Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Comparison of Mean Models and Clustering Techniques for Vertebra Detection and Region Separation from C-Spine X-Rays

In Computer Aided Diagnosis (CAD) tools, vertebra localization and detection are the essential steps for the diagnosis of cervical spine injuries. The accurate localization leads to accurate treatment, which is more challenging in case of poor contrast and noisy radiographs. This paper targets c-spine radiographs for the localization of vertebra using di ff erent vertebra templates, vertebra detection at each level using two di ff erent clustering techniques and gives a comparison between them. Moreover it separates the regions for each individual c-spine. It takes the poor contrast x-ray as input, enhance the contrast and detect the edges of enhanced image. After the edge detection, manually selected Region of Interest (ROI) helps in getting the edges of area covering C 3 − C 7 only. These edges along with 4 di ff erent template models of vertebra are used for the localization by Generalized Hough Transform (GHT). The results obtained are analyzed visually for the best localization template. Then, on voted points obtained after pruning, two clustering techniques Fuzzy C Means and K-Means are applied separately, to form clusters and centroids for each vertebra. Another part of this paper is to separate vertebra regions. For this, intervertebral points are calculated and then along these points, centroids are rotated using A ﬃ ne Transformation. It gives parallel lines to vertebrae and joining them gives region for each vertebra. The comparison and testing of proposed technique has been performed using dataset ’NHANES II’ publicly accessible at ’The National Library of Medicine’, total 150 cervical spine scans are used securing accuracies 93 . 76% , 84 . 21% and 83 . 1% for FCM, K-Means and region separation, respectively.
Distribution and occurrence of microsporidian pathogens of the willow flea beetle, Crepidodera aurata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in North Turkey

In this study, microsporidian pathogens in Crepidodera aurata populations were investigated. Totally 1,728 C. aurata adults were examined for microsporidian pathogens and 78 of them were found to be infected. Two species of microsporidia; Microsporidium sp.1 and Microsporidium sp.2 were observed in the C. aurata populations from ten localities in North Turkey. They show considerable difference from each other in the spore morphology and dimension, infection rate and host locality. The spores of Microsporidium sp.1 were oval in shape and measured from 3.66 to 5.66 µm in length and from 1.35 to 2.22 µm in width (n=50). The spores of Microsporidium sp. 2 were slightly curled and measured from 2.44 to 3.55 µm in length and from 1.25 to 1.55 µm in width (n=50). These microsporidia were recorded from C. aurata for the first time. Here we present occurrence and distribution of two microsporidia in C. aurata populations as natural potentially suppressing factors.
Assessment of microplastics distribution and stratification in the shallow marine sediments of Samos island, Eastern Mediterranean sea, Greece

Microplastics (MPs) are becoming ubiquitous in the marine environment and shallow marine sediments are one of the major sinks for MPs. In order to improve the knowledge about the environmental fate of MPs in the Aegean Sea shallow sediments, the occurrence and spatial distribution of MPs in Samos Island (Greece) was investigated for the first time, along a land-sea transect. The highest concentration of MPs was recorded at the Beach (37.2 ± 6.9 MPs/Kg DW), while the lowest concentration was recorded in the Intertidal zone (1.1 ± 0.9 MPs/Kg DW). In relation to the different shapes, Fragments and Pellets were more abundant on the Beach, while Fibers were more abundant in the Intertidal zone and barely any Sheets were found along the transect, suggesting a distribution probably governed not only by size but also morphology and perhaps chemical composition. A higher accumulation of particles was recorded in the first 10 cm of sediments, in comparison to the deepest 5 cm, indicating an increase of microplastics in the shallow marine sediments.
Estimating Returns to Scale with Large, Imperfect Panels: An Application to Chilean Manufacturing Industries

This study exploits plant-level panel data from Chile to provide new evidence on the empirical significance of scale economies in manufacturing sectors. Particular emphasis is given to econometric problems induced by the presence of unobservable plant heterogeneity, measurement error, and selectivity. An analysis of the results suggests that estimates based on generalized metbod of moments (GMM) estimators that pool long differences (which eliminate heterogeneity effects) are robust to measurement error in the capital stock, heteroscedasticity, and selectivity. Returns to scale for three-digit industries are fairly evenly distributed over the plausible range of 0. 8 to 1.2, and none is statistically significantly different from constant returns. Similar results hold for the four-digit industries for which sufficient data'are available. Although general expansion of the manufacturing sector cannot be expected to yield strong plant-level scale economies, our results do not rule out scale economies from other sources, such as the spreading of start-up costs and external returns to scale. Finally, the analysis has generated severalfindings of metbodological interest, including the notion that Stigler's survival test may indeed be useful as a quick first pass on the empirical importance of returns to scale.
RESPONSE OF SUMMER ANNUAL FLOWERING PLANTS TO CHEMICAL, ORGANIC AND BIO-FERTILIZATION TREATMENTS I- JOSEPH’S COAT (Amaranthus tricolor L.) PLANTS

This study was carried out at the Experimental Nursery of the Ornamental Horticulture Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza, during the two successive seasons of 2000 and 2001, with the aim of investigating the effect of chemical, organic and bio-fertilization treatments on the growth and chemical composition of Joseph’s coat (Amaranthus tricolor L.) plants. The treatments included fertilization with PK (P at 6 g calcium superphosphate, and K at 3 g potassium sulphate / 25-cm clay pot), combined with: (1) N fertilization at the rates of 6 or 12 g ammonium sulphate /pot (N1 and N2, respectively), (2) Bio-fertilization (Bio), (3) Bio. + half the previous N fertilization rates (1⁄2 N1 or N1), (4) Cattle manure (CM) at the rate of 710 cm 3 /pot (equivalent to 40 m 3 /feddan), or (5) Bio + CM at 355 cm 3 /pot (equivalent to 20 m 3 /feddan). Control plants received PK fertilization only. The bio-fertilizer was applied to the soil as a liquid inoculum containing Azospirillum brasilense, Klebsiella pneumonia and Pseudomonas putida. Most of the fertilization treatments increased the different vegetative growth and flowering characteristics. Among the different treatments, combining Bio with CM (i.e. PK + Bio + 1⁄2 CM) was the most effective one, giving the highest values for plant height, stem diameter, leaf area, number of flower stalks/plant, fresh and dry weights of leaves and stems/plant, as well as the the highest contents of chlorophyll “a”, total chlorophylls (a+b), carotenoids and anthocyanin in the leaves. Also, this treatment (PK + Bio + 1⁄2 CM) gave the highest content of total carbohydrates in the leaves, stems, flowers and roots (in most cases). On the other hand, PK+N2 gave the highest numbers of branches /plant, and the longest flowering stalks, while the highest number of leaves was found on plants fertilized using PK + N2 or PK + 1⁄2 CM + bio-fertilization. PK + N1 + Bio gave the highest roots fresh weight in both seasons. Plants fertilized with PK + N2 had the highest N content in the leaves (in both seasons), stems and flowers (in the first season), as well as the highest P content in the roots (in both seasons) and stems (in the second season). It was concluded that, for best vegetative growth and flowering of Amaranthus tricolor, L. the plants should be fertilized using the previously J. Product. & Dev. , 12(1),2007 134 described mixture of PK, bio-fertilization and half of the full dose of organic (cattle) manure.
How to make methodological decisions when inferring social networks

Constructing and analysing social networks data can be challenging. When designing new studies, researchers are confronted with having to make decisions about how data are collected and networks are constructed, and the answers are not always straightforward. The current lack of guidance on building a social network for a new study system might lead researchers to try several different methods, and risk generating false results arising from multiple hypotheses testing. We suggest an approach for making decisions when developing a network without jeopardising the validity of future hypothesis tests. We argue that choosing the best edge definition for a network can be made using a priori knowledge of the species, and testing hypotheses that are known and independent from those that the network will ultimately be used to evaluate. We illustrate this approach by conducting a pilot study with the aim of identifying how to construct a social network for colonies of cooperatively breeding sociable weavers. We first identified two ways of collecting data using different numbers of feeders and three ways to define associations among birds. We then identified which combination of data collection and association definition maximised (i) the assortment of individuals into ‘breeding groups’ (birds that contribute towards the same nest and maintain cohesion when foraging), and (ii) socially differentiated relationships (more strong and weak relationships than expected by chance). Our approach highlights how existing knowledge about a system can be used to help navigate the myriad of methodological decisions about data collection and network inference. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT General guidance on how to analyse social networks has been provided in recent papers. However less attention has been given to system-specific methodological decisions when designing new studies, specifically on how data are collected, and how edge weights are defined from the collected data. This lack of guidance can lead researchers into being less critical about their study design and making arbitrary decisions or trying several different methods driven by a given preferred hypothesis of interest without realising the consequences of such approaches. Here we show that pilot studies combined with a priori knowledge of the study species’ social behaviour can greatly facilitate making methodological decisions. Furthermore, we empirically show that different decisions, even if data are collected under the same context (e.g. foraging), can affect the quality of a network.
1997 Measures of Statistical Complexity: Why?

We review several statistical complexity measures proposed over the last decade and a half as general indicators of structure or correlation. Recently, L`opez-Ruiz, Mancini, and Calbet [Phys. Lett. A 209 (1995) 321] introduced another measure of statistical complexity C LMC that, like others, sat-isﬁes the “boundary conditions” of vanishing in the extreme ordered and disordered limits. We examine some properties of C LMC and ﬁnd that it is neither an intensive nor an extensive thermodynamic variable and that it vanishes exponentially in the thermodynamic limit for all one-dimensional ﬁnite-range spin systems. We propose a simple alteration of C LMC that renders it extensive. However, this remedy results in a quantity that is a trivial function of the entropy density and hence of no use as a measure of structure or memory. We conclude by suggesting that a useful “statistical complexity” must not only obey the ordered-random boundary conditions of vanishing, it must also be deﬁned in a setting that gives a clear interpretation to what structures are quantiﬁed.
Performance improvement of contactless distance sensors using neural network

Sensor is used to detect an object and determines the distance between sensor and the object. The distance measured by the sensor is sometimes inaccurate, leading to distance errors. Two types of sensors used in this research project are Sharp GP2D12 and ultrasonic LV-Maxsonar EZ1. The output voltage will change based on the distance between the sensor and the object. The sensor's performance is measured by comparing the actual value with sensor's measurement value. The method is used to determine the sensor's performance by using a neural network approach. Neural network applications which help to improve the performance of the sensor as the output value from neural network shows near approximation to the actual value. Mean squared error (MSE) value produced in the learning process shows the distance errors. Next, the testing process is performed to determine the accuracy of the distance sensor indicating the percentage of accuracy is inversely proportional to MSE value. Experimental results demonstrate that Sharp GP2D12 distance sensor showing a higher percentage of accuracy with 95.57% compared to LV-Maxsonar EZ1 sensor which resulted only 90.91%. These results prove that the GP2D12 Sharp distance sensor is more accurate than ultrasonic LV-Maxsonar EZ1 sensor.
An extended intuitionistic fuzzy modified group complex proportional assessment approach

Complex proportional assessment (COPRAS) methodology is one of the well-known multiple criteria group decision-making (MCGDM) frameworks that can focus on proportional and direct dependences of the significance and utility degree of candidates under the presence of mutually conflicting criteria in real-worldcases. This studyelaboratesa newintuitionistic fuzzy modified group complex proportional assessment (IF-MGCOPRAS) method.This group decision-making methodologymakes the suitable decision by considering both concepts of the intuitionistic fuzzy positive ideal and negative ideal solutions.The performance of the candidates with respect to various criteria and corresponding criteria weights are linguistic termsthat expressed as intuitionistic fuzzy numbers. Then,intuitionistic fuzzy weighted averaging (IFWA) relation is employed to aggregate individual opinions of experts.Furthermore, a new intuitionistic modified relativeindex is manipulatedto specify the most appropriate candidate for a particular engineering application in a manufacturing industry.In this respect, an illustrative example for group decision making in an equipment selection problem is considered to demonstrate theprocedure ofproposed complex assessment method. The obtainedresults of IF-MGCOPRAS method represented that a reasonable and satisfactory assessmentfor equipment decision makingproblem is occurred. Finally, a comparative analysis and discussion with the intuitionistic fuzzy group TOPSIS method is provided.
Rainfall infiltration and soil hydrological characteristics below ancient forest, planted forest and grassland in a temperate northern climate

How rainfall infiltration rate and soil hydrological characteristics develop over time under forests of different ages in temperate regions is poorly understood. In this study, infiltration rate and soil hydrological characteristics were investigated under forests of different ages and under grassland. Soil hydraulic characteristics were measured at different scales under a 250‐year‐old grazed grassland (GL), 6‐year‐old (6yr) and 48‐year‐old (48yr) Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) plantations, remnant 300‐year‐old individual Scots pine (OT) and a 4000‐year‐old Caledonian Forest (AF). In situ field‐saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kfs) was measured, and visible root:soil area was estimated from soil pits. Macroporosity, pore structure and macropore connectivity were estimated from X‐ray tomography of soil cores, and from water‐release characteristics.
Probing exoplanetary materials using sublimating dust

Planetary systems consist of more than just planets orbiting a central star. They also include a wide range of smaller bodies, such as asteroids, comets, and interplanetary dust grains. All these materials can be investigated to increase our understanding of planetary systems. In the study of extrasolar systems, the dust component can be particularly useful, because it constitutes a relatively large cross-section, making it observationally accessible to modern telescopes. To correctly make the step from dust observations to inferring properties of an exoplanetary system, one must understand in detail how dust grains are produced, how they behave after being released, and how they are destroyed or removed. Understanding the physics of circumstellar dust is the subject of my thesis work. The thesis focusses specifically on dust grains orbiting extremely close to their host star, at only a few stellar radii, where temperatures can be reached that are sufficient to sublimate rocks. I studied two astrophysical problems in which dust sublimation is relevant. (1) Hot exozodiacal dust. This is dust located in the close vicinity of a star that can be detected through near-infrared interferometry. Some 10% to 30% of all stars seem to have such a population of dust, but its origin is still unclear. I tested possible mechanisms that could explain the phenomenon, and made an in-depth study of the inner parts of the Fomalhaut system. (2) Dusty tails of evaporating exoplanets. I demonstrated how the composition of dust released by an evaporating rocky exoplanet, which trails the planet in a comet-like tail, can be inferred from detailed shape of the transit light curve produced by these objects.
Method on surface roughness modification to alleviate stiction of microstructures

Modification on surface roughness has been shown to effectively alleviate both release and in-use stiction in the previous literature. However, the modified materials in the previously reported methods were limited to polysilicon or single crystalline silicon with special properties. Here, the proposed modification method not only can apply to silicon without extra property requirements, but also has the potential to modify other materials, such as oxide, nitride, and some metals. The process here combines spin-on photoresist and reactive ion etching. The proposed low temperature process is simple, and no extra mask is needed. Consequently, there is more flexibility to add the roughness modification to the original fabrication process of microdevices. In this study, polysilicon and silicon nitride are demonstrated as the modified materials. Antistiction effects are characterized by calibrating the water contact angles on the modified surfaces and the detachment lengths of released cantilevers. The experimental results show that the detachment length is almost two times longer than the cantilevers without modified substrates, where the interfacial surface energy between solids is reduced about 15 times.
Visuospatial Bootstrapping: Aging and the Facilitation of Verbal Memory by Spatial Displays

When people are presented with a random list of digits to remember over an interval of a few seconds, the cognitive systems that are used are mainly verbal working memory systems, and these are different from those used when remembering visuospatial information. Our previous work has demonstrated that under certain circumstances, visuospatial memory processes can assist verbal memory processes. If a sequence of random numbers is presented for immediate recall in order, memory is better if the digits are displayed on a familiar telephone keypad array compared to either an unfamiliar random keypad or a single item. We previously argued that this was evidence for the existence of processes (described in many modern theories of memory) that could integrate information held in long-term memory (knowledge about the keypad) with short-term visuospatial memory for sequences of locations and short-term verbal memory for sequences of digits. In the current article, we report a study that demonstrates that this pattern remains present in a sample of older (55–76 years) adults compared to a younger sample (19–35 years). There are important benefits of this identification of the age-resilience of linkages between different types of information in short-term memory. One specific benefit is to theories of aging, but a second, broader, benefit may be that we can capitalize upon this finding to develop strategies and techniques for boosting the efficiency of working memory in older adults, an outcome that would have many benefits to an aging population.
Reconciling Darwin’s naturalization and pre‐adaptation hypotheses: An inference from phylogenetic fields of exotic plants in Japan

Understanding the causes and consequences of biological invasions remains a challenge for several disciplines, including biogeography. One major issue in overcoming this challenge is disentangling the confounding mechanisms of species invasiveness and community invasibility. Here, we tackle this issue by applying a novel approach based on the phylogenetic affinities between exotic species and natives in the recipient community to elucidate naturalization and pre‐adaptation processes.
Production and characterization of polyclonal antibody against Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) immunoglobulin G

ABSTRACT The immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody is important for detecting and evaluating immune responses. Despite increasing opportunities for tigers to be exposed to emerging diseases due to global changes coupled with increasing interaction with humans, there is no available antibody specific to tigers. Aims of this study were to produce a rabbit anti-Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) IgG polyclonal antibody and to determine its specificity. The molecular weight of the purified Bengal tiger IgG was approximately 170 kDa. The cross-reactivity of rabbit anti-Bengal tiger IgG to IgG of other wild felid species and other domestic animals was analyzed by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The cross reactivity to other related wild animals ranged from 53.69% to 75.63%. There was high cross-reactivity with domestic cats (63.58%) and pigs (38.45%) and low cross-reactivity with domestic cows (10.46%), goats (8.60%), sheep (7.25%), and chickens (6.91%). To confirm cross-reactivity with domestic animals’ IgG, western blotting was performed. These results indicated that the purified rabbit anti-Bengal tiger IgG polyclonal antibody strongly reacted with species in the family Felidae. The polyclonal antibody generated in this study has the potential to aid in the development of useful tools for further novel immunological investigations on tigers and related felid species.