Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effects of Clearcutting on Herbaceous Understories Are Still Not Fully Known

A recent article in Conservation Biology by Duffy and Meier (1992) concluded that recovery of herbaceous understory communities from logging may require "at least several centuries. " We respond to this article because it has been widely reported in the popular press and used in an attempt to influence management policy on the national forests and because the authors have generalized and drawn far-reaching conclusions without giving adequate consideration to the limitations of their study. Their statements to the press about the study (such as Callebs 1992; Harmon 1992; Raeburn 1992) are especially troubling. The article addresses a subject of considerable importance and definitely worthy of much study. Immediate responses of plants to logging can be assessed by monitoring individual plants or populations before and after logging, but long-term responses of plant communities are much more difficult to determine. Studies extending over decades may be impractical or even impossible because of random disturbances. Thus, comparative studies of the type conducted by Duffy and Meier can provide valuable information. But this approach has inherent problems (for example, no two sites are alike, and detailed knowledge of site history is nearly always inadequate). These problems should be acknowledged, and caution should be used in drawing general conclusions. Duffy and Meier failed to acknowledge these problems and some weaknesses in their procedure; they did not report much-needed details on study sites, methods, and species involved; and they greatly over-
Tobacco and risk of oral cancer: a case control study in a tertiary care centre of Dibrugarh district

Background: Oral cancer is a disease of antiquity. This chronic disease is a public health problem both in developing as well as developed countries and is among the top three cancers in India. In Assam, some aspects of traditional lifestyle and dietary habits are likely to contribute to the increasing cancer trend.Methods: The hospital-based case control study was undertaken in AMCH, Dibrugarh. Study subjects included were clinically and histopathologically confirmed new cases of oral cancer attending the hospital during the period of June 2018 to May 2019 and equal number of age and sex matched controls. The total sample size including both cases and controls was 116. A predesigned pretested schedule was used for collecting data.Results: Tobacco chewing was the strongest risk factor associated with oral cancer with odds ratio of chewers 6.13 (95% CI, 2.26-16.60). Statistically significant association was seen with duration, age at start, frequency of chewing and retaining tobacco quid overnight. The risk of developing oral cancer was 3.60 times higher (95% CI of (1.45-8.93)) among smokers compared to non-smokers.Conclusions: The incidence of oral cancer is on the rise. Due to the well-established role of lifestyle factors in the development of oral cancer, they should be considered an important cause of avoidable morbidity and mortality in India, and their prevention should be an important target of public health initiatives.
SIMULIIDAE (DIPTERA) OF RENDALEN, NORWAY: III. FEMALES OF THE EUSIMULIUM RENDALENSE COMPLEX INFECTED WITH MERMITHIDS (NEMATODA)

Abstract One female of Eusimulium rendalense Golini and three of E. fallisi Golini, among nearly 470 simuliids captured from Anas boschas L. in Norway, were found naturally infected with mermithid nematodes Two of these infected flies had fully fed on avian blood. The nematodes may be a species of the Gastromermis boophthorae complex Welch and Rubzov. Résumé Un femelle du Eusimulium rendalense Golini et trois de E. fallisi Golini, parmi 470 simuliides capturées sur Anas boschas L. en Norvège, furent trouvée infectée avec nématodes de Mermithidae. Deux de ces mouches infectées s’étaient nouris entièrement de sang avien. Les nématodes sont probablement un espèce du complexe de Gastromermis boophthorae Welch et Rubzov.
ECDR<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^{2}$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:msup><mml:mrow/><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:msup></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="huang-ieq1-2991749.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>: Error Corrector and Detector Relocation Router for Network-on-Ch

Network-on-chip (NoC) is commonly used in modern many-core systems due to their high bandwidth and flexibility. As the manufacturing process keeps scaling, the reliability challenge in NoCs increases as well. The error correction code (ECC) is widely adopted in error correction NoCs to improve the data correctness. At the same time, extra stages are introduced in the router pipeline to improve the error correction capability. As a result, conventional error correction routers suffer from high network latency. Motivated by this limitation, i.e., we remove the extra pipeline stages delicately introduced for error correction. We propose an error correction router, called error corrector and detector relocation router (ECDR2), whose architecture optimizes the pipeline flow of the router. As a result, it can achieve both low latency and high error correction.Experimental results show that, compared with the baseline design, ECDR<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^{2}$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:msup><mml:mrow/><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:msup></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="huang-ieq2-2991749.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> obtains 13.67 and 39.4 percent less average latency under the uniform traffic pattern and Dedup benchmark, respectively, in an 8 × 8 mesh NoC. The circuit area of ECR is also 7.9 percent less than that of the baseline design under 45-nm technology.
ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF ENGLISH WALNUT (JUGLANS REGIA L.)

ABSTRACT Phenolic contents of different fractions (contents of whole nut, skin and kernel) of English walnut (Juglans regia L.) were determined and their antioxidative capacities investigated using a number of in vitro model systems. Phenolic compounds extracted from walnut skin into 95% ethanol contained the highest amount of total phenolics and exhibited the highest antioxidative capacity as evaluated by the trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity assay. Extracts of walnut phenolics showed a high ferrous ion chelating ability and effectively scavenged 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radicals, the latter considerably stronger for the skin with 50% inhibition concentration of 3.4 µg extract per mL. Further, inhibition of 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances formation in a bulk corn oil model system was also significant (P < 0.05) for all three phenolic extracts and for pure gallic acid at 10 ppm gallic acid equivalents final assay concentration after four days of storage at 60C. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Walnut is a healthful nut that contains alpha-linolenic acid in its lipid fraction, and its skin is rich in polyphenolics with strong antioxidant properties, as demonstrated in this study. Thus, walnut with skin and skin of walnuts serve as good free radical scavengers and could be effective in reducing oxidative stress among other beneficial health effects, which could be exploited for product development.
The effect of sowing date and harvesting date on the yield of sugar beet

SUMMARY A field experiment in each year 1963 to 1967 in Suffolk, England, tested the effect on yield of sugar beet of sowing dates ranging from 13 March to 11 May and harvest dates ranging from 20 September to 8 December. Sowings in March or early April gave similar yields of sugar but with later sowings yield decreased progressively faster. The relationship is represented by the equation y = 106·3 (±2·24) + 0·212 (±0·184)x-0·009 (±0·003)x2, y = yield as percentage of mean (60·1 cwt/acre of sugar), x = number of days after 12 March. Delayed harvest increased sugar yield; the relationship is represented by the equation y = 80·22 (±1·51) + 0·836 (±0·09)z-0·006 (±0·001)z2, z = number of days after 19 September. This represents an increase of 0·247 cwt/acre/day of sugar in October and 0·083 cwt/acre/day in November, equivalent to about 2½ tons/acre of roots in October and 1 ton/acre in November. The effect on sugar yield of different lengths of growing period, which ranged from 138 to 271 days, is represented by the equation y = 38·7 (±26·6) + 1·045 (±0·267)a-0·0017 (±0·0007)a2, a = number of days between sowing and harvest. On average, sowing date had negligible effect on sugar percentage at harvest. In 3 years sugar percentage increased after the first harvest to a maximum and then decreased; in 2 years it decreased with consecutive harvests.
Research and Experiment of Radar Signal Support Vector Clustering Sorting Based on Feature Extraction and Feature Selection

The result of radar signal sorting directly affects the performance of electronic reconnaissance equipment. Sorting method based on intra-pulse features has become a research focus in recent years. However, as the number of extracted features increases, the dimension of the feature vector becomes higher and higher. And too many dimensional feature vectors would make the complexity of the sorting algorithm increase geometrically. In this way, feature selection becomes more and more necessary. Combining the latest research on fuzzy rough sets, this paper proposes two feature selection methods, namely two-steps attribute reduction based on fuzzy dependency (TARFD) algorithm and fuzzy rough artificial bee colony (FRABC) algorithm. The TARFD method uses the candidate attribute set as starting point, according to the definition of the redundant attribute set. Then the less important attributes are successively eliminated. The FRABC method starts from the dependence degree of fuzzy rough set, and constructs a fitness function that reflects the importance of the attribute subset and the reduction rate. Based on this function, the artificial bee colony algorithm is used to reduce the attributes of the dataset. Using the TARFD and FRABC algorithms, the extracted feature sets, including entropy feature set, Zernike moment feature set, pseudo Zernike feature set, gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) feature set, and Hu-invariant moment feature set are processed, then an optimal feature subset was obtained and a sorting test was performed. The results show the effectiveness of the extracted intra-pulse features and the efficiency of the feature selection algorithm.
Redescription and taxonomic reappraisal of Amphiporus elongatus Stephenson (Nemertea, Enopla) from the Firth of Clyde

Amphiporus elongatus Stephenson, 1911, is redescribed from histological studies of five specimens obtained from near the type locality. The systematic position of the species is reassessed and a new genus, Psammamphiporus, is established for it. Psammamphiporus elongatus (Stephenson) is so far known only from two intertidal sandy localities in the Firth of Clyde.
Microstructural and Mechanical Characterization of a Nanostructured Bainitic Cast Steel

Nanoscale bainite is a remarkable microstructure that exhibits a very promising combination of high strength with good ductility and toughness. The development of these types of microstructures has been focused on wrought materials, and very little information is available for steel castings. In this work, a specially designed cast steel with 0.76 wt % C was fabricated, and the heat treatment cycles to develop bainitic nanostructures were determined by studying the kinetics of the bainitic transformation using high-resolution dilatometry. The effects of isothermal holding temperature and time on the final microstructure and mechanical properties were thoroughly characterized in order to evaluate a future industrial implementation of the process in an effort to contribute to enhance and widen the potential applications for cast steels.
Polymorphism 10034C>T is located in a region regulating polyadenylation of FGG transcripts and influences the fibrinogen γ′/γA mRNA ratio

Summary. Background: Fibrinogen gamma haplotype 2 (FGG‐H2) is associated with reduced fibrinogen γ′ levels and fibrinogen γ′/total fibrinogen ratios and with an increased deep‐venous thrombosis (DVT) risk. Two FGG‐H2 tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), 9615C>T and 10034C>T, are located in the region of alternative FGG pre‐mRNA processing. 10034C>T is located in a GT‐rich downstream sequence element (DSE) that comprises a putative cleavage stimulation factor (CstF) binding site.Objectives: To investigate the functionality of SNPs 9615C>T and 10034C>T, and the importance of the DSE containing 10034C>T.Methods: Different minigene constructs containing FGG exon 9, intron 9, exon 10 and the 3′ region were transiently transfected into HepG2 cells and quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction was used to measure relative polyadenylation (pA) signal usage (pA1/pA2 ratio). Results: Compared with the reference construct CC (9615C–10034C; FGG‐H1; pA1/pA2 ratio set at 100%), the pA1/pA2 ratio of construct TT (9615T–10034T; FGG‐H2) was 1.4‐fold decreased (71.5%, P = 0.015). The pA1/pA2 ratio of construct CT (9615C–10034T) was almost 1.2‐fold decreased (85.3%, P = 0.001), whereas the pA1/pA2 ratio of construct TC (9615T–10034C) did not differ significantly from the reference construct (101.6%, P = 0.890). Functionality of the putative CstF binding site was confirmed using constructs in which this site was deleted or its sequence altered by point mutations.Conclusions: SNP 10034C>T is located in a GT‐rich DSE involved in regulating the usage of the pA2 signal of FGG, which may represent a CstF binding site. We propose that the 10034C>T change is the functional variation in FGG‐H2 that is responsible for the reduction in the fibrinogen γ′/total fibrinogen ratio and the increased DVT risk.
Structure and Physicochemical Properties of Water Treated under Nitrogen with Low-Temperature Glow Plasma

Water treated with low-temperature, low-pressure glow plasma (GP) in contact with air stimulates various microorganisms, the growth of various plants and provides healthy breeding of various animals. In this paper, we present water treated with GP under oxygen-free nitrogen. It is potentially suitable for breeding anaerobic microorganisms, and increasing the crops of plants utilizing atmospheric nitrogen. Deionized water saturated with oxygen-free nitrogen was treated for 5 to 90 min with low-temperature glow plasma (GP). That operation produced nitrogen in various exited states depending on the treatment time. These excited nitrogen molecules built aqueous clathrates around them. The number and structure of those clathrates depended on the time of the treatment with GP. In terms of mass, density, pH, conductivity, surface tension, Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-VIS), Fourier Transformation Infrared (FTIR), Raman and Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) spectra as well as Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), the macrostructure of water saturated with nitrogen treated with GP strongly depended on the treatment time. Based on the entropy criterion, the macrostructure formed on 30 and 5 min treatment was the most and least organized, respectively.
LH-ABSC: A Lightweight Hybrid Attribute-Based Signcryption Scheme for Cloud-Fog-Assisted IoT

One of the best ways to deal with the massive data generated by the Internet of Things (IoT) is storing them in the cloud. However, outsourced storage raises some security and privacy issues, such as data leaking and illegal access. The attribute-based signcryption (ABSC) is one of the most promising approaches which can ensure the confidentiality and authenticity of data simultaneously. Nonetheless, it not only inherits the fine-grained access control but also the heavy computational cost which is intolerable for most resource-limited IoT devices. In this article, we propose lightweight hybrid-policy ABSC (LH-ABSC), a lightweight ABSC scheme which adopts ciphertext-policy encryption (CPABE) and key-policy attribute-based signature (KPABS). Ciphertext-policy attribute-based signature leads the decision making that who can decrypt to the data owners directly. Meanwhile, the signature is related with data owners’ attribute set which can be used to testify the authenticity of data. In particular, LH-ABSC has constant signature size and satisfies public verification which is deeply important for IoT devices. Moreover, LH-ABSC outsources most computing overhead to fog nodes, including signature, verify, and decryption. Comprehensive theoretical analyses, such as confidentiality, unforgeability, and verifiability, are provided. Also, the selective chosen ciphertext security, the selective chosen message security, and signers anonymity are achieved.
Founder Effect Speciation: A Theoretical Reassessment

We propose a series of simple models of founder effect speciation. In these models, the resulting reproductive isolation (as measured by the proportion of inviable hybrids or the strength of the barrier to gene exchange between populations) can be very high and can evolve with a high probability on the time scale of dozens or hundreds of generations. In developing our theoretical framework, we utilize Dobzhansky's idea that strong selection against hybrids between two genotypes can occur simultaneously with the existence of a chain of genotypes that connect those two and differ only weakly in fitness among themselves. The mathematical models that we have studied are closely related to the verbal schemes of Mayr's "genetic revolutions," Carson's founder-flush process, and Templeton's genetic transilience. For appropriate parameter values, our theoretical models demonstrate that founder effect speciation is plausible; its importance becomes an empirical question.
Prediction of Diabetic Nephropathy from the Relationship between Fatigue, Sleep and Quality of Life

Fatigue and poor sleep quality are the most common clinical complaints of people with diabetes mellitus (DM). These complaints are early signs of DM and are closely related to diabetic control and the presence of complications, which lead to a decline in the quality of life. Therefore, an accurate measurement of the relationship between fatigue, sleep status, and the complication of DM nephropathy could lead to a specific definition of fatigue and an appropriate medical treatment. This study recruited 307 people with Type 2 diabetes from two medical centers in Northern Taiwan through a questionnaire survey and a retrospective investigation of medical records. In an attempt to identify the related factors and accurately predict diabetic nephropathy, we applied hybrid research methods, integrated biostatistics, and feature selection methods in data mining and machine learning to compare and verify the results. Consequently, the results demonstrated that patients with diabetic nephropathy have a higher fatigue level and Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) score than without neuropathy, the presence of neuropathy leads to poor sleep quality, lower quality of life, and poor metabolism. Furthermore, by considering feature selection in selecting representative features or variables, we achieved consistence results with a support vector machine (SVM) classifier and merely ten representative factors and a prediction accuracy as high as 74% in predicting the presence of diabetic nephropathy.
The Common Myna (Sturnus tristis) in urban, rural and semi-rural areas in Greater Sydney and its surrounds

Abstract Common Myna (Sturnus tristis, formerly Acridotheres tristis) is one of Australia's most readily identified pest species and have been implicated in the reduction of native fauna. This study aimed to determine the distribution, habitat use and roost site selection of Mynas on the urban fringes of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, as well as the avian species composition of areas in which Mynas occurred. The information was gathered with a view to estimating the impact of this invasive species on native avifauna. In total 3661 birds were counted in 1349 km of survey transects in western Sydney. Mynas were the most abundant bird recorded in the surveys, and exotic species accounted for 41% of all birds counted, but only 20% of the total number of species. Comparison of distribution data across habitat types suggests that Mynas do not extend far beyond urban habitats, and Mynas were primarily observed in suburban-industrial areas, small suburban reserves or sporting grounds and roadsides in semi-rural areas. Differences in sex-specific size distribution of Mynas occurred in semi-rural and urban areas. Urban areas also contained higher densities of preferred roosting trees with dense canopies, suggesting Myna populations have been aided by historical urban planning and landscaping. Together these data suggest that Mynas are likely to affect urban-dwelling native avifauna and that careful urban planning may reduce their distribution and potentially their impact.
INHIBITION OF SURFACE BROWNING, CUT AVOCADO

Browning prevention of avocado halves using polyphenol oxidase (PPO) inhibitors along with sulfites was investigated. Browning inhibitiors were selected on the basis of the inhibition of a crude extract of avocado PPO. The most effective inhibitors were ascorbic acid and sodium sulfite, these compounds plus citric acid were mixed to get an inhibitory solution. In vivo experiments were performed on avocado halves by measuring Hunter color values after 15 days' storage to test the potential of solutions to prevent browning. Results showed that immersion in solutions along with refrigerated storage was needed to get an inhibitory effect. Color preservation was not due to oxygen exclusion nor to low pH and sulfite was unnecessary. The best treatment was the storage of avocado halves in a 1% ascorbic acid/1 % citric acid solution at pH 5 and 7C.
Airborne birch and oak pollen grains and birch pollen allergens at a common sampling station in Stockholm

In the present study, the airborne concentrations of birch and oak pollen grains and birch pollen allergens have been recorded in samples from a common sampling station in Stockholm. The sampling period was between April 22nd and May 31st 2003. The objectives were to evaluate if analysis of allergen particles in parallel with pollen grains would be relevant to aid subjects suffering from pollinosis. Days with low birch pollen counts had relatively high nominal allergen concentrations in the beginning of the sampling period. The birch pollen grain concentration peaks, during the dry pollination culmination interval in the middle of the period, were associated with correspondingly lower nominal concentrations of allergens than grains. At the end of the sampling period very high nominal amounts of allergen appeared, as reflected by high concentrations of oak pollen grains. The high allergen concentrations were obtained as a result of inherent cross‐reactivity of anti‐ Bet v 1 antibodies with Que a antigens, which are immunologically analogous with Bet v 1. Allergen concentrations increased and decreased after light and heavy rain, respectively. Results obtained indicate that adding a pollen count forecast with allergen concentration data should aid pollen allergic subjects to avoid particulate allergens which might be expected to penetrate more easily than pollen grains into indoor environments.