Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bark water vapour conductance is associated with drought performance in tropical trees

Bark water vapour conductance (gbark) is a rarely considered functional trait. However, for the few tree species measured to date, it appears high enough to create stem water deficits associated with mortality during droughts, when access to water is limited. I tested whether gbark correlates with stem water deficit during drought conditions in two datasets of tropical trees: one of saplings in forest understories during an annual dry season and one of potted saplings in a shadehouse during extreme drought conditions. Among all 14 populations of eight species measured, gbark varied more than 10-fold (0.86–12.98 mmol m−2 s−1). In the forest understories, gbark was highly correlated with stem water deficit among four deciduous species, but not among evergreen species that likely maintained access to soil water. In the shadehouse, gbark was positively correlated with stem water deficit and mortality among all six species. Overall, tree species with higher gbark suffer higher stem water deficit when soil water is unavailable. Incorporating gbark into soil–plant–atmosphere hydrodynamic models may improve projections of plant mortality under drought conditions.
Skeleton-Based Gait Recognition via Robust Frame-Level Matching

Gait is a useful biometric feature for human identification in video surveillance applications since it can be obtained without subject cooperation. In recent years, model-based gait recognition using a 3D skeleton has been widely studied through view-invariant modeling and kinematic gait analysis. However, existing methods integrate all frame-level feature vectors using the same criterion, even though skeleton information is highly sensitive to changes in covariate conditions such as clothing, carrying, and occlusion. The scheme inevitably reduces the frame-level discriminative power and eventually degrades performance. Instead, we propose a robust frame-level matching method for gait recognition that minimizes the influence of noisy patterns as well as secures the frame-level discriminative power. To this end, we measure the skeleton quality in terms of body symmetry for each frame. Based on the quality, we construct a quality-adjusted cost matrix between input frames and registered frames to prevent matching with noisy patterns. Our two-stage linear matching is then applied to the cost matrix to compute a frame-level discriminative score including similarity and margin. In the end, the identity of a probe is determined by a weighted majority voting scheme via frame-level scores. It enhances the robustness against inaccurate skeleton estimation results by assigning different weights for each frame based on the score. Our approach outperforms the state-of-the-art methods on three public datasets (UPCVgait, UPCVgaitK2, and SDUgait) and a new gait dataset which we create with consideration of unpredictable behaviors while walking. In addition, we demonstrate that our method is robust to skeleton estimation error, partial occlusion, and data loss. The CILgait dataset and MATLAB code are available at https://sites.google. com/site/seokeonchoi/gait-recognition.
Steinernema diaprepesi (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae) parasitizing Gonipterus platensis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) can control pests due to mutualistic association with bacteria that reproduce and kill the host from septicemia, making the environment favourable for nematode development and reproduction. The objective of this study was to identify an EPN isolate collected in eucalyptus cultivation and to determine its pathogenicity with regard to Gonipterus platensis Marelli (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Four steel-mesh traps with two seventh-instar Galleria mellonella larvae were buried 5 cm deep in the soil in a commercial Eucalyptus plantation. After 7 days, the traps were packed in plastic bags and transported to laboratory to isolate the EPNs using White traps. The obtained nematodes were multiplied in G. mellonella larvae and identified by sequencing their D2/D3 expansion of the 28S rDNA region by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and specific primers for ITS regions. Steinernema diaprepesi was identified and inoculated into G. platensis pupae at doses of 500, 1000 and 5000 infective juveniles (IJs) to determine its pathogenicity to this pest. At 8 days after inoculation, the mortality rate of the G. platensis pupae was 80% with the lowest concentration and 100% with the others. The emergence of nematodes and the rapid degradation of G. platensis pupae were observed in those inoculated with IJs. The pathogenicity to the G. platensis pupae indicates potential for using this nematode in the integrated management of this insect.
Analysis of Therapeutic Potential and Computer Aided Virtual Screening of Elaeocarpus Ganitrus

Cancer accounts for 12% of the death worldwide. Most of the existing treatments for cancer have not revealed much successful results. Therefore, there is a requirement for a novel therapeutic approach. Cucurbitacins and ellagic acid are the two utmost important compounds present in Elaeocarpus ganitrus. Cucurbitacins belong to a group of tetracyclic triterpenoids and it is found to exhibit anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-diabetic and hepatoprotective properties. Ellagic acid is found to be a polyphenol compound and it exhibits anticarcinogenic, antioxidant and antifibrosis properties. Present study, focuses on the inhibitory potential of cucurbitacins and ellagic acid against various cancers by computer aided virtual screening. 19 receptors were selected based on the literature study, depending on its functionality in various cancers. iGEMDOCK was used to carry out molecular docking and to study the interactions between cucurbitacins and ellagic acid against the selected target receptors. The docking studies revealed the anticancer properties of the ligands through the effective interaction pattern with cancer receptors. All the three ligands cucurbitacin D, cucurbitacin F and ellagic acid showed the best interaction with nitric acid synthase (NOS2) receptor with binding energy -153.27 kcal/mol, -154.09 kcal/mol and -134.22 kcal/mol respectively. This study would promote the development of novel drug candidates against various types of cancer when present therapies are not found to be very helpful.
Towards dynamic SQL compilation in Apache Spark

Big-data systems have gained significant momentum, and Apache Spark is becoming a de-facto standard for modern data analytics. Spark relies on code generation to optimize the execution performance of SQL queries on a variety of data sources. Despite its already efficient runtime, Spark's code generation suffers from significant runtime overheads related to data de-serialization during query execution. Such performance penalty can be significant, especially when applications operate on human-readable data formats such as CSV or JSON.
Profiling streams on the Java virtual machine

The java.util. stream framework is becoming a popular option among developers that target the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) to implement map-reduce-like transformations on collections. A key feature of the streams framework is enabling parallelizing a computation as easy as calling a single method. Still, developers should test whether parallelizing a stream may results in performance, liveness or safety hazards. While such issues are mainly observable at runtime, there is a lack of tools capturing information that enable understanding the dynamic behavior of a stream application. In this extended abstract, we devise a profiler focused on characterizing dynamic attributes of a stream application running on a single JVM in a shared-memory multicore. Our tool aims at collecting runtime information and key metrics to support analysis of sequential and parallel stream processing, towards helping developers make better decisions to efficiently and safely use the streams framework.
Determining a hierarchy of correctness through student transitions on the FMCE

Using data from over 14,000 student responses, we rank incorrect responses on the Force and Motion Concept Evaluation (FMCE). We develop a hierarchy of responses using item response theory and the McNemar-Bowker chi-square test for asymmetry. We use item response theory (IRT) under the assumption that students who score well have a greater understanding of physics than those who do not; therefore, responses that have a greater likelihood of being selected by those who score well are considered better responses. We use the McNemarBowker chi-square test (MB) under the assumption that student understanding is more likely to increase than decrease after an introductory mechanics course. Therefore, more dominant transitions from one answer to another from pretest to posttest indicate that one answer is better than another. We present the results from the IRT and MB analyses, highlighting both agreement and disagreement between the hierarchies of responses generated by each.
Impacto da temperatura, irradiância e profundidade das sementes na emergência e germinação de Conyza bonariensis e Conyza canadensis resistentes ao glyphosate

Intense glyphosate use either in orchards or specially no-tilled glyphosate-resistant soybeans, has selected resistant biotypes of both Conyza bonariensis and C. canadensis. Studies of the species biology could provide insight for integrated weed management. A research program was designed to evaluate how seed germination of both species was affected by the following factors: biotype, substrate composition, soil depth, temperature and light. A factorial arrangement of the treatments was established for the first experiment, where factor A consisted of biotypes (two from each species); factor B was substrate composition (soil, sand, soil: sand); and factor C was substrate depths (0, 0.5, 1, 2, 5 cm). The second experiment included the first factor; plus factor B as temperature (constant 20, 25, or 30 oC, and alternating 20/30 oC), and factor C as light conditions (light, dark). In a third experiment, factors consisted of species and temperature (10, 15, 20, 25, 30 oC). Seedling emergence or seed germination were assessed at 12 days after treatments. All biotypes from both species had similar seedling emergence in relation to soil depth. Increasing soil depth reduced seedling emergence. Sandy substrate facilitated seed germination at 0.5 and 1.0 cm depth. The species are positive photoblastic. Optimum temperature for seed germination for both species was 20 oC, but C. canadensis germinates better at temperatures below the optimum and C. bonariensis germinates better at temperatures above the optimum.
PCM-Based for Heat Storage in Solar-Thermal Converter

Solar thermal energy is one of the promising renewable and sustainable energy that have gain research interest. However, the nature of intermittent solar irradiation limits the usage of this energy. Phase change material (PCM) are substance that has the property of absorbing and releasing thermal energy through phase transformation. Combination of graphene foam/PCM composite will be able to absorb heat from solar thermal energy and sustain energy release to thermoelectric generator (TEG) for electrical conversion. Two different PCM material were tested which are petroleum-based paraffin wax and bio-based PCM beeswax. Thermal properties of both materials were measured using DSC and heat absorption were tested under real solar irradiation. This solar-thermal converter showed that graphene/paraffin/beeswax composite is more effective than the paraffin wax or beeswax alone. The recorded results also showed that combination of these petroleum based and bio-based PCM with added graphene foam could retain longer heat than graphene/paraffin wax and individual PCM. The longer heat can be stored in solar-thermal converter device may sustain electricity generation even with absence of solar energy.
Zinc Oxide Thin Film Synthesized by Sol-Gel Method

ZnO thin films have been prepared by the dip coating sol gel method. Zinc acetate dihydrate, 2-methoxyethanol and monoethanolamine (MEA) were used as precursor, solvent and stabilizer respectively. The synthesized sample was coated on glass substrate as the molarity of the solution was kept constant at 0.1 M. The structural properties and surface morphologies of ZnO thin film were characterized by XRD and FESEM. The optical properties such as transmittance, absorbance, reflectance and refractive index were studied by using UV-Vis. The functional group of the synthesized sample were verified by using FTIR. Average crystallite sizes of the samples were calculated by using Debye-Scherrer's formula. Next, ZnO is coated on POF in order to examine the reaction towards UV light.
THE USE OF DISCRETE KARHUNEN-LOEVE TRANSFORM TO CHARACTERIZE THE SIGNAL AND NOISE PORTIONS IN MODERN STATISTICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING

Frequently in communication and radar signal processing problems it is useful to expand a function as a linear combination of orthogonal basis functions. The orthogonality of the basis functions makes the representation efficient and mathematically convenient. In signal processing applications it also guarantees that the components of the signals with respect to the basis functions do not interfere with each other. For example, in communication problems the use of orthogonal functions permits several different signals to share the same transmission medium, such as a cable or fiber optic link. This paper shows that the use of orthogonal basis functions, in reconstructing an original signal from a received noisy observation, increases the signal-to-noise ratio and is counterpart for the nonstationary noise case to eliminating the out-of-band noise. The proposed signal representation is based on the discrete Karhunen-Loeve transform. The proposed filtering method reconstructs the original signal from a received noisy observation based on real data and does not depend on any prior statistical knowledge. Numerical results show that the proposed filtering method is very efficient.
The Study of a Structural and Electronic Properties of Two-Dimensional Flat Layer Arsenene Using Planewaves Density Functional Calculation

We explore the structural and electronic properties of a single layer arsenene using the state of art, first principle approach from density functional theory (DFT). All the calculation was conducted using an open source DFT code, adopted the planewaves (PWs) method by Quantum Espresso (QE). The calculation utilized an exchange correlation potential of electron parametrized by Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (PBE) under generalized gradient approximation (GGA) functional scheme. Meanwhile, the pseudopotential assigned for the core electron is the projector typed augmented-wave with the core potential correction, generated using "atomic" code. All those parameters resulted an optimized structure of the honeycomb arsenene with lattice constant of 4.4971 Ǻ. The arsenene layer occupy a bond length value of 2.5964 Ǻ as measured between its neighbouring bonded atoms. From an optimized structure, we explore its electronic bandstructure plotted from 3 highly symmetries point for 2-dimensional (2D) material known as ‘’, ‘’ and ‘’ with 3 electron pathways. The total number of bands considered in bandstruture plotting is 10, where 5 bands will consider as valance bands while another 5 is conduction bands. The bandstructure shows that a single layer flat arsenene exhibits the characteristics of a conductor due to the overlapping of band near to Fermi level. Dirac cone were also noticed near to the Fermi energy level of the bandstructure. Lastly, we study the total electron density for the whole structure to reveal its bonding characteristics. The contour plot of electron densities between two bounded atoms displayed a pure covalent bond characteristic. The findings of this work is expected to contribute to the key of the electronic devices development, optoelectronics, and sensor devices based on 2D material technology.Keywords: flat layer arsenene, density of state, electron density, electronic band structure
Graphene Based Macrobend Unclad SMF for Monitoring pH Level in Aqueous Environment

Partial unclad fibers with diameters ranging from d=121μm to d=125μm were fabricated using standard telecommunications optical fiber (SMF28) via low cost mechanical swipe-off technique. Graphene oxide (GO) was deposited using drop casting method on the outer side of the partial unclad SMF. IR laser with excitation wavelengths of λ=1310nm and λ=1550nm were launched along the graphene-coated SMF. The sensitivity of graphene based macrobend unclad SMFs were investigated by introducing two different pH of aqueous environment with values of 3.5 (acidic) and 12.5 (alkaline) that acted as sensing media. The optimum power loss was obtained as smallest diameter of partial unclad SMF with d=121μm was appointed. As uncoated SMF was replaced with the GO coated SMF which had been immersed into 3.5pH liquid solution, it was found that the optical power losses were increased about 6.79dBm and 5.15dBm using laser with λ1=1310nm and λ2=1550nm respectively. The uncoated SMFs experienced the increment of power losses about 2.11dBm and 5.15dBm as they were soaked into the solution with pH=12.5 using similar laser of λ1 and λ2. It is noteworthy to highlight the significant of graphene’s employment on macrobend unclad SMF by using λ1=1310nm in which better sensitivity and selectivity represented by maximum changes of power losses were apparently observed for both solutions. The usage of λ=1550nm exhibited poor selectivity where the partial unclad SMF unable to differentiate two contrasting pH solution. In conclusion, graphene based macrobend fiber optic sensor for pH detection was successfully developed by employing partial unclad SMF with cladding diameter of d=121μm and laser wavelength of λ=1310nm due to the enhancement of evanescent field’s strength.
THE NATURAL LIFE CYCLE IN WILD POPULATIONS OF DIATOMA MONILIFORMIS (BACILLARIOPHYCEAE) AND ITS DISRUPTION IN AN ABERRANT ENVIRONMENT 1

We studied how size variation in populations of Diatoma moniliformis Kütz. was influenced by environmental effects on the diatom life cycle. One of the two populations sampled monthly in the northern Baltic Sea grew under natural conditions; the other population was in a cooling water discharge channel of a nuclear power plant, where the temperature and flow rate of the water were artificially higher. The life cycle was synchronous at the natural site, with sexual reproduction occurring in the winter; most of the initial cells were found in March‐April. After this, a reduction in cell size occurred, and the vegetative life cycle consisted of two parts. During the first part, cell volume decreased, whereas the surface area to volume ratio increased, and during the second part of the cycle, both of these parameters decreased. No direct evidence was found for the existence of a supra‐annual life cycle in D. moniliformis, as convincing modes fm large cells were lacking in the size‐frequency distributions. It was concluded from extrapolations of the data that the natural life cycle of D. moniliformis probably lasts 2 or 3 years. The changes in cell proportions during the life cycle fit well with annual growth cycles of D. moniliformis at the natural site (i.e. the cells had high surface area to volume ratios during the period of optimal growth in late spring [May‐June]). At the site affected by cooling water discharge, the synchronization of the natural life cycle was disrupted, but some seasonal size variation did occur. Under natural conditions, auxosporulation is probably triggered by a combination of small cell size, low water temperature (0–3° C), and rapidly increasing light intensity or daylength in late winter to early spring. When these conditions were not met (e.g. at the heated site, the required low temperature was absent), auxosporulation did not occur simultaneously. This paper also presents scanning electron photomicrographs showing the typical shape and fine structure of the initial cell of D. moniliformis. These cells are semispherical in cross section, possess a pronounced curvature along the longitudinal axis, and are bent in the perualvar plane.
Isopropyl Nitrate Structure and Vibrational Spectrum Analysis Using Quantum-Chemical Method

Calculation of molecular structure and related vibrational spectra of the isopropyl nitrate was carried out by means of density functional theory (DFT) by employing the Gaussian 03 mathematical package. The molecular geometries were fully optimized by using the Becke's three-parameter hybrid exchange functional combined with the Lee–Yang–Parr correlation functional (B3LYP) and using the 6-31G(d) basis set. By scanning the dihedral angles around C-O and C-C bonds, two energetically most favorable conformers of isopropyl nitrate - TG, GT forms were found. Calculations of the frequencies and forms of normal oscillations of the obtained forms of isopropyl nitrate are performed. The spectral features of the conformational state of isopropyl nitrate and the spectral effects of the formation of intramolecular H.ONO2 hydrogen bonds have been revealed.
Influence of Temperature, Time and Crosslinking Agent on Structure and Properties of Polyurethane Gel

Polyurethane (PU) gel was synthesized based on methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) and polyols corporation with 1,1,1-Tris(hydroxymethyl)propane (TMP) as a crosslinking agent. The chemical structure of synthesized polyurethane gel was investigated using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The effects of curing temperature, curing time, and crosslinking concentration on the degree of swelling, gel content and hardness of polyurethane gel are investigated. In addition, the crosslink density and average molecular weight between crosslinking points were determined using the Flory-Rehner equation. The results revealed that the curing temperature had more pronounced effect on degree of swelling and gel content than curing time. As the curing temperature increased the degree of swelling and gel content in polyurethane gel increased. Curing time seem to have a complicated effect on crosslink density and average molecular weight between crosslinking points. The hardness of polyurethane gel tends to increase with increasing crosslinking concentration and curing time.
Highly Reliable 4H-SiC Epitaxial Wafer with BPD Free Recombination-Enhancing Buffer Layer for High Current Applications

Epitaxial growth of 4H-SiC on 150 mm wafers with the recombination-enhancing buffer layer was studied. In order to accomplish the reduction of basal plane dislocations in the buffer layer to almost free level and assure its quality in production, non-destructive evaluation using photoluminescence method was investigated. Epitaxial wafers of which the buffer layer and the drift layer have more than 99% BPD free area in a 2.6 mm × 2.6 mm block evaluation were realized by optimizing the epitaxial growth conditions. Furthermore, very low surface defects density and excellent thickness and doping uniformity were achieved simultaneously.
Evaluation of Interface Traps Type, Energy Level and Density of SiC MOSFETs by Means of C-V Curves TCAD Simulations

SiC MOSFETs are promising devices for many power applications. They are replacing Si devices due to the higher performance of SiC material. However, there are some technological issues still unsolved. One of the main problems is the high density of traps at the SiC/SiO2 interface. Traps distribution at such interface is complex and it affects the overall performance of the device. Traps influence both current-voltage and capacitance-voltage characteristics of a SiC MOSFET. The aim of this work is the study of interface traps effects on C-V and I-V curves for a 1200 V SiC MOSFET. The numerical study is adopted to explain the shape of experimental C-V curves of commercial devices.