Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How Do Adopters Transition Between New and Incumbent Channels?

There is substantial knowledge about how individuals and organizations – which we refer to collectively as entities – adopt and use new channels. However, less is known about how this relates to their use of the incumbent channel that the new channel may replace, particularly how this relationship varies across entities and over time. We study this both theoretically and empirically. First, we develop and validate a new typology of how entities’ use of new and incumbent channels evolves over time. Second, we generate novel insights about the post-adoption use behaviors of entities that adopt the new channel at approximately the same time. Third, we analyze how entities’ use of new and incumbent channels varies based on time of entry, which is when an entity first becomes active with either channel. Fourth, we identify and validate other explanatory variables for why entities transition between states of new/incumbent channel use. Our results contribute to theory about the adoption/diffusion of new channels, and they contribute to practice by giving managers tools to understand and predict how entities’ use of new and incumbent channels evolves over time.
Geographic variation of reproductive traits and competition for pollinators in a bird‐pollinated plant

Abstract Geographic variation in the reproductive traits of animal‐pollinated plants can be shaped by spatially variable selection imposed by differences in the local pollination environment. We investigated this process in Babiana ringens (Iridaceae), an enigmatic species from the Western Cape region of South Africa. B. ringens has evolved a specialized perch facilitating cross‐pollination by sunbirds and displays striking geographic variation in perch size and floral traits. Here, we investigate whether this variation can be explained by geographic differences in the pollinator communities. We measured floral and inflorescence traits, and abiotic variables (N, P, C, and rainfall) and made observations of sunbirds in populations spanning the range of B. ringens. In each population, we recorded sunbird species identity and measured visitation rates, interfloral pollen transfer, and whether the seed set of flowers was pollen limited. To evaluate whether competition from co‐occurring sunbird‐pollinated species might reduce visitation, we quantified nectar rewards in B. ringens and of other co‐flowering bird‐pollinated species in local communities in which populations occurred. Variation in abiotic variables was not associated with geographical variation of traits in B. ringens. Malachite sunbirds were the dominant visitor (97% of visits) and populations with larger‐sized traits exhibited higher visitation rates, more between‐flower pollen transfer and set more seed. No sunbirds were observed in four populations, all with smaller‐sized traits. Sunbird visitation to B. ringens was not associated with local sunbird activity in communities, but sunbird visitation was negatively associated with the amount of B. ringens sugar relative to the availability of alternative nectar sources. Our study provides evidence that B. ringens populations with larger floral traits are visited more frequently by sunbirds, and we propose that visitation rates to B. ringens may be influenced, in part, by competition with other sunbird‐pollinated species.
Block-sparse signal recovery based on truncated ℓ 1 minimisation in non-Gaussian noise

This study addresses the issue of block-sparse recovery in compressive sensing in the presence of non-Gaussian measurement noise. By using the generalised l p -norm noise constraint for 2 ≤ p <; ∞ to replace the popular l 2 -norm, in this study, the authors put forward a truncated l1 model for recovering block-sparse signal. A theoretical analysis is first presented to guarantee the validity of proposed method. If the measurement matrix satisfies an extended block restricted isometry property, the reconstruction error is bounded in the optimisation. Moreover, in order to solve the induced optimisation problem effectively, they present an alternating direction method of multipliers via embedding Karush-Kuhn-Tucker system of l p -norm functions into the frame structure of augmented Lagrangian methods. When compared with some of the state-of-the-art methods, the proposed method becomes more competitive.
Numerical approximation of planar oblique derivative problems in nondivergence form

A numerical method for approximating a uniformly elliptic oblique derivative problem in two-dimensional simply-connected domains is proposed. The numerical scheme employs a mixed formulation with piecewise affine functions on curved finite element domains. The direct approximation of the gradient of the solution turns the oblique derivative boundary condition into an oblique direction condition. A priori and a posteriori error estimates as well as numerical computations on uniform and adaptive meshes are provided.
Bedding effects in maturing slash pine stands

Growth of randomly selected dominant slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm. var. elliottii) trees from a 35-year­ old plantation on beds and an adjacent 4 5-year-old unbedded plantation was examined through stem analysis. Height-over­ age curves constructed from these analyses indicated that trees on the beds were consistently taller at comparable ages through 35 years. The difference was greatest, 10.8 feet, at age 17 and decreased to 5.7 feet at age 35. These observations, while not conclusive, indicate that the growth advantage provided by bed­ ding may decline as slash pines mature. Planted pines usually grow slowly on poorly drained sites, and early growth is often improved by constructing raised planting beds with a ridging harrow (Derr and Mann 1977, Haines and Pritch­ ett 1964, Lennartz and McMinn 1973). Thousands of acres of poorly drained sites are being bedded and planted each year, on the assumption that the demonstrated growth advantages of the early years will be maintained or increased throughout a rotation of 25 or more years. Actual height advan­ tages on bedded sites at such ages are not known, however, because few sites were bedded prior to 1960. In northwest Florida is a slash pine stand that was planted on a bedded area in 1940. Immediately adjacent to it is an unbedded area that was planted to slash pine in 1930. Through stem analyses of sample dominant pines, we compared the height growth of these adjacent stands through 35 years after planting. The comparisons cannot be statis24 tically analyzed, and the effect of bedding upon height growth might be confounded by differences in site, year of planting, and planting stock. Con­ sidering the dearth of information on the effect of bedding throughout a rotation, however, this re­ port on the history and growth of these stands is justified.
Vision-based calibration, position control and force sensing for soft robots. (calibration basée sur la vision, contrôle de position et détection de force pour robots doux)

Soft robots can interact with the environment in a safe and compliant way because of their deformable structures. However, the modeling of soft robots which have, theoretically, infinite degrees of freedom, are extremely difficult especially when the robots have complex configurations. This difficulty of modeling leads to new challenges for the calibration and the control design of the robots, but also new opportunities with possible new force sensing strategies. This dissertation aims to provide new and general solutions using modeling and vision. The thesis at first presents a discrete-time kinematic model for soft robots based on the real-time Finite Element (FE) method. Then, a vision-based simultaneous calibration of sensor-robot system and actuators is investigated. Two closed-loop position controllers are designed and the robust stability of the closed-loop system is analyzed using Lyapunov stability theory. Besides, to deal with the problem of image feature loss, a switched control strategy is proposed by combining both the open-loop controller and the closed-loop controller. Using soft robot itself as a force sensor is available due to the deformable feature of soft structures. Two methods (marker-based and marker-free) of external force sensing for soft robots are proposed based on the fusion of vision-based measurements and FE model. Using both methods, not only the intensities but also the locations of the external forces can be estimated. The marker-based approach is proposed to find the correct locations of external forces among several possible ones. If there are no obvious feature points on the surface of the soft robot, the marker-free force sensing strategy is available using an RGB-D camera. As a specific application, a cable-driven continuum catheter robot through contacts is modeled based on FE method. Then, the robot is controlled by a decoupled control strategy which allows to control insertion and bending independently. Both the control inputs and the contact forces along the entire catheter can be computed by solving a quadratic programming (QP) problem with a linear complementarity constraint (QPCC). A simplified solution is proposed for the computation of QPCC by converting it into a standard QP problem.
Two new species of Diodontus (Hymenoptera: Pemphredonidae) from the western Mediterranean and their phylogenetic relationships

Abstract Two new species of Diodontus Curtis, 1834 (Hymenoptera: Pemphredonidae) are described. Diodontus polytylus Budrys new species is widespread in North Africa, from Libya and Chad to Morocco, as well as in southern Spain and Portugal. Diodontus guichardi Budrys new species was found in several localities in Morocco. The new species have small differences in their morphology; however, they can be easily separated using molecular characters. Comparison of 17 molecular markers has revealed that the highest evolutionary divergence is observed in mitochondrial gene ND6 and internal transcribed spacer ITS2. The variable regions of the nuclear rDNA genes 18S and 28S demonstrated the lowest evolutionary divergence; thus they were of the least use for species identification. The most coherent reconstruction of phylogeny, in comparison to other groups of markers, was obtained using exons of nuclear protein-coding genes. A provisional key to the species of D. minutus (Fabricius, 1793) species group of the Mediterranean Region is presented.
Bioprospecting of Thermostable Cellulolytic Enzymes through Modeling and Virtual Screening Method

Cellulolytic enzymes are promising candidates for the use of cellulose in any bioprocess operations and for the disposal of the cellulosic wastes in an environmentally benign manner. Cellulases from thermophiles have the advantage of hydrolyzing cellulose at wider range of operating conditions unlike the normal enzymes. Herein we report the modeled structures of cellulolytic enzymes (endoglucanase, cellobiohydrolase and βglucosidase) from a thermophilic bacterium, Clostridium thermocellum and their validation using Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD) and Ramachandran plot analyses. Further, the molecular interactions of the modeled enzyme with cellulose were analyzed using molecular docking technique. The results of molecular docking showed that the endoglucanase, cellobiohydrolase and β-glucosidase had the binding affinities of -10.7, -9.0 and -10.8 kcal/mol, respectively. A correlation between the binding affinity of the endoglucanase with cellulose and the enzyme activity was also demonstrated. The results showed that the binding affinities of cellulases with cellulose could be used as a tool to assess the hydrolytic activity of cellulases. The results obtained could be used in virtual screening of cellulolytic enzymes based on the molecular interactions with the substrate, and aid in developing systems biology models of thermophiles for industrial biotechnology applications.
Modelling the effects of floodplain woodland in flood mitigation. A short-term case study.

Three floodplains were selected for study in the Mawddach catchment, just north of the town of Dolgellau in Central Wales. Vegetation cover scenarios were modelled for each site using the hydrodynamic model River 2D. The first two sites provided no real potential for using floodplain woodland in flood mitigation, although modelled water depths increased by up to 50 cm due to the presence of dense vegetation on the floodplain. At the third site, dense woodland, with an average basal area of 0.10 m2/m2, reduced modelled peak discharge by 45 m3sec-1 when compared with grassland. This also delayed peak discharge by more than 30 minutes and created a backwater effect that increased water depths by more than 1.2 m for a distance of 1.3 km upstream of the floodplain. Two other vegetation scenarios, sparse and clustered woodland, were also modelled for the third site. Although sparse woodland had just 45% of the basal area of the clustered woodland, it had a similar effect in mitigating modelled flood levels downstream.
Association between Ventilatory Thresholds Related to Aerobic Fitness and MCT1 A1470T Polymorphism

The purpose of this study was to verify the association between MCT1 polymorphism with physiological parameters related to aerobic fitness. A hundred fifty healthy male volunteers performed a maximal incremental running test to determine the speeds corresponding to Ventilatory Threshold (VT) and Respiratory Compensation Point (RCP). Participants were genotyped and divided in terciles based on the analyzed variables. Genotype frequencies were compared through chi-square test between lower (LT) and higher terciles (HT), with the lowest or highest values of each analyzed variable. MCT1 TT genotype was overrepresented in HT only for VT and showed a significantly higher odds ratio of belong to HT for VT compared only to AA (5.1). These results suggest that TT individuals could attain the VT and RCP at higher speeds, being able to sustain higher running speeds in lower exercise intensity domains. In other words, it is possible that individuals carrying the MCT1 TT genotype might run at higher speeds with lower fatigue signals, mimicking an inner aerobic fitness adaptation.
Culture-dependent methods increase observed soil bacterial diversity from Marcellus shale temperate forest in Pennsylvania

Soil bacteria comprise a largely untapped resource for improvements in environmental and biomedical sciences, yet only 1-10% are culturable in the laboratory (Hirsch and Valdés, 2009). This poor representation has been attributed to the stringent growth demands and low growth rate of some species (Torsvik et al., 1990). Developing culture-dependent protocols that identify unique bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) is an important research topic in soil bacterial ecology. Establishing new OTUs in culture will permit the study of their morphology and physiology that may advance agriculture and pharmacology. Culturability may be improved by employing different media to satisfy inherent preferences of growth substrate utilization. Therefore, soilextract agar, R-2A agar and 1% nutrient agar were used in this study. Soil bacteria were isolated in the winter from Abernathy Field Station, a Marcellus shale temperate forest in Washington, Pennsylvania. Monitoring bacterial diversity in this ecosystem can be used to assess the early environmental consequences of anthropological factors, such as hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus shale region. For long term monitoring, this sample collection was analyzed in conjunction with previous years’ assessments. Isolates were analyzed taxonomically and phylogenetically. Unique OTUs were identified through comparative analysis of 16S rDNA. The Shannon-Weaver and Simpson’s diversity indices ranked isolates on soil-extract agar highest for species richness. Rarefaction analysis suggested that sampling saturation of OTUs identified on soil-extract agar had not yet been reached. Each medium studied supported isolates of four common phyla: Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria. Soil-extract agar supported the greatest proportion of pigmented colonies including a cyanobacterium with intra16S rDNA polymorphism. Each medium supported the growth of unique OTUs and genera with Bacillus, Flavobacterium, Pseudomonas, Rhizobium, and Streptomyces found on each. This study suggests that utilizing different media can increase the culturability of soil bacteria, giving a wider representation of soil bacterial communities.
Caffeine boosts preparatory attention for reward-related stimulus information

Both the intake of caffeine-containing substances and the prospect of reward for performing a cognitive task have been associated with improved behavioral performance. To investigate the possible common and interactive influences of caffeine and reward-prospect on preparatory attention, we tested 24 participants during a 2-session experiment in which they performed a cued-reward color-word Stroop task. On each trial, participants were presented with a cue to inform them whether they had to prepare for presentation of a Stroop stimulus and whether they could receive a reward if they performed well on that trial. Prior to each session, participants received either coffee with caffeine (3 mg/kg bodyweight) or with placebo (3 mg/kg bodyweight lactose). In addition to behavioral measures, electroencephalography (EEG) measures of electrical brain activity were recorded. Results showed that both the intake of caffeine and the prospect of reward improved speed and accuracy, with the effects of caffeine and reward-prospect being additive on performance. Neurally, reward-prospect resulted in an enlarged contingent negative variation (CNV) and reduced posterior alpha power (indicating increased cortical activity), both hallmark neural markers for preparatory attention. Moreover, the CNV enhancement for reward-prospect trials was considerably more pronounced in the caffeine condition as compared to the placebo condition. These results thus suggest that caffeine intake boosts preparatory attention for task-relevant information, especially when performance on that task can lead to reward.
Weak supervised image semantic segmentation method based on superpixels and conditional random field

The invention discloses a weak supervised image semantic segmentation method based on superpixels and a conditional random field, and belongs to the field of image processing. The method is characterized in that the number K of pre-segmented super-pixels can be adaptively generated when an SLIC algorithm is used for segmenting an image, color features and texture features are fused for super-pixelcombination, and the iteration termination condition is that the number of combined super-pixel blocks is equal to three times of the number of category labels. An undirected graph model is constructed by taking the super-pixel blocks as nodes; the category association information and the similarity in the image are added into a pair of potential energy functions; the super-pixel blocks are enabled to be in one-to-one correspondence with the category labels, a second-order conditional random field energy function is taken as a semantic segmentation model to carry out label inference, and an inference result is a result of optimizing the energy function, and the target classification is converted into a problem of minimizing the energy function. According to the method, a superpixel segmentation algorithm is improved, and a conditional random field model is introduced, so that the precision of weak supervised semantic segmentation is improved.
Isolation and Efficient Maize Protoplast Transformation

[Abstract] Establishing plant gene function and the study of gene expression regulation often require that genes (or gene variants) are introduced into plants and their activity somehow assayed. Some plants ( e.g. , Arabidopsis ) are easily transformed, while for others ( e.g. , maize) making stable transgenic plants remains challenging, is expensive and time-consuming. An alternative solution to generating transgenic plants is to assay gene function transiently. In some plants, it is possible to do this by Agro-infiltration. We have adapted a maize protoplast isolation protocol that permits high-efficiency transformation by electroporation, irrespective of the genetic background. Transformed protoplasts have been used to assay gene function using metabolic profiling, to explore protein-DNA interactions using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), and to assay the activation of reporter constructs by transcription factors. Here, we describe the protocol for efficient maize protoplast isolation and transformation by electroporation.
A polynomial-chaos-expansion-based building block approach for stochastic analysis of photonic circuits

The Building Block (BB) approach has recently emerged in photonic as a suitable strategy for the analysis and design of complex circuits. Each BB can be foundry related and contains a mathematical macro-model of its functionality. As well known, statistical variations in fabrication processes can have a strong effect on their functionality and ultimately affect the yield. In order to predict the statistical behavior of the circuit, proper analysis of the uncertainties effects is crucial. This paper presents a method to build a novel class of Stochastic Process Design Kits for the analysis of photonic circuits. The proposed design kits directly store the information on the stochastic behavior of each building block in the form of a generalized-polynomial-chaos-based augmented macro-model obtained by properly exploiting stochastic collocation and Galerkin methods. Using this approach, we demonstrate that the augmented macro-models of the BBs can be calculated once and stored in a BB (foundry dependent) library and then used for the analysis of any desired circuit. The main advantage of this approach, shown here for the first time in photonics, is that the stochastic moments of an arbitrary photonic circuit can be evaluated by a single simulation only, without the need for repeated simulations. The accuracy and the significant speed-up with respect to the classical Monte Carlo analysis are verified by means of classical photonic circuit example with multiple uncertain variables.
Defining the Developmental Toxicity of the Herbicide Dicamba Using the Zebrafish Model System

Use of the herbicide dicamba has been modest throughout the U.S.; however, with Monsanto’s introduction of Xtend crops in 2016, dicamba use is expected to signifi cantly increase. This rise poses a risk of dicamba entering drinking water supplies, especially in the midwestern United States. Currently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not established a maximum contaminant level for dicamba in drinking water.
Exploring the Long Term Effects of Educational Policies on the Income Redistribution Processes

Public finance of post-compulsory education modifies substantially the supply of educational qualifications. Such modification has crucial implications for the long-term income distribution processes: in a context of sustained increases of demand for educational qualifications (brought about by various factors, among which the incorporation of new technologies and international competition may be emphasized), growth in supply reduces the increasing trend of the educational wage premium, contributing, thus, to control the enlargement of primary income inequality. This long-term effect combines with the rest of redistributive effects generated by educational policies and, more specifically, by public finance. In this paper the mentioned long-term effects are tackled, both from a methodological perspective and from a comparative analysis applied to developed countries. The Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) databases, together with the European Community Household Panel (ECHP) database (for Spain) were used in the empirical work.