Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Molecular Taxonomy and Diversity of Symbiodinium Spp. Based on 28S rDNA Sequences Within 15 Coral Species in Daao Bay, Shenzhen

The identity and diversity Symbiodinium spp. of scleractinian corals are valuable to understand the response of reef ecosystems to environment change. The molecular taxonomy and genetic diversity of Symbiodinium of scleractinian coral were studied by specific amplification and sequencing of 28S rDNA, which belong to 5 families, 9 genera and 15 species in Daao Bay, Shenzhen. The 28S rDNA sequence of Symbiodinium from 45 samples of scleractinian corals was obtained by direct PCR sequencing. The molecular phylogenetic tree was constructed by using the method of Neighbor-Joining (NJ). The Symbiodinium of reef coral in Daao sea area of Shenzhen could be divided into two groups of Symbiodinium. Among them, 11 species belong to group D and 4 species belong to group C, and the average contents of G+C base and A+T base of 28 s rDNA gene of reef coral Symbiodinium in this area are similar. The results showed that the gene evolution rate of 28 s rDNA was fast, which was suitable for the identification of coral reef coral Symbiodinium community. The ability of light utilization and resistance of reef coral Symbiodinium in Daao sea area were strong, but the diversity is low. It suggests that the symbiotic system of reef coral Symbiodinium is fragile and poor resistance to external environmental pressure in this area. This single Symbiodinium with the scleractinian coral strategy may be an adaptation to the environment stress in this area.
Encoder- and Decoder-Based Networks Using Multiscale Feature Fusion and Nonlocal Block for Remote Sensing Image Semantic Segmentation

With the development of convolutional neural networks, the semantic segmentation of remote sensing images has been widely developed, but there are still some unsolved problems in this field due to the lack of multiscale information and the feature mismatch at the upsampling process. To solve these problems, we propose a network called multiscale feature fusion and alignment network (MFANet). MFANet is composed of an encoder and a decoder. The encoder contains a fully convolutional network, a multilevel feature fusion block (MLFFB), and a multiscale feature pyramid (MSFP). These subnetworks can obtain fine-grained feature maps that are full of multiscale and global features and improve segmentation results at multiple object scales. Moreover, MFANet uses a light convolution subnetwork, called decoder, to upsample the segmentation map stage by stage. Combining three scales of features, the decoder can promote the feature alignment at the upsampling stage. Along with the decoder, MFANet utilizes a multistage supervision loss to enhance the localization performance and boundary regression ability. Benefitting from the encoder and decoder structure and the innovative components inside encoder, MFANet is very powerful for the semantic segmentation of remote sensing images and can suit the complicated environment. We evaluate our MFANet on the Vaihingen and Potsdam data sets, and it outperforms the state-of-art methods both in the metric and visual effect.
Analyzing the Impact of Microfinance Banks Credit Variables on Micro, Small Enterprises Growth Indicators in South-West, Nigeria

Despite several reforms both in the banking and informal sectors; it is sad that there have been dwindling development in both sectors. In view of this, this study analyzed the impact of Microfinance Banks (MFBs) credit variables on Micro Small Enterprises (MSEs) growth indicators in South-West, Nigeria. Sampled MFBs, MSEs and some South-West States were purposively selected. Secondary data was extracted from financial statements of eight selected MFBs from 2007-2016 (10years). Relationship between MFBs variables and MSEs’ growth was analyzed using Correlation matrix, while extent at which MFBs variables influenced MSEs growth was analyzed using panel regression. Results showed the relationship between MFBs credit variables and MSEs’ growth with an average ‘r’ at 68.56% (p<0.05); and the extent at which MFBs credit variables influenced MSEs growth (p<0.05) such as profit, total asset, number of employee growth and sales with R 2 were 61.4%, 58.3%, 48.1% and 52.1%, respectively. The study concluded that MFBs credit variables influenced MSEs growth. It was recommended that MFBs should moderately increase loan size in order to improve MSEs’ business operations. Keywords: Microfinance Banks, Micro Small Enterprises, Credit Variables, Growth indicators, South-West, Nigeria DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/11-12-06 Publication date: June 30th 2020
Late Quaternary Fossil Mammals from the Cayman Islands, West Indies

ABSTRACT Abundant fossils of nesophontid lipotyphlan insectivores and capromyid rodents have been collected from late Quaternary deposits on the Cayman Islands, an island group separated by a major marine barrier from other Caribbean landmasses and isolated from anthropogenic impacts until the arrival of Columbus in 1503 CE. These collections have not previously been formally described. Using morphological and ancient DNA approaches, we document three new taxa of extinct endemic terrestrial mammals from this island group: Nesophontes hemicingulus (Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac), Capromys pilorides lewisi (Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, and Cayman Brac), and Geocapromys caymanensis (Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac). Morphometric comparisons with other extinct and living West Indian mammals indicate that the biogeographic origins of all three new taxa are from source populations on Cuba. Ancient DNA data indicate very low sequence divergence of Capromys pilorides lewisi from mainland Cuban C. pilorides (only 0.5% across the entire mitogenome). Using probabilistic analysis of existing and new radiometric dates, we calculate an estimated extinction date of 1700 CE (95% confidence interval = 1632–1774 CE) for the Cayman Brac Capromys population. This result suggests that at least one endemic Cayman terrestrial mammal population survived for well over a century following first European arrival in the Cayman Islands. The West Indies lost nearly all its species-rich late Quaternary land mammal fauna during the late Holocene due to direct or indirect human impacts, and this study provides a new baseline to understand the magnitude of human-caused mammal extinctions during the recent past.
How effective are tidal marshes as nature‐based shoreline protection throughout seasons?

Nature‐based mitigation is increasingly proposed as a strategy to cope with global change and related risks for coastal flooding and erosion. Tidal marshes are known to provide shoreline protection as their aboveground biomass attenuates waves and their belowground biomass contributes to reducing erosion rates. The aim of this study was to quantify how effectively wave attenuation rates and erosion reduction rates are sustained throughout seasons in pioneer tidal marshes in the Elbe estuary (Germany). Changes in hydrodynamics and sediment dynamics were measured during 17 months along three sea‐to‐land transects of 50 m length. Simultaneously, changes in biomass of the monospecific pioneer vegetation (Bolboschoenus maritimus) were measured monthly. This study shows that wave and flow attenuation rates positively correlate with seasonal variations in aboveground biomass, that is: in summer, aboveground biomass and associated wave and flow attenuation rates are highest; while aboveground biomass is washed away during the first storms in autumn or winter, resulting in low wave and flow attenuation rates. Contrastingly, maximum incoming wave heights and flow velocities occur during winter, indicating that wave and flow attenuation is most needed then. However, hibernating root biomass assures low erosion rates in winter, especially at sandy sites. Although wave attenuation by pioneer marshes is highly variable throughout seasons and pioneer marshes alone are not so effective, they might facilitate the survival of higher marshes. Therefore, it is important to conserve or restore a gradual sea‐to‐land gradient from tidal flats, over pioneer marsh to high marsh to provide nature‐based shoreline protection.
Results of the intersectional poplar hybrids’ testing in the Central Chernozem region

The main purpose of this work is to summarize the results of long-term variety testing of the intersectional hybrids obtained from controlled crosses of balsamic poplars with black and black poplars with balsamic ones. The research objectives were to study the growth, sustainability and productivity of intersectional poplar hybrids and to select the best of them. The object of research was the collection and testing site (populetum) made in 1974 on Typical Chernozem soil by stem cuttings with arrangement place 5 × 4 m in Semiluki forest nursery situated in Voronezh region. 13 clones of intersectional poplar hybrids were introduced into the test. The results of 40-year studies of their survival, height and diameter growth, trunk volume and wood stock dynamics are presented, which allowed identifying the most promising poplars’ intersectional hybrids proposed in the assortment for the creation of the most fast-growing and sustainable forest and shelter belt plantations in the region. By the age of quantitative timber maturity of intersectional poplar hybrids (i.e. 25 years) their survival was 83-100 %, and the wood stock – 462 -641 m3/ha. Further by the age of 40 their productivity and sustainability also remained quite high (survival 63-96 %, wood stock – 417-764 m3/ha).
Mating type idiomorphs of Pyrenophora teres in Turkey

Pyrenophora teres f. maculata (Ptm) and Pyrenophora teres f. teres (Ptt) causes spot form and net form of net blotch diseases of barley, respectively. Although both forms of P. teres are morphologically similar, their symptoms and genetic background differ. In this study, 175 single spore (109 Ptm and 66 Ptt) isolates obtained from different regions of Turkey were evaluated for their mating type distribution and prevalence. Fungal isolates of both forms were verified using species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers. For mating type determination studies, duplex PCR was performed using MAT-specific single nucleotide polymorphism primers. Sixty and 49 of 109 Ptm isolates were found as MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 types, respectively and 43 and 23 of 66 Ptt isolates were found as MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 types, respectively. These results show the possibility of sexual reproduction among the Ptm isolates in Turkey and Ptt population of Central Anatolia, Turkey. However, the overall pattern of Ptt isolates did not support the sexual reproduction hypothesis in Turkey. Sexual reproduction in the life cycle of P. teres is important since it could lead to genetic and pathogenic variation. As a result of new sexual combinations more virulent pathotypes of P. teres may occur.
Toxicity of humidifier disinfectant polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride by two-week whole body-inhalation exposure in rats

The use of polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride (PHMG·HCl) as a humidifier disinfectant caused an outbreak of pulmonary disease, leading to the deaths of pregnant women and children in South Korea. However, limited information is available on the inhalation toxicity of PHMG·HCl. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize the subacute inhalation toxicity of PHMG·HCl by whole-body exposure in rats. F344 rats were exposed to 0 mg/m3, 1 mg/m3, 5 mg/m3, or 25 mg/m3 of PHMG·HCl for 6 h/day, 5 days/week for two weeks via whole-body inhalation. Emaciation and rale were observed in rats in the 25 mg/m3 PHMG·HCl group. Significant changes in body weight, hematology, serum chemistry and organ weight were observed in all PHMG·HCl-exposed groups. Gross lesions showed ballooning or red focus in the lungs of rats in the PHMG·HCl-exposed groups. In histopathological examination, most of histological lesions (including degeneration, atrophy, ulcer, inflammatory cell infiltration, inflammation, and fibrosis in nasal cavity, larynx, trachea, and lungs) indicated tissue damage by PHMG·HCl in all PHMG·HCl-exposed groups. Additionally, atrophy of the spleen, thymus, and reproductive organs; immaturity of the testes; and cell debris in the epididymides were affected by the reduction in body weight in PHMG·HCl-exposed groups. In conclusion, two-week repeated whole-body inhalation exposure of rats to PHMG·HCl reveled toxic effects on the respiratory system and secondary effects on other organs. The results of this study indicate that the no observable adverse effect level (NOAEL) for PHMG·HCl is below 1 mg/m3.
Autoantibodies in Overlapping Systemic Sclerosis and Primary Biliary Cirrhosis Autoimmune Diseases

165 Anticentromere antibodies (ACA) are considered an important diagnostic marker of scleroderma or systemic sclerosis (SSc), being CENP-B the major centromere auto-antigen recognized by sera from SSc patients [1]. However, ACA can also be detected in patients with other connective tissue diseases [2]. Significantly the prevalence of organ-specific antibodies in SSc patients is relatively high [3]. Thus, primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is the most frequent autoimmune liver disease described in SSc patients and more often complicated specifically with limited cutaneous SSc (lcSSc) [4]. It is also well recognized that PBC is an overlapping condition between the autoimmune hepatology and rheumatology [5].
Trading for Bailouts

In times of high uncertainty, governments often implement interventions such as bailouts to financial institutions. To use public resources efficiently and to avoid major spillovers to the rest of the economy, policy-makers try to identify which institutions should receive assistance. One important source of information is activity in stock markets: high prices generally indicate expected high profits; low prices reflect expected poor performance. With this price information, policy-makers can infer the market’s perception of the financial health of publicly traded companies and whether they need assistance. However, this “learning from the market” has a potential obstacle: some market participants (e.g., large creditors and shareholders) may have special interests in the government intervention. Prices in financial markets may therefore not only reflect overall information about the firm’s financial health but also speculators’ incentives to influence government decisions. We study how the presence of traders who may benefit from a government intervention affects the informativeness of prices in the stock market as well as the incidence and efficiency of bailouts. We propose a theoretical model in which a policy-maker decides whether to provide assistance to a financial institution. The policy-maker tries to collect information about the firm’s financial condition from its stock price. We show under which conditions, and to what extent, the policy-maker can increase the efficiency of interventions by relying on stock market information. Our results indicate that the presence of large traders with high stakes in the government intervention reduces the informativeness of stock prices. Government bailout decisions are therefore less efficient. We also show that a higher cost of implementing bailouts can actually increase welfare. If the policy-maker is more reluctant to intervene, speculators will have less incentive to trade strategically to affect its decisions. The gains in market informativeness can more than compensate for the higher implementation costs. A gradual implementation of bailouts also improves learning from the market.
The Impact of Fibromyalgia on Daily Women: A Contribution to Nursing Assistants

Objective: To evaluate the impact of fibromyalgia in daily and associated factors in women treated at the polyclinic in Parana. Method: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted with individualized data for 52 women ≥ 50 years from the policlinic of the Curitiba of Parana State, Brazil. Data were collected an online survey and the quality of life was assessed by one specific instrument, the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ). Verbal or written informed consent was obtained from all participants. Results: A total of 157 patients completed the survey. The average age was approximately 50 years (range 29 - 77 years). The most frequent comorbidities were depression (61.5%) and (19%) arthrosis. Conclusion: The understanding of the commodities associated with fibromyalgia helps health professionals to reach the patient efficiently in their orientations about nursing care in women with fibromyalgia.
3-D Thermal Network Model of Stator Transposed Strands for a Hydrogenerator

The temperature field of stator strands with a transposed structure is challenging to analyze in large machines. In order to deal with this problem, this article presents a three-dimensional thermal network model of stator transposed strands for hydrogenerator. Take a 250-MW hydrogenerator as an example, and a novel thermal network model is established. In the proposed model, the solving domain is discretized according to the real physical structure, the transposition structure of stator strands is taken into account, and the change of heat sources caused by transposed strands is considered. Next, results of the proposed model are compared with those of the traditional thermal network without considering the transposition structure, and the proposed model can better model the real structure of the stator strands. Then, the effect of a different number of ventilation ducts on temperature distribution is discussed. Besides, the calculation results were compared with the finite-element method, and the proposed method took less time to calculate. Finally, the temperature of the stator was measured by the embedded temperature sensor, and the correctness of the calculation results of the proposed model is verified. The novel three-dimensional thermal network model can quickly and accurately calculate the temperature of stator transposed strands.
EFFECT OF HEAT RECIRCULATION IN BIOMASS FLAME STABILITY WITHIN A CYLINDRICAL MICRO-COMBUSTOR (TECHNICAL NOTE)

Flame stability inside a cylindrical micro-combustor was studied. Considering occurrence of heat recirculation, the respective relations were written and with parameters such as motion speed of reactants, flame propagation speed and thermal conductivity of the combustor’s wall, flame stability and its location inside micro-combustor were studied. It was found that for each thermal conductivity of the combustor’s wall, there is only one point inside the micro-combustor that if flame is formed in that point, it will be able to remain stable inside micro-combustor. It was also found that for each thermal conductivity of the combustor’s wall, flame inside the combustor remains stable only in one specified range of motion speed of reactants. In addition, blow-off limits were obtained for high and low speeds of reactants inside the combustor for different values of thermal conductivity of the combustor’s wall.
Vegetation changes over the past two decades in a West African savanna ecosystem

QUESTIONS: West African savanna ecosystems are affected by increasing land use intensity (e.g., agriculture and livestock herds) due to a growing human population. To understand the impact of land use intensification on savanna vegetation, we aim to answer the following questions: How do savanna species composition, diversity and structure change with increasing land use pressure? Are the impacts of land use change different in the woody and the herbaceous layers? Do the effects of land use change differ between vegetation types? LOCATION: Southeastern Burkina Faso, West Africa. METHODS: Vegetation plots from the early 1990s representing vegetation types occurring in fallows of different age and in uncultivated pasturing zones were resurveyed. We distinguished between woody (tree and shrub layer) and herbaceous vegetation types. Species composition changes were analyzed using ordination techniques (detrended correspondence analysis, DCA) and indicator species analysis (IndVal). Species turnover and plant diversity as represented by species richness and evenness were compared between the baseline survey and the resurvey. RESULTS: In most woody vegetation types, we found no change in species composition and richness over the past two decades. However, some highly valued woody species decreased in abundance. In contrast, in most herbaceous vegetation types, species composition changed considerably and species richness increased. The proportion of wide‐ranging, ruderal herbaceous species increased, indicating a homogenization of herbaceous vegetation types, while preferred fodder herbaceous species decreased. We assume that the increased grazing intensity over the past two decades is the driver of these changes in the herbaceous layer. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show different reactions of vegetation types and layers to land use intensification and reinforce the need for studies on the basis of vegetation type that incorporate both the herbaceous and the woody layers.
Varietal evaluation of tuberose under agro climatic conditions of Jammu

The present investigation was carried out to study the performance of tuberose varieties under agro climatic conditions of Jammu. All the vegetative and flowering parameters differed significantly. In vegetative parameters, highest plant height (25.19 cm), number of leaves (41.11) and plant spread (74.96 cm) was obtained in variety ‘Nirantara’ while maximum leaf width (2.05) and leaf length (43.00 cm) was observed in ‘Suvasini’. In flowering parameters, again variety ‘Nirantara; found superior for spike length (102.78 cm), rachis length (43.89 cm), number of florets (40.61), and number of spikes (5.67) while earliest bud initiation (53.00 days) was recorded in Calcutta Double. Maximum flower diameter (4.93 cm) and floret length (7.03 cm) was observed in ‘Shringar’ and ‘Suvasini’ (7.03 cm), respectively.
Data Augmentation and Dense-LSTM for Human Activity Recognition Using WiFi Signal

Recent research has devoted significant efforts on the utilization of WiFi signals to recognize various human activities. An individual’s limb motions in the WiFi coverage area could interfere with wireless signal propagation, that manifested as unique patterns for activity recognition. Existing approaches though yielding reasonable performance in certain cases, are ignorant of two major challenges. The performed activities of the individual normally have inconsistent speed in different situations and time. Besides that the wireless signal reflected by human bodies normally carries substantial information that is specific to that subject. The activity recognition model trained on a certain individual may not work well when being applied to predict another individual’s activities. Since only recording activities of limited subjects in a certain speed and scale, recent works commonly have a moderate amount of activity data for training the recognition model. The small-size data could often incur the overfitting issue that negative affect the traditional classification model. To address these challenges, we propose a WiFi-based human activity recognition system that synthesizes variant activities data through eight channel state information (CSI) transformation methods to mitigate the impact of activity inconsistency and subject-specific issues, and also design a novel deep-learning model that caters to the small-size WiFi activity data. We conduct extensive experiments and show synthetic data improve performance by up to 34.6% and our system achieves around 90% of accuracy with well robustness in adapting to small-size CSI data.