Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vegetation dynamics along altitudinal gradients in the Shigar valley (Central Karakorum) Pakistan: zonation, physiognomy, ecosystem services and environmental impacts

This paper provides the first insight into the altitudinal zonation of vegetation of Shigar valley, Central Karakorum Mountains, Pakistan. The study was conducted in the period of 2013-2016 and focused on floristic and structural differentiation of vegetation; ethnobotany, and environmental impacts in the region. Based on altitude, climate, and indicator species, four vegetation zones were recognized including sub-montane, montane, sub-alpine, and alpine belt. From these belts, a total of 345 plant taxa were collected. The sub-montane belt presented the highest species richness. Perennials prevailed in all vegetation types. Annuals drastically decreased with altitude. Hemicryptophytes occurred in all zones, and chamaephytes only at lower, dry and rocky sites. Phanerophytes (shrubs, trees) decreased with altitude and were almost absent in the alpine belt. Microphylls and nanophylls had an abrupt decline with altitude. Plant functional effects related to ecosystem services were sixteen and the maximum services were found in the sub-alpine (13) belt, followed by the sub-montane (12), the montane (9) and the alpine belt (4). All vegetation types were used by the local people, and twenty use categories with 83 species were found, including medicinal, beverages, edible, fuel, fence sources etc. Edible wild plants (fruits, vegetables), fuel wood, thatching, and fencing materials were provided by all vegetation belts except the alpine belt. The use of plants impaired plant functional effects in the ecosystem. Eight types of natural and human caused degradation processes were recognized, most common in the sub-montane and montane belt. The sustainable use of the resources requires appropriate monitoring activities, and regulation for conservation and management of this vulnerable mountain ecosystem.
Encouraging Categorical Meaning in the Latent Space of a VAE

Variational Autoencoders (VAEs) learn latent representations of data that can be useful for downstream tasks. However, the VAE loss function encourages all latent embeddings to cluster around the origin, which while useful for certain tasks, disincentivizes semantically meaningful representations. Furthermore, VAE training is unsupervised, even when label information may be available. We propose enforced clustering in the VAE latent space for a more cat-egorically meaningful learned representation. We achieve this with both supervised and unsupervised methods for latent clustering, each of which outperform our benchmarks on reconstruction and sampling tasks.
Repurchase Intention of Millennial Generation in Coffee Shop with the Coffee-To-Go Concepts

Competition for coffee shops in Indonesia is getting tighter and continues to increase, especially for coffee shops with concepts coffee-to-go. Shop coffee-to-go is a coffee shop concept that is sold in minimalist outlets that do not provide space for dine in, as well as sales focused on online. This study aims to analyze the influence of product and service quality, electronic word of mouth, and brand image on satisfaction and repurchase intention of shop consumers’ coffee-to-go on social media. The data collection technique uses non-probability sampling with questionnaires distributed online throughout Indonesia with 226 respondents. Futhermore, data analysis in this study is using SmartPLS 3.0 software to analyze the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) method and descriptive analysis. The results showed that users are dominated by female aged 21 to 25 years and the majority of respondents buy products from the tavern brands coffee-to-go in Java Island. In this study the four indicators used to form customer satisfaction variables have a CSI calculation value of 80 percent, so the CSI test results illustrate that overall respondents who have bought and consumed products are in the satisfied. the three variables in the form of product and service quality, electronic word of mouth, and brand image has a significant positive effect on the variable consumer satisfaction and repurchase intention, and the consumer satisfaction variable has a significant positive relationship with the repurchase intention of the shop consumers coffee-to-go.
Determination Of Micronutrients Concentration In Tea Cultivated Soil In Dibrugarh And Sivasagar Districts Of Assam, India

A study of the micronutrient status of soils of two upper Assam districts of Dibrugarh and Sivasagar was made at 60 different locations. The objective of the experiment was to study the status of micronutrients after continuous tea cultivation and their relationship with various physiochemical properties. Soil samples were collected at the three depths of 0-15, 15-30 and 30-60 cm and analyzed for Copper, Iron, Manganese, Zinc and hot water soluble Boron. The Copper, Iron, Manganese, Zinc and Boron ranged from 16.73-36.33 mg/kg (average 26.53), 15.35-31.73 mg/kg (average 23.54), 13.17-29.13 mg/kg (average 21.15); 49.3-107.7 mg/kg (average 78.5), 44.1-99.6 mg/kg (average 71.9), 32.1-85.3 mg/kg (average 58.7); 118.53- 420.53 mg/kg (average 269.53), 103.73-390.33 mg/kg (average 247.03), 92.07-377.50 mg/kg (average 234.79); 21.43-65.20 mg/kg (average 43.32), 21.07-56.47 mg/kg (average 38.77), 17.70-48.87 mg/kg (average 33.29); 3.09-3.97 mg/kg (average 3.53), 2.76-3.67 mg/kg(average 3.22), 2.41-3.27 mg/kg (average 2.84) for the surface , subsurface (I) and subsurface (II) soil respectively. All the micronutrients gave positive significant correlation with soil pH and organic matter and gave negative significantly correlated with clay content. Other physiochemical properties of soil showed either negative or positive non-significant correlation with micronutrient during the study.
Analysis of Value Creation in Real Estate

Real Estate is a strategic sector in the Spanish economy, that, during the last years, has been subjected to large fluctuations, including numerous retailer bankruptcies and that, frequently, generate distrust on shareholders since they fear that their investments will not be compensated. With the aim of obtaining relevant information about the capacity of these companies to create value for their shareholders, we have analyzed Real Estate companies that are listed in the Spanish stock market. The financial data has been processed and the necessary variables have been calculated in order to make an exhaustive analysis of value creation for these companies, following the main theories of the ad hoc literature. The results obtained point to construction companies and civil engineering companies that achieve the creation of value for their shareholders, and that, therefore, are among the most capable of facing potential trust crisis from shareholders, in the face of instability situations in the financial markets.
Impact of Insole in Improvement of Balance in Elderly Person with Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) associated with nerve disorder, deteriorate balance in elderly person followed by increase cases of fall. Deterioration of balance caused by impaired somatosensory information from foot to central nervous system. Involvements of tactile and proprioceptive stimuli were also causes deterioration of dynamic balance in elderly persons. Various types of insoles were used for improving nerve stimuli from foot to CNS. Present study was focused on immediate effect of silicone insole in improving balance which was not been done before. A total 30 elderly persons were participated in the study. Out of the 30 elderly persons, 19 persons were male and 11 persons were female. Tinetti balance scale and TUGT scale were performed and pre test and post test data were obtained. A paired t-test conducted for the comparative study of the results of tinetti balance test score pre test data and post test data shows significant difference (t-value= -4.571, p=0.000), time up and go test score pre test data and post test data shows significant difference (t-value=7.722, p=0.000) which shows improvement in dynamic balance in post test condition. These results signify insoles as prescription for elderly person who have diabetic peripheral neuropathy to improve impaired balance.
THE EFFECT OF ONLINE MARKETING AND E-SERVICE QUALITY ON PURCHASE DECISIONS: AN EMPRIRICAL STUDY ON ONLINE SHOP

The purpose of this study to analyze the direct effect of online marketing and e-service quality on satisfaction. To find out the direct effect of online marketing and e-service quality on loyalty. This is to determine the direct effect of satisfaction on loyalty. To determine the indirect effect of online marketing and service quality on loyalty with satisfaction as an intervening variable. The target population of this study is 200 respondents of online shop comsumers . This research uses quantitative methods of data intending. The data collection technique uses an online electronic questionnaire and analysis uses SmartPLS software. results of this study are online marketing has significant effect on satisfaction. This means that an increase of online marketing will encourage satisfaction a decrease of online marketing will encourage a decrease satisfaction. e-service quality has not significant effect on satisfaction. This means that an increase of e-service quality will not encourage satisfaction a decrease of e-service quality will encourage a decrease satisfaction. online marketing has significant effect on loyalty. This means that an increase of loyalty will encourage satisfaction a decrease of online marketing will encourage a decrease loyalty.
Efficacy and Safety of Iodine-125 Brachytherapy in the Treatment of Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Background: Recurrent or metastatic (R/M) head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a difficult challenge for physicians, especially when patients have been treated with external beam radiotherapy. The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical efficacy and safety of computed tomography (CT)-guided iodine-125 brachytherapy as a palliative treatment for R/M HNSCC. Methods: From May 2011 to July 2018, we enrolled 87 patients with R/M HNSCC who had previously received external beam radiotherapy. Among these patients, 43 successfully underwent CT-guided iodine-125 brachytherapy and chemotherapy (group A); 44 patients who only received chemotherapy (group B) were matched with patients in group A. Patients’ pain score, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score, tumor compression symptoms, and side effects of iodine-125 implantation were recorded. Clinical follow-up was performed to assess progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Results: Both groups of patients completed the treatment and were followed up for 9–66 months, with a median follow-up time of 44 months. The OS was 51 months (95% CI: 42.93–59.06 months) versus 28 months (95% CI: 23.79–32.21 months) (p < 0.05), the PFS was 10 months (95% CI: 6.15–13.84 months) versus 6 months (95% CI: 4.40-7.59 months) (p < 0.05) in groups A and B, respectively. The RR in group A was 25/43 (58.14%) versus 15/44 (34.10%) in group B (p < 0.05). Compared with group B, patients in group A had lower pain scores, better physical performance, and better improvement of compression symptoms. No serious treatment-related complications were observed in either group of patients. Conclusion: Compared with chemotherapy alone, iodine-125 seed implantation combined with chemotherapy was a more effective and safer strategy for R/M HNSCC.
THE RULE OF SELF REGULATED LEARNING METHOD STRATEGY AND SELF EFFICACY TO CONCEPTUAL APPLICATION

The purpose of this study is to analyze the rule of self regulated learning method strategy and self efficacy to conceptual application as learning outcomes for second semester on Christian Religious Education students. Research subjects were 96 people divided into two groups namely the experiment and control groups. Data were obtained through Neil's self-efficacy questionnaire and tests to measure the learning outcomes of conceptual application. Data analysis were done using two-way ANOVA. The results show that there are differences in the learning outcomes of the conceptual application between learning strategies (self regulated learning and teacher regulated learning) with different levels of self efficacy (high and low levels of self efficacy) (sig 0.001 <0.05). There is an interaction between learning strategies with self efficacy based to the learning outcomes of conceptual application (sig 0.003 <0, 05). It can be concluded that self regulated learning method strategy and high self efficacy have better influence on the learning outcomes of students’ conceptual application.
The Effect Analysis of the Role of the Tourism and Investment Sector on Job Opportunities and HDI in Non-Sarbagita Areas in Bali Province

Community welfare is a goal that each region wants to achieve. The Human Development Index (HDI) is a variable used to determine the level of welfare. The Non-Sarbagita Area of Bali Province is an area that still has problems in the field of community welfare, so it needs more serious attention in order to improve the welfare of the people in the area. This study aims: 1) To analyze the effect of the contribution of the tourism and investment sectors on job opportunities in the Non-Sarbagita Area of Bali Province; 2) Analyzing the effect of the tourism sector, investment and employment opportunities contribution to HDI in the Non-Sarbagita Areas of Bali Province; 3) Analyzing job opportunities as a mediating variable in the influence of the contribution of the tourism and investment sectors to HDI. This research was conducted in the Non Sarbagita Area of Bali Province using secondary data. The number of observations in this study was 40 observations by combining time series data for eight years, namely 2012-2019 and cross section data of five districts / cities in Bali Province. The research method used is observation. Data analysis techniques using path analysis techniques. The results showed that 1) the contribution of the tourism sector has a positive and significant effect on employment opportunities, investment has no significant effect on employment opportunities; 2) the contribution of the tourism sector has a positive and significanteffecton HDI, investment has no significant effect on HDI; 3) Job opportunities do not have a positive effect on HDI, and do not mediate the influence of the contribution of the tourism sector and investment to HDI.
Evolving flexure recorded in continental rift uplifting landscapes-Corinth Rift, Greece

Elastic flexure of the lithosphere is commonly used to model crustal mechanics, rheology and dynamics. However, accurate characterizations of flexure in nature at the spatiotemporal scale of active continental rifting (tens of km; 104-106 yr) are scant. We use exceptionally preserved geomorphic evidence in the asymmetric, young and fast-extending Corinth Rift, central Greece, to document the combined effect of progressive uplift and footwall flexure throughout its uplifting margin. Across the rift margin, footwall longitudinal river profiles and topography define uplift increasing exponentially towards the bounding fault. Along the rift margin, geomorphic proxies for fault’s footwall relief, slip rate and uplift rate show parabolic distributions decaying along strike away from the fault center. Conspicuous drainage reversals where the topographic expression of elastic flexure is most prominent similarly suggest that maximum slip rates occur at the rift center. Overall, the geomorphic evidence for flexure implies disruptive Middle Pleistocene onset of a highly-localized, master fault system of crustal scale controlling the growth of the modern Corinth Rift. Similar highly-localized strain and associated elastic flexure of the lithosphere may have occurred elsewhere, including old and/or slow-extending rifts and areas of intracontinental extension lacking adequate geomorphic evidence.
MARIO HUMBERTO BECERRA CONTRERAS A comparison of frequentist methods and Bayesian approximations in the implementation of Convolutional Neural Networks in an Active Learning setting

In this work, an approximate Bayesian approach for Deep Learning is compared with a conventional approach, all within a context of Active Learning. The conventional approach is based on the optimization of a loss function, which results in a single point estimate with no measure of uncertainty in the prediction or the parameters. These conventional methods are the norm in Deep Learning literature. The Bayesian approach, on the other hand, is seldom used, but has the advantage that it gives a joint posterior distribution of the parameters. This distribution of the parameters results in a posterior predictive distribution of the response variable. However, an exact implementation is too onerous, hence an approximation to the Bayesian method is made. This approximation allows a feasible simulation of a distribution that is close to the posterior distribution. Recent work showed that using dropout in neural networks is equivalent to a variational approximation to a Bayesian neural network [19]. Hence o↵ering a scalable approach to sampling from the posterior distribution. This approach can be used with Convolutional Neural Networks, an architecture widely used in computer vision tasks. The approximate Bayesian and frequentist CNNs are compared in three image datasets, using the information of a trained model to query the most useful images from a large pool of unlabeled data to add to a set of training data and achieve higher accuracy than a random selection of images. Our results show that using the trained model’s uncertainty is better than randomly choosing images, but they also show that there is no evidence in favor of the variational approximation over the frequentist methodology.
On the Convergence of Stochastic Splitting Methods for Nonsmooth Nonconvex Optimization

With the growth of data scale, stochastic optimization algorithms have been studied for convex and nonconvex objective functions in recent years. In this paper, we focus on the global convergence for two types of stochastic splitting algorithms, i.e., alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) and proximal gradient descent (PGD), for a class of nonsmooth nonconvex composite optimization problems. More speciﬁcally, we pro-pose two stochastic algorithms (i.e., SARAH-ADMM and SARAH-PGD) with single loop structure and variance reduction technique. Based on the Kurdyka-(cid:32)Lojasiewicz (KL) assumption, which is satisﬁed for a wide range of functions including convex and nonconvex functions, we analyze the asymptotic convergence and corresponding rates of the SARAH-ADMM and SARAH-PGD. Finally, we report some numerical experiments to demonstrate the promising performance of the proposed algorithms.
The Association between Working Capital Management and Financial Performance of Commercial and Service Companies Listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange

A number of major companies in Kenya have been put under statutory management in the recent years due to serious financial problems. This, therefore, was an issue of concern to the financial performance of listed companies. This study investigated the association between working capital management and financial performance of commercial and service companies listed on the Nairobi Security Exchange. The study was guided by four specific objectives; to establish the association between accounts receivable period, inventory conversion period, accounts payables, cash conversion period and financial performance of commercial and service firms. The research used longitudinal research design. The study targeted all the 12 commercial and services companies listed on the Nairobi Security Exchange between the years 2011 to 2017. Secondary data was collected from published annual financial reports. Data was analyzed through descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and multiple regression models. The study found that accounts receivable period, accounts payable period and inventory conversion period had positive significant relationship with return on equity an indication that higher values of accounts receivable period, accounts payable and inventory conversion period are related with lower values of return on equity while cash conversion cycle did not have significant relationship with return on equity. The study concludes that there was significant relationship between working capital management and financial performance. It was recommended that the companies should shorten inventory conversion period so as to increase financial performance. The study recommended that the commercial and services firms should take much more short time in converting their cash in order to realize improved financial performance. It was suggested that the sample firms should prolong payment periods so as to enhance the performance of the sampled firms.
Comparative evaluation of anti-depressant effects of Citalopram, Ketamine and their combination in animal models of depression: A potential anti-depressant?

The prevalence of depression is highest amongst the mood disorders [1,2]. Nearly one third of the patients suffer from major depression [3], characterized by increased rate of relapse, residual symptoms, and impairment of functionality, along with increased tendency for suicide related behaviour [4]. Therefore, it’s very important to acquire and explore in depth knowledge into the etiological aspect of the depression and complementing it with testing of potential newer antidepression agents. Abstract
Results in Fixed Point Theory and Applications

The layered compression-expansion fixed point theorem is an alternative approach to the Krasnoselskii fixed point theorem for perturbed operators. The layered compression-expansion fixed point theorem is used to verify the existence of a fixed point to an operator of the form T = R + S (sum of operators) by verifying the existence of a fixed point for the operator defined by M(r, s) = (R(r + s), S(r + s)). This result is extended to the sum of k operators. Moreover, an example illustrating this technique applied to a conformable right focal boundary value problem is provided.