Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relationships between Genetic Diversity and Fusarium Toxin Profiles of Winter Wheat Cultivars

Fusarium head blight is one of the most important and most common diseases of winter wheat. In order to better understanding this disease and to assess the correlations between different factors, 30 cultivars of this cereal were evaluated in a two-year period. Fusarium head blight resistance was evaluated and the concentration of trichothecene mycotoxins was analysed. Grain samples originated from plants inoculated with Fusarium culmorum and naturally infected with Fusarium species. The genetic distance between the tested cultivars was determined and data were analysed using multivariate data analysis methods. Genetic dissimilarity of wheat cultivars ranged between 0.06 and 0.78. They were grouped into three distinct groups after cluster analysis of genetic distance. Wheat cultivars differed in resistance to spike and kernel infection and in resistance to spread of Fusarium within a spike (type II). Only B trichothecenes (deoxynivalenol, 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol and nivalenol) produced by F. culmorum in grain samples from inoculated plots were present. In control samples trichothecenes of groups A (H-2 toxin, T-2 toxin, T-2 tetraol, T-2 triol, scirpentriol, diacetoxyscirpenol) and B were detected. On the basis of Fusarium head blight assessment and analysis of trichothecene concentration in the grain relationships between morphological characters, Fusarium head blight resistance and mycotoxins in grain of wheat cultivars were examined. The results were used to create of matrices of distance between cultivars – for trichothecene concentration in inoculated and naturally infected grain as well as for FHB resistance Correlations between genetic distance versus resistance/mycotoxin profiles were calculated using the Mantel test. A highly significant correlation between genetic distance and mycotoxin distance was found for the samples inoculated with Fusarium culmorum. Significant but weak relationships were found between genetic distance matrix and FHB resistance or trichothecene concentration in naturally infected grain matrices.
E-Business: Revolution, Evolution, or Hype?

Will e-business ultimately represent a revolution in the way firms operate or rather does it represent a more normal evolution in the operations of some firms? Despite the bursting of the Internet stock bubble, it is important to answer this question. As the Internet continues to grow in size and capability, many firms are implementing Web-based applications and Internet-derived economic change continues to occur. If this change is revolutionary, now or in the near future, then many managers will be required to rethink their firm strategies and managerial responses in a profound way. On the other hand, if the change is simply evolutionary, it will apply more to some firms than to others, and pre-Internet strategies and managerial responses will still be appropriate in many circumstances. While it is premature to categorize e-business as revolutionary, e-business is not a silver bullet, rather it will be a useful tool for some firms and some tasks. There are a number of key questions firms should ask in order to make sense of e-business.
Combined reflectance spectroscopy and stochastic modeling approach for noninvasive hemoglobin determination via palpebral conjunctiva

A combination of stochastic photon propagation model in a multilayered human eyelid tissue and reflectance spectroscopy was used to study palpebral conjunctiva spectral reflectance for hemoglobin (Hgb) determination. The developed model is the first biologically relevant model of eyelid tissue, which was shown to provide very good approximation to the measured spectra. Tissue optical parameters were defined using previous histological and microscopy studies of a human eyelid. After calibration of the model parameters the responses of reflectance spectra to Hgb level and blood oxygenation variations were calculated. The stimulated reflectance spectra in adults with normal and low Hgb levels agreed well with experimental data for Hgb concentrations from 8.1 to 16.7 g/dL. The extracted Hgb levels were compared with in vitro Hgb measurements. The root mean square error of cross‐validation was 1.64 g/dL. The method was shown to provide 86% sensitivity estimates for clinically diagnosed anemia cases. A combination of the model with spectroscopy measurements provides a new tool for noninvasive study of human conjunctiva to aid in diagnosing blood disorders such as anemia.
Encoding and Viterbi decoding of data via 5.8 GHz wireless LAN in an urban traffic management system

This paper presents an application of convolutional encoding and Viterbi decoding for vehicle traffic data enhancement in an intelligent urban traffic management system. The 5.8 GHz wireless local area network (WLAN) system is employed, where the traffic data are transmitted among adjacent traffic intersections and a traffic control centre. Environmental factors such as bad weather and noise can critically influence the performance of the wireless link especially in the aspect of bit error rate (BER). A non-systematic (2, 1, 8) convolutional coding with unique configuration is developed as an error-correction mechanism to reduce the BER. Convolutional code also provides security to the encoded data due to possible unique configuration customization and data can only be retrieved using the matching decoder design. Viterbi decoding is used as it yields the maximum likelihood decoding of the convolutional code.
MULTI-SCALE BASED EXTRACION OF VEGETATION FROM TERRESTRIAL LiDAR DATA FOR ASSESSING LOCAL LANDSCAPE

In this study, we propose a method to accurately extract vegetation from terrestrial three-dimensional (3D) point clouds for estimating landscape index in urban areas. Extraction of vegetation in urban areas is challenging because the light returned by vegetation does not show as clear patterns as man-made objects and because urban areas may have various objects to discriminate vegetation from. The proposed method takes a multi-scale voxel approach to effectively extract different types of vegetation in complex urban areas. With two different voxel sizes, a process is repeated that calculates the eigenvalues of the planar surface using a set of points, classifies voxels using the approximate curvature of the voxel of interest derived from the eigenvalues, and examines the connectivity of the valid voxels. We applied the proposed method to two data sets measured in a residential area in Kyoto, Japan. The validation results were acceptable, with F-measures of approximately 95% and 92%. It was also demonstrated that several types of vegetation were successfully extracted by the proposed method whereas the occluded vegetation were omitted. We conclude that the proposed method is suitable for extracting vegetation in urban areas from terrestrial light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data. In future, the proposed method will be applied to mobile LiDAR data and the performance of the method against lower density of point clouds will be examined.
The prediction of pesticides usage based on PSO algorithm

According to the data of the 18 cities and counties pesticide usage and tropical crops area of HaiNan province from 2003 to 2010, the prediction model is established based on the particle swarm optimization algorithm. From the fitted curve the trend direction about pesticides usage with the time course of change is clearly observed. The result can be used to provide a reference for department of pesticide monitoring, management and decision-making.
ERM-Tutor an ER-to-Relational Mapping Tutor

Relational Databases are extremely commonplace in today’s society. Because of this the skill of designing such databases is often taught in university courses, where part of this skill involves being able to map from a conceptual schema to relational database tables. This is a mapping algorithm that maps from the Entity Relationship conceptual schema to relational database tables, and applying this algorithm is an area in which student errors often occur. One-to-one human tutoring is the most effective mode of teaching, however this is often not feasible. Intelligent Tutoring Systems aim to simulate a human tutor by providing individualised tuition, and can be effective in place of a human tutor. ERM-Tutor is anEntity RelationshipMapping Constraint-Based Intelligent Tutoring System developed to provide a practice environment to map entity relationship diagrams using the mapping algorithm. ERMTutor has a problem set of Entity Relationship diagrams, which students map to relational database tables by being led sequentially through the seven steps of the algorithm. The students are given feedback on their solutions after each table they map, and at the end of each step of the algorithm. A preliminary evaluation carried out on ERM-Tutor provided favourable results that suggested that the tutor was effective in helping students learn. However this will need to be followed by a more formal evaluation.
International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems a Path Tracking Algorithm Using Future Prediction Control with Spike Detection for an Autonomous Vehicle Robot Regular Paper

which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Abstract Trajectory tracking is an important aspect of autonomous vehicles. The idea behind trajectory tracking is the ability of the vehicle to follow a predefined path with zero steady state error. The difficulty arises due to the nonlinearity of vehicle dynamics. Therefore, this paper proposes a stable tracking control for an autonomous vehicle. An approach that consists of steering wheel control and lateral control is introduced. This control algorithm is used for a non-holonomic navigation problem, namely tracking a reference trajectory in a closed loop form. A proposed future prediction point control algorithm is used to calculate the vehicle's lateral error in order to improve the performance of the trajectory tracking. A feedback sensor signal from the steering wheel angle and yaw rate sensor is used as feedback information for the controller. The controller consists of a relationship between the future point lateral error, the linear velocity, the heading error and the reference yaw rate. This paper also introduces a spike detection algorithm to track the spike error that occurs during GPS reading. The proposed idea is to take the advantage of the derivative of the steering rate. This paper aims to tackle the lateral error problem by applying the steering control law to the vehicle, and proposes a new path tracking control method by considering the future coordinate of the vehicle and the future estimated lateral error. The effectiveness of the proposed controller is demonstrated by a simulation and a GPS experiment with noisy data. The approach used in this paper is not limited to autonomous vehicles alone since the concept of autonomous vehicle tracking can be used in mobile robot platforms, as the kinematic model of these two platforms is similar.
Nenya: subtle and eyes-free mobile input with a magnetically-tracked finger ring

We present Nenya, a new input device in the shape of a finger ring. Nenya provides an input mechanism that is always available, fast to access, and allows analog input, while remaining socially acceptable by being embodied in commonly worn items. Users make selections by twisting the ring and "click" by sliding it along the finger. The ring - the size of a regular wedding band - is magnetic, and is tracked by a wrist-worn sensor. Nenya's tiny size, eyes-free usability, and physical form indistinguishable from a regular ring make its use subtle and socially acceptable. We present two user studies (one- and two-handed) in which we studied sighted and eyes-free use, finding that even with no visual feedback users were able to select from eight targets.
Rank by Time or by Relevance?: Revisiting Email Search

With Web mail services offering larger and larger storage capacity, most users do not feel the need to systematically delete messages anymore and inboxes keep growing. It is quite surprising that in spite of the huge progress of relevance ranking in Web Search, mail search results are still typically ranked by date. This can probably be explained by the fact that users demand perfect recall in order to "re-find" a previously seen message, and would not trust relevance ranking. Yet mail search is still considered a difficult and frustrating task, especially when trying to locate older messages. In this paper, we study the current search traffic of Yahoo mail, a major Web commercial mail service, and discuss the limitations of ranking search results by date. We argue that this sort-by-date paradigm needs to be revisited in order to account for the specific structure and nature of mail messages, as well as the high-recall needs of users. We describe a two-phase ranking approach, in which the first phase is geared towards maximizing recall and the second phase follows a learning-to-rank approach that considers a rich set of mail-specific features to maintain precision. We present our results obtained on real mail search query traffic, for three different datasets, via manual as well as automatic evaluation. We demonstrate that the default time-driven ranking can be significantly improved in terms of both recall and precision, by taking into consideration time recency and textual similarity to the query, as well as mail-specific signals such as users' actions.
Weighted Set-Based String Similarity

Consider a universe of tokens, each of which is associated with a weight, and a database consisting of strings that can be represented as subsets of these tokens. Given a query string, also represented as a set of tokens, a weighted string similarity query identiﬁes all strings in the database whose similarity to the query is larger than a user speciﬁed threshold. Weighted string similarity queries are useful in applications like data cleaning and integration for ﬁnding approximate matches in the presence of typographical mistakes, multiple formatting conventions, data transformation errors, etc. We show that this problem has semantic properties that can be exploited to design index structures that support very efﬁcient algorithms for query answering.
The Protective Effects of Beta-Casomorphin-7 against Glucose -Induced Renal Oxidative Stress In Vivo and Vitro

Oxidative stress is implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of β-casomorphin-7 (BCM7) on the oxidative stress occurring in kidney tissue in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats and proximal tubular epithelial cells (NRK-52E) exposure to high glucose (HG) by using biochemical methods. There is a significant decrease in plasma insulin and a significant increase in plasma glucagon in the rats of diabetic group. Oral administration of BCM7 for 30 days to rats with STZ-induced diabetes resulted in a significant increase in serum level of insulin, and a decrease in the level of glucagon. Moreover, rats with STZ-induced diabetes had lower levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and total antioxidative capacity (T-AOC), higher levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in the kidney than that in the control rats. The administration of BCM7 altered the changes of SOD, GPx, T-AOC, MDA and H2O2 in the kidney of diabetic rats. Furthermore, BCM7 alleviated high glucose-induced decreasement in SOD and GPx activity, increasement in MDA contents in the NRK-52E cells. BCM7 ameliorated the changes of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and ACE2 levels in the kidney of diabetic rats and BCM7 lowered the levels of angiotensin (Ang)II in the kidney of diabetic rats and culture medium for cells. Moreover losartan (antagonist of angiotensin II type I receptor) lowered the high glucose-induced oxidative stress in the NRK-52E cells. Our results suggest that administration of BCM7 would alleviate high glucose-induced renal oxidative stress in vivo and in vitro, which may be associated with down regulation of the concentration of Ang II partly.
Is long-term relationship satisfaction in couples correlated with similar partner self-schema or similarity of partner's self-schema to ideal-partner schema?

The importance of similarity of self-schemata and idealschemata in long-term relationships was examined. Schemata of 84 couples who had been together for at least 6 months were measured with a modified Revised Interpersonal Adjective Scales checklist, and relationship satisfaction was measured. The results indicated that both males' and females^ relationship satisfaction were related to the similarity between their own and their partner's self-schema. Only fbr male participants was rel. ^tionship sat related to the similarity bietween their ideal partner schema and their actual partner self-schema. No gender difference between the similarity and relationship satisfactidn was found. Results of couples self-schemata similarity were congruent with Byrne's (1971) similarity research on the law of attraction. Ideal-schema results were incongruent with previous research, and previously found gender differences were not replicated. Implications for use of actual and ideal schemata in relationship research are discussed.
Building a theoretical framework for ASD screening instruments in Europe

Background: This study addresses the need for a theoretical base to develop more effective early ASD detection tools. The structure that underlies early ASD detection is explored by evaluating the opinions of experts on ASD screening tools currently used in Europe. Method: A process of face and content validity was performed. Firstly, the best constructs were selected from the relevant tests: Checklist for Early Signs of Developmental Disorders (CESDD), Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT), Early Screening of Autistic Traits Questionnaire (ESAT), Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT), Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) and Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Developmental Profile (CSBS-DP). The Diagnostic Content Validity Model by Fehring, (1986; 1994) was adapted to make the selection. Afterwards, the items, taken from these tests, were selected to fit into each construct, using the same methodology. Results: 12 of the 18 constructs were selected by the experts and 11 items were chosen from a total of 130, reduced to eight after eliminating tautologies. Conclusions: Mapping these constructs and items on to the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for ASD indicated good face and content validity. Results of this research will contribute to efforts to improve early ASD screening instruments.
Two Types of Social Grooming discovered in Primitive and Modern Communication Data-Sets

Social networking sites (SNS) provide innovative social bonding methods known as social grooming. These have drastically decreased time and distance constraints of social grooming. Here we show two type social grooming (elaborate social grooming and lightweight social grooming) discovered in a model constructed by thirty communication data-sets including face to face, SNS, mobile phones, and Chacma baboons. This demarcation is caused by a trade-off between the number and strength of social relationships on social grooming. The trade-off of elaborate social grooming is weaker than the trade-off of lightweight social grooming. On the other hand, the cost of elaborate methods is higher than lightweight methods. This model connects micro-social grooming behaviour and macro-social structures with these trade-offs. People tend to use elaborate social grooming to reinforce close relationships and construct deep limited societies (e.g. face to face and Chacma baboons). This seems to be apriori. On the other hand, people tend to use lightweight social grooming to maintain many weak social relationships and construct expanded shallow societies (e.g. SNS). Humans recently have obtained this method. Humans with lightweight methods who live in significantly complex societies use various social grooming to effectively construct social relationships. Elaborate social grooming is for getting cooperation from close relationships. Lightweight social grooming is for getting information from many weak relationships.
Modification of Proteins by Norepinephrine is Important for Vascular Contraction

Norepinephrine (NE) is thought to mediate its effects through G-protein coupled receptors. However, previous studies have shown that NE and another primary amine, serotonin, also have the ability to exert effects in a receptor-independent manner. We hypothesized that the enzyme transglutaminase II (TG II) has the ability to modify proteins with NE and that this modification is physiologically relevant. As our model we used rat aortic and vena cava tissues, two tissues that depend on NE to modulate vascular tone. Immunohistochemical and immunocytochemical staining showed that NE and TG II are present in smooth muscle cells of these tissues. Western analysis shows aorta and vena cava homogenate proteins are recognized by an antibody raised against NE conjugated to bovine serum albumin (NE-BSA). NE and α-actin colocalize in cultured aorta and vena cava smooth muscle cells. Freshly dissociated smooth muscle cells from these vessels were able to take up NE-biotin. In isolated tissue baths, inhibition of TG II with cystamine (0.5 mM) completely abolished NE-induced contraction in the aorta but only attenuated the receptor-independent contractant KCl (max contraction to 100 mM KCl in cystamine treated = 88.8 ± 7.0% of vehicle treated, p < 0.05). In the vena cava, contraction to NE was abolished with 0.1 mM cystamine and KCl contraction was attenuated (max contraction to 100 mM KCl in cystamine treated = 54.8 ± 7.0% of vehicle treated, p < 0.05). Taken together, these results show that vascular smooth muscle cells take up and utilize NE for the modification of proteins, and that this modification may play an important role in vascular contraction.
Theoretical Limits for Estimation of Periodic Movements in Pulse-Based UWB Systems

In this paper, Cramer-Rao lower bounds (CRLBs) for estimation of signal parameters related to periodically moving objects in pulse-based ultra-wideband (UWB) systems are presented. The results also apply to estimation of vital parameters, such as respiration rate, using UWB signals. In addition to obtaining the CRLBs, suboptimal estimation algorithms are also presented. First, a single-path channel with additive white Gaussian noise is considered, and closed-form CRLB expressions are obtained for sinusoidal object movements. Also, a two-step suboptimal algorithm is proposed, which is based on time delay estimation via matched filtering followed by least-squares estimation, and its asymptotic optimality property is shown in the limit of certain system parameters. Then, a multipath environment is considered, and exact and approximate CRLB expressions are derived. Moreover, suboptimal schemes for parameter estimation are studied. Simulation studies are performed for the estimation of respiration rates in order to evaluate the lower bounds and performance of the suboptimal algorithms for realistic system parameters.