Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Consistent Layout for Thematic Software Maps

Software visualizations can provide a concise overview of a complex software system. Unfortunately, since software has no physical shape, there is no ``natural'' mapping of software to a two-dimensional space. As a consequence most visualizations tend to use a layout in which position and distance have no meaning, and consequently layout typical diverges from one visualization to another. We propose a consistent layout for software maps in which the position of a software artifact reflects its vocabulary, and distance corresponds to similarity of vocabulary. We use latent semantic indexing (LSI) to map software artifacts to a vector space, and then use multidimensional scaling (MDS) to map this vector space down to two dimensions.The resulting consistent layout allows us to develop a variety of thematic software maps that express very different aspects of software while making it easy to compare them. The approach is especially suitable for comparing views of evolving software, since the vocabulary of software artifacts tends to be stable over time.
Drug use among persons with Type 2 diabetes mellitus prior to diagnosis in Belgium

Manderbacka et al. have demonstrated that antidepressant use is more common among persons with diabetes than among persons without diabetes. We recently performed a case‐control study comparing use of several drug classes among persons with Type 2 diabetes mellitus with drug use among persons without diabetes based on community pharmacy records in Belgium. In particular, we investigated whether higher drug use among persons with diabetes already manifests itself prior to the diagnosis of diabetes. Given that treatment guidelines for diabetes recommend the concurrent initiation of lifestyle and metformin treatment at the time of diagnosis, our study identified diabetes patients by enrolling persons who were new users of oral hypoglycaemic drugs (e.g. metformin, sulfonylurea, glinides and glitazones) between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2006. Persons probably suffered from Type 2 diabetes mellitus by excluding persons diagnosed before 29 years of age or persons taking insulin. Control persons had not used insulin or oral hypoglycaemic drugs during the study period. For each case, two controls were randomly selected from all persons who had never used insulin or oral hypoglycaemic drugs. Cases and controls were matched in terms of 5‐year age bands, gender and quarter of index date (referring to the date of the first oral hypoglycaemic drug taken by a case or the analogue date in the control group). Every control person had a 2‐year drug record prior to the index date of the matched case. The case‐control design allowed us to eliminate changes that would have occurred in the absence of diabetes and provided a control against secular changes in prices and treatment guidelines over time. The study compared drug use of cases prior to the start of pharmacological treatment of diabetes with drug use of controls. For each person, drug use was
Spatio-temporal changes of photosynthesis in carnivorous plants in response to prey capture, retention and digestion

Carnivorous plants have evolved modified leaves into the traps which assist in nutrient uptake from captured prey. It is known that the traps of carnivorous plants have usually lower photosynthetic rates than assimilation leaves as a result of adaptation to carnivory. However a few recent studies have indicated that photosynthesis and respiration undergo spatio-temporal changes during prey capture and retention, especially in the genera with active trapping mechanisms. This study describes the spatio-temporal changes of effective quantum yield of photochemical energy conversion in photosystem II (ФPSII) in response to ant-derived formic acid during its capture and digestion.
A sampling based approach to line scratch removal from motion picture frames

We address the problem of detecting, and subsequently removing, 'line scratch' distortion in motion picture frames. A model for the lines' interaction with the image data is constructed. A sampling based algorithm based on the reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo framework is developed which enables automatic determination of both the unknown number of lines present, together with the lines' parameters. Previous work has not attempted to automatically determine the number of lines present. Our approach is widely applicable in many object recognition problems, where the number of objects is unknown.
Bertin’s forgotten typographic variables and new typographic visualization

ABSTRACT Typographic variables were only briefly discussed by Bertin with no example applications. We review historic examples to extend Bertin’s framework with literal encoding, 10 typographic attributes, variations on scope including characters, words, phrases and paragraphs, and more layout types. We then apply the framework to Bertin’s population dataset to create 11 new typographic visualizations. The approach raises questions for new research such as readability, semantic association, interaction, and comprehension.
Nest Habitat Selection of Western Screech-Owls (Megascops kennicottii macfarlanei) at Multiple Spatial Scales in Southeast British Columbia

The interior Western Screech-Owl (Megascops kennicottii macfarlanei) has been assessed as a species at risk. Regionally, survival rates are low, particularly during nesting. This study uses forward stepwise logistic regression to assess habitat selection at the tree, patch (150m2), and stand scales for twelve nests (the largest sample in any one region). At the patch scale, nest sites had more coniferous cover (33% versus 16%) than random. At the stand level, owls selected medium-age forests within an agricultural landscape, highlighting the need to conserve these habitats. While black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) and trembling aspen (P. tremuloides) are important nest tree species, riparian forests with coniferous cover, particularly western redcedar (Thuja plicata), may be more important for nesting in regional populations than previously realized.
Pyocyanin Alters Redox Homeostasis and Carbon Flux through Central Metabolic Pathways in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14

ABSTRACT The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces colorful, redox-active antibiotics called phenazines. Excretion of pyocyanin, the best-studied natural phenazine, is responsible for the bluish tint of sputum and pus associated with P. aeruginosa infections in humans. Although the toxicity of pyocyanin for other bacteria, as well as its role in eukaryotic infection, has been studied extensively, the physiological relevance of pyocyanin metabolism for the producing organism is not well understood. Pyocyanin reduction by P. aeruginosa PA14 is readily observed in standing liquid cultures that have consumed all of the oxygen in the medium. We investigated the physiological consequences of pyocyanin reduction by assaying intracellular concentrations of NADH and NAD+ in the wild-type strain and a mutant defective in phenazine production. We found that the mutant accumulated more NADH in stationary phase than the wild type. This increased accumulation correlated with a decrease in oxygen availability and was relieved by the addition of nitrate. Pyocyanin addition to a phenazine-null mutant also decreased intracellular NADH levels, suggesting that pyocyanin reduction facilitates redox balancing in the absence of other electron acceptors. Analysis of extracellular organic acids revealed that pyocyanin stimulated stationary-phase pyruvate excretion in P. aeruginosa PA14, indicating that pyocyanin may also influence the intracellular redox state by decreasing carbon flux through central metabolic pathways.
Shader-driven compilation of rendering assets

Rendering performance of consumer graphics hardware benefits from pre-processing geometric data into a form targeted to the underlying API and hardware. The various elements of geometric data are then coupled with a shading program at runtime to draw the asset.In this paper we describe a system in which pre-processing is done in a compilation process in which the geometric data are processed with knowledge of their shading programs. The data are converted into structures targeted directly to the hardware, and a code stream is assembled that describes the manipulations required to render these data structures. Our compiler is structured like a traditional code compiler, with a front end that reads the geometric data and attributes (hereafter referred to as an art asset) output from a 3D modeling package and shaders in a platform independent form and performs platform-independent optimizations, and a back end that performs platform-specific optimizations and generates platform-targeted data structures and code streams.Our compiler back-end has been targeted to four platforms, three of which are radically different from one another. On all platforms the rendering performance of our compiled assets, used in real situations, is well above that of hand-coded assets.
Nonlinear nature of gravitation and gravitational-wave experiments.

It is shown that gravitational waves from astronomical sources have a nonlinear erect on laser interferometer detectors on Earth, an erect which has hitherto been neglected, but which is of the same order of magnitude as the linear erects. The signature of the nonlinear erect is a permanent displacement of test masses after the passage of a wave train
Microwave chirped delay effect based on substrate thickness modulation

: This paper deals the generation of chirped delay (CD) e ﬀ ect in microwave regime. For the purpose of achieving re ﬂ ection dispersion, electromagnetic band-gap (EBG) structures with di ﬀ erent rejection frequency are fabricated in di ﬀ erent position by modulating the thickness of substrate. Microwave with di ﬀ erent frequency will be re ﬂ ected in di ﬀ erent position, so non- ﬂ at re ﬂ ected group delays responses can be obtained. One CD-EBG with 6 – 10 GHz operation frequency range is designed, fabricated and measured. Di ﬀ erent group delay responses are obtained when feeding from di ﬀ erent ports. Finally, temporal characteristic of the CD-EBG is studied by simulation and two chirped impulses are obtained.
Highlights Detection in Sports Videos Based on Audio Analysis

While it is very hard to achieve automatic sports competition key moments detection only based on visual analysis, we propose in this paper automatic highlights detection based on an audio classifier. The audio classifier is based on a new modeling technique of the audio spectrum called Piecewise Gaussian Modeling (PGM) and Neural Networks. The proposed approach was evaluated on soccer and tennis videos, though our technique has no restriction on the sports’ type. It is shown that audio-based highlights detection can be effective for tennis segmentation since 97.5 % of end-of-serves were correctly classified. Goals can be detected in soccer videos using audio analysis as well. An intelligent sports-videos player is proposed based on the audio analysis permitting the user to navigate through key moments in a sports video.
Zero-Shot Visual Question Answering

Part of the appeal of Visual Question Answering (VQA) is its promise to answer new questions about previously unseen images. Most current methods demand training questions that illustrate every possible concept, and will therefore never achieve this capability, since the volume of required training data would be prohibitive. Answering general questions about images requires methods capable of Zero-Shot VQA, that is, methods able to answer questions beyond the scope of the training questions. We propose a new evaluation protocol for VQA methods which measures their ability to perform Zero-Shot VQA, and in doing so highlights significant practical deficiencies of current approaches, some of which are masked by the biases in current datasets. We propose and evaluate several strategies for achieving Zero-Shot VQA, including methods based on pretrained word embeddings, object classifiers with semantic embeddings, and test-time retrieval of example images. Our extensive experiments are intended to serve as baselines for Zero-Shot VQA, and they also achieve state-of-the-art performance in the standard VQA evaluation setting.
Use of non-invasive genetics to generate core-area population estimates of a threatened predator in the Superior National Forest, USA

Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) are found in boreal forests of Canada and Alaska and range southward into the contiguous United States. Much less is understood about lynx in their southern range compared to northern populations. Because lynx are currently listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act but have recently been recommended for delisting, information on their southern populations is important for lynx recovery, conservation, and management. We used non-invasive, genetic data collected during lynx snowtracking surveys from 2012-2017 to generate core-area estimates of abundance, trend and density in selected core areas of the Superior National Forest of Minnesota, USA. Lynx abundance estimates averaged 41.8 (SD=14.7, range=24-67) during 2012-2017 in the smaller core areas and averaged 52.3 (SD=8.3, range=43-59) during 2015-2017 in the larger core areas. We found no evidence Correspondence: Shannon Barber-Meyer, USGS, 1393 Hwy 169, Ely, Minnesota, 55731 USA. Email: sbarbermeyer@usgs.gov CWBM 2018: Volume 7, Number 1 Original Research ISSN: 1929–3100 BARBER-MEYER et al. 47 for a decrease or increase in abundance during either period. Lynx density estimates were approximately 7-10 times lower than densities of lynx in northern populations at the low of the snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) population cycle. To our knowledge, our results are the first attempt to estimate abundance, trend and density of lynx in Minnesota using non-invasive genetic capture-mark-recapture. Estimates such as ours provide useful benchmarks for future comparisons by providing a context with which to assess 1) potential changes in forest management that may affect lynx recovery and conservation, and 2) possible effects of climate change on the depth, density, and duration of annual snow cover and correspondingly, potential effects on snowshoe hares as well.
Memory-Based Heuristics for Explicit State Spaces

In many scenarios, quickly solving a relatively small search problem with an arbitrary start and arbitrary goal state is important (e.g., GPS navigation). In order to speed this process, we introduce a new class of memory-based heuristics, called true distance heuristics, that store true distances between some pairs of states in the original state space can be used for a heuristic between any pair of states. We provide a number of techniques for using and improving true distance heuristics such that most of the benefits of the all-pairs shortest-path computation can be gained with less than 1% of the memory. Experimental results on a number of domains show a 6- 14 fold improvement in search speed compared to traditional heuristics.
Pharmacognosy and Pharmacological Aspects of Dietary Supplements for Diabetes: A Critical Review

: The prevalence of diabetes has surged worldwide, necessitating innovative approaches to complement conventional therapies. Dietary supplements derived from natural sources have gained attention for their potential roles in diabetes management. This review delves into the pharmacognosy and pharmacological aspects of select dietary supplements commonly employed in diabetes care, including cinnamon, fenugreek, bitter melon, Gymnema sylvestre , and berberine. The review synthesizes clinical evidence supporting their efficacy in glycemic control, elucidates safety considerations, and navigates regulatory challenges. While clinical studies exhibit promising outcomes, variability in individual responses and product quality underscores the importance of personalized approaches and robust quality control measures. The review also explores future research directions, such as personalized therapies, enhanced standardization methods, and novel delivery systems. In conclusion, dietary supplements offer potential as adjuncts to diabetes management, but a comprehensive understanding of their pharmacological properties, safety profiles, and regulatory context is essential for optimizing their role in diabetes care.
Analysis of Spatial Diversification of Organic Farming Development in the Communes of the Lodzkie Voivodeship

The paper analyses the spatial diversification of organic farming development in the gminas of the Lodzkie voivodeship in years 2008–2016. The level of the studied phenomenon was defined by a synthetic measure based on the zero unitarization method. The spatial interactions with using the Moran’s I statistics were also examined. These spatial links may result from natural conditions, range of the agricultural area, subsidies or gminas cooperation. Data was obtained from the Main Inspectorate of Trade Quality of Agricultural and Food Products and the Central Statistical Office. The presented phenomenon was described by 28 sub measurements, which determined the ecological crop cultivation, animal maintenance and eco ‑ production. Despite the gminas have an enormous potential in organic production, the region is characterised by a large diversity of the phenomenon and the lack of visible trends in the development of this agricultural system. The strengths of the eco ‑ agriculture of Lodzkie are, e.g. ecological cultivation of fruit trees and shrubs, production of grass, cultivation of feed cereals and plants, cattle breeding for meat and milk, pigs and meat production. The values of the synthetic measure distinguished high potential gminas, e.g. Krzyzanow, Grabow, Wielgomlyny and Nieborow. Finally, the statistically significant spatial relations were also detected. The key units creating in the space a high ‑ high cluster of the phenomenon were, e.g. Żarnow, Klonowa, Ładzice, Paradyz, Tuszyn and Dalikow.
Common Pitfalls of Benchmarking Big Data Systems

It is challenging to get reliable performance benchmarking results. Benchmarking matters because one of the defining characteristics of big data systems is the ability to process large datasets faster. “How large” and “how fast” drive technology choices, purchasing decisions, and cluster operations. Even with the best intentions, performance benchmarking is fraught with pitfalls-easy to get numbers, hard to tell if they are sound. This paper discusses five common pitfalls drawn from engineering and customer experiences at Cloudera, a leading big data vendor. These pitfalls are: “Comparing Apples to Oranges”-when too many parameters are modified and comparison is impossible, “Not Testing at Scale”-trying to test a big data system by extrapolating from an undersized test system, “Believing in Miracles”-failing to question suspicious results, “Using Unrealistic Benchmarks”-using workloads far removed from what will realistically be used by customers, and “Communicating Results Poorly”-neglecting to communicate sufficient information for customers to understand and reproduce the results. These pitfalls offers a behind-the-scenes look at internal engineering and review processes that produces rigorous benchmark results. Readers working on big data in both the industry and in academia can draw lessons from our experience.
A Deep Hashing Learning Network

Hashing-based methods seek compact and efficient binary codes that preserve the neighborhood structure in the original data space. For most existing hashing methods, an image is first encoded as a vector of hand-crafted visual feature, followed by a hash projection and quantization step to get the compact binary vector. Most of the hand-crafted features just encode the low-level information of the input, the feature may not preserve the semantic similarities of images pairs. Meanwhile, the hashing function learning process is independent with the feature representation, so the feature may not be optimal for the hashing projection. In this paper, we propose a supervised hashing method based on a well designed deep convolutional neural network, which tries to learn hashing code and compact representations of data simultaneously. The proposed model learn the binary codes by adding a compact sigmoid layer before the loss layer. Experiments on several image data sets show that the proposed model outperforms other state-of-the-art methods.
Live collection of cobia Rachycentron canadum (Linnaeus, 1766), and assessment of its Culture Prospects in Indian waters

An attempt has been made to collect cobia seeds onboard trawler attached to the Fishery Survey of India. Gene banking techniques of cobia has been elucidated and survival rate of juveniles in the culture system was estimated as 86.1%. Present study estimated the stock of juvenile cobia and facilities available in India for the development of cobia culture. India possesses 0.219 million sq.km of sea area in her Exclusive Economic Zone, which is suitable for setting up of marine cage culture farms for cobia. [
Exploiting multiple shift invariances in harmonic retrieval

A novel algorithm for estimating multi-dimensional damped harmonics is proposed. A matrix polynomial is formed from the weighed sum of multiple shift invariances contained in the data model. Necessary and sufficient conditions are derived that reveal that the damped harmonics can be uniquely determined from the roots of the matrix polynomial. The proposed algorithm reveal a seamless link between two important classes of search free subspace methods. The classical rooting based harmonic estimation methods that exploit the complete invariance structure and the single invariance ESPRIT algorithms. We show that both approaches can be expressed under this general framework by an appropriate choice of the weights.
Resumption of follicular activity in the early post-partum period of dairy cows.

Lactating Friesian dairy cows (2nd-4th parity) which calved in spring (N = 7) or autumn (N = 15) were used. Their ovaries were examined by ultrasound scanning and blood samples were obtained daily for progesterone and oestradiol concentrations from the 5th day after calving until the first post-partum ovulation occurred. Five autumn-calving cows selected at random were bled every 15 min over a 6-h period on 1 day each week for 4 weeks after calving to assess the patterns of LH secretion. Follicular development during the post-partum anoestrous period was characterized by the growth and regression of small (less than or equal to 4 mm) and medium-sized (5-9 mm) follicles, until a dominant follicle (greater than 10 mm) was detected. The first detected dominant follicle ovulated in 14 cows, became cystic in 4 cows (all in autumn), and failed to ovulate in 1 cow. It was not possible to detect a dominant follicle in 3 cows due to scanning difficulties. The post-partum interval to detection of the first dominant follicle (mean +/- s.d.) was shorter (P less than 0.05) in autumn (6.8 +/- 1.8 days) than in spring (20 +/- 10.1 days). However, there was no significant difference between the respective intervals to first ovulation (autumn 27.4 +/- 25.9 and spring 27.3 +/- 18.9 days). Autumn-calved cows which had cysts had longer (P less than 0.001) intervals to first ovulation (58.2 +/- 23.5 days) than did normal cows (12.0 +/- 2.5 days). All cows with cysts had twin ovulations at their first post-partum ovulation. A pulsatile pattern of LH secretion was detected in the first week post-partum and LH pulse frequency was 2-3 per 6-h period in Weeks 1 and 2 post partum and increased to 5-7 pulses per 6-h period in the presence of a dominant or cystic follicle. Concentrations of progesterone in plasma during post-partum anoestrus were usually low (less than 0.2 ng/ml); oestradiol concentrations were also low (less than 5 pg/ml), but higher values (5-110 pg/ml) were observed in cows that had a dominant or a cystic follicle.