Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Conjugate sparse plus low rank models for efficient Bayesian interpolation of large spatial data

A key challenge in spatial data science is the analysis for massive spatially‐referenced data sets. Such analyses often proceed from Gaussian process specifications that can produce rich and robust inference, but involve dense covariance matrices that lack computationally exploitable structures. Recent developments in spatial statistics offer a variety of massively scalable approaches. Bayesian inference and hierarchical models, in particular, have gained popularity due to their richness and flexibility in accommodating spatial processes. Our current contribution is to provide computationally efficient exact algorithms for spatial interpolation of massive data sets using scalable spatial processes. We combine low‐rank Gaussian processes with efficient sparse approximations. Following recent work by Zhang et al. (2019), we model the low‐rank process using a Gaussian predictive process (GPP) and the residual process as a sparsity‐inducing nearest‐neighbor Gaussian process (NNGP). A key contribution here is to implement these models using exact conjugate Bayesian modeling to avoid expensive iterative algorithms. Through the simulation studies, we evaluate performance of the proposed approach and the robustness of our models, especially for long range prediction. We implement our approaches for remotely sensed light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data collected over the US Forest Service Tanana Inventory Unit (TIU) in a remote portion of Interior Alaska.
Heteropneustes fuscus (Siluriformes: Heteropneustidae), a new catfish species from Kerala, India

Abstract. Plamoottil M. 2021. Heteropneustes fuscus (Siluriformes: Heteropneustidae), a new catfish species from Kerala, India. Biodiversitas 22: 87-98. Heteropneustes fuscus, a new catfish species, is described from Kerala, India; it is a close congener of Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch, 1794) described from Tranquebar in Tamil Nadu. Heteropneustes fuscus has been misidentified as H. fossilis until now, but it differs from Bloch's species in color and many other rigid taxonomic variables. The new species can be distinguished from its relative species in the following combination of characters: deep black body and fins, 4-5 branched dorsal-fin soft rays, 72-75 anal fin rays, 58-60 total vertebrae, 26-32 total gill rakers; deeper and wider body; deeper caudal peduncle; greater pre occipital and post occipital distances and longer anal fin. The new fish is edible and found in freshwater rivers, streams, ponds and paddy fields in Kerala. It is also cultivated in some artificial impoundments. Heteropneustes fuscus is compared with its congeners, scientifically named and taxonomically described.
The Role of PTEN in Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition

Simple Summary The PTEN phosphatase is a ubiquitously expressed tumor suppressor, which inhibits the PI3K/AKT pathway in the cell. The PI3K/AKT pathway is considered to be one of the main signaling pathways that drives the proliferation of cancer cells. Furthermore, the same pathway controls the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). EMT is an evolutionarily conserved developmental program, which, upon aberrant reactivation, is also involved in the formation of cancer metastases. Importantly, metastasis is the leading cause of cancer-associated deaths. In this review, we discuss the literature data that highlight the role of PTEN in EMT. Based on this knowledge, we speculate about new possible strategies for cancer treatment. Abstract Phosphatase and Tensin Homolog deleted on Chromosome 10 (PTEN) is one of the critical tumor suppressor genes and the main negative regulator of the PI3K pathway. PTEN is frequently found to be inactivated, either partially or fully, in various malignancies. The PI3K/AKT pathway is considered to be one of the main signaling cues that drives the proliferation of cells. Perhaps it is not surprising, then, that this pathway is hyperactivated in highly proliferative tumors. Importantly, the PI3K/AKT pathway also coordinates the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), which is pivotal for the initiation of metastases and hence is regarded as an attractive target for the treatment of metastatic cancer. It was shown that PTEN suppresses EMT, although the exact mechanism of this effect is still not fully understood. This review is an attempt to systematize the published information on the role of PTEN in the development of malignant tumors, with a main focus on the regulation of the PI3K/AKT pathway in EMT.
Pneumonia Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors among under-Five Children in Goncha Siso Enesie District, Northwest Ethiopia

Background. Pneumonia is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among under-five children in various localities of Ethiopia. This study was aimed to assess the prevalence of pneumonia and its associated factors among under-five children who were visiting Ginde Woyin health center, Goncha Siso Enesie District, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods. A health center-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 403 participants by a systematic random sampling technique. Data were collected using questionnaires and sputum diagnosis. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 26.0. Binary and multivariable logistic regressions were used to analyze the risk variables, and P values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results. The overall prevalence of pneumonia among under-five children was 24.3% (95% CI: 20.1, 28.3). The significant predictors for under-five pneumonia identified were the use of wood as a source of fuel for cooking (AOR = 2.769; P = 0.049 ), starting complementary food before six months of age (AOR = 2.080; P = 0.033), and mixed breastfeeding conditions (AOR = 5.229; P = 0.001 ). The highest under-five pneumonia was observed among children of age below one year (33.6%), rural dwellers (30.4%), family sizes above five (31.8%), children from families with a monthly income of less than 1000 Ethiopian Birr (<19.03 USD) (27.8%), whose mothers were students (61.5%), houses where cooking took place in the living room (37.8%), homes that lacked windows in the kitchens (28.4%), homes that lacked windows (41.5%), and mixed breastfeeders (44.1%). Conclusion. The prevalence of under-five pneumonia in the present study was relatively high. The findings in the present study will help policy makers and program officers to design pneumonia-preventive interventions.
Prevalence and Characteristics of Accessory Mandibular Canals: A Cone-Beam Computed Tomography Study in a European Adult Population

The purpose of this observational study is to evaluate the prevalence and main characteristics of bifid canals within a European adult population, analyzing cone-beam-computed tomography (CBCT). The population study examined 300 subjects. The CBCTs were performed between 2012 and 2019, using PaX-Zenith3D with a standard protocol of acquisition. The parameters analyzed were the presence and lengths of the bifid mandibular canals. The sample included 49% male and 51% female participants. The mean age of the patients was 47.07 ± 17.7 years. Anatomical variants of the mandibular canal were identified in 28.8% of the sides and 50.3% of the patients. In 7.3% of the subjects, the anatomical variants were present bilaterally. The most frequently encountered bifid canal was Type 3 (40.5%), followed by the Type 1 canal (39.3%), the Type 2 canal (14.5%), and the Type 4 canal (5.9%), 40% on the right side and 60% on the left side. The average length of the bifid canals located on the right side of the mandible was 11.96 ± 5.57 mm, compared to 11.38 ± 4.89 mm for those measured on the left side. The bifid mandibular canal is a common anatomical variation of the mandibular canal. It is fundamental to performing an accurate preoperative evaluation using CBCT analysis to avoid and/or reduce intraoperative and postoperative complications.
Two-stage energy storage equalization system for lithium-ion battery pack

How to raise the efficiency of energy storage and maximize storage capacity is a core problem in current energy storage management. For that, two-stage energy storage equalization system which contains two-stage equalization topology and control strategy based on a symmetric multi-winding transformer and DC-DC (direct current-direct current) converter is proposed with bidirectional active equalization theory, in order to realize the objectives of consistent lithium-ion battery packs voltages and cells voltages inside packs by using a method of the Range. Modeling analysis demonstrates that the voltage dispersion of lithium-ion battery packs and cells inside packs can be kept within 2 percent during charging and discharging. Equalization time was 0.5 ms, which shortened equalization time of 33.3 percent compared with DC-DC converter. Therefore, the proposed two-stage lithium-ion battery equalization system can achieve maximum storage capacity between lithium-ion battery packs and cells inside packs, meanwhile efficiency of energy storage is significantly improved.
Node Monitoring as a Fault Detection Countermeasure against Information Leakage within a RISC-V Microprocessor

Advanced, superscalar microprocessors (μP) are highly susceptible to wear-out failures because of their highly complex, densely packed circuit structure and extreme operational frequencies. Although many types of fault detection and mitigation strategies have been proposed, none have addressed the specific problem of detecting faults that lead to information leakage events on I/O channels of the μP. Information leakage can be defined very generally as any type of output that the executing program did not intend to produce. In this work, we restrict this definition to output that represents a security concern, and in particular, to the leakage of plaintext or encryption keys, and propose a counter-based countermeasure to detect faults that cause this type of leakage event. Fault injection (FI) experiments are carried out on two RISC-V microprocessors emulated as soft cores on a Xilinx multi-processor System-on-chip (MPSoC) FPGA. The μP designs are instrumented with a set of counters that records the number of transitions that occur on internal nodes. The transition counts are collected from all internal nodes under both fault-free and faulty conditions, and are analyzed to determine which counters provide the highest fault coverage and lowest latency for detecting leakage faults. We show that complete coverage of all leakage faults is possible using only a single counter strategically placed within the branch compare logic of the μPs.
Use of Leaf Water Potential to Determine Water Stress in Field-grown Tomato Plants1

Tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) were grown under 4 irrigation treatments. In the first three an attempt was made to maintain soil water at a different level for each treatment. The fourth treatment was an approximation of the varied moisture levels that would be encountered with furrow irrigation. Leaf water potential (ΨL) was affected more during a day by atmospheric factors than by soil water availability. Hourly changes in ΨL and air water potential (Ψ air) were highly correlated (range .94*** and .99***). ΨL decreased as the plant aged, apparently due to decreasing soil water availability, decreasing root activity, and increasing resistance to water flow in stems and leaves. The stress factor, (which is an integration of the area below −6 bars; a critical level for tomatoes) was determined from the second degree polynomial regression of time versus ΨL and is proposed as a useful integration of ΨL. By using stepwise regression it was found that plant water status as evaluated by tensiometer reading, stress factor, the ratio of soil water/soil water at field capacity, and daily pan evaporation had the greatest effect on yield and total soluble solids content of tomato fruit.
HIGHLIGHTING ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILLS IN ACADEMIC CURRICULA: “I STILL HAVEN'T FOUND WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR”

The potential of young people to develop their own industrial, commercial or social projects and, thereby, to innovate and think “out-of-the-box” is, more than ever, understood as a survival skill to face the current socioeconomic context. Accordingly, since the beginning of the third millennium, the number of entrepreneurship education initiatives have growing fast. Entrepreneurship education is essential not only to shape the mind-sets of young people but also to provide the skills, knowledge and attitudes that are nuclear to developing an entrepreneurial culture. For higher education, this “new” challenge is particularly high, as the ultimate step in the academic career. Notwithstanding the importance given to entrepreneurship in higher education, some questions remain to explain. This paper intends to analyze how entrepreneurship is defined in the learning outcomes proposed in the new study programs submitted to quality accreditation in Portugal, since 2009. In the scope of a qualitative approach, the content of the learning outcomes was analyzed, distinguishing between technical and generic skills. In general, results reveal that entrepreneurship is fairly mentioned as softskill, however, encompassing a vast range of definitions. “To be aware of market opportunities to develop new ideas and new digital projects”, “to adopt a risk-taking posture in business”, or “to develop a sense of initiative and entrepreneurship, and cultural awareness” are examples of how this skill is defined. A better understanding of the multiple definitions related to entrepreneurship skill is provided for our analysis and their multiple ways of implementation into practice is highlighted.
Factors limiting reproductive success in urban Greylag Geese (Anser anser)

In the late eighties, Greylag Geese (Anser anser) started to colonise an urban area previously void of geese in southwestern Germany. Between 2004 and 2020, in a period of steady population increase with subsequent population stagnation, we analysed two measures of reproductive success: (1) the relation between freshly hatched to fledged young for each brood and (2) the probability of a hatchling to survive to fledging. We were able to show that the dispersal of pairs from the nesting site to a different brood rearing area resulted in higher reproductive success. However, the increasing population size of Greylag Geese and the number of breeding pairs of recently immigrated Egyptian Geese (Alopochen aegyptiaca) had a negative impact on reproductive success, indicating density dependence. Our results show that newly established populations in urban settings do not grow indefinitely, which is an important fact that should be taken into account by wildlife managers.
Effects of the Basal Medium on Growth of Immature Tomato Embryos in Vitro

Embryos of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) were excised 15 days after pollination and cultured on 20 different media to test a broad range of concentrations of salts, sucrose, and organic supplements on growth and development. Embryo growth and morphological development on 6 of the experimental media were better than on Murashige and Skoog’s (1962) revised tissue culture medium. Salt and sucrose levels were significant in their effects on growth, as was the interaction of salts with vitamins and amino acids. The medium with high salts, high sucrose, and low vitamins and amino acids was superior to any of the other treatments.
Correlation Between Banana Storage Life and Minimum Treatment Time Required for Ethylene Response1

Good correlation was found between length of storage life of banana (Musa cavendishii Lambert cv. Dwarf Cavendish) and minimum treatment time required for ethylene ripening response at harvest. All test bananas responded to 24 hours or less of 10 ppm ethylene treatment. Based on 29 sample groups of greenhousegrown ‘Dwarf Cavendish’ bananas, a linear regression equation relating banana storage life in days in air at 21°C (as output Y) and minimum time in hours required for ripening response to 10 ppm ethylene (as input X) was obtained as Y = 4.59 + 1.25X. The 2 variables had a correlation coefficient of 0.92.
Dimensional improvements of the logarithmic Sobolev, Talagrand and Brascamp-Lieb inequalities

In this work we consider dimensional improvements of the logarithmic Sobolev, Talagrand and Brascamp-Lieb inequalities. For this we use optimal transport methods and the Borell-Brascamp-Lieb inequality. These refinements can be written as a deficit in the classical inequalities. They have the right scale with respect to the dimension. They lead to sharpened concentration properties as well as refined contraction bounds, convergence to equilibrium and short time behaviour for the laws of solutions to stochastic differential equations.
Effects of Shoot, Root, and Shank Chilling during Rest in Apple and Peach on Growth Resumption and Carbohydrates

One-year-old nursery trees of ‘Redchief’ apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) on MM106, M9, and seedling rootstocks and ‘Redhaven’ peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch. ] on Lovell rootstock were subjected to root and shoot chilling treatments for 1500 and 1200 hr, respectively, followed by forcing in the greenhouse. Budbreak and new shoot and root growth were increased by chilling the apple root and shoot. In contrast, only shoot chilling increased these parameters in peach. When shanks of clonal apple rootstocks were treated as part of the shoot, statistical interaction between shoot and root chilling was eliminated when the shank was treated as part of the root. The root chilling effect was significant for both clonal and seedling apple rootstocks. Rootstock temperature (4° or 16°C) did not affect starch, soluble sugars, or sorbitol levels in scion, shank, or roots of apple and peach. Starch and soluble sugars generally decreased throughout the chilling and forcing phases, while sorbitol increased.
Physiological and biochemical performance of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) seeds treated with essential oils used to control phytopathogens

This work aimed to evaluate the physiological and biochemical performance of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) seeds treated with essential oils (EOs) of citronella (Cymbopogon sp.), guaçatonga (Casearia sylvestris Sw.), melaleuca (Melaleuca sp. L.), patchouli (Pogostemon sp. Benth), and pitangueira (Eugenia uniflora L.). The experimental design was completely randomized in double factorials (5 oils × 4 doses) at different doses (10, 20, 30, and 40 μL), with an additional treatment that served as growth control (without EOs, 0 μL). In other words, the experimental design entails 5 oils × 4 doses + 1 control, with 4 replicates of 100 Grand Rapid lettuce seeds without industrial chemical treatment. The response variables were: first germination count (FGC, %), last germination count (LGC, %), germination rate (GR), normal seedlings (NS, %), abnormal seedlings (AS, %), aerial part length (APL, cm), fresh mass (mf, g), total soluble proteins content (mg•g-1), and enzyme activities of β-1,3-glucanase (UA•mg-1) and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL, UA•mg-1). The lettuce plant proved to be a good reference plant for evaluations related to physiological and biochemical performance when treated with EOs. However, although treatment of lettuce seeds with EOs did not cause undesirable damages, it positively altered the physiological parameters APL and mf. All EOs affected the total proteins content and enzyme activities of PAL and β-1,3-glucanase. Therefore, EOs demonstrated the potential to activate the plant's defense mechanism to control phytopathogens. More specifically, 10 μL of citronella EO activated two plant defense mechanisms: PAL and β-1,3-glucanase activities. In addition, EOs of melaleuca (10 and 40 μL) and patchouli (20 and 30 μL) also activated PAL enzyme activity.
Transcriptome-wide analysis reveals gluten-induced suppression of small intestine development in young chickens

Abstract Wheat gluten is an increasingly common ingredient in poultry diets but its impact on the small intestine in chicken is not fully understood. This study aimed to identify effects of high-gluten diets on chicken small intestines and the variation of their associated transcriptional responses by age. A total of 120 broilers (Ross Strain) were used to perform two animal experiments consisting of two gluten inclusion levels (0% or 25%) by bird’s age (1 week or 4 weeks). Transcriptomics and histochemical techniques were employed to study the effect of gluten on their duodenal mucosa using randomly selected 12 broilers (3 chicks per group). A reduction in feed intake and body weight gain was found in the broilers fed a high-gluten containing diet at both ages. Histochemical photomicrographs showed a reduced villus height to crypt depth ratio in the duodenum of gluten-fed broilers at 1 week. We found mainly a significant effect on the gene expression of duodenal mucosa in gluten-fed broilers at 1 week (289 differentially expressed genes [DEGs]). Pathway analyses revealed that the significant DEGs were mainly involved in ribosome, oxidative phosphorylation, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling pathways. These pathways are involved in ribosome protein biogenesis, oxidative phosphorylation and fatty acid metabolism, respectively. Our results suggest a pattern of differential gene expression in these pathways that can be linked to chronic inflammation, suppression of cell proliferation, cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. And via such a mode of action, high-gluten inclusion levels in poultry diets could lead to the observed retardation of villi development in the duodenal mucosa of young broiler chicken.
Fast dispersion tailoring of multimode photonic crystal resonators

We introduce a numerical procedure which permits to drastically accelerate the design of multimode photonic crystal resonators. Specifically, we demonstrate that the optical response of an important class of such nanoscale structures is reproduced accurately by a simple, one-dimensional model, within the entire spectral range of interest. This model can describe a variety of tapered photonic crystal structures. Orders of magnitude faster to solve, our approach can be used to optimize certain properties of the nanoscale cavity. Here we consider the case of a nanobeam cavity, where the confinement results from the modulation of its width. The profile of the width is optimized, in order to flatten the resonator dispersion profile (so that all modes are equally spaced in frequency). This result is particularly relevant for miniaturizing parametric generators of non-classical light, optical nano-combs and mode-locked laser sources. Our method can be easily extended to complex geometries, described by multiple parameters.