Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Leaf Fresh Weight Versus Dry Weight

Leaf dry mass per unit area (LMA) is considered to represent the photosynthetic capacity, which actually implies a hypothesis that foliar water mass (leaf fresh weight minus leaf dry weight) is proportional to leaf dry weight during leaf growth. However, relevant studies demonstrated that foliar water mass disproportionately increases with increasing leaf dry weight. Although scaling relationships of leaf dry weight vs. leaf area for many plants were investigated, few studies compared the scaling relationship based on leaf dry weight with that based on leaf fresh weight. In this study, we used the data of three families (Lauraceae, Oleaceae, and Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae) with five broad-leaved species for each family to examine whether using different measures for leaf biomass (i.e., dry weight and fresh weight) can result in different fitted results for the scaling relationship between leaf biomass and area. Reduced major axis regression was used to fit the log-transformed data of leaf biomass and area, and the bootstrap percentile method was used to test the significance of the difference between the estimate of the scaling exponent of leaf dry weight vs. area and that of leaf fresh weight vs. area. We found that there were five species across three families (Phoebe sheareri (Hemsl.) Gamble, Forsythia viridissima Lindl. , Osmanthus fragrans Lour. , Chimonobambusa sichuanensis (T.P. Yi) T.H. Wen, and Hibanobambusa tranquillans f. shiroshima H. Okamura) whose estimates of the scaling exponent of leaf dry weight to area and that of leaf fresh weight to area were not significantly different, whereas, for the remaining ten species, both estimates were significantly different. For the species in the same family whose leaf shape is narrow (i.e., a low ratio of leaf width to length) the estimates of two scaling exponents are prone to having a significant difference. There is also an allometric relationship between leaf dry weight and fresh weight, which means that foliar water mass disproportionately increases with increased leaf dry weight. In addition, the goodness of fit for the scaling relationship of leaf fresh weight vs. area is better than that for leaf dry weight vs. area, which suggests that leaf fresh mass might be more able to reflect the physiological functions of leaves associated with photosynthesis and respiration than leaf dry mass. The above conclusions are based on 15 broad-leaved species, although we believe that those conclusions may be potentially extended to other plants with broad and flat leaves.
Mobile health platforms for active and healthy ageing support in older adults – Design ideas from a participatory design study

In this paper, we provide a participatory design study of a mobile health platform for older adults that provides an integrative perspective on health data collected from different devices and apps. We illustrate the diversity and complexity of older adults’ perspectives in the context of health and technology use, the challenges which follow on for the design of mobile health platforms that support active and healthy ageing (AHA) and our approach to addressing these challenges through a participatory design (PD) process. Interviews were conducted with older adults aged 65+ in a two-month study with the goal of understanding perspectives on health and technologies for AHA support. We identified challenges and derived design ideas for a mobile health platform called “MyAHA”. For researchers in this field, the structured documentation of our procedures and results, as well as the implications derived provide valuable insights for the design of mobile health platforms for older adults.
Protective effect of curcumin on cadmium induced alteration in serum lipid profile of albino mice

Cadmium exposure can induce acute lethal health related threats in humans since it has exceptional ability to accumulate in the tissues of living organisms and cause toxicological effects. Curcumin on the other hand has a wide variety of biological activities and has protective effects against several ailments and infections. The present study was conducted to determine the cadmium induced toxicity and protective effects of curcumin on lipid profile of mice. Mice were divided into four groups. Group 1 mice were kept as control. Group 2 mice were given 1mg/kg bw of cadmium on alternate days. Group 3 mice were given 1mg/kg bw of cadmium on alternate days and 100mg/kg bw of curcumin daily. Group 4 mice were given 100mg/kg bw of curcumin daily and were kept as positive control. Autopsies were done at the intervals of 15 and 45 days. Blood was collected, serum was separated and lipid profile was estimated. There was observed a significant increase in serum cholesterol, LDL-c, VLDL-c, triglycerides and a significant decrease in HDL-c in cadmium treated groups in comparison to control at both the intervals. But in curcumin treated groups, there levels were found to attain almost normal values as found in control. Therefore, the results suggest that curcumin has ameliorating action as it exhibited the ability to resist the harmful action of cadmium.
MocapNET: Ensemble of SNN Encoders for 3D Human Pose Estimation in RGB Images

We present MocapNET, an ensemble of SNN [28] encoders that estimates the 3D human body pose based on 2D joint estimations extracted from monocular RGB images. MocapNET provides an efﬁcient divide and conquer strategy for supervised learning. It outputs skeletal information directly into the BVH [41] format which can be rendered in real-time or imported without any additional processing in most popular 3D animation software. The proposed architecture achieves 3D human pose estimations at state of the art rates of 400Hz using only CPU processing.
A Survey on Developer-Centred Security

Software developers are key players in the security ecosystem as they produce code that runs on millions of devices. Yet we continue to see insecure code being developed and deployed on a regular basis despite the existence of support infrastructures, tools, and research into common errors. This work provides a systematised overview of the relatively new field of Developer-Centred Security which aims to understand the context in which developers produce security-relevant code as well as provide tools and processes that that better support both developers and secure code production. We report here on a systematic literature review of 49 publications on security studies with software developer participants. We provide an overview of both the types of methodologies currently being used as well as the current research in the area. Finally, we also provide recommendations for future work in Developer-Centred Security.
Persson, S and Grogan, S and Dhingra, K and Benn, Y (2017)’It’s bit of an eye opener’ - A qualitative study of women’s attitudes towards tanning, sun

Objective: Skin cancer is to a large degree behaviourally preventable, meaning that evidence-based interventions have scope to make a difference. Previous research indicates that appearance-based interventions such as facial morphing may be more effective than health-based interventions, and that it can personalise the issue of skin cancer. Method: This study examined attitudes to UV exposure, as well as reactions to a facial morphing intervention, through interviews with 25 women aged 35 years and older. Results: Thematic analysis revealed four themes; two regarding attitudes to UV exposure (confusion and contradiction, and change and continuity), and two relating to the facial morphing (negative reactions to UV-exposed photo and positive outcomes of the intervention). Women experienced a number of barriers to adopting safer behaviour in the sun; their current attitudes to UV exposure had been shaped by available information sources throughout their aging. They expressed negative evaluations of the UV photo, which fed directly into motivation to reduce UV exposure. Conclusions: These results can be interpreted along the lines of goal-directed behaviour. This type of intervention has the potential to reduce UV exposure among this participant group, something that needs to be further investigated with randomised control trials.
Distributed Speculative Program Parallelization

Most computing users today have access to clusters of multi-core computers. To fully utilize a cluster, a programmer must combine two levels of parallelism: shared-memory parallelism within a machine and distributed memory parallelism across machines. Such programming is difficult. Either a user has to mix two programming languages in a single program and use fixed computation and data partitioning between the two, or the user has to rewrite a program from scratch. Even after careful programming, a program may still have hidden concurrency bugs. Users who are accustomed to sequential programming do not find the same level of debugging and performance analysis support especially for a distributed environment. In this paper we present a distributed parallelization system named D-BOP , which enables software speculative parallelization to cross multiple machines. D-BOP provides the same guarantee of preserving the outputs of the original sequential program as some of the shared memory speculative parallelization systems do. The execution of a D-BOP parallelized program is data race free, deadlock free and deterministic.
A Review on Big Data Management and Decision-Making in Smart Grid

Abstract Smart grid (SG) is the solution to solve existing problems of energy security from generation to utilization. Examples of such problems are disruptions in the electric grid and disturbances in the transmission. SG is a premium source of Big Data. The data should be processed to reveal hidden patterns and secret correlations to extrapolate the needed values. Such useful information obtained by the so-called data analytics is an essential element for energy management and control decision towards improving energy security, efficiency, and decreasing costs of energy use. For that reason, different techniques have been developed to process Big Data. This paper presents an overview of these techniques and discusses their advantages and challenges. The contribution of this paper is building a recommender system using different techniques to overcome the most obstacles encountering the Big Data processes in SG. The proposed system achieves the goals of the future SG by (i) analyzing data and executing values as accurately as possible, (ii) helping in decision-making to improve the efficiency of the grid, (iii) reducing cost and time, (iv) managing operating parameters, (v) allowing predicting and preventing equipment failures, and (vi) increasing customer satisfaction. Big Data process enables benefits that were never achieved for the SG application.
Quantile Regression with Sample Selection: Estimating Married Women ́s Return of Education and Racial Wage Differential in Brazil

This paper provides estimates related to the women labour force in Brazil focusing on the returns to education of married women and race wage differential within the group. The methodology to address this issue is quantile regression with semiparametric correction for sample selection bias. The paper shows that returns to education are higher at higher points of (the conditional) wage distribution and that the race differentials are lower at higher deciles. It also reveals that using a probit specification to the participation equation in order to correct selectivity issues may overestimate both returns to education and “race discrimination” in the wage equation.
On the Location of the Chapman-Jouguet Surface in Gaseous Detonations Close to the Limit of Propagation

The location of the sonic surface xS in a cellular detonation is measured by the use of timeresolved schlieren photography for stoichiometric oxy-hydrogen mixture (diluted with 40 % argon and pure) and for stoichiometric oxy-acetylen. This is done by fixing a thin blade in the middle of a detonation tube, whose edge faces the incoming detonation front. A weak shock wave forms at the edge of the blade as soon as it is engulfed by the front. This weak shock separates from the edge when the absolute gas velocity has decreased from its highly supersonic value (directly behind the front) to the speed of sound. After separation the absolute velocity of the shock is low and becomes nearly constant. This is explained as an indication of the proximity of the sonic surface and the CJ-surface. Furthermore it is shown, that the ratio of xS and the cell size λ rises with pressure, and the influence of the proximity of λ to the tube diameter is small. In addition a diagonal-mode detonation was observed with λ=equal to the diagonal ∆ of the utilised tube with square cross-section. This mode was defined by Hanana et al. (1999).
PROPERTIES AND STRUCTURE OF ELECTRODEPOSITED COPPER LAYERS IN PARTS OF THE TTF MAIN COUPLER

For TESLA type power coupler, the influences of heat treatments on properties and structure of electrodeposited copper layers are investigated. Experiments show that heat treatment of 350-400°C improves RRR; heat treatment at 550°C is acceptable for copper layer with the thickness higher than 20μm; 820 °C, 5 min reduces the RRR rapidly and causes Condo Effect.
The Effect of CAPTCHA on User Experience among Users with and without Learning Disabilities

CAPTCHA is a challenge-response test implemented in many Internet Websites to distinguish between malicious automatic software ("bot") and real users. However, CAPTCHA emphasizes the gaps between accessibility and security on the Internet, as it poses an obstacle and a significant challenge for the learning-impaired in the reading and comprehension of what is presented in the test. Attempts are being made to develop CAPTCHA tests of various types in order to address accessibility and security issues. The objective of this study is to investigate the differences between various CAPTCHA tests and examine how they affect user experience among populations with and without learning disabilities. A questionnaire accompanied by experiencing five different tests was performed among 212 users, 60 of them with learning disabilities. Response times for each test and rate of success were collected automatically. Findings suggest that users with learning disabilities have more difficulties in solving the tests, especially those with distorted texts, have more negative attitudes towards the CAPTCHA tests, but the response time has no statistical difference from users without learning disabilities. With this information, we can assess how to apply solutions that are more suitable for many users and especially for this sensitive population.
The Pruning Methods for feed-forward network and Convolutional Neural Network

Pruning neural network is a series of techniques that remove some of the model’s parameters out of the training. It is a way to decrease neural network’s structure on topology aspect, and also a way to increase training efficiency. In this work, the pruning methods is applied on a deep neural network, for the convolutional layer, a ranking method is applied to find filters that not contribute much to the performance, and for the linear layer, the pruning method is based on the average value the hidden layer’s weights. The average values is the threshold to evaluate the weights’ contribution. The model is implied on the Kaggle Cats vs Dogs data set to perform a classification function, and the pruning methods will be discussed rely on the model’s performance.
Modeling Flowers and Inflorescences

Modeling approaches, using mathematical and computational tools for visualization and simulation, are gaining new interest in the field of developmental biology. These methods are providing new insights into molecular interactions, growth processes and morphological evolution. The distinctive reproductive structures of angiosperms, flowers and inflorescences, are of particular interest from both a developmental and evolutionary perspective. Here we review the diversity of studies which have used modeling approaches to investigate the structure and development of flowers and inflorescences. Models of architecture (branching and determinacy) and phyllotaxis (primordia arrangement) are described, focusing on different factors ranging from environmental pressures to physical constraints, chemical signaling, and genetic determination. Modeling has also been used to provide a description and framework for understanding growth at the level of single floral organs. In addition, we also consider models that explore the behaviour of gene regulatory networks involved in the development of plant reproductive structures. Models of flowers and inflorescences are still mostly disconnected, and integrating these will help explain the developmental processes underlying morphological diversity. Modeling is a useful tool for testing hypotheses and guiding empirical research and will undoubtedly become an increasingly important component of integrative studies of plant development and evolution. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Seeing the Unseen : Mining an ocean of data for retrieving the vertical distribution of Chlorophyll-a from Satellite Ocean Color Data

Ocean color measurements from space have made it possible to obtain synoptic views of phytoplankton biomass (measured as chlorophyll-a, Chl-a) distribution in the surface ocean at unprecedented space and time scales. A long-standing challenge, however, has been to determine the vertical distribution of Chl-a (VDCHL) of the global oceans. Over the years, there have been several attempts to infer the VDCHL solely from sea-surface Chl-a concentration measurements. Parametric curve fitting routines of varied complexities, as well as neural network classification algorithms, have been used to derive the VDCHL with limited success. Here we present a novel application of the Finite Metric Space Characterization (FMSC) algorithm [1], called FMSC Ocean Color Algorithm (FOCAL) to first derive surface Chl-a. In this project, we apply the FMSC approach to a vast global oceanographic dataset being collected by autonomous floats (Bio-Argo) to accurately retrieve the VDCHL. FOCAL allows us to retrieve surface (2D) Chl-a from Level-2 remote sensing reflectance (Rrs(λ), sr−1) products generated by NOAA-Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). Compared to in-situ Chl-a from NASA Bio-Optical Marine Algorithm Dataset (NOMAD), the adjusted R-squared of FOCAL retrieved ChlBL (R2=0.90) is much better than the NASA standard Chl-a products (R2=0.82) that are based on band ratio algorithms. We believe that the FMSC would provide a more accurate way of determining the VDCHL from the three-dimensional (3D) oceanographic datasets.
Polyacrylamide Molecular Weight and Phosphogypsum Effects on Infiltration and Erosion in Semi-Arid Soils

Seal formation at the surface of semi-arid soils during rainstorms reduces soil infiltration rate (IR) and causes runoff and erosion. Surface application of dry anionic polyacrylamide (PAM) with high molecular weight (MW) has been found to be effective in stabilizing soil aggregates, and decreasing seal formation, runoff and erosion. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of surface application of granular PAM (20 kg ha) of two MW (2x10 and 1.2x10 Dalton) together with phosphogypsum (PG) (4 Mg ha) on the IR, runoff and erosion from semi-arid soils ranging in clay content between 80 and 650 g kg, during simulated deionized water rainstorms. Spreading dry PAM (both MWs) mixed with PG was effective in increasing soil IR (3 to 5 times) and reducing erosion (2 to 4 times) relative to the control. The impact of polymer MW on IR and runoff was small, inconsistent and soil type dependent. Conversely, PAM with moderate MW was more effective in reducing soil loss than PAM with high MW. For instance, in the sandy clay, application of amendments resulted in comparable final IR values (15.2 and 15.9 mm h), while soil loss decreased from 840 g m (in the control) to 370 and 570 g m for the PAM with moderate and high MW, respectively. Our results were not consistent with former studies with respect to the effects of PAM MW, probably due to differences in the method of PAM application and soil type.
Series Number 30 The British American Rules : An experimental examination of pre-trial bargaining within the shadow of the law

A commonly held view is that the frequency and value of pre-trial settlements in civil disputes are greatly influenced by the cost allocation regime that is in place if the case goes to trial. There is a large and growing theoretical literature on this subject but almost no empirical evidence. This is due simply to the scarcity of relevant data owing to the confidentiality generally associated with such matters. However, the area is an ideal one to analyse experimentally. In this paper we consider the effect of the British and American rules for cost allocation using such an experimental methodology. We find that the two rules produce no difference in the frequency of pre-trial settlements but that the British rule produces higher settlements (pro-pursuer) if the probability of the pursuer winning is large. * This research was funded by ESRC research grant No. R000237392. The authors would like to thank Michael Bacharach, Ken Binmore, John Hey and Alan Peacock for their helpful comments in the early stages of this research and Raquel de Pedro and Kathy Mountain for their invaluable assistance in the running of the experimental sessions.
Detectors and descriptors for registration of illumination varying, globally distorted images

Abstract Image registration is an ill-posed problem. But due to the fact that it finds applications in many fields, it is an open research area. There are many ways to register images of which interpolation-based image registration is widely used. The accuracy of interpolation-based image registration depends largely on two factors – (1) Accurate localization of interest points (IPs) with respect to various distortions and (2) the robustness of region descriptors to geometry and illumination changes. In this context, through this paper, we make the following two contributions – (1) it is shown that region-based IPs outperform corner-based IPs when global distortions are dominant. (2) We propose new efficient region descriptors for the case when images to be registered differ by illumination. The proposed descriptors are computationally fast, and hence they help in fast matching.