Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enzyme Polymorphism in Sitophilus oryzae (Linnaeus, 1763) and Sitophilus zeamais (Motschulsky, 1855) (Coleoptera, Curculionidae) in southern Brazil

Beetles of the species Sitophilus oryzae and S. zeamais are pests of great economic importance since they attack not only rice and maize but also several other cereals. In fact, these beetles are one of the most visible threats to sustainable food production. Current study estimated the genetic variability of S. oryzae in two samples, one from the State of Parana (PR), Brazil, and another from the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brazil, and a sample of S. zeamais from the State of Santa Catarina (SC), Brazil. Isozyme electrophoresis in starch gel technique was employed to analyze eight enzyme systems (AAT, ACP, GDH, GPI, IDH, MDH, PGM and ME). Average heterozygosity rates were 0.0091, 0.0100 and 0.0000 and expected heterozygosity rates were 0.0419, 0.0452 and 0.0000 respectively for the samples of PR, SC and RS samples. The percentage of polymorphic loci was 30% in the PR sample, 0% in the RS sample and 30% in the SC sample. Genetic identity rates were I=0.9983 between samples from PR and RS; I = 0.6892 between PR and SC, and I = 0.6925 between SC and RS. Neis (1978) genetic distance rates were 0.0017, 0.3722 and 0.3675. Samples presented low genetic variability.
Root Canal Irrigation Trends When Using Sodium Hypochlorite : A Nationwide Survey Amongst Indian Dentists

Introduction. It is a well known fact that microorganisms either remaining in the root canal space after endodontic therapy or recolonizing the canal system post-therapy are the main cause of endodontic failure. While most practitioners spend a great deal of time on shaping procedures, not much emphasis is paid on irrigation. There is a great deal of confusion regarding the choice of irrigant, methods and protocols followed during irrigation of the canal systems. The purpose of the current survey was to find the various irrigation techniques and protocols followed by practitioners nationwide and discuss sodium hypochlorite as an irrigant. Methodology: An anonymous questionnaire with ten questions covering all aspects of irrigation protocols pertaining to sodium hypochlorite was formulated using google forms ® (http://docs.google.com/forms) and was sent to the intended participants across different platforms like whatsapp ® , facebook ® and email, responses to which were duly noted. Results. We received 818 responses giving us a response rate of 40.9%. Majority of practitioners who took the survey were general dentists. A total of 45.7% of dentists said they used 5.25% sodium hypochlorite as their irrigant of choice, and 67.7% of the respondents said they stored the irrigant in its original container. 59.2% of the dentists taking the survey used side vented needles for the purpose of irrigation. 56.2% of the respondents claimed to use 5ml of irrigant per canal. When questioned regarding the adjuncts used for irrigation 43.8% dentists said they used Manual Dynamic Agitation Technique for agitation. When questioned regarding the most common complication witnessed, 61.5% dentists complained of damaged clothing. 62.4% of the practitioners said they used sodium hypochlorite in retreatment cases. Conclusion. Dental practitioners in the country use sodium hypochlorite with a majority of them preferring 5.25% concentration as a primary irrigant. Also, during retreatment cases most of them use sodium hypochlorite which calls for attention. The major complications witnessed by the dentists were damaged clothing.
Clustering Application for prediction in OLAP Cube

----------------------------------------************************---------------------------------Abstract: Data warehouses are designed to help users to manage large volumes of data. Online analysis OLAP provides a simple and quick visualization of the information and multidimensional view of data. On the other hand, Data mining is a set of techniques which allows the extraction of knowledge from data warehouses. As part of this work, we propose new ways to improve existing approaches in the process of decision support. In the continuity of the work treating the coupling between the on-line analysis and data mining, an approach based on automatic learning and clustering was proposed in order to integrate the prediction in the heart of OLAP.
Thermal-oxidative Degradation of PGA, PLLA, and Random Binary PLLA-PGA Copolymers

Dimerization process is essential for producing copolymers. The features of dimerization process like thermal‐oxidative degradation should be well known to reach maximum efficiency and a superior reactor design. Also, the degradation mechanism of biodegradable polymers is important during sterilization processes. Thermal‐oxidative degradation of PGA, PLLA, and their binary copolymers was investigated under isothermal heating as well as dynamic heating. All the samples were prepared by a polycondensation process and were characterized by TG, DTG, DSC, and HNMR analyses. Activation energy under dynamic heating was obtained by using Friedman plot. A new three stage mechanism, namely random, transition, and specific stages is proposed for dynamic heating degradation. Isothermal heating investigation is conducted under an inert atmosphere, and frequency factor and activation energy were achieved. It was found that the activation energy under isothermal heating is generally higher than that under dynamic heating. It was found that the rate of degradation increases significantly with an increase in temperature. The effects of pressure on the degradation rate were studied in different atmospheres with various oxygen partial pressures. Pressure effect was correlated by a second order polynomial in terms of total pressure. The obtained activation energies under isothermal heating were in good agreement with those reported by others. The complete kinetic scheme suitable for reactor design for the thermal‐oxidative degradation of the samples was reported. Finally, the optimal operational conditions for the dimerization process were reported.
n-gram-based approach to composer recognition

This paper describes how tools provided by Natural Language Processing and Information Retrieval can be applied to music. A method of converting complex musical structure to features (n-grams) corresponding with words of text was introduced. Mutual correspondence between both representations was shown by demonstrating certain important regularities known from text processing, which may also be found in music. The problem of automatic composer attribution to which statistical analysis of n-gram profiles known from statistical NLP was applied served as a case study. A MIDI files corpus of piano pieces was chosen as the source of data.
Specific and reliable detection of Myosin 1C isoform A by RTqPCR in prostate cancer cells

Background Prostate cancer (PC) diagnostics and treatment often present a challenging task due to cancer subtype heterogeneity and differential disease progression in patient subgroups. Hence, the critical issue is finding a reliable and sensitive diagnostic and prognostic PC marker, especially for cases of biopsies with low percentages of cancer cells. Isoform A of myosin 1C was shown to be expressed in PC cells and responsible for their invasive properties, however, its feasibility for diagnostic purposes remains to be elucidated. Methods To verify the role of myosin 1C isoform A mRNA expression as a putative prostate cancer marker we performed RT qPCR normalized by three reference genes (GAPDH, YWHAZ, HPRT1) on PC3, RWPE-1, LNCaP and 22Rv1 cell lines. Myosin 1C isoform A detection specificity was confirmed by immunofluorescence staining, cancer and non-cancer prostate cell lines were immunophenotyped by flow cytometry. Results Median normalized mRNA expression level of myosin 1C isoform A in PC cells (PC3 and 22Rv1) is two orders of magnitude higher compared to RWPE-1 cells, which functionally correspond to benign prostate cells. Myosin 1C isoform A expression allows PC cell detection even at a dilution ratio of 1:1000 cancer to non-cancer cells. At the protein level, the mean fluorescence intensity of myosin 1C isoform A staining in PC3 nuclei was only twice as high as in RWPE-1, while the immunophenotypes of both cell lines were similar (CD44+/CD90-/CD133-/CD57-/CD24+-). Conclusions We report a distinct difference in myosin 1C isoform A mRNA levels in malignant (PC3) and benign (RWPE-1) prostate cell lines and suggest a combination of three reference genes for accurate data normalization. For the first time we provide an immunophenotype comparison of RWPE-1 and PC3 cells and demonstrate that RT qPCR analysis of MYO 1C A using appropriate reference genes is sufficient for PC detection even in low-abundance cancer specimens.
The Deterrent Effect of Voting Against Minarets: Identity Utility and Foreigners' Location Choice

This paper uses the vote on the Swiss minaret initiative as a natural experiment to identify the causal effect of negative attitudes towards immigrants on foreigners' location choices and thus indirectly on their utility. Based on a regression discontinuity design with unknown discontinuity points and administrative data on the population of foreigners, we find that the probability of their moving to a municipality that unexpectedly expressed strong reservations decreases initially by about 60 percent. The effect levels off over a period of about 5 months. Consistent with a reduction in the identity utility for immigrants in general, the reaction is not confined to Muslims, whereby high-skilled foreigners seem to be most sensitive to the newly revealed reservations.
Synergetic effects of mechanical properties on graphene nanoplatelet and multiwalled carbon nanotube hybrids reinforced epoxy/carbon fiber composites

Graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are novel nanofillers possessing attractive characteristics, including robust compatibility with most polymers, high absolute strength, and cost effectiveness. In this study, an outstanding synergetic effect on the grapheme nanoplatelets (GNPs) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) hybrids were used to reinforce epoxy composite and epoxy/carbon fiber composite laminates to enhance their mechanical properties. The mechanical properties of CNTs/GNPs hybrids on a fixedweight fraction (1wt%)with mixing different ratio reinforced epoxy nanocomposite, such as ultimate tensile strength and flexure properties, were investigated. The mechanical properties of epoxy/carbon fiber composite laminates containing different proportions of CNTs/GNPs hybrids (0.5, 1.0, 1.5wt%) were increased over that of neat laminates. Consequently, significant improvement in the mechanical properties was attained for these epoxy resin composites and carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy composite laminates.
Kelvin force microscopy characterization of charging effect in thin a-SiOxNy:H layers deposited in pulsed plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process by tuning the Silicon-environment

Results from a study on the charging effect of a-SiOxNy:H thin layers are presented in this paper. Issues related to structural and electrical characterization of these layers are discussed. Spectroscopic ellipsometry was used to determine accurately the layer thickness and their optical properties, while the Kelvin Force Microscopy (KFM) was applied to characterize the local electrical properties of the layers. Obtained results reveal that by tuning the Si-environment in a-SiOxNy:H thin dielectric layers, deposited in plasma assisted process, a strong modification of the surface and volume charge conduction can be achieved. Particularly, increasing Si-content in the a-SiOxNy:H layers rises the volume conduction and charges retention. Thus, local electrical properties of thin dielectric layers can be engineered in order to meet specific requirements.
GDT and LDT in Windows kernel vulnerability exploitation

This paper describes some possible ways of exploiting kernel-mode write-what-where vulnerabilities in a stable manner, on Microsoft Windows NT-family systems. The techniques presented in this document are mostly based on altering processor-specific structures (such as the Global Descriptor Table and Local Descriptor Table). This publication does not cover any revolutionary 0-day bugs, nor does it characterize any new vulnerability class. However, it aims to show some interesting methods that could be employed by exploit developers, in order to gain more stability in comparison to existing techniques. Moreover, all hardware-specific information included in this paper is only confirmed to be valid on 32-bit x86 platforms. The need of a stable exploit path Nowadays, as kernel-mode vulnerabilities are gaining more and more attention world-wide (under 5% of Microsoft security bulletins in 2007, over 10% in 2008), so are ring-0 exploitation techniques. One of the most common vulnerability class observed over the last couple of years is the write-what-where condition, most often a result of improper pointer validation performed by kernel modules (device drivers) or unsafe pool unlinking, after triggering a successful buffer overflow. As the name itself implies, such a vulnerability makes it possible for an attacker to elevate the privileges by performing at least a single WRITE operation in some memory regions that are normally protected from being written to by unprivileged applications (using paging and other memory protection mechanisms). Before conducting a successful attack, however, one must firstly know what are the desired “what” and “where” operands. Many publications have already been released, pointing out a number of locations that might be used to gain specific benefits (such as escalating the execution privileges). A list of these papers includes Exploiting Common Flaws in Drivers[4], Exploiting Windows Device Drivers[3], and How to exploit Windows kernel memory pool [6]. The actual problem with the majority of the techniques presented in the above publications is the fact that they are mostly based on undocumented, internal Windows behavior, that is not guaranteed to remain in the same form across system updates, service packs or respective system versions. Therefore, before performing the real exploitation, one is often obliged to check the system version or employ additional heuristic algorithms (e.g. signature kernel memory scanning). As it turns out, it is possible (and very convenient) to take advantage of some hardware-specific structures, that are undoubtedly implemented across every single Windows version, in the very same way. To be more precise, the structures covered in this paper are the Global and Local Descriptor Tables, one of the most essential parts of protected mode itself. By overwriting these structures in a certain way, one is able to perform a privilege escalation attack, compatible with every Windows NT system, provided it is running on an x86 processor.
User simulations for online adaptation and knowledge-alignment in troubleshooting dialogue systems

We study the problem of alignment between dialogue participants, using the practical example of “troubleshooting” dialogue systems. Recent work on troubleshooting concerns automated spoken dialogue systems which support users who need to repair their internet connection. We address the problem that different users have different types of knowledge of problem domains, so that automated dialogue systems need to adapt online to the different knowledge of these users as it encounters them. We approach this problem using policy learning in a Markov Decision Process (MDP). In contrast to related work we propose a new user model which incorporates the different conceptual knowledge of different users, together with an environment simulation. We show that this model allows us to learn dialogue policies that automatically adapt online to new users, and that these policies are significantly better than threshold-based adaptive hand-coded policies for this problem.
Analysis of Sensors for Vibration and Nip Forces Monitoring of Rubber Coated Rollers

To improve the efficiency of printing or coating processes for paper products the velocity of the web and the roller width can be increased. However, these measures bring about deformations of the rollers, heating effects and streak print defects due to undesirable oscillations. This paper presents new sensor technologies for measuring the axial and circumferential distribution of contact pressure along the nip. This work is required for further research on active vibration damping of rollers. The sensors are applied underneath the elastomer covering of the rollers and must be applied without affecting mechanical features or causing a fall off in the quality of the product. In the paper different new measurement techniques are evaluated and compared to state-of-the-art technologies considering dynamic behaviour, sensitivity, linearity, applicability and accuracy. The sensors are integrated into a test rig simulating the rollers of a printing or coating machine. The results are presented in detail and an outlook is given on further research towards active vibration damping.
Interactive comment on “ Bromine and iodine chemistry in a global chemistry-climate model : description and evaluation of very short-lived oceanic sources ” by C . Ordóñez et al

This article presents a major step towards global modelling of VSL halocarbons. Previous model studies suffered from very crude emission estimates. The authors provide new emission estimates and evaluate these and the applied halocarbon chemistry mainly based on air craft and some cruise data. I’d fully approve publication of this article mainly as it is. Only a few minor comments / revisions remain:
The Institutional Logics Perspective: A New Approach to Culture, Structure and Process

1. Introduction to the Institutional Logics Perspective 2. Precursors to the Institutional Logics Perspective 3. Defining the Inter-institutional System 4. The Emergence, Stability and Change of the Inter-institutional System 5. Micro-Foundations of Institutional Logics 6. The Dynamics of Organizational Practices and Identities 7. The Emergence and Evolution of Field-Level Logics 8. Implications for Future Research
Particle swarm optimisation K-means clustering segmentation of foetus ultrasound image

The purpose of medical image segmentation is to extract information such as volume, shape, motion of organs for detecting abnormalities from the medical image for improvement and fast diagnosis. In this paper, a segmentation algorithm has been implemented for foetus ultrasound image by particle swarm optimisation (PSO) K-means clustering algorithm with fuzzy filter. Impulsive noise inherent in ultrasound image has been removed using fuzzy filter. Then, PSO K-means clustering segmentation method is applied for partitioning foetus ultrasonic images into multiple segments, which applies an optimal suppression factor for the perfect clustering in the specified data set. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms other segmentation algorithms like seeded region growing using PSO, fuzzy C-means and watershed in terms of segmentation accuracy for speckle noise added to foetus ultrasound medical images.
Effect of Micro-grants on Poverty Alleviation of Palestinian Families (Gaza Strip-Palestinian territories)

The research paper aimed to identify the impact of micro-grants in the poverty alleviation of Palestinian families in Gaza Strip who suffer from extreme poverty through the transfer of assets to start economic activities to improve their livelihood strategies and provide them with skills and experience to contact Microfinance Institutions taking Deprived Families Economic Empowerment Program (DEEP) as a case study. Results showed positive impact of the program in reducing poverty and unemployment rate, projects are the main source of income for many benefited families, they achieved a rise in their income after getting the grant and improved their expenditure on basic necessities. Poor families also feel that they are more independent after the project, and they can support themselves from their current income. Although these projects have not yet sufficiently developed to be able to dispense relief aid, the political and economic circumstances of the Gaza Strip had a negative effect on the performance of the projects.
A Smart Waste Management with Self-Describing objects

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a pervasive computing technology that can be used to improve waste management by providing early automatic identification of waste at bin level. In this paper, we propose a smart bin application based on information self-contained in tags associated to each waste item. The wastes are tracked by smart bins using a RFID-based system without requiring the support of an external information system. Two crucial features of the selective sorting process can be improved using this approach. First, the user is helped in the application of selective sorting. Second, the smart bin knows its content and can report back to the rest of the recycling chain.
Smartphone 3D Reconstruction for Physical Interactions in Augmented Reality

Over the last couple of years, Augmented Reality (AR) has reached millions of con-sumers with the help of Visual-Inertial Odometry systems. This key process has been developed to such extent that it can now run on handheld smartphones. Research in the ﬁeld has been focused on creating usable and entertaining experiences, but there is still a need to design solutions addressed at some crucial technical obstacles of Augmented Reality systems. Nowadays, frameworks such as ARKit or ARCore are available in millions of devices and allow a basic interaction between virtual objects and real-world planes, lacking any other 3D understanding of the rest of objects present in the scene. The project hereby presented aims to design and implement a real-time 3D reconstruction system for a richer environmental understanding of the physical world, focusing on allowing an eﬃcient collision between real and virtual objects. Some solutions have been proposed using speciﬁc hardware. This work, however, is developed on top of monocular SLAM systems which are available in today’s mobile devices, thus, the constraints that these low-end devices have must be taken into consideration. This dissertation seeks to describe how to make use of a cloud of visual features in order to build a meaningful 3D representation of the scene. The results of this research extend the alternatives currently available, and show how real-time can be achieved by taking advantage of an volumetric data structure with adaptive levels-of-detail and a multithreaded processing pipeline.
Degradation of organic molecules by streamer discharges in water: coupled electrical and chemical measurements

This paper presents an experimental study of pre-breakdown discharges in water (usually called ‘corona’ or ‘streamer’) used to degrade organic molecules for depollution purposes. Streamers in water are generated by high voltage pulses of short duration in order to minimize energy losses by Joule heating. Measurements of the electrical energy used to develop streamers can be taken only when losses due to the electrical conduction in the test cell becomes negligible, i.e. at high voltage. Coupled to electrical measurements, the formation of hydrogen peroxide and the degradation of organic compounds such as 4-chlorophenol and 4-nitrophenol is studied. Chemical effects are correlated with the amount of electrical energy released, which depends mainly on conductivity and applied voltage. On the other hand, the chemical yield of these processes, expressed in terms of mole/joule is independent of voltage and conductivity.
Evaluation of inclusive breakup cross sections in reactions induced by weakly-bound nuclei within a three-body model

In 1980s Ichimura, Austern and Vincent [Phys.Rev.C 32, 431 (1985)] proposed a quantum mechanical theory to study the problem of inclusive breakup cross sections in the nuclear reactions. Using the DWBA version of this model, applications to deuteron and 6 Li inclusive breakup reactions are presented and compared with some available data.