-tryptophan (Trp), L-tyrosine (Tyr) and L-valine (Val). The major amino acid was L-glutamine, which represented on average between 39.5% (in cvs Durango and Green Valiant) and 55.5% (in cv Shogun) of the total amino acid content among cultivars, followed by L-glutamic acid with a variation between 12.1% (in cv Shogun) and 17.4% (in cv Marathon). A few amino acids represented less than 1% each (Gly, Leu, Met, Phen, Thr, Trp and Tyr). For most of the amino acids there were significant differences between cultivars, whilst only a few amino acids showed significant variations between inflorescences. Season also induced significant differences in the content of most of the identified amino acids. The cultivar with the highest total free amino acid content (323.9 mmol kg−1 DW) on average of both seasons (391.3 in spring/summer and 256.4 in summer/winter) was Shogun, whilst the others were above the minimum of 177.3 mmol kg−1 DW found in cv SK3. There was a general tendency for higher total amino acids levels in spring/summer than in summer/winter, but it was clear that this effect was dependent on the cultivar. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry
LEAF DEVELOPMENT IN THE NORMAL AND SOLANIFOLIA MUTANT OF TOMATO (LYCOPERSICON ESCULENTUM)

Leaf development in the normal (lobed margin) and the solanifolia (sf/sf) mutant (entire margin) of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) was compared at the light and scanning electron microscope levels. The shoot apices of the mutant plants contained microbodies near the axil of the youngest leaf, which were absent in the normal plants. The structural and morphological events in the initiation of leaf primordia were similar in the two genotypes. The pattern of leaflet emergence was also similar in the two types of plants, but the timing of leaflet production was different. The first pair of leaflet primordia in the normal plants was produced on P3, whereas in the mutant it was not produced until P,. The adult leaves of sf/sf plants were larger than those of normal, and the greater leaf area in the mutant was associated with a greater adaxial epidermal cell and areole area. A continuous marginal fimbriate vein (MFV) was present along the margin of each of the normal leaflets. However, a continuous MFV was absent in the mutant leaflets. It is suggested that the absence of a continuous MFV in the mutant might alter the nutritional and hormonal supply to the leaf margin, which ultimately leads to a modified leaf,
Different expression of estrogen receptors α and β in human myometrium and leiomyoma during the proliferative phase of the menstrual cycle and after GnRHa treatment

Uterine leiomyomas (uterine fibroids) are sex-steroid dependent benign tumors. Limited knowledge is available regarding the role of estrogen and their receptors in the regulation of fibroids in premenopausal women ,and in their shrinkage after treatment with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue (GnRHa). The expression of the two subtypes of the estrogen receptor (ER) ,ERα and ERβ, was studied in leiomyoma and homologous myometrium from women in the proliferative phase of the menstrual cycle and from women treated with GnRHa. The mRNA levels of ERα and ERβ were monitored by solution hybridization and in situ hybridization ,and receptor proteins were detected and localized by immuno-histochemistry. Both ERα and ERβ were present in the leiomyomas and homologous myometrium. The ERα mRNA level in the leiomyomas was higher than in the surrounding myometrium. The ERβ mRNA level was lower than that of ERα in both groups. ERβ immunoreactivity was lower in leiomyomas when compared with the myometrium after GnRHa treatment ,while ERα was higher in the leiomyomas. The present results imply that the increased ratio of ERα/ERβ observed in the fibroids after GnRHa treatment could reflect or be the cause of the shrinkage of the leiomyoma ,which is the clinical outcome of this treatment.
Can Extensive Reticulation and Concerted Evolution Result in a Cladistically Structured Molecular Data Set?

Hierarchy is the main criterion for informativeness in a data set, even if no explicit reference to evolution as a causal process is provided. Sequence data (nuclear ribosomal DNA ITS) from Armeria (Plumbaginaceae) contains a certain amount of hierarchical structure as suggested by data decisiveness and distribution of tree lengths. However, ancillary evidence suggests that extensive gene flow and biased concerted evolution in these multicopy regions have significantly shaped the ITS data set. This argument is discussed using parsimony analysis of four data sets, constructed by combining wild sequences with those from different generations of artificial hybrids (wild + F1, F2, and backcrosses; wild + backcrosses; wild + F1; wild + F2). Compared to the F1 hybrids, F2 show a certain degree of homogenization in polymorphic sites. This effect reduces topological disruption caused by F1 and is considered to be illustrative of how extensive gene flow and biased concerted evolution may have modeled the wild ITS data. The possibility that hierarchy has arisen as a result of—or despite a significant contribution from—those two such potentially perturbing forces raises the question of what kind of signal are we recovering from this molecular data set.
Oviposition plant preference and offspring performance in the comma butterfly: correlations and conflicts

Thompson (1988) drew attention to the importance of studying correlations between the host-plant preferences of ovipositing female insect herbivores and performance of their offspring. The presence or absence of such correlations can reveal important features of insect-plant relationships and the evolution of such relationships. A strong positive correlation; i.e. a system where females prefer the plants on which offspring perform best, can be seen as evidence that ‘internal’ plant characteristics are important in shaping the preference hierarchy of females. In the context of this communication, internal characteristics are those whose effects on the immature insect can be measured in the laboratory, such as plant chemistry or morphology affecting larval growth.
Hematological and histopathological evaluation of wildlife green turtles (Chelonia mydas) with and without fibropapilloma from the north coast of São Paulo State, Brazil1

Zwarg T. , Rossi S. , Sanches T.C. , Cesar M.O. , Werneck M.R. & Matushima E.R. 2014. Hematological and histopathological evaluation of wildlife green turtles (Chelonia mydas) with and without fibropapilloma from the north coast of São Paulo State, Brazil. Pesquisa Veterinária Brasileira 34(7):682-688. Departamento de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva 87, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP 05508-900, Brazil. E-mail: ticianamzsd@yahoo.com. br Blood profiles were determined in 47 juvenile green turtles, Chelonia mydas, from São Paulo northern coast, Brazil. Twenty-nine were affected by fibropapillomas and 18 were tumor free. Complete gross and histopathologic examinations of the fibropapillo were performed in 21 green turtles. Biometrical data, size, location and amount of tumors were recorded. The papillomas varied in morphology, location, size, color and texture. We found hyperplastic stroma, rich in blood vessels and connective tissue with increase in thickness of the dermis. The tumors w0ere classified as papillomas or fibropapillomas according to their epithelial and/or stromal proliferation. The lowest Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (HCM) values were observed in affected turtles.
α-Fetoprotein Levels and Hepatic Alterations during Chemical Carcinogenesis in C57BL/6N Mice

Hepatocellular carcinomas were induced by administration of acetylaminofluorene or chlordane to C57BL/6N mice. Lesions which closely resembled the neoplastic nodule described as a putative premalignant lesion in rats were evident. α-Fetoprotein elevations were noted only in the presence of the malignant lesions for both carcinogens. In this regard, the responses of these mice were similar to those seen during spontaneous hepatocarcinogenesis.
Above- and below-ground community structure of ectomycorrhizal fungi in three Norway spruce (Picea abies) stands in Switzerland

The structure of ectomycorrhizal communities was assessed above- and below-ground at three different sites in Switzerland that are dominated by Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst. ). We applied three different approaches to record the ectomycorrhizal species compositions and their spatial structures and compared them among each other. Sporocarp inventories were carried out weekly for 3 years. Belowground, molecular, and morphological analyses of ectomycorrhizal roots were performed. In the 3 years of sporocarp survey, a total of 128 ectomycorrhizal species was observed. Most abundant in number of species were the genera Cortinarius and Russula in all three sites. Using poly- merase chain reaction, only 22% of the ectomycorrhizal species observed in sporocarp surveys were detected in mycorrhizas. Species that produce no or inconspicuous sporocarps were most abundant on the root system in all three study sites. The resolution was clearly inferior in morphotype compared with molecular analyses. Spatial analyses of the ectomycorrhizal species composition among subplots revealed high variability within sites. Within sites, spatial structure with positive autocorrelation was observed based on sporocarp data as well as molecular analyses of root tips at the site where the number of analysed mycorrhizas was sufficiently high. No spatial structure could be detected on this scale by morphotype analyses because of the high variability among soil cores. All three methods showed the same site to be separated from the other two based on ectomycorrhizal species compositions. Stand ages and their his- tories are discussed as possible explanations for these findings.
Modifications of Testosterone-Dependent Behaviors by Estrogen Receptor-α Gene Disruption in Male Mice* * This work was supported by the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation (to S.O.), the University of Missouri molecular biology program (to D.B.L.), and NIH Grant HD-05751 (to D.W.P.).

The role of the α form of estrogen receptor (ERα) gene expression in the regulation of testosterone-dependent male reproductive behaviors was investigated using ER knockout mice (ERKO), which are specifically deficient in functional ERα, but not ERβ, gene expression. Previous studies in gonadally intact ERKO mice revealed that male aggressive behavior was greatly reduced by the lack of a functional ERα gene. In the present study the almost complete suppression of male-typical offensive attacks was further confirmed in ERKO mice that had been singly housed since weaning. Regarding aggression, it was also found that ERα gene disruption virtually abolished the propensity to initiate offensive attacks, even though ERKO mice could elicit attacks from resident C57BL/6J mice as wild-type (WT) and heterozygous littermates. Daily injection of testosterone propionate (TP) was completely ineffective in inducing aggressive behavior in gonadectomized ERKO mice, whereas it successfully restored aggression in WT mice. I.