Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Isolation and characterization of plantaricin produced by Lactobacillus plantarum strains (IIA-1A5, IIA-1B1, IIA-2B2).

Bacteriocins produced by Indonesian lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus plantarum IIA-1A5, IIA-1B1, IIA-2B2 were purified and characterized. Plantaricin W gene had been successfully amplified from all strains. This amplicon showed the expected 200 bp size of plantaricin W gene. This bacteriocins purified from L. plantarum IIA-1A5, IIA-1B1, and IIA-2B2 were named plantaricin IIA-1A5, IIA-1B1, and IIA-2B2. Purification by cation exchange chromatography increased the purity (fold) and activity of plantaricins. Purity of plantaricin IIA-1A5 was increased by 3.13 fold with specific activity 13.40 AU/mg. Plantaricin IIA-1B1 had 2.98 fold purity with specific activity 5.12 AU/mg, while purity of plantaricin IIA-2B2 was 1.37 fold with specific activity 7.70 AU/mg. All plantaricins could inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Bacillus cereus, and Staphylococcus aureus . Plantaricins could be digested by trypsin. Stability of plantaricins at 80 o C for 30 min and at 121 o C for 15 min were affected by type of plantaricin and species of pathogenic bacteria. Generally, plantaricin IIA-1A5 was better as antimicrobial agent than plantaricin IIA-1B1 and plantaricin IIA-2B2.
Stochastic Interactive Activation and the Effect of Context on Perception

Abstract : Classically, context exerts a biasing effect on perceptual identification responses given without time pressure. Such effects are well described by classical models formulated in terms of signal detection theory or Luce's theory of choice. The classical models do not describe the actual time course of processing, however; they simply produce characterizations of asymptotic response probabilities. In this article, mathematical analysis and computer simulation methods are used to show that interactive activation models exhibit the classical effect of context when they are allowed to run to equilibrium, if there is variability in the input to the network or if there is intrinsic randomness in the processing activity of the network itself. The findings suggest that interactive activation models should not be viewed as alternatives to classical accounts, but as hypotheses about the dynamics of information processing that lead to the asymptotic behavior that the classical models describe. (KR)
Examining the Role of Knowledge Sharing in Promoting Innovation in the Service Sector of Pakistan

The present research paper aims to conduct an in-depth investigation to determine how knowledge sharing influences experimental innovation, exploitative innovation, and also their concurrent form, i.e. ambidextrous innovation. To achieve this aim successfully, the principles of causal research positivist paradigm is followed. Data is gathered from 192 lower and middle managers in different private organizations in the service sector of Pakistan and is analyzed through the techniques of inferential statistics, such as, regression, correlation and factor analysis. The main findings of the present study reveal that there is a significant positive influence of knowledge gathering on exploitative, experimental and ambidextrous innovation. While, there is a significant positive impact of knowledge contribution from inside the department on the ambidextrous and exploitative innovation. In contrast, there is no statistically significant impact of knowledge contribution from outside the department on any of the three strategies of innovation. The study hopes to draw the attention of the academicians and practitioners towards the significant role of knowledge sharing on the dimensions of innovation. Keywords: knowledge, knowledge sharing, knowledge creation, exploitative innovation, experimental innovation, ambidexterity innovation
Promoting questioning skills by biology undergraduates: The role of assessment and feedback in an online discussion forum

There is strong evidence from the literature that the development of questioning by students can have very positive effects on learning. This study has its focus on an online discussion forum (ODF), “Questions in Biology”, designed for the development of questioning skills and deep learning about Evolution. This strategy was also used as an alternative mode of students’ assessment. The ODF was used with 70 undergraduates from Biology/Geology courses at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, during the second semester of 2008/2009. Our aim was to explore student questioning and learning development as well as the role played by assessment and teacher feedback in these processes. Data collected included all the student and teacher transcripts from the discussion forum and interviews with ten selected students and the teacher. All the transcripts were subjected to content analysis. Students’ posts were categorised against the Acquisition-Specialization-Integration questioning categories, developed by Pedrosa-de-Jesus and colleagues (2004, 2006) and the ‘cognitive presence’ in one of the four phases of the ‘practical inquiry model’: 1) triggering event; 2) exploration; 3) integration, and 4) resolution. The teacher’s posts were analysed according to the ‘teaching presence’: 1) design and organization, 2) facilitation and 3) direct instruction. Data analysis showed important relationships between student questioning and cognitive presence that indicates the development of student questioning in association with higher-order learning. Teaching presence was shown to be effective, and the feedback provided by the teacher essential for attaining those fundamental goals. Very positive opinions by the students and the teacher confirmed the importance of formative assessment and the role of assessment aligned to teaching, learning and the desired outcomes. We believe that “Questions in Biology” represents a good example of formative assessment and a positive contribution for the adoption of teaching, learning and assessment practices in Higher Education envisaging higher-level learning.
Printed Compact Lens Antenna for UHF Band Applications

A new microwave lens antenna suitable for ultra-high frequency (UHF: 300 MHz-3 GHz) band applications is proposed. An improved bow-tie antenna and a planar metamaterial lens design is presented. 5 dB improvement in boresight gain and a directive radiation pattern is achieved with the lens. The application of the designed antenna is demonstrated in a ground penetrating radar (GPR) experiment. The size of the antenna is very compact compared to other antennas found in the literature used for similar applications.
Predicting Aggregate Properties of Soil Communities vs. Community Structure in an Agricultural Setting

Increasing amounts of environmental data are being collected. With environmental data, we often encounter the situation of having to predict several target variables of similar type, such as biomasses of different species. This situation is usually handled by computing an aggregate target variable (like total biomass or a biodiversity measure) and then predicting the aggregate variable. Another possible (but rarely taken) approach is to model all target variables and then calculate the aggregate variable from the model outputs. In this paper, we try to answer the question whether the simpler approach of producing one model for the aggregate target variable is worse than the more complex approach of producing multiple models and then calculating the aggregate variable from the model outputs. We do this by taking a dataset describing the agricultural events and soil biological parameters as independent variables and a set of microarthropod species biomasses as dependent variables. We calculated several aggregate target variables such as total biomass, Shannon biodiversity and species richness from the original data. We build models to predict these directly, and also build separate predictive models for the biomass of the microarthropod species and calculate the aggregate target variables from the outputs of these models. We compared the aggregate variables calculated from the measured data, the aggregate variables predicted directly and the aggregate variables calculated from the outputs of the models for individual species using the Parson correlation coefficient and two additional error measures. Our results show, that in most cases first calculating the aggregate variables, and then learning models to predict these directly yields better results than modeling individual species and then calculating the aggregate variables from the predictions of these models.
Statistica Sinica Preprint No : SS-2016-0396 . R 2 Title Fully Efficient Joint Fractional Imputation for Incomplete Bivariate Ordinal Responses

We propose a fully efficient joint fractional imputation method for handling bivariate ordinal responses with missing observations. We show that the method is ideally suited for bivariate ordinal responses to create a single imputed data file and provides valid and efficient inferences for the joint and marginal probabilities, association measures as well as regression analysis. Asymptotic properties of estimators based on the joint fractionally imputed data set are developed and their superiority over existing methods, including available-case analysis, propensity score adjustment and sequential regression multiple imputation methods, is demonstrated through both theoretical results and simulation studies. The proposed joint fractional imputation strategy employs modelling procedures that could be used for the sequential regression multiple imputation method but creates a single imputed data set which can be easily analyzed using existing softwares with minor modifications. Variance estimation and test of independence are also discussed under the proposed joint fractional imputation method. Statistica Sinica: Newly accepted Paper (accepted version subject to English editing)
Electronic band structure and effective mass parameters of Ge1-xSnx alloys

This work investigates the electronic band structures of bulk Ge1-xSnx alloys using the empirical pseudopotential method (EPM) for Sn composition x varying from 0 to 0.2. The adjustable form factors of EPM were tuned in order to reproduce the band features that agree well with the reported experimental data. Based on the adjusted pseudopotential form factors, the band structures of Ge1-xSnx alloys were calculated along high symmetry lines in the Brillouin zone. The effective masses at the band edges were extracted by using a parabolic line fit. The bowing parameters of hole and electron effective masses were then derived by fitting the effective mass at different Sn compositions by a quadratic polynomial. The hole and electron effective mass were examined for bulk Ge1-xSnx alloys along specific directions or orientations on various crystal planes. In addition, employing the effective-mass Hamiltonian for diamond semiconductor, band edge dispersion at the Γ-point calculated by 8-band k.p. method was fitted.
The Riskiness of Risk Models

We provide an economic valuation of the riskiness of risk models by directly measuring the impact of model risks (specification and estimation risks) on VaR estimates. We find that integrating the model risk into the VaR computations implies a substantial minimum correction of the order of 10-40% of VaR levels. We also present results of a practical method - based on a backtesting framework - for incorporating the model risk into the VaR estimates.
Models solvable by Bethe Ansatz 1

Diagonalization of integrable spin chain Hamiltonians by the quantum inverse scattering method gives rise to the connection with representation theory of different (quantum) algebras. Extending the Schur-Weyl duality between sl2 and the symmetric group SN from the case of the isotropic spin 1/2 chain (XXX-model) to a general spin chains related to the Temperley-Lieb algebra TLN(q) one finds a new quantum algebra Uq(n) with the representation ring equivalent to the sl2 one.
Atherogenic lipids profile relates to postprandial hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia due to whole body insulin resistance in prediabetic subjects

Backgrounds: Differences in serum lipids profiles in different type of glucose intolerance are unclear. Aims: To characterize lipid profiles in different type of glucose intolerance, and to assess relationships between serum lipids profile and disturbance of glucose metabolism in prediabetic subjects. Methods: Using the measurements in medical check-up with 75 goral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), total of 620 male subjects, who are not on medications for metabolic diseases or hypertension, were divided into normal fasting glucose and glucose tolerance (NFG/ NGT), isolated impaired fasting glucose (iIFG), isolated impaired glucose tolerance (iIGT) and combined IFG and IGT (IFG/IGT) based on results of the OGTT. Results: Age and body mass index (BMI) were similar in the four groups. Matsuda index (an index of whole body insulin sensitivity) was lower in iIFG, iIGT and IFG/IGT as compared with NFG/NGT. Plasma insulin excursion during the OGTT was significantly higher in IFG/IGT versus NFG/NGT. Serum triglyceride level (TG) and TG to HDL ratio (TG/HDL) were higher in IFG/IGT versus NFG/NGT. Matsuda index was positively correlated with HDL and was inversely correlated with TG, LDL, non-HDL, TG/ HDL and LDL to HDL ratio (LDL/HDL). Backward stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that increases in BMI, plasma insulin level at 60 min (PI60) and plasma glucose level at 120 min in the OGTT were independently associated with increases in TG and TG/HDL. Increases in BMI and PI60 were related to an increase in non-HDL and LDL/HDL and a decrease in HDL. Conclusions: These results indicate that postprandial hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia based on advanced insulin resistance are closely related to lipid risk factors of atherosclerotic macrovascular disease in prediabetic subjects.
What Kinds of Value Motives Guide People in Their Moral Attitudes? The Role of Personal and Prescriptive Values at the Culture Level and Individual Level

Opinions about moralized issues are arguably one of the most difficult issues in interpersonal dialogues given that they can result in intolerance and prejudicial behavior toward those with divergent moral beliefs. Recent research has shown that moral attitudes vary not only depending on the individual’s characteristics but also as a function of culture. Individuals from individualistic-oriented cultures exhibit more lenient judgments toward moralized issues than those from collectivistic-oriented cultures. What is unclear to date is what kinds of cultural value motives underlie these attitudes—Are they driven only by intrinsic value motives (personal values) or also by extrinsic value motives (prescriptive values in the form of societal expectations about what should be valued)? The cultural press to conform is arguably stronger if moral attitudes are predicted by the latter. Participants from eight countries (N = 1,456) responded to a questionnaire containing a modified version of the Schwartz Value Survey assessing personal and prescriptive values. The results showed that personal value ratings of openness-to-change versus conservation at the culture and individual levels were predictive of individuals’ moral attitudes consistent with previous findings. Prescriptive value ratings of openness-to-change versus conservation also predicted individuals’ moral attitudes, but only at the aggregated culture level. This suggests that the prescriptive values concept is a truly group-level phenomenon and that attitudes toward moralized issues are guided by cultural values with normative qualities. We discuss the implications for intercultural contact situations.
Unobserved Component Models of the Phillips Relation in the ASEAN Economy

The subject of this paper is the estimation of the Phillips relation iV the inflation-output gap tradeoff iV for ASEAN countries. Unobserved component (UC) models are employed in order to extract the output gap from GDP data. We also obtain stylised facts on macroeconomic cycles namely, (i) that the average cyclical period for output is approximately four years, and (ii) that the output movement leads that of investment. The inflation equation is then estimated as part of a bivariate model that includes an equation for GDP; the lagged output gaps enter the inflation equation as additional explanatory variables. The evidence for the significant relationship between the output gap and inflation in ASEAN appears to be very weak.
Assessing the Functional Role of Frontal Eye Fields in Voluntary and Reflexive Saccades Using Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation

The frontal eye fields (FEFs) are core nodes of the oculomotor system contributing to saccade planning, control, and execution. Here, we aimed to reveal hemispheric asymmetries between left and right FEF in both voluntary and reflexive saccades toward horizontal and vertical targets. To this end, we applied fMRI-guided continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) over either left or right FEF and assessed the consequences of this disruption on saccade latencies. Using a fully counterbalanced within-subject design, we measured saccade latencies before and after the application of cTBS in eighteen healthy volunteers. In general, saccade latencies on both tasks were susceptible to our experimental manipulations, that is, voluntary saccades were slower than reflexive saccades, and downward saccades were slower than upward saccades. Contrary to our expectations, we failed to reveal any TMS-related effects on saccade latencies, and Bayesian analyses provided strong support in favor of a TMS null result for both tasks. Keeping in mind the interpretative challenges of null results, we discuss possible explanations for this absence of behavioral TMS effects, focusing on methodological differences compared to previous studies (task parameters and online vs. offline TMS interventions). We also speculate about what our results might reveal about the functional role of FEF.
Screaming Fast Galois Field Arithmetic Using Intel SIMD Extensions

Galois Field arithmetic forms the basis of Reed-Solomon and other erasure coding techniques to protect storage systems from failures. Most implementations of Galois Field arithmetic rely on multiplication tables or discrete logarithms to perform this operation. However, the advent of 128-bit instructions, such as Intel’s Streaming SIMD Extensions, allows us to perform Galois Field arithmetic much faster. This short paper details how to leverage these instructions for various field sizes, and demonstrates the significant performance improvements on commodity microprocessors. The techniques that we describe are available as open source software.
New record of a very specialized interaction: myrcidris epicharis Ward 1990 (Pseudomyrmecinae) and its myrmecophyte host Myrcia madida McVaugh (Myrtaceae) in Brazilian Meridional Amazon

In this study we present a new record of a plant-animal interaction: the mutualistic relationship between the specialist plant-ant Myrcidris epicharis Ward, 1990 (Pseudomyrmecinae) and its myrmecophyte host Myrcia madida McVaugh (Myrtaceae). We observed more than 50 individuals of M. madida occupied by M. epicharis in islands and margins of the Juruena River, in Cotriguacu, Mato Grosso, Brazil (Meridional Amazon). We discuss a possible distribution of this symbiotic interaction throughout all the riparian forest of the Amazon River basin and its consequence to coevolution of the system.
AWorkload-AdaptableMethod forMigrated Software to the Cloud

Due to the elastic nature of the cloud environments, migration of the legacy software systems to the cloud has become a very attractive solution for service providers. To provide Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), an application provider has to migrate his software to the cloud infrastructure. The most challenging issue in the migration process is minimizing the cloud infrastructure (VM’s) costs while preserving the quality requirements of the service consumers. In this paper a self-adaptive method for migrated applications to the cloud is proposed in which an intelligent auto-scaling component continuously monitors the incoming application workloads and performs vertical or horizontal scaling. Since reacting to the transient workload changes always results in useless sequences of “acquire-release” actions of cloud resources and imposes unwanted overhead costs on the service provider, the auto-scaling component recognizes the transient workloads using a Learning Automata and only reacts to the stable ones. The OpenStack platform is used for evaluating the applicability of proposed method in real cloud environments. The experimental results demonstrate the ability of the proposed method in recognizing the transient workloads and consequently reducing the overall costs of the service provider. c © 2015 JComSec. All rights reserved.
BEARING STRENGTH OF CONCRETE CONTAINING POLYSTYRENE AGGREGATE

Concrete has the ability to withstand a higher concentrated load over part of its area than the load placed over its entire area. Previous studies on the bearing capacity of normal weight concrete indicated that the bearing strength is related to the compressive strength and the total area to bearing area ratio. This paper reports the results of an experimental investigation into the bearing strength of polystyrene aggregate concrete as a function of the bearing area and compressive strength. Expanded polystyrene granulates can be used with the conventional concrete making materials to produce lightweight polystyrene aggregate concrete, having a wide range of performance characteristics. Normal weight high-strength concrete mixture, having the compressive strength of about 80 MPa, was modified to produce reductions in density of concrete by replacing varying amounts of the coarse aggregate with expanded polystyrene beads. Using 200 mm concrete cube specimens, the bearing strength of polystyrene aggregate concrete was determined. Square and circular bearing area shapes were used and the bearing area was varied from one-half to oneeighth of the total area. The bearing strength (fb) for polystyrene aggregate concrete is given by the following empirical expression: fb = (0.635 + p) fc‘ (R) 0.5 where p is a coarse aggregate replacement level by polystyrene, R is the ratio of total area to bearing area and fc‘ is the concrete compressive strength obtained from a cylinder test. The failure pattern under the bearing load was found to vary with the decrease in the density of polystyrene aggregate concrete. The lightweight polystyrene particles are found to enhance the durability of concrete when it is either subjected sulphate attack or freeze-thaw cycles.