Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EMPIRICAL STUDY AND ENHANCEMENT ON DEEP TRANSFER LEARNING FOR SKIN LESIONS DETECTION

Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer. One in every three cancers diagnosed is a skin cancer according to skin cancer foundation statistics globally. The early detection of this type of cancer would help in raising the opportunities of curing it. The advances in computer algorithms such as deep learning would help doctors to detect and diagnose skin cancer automatically in early stages. This paper introduces an empirical study and enhancement on deep transfer learning for skin lesions detection. The study selects different pre-trained deep convolutional neural network models such as resnet18, squeezenet, google net, vgg16, and vgg19 to be applied into two different datasets. The datasets are MODE-NODE and ISIC skin lesion datasets. Data augmentation techniques have been adopted in this study to enlarge the total number of images in the datasets to be 5 times larger than the original datasets. The adopted augmentation techniques make the DCNN models more robust and prevent overfitting. Moreover, seven accredited performance matrices in deep learning have been used to conclude an optimal selection of the most appropriate DCNN model that fits the nature of the skin lesions datasets. The study concludes that vgg19 is the most appropriate DCNN according to testing accuracy measurement and achieved 98.8%. The seven performance matrices strengthen this result. Also, a comparative result was introduced with related works. The vgg19 overcomes the related work in terms of testing accuracy and the performance matrices on both datasets. Finally, the vgg19 model was trained on a smaller number of images than the related work by 10 times, which proved that the choice of data aug-mentation techniques played an important role in achieving better results. That would reflect on reducing the training time, memory consumption and the calculation complexity.
Award Number: W81XWH-05-1-0279 TITLE: Development of a Novel Therapeutic Paradigm Utilizing a Mammary Gland- Targeted, Bin-1 Knockout Mouse Model

Genes that modify oncogenesis may influence dormancy versus progression in cancer, thereby affecting clinical outcomes. The Bin1 gene encodes a nucleocytosolic adapter protein that interacts with and suppresses the cell transforming activity of Myc. Bin1 is often attenuated in breast cancer but its ability to negatively modify oncogenesis or progression in this context has not been gauged directly. In this study, we investigated the effects of mammary gland– specific deletion of Bin1 on initiation and progression of breast cancer in mice. Bin1 loss delayed the outgrowth and involution of the glandular ductal network during pregnancy but had no effect on tumor susceptibility. In contrast, in mice where tumors were initiated by the ras-activating carcinogen 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene, Bin1 loss strongly accentuated the formation of poorly differentiated tumors characterized by increased proliferation, survival, and motility. This effect was specific as Bin1 loss did not accentuate progression of tumors initiated by an overexpressed mouse mammary tumor virus-c-myc transgene, which on its own produced poorly differentiated and aggressive tumors. These findings suggest that Bin1 loss cooperates with ras activation to drive progression, establishing a role for Bin1 as a negative modifier of oncogenicity and progression in breast cancer. [Cancer Res 2007;67(1):100–7]
Association of IL-12B rs3212227 and IL-6 rs1800795 Polymorphisms with Susceptibility to Cervical Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Primary studies have shown that the IL-12B rs3212227 and IL-6 rs1800795 polymorphisms are associated with an increased risk of cervical cancer. However, conflicting results warrant a meta-analysis to obtain more precise estimates. Methods: A comprehensive literate search on PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, CNKI, and SciELO was performed to collect all eligible studies up to November 10, 2019. The pooled odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to calculate the risk. This meta-analysis was carried out by utilizing CMA software. Results: A total of eleven case-control studies including four studies on IL-12B rs3212227 and seven studies on IL-6 rs1800795 were selected. Pooled ORs revealed that the IL-6 rs1800795 polymorphism was significantly associated with an increased risk of cervical cancer (C vs. G: OR = 1.294, 95% CI 1.071-1.564, p= 0.007; CC vs. GG: OR = 1.633, 95% CI 1.059-2.520, p= 0.027; CC+CG vs. GG: OR = 1.312, 95% CI 1.048-1.643, p= 0.018; and CC vs. CG+GG: OR = 1.592, 95% CI 1.268-1.999, p≤0.001), but not IL-12B rs3212227 polymorphism. Stratified analysis by ethnicity revealed that both IL-12B rs3212227 and IL-6 rs1800795 polymorphisms were associated with risk of cervical cancer in Asian women. Conclusions: Our pooled data revealed that the IL-12B rs3212227 and IL-6 rs1800795 polymorphisms may be used to identify individuals at high risk of cervical cancer in Asian women.
Screening of antioxidant potential and antimicrobial studies of Grewia tiliifolia Vahl. (Tiliaceae)

Aims: This study was aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity, and antioxidant profile of different extracts of tender leaf part of Grewia tiliifolia Vahl. which are commonly used in Ayurveda drug preparations. Methodology: Tender leaf part of G.tiliifolia subjected to analyze the antioxidant potential by various methods, such as DPPH, ABTS and Ferrous ion chelating assay further, to assess the in vitro antimicrobial activity of Grewia species by using disc diffusion method against different microorganisms. Results: The results of the present investigation revealed that higher levels of chelating ability for ferrous ions was observed in the crude ethyl acetate extract of tender leaves of G.tiliifolia. Methanol extract also exhibited maximum antioxidant activity in DPPH and ABTS•+ assays. The antimicrobial activity showed the highest zone of inhibition in chloroform extract. Conclusion: Tender leaves of the species which exhibited well marked antioxidant and antimicrobial activity.
The Impact of Surgery and Radiotherapy on Health-Related Quality of Life of Individuals with Oral and Oropharyngeal Carcinoma and Short-Term Follow up after Treatment

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the quality of life of patients with oral or oropharyngeal cancer by using specific questionnaires (QLQ-C30 and QLQ-HandN35), varying according to the location of the tumor (oral cavity or oropharynx) and the treatment performed (only surgery or surgery associated with radiotherapy). Methods: Fifty patients were enrolled in this study and answered the EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC HandN35 questionnaires, before (baseline), at 1 week, and 3 months after treatment. Internal consistency reliability was calculated with the Cronbach coefficient. The Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon tests were applied and P<. 05 was considered significant. Results: Some aspects showed significant difference (P<.05) between tumor location (oral/oropharyngeal) and treatment performed (surgery or surgery plus radiotherapy) only for the baseline and 1 week after treatment periods. Conclusion: Quality of life is a factor that affected patients with head and neck cancer. The time elapsed after treatment, whether surgical or surgical plus radiotherapy, influenced patient quality of life. The period of greatest morbidity was 1 week after treatment.
Spatial and temporal variation in historic fire regimes in subalpine forests across the Colorado Front Range in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA

Aim The historical variability of fire regimes must be understood in the context of drivers of the occurrence of fire operating at a range of spatial scales from local site conditions to broad‐scale climatic variation. In the present study we examine fire history and variations in the fire regime at multiple spatial and temporal scales for subalpine forests of Engelmann spruce–subalpine fir (Picea engelmannii, Abies lasiocarpa) and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) of the southern Rocky Mountains.
Isolation and characterization of 30 microsatellite loci for Cunninghamia lanceolata (Taxodiaceae)1

Premise of the study: To quantify the population-level genetic characteristics of Cunninghamia lanceolata (Taxodiaceae), an important timber conifer, we developed 30 pairs of microsatellite primers based on the nuclear genome. Methods and Results: Using the streptavidin-biotin capture system, we developed 14 polymorphic and 16 monomorphic microsatellites. Polymorphisms were detected in 14 loci using 94 individual trees that were collected from three C. lanceolata populations in Hubei and Zhejiang provinces and in Chongqing Municipality, China. There were three to 30 alleles per locus, and the observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.0313–0.8333 and from 0.0313–0.9246, respectively. Cross-species amplification showed that two to seven polymorphic loci were functional in three of the five related species that were collected. Conclusions: Our newly developed microsatellite primers provide neutral molecular markers that are beneficial to future studies of population genetics and germplasm conservation of C. lanceolata.
Technical aspects of microscale flight systems

Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) have excellent potential utility as flight platforms for optical, acoustic, electronic and chemical sensors for operation in hazardous sites with aerial access. The dimensions and performance specifications call for a 100 g take-off mass with 100-200 mm wingspan that must fly at 5-20 m/s for approximately 30 minutes. Owing to the low operating Reynolds number (Re), the aerodynamic performance of all lifting surfaces is degraded. The small scales and speeds also mean that atmospheric turbulence has a severe effect, and small thermal cycle engines that could profit from the high energy densities of fossil fuels are unavailable. It is thus difficult to obtain good performance. Studies have been made of wing plus propeller systems, rotor systems and flapping wing systems. In all cases, LID is in the range of 5-10. Flapping is about as efficient as propeller motion at this Re, but more complicated mechanically. The ThrustWing is a configuration derivative of the dragonfly, with characteristics lying between a helicopter and an ornithopter. It has both zero and forward flight capabilities, and appears to have good potential as a MAV configuration. Finally, the effects of atmospheric turbulence are described and shown to fall into four qualitatively different categories as turbulence intensity increases. Due to favourable scaling, the stresses in MAVs will be very low, and although turbulence will cause large G loads on the MAV, no structural damage will result.
Effects of Land use on the Structural Diversity of Soil Bacterial Communities in Southeastern Iran

Assessment of soil microbial community composition in arid and semi-arid regions is an important issue. The aim of this work was to analyze and compare the bacterial communities in three different neighboring land uses (orchard, farm and shrub land) in arid-region soils located in southeast of Iran using molecular biology-based. The analysis of the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified 16S rDNA fingerprints demonstrated that bacterial community composition in all land uses was different. Clustering analysis of the DGGE bands of 16S rDNA fragments revealed that bacteria in the three soil samples from each land use formed a separated cluster, indicating variation in species composition between land uses. However, the results showed that the species richness and Shannon-Wiener diversity index differed significantly among different land uses while Pielou’s evenness index did not show any significant differences. These findings indicate that land use was one of the major factors in variation of species composition of soil bacterial communities.
Concentrations of bioactive compounds in foliage and stem-bark of Senna siamea (lam.)

Alkaloids, anthraquinonnes, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, phlobatannin, polyphenols, saponins, steroids, tannins and terpenoids were ten groups of infochemicals studied in the foliage and stembark of Senna siamea (Lam.), a plantation species grown in Yola. The experimental design was the Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replications. Results obtained from the experiments indicated that all the ten groups of infochemicals were present in this plant species. It was further observed that there were significant difference between the tree parts of foliage and stem-bark for four infochemicals (alkaloid, flavonoid, saponins, and total phenols) determined (p > 0.05). Generally, there were more amounts of total phenols (17.49 ± 0.17) than that of the other infochemicals. However, alkaloids, flavonoids and saponins did not differ significantly at p < 0.05 with mean values of 0.06 ± 0.01, 0.06 ± 0.01, and 0.19 ± 0.06 g/g respectively. The results implied that the species had potentials in pharmaceutical, agrochemical and in other allied industries.
Preservice Science Teachers’ Beliefs About Computational Thinking Following a Curricular Module Within an Elementary Science Methods Course

The authors describe their study of a curricular module on computational thinking (CT) implemented within an elementary science methods course and reported insights on preservice science teachers’ (PSTs’) beliefs about CT integration. The research question was, “Following participation in a curricular module on CT, what is the nature of PSTs’ beliefs about CT integration in their elementary science classrooms? ” The authors designed and implemented a three-class-session CT module within an undergraduate elementary science methods course. They observed and collected field notes on PSTs’ ( N = 39) participation in the module, along with class artifacts. They examined the data to gain insight into PSTs’ perceptions of CT integration in elementary science education, its feasibility, and its value for their own teaching practice. They found that PSTs overwhelmingly supported the pedagogical innovation of integrating CT in their science teaching; they appreciated that CT modernized and made science education engaging for young learners; and, they generally believed that CT integration supported the implementation of what they understood as good science teaching practice. However, the PSTs believed they would face a variety of challenges in their efforts to integrate CT into their science teaching. Implications for CT teacher education are discussed.
Comparative Effects of Carvedilol and Lercanidipine on Ultrafiltration and Solute Transport in CAPD Patients

Background. Peritonitis, the type of buffer used in the dialysate, continue ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) of greater than two years duration, increased exposure to dialysate glucose, diabetes mellitus, and the use of beta blockers may contribute to impaired ultrafiltration. Objectives. The aim of the present study is to compare the effects of a calcium-channel blocker and a β-blocker on the peritoneal transport and clearance. Methods. We studied 48 patients with ESRD on chronic peritoneal dialysis, included 27 females and 19 males with mean age 42.6 ± 16.4 years. Two patients were excluded from the study due to peritonitis. Patients were treated either with carvedilol or lercanidipine. In all patients; peritoneal equilibration test (PET), ultrafiltration (UF), Kt/V ratio, creatinine clearance (CrCl), systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, serum BUN, creatinine, glucose, sodium, potassium, albumin, cholesterol, and triglyceride values were obtained before and after 8 weeks from the start of the drug treatment. Results. Lercanidipine and carvedilol showed a good antihypertensive effect in CAPD patients. Both drugs had a good tolerability profile and showed no effect on plasma lipids. There were no differences in terms of PET, ultrafiltration, Kt/V ratio, CrCl, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, serum BUN, creatinine, glucose, sodium, and potassium values between both patient groups. After antihypertensive treatment, neither group showed a difference in the above-mentioned parameters (p > 0.05) except potassium, which was significantly higher in the carvedilol group (p < 0.05). Conclusions. In CAPD patients. short-term usage of carvedilol has no effect on ultrafiltration and solute transport like lercanidipine. Both drugs showed a good antihypertensive effect.
Believe Me - We Can Do This! Annotating Persuasive Acts in Blog Text

This paper describes the development of a corpus of blog posts that are annotated for the presence of attempts to persuade and corresponding tactics employed in persuasive mes- sages. We investigate the feasibility of classifying blog posts as persuasive or non-persuasive on the basis of lexical fea- tures in the text and the tactics (as provided by human an-notators). Annotated tactics provide substantial assistance in classifying persuasion, particularly tactics indicating formal reasoning, deontic obligation, and discussions of possi- ble outcomes, suggesting that learning to identify tactics may be an excellent ﬁrst step to detecting attempts to persuade.
Hydraulic Conductivity and Aquaporins of Cortical Cells in Gravitropically Bending Roots of Pisum sativum L.

Abstract We examined the differential elongation of gravitropically bending roots of Pisum sativum L. in terms of cell enlargement and water uptake by cells in the growing tissue. Hydraulic conductivity between the elongating and mature tissues (Lp) was estimated from the equation G = A × Lp × Δψ, where G is the water-uptake rate, A is the surface area of a single cell and Δψ is the driving force. The rate of entry of water into a cell was estimated from the rate of increase in the volumes of cells in the outer cortex, which were calculated from longitudinal sections at given times. Gravitropic bending occurred 1 h after the application of gravi-stimulation and the curvature increased rapidly for the next 3 h. The biggest difference in the partial elongation rate between opposite sides of a root was found in the region 3 to 4 mm from the root tip at the start of stimulation. Cell enlargement rate was 2.8 to 3.8 times greater on the upper side of the root than on the lower side. The water potential and the osmotic potential, in both the elongating and mature tissues, were the same on both sides of the root. Therefore, there was no difference in the driving force for water flow. Hydraulic conductivity was 2.3 to 4.2 times greater on the upper side of the root than on the lower side. There was no difference between the upper and lower sides of the root in the amounts of 19-kD and 24-kD proteins in membrane fractions, which we assumed to be aquaporins (putative aquaporins), as estimated with two preparations of polyclonal antibodies. The differential elongation that occurred during root gravitropism was caused by a difference in Lp. However, the difference in Lp did not appear to be regulated by the concentration in cell membranes of the putative aquaporins.
Discovery of the Black-headed Ground Snake Rhynchocalamus melanocephalus (Jan, 1862) in Cyprus (Reptilia: Colubridae)

We identified two snakes from Paphos district in south-western Cyprus as belonging to the secretive genus Rhynchocalamus. They represent the first record of these snakes in Cyprus. Morphological features and mitochondrial 16S DNA sequences suggest that these specimens belong to R. melanocephalus, a species widely distributed in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The genetic similarity to a specimen from northern Israel may imply either a human-mediated dispersal or a natural colonization. These observations thus raise the number of snake species known to occur in Cyprus to 12.
Micropropagation of the Indian Birthwort

Aristolochia indica L. is a medicinal woody perennial climber plant of immense pharmaceutical value. The species is endangered with possible extinction due to its indiscriminate harvesting as raw material for pharmaceutical industry, to manufacture drugs against cholera, inflammation, biliousness, dry cough and snake bite. A rigorous attempt has been made for development of in vitro propagation procedure for this species, involving four steps, namely: culture establishment, shoot multiplication, rooting and hardening. Aseptic cultures were established by growing nodal segments (1 to 1.5 cm) as explants on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 5.0 μM N6-Benzyladenine (BA). Five nutrient media, MS, Woody Plant Medium (WPM), Gamborg Medium (B5), Nitsch and Nitsch Medium (NN), and Schenk and Hildebrandt Medium (SH) supplemented with different cytokinins and auxins at a concentration of 10.0 μM were used in this study. Ads at 10.0 μM proved optimum for in vitro shoot multiplication. The treatment resulted in 100% shoot number per explant at 15 days and 61.9% at 30 days on MS medium, 65.2% node number per shoot at 15 days and 196.2% at 30 days on WPM medium and 147.5 and 366.6% node number per explant at 30 days after inoculation on MS medium. The in vitro
A 3D-DIC Method for High Temperature Application

The experimental design for measuring full-field creep strain at elevated temperatures using 3D Digital Image Correlation (3D-DIC) is presented. This method addresses the challenge of suppressing blackbody radiation and maintaining speckle pattern contrast through the careful selection of white illumination and colour filters. Furthermore, a procedure for the application of a heat-resistant coating capable of withstanding deformation is discussed. By conducting high temperature tensile tests on a Gleeble thermomechanical simulator, the system is tested for deformation measurement up to 900°C. The performance of the methodology at extended periods of time is proven to make it suitable for accelerated creep tests at 600°C.
SEEDLING EMERGENCE AND POLYEMBRYONY IN TWO SPECIES OF Inga (Mimosacea)

Termos para indexação: Ingá, poliembrionia, emergência, semente, germinação Introduction The Inga genus has approximately 350 species distributed mainly in areas with great water saturation, although some species could occur in drained areas (Pennington 1997). In areas of cerrado some species have distribution associated to river course (Lieberg and Joly 1993, Faria 2006). The genus presents essentially species with recalcitrant seeds and high germinability (Bacchi, 1961; Figliolia and Kageyama, 1994; Prittchard et al., 1995; Zamith and Scarano, 2004; Faria et al., 2005), but with few studies about seedling emergence. Inga laurina (Sw.) Willd. and I. sessilis are Cerrado wood species that present economic interest due to the use of the wood and the palatability of the fruits (Lorenzi 1992). Both of them present high germinability and recalcitrant seeds, and I. laurina present polyembryony (MendesRodrigues et al. 2007). The objective of the work was to determine the seedling emergence of Inga laurina and I. sessilis pattern and to evaluate the occurrence of variability between individuals in the first species. The final aim was to quantify the occurrence of polyembryony in the seeds of the two species.
The Relationship between Globalization and Air Pollution: Panel Analysis

This study examines the role of globalization on the environmental pollution by taking into account social, economic, and political aspects. The focus area of this research is specifically air pollution. Changes in the atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases attributable to land use change activities and forest areas are utilized as an indicator of air pollution. Besides, the percent of population living in places where average concentration of PM2.5 exceeds World Health Organization (WHO) thresholds is used as an indicator of air pollution as well. Panel vector autoregression (Panel VAR) analysis reveals the existence of a causal relationship from globalization to those air pollution indicators.