Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SPS standards and international competitiveness in Africa : the case of Senegal

Despite a steady decline in its share of GDP and exports, the agricultural sector continues to play an important role in African economies, and in Senegal in particular, where it employs approximately 60 per cent of the labour force. It accounts for a quarter of national public investment, but contributed only 6 per cent to GDP between 2000 and 2009 (Ministère de l’Economie et des Finances du Sénégal, 2011). Horticulture is one of the promising sectors, as can be observed not only from a rapid growth strategy but also from many national agricultural development strategies, because of the vast range of products included and the high level of income it generates for producers, especially in urban and suburban areas. In addition, Senegal has both a favourable climate and a good geographical position for the export of tropical off-season products. These factors have enabled the country to increase the production and export of fruit and vegetables significantly. Horticultural production has experienced a boom over the last ten years, increasing from about 150,000 to 228,000 metric tons between 1992 and 2000 and to 429,000 metric tons in 2007, an increase of 5.5 per cent per year. In 2008, the production of vegetables (excluding potatoes and fresh tomatoes) recorded a growth rate of 8 per cent and the production of fruit experienced a growth rate of 81 per cent. Accordingly, exports have increased from 6,175 metric tons in 1995 to 9,000 metric tons in 2000 and 31,000 metric tons in 2009, an increase of about 5.5 per cent per year. The main target markets for exports are neighbouring countries and the European Union (Ndoye-Niane, 2004; Senegal, National Agency of Statistics and Demography, 2006–2010).
Agricultural Academy THE HISTOPATHOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF LIVER IN EXPERIMENTAL ANIMALS AFTER SHORT-TERM EXPOSURES TO PESTICIDES

RASGELE, P. G. , M. OKTAY, M. KEKECOGLU and F. D. G. MURANLI, 2015. The histopathological investigation of liver in experimental animals after short-term exposures to pesticides. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 21: 446–453 Pesticides are one of the most dangerous pollutants for human and environment health due to their toxic effects and accumulation features. Acetamiprid (Acm), a neonicotinoid insecticide, and Propineb (Pro), a dithiocarbamate fungicide, are also widely used to control sucking insects and fungal infections on crops, respectively. The present study was undertaken to investigate the histopathology of Acm, Pro and the mixture of them were investigated on the liver tissue of mice. Fifteen groups were prepared for the histopathological examinations. Three of these were the positive, and the other three were the negative control groups. Nine of these were experiment groups. The mice were intaperitoneally treated to three different concentrations of pesticides for short-term (24 and 48 h) treatments. The histopathological effects of pesticides on the liver tissue of mice were determined by light microscopy. After 24 and 48 h, all concentrations of Acm signifi cantly induced formation of sinusoidal dilatation. Vacuolar degeneration was also signifi cantly observed at the lowest concentration (0.625 μg/ml) of Acm for 48 h. Pro (25 and 50 μg/ml) signifi cantly caused vacuolar degeneration in the hepatocytes and sinusoidal dilatation in the parenchyma for 24 h. It was also observed that the mixture of Acm and Pro signifi cantly induced formation of vacuolar degeneration, vascular dilatation and sinusoidal dilatation in almost all of the concentrations both 24 and 48 h when compared with the negative control. Furthermore, the mixture of Acm and Pro also signifi cantly produced synergistic effects when the results of individually applied pesticides compared to their mixture at the same concentrations. These results led to the conclusion that Acm and Pro may have destructive effects on the liver tissue of mice. So, the use of these pesticides should be under control in agricultural fi elds.
A distributed ADMM-like method for resource sharing under conic constraints over time-varying networks

We consider cooperative multi-agent resource sharing problems over time-varying communication networks, where only local communications are allowed. The objective is to minimize the sum of agent-specific composite convex functions subject to a conic constraint that couples agents’ decisions. We propose a distributed primal-dual algorithm DPDA-D to solve the saddle point formulation of the sharing problem on time-varying (un)directed communication networks; and we show that primal-dual iterate sequence converges to a point defined by a primal optimal solution and a consensual dual price for the coupling constraint. We also provide convergence rates in suboptimality, infeasibility and consensus violation for agents’ dual price assessments for the ergodic-average sequence; examine the effect of underlying network topology on the convergence rates of the proposed decentralized algorithm; and compared our method with Prox-JADMM algorithm on the basis pursuit denoising problem.
Social psychology, history and the study of the Holocaust: the perils of interdisciplinary ‘borrowing’

The article offers a critical examination of “borrowing” as a form of interdisciplinary engagement between psychology and history. This is where specific insights from one discipline are used (often selectively) by the other to shed light on a specific problem regarding experience, human motivation, or behavior. Using two studies on the social psychological aspects of the Holocaust as relevant examples, the article highlights some of the epistemological and conceptual tensions implicit in this form of interdisciplinarity. These include the role of narrative and emplotment in historical reconstruction, the relationship between texts and historical context, the role of discourse and interpretation, and the tension between universalism and particularism. The article considers the different ways in which some of these challenges could be overcome in future research, and how one might take the interdisciplinary study of the Holocaust, but also other instances of mass crimes and genocide, beyond selective “borrowing. ”
Seed and pollen morphology of some Silene species in Iran

With about 110 species in the geographic area of Iran, genus Silene (Caryophyllaceae) is expanding. Of these, about 35 are endemic species. This seed morphological study was carried out into 15 populations of three species from this section, in different regions of Iran, using 15 qualitative and quantitative characteristics. Statistical results have confirmed that such features as shape, length and width of seed, size and coat decoration cells indicate the greatest diversity in the studied populations. In the morphological studies of pollen grains, 22 populations of six species were considered for the first time. Pollen grains were spherical, monad and polypantoporate. Diagnostic values of seed and pollen features have been discussed.
Sex and size related differences in the dry season feeding patterns of elephants in Chobe national park, Botswana.

Differences in feeding patterns of the African elephant were examined by sex and age during the dry season in a dystrophic savanna-woodland ecosystem in northern Botswana. Adult males had the least diverse diet in terms of woody plant species, but they consumed more plant parts than family units. The diameter of stems of food plants broken or bitten off was also greater for adult males than for females and subadult males. Adult males spent more time foraging on each woody plant than did females. The number of woody plant species and individuals present were higher at feeding sites of family units than at feeding sites of adult males, indicating that family units positioned themselves at feeding sites with higher species diversity than those of males. We argue that the most likely explanation for these differences is related to the pronounced sexual size dimorphism exhibited by elephants, resulting in sex differences in browsing patterns due to the allometric relationships that govern the tolerance of herbivores for variation in diet quality. From our results this Body Size Hypothesis is accepted rather than the alternative Scramble Competition Hypothesis, which predicts that adult male elephants consume lower quality browse because they are displaced from preferred browse as an outcome of scramble competition with adult females and their offspring. If the feeding patterns of adult male elephants were affected by intersexual scramble competition, we would expect adult males to browse at a higher level in the canopy than the smaller-bodied females and their offspring. No evidence was found for this, although adult females were found to browse at a higher level in the canopy when feeding in close proximity to subadults and juveniles than when feeding alone. Sex differences in elephant browsing patterns are, we propose, of relevance to understanding and managing elephant impacts on African woodlands.
New Wilkinson Power Dividers Based on Compact Stepped-Impedance Transmission Lines and Shunt Open Stubs

This study presents new Wilkinson power dividers using compact stepped-impedance structures and capacitive loads to achieve the required power splitting. This approach can produce additional transmission zeros and efiectively suppress the desired stopbands because shunt open stubs realize capacitive loads. This study proposes two equal-split dividers and two unequal-split dividers. For the flrst equal-split case, one shunt open stub forms the needed capacitor in each transmission path, creating one additional transmission zero in each path. To obtain one more transmission zero in each transmission path, the second Wilkinson power divider uses two shunt open stubs in each path to achieve the same capacitor value as the flrst divider. This study also tests unequal-split dividers with one and two transmission zeros in each path to conflrm that compact stepped-impedance transmission lines and shunt-to-ground capacitors can be utilized in unequal power division.
The effect of chickpea (Cicer arietinim) husk on the properties of cracker biscuits

Chickpea (Cicer arietinim) husk was extracted by non-alkaline aqueous extraction process. The residual extracted husk was dried in a cabinet drier and finally ground. Both fresh husk and processed husk were analyzed for their composition. The processed husk (extracted ground husk) was incorporated into formulations of cracker biscuits at 0- 20% replacement levels of wheat flour and baking functionalities were evaluated. The studies on the effects of processed husk on biscuit’s qualities showed that the highest spread ratio of biscuits was achieved with 3% processed husk. Analysis of cracker biscuits containing various percentage of processed husk showed that biscuits with increasing level of processed husk had higher ash, fat, moisture and crude fiber content, while lower protein and total carbohydrate content. The amount of crude fiber content of biscuits significantly increased with the incorporation of processed husk when compared with conventional biscuits. The cracker biscuits containing various percentages of processed husks were evaluated for their sensory attributes. The results revealed that cracker biscuits containing 5% processed husk secured the highest score for overall acceptability among other substitution levels.
The Impact of Authentic Leadership on Organizational Citizenship Behaviours and the Mediating Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Banking Sector of Pakistan

This study was designed to examine the effect of authentic leadership on organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB), as well as to examine the mediating mechanism of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the aforementioned relationship. Using the cross-sectional design method, the data were collected from 395 employees working in the banking sector of Pakistan. Drawing on social exchange theory, it was hypothesized that authentic leadership would positively predict organizational citizenship behaviour. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that CSR would positively mediate the relationship between authentic leadership and OCB. The results of the study indicate that authentic leadership positively predicts OCB. Importantly, CSR was found to positively mediate the effect of authentic leadership on OCB. Theoretical implications of the study and future research directions are also discussed.
Under the Dome: Air Pollution, Wellbeing, and Pro-Environmental Behaviour Among Beijing Residents

The conflict between economic development and environmental protection has been made salient by increasingly severe air pollution in China, a visible consequence of the costs of rapid economic progress. How does air pollution affect people's psychological experiences? How are newly rich Chinese beginning to think about this social dilemma and are they willing to take any action to deal with the problem? Are there individual differences that contribute to the effect of air pollution on mental experience and concern for environmental protection? The present work explores answers to these questions through two studies among convenience samples of participants residing in Beijing, which is the capital of China and plagued by toxic haze. Study 1 recruited 50 undergraduates and applied a 10-day experience sampling method. Results revealed that the real-time objective air pollution index was negatively associated with immediate subjective wellbeing (SWB) but positively associated with eudaimonic wellbeing (EWB). Study 2 investigated a sample of 288 working adults living in Beijing for their perceptions of air quality, wellbeing, pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) intentions, future orientation, and place attachment. Results revealed that perceived air pollution could not predict general SWB but improved the sense of purpose and meaning in life (i.e., EWB). Furthermore, this association was heightened in individuals who were future-orientated. In addition, perceived air pollution increased PEB intentions, partially through the promotion of EWB, and this effect was stronger in those who were more emotionally attached to Beijing.
WordNet: A Lexical Database for English

The goal of this project is to provide lexical resources for natural language research. The primary emphases are on the further development and dissemination of the on-line lexical database, WordNet. A secondary goal is to learn how to develop contextual representations for different senses of a polysemous word, where a contextual representation is comprised of topical and local context for each sense.
Applying Reduced General Direct Space Vector Modulation Approach of AC–AC Matrix Converter Theory to Achieve Direct Power Factor Controlled Three-Phase AC–DC Matrix Rectifier

This paper presents a novel approach to achieve both tight dc voltage regulation and direct power factor control by applying general direct space vector modulation (G-SVM) of matrix converter theory to a three-phase ac-dc matrix rectifier. The reduced form of G-SVM and the derivation of the three-phase ac-dc matrix rectifier from a three-phase ac-ac matrix converter are described and theoretically justified. The proposed matrix converter features intrinsic buck conversion, tight output voltage regulation via modulation, inherent capability of four-quadrant operation, elimination of the bulky storage component on the dc bus, and sinusoidal input current. Moreover, the reduced G-SVM-controlled three-phase ac-dc matrix rectifier can achieve leading, lagging, or unity input power factor by simple and direct control of the input current displacement angle. This significantly benefits the potential application of the reduced G-SVM-controlled three-phase matrix rectifier to automotive, aircraft, ship, and other three-phase standby dc supplies. In these applications, the unity power factor control is indispensable when the dc load widely changes. Simulated and experimental verification for this strategy has been presented and discussed in this paper.
Trial Watch:

Oncolytic viruses are natural or genetically modified viral species that selectively infect and kill neoplastic cells. Such an innate or exogenously conferred specificity has generated considerable interest around the possibility to employ oncolytic viruses as highly targeted agents that would mediate cancer cell-autonomous anticancer effects. Accumulating evidence, however, suggests that the therapeutic potential of oncolytic virotherapy is not a simple consequence of the cytopathic effect, but strongly relies on the induction of an endogenous immune response against transformed cells. In line with this notion, superior anticancer effects are being observed when oncolytic viruses are engineered to express (or co-administered with) immunostimulatory molecules. Although multiple studies have shown that oncolytic viruses are well tolerated by cancer patients, the full-blown therapeutic potential of oncolytic virotherapy, especially when implemented in the absence of immunostimulatory interventions, remains unclear. Here, we cover the latest advances in this active area of translational investigation, summarizing high-impact studies that have been published during the last 12 months and discussing clinical trials that have been initiated in the same period to assess the therapeutic potential of oncolytic virotherapy in oncological indications.
Modeling Hawaiian Ecosystem Degradation due to Invasive Plants under Current and Future Climates

Occupation of native ecosystems by invasive plant species alters their structure and/or function. In Hawaii, a subset of introduced plants is regarded as extremely harmful due to competitive ability, ecosystem modification, and biogeochemical habitat degradation. By controlling this subset of highly invasive ecosystem modifiers, conservation managers could significantly reduce native ecosystem degradation. To assess the invasibility of vulnerable native ecosystems, we selected a proxy subset of these invasive plants and developed robust ensemble species distribution models to define their respective potential distributions. The combinations of all species models using both binary and continuous habitat suitability projections resulted in estimates of species richness and diversity that were subsequently used to define an invasibility metric. The invasibility metric was defined from species distribution models with <0.7 niche overlap (Warrens I) and relatively discriminative distributions (Area Under the Curve >0.8; True Skill Statistic >0.75) as evaluated per species. Invasibility was further projected onto a 2100 Hawaii regional climate change scenario to assess the change in potential habitat degradation. The distribution defined by the invasibility metric delineates areas of known and potential invasibility under current climate conditions and, when projected into the future, estimates potential reductions in native ecosystem extent due to climate-driven invasive incursion. We have provided the code used to develop these metrics to facilitate their wider use (Code S1). This work will help determine the vulnerability of native-dominated ecosystems to the combined threats of climate change and invasive species, and thus help prioritize ecosystem and species management actions.
A new multi-sensor fusion algorithm based on the Information Filter framework

his paper presents a new efficient track-to-track fusion (T2TF) algorithm based on the Information Filter (IF) framework which takes into account phenomena encountered in practical applications. In fact, it combines a modified version of the IF framework and a self-tuning fusion procedure based on likelihood functions to address issues such as the correlation of the estimates, the transmission shortcomings and the measurement origin uncertainty. The proposed method is evaluated through simulations and the obtained results show that the proposed algorithm performs as well the optimal centralized fusion schema in an idealized environment while it exhibits better robustness capabilities than existing decentralized algorithms when observation origin uncertainty is considered. Moreover, its reduced complexity cost is suitable for real time applications.
A 4.8-6.4-Gb/s serial link for backplane applications using decision feedback equalization

In this paper, a serial link design that is capable of 4.8-6.4-Gb/s binary NRZ signaling across 40'' of FR4 copper backplane traces and two connectors is described. The transmitter features a programmable two-tap feed forward equalizer and the receiver uses an adaptive four-tap decision feedback equalization to compensate for the losses in the channel at 6.4 Gbps. The transceiver core is built in LSI's 0.13-/spl mu/m standard CMOS technology to be integrated into ASIC designs that require serial links. The transceiver consumes 310 mW per duplex channel at 1.2 V and 6.4 Gb/s under nominal conditions.
Low-cost fault-tolerance in barrier synchronizations

We show how fault-tolerance can be effectively added to several types of faults in program computations that use barrier synchronization. We divide the faults that occur in practice into two classes, detectable and undetectable, and design a fully distributed program that tolerates the faults in both classes. Our program guarantees that every barrier is executed correctly even if detectable faults occur, and that eventually every barrier is executed correctly even if undetectable faults occur. Via analytical as well as simulation results we show that the cost of adding fault-tolerance is low, in part by comparing the times required by our program with that required by the corresponding fault-intolerant counterpart.
Iterative Sphere Detectors Based on the Schnorr-Euchner Enumeration

Two kinds of iterative sphere detectors based on modifications of the Schnorr-Euchner enumeration are presented. The first is capable of finding "good" candidate lattice points relatively soon. Its complexity and performance are controlled by an adaptive radius backlash update strategy. The second systematically searches for the most contributive term in each of the two log-sum-exponents. Both kinds require modifications to the original Schnorr-Euchner enumeration. The objective function must account for the input a priories and explicit sorting of the branches stemming from the tree nodes must be done because the simple zigzag order in this case is not valid. The impact of the a priories on the log-likelihood ratio clipping is also addressed. The advantages of the new detectors compared to the Fincke-Pohst-based ones are: i) No initial radius is required, ii) the search step is division- and square-root-free and iii) the average computational complexity is lower.
A 1.8 V, 10 Gbps fully integrated CMOS optical receiver analog front end

A fully integrated 10 Gbps optical receiver analog front-end (AFE), includes a trans-impedance amplifier (TIA) and a limiting amplifier (LA), is fabricated using a 0.18 /spl mu/m CMOS technology. The receiver front-end provides a conversion gain up to 85 dB/spl Omega/ and -3 dB bandwidth of 7.6 GHz. The sensitivity of the optical receiver is -13 dBm at a bit-error rate of 10/sup -12/ with 2/sup 31/-1 pseudo-random bits. 3D symmetric transformers are utilized in the AFE design for bandwidth enhancement.
The “ethnographic surrealism” of Jean Rouch

Using James Clifford's notion of “ethnographic surrealism,” this paper focuses on the “surrealist” features of the film work of Jean Rouch. First, drawing extensively from an interview held with Rouch in May 1988, I outline the influence that the “ethnographic surrealism” of the 1930s had on Rouch. I then go on to discuss “surrealism” in Rouch's use of the camera, choice of subject matter, techniques of narration, and relationship to his subject. I conclude by demonstrating that Rouch's current work at the Cinematheque Francaise and the Comite du Film Ethnographique offer excellent examples of his ability to cross disciplinary boundaries and thus extend the original spirit of “ethnographic surrealism” into the present.