Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phylogenetic Analysis of Lichen-Forming Fungi Rhizoplaca Zopf from China Based on ITS Data and Morphology

A molecular phylogenetic analysis of Rhizoplaca melanophthalma, Rhizoplaca chrysoleuca, Rhizoplaca peltata and Rhizoplaca haydenii is presented based on the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions and morphology. Rhizoplaca species were collected at 3400-3900 m in Tianshan Mountains, Xinjiang province, China. Rhizoplaca haydenii is reported for the first time in China. Maximum parsimony (MP) analysis of ITS sequences obtained from Tianshan Mountains samples and GenBank reveals that the evolution relationship of Rhizoplaca melanophthalma and Rhizoplaca chrysoleuca is closer to each other than to Rhizoplaca peltata, and Rhizoplaca haydenii showed closer relatedness to Rhizoplaca melanophthalma. When the four species groups from Tianshan Mountains were analyzed alone through the neighbour-joining (NJ) and minimum evolution method, we obtained the same result. The morphology analysis of Rhizoplaca Zopf which reveals the pruinose discs and apothecial discs of species did not show convincing evidences to prove phylogenetic relationship among Rhizoplaca species. In our study, the result further proved that Rhizoplaca should be rejected as a genus separate from Lecanora.
Optimization of enzymatic hydrolysis conditions of Golden Apple Snail (Pomacea canaliculata) protein by alcalase.

The objective of this study is to establish conditions that allow optimal yield and antioxidant activity for Golden Apple Snail (GAS) (Pomacea canaliculata) protein hydrolysate by employing response surface methodology (RSM). A three level, face-centered, central composite design (CCD) was adapted to assess the effects of temperature (45–65 ̊C); pH (8–10); the ratio of enzyme to substrate (2–4%); and hydrolysis time (60–180 min). The antioxidative activity of the hydrolysate obtained under optimized conditions was then evaluated via the following metrics: hydroxyl radical scavenging, reducing power, and chelating effects on ferrous ion. Established optimal conditions for the enzymatic protein hydrolysis of GAS were a temperature of 45 ̊C, a pH of 10, an enzyme concentration of 2%, and hydrolysis time of 159 minutes. The optimized GAS protein hydrolysate produced an experimental yield of 9.72% and antioxidant activity of 73.54%—slightly less than the predicted yield of 11.36% and antioxidant activity of 78.88%. The optimized GAS protein hydrolysate formed demonstrated both higher chelating effects and hydroxyl scavenging activity but had lower reducing power. These results suggest that GAS protein hydrolysate holds potential as a natural antioxidant for use in food processing.
Evaluation and forecast of electric energy losses in distribution networks applying fuzzy-logic

The paper considers new approaches aimed at improvement of methods of electric energy losses calculation applying Mamdani's means of fuzzy-logic conclusions. The paper reveals the possibility to determine the error of energy losses calculation presenting fuzzy sets of this calculation in the forms of alpha-levels. Practical implementation of suggested solutions in mathematical environment MATLAB has been shown.
L'amélioration du caféier Robusta en Côte d'Ivoire

Expose des methodes de selection des cafeiers adoptees par l'IFCC en Cote d'Ivoire et des resultats obtenus. Les criteres de selection sont la productivite et la regularite de production, puis les caracteristiques commerciales telles que la granulometrie et la valeur a la tasse. En selection vegetative, les epreuves clonales de triage permettent de reperer les meilleurs clones qui seront multiplies en parc a bois et dont la plasticite est verifiee en essais clonaux de confirmation. La selection generative comporte des essais comparatifs d'aptitude generale a la combinaison. La selection de geniteurs qui engendrent une bonne descendance a l'intervention d'un pollen composite est a l'origine des essais comparatifs d'aptitude specifique a la combinaison. On donne la productivite des semenceaux obtenus a partir des champs semenciers tridonaux
Functional neuroanatomy of perceiving surprised faces

Surprise is one of six emotions having a specific and universally recognized facial expression. Functional imaging and neuropsychologic studies have uncovered partly separable neural substrates for perceiving different facial expressions; however, the functional neuroanatomy of perceiving surprised faces has not yet been investigated. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we aimed to identify the neural substrate of surprise perception from facial expressions. Based on the assumption of unexpectedness and novelty as elicitors of facial surprise reactions, we hypothesized recruitment of medial temporal lobe structures implicated in novelty detection during the perception of surprise in others. Healthy subjects were scanned while they were presented with surprised faces. As a control, they viewed faces depicting neutral or disgust expressions. Activations during the emotional conditions were contrasted with each other and with the neutral face condition. Compared to both control conditions, perception of surprised facial expressions yielded consistently increased signals in the parahippocampal region, an area associated previously with novelty detection. Our findings therefore suggest a close relation between perceiving surprise in others and the response to novel events. Additionally, we confirmed activation of the insula during perception of disgust expressions. Hum. Brain Mapping 23:181–187, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Semiself-Protection Scheme for Gigahertz High-Frequency Output ESD Protection

In this paper, a semiself-protection scheme is proposed and developed for gigahertz output electrostatic-discharge (ESD) protection. The output transistor acts as a trigger device to trigger the ESD protection device, and then, it is turned off when the ESD protection device turns on. Thus, the capacitance of a gigahertz high-frequency output pad can be minimized because this scheme is without any additional trigger device or any passive component.
Path Planning of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles for Adaptive Sampling Using Mixed Integer Linear Programming

The goal of adaptive sampling in the ocean is to predict the types and locations of additional ocean measurements that would be most useful to collect. Quantitatively, what is most useful is defined by an objective function and the goal is then to optimize this objective under the constraints of the available observing network. Examples of objectives are better oceanic understanding, to improve forecast quality, or to sample regions of high interest. This work provides a new path-planning scheme for the adaptive sampling problem. We define the path-planning problem in terms of an optimization framework and propose a method based on mixed integer linear programming (MILP). The mathematical goal is to find the vehicle path that maximizes the line integral of the uncertainty of field estimates along this path. Sampling this path can improve the accuracy of the field estimates the most. While achieving this objective, several constraints must be satisfied and are implemented. They relate to vehicle motion, intervehicle coordination, communication, collision avoidance, etc. The MILP formulation is quite powerful to handle different problem constraints and flexible enough to allow easy extensions of the problem. The formulation covers singleand multiple-vehicle cases as well as singleand multiple-day formulations. The need for a multiple-day formulation arises when the ocean sampling mission is optimized for several days ahead. We first introduce the details of the formulation, then elaborate on the objective function and constraints, and finally, present a varied set of examples to illustrate the applicability of the proposed method.
The Place of Volunteering in Palliative Care

This chapter discusses the place and development of volunteering in palliative care in the context of hospice service provision in the UK. It draws on recent qualitative research undertaken in a large hospice in England. The research explored a range of issues connected to the process and experience of voluntary work in this setting including who volunteers, what roles volunteers take up, how they are trained and supported and the ways in which role boundaries are established and maintained. The research revealed that hospice volunteering is rewarding but often emotionally challenging and is now highly routinised and closely monitored in ways paralleling practices in the paid labour market. Although volunteers freely give their time to the work of hospice, their activities are subject to significant management prescription, with hospices increasingly adopting sophisticated business models to underpin their operation and, in many cases, their expansion (Watts, 2010).
Iterative Possibility Distributions Refining in Pixel-based Images Classification Framework

In this study, an incremental and iterative approach for possibility distributions estimation in pixel-based images classification context is proposed. This approach is based on the use of possibilistic reasoning in order to enrich a set of samples serving for the initial estimation of possibility distributions. The use of possibilistic concepts enables an important flexibility for the integration of a context-based additional semantic knowledge source formed by pixels belonging with high certainty to different semantic classes (called possibilistic seeds), into the available knowledge encoded by possibility distributions. Once possibilistic seeds are extracted, possibility distributions are incrementally updated and refined. Synthetic images composed of two thematic classes are generated in order to evaluate the performances of the proposed approach. Initial possibility distributions are, first, obtained using a priori knowledge given in the form of learning areas delimitated by an expert. These areas serve for the estimation of the probability distributions of different thematic classes. The resulting probability density functions are then transformed into possibility distributions using Dubois-Prade's probability-possibility transformation. The possibilistic seeds extraction process is conducted through the application of a possibilistic contextual rule using the confidence index used as an uncertainty measure.
Liquid polymorphism: water in nanoconfined and biological environments

We demonstrate some recent progress in understanding the anomalous behavior of liquid water, by combining information provided by recent experiments and simulations on water in bulk, nanoconfined, and biological environments. We interpret evidence from recent experiments designed to test the hypothesis that liquid water may display ‘polymorphism’ in that it can exist in two different phases—and discuss recent work on water’s transport anomalies as well as the unusual behavior of water in biological environments. Finally, we will discuss how the general concept of liquid polymorphism may prove useful in understanding anomalies in other liquids, such as silicon, silica, and carbon, as well as metallic glasses which have in common that they are characterized by two characteristic length scales in their interactions.
Recombinant Human Coxsackievirus B3 from Children with Acute Myocarditis in China

ABSTRACT Recombination events were found in two human coxsackievirus B3 strains, Beijing0811 and SD2012CHN. The strains were isolated separately from five newborns diagnosed with severe hospital-acquired acute myocarditis in Beijing in 2008 and from two children diagnosed with hand, foot, and mouth disease with concurrent acute myocarditis in Shandong in 2012.
Cross Domain Knowledge Verification - Verifying Knowledge in Foundation Ontology based Domain Ontologies

Knowledge verification refers to the process of making sure that the knowledge shared between knowledge bases of two parties is correctly understood on both sides. Domain ontologies developed out of a foundation ontology have a potential to improve the knowledge verification methods. This can be done by following concepts in domain ontologies to their origin and constituent conceptualisations in the foundation ontology. This is possible when matching ontologies belonging to two different domains but developed out of a single foundation ontology. Along with the concepts, a prescribed way of using these concepts by domain ontology builders also needs to be included in the foundation ontology. This prescribed way can exist in the form of an ontology of constraints which governs and shapes the building of domain ontologies according to the needs of the verification system and thus makes them more interoperable.
Wideband Envelope Modulator Design for Wideband Power Amplifiers

A wideband and high-efficiency envelope modulator is proposed for envelope tracking and envelope elimination and restoration transmitters. The modulator can achieve a power added efficiency of 80% for the envelope of WLAN 802.11a/g signal. The modulator is tested with a high efficiency power amplifier. In the transmitter, the phase signal fed into the power amplifier is modulated by the clipped envelope signal. This relaxes the critical time alignment requirement between the envelope and the phase signal paths in a traditional envelope elimination and restoration transmitter. As a result, the transmitter can achieve an overall PAE of 34.3% while complying with the WLAN 802.11a/g spectrum mask.
A review of the prospects for the control of cancer through screening.

There are in principle three ways of achieving the control of cancer. These are: (1) to identify the cause or causes and utilize this information for prevention (2) to develop an effective treatment for all stages, and (3) to make the diagnosis at a favorable time. A considerable effort has been made to find the causes, and some are known, but with the exception of cigarettes, this knowledge has not been helpful, or where it has been, the numbers of people involved are small, and are in selected occupational groups. A considerable effort has been made to develop drugs for the treatment of metastatic disease, but for the common tumors, this has not been very effective. The surgeons have gone as far as they can in removing the primary tumor, but for most patients, this is not sufficient. There has been relatively little research effort to reduce cancer mortality by diagnostic means. The American Cancer Society has long campaigned for early diagnosis through its "warning signals". The National Cancer Institute supported a diagnostic study done by the Health Insurance Plan of New York that demonstrated that mammography and physical examination could reduce breast cancer mortality. A study is now underway at Hopkins, Mayo Clinic and Memorial Hospital to determine whether periodic chest x-ray and sputum cytology will reduce lung cancer mortality. There has been a reduction in the mortality from carcinoma of the cervix, but how much can be attributed to the Pap smear is not known. Examination of the prospects for the control of cancer through diagnosis can best start with an approach to the biology of cancer. If one starts with a single neoplastic cell that divides at regular intervals, then the growth of a tumor can be depicted as in Figure 1. For a long time, the tumor is small and then towards the end of its life span, the tumor becomes large and apparently increases in size rapidly. At some time metastases occur, and when they do for one individual, they do for most with that kind oftumor. First, they metastasize to regional lymph nodes and then more widely. If this is a schema for the biology of the solid tumors, then there is a period in the life span of any tumor before metastases occur. The evidence for this is the fact that about one third of
Cannabis or alcohol first? Differences by ethnicity and in risk for rapid progression to cannabis-related problems in women

Background Initiation of cannabis use typically follows alcohol use, but the reverse order does occur and is more common for African-Americans (AAs) than European-Americans (EAs). The aim of this study was to test for differences in the order of initiation of cannabis and alcohol use between AA and EA women and to determine whether order and ethnicity contribute independently to risk for rapid progression to cannabis-related problems. Method Data were drawn from structured psychiatric interviews of 4102 women (mean age = 21.6 years), 3787 from an all-female twin study and 315 from a high-risk family study; 18.1% self-identified as AA, 81.9% as EA. Ethnicity and order of initiation of cannabis and alcohol use were modeled as predictors of transition time from first use to onset of cannabis use disorder symptom(s) using Cox proportional hazards regression analyses. Results AA women were nearly three times as likely as EA women to initiate cannabis use before alcohol use. Using cannabis before alcohol [hazard ratio (HR) 1.44, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.08–1.93] and AA ethnicity (HR 1.59, 95% CI 1.13–2.24) were both associated with rapid progression from first use to cannabis symptom onset even after accounting for age at initiation and psychiatric risk factors. Conclusions The findings indicate that AA women are at greater risk for rapid development of cannabis-related problems than EA women and that this risk is even higher when cannabis use is initiated before alcohol use. Prevention programs should be tailored to the various patterns of cannabis use and relative contributions of risk factors to the development of cannabis-related problems in different ethnic groups.
1 A Starting Point : The BLP Demand Model

Empirical models of demand for—and, often, supply of—differentiated products are widely used in practice, typically employing parametric functional forms and distributions of consumer heterogeneity. We review some recent work studying identification in a broad class of such models. This work shows that parametric functional forms and distributional assumptions are not essential for identification. Rather, identification relies primarily on the standard requirement that instruments be available for the endogenous variables—here, typically, prices and quantities. We discuss the kinds of instruments needed for identification and how the reliance on instruments can be reduced by nonparametric functional form restrictions or better data. We also discuss results on discrimination between alternative models of oligopoly competition.
The Effect of Tuberculosis Treatment on Virologic and Immunologic Response to Combination Antiretroviral Therapy Among South African Children

Background:Many HIV-infected children are diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB), but the effect of TB treatment on virologic and immunologic response to combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) is not well documented. Methods:Secondary analysis of a prospective cohort of cART-naive HIV-infected South African children aged 0–8 years initiating cART to assess the effect of TB treatment at the time of cART initiation on virologic suppression (HIV RNA < 50 copies/mL), virologic rebound (HIV RNA > 1000 copies/mL after suppression), and CD4 cell percent (CD4%) increase during the first 24 months of cART. Results:Of 199 children (median age 2.1 years), 92 (46%) were receiving TB treatment at cART initiation. Children receiving and not receiving TB treatment at cART initiation had similar median baseline HIV RNA (5.4 vs. 5.6 copies/mL), median time to virologic suppression (6.2 months in each group, adjusted hazard ratio, 1.36, 95% confidence interval: 0.94 to 1.96), and rates of virologic rebound by 24 months (23% vs. 24%, adjusted hazard ratio 1.53, 95% confidence interval: 0.71 to 3.30). Children on TB treatment had significantly lower median CD4% at baseline (15.3% vs. 18.8%, P < 0.01) and during the first 12 months of cART but experienced similar median increases in CD4% at 6 months (9.9% vs. 9.6%), 12 months (14.2% vs. 11.9%), and 24 months of cART (14.5% vs. 14.2%). Exploratory analyses suggest that children receiving lopinavir/ritonavir-based cART and TB treatment may have inferior virologic and immunologic response compared with children receiving efavirenz-based cART. Conclusions:Receiving TB treatment at the time of cART initiation did not substantially affect virologic or immunologic response to cART in young children.
A Hedonic Price Index for Cloud Computing Services

Cloud computing is an innovative business model, being developed at a fast pace during the last years, offering many operational and economic benefits to both the demand and the supply side of the ICT market. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), which includes control of fundamental computing resources, is expected to be the fastest growing model of public cloud computing. Due to the existence of several IaaS cloud providers, there is increased competition among cloud companies, which develop different pricing models in order to meet the market demand. As a consequence, prices for cloud services are a result of a multidimensional function, shaped by the service’s characteristics. The development of a suitable pricing method, based on an appropriate price index able to capture the market dynamics, is an obvious necessity. The aim of this paper is the construction of such a price index, for the IaaS model, using data from a wide range of cloud providers and a large number of price bundles. The hedonic pricing method is used to decompose cloud computing services into their constituent characteristics, obtaining estimates of the contributory value of each resource. According to the results, RAM size, CPU power and subscription turned out to be the most influential factors that shape IaaS pricing.
Tropical tropospheric ozone column retrieval for GOME-2

Abstract. This paper presents the operational retrieval of tropical tropospheric ozone columns (TOCs) from the Second Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME-2) instruments using the convective-cloud-differential (CCD) method. The retrieval is based on total ozone and cloud property data provided by the GOME Data Processor (GDP) 4.7, and uses above-cloud and clear-sky ozone column measurements to derive a monthly mean TOC between 20° N and 20° S. Validation of the GOME-2 TOC with several tropical ozonesonde sites shows good agreement, with a high correlation between the GOME-2 and sonde measurements, and small biases within ~ 3 DU. The TOC data have been used in combination with tropospheric NO2 measurements from GOME-2 to analyse the effect of the 2009–2010 El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on the tropospheric ozone distribution in the tropics. El Nino induced dry conditions in September–October 2009 resulted in relatively high tropospheric ozone columns over the southern Indian Ocean and northern Australia, while La Nina conditions in September–October 2010 resulted in a strong increase in tropospheric NO2 in South America, and enhanced ozone in the eastern Pacific and South America. Comparisons of the GOME-2 tropospheric ozone data with simulations of the ECHAM/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC) model for 2009 El Nino conditions illustrate the usefulness of the GOME-2 TOC measurements in evaluating chemistry climate models (CCMs). Evaluation of CCMs with appropriate satellite observations helps to identify strengths and weaknesses of the model systems, providing a better understanding of driving mechanisms and adequate relations and feedbacks in the Earth atmosphere, and finally leading to improved models.