Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Population ecology of epiphytic angiosperms: A review

Epiphytic angiosperms represent ca. 10 % of the world's flowering plants and are key elements in tropical forests. Here we synthesize the available literature on their population ecology in an attempt to find patterns that may characterize them. Epiphytes tend to have specialized pollination systems frequently involving animal vectors, resulting in a mixture of selfing and outcrossing that ensures abundant seed production. Seed dispersal is anemochorous in 84 % of the species and is pivotal for the establishment of new local populations within metapopulation. Seed germination is highly dependent on specific environmental conditions, resulting in seedling establishment in particular microhabitats on phorophytes. Individual growth rates are slow and limited by the low water and nutrient availability characteristic of the epiphytic habitat. Population growth rates (λ) are close to unity and depend mostly on the survival of adults. This plant group is highly vulnerable to habitat loss and climate change. Resumen: Las angiospermas epifitas representan ca. 10 % de las plantas con flores del mundo y son elementos clave en los bosques tropicales. Aqui sintetizamos la literatura disponible sobre su ecologia de poblaciones en un intento por encontrar patrones que las puedan caracterizar. Las epifitas suelen tener sistemas especializados de polinizacion que con frecuencia involucran a vectores animales, lo cual determina que se presente una mezcla de autofecundacion y polinizacion cruzada, lo que garantiza una produccion abundante de semillas. La dispersion de semillas es anemocora en 84 % de las especies y es fundamental para el establecimiento de nuevas poblaciones locales en las metapoblaciones. La germinacion de semillas dependen en gran medida de condiciones ambientales especificas, lo que resulta en el establecimiento de plantulas en microhabitats particulares sobre los forofitos. Las tasas de crecimiento individuales suelen ser lentas y estan limitadas por la baja disponibilidad de agua y nutrientes que caracterizan el habitat de las epifitas. Las tasas de crecimiento poblacional (λ) estan cerca de la unidad y dependen principalmente de la supervivencia de los adultos. Este grupo de plantas es muy vulnerable a la perdida de habitat y al cambio climatico. Resumo: As angiospermas epifitas representam aproximadamente 10% das plantas com flores do mundo e sao elementos-chave nas florestas tropicais. Nesta revisao sintetizamos a literatura disponivel sobre a sua ecologia populacional, na tentativa de encontrar padroes que possam caracteriza-la. As epifitas tendem a ter sistemas especializados de polinizacao que envolvem frequentemente vetores animais, de que resulta uma mistura de autofecundacao e fecundacao cruzada, que garante a producao de sementes abundantes. A dispersao de sementes
Phenotypic and Genotypic Investigation of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococci Species Isolated from Children with Sepsis in Egypt

Staphylococci are the most abundant isolated bacteria from blood (Yalaz, 2006 and Nicoleta et al., 2016). Since septicemia with Staphylococcus aureus is associated with a high mortality and an increased length of stay in hospital, timely detection and identification of S. aureus or coagulase-negative Staphylococci S TAPHYLOCOCCUS spp. has emerged as a major cause of sepsis. Methicillin resistance is a pattern of resistance which hinders the management of such infection. The aims of the present study were to isolate Staphylococci spp. from children with clinical signs and symptoms of sepsis at Mansoura University Children Hospital (MUCH), Egypt. Then to detect methicillin resistance Staphylococci (MRS) using primary screening test followed by molecular typing of the methicillin resistant Staphylococci isolates by multiplex PCR. MRS sepsis was diagnosed in a total 100 patient from February 2015, till February, 2016. 18 (18%) of isolates were identified as S. aureus and 82 (82%) of Staphylococci spp. were identified as coagulase negative Staphylococci (CoNS). S. hominis subsp. hominis was the commonest species of CoNS (32/ 82, 39%), followed by S. sciuri (9/82, 11%). the rate of Oxacillin resistance among all isolated Staphylococci strains was (100%) in both S. aureus and CoNS isolates.
Strategies for Empowering Rural Women through Viable Entrepreneurial Ventures through Micro Credit

This paper is based on role of viable entrepreneurial ventures to be developed in the women entrepreneurs in rural areas. Women's development is directly related with national development. The effective management and development of women's resources, their abilities, interests, skills and other potentialities are of paramount importance in human resources development. Rural women entrepreneurship plays a catalytic role in activating the factors of production leading to an overall economic development in India. Entrepreneurship development and income generating activities are a feasible solution for empowering women. It generates income and also provides flexible working hours according to the needs of homemakers. Economic independence is the need of the hour. This paper makes a strong case for entrepreneurial ventures as a new development paradigm for bringing about gender equity among rural women in India by creating self-employment opportunities through microcredit. This study is based on the premise that poor women can internalize production possibilities in groups only. They are better - equipped to overcome the negative social pressure and gender biases operating against them through ventures identity and activity.
WILS: Wireless Indoor Localization System using Commercial WiFi Infrastructures with Decimeter Accuracy

we present Wireless Indoor Localization System (WILS) that enables commercial WiFi infrastructures to implement localization in the complex indoor environment. Receive Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) is utilized by some systems to get a high accuracy of localization, but they are easily be affected by the environment. Other use modified hardware or firmware, such as increasing the number of antennas to obtain enormous location precision. To solve this problem, WILS uses physical layer information, called Channel State Information (CSI). And it does not require modification in any hardware and firmware. WILS makes four technical contributions for achieving a high accuracy in localization. At first, it proposes a new algorithm, called Modified MUSIC (MMUSIC), and it can estimate Angle of Arrival (AoA) and Time of Flight (ToF) at the same time from CSI information. Next, it introduces some methods to sanitize the phase, and improve the accuracy of measured phase. Third, it presents an idea of window slides to do CSI Smoothing for CSI measurements. Finally, it utilizes clustering algorithm to identify Line of Sight (LoS) path, and combines the AoA for LoS path and RSSI to locate the target. Our implementation on commodity WiFi cards demonstrates that WILS’s accuracy is comparable to advanced localization systems, it can achieve a median accuracy of 60 cm. Keywords-indoor localization; channel state information (CSI); angle of arrival (AoA); time of flight (ToF); modified MUSIC, line of sight(LoS); phase sanitization
GLOBAL SOLUTION FOR THE KADOMTSEV-PETVIASHVILI EQUATION (KPII) IN ANISOTROPIC SOBOLEV SPACES OF NEGATIVE INDICES

It is proved that the Cauchy problem for the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation (KPII) is globally well-posed for initial data in anisotropic Sobolev spaces Hs0(R2) with s > −1/14. The extension of a local solution to a solution in an arbitrary interval is carried out by means of an almost conservation property of the Hs0 norm of the solution.
Spatial analyst methods for urban planning

In urban planning, the development of the city for the future must be controlled. Therefore, in the city planning phase, it is necessary to plan for all events, from meteorological conditions, weather pollution, and settling to traffic accidents, according to potential future requirements. Road maps produced using statistical methods must be the base products for city planning. This study develops methods to obtain maps to determine traffic hot zones in Konya, Turkey, by applying Spatial Analyst (SA) supported by Geographical Information Systems (GIS). In this study, unlike preceding studies, the aim is to determine new safe routes and zones with the help of GIS. Another, different aim is to map and determine graduated hot or safe zones using different criteria. Accident criteria (AC): AC1 is the number of mortalities criterion, AC2 is the number of injured people criterion, AC3 is the number of accidents with damage only criterion and AC4 is the total number of accidents criterion. Key words: Spatial analyst, kernel density estimation, GIS, density map, traffic accidents.
Data Acquisition and Transmission System for Building Energy Consumption Monitoring

Building energy consumption monitoring and management system have been developed widely in China in order to gain the real-time data of energy consumption in buildings for analyzing it in the next state work. This paper describes a low-cost and small-sized collector based on the STM32 microcontroller, which can be placed in a building easily to implement the work of data acquisition, storage, and transmission. The collector gathers the electricity, water, heat, and energy consumption data through the RS485 field bus and stores the data into an SD card with mass storage, finally, using Internet to finish the communication and transmission to data server through TCP protocol. The collector has been used in application for two years, and the results show that the system is reliable and stable.
Performance Impact of Middle Managers' Adaptive Strategy Implementation: the Role of Social Capital

This article reconciles mixed findings about the performance impact of middle managers' strategy involvement. We propose that the relationship between middle managers' adaptive strategy implementation—through upward and downward influence—and objective business performance can be curvilinear and contingent on formal and informal structures. Applying a multilevel perspective to social networks, we empirically show that reputational social capital enhances the performance impact of middle managers' upward influence while informational social capital elevates the performance impact of their downward influence. The size of a business unit or region has differential moderating effects. The curvilinear effects of middle managers' upward influence and reputational and informational social capital on business unit performance reflect paradoxes. We discuss the implications of these findings for strategy implementation research and practice. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Polynomials in the Volterra and Ritt operators

We continue the paper [Ts] on the boundedness of polynomials in the Volterra operator. This provides new ways of constructing power-bounded operators. It seems interesting to point out that a similar procedure applies to the operators satisfying the Ritt resolvent condition: compare Theorem 5 and Theorem 9 below. 1. Preliminaries. An operator A is called power-bounded if sup n≥0 ‖A‖ <∞. Denote by V the classical Volterra operator
Modeling the Number of Research Papers Produced by Graduate Students Using Zero-Inflated Models

The objective of this case study is to discuss a step by step approach in modeling zero inflated over dispersed counts using data on the number of research papers produced by a group of biochemistry students. The model can be further used to study factors associated with differences in productivity of students within the PhD (Biochemistry) stream. We fit a Zero Inflated Negative Binomial (ZINB) regression model in order to predict the number of articles produced during the last three years of PhD from factors indicating the gender of the student, marital status, the number of children aged five or younger and the number of articles produced by a PhD mentor during the last three years. The dispersion parameter is found to be significantly different from zero, suggesting that the counts are over dispersed, and that a Negative Binomial (NB) model is more appropriate than a Poisson model. Vuong’s test further suggests that our zero-inflated model is a significant improvement over a standard NB model. Thus, the ZINB model is a clear winner in terms of parsimony and goodness of fit for the data. Based on our model, we find significant disadvantages for females and scientists with children under five and a large positive effect of the number of publications by the mentor. The presentation is accessible to readers with an intermediate level of statistics.
Using the exact Zoeppritz equations in pseudo-linear form: Inversion for density

A simple method is presented for inverting offset-varying amplitudes to obtain the density contrast across an interface. This method employs no approximations to the Zoeppritz equations, and may be applied to either conventional or converted-wave data. It consists essentially of solving a cubic equation for the density contrast, the coefficients of which are dependent upon amplitudes, velocities, and angles of incidence. These must be known or estimated beforehand. The effect of errors in the input are considered.
Evaluation of phase correction algorithms outside the validity boundaries

In high-resolution X-ray Computed Tomography, the phase shift and refraction of X-rays can under certain circumstances become visible in the projection images, being superimposed on the attenuation images. As such, it can also become visible in the reconstructed volume. This can be beneficiary for the visualization, yet it is often considered an imaging artefact which hinders proper 3D analysis. Under normal experimental conditions, it is mathematically not possible to retrieve the phase information or the attenuation information correctly without multiple acquisitions. However, several methods exist to perform phase retrieval or phase correction, which use assumptions on the object or the imaging setup. In this presentation, the effect of a violation of these assumptions is discussed.
Limited-view ultrasonic guided wave tomography using an adaptive regularization method

Ultrasonic guided waves are useful to assess the integrity of a structure from a remote location. Recently, tomography techniques have been developed to quantitatively estimate the thickness map of plate-like structures based on the dispersion characteristics of guided waves. In many applications only limited locations are available to place transducers. The missing viewing angles lead to artifacts which can degrade the image quality. To address this problem, this paper applies the regularization method to synthesize the missing components. The regularization technique is performed by an adaptive threshold approach to the limited view reconstruction. The effectiveness of this method combined with the full waveform inversion method is demonstrated by using numerical simulations as well as experiments on an irregularly shaped defect and two flat-bottom defects. The results indicate that the additional components obtained from the regularization method can significantly reduce the artifacts, leading to bette.
Spatiotemporal distribution of interplate coupling in southwest Japan from inversion of geodetic data

[1] We determine the spatiotemporal distribution of slip (or slip deficit) on the subduction interface of the Nankai trough over an entire earthquake cycle using geodetic data (including leveling, triangulation, and trilateration, sea level, and GPS surveys) obtained during the past 100 years in southwest Japan. We develop a new inversion method that accounts for long-term crustal deformation, coseismic (earthquake) displacements, and stress relaxation of the viscoelastic asthenosphere. From this analysis we obtain a model that shows postseismic afterslip on the deeper part of the plate interface following the 1946 Nankaido earthquake. Significant afterslip is found beneath central Shikoku that totals about 0.8 m. The slip deficit rate during the interseismic period is 5–6 cm/year in the N50°W–N60°W direction, which is consistent with the relative plate motion between the Philippine and Amurian plates. A fully locked region is found in the shallower portion (<30 km), and the slip deficit rate has a maximum at a depth of about 20 km. The plate interface deeper than 30 km is slowly slipping. The amount of slip deficit reaches about 3.3 m off Shikoku and about 2 m off the Kii peninsula 50 years after the 1946 earthquake. This suggests that fault healing and full interplate coupling has occurred by this time along the Nankai trough.
Transglycosilation activity of Aspergillus oryzae-derived α-glucosidase

a Department of Bioscience, Faculty of Bio-environmental Science, Kyoto Gakuen University, 1-1 Nanjyo Otani, Sogabe-cho, Kameoka, Kyoto 621-8555, Japan b Genome Biotechnology Laboratory, Kanazawa Institute of Technology, 3-1 Yatsukaho, Hakusan, Ishikawa 924-0838, Japan c Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Mukogawa Women’s University, 6-46 Ikebiraki-cho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo 663-8558, Japan d Ozeki General Research Laboratory, 4-9 Imadzu Dezaike-cho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo 663-8227 e Laboratory of Food Science and Health, 448-5 Creation Core Kyoto Mikuruma 215, Kajii-cho, Kawaramachi Imadegawa, Kamigyou-ku, Kyoto 602-0841
Avalanche multiplication characteristics of Al0.8Ga0.2As diodes

The avalanche multiplication characteristics of Al0.8Ga 0.2As have been investigated in a series of p-i-n and n-i-p diodes with i-region widths, w, varying from 1 μm to 0.025 μm. The electron ionization coefficient, α, is found to be consistently higher than the hole ionization coefficient, β, over the entire range of electric fields investigated. By contrast with AlxGa1-xAs (x≤0.6) a significant difference between the electron and hole initiated multiplication characteristics of very thin Al0.8Ga0.2As diodes (w=0.025 μm) was observed. Dead space effects in the diodes with w≤0.1 μm were found to reduce the multiplication at low bias below the values predicted from bulk ionization coefficients. Effective α and β that are independent of w have been deduced from measurements and are able to reproduce accurately the multiplication characteristics of diodes with w≥0.1 μm and breakdown voltages of all diodes with good accuracy. By performing a simple correction for the dead space, the multiplication characteristics of even thinner diodes were also predicted with reasonable accuracy
Chiral transport and electronic correlations in surface states of HfNiSn single crystals

In most topological insulators, the valence and conduction band appear in reverse or inverted order compared to an equivalent insulator with isolated atoms. Here, we explore a different route towards topologically nontrivial states that may arise from metallic states present on the surface of bulk insulators without such band inversion. High-quality single crystals of HfNiSn show surface transport with weak anti-localization, consistent with a two-dimensional metallic state in the presence of strong spin-orbit coupling. Nonlinear I(V) curves indicate electronic correlations related to a chiral, nonlocal transport component that is qualitatively similar to a quantum Hall edge state, yet in the absence of external magnetic fields. The correlations themselves may play a decisive role in creating an apparent topologically nontrivial state on the HfNiSn surface.
Estimation of Pareto distribution functions from samples contaminated by measurement errors

MSc Statistics Thesis, Department of Statistics, University of the Western Cape. Estimation of population distributions, from samples which are contaminated by measurement errors, is a common problem. This study considers the problem of estimating the population distribution of independent random variables Xj, from error-contaminated samples Yj (j = 1, . . . , n) such that Yj = Xj + j, where is the measurement error, which is assumed independent of X. The measurement error is also assumed to be normally distributed. Since the observed distribution function is a convolution of the error distribution with the true underlying distribution, estimation of the latter is often referred to as a deconvolution problem. A thorough study of the relevant deconvolution literature in statistics is reported. We also deal with the specific case when X is assumed to follow a truncated Pareto form. If observations are subject to Gaussian errors, then the observed Y is distributed as the convolution of the finite-support Pareto and Gaussian error distributions. The convolved probability density function (PDF) and cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the finite-support Pareto and Gaussian distributions are derived. The intention is to draw more specific connections between certain deconvolution methods and also to demonstrate the application of the statistical theory of estimation in the presence of measurement error. A parametric methodology for deconvolution when the underlying distribution is of the Pareto form is developed. Maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) of the parameters of the convolved distributions is considered. Standard errors of the estimated parameters are calculated from the inverse Fisher’s information matrix and a jackknife method. Probability-probability (P-P) plots and Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) goodnessof-fit tests are used to evaluate the fit of the posited distribution. A bootstrapping method is used to calculate the critical values of the K-S test statistic, which are not available. Simulated data are used to validate the methodology. A real−life application of the methodology is illustrated by fitting convolved distributions to astronomical data
Relationship between Health-related Fitness Knowledge and Physical Fitness

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between health-related fitness knowledge (HRFK), physical fitness (PF), and physical activity (PA) in a college-aged adult population. Participants included 191 (79 females, 112 males) college students from the southwestern United States. Healthrelated fitness knowledge was examined using the FitSmart Test, physical fitness was measured by seven fitness measurements that were normalized and combined as one factor, and self-report PA was assessed via the Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire (LTEQ). Results indicated a significant relationship between health-related fitness knowledge and the physical fitness factor, Δ R 2 = . 018, p = . 037; and health-related fitness knowledge and fitness without body composition factor (FNBC), Δ R 2 = . 031, p = . 009. In conclusion, health-related fitness knowledge is associated with physical fitness levels in collegeaged students. These findings point to the potential impact of health-related fitness knowledge as a supplementary predictor of health-related fitness.
Natural Disasters and the Effect of Trade on Income: A New IV Approach

Does trade openness cause higher GDP per capita? Since the seminal IV estimates of Frankel and Romer [F&R](1999) important doubts have surfaced. Is the correlation spurious and driven by omitted geographical and institutional variables? Does the instrument satisfy the exclusion restriction? In this paper, we generalize F&R’s empirical strategy to a panel setting. We observe that natural disasters increase openness. Interacted with geographical variables, natural disasters can be used to construct an instrument that varies across countries and time. It can, therefore, be used in panel setups where unobserved country characteristics can be controlled for. Our results confirm the original findings.