Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Physiological Responses of a Grapefruit Orchard to Irrigation with Desalinated Seawater

Desalinated seawater (DSW) has emerged as a promising solution for irrigation in regions facing water scarcity. However, adopting DSW may impact the existing cultivation model, given the presence of potentially harmful elements, among other factors. A three-year experiment was carried out to assess the short-term effects of four irrigation waters—freshwater (FW), DSW, a mix 1:1 of FW and DSW (MW), and DSW with low boron (B) concentration (DSW–B)—on a ‘Rio Red’ grapefruit orchard. These irrigation waters exhibited varying levels of phytotoxic elements, some potentially harmful to citrus trees. Sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl−) concentrations exceeded citrus thresholds in all treatments, except in DSW−B, whilst B exceeded toxicity levels in DSW and MW treatments. Leaf concentrations of Cl− and Na+ remained low in all treatments, whereas B approached toxic levels only in DSW and MW–irrigated trees. The rapid growth of the trees, preventing excessive accumulation through a dilution effect, protected the plants from significant impacts on nutrition and physiology, such as gas exchange and chlorophyll levels, due to phytotoxic elements accumulation. Minor reductions in photosynthesis in DSW–irrigated trees were attributed to high B in leaves, since Cl− and Na+ remained below toxic levels. The accelerated tree growth effectively prevented the substantial accumulation of phytotoxic elements, thereby limiting adverse effects on tree development and yield. When the maturation of trees reaches maximal growth, the potential accumulation of phytotoxic elements is expected to increase, potentially influencing tree behavior differently. Further study until the trees reach maturity is imperative for comprehensive understanding of the long-term effects of desalinated seawater irrigation.
Dictionary-based Sparse Representations for Automatic Processing and Analysis of Melanocytic Skin Lesions in Macroscopic Images

Melanoma is the most lethal type of skin cancer, since it is most prone to metastasis. Specifically, the rate of patients who survive at least five years after early stage diagnosis of this disease is over 99%. However, this rate decreases to about 25% if detection occurs only at the last stage. In this context, systems that assist in the early diagnosis of melanoma can play an extremely important role, especially in regions where access to dermatologists is poor. However, differentiating melanoma from benign melanocytic lesions can be a challenging task, even for experienced specialists. To address this problem, in this thesis, an automatic system is proposed for melanoma detection from a simple digital photograph, which is based on sparse representation models. The results presented by the proposed system are promising and suggest that it can potentially outperform state-of-the-art alternatives and even trained dermatologists.
Kd-Tree Based N-Body Simulations with Volume-Mass Heuristic on the GPU

N-body simulations represent an important class of numerical simulations in order to study a wide range of physical phenomena for which researchers demand fast and accurate implementations. Due to the computational complexity, simple brute-force methods to solve the long-distance interaction between bodies can only be used or small-scale simulations. Smarter approaches utilize neighbor lists, tree methods or other hierarchical data structures to reduce the complexity of the force calculations. However, such data structures have complex building algorithms which hamper their parallelization for GPUs. In this paper, we introduce a novel method to effectively parallelize N-body simulations for GPU architectures. Our method is based on an efficient, three-phase, parallel Kd-tree building algorithm and a novel volume-mass heuristic to reduce the simulation time and increase accuracy. Experiments demonstrate that our approach is the fastest monopole implementation with an accuracy that is comparable with state of the art implementations (GADGET-2). In particular, we are able to reach a simulation speed of up to 3 Mparticles/s on a single GPU for the force calculation, while still having a relative force error below 0.4% for 99% of the particles. We also show competitive performance with existing GPU implementations, while our competitor shows worse accuracy behavior as well as a higher energy error during time integration.
Efficient All Top-k Computation - A Unified Solution for All Top-k, Reverse Top-k and Top-m Influential Queries

Given a set of objects P and a set of ranking functions F over P, an interesting problem is to compute the top ranked objects for all functions. Evaluation of multiple top-k queries finds application in systems, where there is a heavy workload of ranking queries (e.g., online search engines and product recommendation systems). The simple solution of evaluating the top-k queries one-by-one does not scale well; instead, the system can make use of the fact that similar queries share common results to accelerate search. This paper is the first, to our knowledge, thorough study of this problem. We propose methods that compute all top-k queries in batch. Our first solution applies the block indexed nested loops paradigm, while our second technique is a view-based algorithm. We propose appropriate optimization techniques for the two approaches and demonstrate experimentally that the second approach is consistently the best. Our approach facilitates evaluation of other complex queries that depend on the computation of multiple top-k queries, such as reverse top-k and top-m influential queries. We show that our batch processing technique for these complex queries outperform the state-of-the-art by orders of magnitude.
Design of spatially-coupled rateless codes

We investigate the design and performance of spatially-coupled rateless codes. A modified encoding process is introduced for spatially-coupled Luby Transform (SCLT) codes which leads to an almost regular variable-node degree distribution at the encoding graph. The proposed SCLT codes outperform its counterparts significantly over binary erasure channels, particularly in the erasure floor region. To further improve the erasure floor performance, the approach of spatial coupling is then extended to Raptor codes by concatenating a high-rate pre-coder to the SCLT codes. It is shown that the spatial coupling improves the convergence threshold of Raptor codes. Different ensembles of spatially-coupled Raptor codes are constructed depending on whether pre-coders and/or LT codes are spatially-coupled. The performance of different ensembles of spatially-coupled Raptor codes is then evaluated and compared based on density evolution, leading to an improved spatially-coupled Raptor code in terms of convergence threshold and lower complexity.
Nonparametric Illumination Correction for Scanned Document Images via Convex Hulls

A scanned image of an opened book page often suffers from various scanning artifacts known as scanning shading and dark borders noises. These artifacts will degrade the qualities of the scanned images and cause many problems to the subsequent process of document image analysis. In this paper, we propose an effective method to rectify these scanning artifacts. Our method comes from two observations: that the shading surface of most scanned book pages is quasi-concave and that the document contents are usually printed on a sheet of plain and bright paper. Based on these observations, a shading image can be accurately extracted via convex hulls-based image reconstruction. The proposed method proves to be surprisingly effective for image shading correction and dark borders removal. It can restore a desired shading-free image and meanwhile yield an illumination surface of high quality. More importantly, the proposed method is nonparametric and thus does not involve any user interactions or parameter fine-tuning. This would make it very appealing to nonexpert users in applications. Extensive experiments based on synthetic and real-scanned document images demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method.
Prototyping tools for hybrid interactions

In using the term 'hybrid interactions', we refer to interaction forms that comprise both tangible and intangible interactions as well as a close coupling of the physical or embodied representation with digital output. Until now, there has been no description of a formal design process for this emerging research domain, no description that can be followed during the creation of these types of interactions. As a result, designers face limitations in prototyping these systems. In this thesis, we share our systematic approach to envisioning, prototyping, and iteratively developing these interaction forms by following an extended interaction design process. We share our experiences with process extensions in the form of toolkits, which we built for this research and utilized to aid designers in the development of hybrid interactive systems. The proposed tools incorporate different characteristics and are intended to be used at different points in the design process. In Sketching with Objects, we describe a low-fdelity toolkit that is intended to be used in the very early phases of the process, such as ideation and user research. By introducing Paperbox, we present an implementation to be used in the mid-process phases for fnding the appropriate mapping between physical representation and digital content during the creation of tangible user interfaces (TUI) atop interactive surfaces. In a follow-up project, we extended this toolkit to also be used in conjunction with capacitive sensing devices. To do this, we implemented Sketch-a-TUI. This approach allows designers to create TUIs on capacitive sensing devices rapidly and at low cost. To lower the barriers for designers using the toolkit, we created the Sketch-a-TUIApp, an application that allows even novice users (users without previous coding experience) to create early instantiations of TUIs. In order to prototype intangible interactions, we used open soft- and hardware components and proposed an approach of investigating interactivity in correlation with intangible interaction forms on a higher fdelity. With our fnal design process extension, Lightbox, we assisted a design team in systematically developing a remote interaction system connected to a media facade covering a building. All of the above-mentioned toolkits were explored both in real-life contexts and in projects with industrial partners. The evaluation was therefore mainly performed in the wild, which led to the adaptation of metrics suitable to the individual cases and contexts.
Qualitative community stability determines parasite establishment and richness in estuarine marshes

The establishment of parasites with complex life cycles is generally thought to be regulated by free-living species richness and the stability of local ecological interactions. In this study, we test the prediction that stable host communities are prerequisite for the establishment of complex multi-host parasite life cycles. The colonization of naïve killifish, Fundulus heteroclitus, by parasites was investigated in 4 salt marsh sites that differed in time since major ecological restoration, and which provided a gradient in free-living species richness. The richness of the parasite community, and the rate at which parasite species accumulated in the killifish, were similar between the low diversity unrestored site and the two high diversity (10- and 20-year) restored marsh sites. The parasite community in the newly restored marsh (0 year) included only directly-transmitted parasite species. To explain the paradox of a low diversity, highly invaded salt marsh (unrestored) having the same parasite community as highly diverse restored marsh sites (10 and 20 yrs) we assessed qualitative community stability. We find a significant correlation between system stability and parasite species richness. These data suggest a role for local stability in parasite community assembly, and support the idea that stable trophic relationships are required for the persistence of complex parasite life cycles.
Comparative Transcriptomics Reveals Discrete Survival Responses of S. aureus and S. epidermidis to Sapienic Acid

Staphylococcal colonization of human skin is ubiquitous, with particular species more frequent at different body sites. Whereas Staphylococcus epidermidis can be isolated from the skin of every individual tested, Staphylococcus aureus is isolated from <5% of healthy individuals. The factors that drive staphylococcal speciation and niche selection on skin are incompletely defined. Here we show that S. aureus is inhibited to a greater extent than S. epidermidis by the sebaceous lipid sapienic acid, supporting a role for this skin antimicrobial in selection of skin staphylococci. We used RNA-Seq and comparative transcriptomics to identify the sapienic acid survival responses of S. aureus and S. epidermidis. Consistent with the membrane depolarization mode of action of sapienic acid, both species shared a common transcriptional response to counteract disruption of metabolism and transport. The species differed in their regulation of SaeRS and VraRS regulons. While S. aureus upregulated urease operon transcription, S. epidermidis upregulated arginine deiminase, the oxygen-responsive NreABC nitrogen regulation system and the nitrate and nitrite reduction pathways. The role of S. aureus ACME and chromosomal arginine deiminase pathways in sapienic acid resistance was determined through mutational studies. We speculate that ammonia production could contribute to sapienic acid resistance in staphylococci.
Understanding encrypted networks through signal and systems analysis of traffic timing

Recent studies have shown that signal-processing techniques are quite valuable for the modeling and analysis of modern networks and network traffic [1] [2]. However, to date most of these studies have focused on characterizing the multi-scale and long-memory stochastic nature of single streams or traces of non-encrypted network traffic. The key approach used has been to transform traces of packet arrival times and/or packet size into encoded time signals, which then allow analysts to perform standard statistical and timefrequency-scale signal analyses. In this paper we summarize some of our results which show that under this analysis, traces from both wireless and wire-line networks leak useful information about the properties of the network and applications under examination, even when the actual packets are encrypted or attempts are made to mask the traffic timing. Furthermore, when multiple signal techniques are used between individual time streams, even more information about the underlying routing and flows can be uncovered.
Human ribophorins I and II: the primary structure and membrane topology of two highly conserved rough endoplasmic reticulum‐specific glycoproteins.

Ribophorins I and II represent proteins that are postulated to be involved in ribosome binding. They are abundant, highly‐conserved glycoproteins located exclusively in the membranes of the rough endoplasmic reticulum. As the first step in the further characterization of the structure and function of these proteins, we have isolated and sequenced full‐length human cDNA clones encoding ribophorins I and II using probes derived from a human liver expression library cloned into pEX1. The authenticity of the clones was verified by overlaps in the protein sequence of N‐terminal and several internal fragments of canine pancreatic ribophorins I and II. The cDNA clones hybridize to mRNA species of 2.5 kb in length, and encode polypeptides of 68.5 and 69.3 kd, respectively. Primary sequence analysis, coupled with biochemical studies on the topology, indicates that both ribophorins are largely luminally disposed, spanning the membrane once and having 150 and 70 amino acid long cytoplasmically disposed C termini, respectively. Both are synthesized as precursors having cleavable signal sequences of 23 (ribophorin I) and 22 (ribophorin II) amino acids. The topology suggested by the primary structure has been confirmed biochemically using proteolytic enzymes and anti‐ribophorin antibodies. Proteolysis of intact microsomes with a variety of enzymes resulted in a reduction in the apparent mol. wt of ribophorin I that would correspond to a loss of its 150‐amino acid cytoplasmic tail. In the case of ribophorin II, it is completely resistant to such proteolysis which is consistent with its luminal disposition and fairly hydrophobic C terminus. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Markov-functional interest rate models

Abstract. We introduce a general class of interest rate models in which the value of pure discount bonds can be expressed as a functional of some (low-dimensional) Markov process. At the abstract level this class includes all current models of practical importance. By specifying these models in Markov-functional form, we obtain a specification which is efficient to implement. An additional advantage of Markov-functional models is the fact that the specification of the model can be such that the forward rate distribution implied by market option prices can be fitted exactly, which makes these models particularly suited for derivatives pricing. We give examples of Markov-functional models that are fitted to market prices of caps/floors and swaptions.
Genetic divergence between North American ancestral soybean lines and introductions with resistance to soybean cyst nematode revealed by chloroplast haplotype.

Domesticated soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr. ] is a major crop with an established ancestral relationship to wild soybean (Glycine soja Sieb. & Zucc.) native to Asia. Soybean genetic diversity can be assessed at different levels by identification of polymorphic alleles at genetic loci, in either the plastid or nuclear genomes. The objective of this study was to evaluate genetic diversity based on chloroplast haplotypes for soybean genotypes present in the USDA germplasm resource collection. Shared chloroplast haplotypes represent broad groups of genetic relatedness. Previous work categorized three-quarters of the cultivated soybeans from Asia into a single haplotype group. Our results confirmed the close relationship of North American soybean ancestors and G. max plant introductions previously identified as representing potential sources of soybean genetic variation with the finding that these genotypes belonged to a single chloroplast haplotype group. Genetic diversity was identified in soybean genotypes determined to have a high density of single nucleotide polymorphisms and in a screen of accessions with resistance to soybean cyst nematode. Characterization of soybean plant introduction lines into chloroplast haplotype group may be an important initial step in evaluating the appropriate use of particular soybean genotypes.
CONORBIT: constrained optimization by radial basis function interpolation in trust regions†

This paper presents CONORBIT (CONstrained Optimization by Radial Basis function Interpolation in Trust regions), a derivative-free algorithm for constrained black-box optimization where the objective and constraint functions are computationally expensive. CONORBIT employs a trust-region framework that uses interpolating radial basis function (RBF) models for the objective and constraint functions, and is an extension of the ORBIT algorithm [S.M. Wild, R.G. Regis and C.A. Shoemaker, ORBIT: optimization by radial basis function interpolation in trust-regions, SIAM J. Sci. Comput. 30 (2008), pp. 3197–3219]. It uses a small margin for the RBF constraint models to facilitate the generation of feasible iterates, and extensive numerical tests confirm that such a margin is helpful in improving performance. CONORBIT is compared with other algorithms on 27 test problems, a chemical process optimization problem, and an automotive application. Numerical results show that CONORBIT performs better than COBYLA (Powell 1994), a sequential penalty derivative-free method, an augmented Lagrangian method, a direct search method, and another RBF-based algorithm on the test problems and on the automotive application.
Updated 2017 GLMM-standardised lobster CPUE from the Tristan da Cunha outer group of islands

The longline CPUE series for Inaccessible and Gough islands are GLMM standardised through to 2019 1 . For Nightingale, the fishery was closed for the 2011 season and catches were set at precautionary levels for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. The Nightingale GLMM model thus excludes 2011 and 2012, although it now includes 2013-2019 for this island. Year, month, area, trap-type, soak time, depth and year-area interactions are treated as fixed effects, and year-month interactions treated as a random effect. The standardised CPUE for Inaccessible continues to be high, and shows a slight increase since the previous season. For Nightingale and Gough, the standardised CPUE value for the current season is lower than that of the previous season, although the Nightingale CPUE remains well above the Itar value. The Gough CPUE has been below the Itar value for the past four seasons.
Application of Data Mining Technology in Online Audit

Data mining is a new type of information processing technology. The use of data mining technology in online audit will improve the auditing efficiency and auditing quality, reduce the audit risk, and can provides new powerful weapons for anti-fraud of auditors. Data mining process in online audit includs: auditors putting forward demand, data preparation, data mining and result analysis. The basic applications of data mining technology in online audit include outlier detection, statistical analysis, association analysis, and decision tree method, etc. Common outlier detection method can be divided into: method based on statistics, method based on distance and method based on deviation. In order to improve the efficiency of data mining in online audit, the audit data sources are needed to be further regulated and perfected, and the data auditing technology and professional audit ability of audotors are needed to be improved.
The Role of Information Technology as a Firm-Specific Advantage in Internationalization of firms: Theory and Evidence

This study examines how IT influences the extent of internationalization of firms by using firm% level data on the IT investments and international operations of US multinationals for the 1999% 2005 period. We identify managerial/operational complexity, geographic dispersion of subunits, and contextual differences between home and host countries as the main challenges involved in internationalization, and investigate whether IT plays a role in resolving these challenges. Our results suggest that firms’ IT capability plays an important role in their internationalization by resolving the aforementioned challenges. Moreover, a firm’s IT capability (as reflected in its IT investments) and production knowledge (as reflected in its R&D investments) are complementary in their influence on the internationalization of the firm. Given the lack of firm%level empirical evidence on the ro le of IT in the internationalization and global operations of firms, the current study provides a richer understanding of the impact of IT on firms’ international operations.