Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Deep Ensembles on a Fixed Memory Budget: One Wide Network or Several Thinner Ones?

One of the generally accepted views of modern deep learning is that increasing the number of parameters usually leads to better quality. The two easiest ways to increase the number of parameters is to increase the size of the network, e.g. width, or to train a deep ensemble; both approaches improve the performance in practice. In this work, we consider a fixed memory budget setting, and investigate, what is more effective: to train a single wide network, or to perform a memory split -- to train an ensemble of several thinner networks, with the same total number of parameters? We find that, for large enough budgets, the number of networks in the ensemble, corresponding to the optimal memory split, is usually larger than one. Interestingly, this effect holds for the commonly used sizes of the standard architectures. For example, one WideResNet-28-10 achieves significantly worse test accuracy on CIFAR-100 than an ensemble of sixteen thinner WideResNets: 80.6% and 82.52% correspondingly. We call the described effect the Memory Split Advantage and show that it holds for a variety of datasets and model architectures.
ResMoNet: A Residual Mobile-based Network for Facial Emotion Recognition in Resource-Limited Systems

The Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) models have contributed a high accuracy for the classification of human emotional states from facial expression recognition data sets, where efficiency is an important factor for resource-limited systems as mobile devices and embedded systems. There are efficient Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) models as MobileNet, PeleeNet, Extended Deep Neural Network (EDNN) and Inception-Based Deep Neural Network (IDNN) in terms of model architecture results: parameters, Floating-point OPerations (FLOPs) and accuracy. Although these results are satisfactory, it is necessary to evaluate other computational resources related to the trained model such as main memory utilization and response time to complete the emotion recognition. In this paper, we compare our proposed model inspired in depthwise separable convolutions and residual blocks with MobileNet, PeleeNet, EDNN and IDNN. The comparative results of the CNN architectures and the trained models --with Radboud Faces Database (RaFD)-- installed in a resource-limited device are discussed.
Anisotropy links cell shapes to tissue flow during convergent extension

Significance Cells and tissues dramatically change shape to form functional tissues and organs during embryonic development. It is not well understood how mechanical and biological factors influence whether a developing tissue flows like a fluid or instead resists shape changes like a solid. Combining experimental studies in the fruit fly embryo with modeling approaches, we show that the shapes and alignment of cells within tissues can help to elucidate and predict how tissues change shape during development and how defects in these processes can result in abnormalities in embryo shape. Because many genes and cell behaviors are shared between fruit flies and humans, these results may reveal fundamental mechanisms underlying human development. Within developing embryos, tissues flow and reorganize dramatically on timescales as short as minutes. This includes epithelial tissues, which often narrow and elongate in convergent extension movements due to anisotropies in external forces or in internal cell-generated forces. However, the mechanisms that allow or prevent tissue reorganization, especially in the presence of strongly anisotropic forces, remain unclear. We study this question in the converging and extending Drosophila germband epithelium, which displays planar-polarized myosin II and experiences anisotropic forces from neighboring tissues. We show that, in contrast to isotropic tissues, cell shape alone is not sufficient to predict the onset of rapid cell rearrangement. From theoretical considerations and vertex model simulations, we predict that in anisotropic tissues, two experimentally accessible metrics of cell patterns—the cell shape index and a cell alignment index—are required to determine whether an anisotropic tissue is in a solid-like or fluid-like state. We show that changes in cell shape and alignment over time in the Drosophila germband predict the onset of rapid cell rearrangement in both wild-type and snail twist mutant embryos, where our theoretical prediction is further improved when we also account for cell packing disorder. These findings suggest that convergent extension is associated with a transition to more fluid-like tissue behavior, which may help accommodate tissue-shape changes during rapid developmental events.
Weed management in organic agriculture: are we addressing the right issues?

Summary Despite the serious threat which weeds offer to organic crop production, relatively little attention has so far been paid to research on weed management in organic agriculture, an issue that is often approached from a reductionist perspective. This paper aims to outline why and how this problem should instead be tackled from a system perspective. Compared with conventional agriculture, in organic agriculture the effects of cultural practices (e.g. fertilization and direct weed control) on crop:weed interactions usually manifest themselves more slowly. It follows that weed management should be tackled in an extended time domain and needs deep integration with the other cultural practices, aiming to optimize the whole cropping system rather than weed control per se. In this respect, cover crop management is an important issue because of its implications for soil, nutrient, pest and weed management. It is stressed that direct (physical) weed control can only be successful where preventive and cultural weed management is applied to reduce weed emergence (e.g. through appropriate choice of crop sequence, tillage, smother/cover crops) and improve crop competitive ability (e.g. through appropriate choice of crop genotype, sowing/planting pattern and fertilization strategy). Two examples of system-oriented weed management systems designed for organic agriculture are illustrated as well as future perspectives and problems.
Structure function tensor equations in inhomogeneous turbulence

Exact budget equations for the second-order structure function tensor $\langle \unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}u_{i}\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}u_{j}\rangle$, where $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}u_{i}$ is the difference of the $i$th fluctuating velocity component between two points, are used to study the two-point statistics of velocity fluctuations in inhomogeneous turbulence. The anisotropic generalised Kolmogorov equations (AGKE) describe the production, transport, redistribution and dissipation of every Reynolds stress component occurring simultaneously among different scales and in space, i.e. along directions of statistical inhomogeneity. The AGKE are effective to study the inter-component and multi-scale processes of turbulence. In contrast to more classic approaches, such as those based on the spectral decomposition of the velocity field, the AGKE provide a natural definition of scales in the inhomogeneous directions, and describe fluxes across such scales too. Compared to the generalised Kolmogorov equation, which is recovered as their half-trace, the AGKE can describe inter-component energy transfers occurring via the pressure–strain term and contain also budget equations for the off-diagonal components of $\langle \unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}u_{i}\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}u_{j}\rangle$. The non-trivial physical interpretation of the AGKE terms is demonstrated with three examples. First, the near-wall cycle of a turbulent channel flow at a friction Reynolds number of $Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D70F}}=200$ is considered. The off-diagonal component $\langle -\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}u\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}v\rangle$, which cannot be interpreted in terms of scale energy, is discussed in detail. Wall-normal scales in the outer turbulence cycle are then discussed by applying the AGKE to channel flows at $Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D70F}}=500$ and $1000$. In a third example, the AGKE are computed for a separating and reattaching flow. The process of spanwise-vortex formation in the reverse boundary layer within the separation bubble is discussed for the first time.
Revisiting the Relationship between the Long GRB Rate and Cosmic Star Formation History Based on a Large Swift Sample

The exact relationship between the long gamma-ray burst (LGRB) rate and the cosmic star formation rate (CSFR) is essential for using LGRBs as cosmological probes. In this work, we collect a large sample composed of 371 Swift LGRBs with known redshifts and prompt emission properties. We first compare the rest-frame prompt properties of these bursts in different redshift bins, finding negligible redshift evolution of the luminosity of LGRBs with between z ∼ 1 and z ∼ 4. Then, by utilizing the CSFR obtained from the large-scale cosmological hydrodynamical simulation, the Illustris simulation, we calculate the cumulative redshift distribution of LGRBs under different metallicity thresholds. After comparing with our sample, we find that the predictions with a moderate threshold between are consistent with the sample between redshift 0 < z < 3, while at higher redshifts, between 3 < z < 5, all metallicity thresholds fit the data well. When changing to an empirical model based on observations, the predictions show similar results as well. After comparing with the metallicity distribution of the observed LGRB host galaxies between 0 < z < 1, we confirm that the production of LGRBs in galaxies with super-solar metallicity is suppressed. Nevertheless, considering that a significant fraction of stars are born in sub-solar metallicity environments at z ≳ 3, we suggest that, as a first approximation, LGRBs can be used as direct tracers of the CSFR in this redshift range.
First Record of Pseudoheteronyx Blackburn (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) from Tasmania, with Description of Pseudoheteronyx littoralis sp.n. from Sandy Beaches

Pseudoheteronyx, a genus of flightless scarab beetles, is recorded from Tasmania for the first time on the basis of P. littoralis sp.n. , collected from sand dunes on the coast of Bass Strait, where it is active in late winter and early spring. This represents a southerly extension for the genus of more than 300 km and a novel ecological niche for the genus. It is the smallest and most setose member of the genus and most closely related to P. creber from alpine herbfields on Mount Kosciusko, N.S. W. This brings to nine the number of scarabaeid genera known from coastal dunes in Tasmania.
Mixed-Initiative Procedural Content Generation using Level Design Patterns and Interactive Evolutionary Optimisation

An approach for building mixed-initiative tools for the procedural generation of game levels using interactive evolutionary optimisation is introduced. A tool is created based on this approach which (a) is focused on supporting the designer to explore the design space and (b) only requires the designer to interact with it by designing levels. The tool identifies level design patterns in an initial hand-designed map and uses that information to drive an optimisation algorithm. This results in a number of suggestions which are presented to the designer, who can then edit them providing the system with valuable designer feedback. The effectiveness of this approach to create levels with similar level design patterns to a target is illustrated through a series of algorithm driven benchmark tests. To test the mixed-initiative aspect of the tool a triple-blind mixed-method, user study was conducted. When compared to a control group, provided with random level suggestions throughout the design process, the mixed-initiative approach increased engagement in the level design task and was effective in inspiring new ideas and design directions. This provides significant evidence that procedural content generation can be used as a powerful tool to support the human design process.
Does Herbivory Benefit Plants? A Review of the Evidence

The potential benefits of herbivory to plants have been debated over the last decade. Several investigators claim that removal of or damage to the productive, absorptive, or reproductive tissue of plants by herbivores benefits some plant species by increasing their net primary productivity, seed production, or longevity, and that these changes increase plant fitness and result in the evolution of herbivore-plant mutualisms. Although more than 40 papers have been cited as presenting experimental evidence in support of these benefits and mutualisms, strong evidence is lacking. Increased plant biomass as a result of tissue removal has been found only under growth-chamber conditions and in cultivated crops. Although herbivores may benefit certain plants by reducing competition or removing senescent tissue, no convincing evidence supports the theory that herbivory benefits grazed plants.
Enhancing Lexical-Based Approach With External Knowledge for Vietnamese Multiple-Choice Machine Reading Comprehension

Although Vietnamese is the $17^{th}$ most popular native-speaker language in the world, there are not many research studies on Vietnamese machine reading comprehension (MRC), the task of understanding a text and answering questions about it. One of the reasons is because of the lack of high-quality benchmark datasets for this task. In this work, we construct a dataset which consists of 2,783 pairs of multiple-choice questions and answers based on 417 Vietnamese texts which are commonly used for teaching reading comprehension for elementary school pupils. In addition, we propose a lexical-based MRC method that utilizes semantic similarity measures and external knowledge sources to analyze questions and extract answers from the given text. We compare the performance of the proposed model with several baseline lexical-based and neural network-based models. Our proposed method achieves 61.81% by accuracy, which is 5.51% higher than the best baseline model. We also measure human performance on our dataset and find that there is a big gap between machine-model and human performances. This indicates that significant progress can be made on this task. The dataset is freely available on our website for research purposes.
Benthic foraminiferal community changes and their relationship to environmental dynamics in inter tidal muddy sediments (bay of cádiz, SW Spain)

The temporal and vertical variability of live intertidal benthic foraminifera was studied in parallel to environmental variables such as porewater and overlying water nutrients, salinity, temperature, sedimentary pigments and organic carbon. About 80% of benthic foramini - fera were concentrated in the upper 0�4 mm sediment layer, which was also the maximum oxygen penetration depth under light conditions as determined by oxygen microsensor measurements. Significant changes in the composition of the foraminiferal community over the course of the study were found in the surface layer (0�2 mm), whereas no differences were detected in the deepest sediment layers (10�30 mm). Univariate measures, such as abundance, species richness and diver- sity showed few differences over time and little relation to environmental variables. On the other hand, multivariate regression analysis for the whole community assemblage showed that the significant community composition changes over time in the surface layer could be related to fluctuations of several environmental variables, mainly those related to sediment food availability. The macroalgal bloom that occurred during the winter months had no detectable effect on benthic foraminiferal abundance or community patterns. Overall, the intertidal foraminiferal community in the Bay of Cadiz showed a highly dynamic character and a clear vertical distribution which could be effectively captured by studying the uppermost sediment layer at sub-centimetric vertical resolution.
A Better World for Bryophytes? A Rare and Overlooked Case of Positive Community-Wide Effects of Browsing by Overabundant Deer

Abstract: During the twentieth century, populations of several deer species (Cervidae) increased dramatically in temperate and boreal forests worldwide, leading to major changes in forest plant and animal communities. The effect of deer overabundance on understory vegetation has been documented repeatedly. In situations of severe browsing pressure, even the least palatable vascular plants were negatively affected. However, deer impact on bryophytes has been greatly under-investigated despite their key role in ecosystem functioning and their high conservation profile. Taking advantage of a unique situation involving adjacent islands with and without deer that resulted from the introduction of black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus) to the Haida Gwaii archipelago (British Columbia, Canada) we explored the response of the bryophyte community to unregulated browsing. We compared species density, cover, and diversity between small islands never colonized by deer and small islands with prolonged deer presence. We took a novel approach that combined direct observations of deer foraging with sampling of their impact on the vegetation. We show that even in situations of severe browsing pressure deer totally avoided bryophytes. Contrary to what is observed for vascular plants (even for tolerant species such as graminoids), species density, cover, and diversity of bryophytes were higher on the islands with deer. We attribute this pattern of higher bryophyte prevalence to reduced competition with vascular plants, especially for light. Nomenclature: Vitt, Marsh & Bovey, 1988; Flora of North America, 1993.
Isolation and characterization of eight bacteriophages infecting Erwinia amylovora and their potential as biological control agents in British Columbia, Canada

Abstract Nineteen active bacteriophages against Erwinia amylovora, the causal agent of fire blight, were collected from apple and pear orchards in the Okanagan and Fraser Valleys of British Columbia. Eight survived the isolation, purification and storage processes. Five bacteriophage isolates included in this study lysed more than 50% of the 20 E. amylovora strains tested from BC. Examination by transmission electron microscopy revealed that all eight phages belong to the order Caudovirales, the tailed phages, and included members of the families Myoviridae and Podoviridae. Bacteriophages were characterized by digestion of the phage DNA with four restriction endonucleases and two sets of PCR primers. Two novel groups, RFLP groups 7 and 8, were identified based on differences in restriction fragment patterns. Phages ΦEa1337-26 and ΦEa2345-6 reduced infection by 84% and 96%, respectively, when tested on detached pear blossoms using the epiphyte bacterium Pantoea agglomerans Eh21-5 as a carrier. In addition, bacteriophage ΦEa2345-6, applied in combination with Eh21-5, reduced infection of fire blight on apple flowers of potted apple trees by 56% and compared well with the antibiotic streptomycin.
Spatial diversity of free living rhizobia present in Rhizosphere soils of six different physiographic regions of Maharashtra, India.

A total of 76 free living Rhizobia isolates were recovered from the rhizosphere soils of six different physiographic regions of Maharashtra. The distinct variation was observed in colony and cell morphology among different isolates. A significant variation was observed in the nitrogenase activity from 1.9 to 119.7 nmol C 2 H 4 mg protein -1 hr -1 among the 76 Rhizobium isolates. Among six physiographic regions of Maharashtra, Rhizobium isolates from Western Maharashtra exhibited a higher average nitrogenase activity (33.1 nmol C 2 H 4 mg protein -1 hr -1 ). Based on UPGMA clustering analysis, Rhizobium isolates were classified into three broad clusters and the genetic variation observed among Rhizobium isolates was due to domestication of the isolates in different agro-ecological regions as well as their nitrogenase activity. Based on nitrogen-fixing ability, highly efficient Rhizobium isolates may be further exploited in biofertilizer production.
ATP‐dependent carbon transport in perfused Chara cells

Carbon transport across the plasma membrane, and carbon fixation were measured in perfused Chara internodal cells. These parameters were measured in external media of pH 5.5 and pH 8.5, where CO2 and HCO3- are, respectively, the predominant carbon species in both light and dark conditions. Cells perfused with medium containing ATP could utilize both CO2 and HCO3- from the external medium in the light. Photosynthetic carbon fixation activity was always higher at pH 5.5 than at pH 8.5. When cells were perfused either with medium containing hexokinase and 2-deoxyglucose to deplete ATP from the cytosol (HK medium) or with medium containing vanadate, a specific inhibitor of the plasma membrane H+-ATPase (V medium), photosynthetic carbon fixation was strongly inhibited at both pH 5.5 and 8.5. Perfusion of cells with medium containing pyruvate kinase and phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) to maximally activate the H+-ATPase (PK medium), stimulated the photosynthetic carbon fixation activities. Oxygen evolution of isolated chloroplasts and the carbon fixation of cells supplied C-14 intracellularly were not inhibited by perfusion media containing either hexokinase and 2-deoxyglucose or vanadate. The results indicate that Chara cells possess CO2 and HCO3- transport systems energized by ATP and sensitive to vanadate in the light. In the dark, intact cells also fix carbon. By contrast, in cells perfused with medium containing ATP, no carbon fixation was detected in 1 mol m-3 total dissolved inorganic carbon (TDIC) at pH 8-5. By increasing TDIC to 10 mol m-3, dark fixation became detectable, although it was still lower than that of intact cells at 1 mol m-3 TDIC. Addition of PEP or PEP and PEP carboxylase to the perfusion media significantly increased the dark-carbon fixation. Perfusion with vanadate had no effect on the dark-carbon fixation.
Regional Economic Impact of the Lake Texoma (Oklahoma-Texas) Striped Bass Fishery

Abstract An economic impact study was conducted in 1990 to determine the regional economic impact of the Lake Texoma sportfishery. Lake Texoma, a 36,000-hectare impoundment of the Red River on the Oklahoma-Texas border, is nationally recognized for its striped bass (Morone saxatilis) fishery. Angler expenditures were estimated using data from mail, telephone, and roving creel surveys. The IMPLAN (IMpact Analysis for PLANning) modelling system was used to evaluate the effect of fishing expenditures on the regional economy (seven counties bordering the reservoir). In 1990, Lake Texoma anglers contributed an estimated $25.641 million in fishing expenditures to the regional economy. An economic impact analysis indicated that angler expenditures were directly associated with $13.56 million in value added (personal income plus indirect business taxes) and 417 jobs in the impact region. Potential impacts (considering indirect and induced effects) of angler expenditures included up to $57.392 million in total bus.
Diversity of aquatic bird species in a wetland complex in southern Chile

Usually a wetland is presented as a heterogeneous complex, such that any analysis of its aquatic bird diversity should compare different levels (α and β) with the γ diversity of the landscape. Habitat heterogeneity may affect the structure and composition of these species assemblages, yet this subject has been little studied in Chile. The objective of this work was therefore to characterize aquatic bird assemblages in a southern Chile wetland. A series of counts was made for each wetland type present in the complex to characterize bird assemblage structure using α and β diversity, abundance of species and density. The α diversity was significantly different among the four types of wetlands studied. Seasonal and spatial variations in the diversity, abundance and density of wetland types were analysed and compared with the expected γ diversity. The β diversity of the Lanalhue complex represents > 20% of the γ diversity.