Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Web Application for Managing Regional Crop Production: The West Texas Mesonet Agro‐Climate Monitor

Agronomy Journa l • Volume 109, I s sue 4 • 2017 Dense networks of meteorological stations such as the Oklahoma (www.mesonet.org: Brock et al., 1995) and West Texas Mesonets (www.mesonet.ttu. edu: Schroeder et al., 2005) can be important sources of current weather information for crop consultants, extension agents, and producers. Mesonets provide information relevant to agriculture that other meteorological networks, for example, the U.S. National Weather Service’s cooperative network (Robinson, 1990) or the U.S. Historical Climatology Network (USHCN: Menne et al., 2012, 2015), do not. In addition, these networks provide data at time and spatial resolutions that are typically more useful to most farming or ranching operations. In the course of attending bi-weekly meetings of the Plains Cotton Advisory Group (www.plainscotton.org) it becomes clear that producers and agricultural decision makers rely on West Texas Mesonet (WTM) data to monitor soil temperature, air temperature, wind, radiation, humidity, and rainfall. But although mesonets are usually not designed to answer questions regarding climate, users also pose climatological questions about WTM data. Although some of these questions might be answered with daily cooperative or USHCN data, others require soil temperature or hourly air temperature records that those data sources do not provide. For example: When do soil temperature conditions normally rise to levels suitable for planting? When can I expect the onset of hard freeze conditions and for how long? West Texas summer rainfall can be spatially random, that is, certain areas receiving ample rainfall while nearby areas receive none. As a result, answering a producer’s questions regarding how total precipitation during the current growing season compares with totals from past seasons may require a spatially dense meteorological network. A dense network may also be necessary to resolve the eff ects of a region’s topography on precipitation, temperature, and growing degree days (GDD). A Web Application for Managing Regional Crop Production: The West Texas Mesonet Agro-Climate Monitor
Magnetic phases of bosons with synthetic spin-orbit coupling in optical lattices

We investigate magnetic properties in the superfluid and Mott-insulating states of two-component bosons with spin-orbit (SO) coupling in two-dimensional square optical lattices. The spin-independent hopping integral $t$ and SO coupled one $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ are fitted from band-structure calculations in the continuum, which exhibit oscillations with increasing SO coupling strength. The magnetic superexchange model is derived in the Mott-insulating state with one particle per site, characterized by the Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interaction. In the limit of $|\ensuremath{\lambda}|\ensuremath{\ll}|t|$, we find a spin spiral Mott state whose pitch value is the same as that in the incommensurate superfluid state, while in the opposite limit $|t|\ensuremath{\ll}|\ensuremath{\lambda}|$, the ground state exhibits a $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}2$ in-plane spin pattern.
Prognostic Roles of Central Carbon Metabolism–Associated Genes in Patients With Low-Grade Glioma

Purpose: Metabolic alterations are crucial for tumor progression and response to therapy. The comprehensive model of combined central carbon metabolism–associated genes that contribute to the outcomes of glioma and astrocytoma is not well understood. Method: We studied the profiles of 63 genes involved in central carbon metabolism in 514 relatively low-grade glioma patients. The different distributions of gene expression in gliomas and astrocytoma were identified. The differential gene expression between each cohort and the correlations with prognosis were detected. Finally, we built a tentative model to detect the prognostic roles of carbon metabolism–associated genes in astrocytoma. Result: Two primary clusters and four subclusters with significantly different overall survival were identified in low-grade glioma. The differences of histological diagnoses, grade, tumor site, and age were detected between each cluster. Comparing with other histological types, patients with astrocytoma exhibited the worst prognosis. Between astrocytoma patients with poor and favorable prognoses, expression profiles of 11 genes were significantly discrepant. We detected that 18 genes were respectively correlated with overall survival in astrocytoma; moreover, four genes (RAF1, AKT3, IDH1, and FGFR1) were detected as dependent variables for the prediction of the survival status of astrocytoma patients and were capable to predict the survival. Conclusion: Central carbon metabolism–associated genes are differentially expressed in all patients with glioma and histological subtype astrocytoma. The gene expression profile is significantly associated with clinical manifestations. These results suggested that both the multigene expression patterns and individual central carbon metabolism–associated genes were potentially capable to predict the prognosis of patients with low-grade glioma.
A lag-time model for substrate and product diffusion through hydroxyethylcellulose gels used for immobilization of yeast cells

Diffusion models were tested to select the most appropriate model for measuring the diffusion of glucose and ethanol trough hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) cryogels. The lag-time model was selected as accurate, rapid and reliable for evaluating the diffusivity of the solutes. The diffusion coefficient of glucose through the HEC cryogel loaded with cells was estimated to be 6.9×10 -6 cm 2 /s, while the diffusion coefficient of ethanol had a value of 2.5×10 -5 cm 2 /s. The cells inside the gel matrix were not a barrier for the transport of the solute molecules. The diffusion properties of the cryogel were also examined in a real system. The parameters characterizing the repeated batch fermentation of glucose to ethanol by entrapped Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells gave evidence of very good diffusion properties of the HEC gel.
Selection of okra parents based on performance and genetic divergence

A total of 200 okra accessions with wide variability and a potential for genetic improvement were stored in the Vegetables Germplasm Bank of the Federal University of Vicosa (UFV-BGH) in Vicosa, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The objective of this work was to select parents by genetic divergence and behavior per se in 70 okra accessions from the BGH-UFV by quantitative and qualitative descriptors of economic interest. Analysis of individual and combined variance, by clustering of means by Scott-Knott test, of the accessions by Tocher’s method and selection based on qualitative descriptors and behavior per se using the methodology of sum of inverted positions was made. The variability of the characteristics of the accessions as verified by the Scott-Knott test formed different groups and subgroups by Tocher’s method. Fifteen accessions were selected with the qualitative descriptors, and based on the sum of inverted positions for quantitative descriptors the BGH-132, BGH-547, BGH-693, BGH-740, BGH-961, BGH-7863, BGH- 7865, BGH-3196 and BGH-4890 okra accessions were selected as potential parents. Key words: Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench, germplasm bank, genetic resource, genetic improvement.
Kinetic and Metabolic Isotope Effects in Zooxanthellate and Non-zooxanthellate Mediterranean Corals Along a Wide Latitudinal Gradient

Many calcifying organisms exert significant biological control over the construction and composition of biominerals which are thus generally depleted in oxygen-18 and carbon-13 relative to the isotopic ratios of abiogenic aragonite. The skeletal δ18O and δ13C values of specimens of Mediterranean zooxanthellate (Balanophyllia europaea and Cladocora caespitosa) and non-zooxanthellate corals (Leptopsammia pruvoti and Caryophyllia inornata) were assessed along an 8° latitudinal gradient along Western Italian coasts, spanning ~2 °C and ~37 W m-2 of annual average sea surface temperature and solar radiation (surface values), respectively. Seawater δ18O and δ13CDIC were surprisingly constant along the ~850 km latitudinal gradient while a ~2 and ~4 ‰ variation in skeletal δ18O and a ~4 and ~9 ‰ variation in skeletal δ13C was found in the zooxanthellate and non-zooxanthellate species, respectively. Albeit Mediterranean corals considered in this study are slow growing, only a limited number of non-zooxanthellate specimens exhibited skeletal δ18O equilibrium values while all δ13C values in the four species were depleted in comparison to the estimated isotopic equilibrium with ambient seawater, suggesting that these temperate corals cannot be used for thermometry-based seawater reconstruction. Calcification rate, linear extension rate and skeletal density were unrelated to isotopic compositions. The fact that skeletal δ18O and δ13C of zooxanthellate corals were confined to a narrower range at the most isotopically depleted end compared to non-zooxanthellate corals, suggests that the photosynthetic activity may restrict corals to a limited range of isotopic composition, away from isotopic equilibrium for both isotopes. Our data show that individual corals within the same species express the full range of isotope fractionation. These results suggest that metabolic and/or kinetic effects may act as controlling factors of isotope variability of skeleton composition along the transect, and that precipitation of coral skeletal aragonite occurs under controlling kinetic biological processes, rather than thermodynamic control, by yet unidentified mechanisms.
Two pronounced Chlorella strains for efficient biodiesel feedstock production

In this study, two indigenous Chlorella strains were evaluated for triacylglycerol (TAG) production and related parameters during 10 days of N-deprivation. The strains were identified based on morphological characteristics and genomic information, named as Chlorella sp. IMU12 and Chlorella sp. IMU17. Time-dependent reduction of growth was accompanied by decreased chlorophyll content, reduced oxygen evolution ratio, and elevated carotenoid content of both strains cultivated in N-free Bold’s basal medium. Nitrogen deprivation induced total lipid and neutral lipid content in both strains, supported by FTIR measurement of TAGs. Chlorella sp. IMU17 showed higher production of TAGs as a response to N-deprivation. Strikingly, relative polysaccharide content showed a rapid increase on the first days and a noticeable reduction was recorded especially after 5 days of N-deprivation while TAG production showed a gradual increase during the whole period of N-deprivation in both strains. Starch might be a predominant form of carbon storage in the short term and the continuous increase of TAG production might be supported by degradation of starch in a longer period of N-deprivation. FAME analysis of lipids showed that the saturation level of the fatty acids of both strains meets the European standard EN 14214 requirements. Lastly, N-deprivation stimulated a significant reduction of PUFA production in Chlorella sp. IMU17. Thus, Chlorella sp. IMU17 might stand as a promising candidate for biodiesel feedstock production with its low PUFA content and a concomitant induction of saturation of fatty acids as a clear response to N-deprivation.
A Situated Cognition Perspective on Literacy Discourses: Seeing More Clearly Through a New Lens

Situated cognition theory is used as an analytical perspective to examine 24 literacy practice vignettes in four domains of learning communities in Canada. This theory helps explain how learning occurs in the social cultural world and how learners become engaged within particular contexts. The analysis portrays that literacy researchers remain constrained by a behaviourist, normative perspective despite the shift in literacy discourse toward a humanist, social perspective. The results provide insight for new directions toward a theory of social literacy in adult literacy research and ways for improving professional development programs for literacy educators by including authentic apprenticeship. The findings demonstrate the potential of situated cognition perspectives to uncover a grounded theory of adult literacy learning through discourse analysis. Resume Dans cet article, la theorie de la « cognition situee » est utilisee pour examiner 24 pratiques d'alphabetisation dans quatre communautes d'apprentissage au Canada. Cette theorie aide a expliquer comment l'apprentissage a lieu dans l'environnement socioculturel et comment les apprenants deviennent impliques dans des contextes donnes. L'analyse montre que, malgre le changement du discours sur l'alphabetisation en direction d'une approche humaniste et sociale, les chercheurs demeurent prisonniers de l'approche behavioriste et normative. Les resultats fournissent un apercu des nouvelles tendances au sujet des theories de l'alphabetisation sociale, ainsi que de ses methodes en vue d'ameliorer les programmes de formation pour les alphabetiseurs en integrant une veritable formation par apprentissage. Par l'analyse de discours, ils mettent en valeur le potentiel des perspectives de la « cognition situee » dans l'emergence d'une theorie ancree de l'alphabetisation des adultes.
The transcription factor E2A drives neural differentiation in pluripotent cells

The intrinsic mechanisms that link extracellular signalling to the onset of neural differentiation are not well understood. In pluripotent mouse cells, BMP blocks entry into the neural lineage via transcriptional upregulation of Inhibitor of Differentiation (Id) factors. We have previously identified that the major binding partner of Id proteins in pluripotent cells is the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor (TF), E2A. Id1 can prevent E2A from forming heterodimers with bHLH TFs or from forming homodimers. Here, we show that overexpression of a forced E2A homodimer is sufficient to drive robust neural commitment in pluripotent cells, even under non-permissive conditions. Conversely, we find that E2A null cells display a defect in their neural differentiation capacity. E2A acts as an upstream activator of neural lineage genes, including Sox1 and Foxd4, and as a repressor of Nodal signalling. Our results suggest a crucial role for E2A in establishing neural lineage commitment in pluripotent cells.
Drought-Induced Mortality Is Related to Hydraulic Vulnerability Segmentation of Tree Species in a Savanna Ecosystem

Vulnerability segmentation (VS) has been widely suggested to protect stems and trunks from hydraulic failure during drought events. In many ecosystems, some species have been shown to be non-segmented (NS species). However, it is unclear whether drought-induced mortality is related to VS. To understand this, we surveyed the mortality and recruitment rate and measured the hydraulic traits of leaves and stems as well as the photosynthesis of six tree species over five years (2012–2017) in a savanna ecosystem in Southwest China. Our results showed that the NS species exhibited a higher mortality rate than the co-occurring VS species. Across species, the mortality rate was not correlated with xylem tension at 50% loss of stem hydraulic conductivity (P50stem), but was rather significantly correlated with leaf water potential at 50% loss of leaf hydraulic conductance (P50leaf) and the difference in water potential at 50% loss of hydraulic conductance between the leaves and terminal stems (P50leaf-stem). The NS species had higher Huber values and maximum net photosynthetic rates based on leaf area, which compensated for a higher mortality rate and promoted rapid regeneration under the conditions of dry–wet cycles. To our knowledge, this study is the first to identify the difference in drought-induced mortality between NS species and VS species. Our results emphasize the importance of VS in maintaining hydraulic safety in VS species. Furthermore, the high mortality rate and fast regeneration in NS species may be another hydraulic strategy in regions where severe seasonal droughts are frequent.
Multisource Hyperspectral and LiDAR Data Fusion for Urban Land-Use Mapping based on a Modified Two-Branch Convolutional Neural Network

Accurate urban land-use mapping is a challenging task in the remote-sensing field. With the availability of diverse remote sensors, synthetic use and integration of multisource data provides an opportunity for improving urban land-use classification accuracy. Neural networks for Deep Learning have achieved very promising results in computer-vision tasks, such as image classification and object detection. However, the problem of designing an effective deep-learning model for the fusion of multisource remote-sensing data still remains. To tackle this issue, this paper proposes a modified two-branch convolutional neural network for the adaptive fusion of hyperspectral imagery (HSI) and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data. Specifically, the proposed model consists of a HSI branch and a LiDAR branch, sharing the same network structure to reduce the time cost of network design. A residual block is utilized in each branch to extract hierarchical, parallel, and multiscale features. An adaptive-feature fusion module is proposed to integrate HSI and LiDAR features in a more reasonable and natural way (based on "Squeeze-and-Excitation Networks"). Experiments indicate that the proposed two-branch network shows good performance, with an overall accuracy of almost 92%. Compared with single-source data, the introduction of multisource data improves accuracy by at least 8%. The adaptive fusion model can also increase classification accuracy by more than 3% when compared with the feature-stacking method (simple concatenation). The results demonstrate that the proposed network can effectively extract and fuse features for a better urban land-use mapping accuracy.
β-Galactosidase Leakage from Escherichia coli Points to Mechanical Damageas Likely Cause of Carbon Nanotube Toxicity

We show that the cytotoxic effect of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on bacteria is mediated by mechanical damage to the cell wall and membrane. Two β-galactosidase-producing strains of Escherichia coli harboringgenomically integrated reporter gene constructs, namely pchbB:lacZand prpoS:lacZ, were used for the purpose. We first verified that CNTs result in an inhibition of cell growth. Enzyme activity was determined using a reporter gene assay in which CNTs were used without the lysis buffer (containing detergent). β-galactosidase activity in the presence of CNTs alone measured several fold more than the controls used (without nanotubes). This suggests that CNTs damage the cell membrane in a manner similar to the detergent in the lysis buffer and render E. coli cell walls porous, causing cell contents including enzymes to leak out into the medium. Our results support the hypothesis that mechanical damage to bacterial cell membranes is the prevailing cause of CNT-cytotoxicity.
Slow-growing male chickens fit poultry production systems with outdoor access

Slow-growing, male chickens raised with outdoor access have been found to be a nutritious protein source with 24.83% protein in breast muscle. They have an acceptable carcass quality with at least 20% less abdominal fat, 3% more breast yield, and 3% more thigh yield than the birds raised in confinement. Similarly, slow-growing male chickens grown with outdoor access have a good bone quality with femur weight, length and diameter (16.5 g, 96.7 mm, and 8.61 mm, respectively). Considering fatty acid profile as a meat quality trait, breast muscles of slow-growing birds grown with outdoor access compared to those without such access have significantly higher polyunsaturated fatty acids level (3.85 vs. 3.36%), lower n6:n3 PUFA ratio (7.8 vs. 9.22) and lower saturated fatty acids content (26.29 vs. 28.73%). Raising slow-growing male chickens in production systems with outdoor access has been confirmed to be beneficial for the animals, the producers, the consumers and the environment.
Exploring the Shopping Motivations of International Residential Tourists

Over the last few decades, so-called “international residential tourism” has increased considerably, creating a new consumer base in tourist destinations, particularly in southern Europe, whose shopping motivations are unknown. As a rule, existing literature has focused its attention on studying consumer motivations in their places of residence, references to the study of the international residential tourist's (IRT's) shopping motivations being very limited. It is in this context that this study examines the main contributions related to IRT shopping motivations. Taking as a starting point empirical research carried out in two top international tourist destinations, the study analyzes and contrasts the applicability of general theoretical contributions to this specific IRT segment. The results obtained confirm the existence, although not without its variations, of certain stability in the main aspects relating to shopping motivation, allowing the foundations to be laid for the incorporation of shopping motivation as a variable for the segmentation of IRTs. Both for tourist resort managers and retailers in the area, having access to a valid scale for measuring these motivations may be of great help to them in being able to categorize IRTs in accordance with their shopping motivations. In this way, they will have a broader knowledge of the market and how it is made up and it will facilitate the implementation of marketing policies aimed at improving the planning of commercial areas, as well as help them to adapt their product range and communication to the segments that are of most interest to their companies and destinations.
High-performance target tracking scheme with low prediction precision requirement in WSNs

Tracking mobile target is one of the most important applications in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) for surveillance system. Researchers heavily believe that: selecting proactive nodes in the region where the target may arrive in the next moment can obtain good performances in terms of energy efficiency, tracking probability and tracking precision. However, it is a great challenge that how to predict the movement of a mobile target accurately. This paper proposed a high-performance tracking scheme with a low requirement of prediction accuracy (low prediction precision requirement target tracking (LPPT)), which can work with a pre-existing target prediction algorithm. In LPPT scheme, the residual energy is employed to select more proactive nodes in the non-hotspots area, whereas less proactive nodes are selected in the hotspots area. Both theoretical and numerical simulation results show that the proposed scheme significantly improved the probability of target detection and energy efficiency, decreased the detection delay, meanwhile guaranteed the network lifetime.
A Comparison of Standard Modeling Techniques Using Digital Aerial Imagery with National Elevation Datasets and Airborne LiDAR to Predict Size and Density Forest Metrics in the Sapphire Mountains MT, USA

In recent years airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology has received a great deal of attention. Using airborne LiDAR, analysts have successfully related height measurements to forest characteristics such as tree size, basal area, and number of trees. Similarly, National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP) digital aerial imagery in combination with elevation datasets such as the National Elevation Dataset (NED) have been used to estimate similar forest characteristics. Few comparisons, however, have been made between using airborne LiDAR, NAIP, and NED to estimate forest characteristics. In this study we compare airborne LiDAR, NAIP, and NAIP assisted NED based models of forest characteristics commonly used within forest management at the spatial scale of field plots and forest stands. Our findings suggest that there is a high degree of similarity in model fit and estimated values when using LiDAR, NAIP, and NAIP assisted NED predictor variables.