Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance analysis of software defined network using intent monitor and reroute method on ONOS controller

Software Defined Network (SDN) provides high service flexibility to optimize network configuration based on network traffic. Traffic management able to solve traffic density in SDN. However, it will misuse the network bandwidth and links. One variant of the SDN controller, namely Open Network Operating System (ONOS), provides an Intent Monitor and Reroute (IMR) method that can optimize traffic management based on the description of an object in the ONOS application. This method can optimize the network bandwidth and links of SDN. The IMR can monitor the network and reconfigure the network to restore network connectivity by maximizing the use of each link when transmitting data. This study examines the impact of using IMR with a custom topology on ONOS to find the best scenario by performing traffic management on a data plane consisting of switches totaling 8-12 switches. The parameters measured in this study are bandwidth usage and quality of service (QoS). The results obtained in this study are IMR able to optimize the use of each link and maximize bandwidth usage in a network when distributing data and following TIPHON standards
Population Structure of Woody Plants in Relation to Land Use in a Semi‐arid Savanna, West Africa

Indigenous woody species are important natural resources in West African savannas. Information about their population structures and response to human impact, particularly land use, however, is scarce. In this study, we explored (1) the effect of land use on the population structure of woody savanna species; and (2) searched for species with similar population structures related to comparable ecological preferences. Using generalized linear models, we separately analyzed the size‐class distribution (SCD) of 30 species to reveal the influence of three land cover types (non‐arable land, fallows, and protected areas) on population structures. Generalized linear models were applied to identify comparable population structures of species with similar ecological preferences. We were able to identify five groups for shrub species and four groups for tree species with different population structures and comparable ecological preferences. In terms of human impact, we detected four groups of species responding similarly to land use. Especially for trees, we found a strong influence of local land use on SCD and hence, population structures. The SCD of shrub species tends to be more related to species' ecological preferences. Some of the shrub species may be characterized as ubiquitous species as their SCD is neither related to land use nor ecological preferences, indicating a high tolerance to disturbance. The observed results have implications on local woody species composition in relation to land use. According to this, we propose focusing on trees when developing appropriate local land use management strategies.
Influence of Citrus Plants Infected with Xylella fastidiosa on Stylet Penetration Activities of Bucephalogonia xanthophis (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae)

ABSTRACT Xylem colonization by Xylello fastidiosa promotes physiological, biochemical, and morphological alterations in citrus plants causing citrus variegated chlorosis (CVC) disease, which might influence the feeding behavior of vectors of this bacterial pathogen and its spread in citrus groves. By using the electrical penetration graph technique, we compared the numbers and durations of stylet penetration activities by adults of the sharpshooter vector Bucephalogonia xanthophis (Berg) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) on healthy and X. fastidiosa-infected sweet orange seedlings (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck, cv. Pera). Infected plants were either symptomatic, exhibiting the typical CVC, symptoms or totally asymptomatic. The mean time needed to contact xylem and start xylem sap ingestion after the onset of the first probe was similar among treatments. However, the average time elapsed between the onset of the first probe and the beginning of sustained xylem ingestion (>5 min) was longer on plants with CVC symptoms than on infected asymptomatic or healthy plants. In addition, the length of time spent in ingestion activities was much shorter on symptomatic plants. Our results showed that CVC symptomatic citrus plants were a less acceptable host than uninfected or asymptomatic X. fastidiosa-infected plants. Furthermore, our results support the hypothesis that symptomless infected citrus trees may be more important as sources for CVC spread than severely diseased ones.
A Spectral Band Based Comparison of Unsupervised Segmentation Evaluation Methods for Image Segmentation Parameter Optimization

Very high-resolution images obtained with recently launched satellite sensors have been used intensively in the remote sensing area. The widespread use of high-resolution images has greatly facilitated the creation and updating of land use/land cover (LULC) maps. Traditional pixel-based image analysis methods that extract information based solely on the spectral values of pixels are generally not suitable for high-resolution images. Unlike pixel-based approaches, object-based image analysis (OBIA) uses pixel clustering (image objects) instead of pixels by considering the shape, texture, context and spectral features and provide richer information extraction. Image segmentation is an important process and prerequisite for the OBIA process. It is essential to evaluate the performance of segmentation algorithms for the determination of effective segmentation methods and optimization of segmentation parameters. In this study, the multi-resolution segmentation algorithm is used for the segmentation process. The effect of spectral bands on segmentation quality was analysed using a Worldview-2 high-resolution satellite image. In order to analyze segmentation quality, two unsupervised quality metrics, namely, F-measure and Plateau Objective Function (POF) values were calculated for each band separately. In this manner, optimum parameter values were determined using different variations of Moran's I Index and variance values. Image segmentation was performed by using different scale, shape and compactness parameter values. In this context, 30 segmentation analysis was performed considering three different spectral bands (red, green and near-infrared bands). The results showed that the highest segmentation quality was acquired for the NIR band among the spectral bands for the F-measure method, while the highest segmentation quality value was achieved for the green band for the POF metric . In addition, the optimum segmentation parameter values of the scale, shape and compactness were determined as 30-0.3-0.5 and 50-0.1-0.3 for F-measure and POF approaches, respectively.
Optimal Promotional Effort Policy in Innovation Diffusion Model
Incorporating Dynamic Market Size in Segment Specific Market

Due the increasing globalization of market and diverse consumer groups, market segmentation becomes an ever more important concept in current market scenario. After market segmentation, firms use the available promotional strategies to target market. In this paper, we present a model of determining the optimal dynamic promotional policies for a product in segmented market incorporating dynamic market size, where sales is assumed to be evolved through mass and differentiated promotion. Mass promotional effort is allowed in whole market with a fixed spectrum for each segment while differentiated promotion is targeted to each segment independently. The optimal promotional effort policy for each segment is obtained by applying maximum principle. Numerical illustrations are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed method and solution procedure by discretizing the optimal control model. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis of the discount rate parameter is carried out and presented. KeywordsMaximum principle, Dynamic potential market, Differentiated promotion, Mass promotion.
Genecology of Bud-Burst Phenology in Douglas-Fir: Response to Flushing Temperature and Chilling

We studied the process by which bud burst of coastal Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii [Mirb.] Franco) is synchronized to seasonal cycles. Seedlings from 23 populations were treated in 12 growth-chamber combinations of chilling periods and flushing temperatures. Bud-burst rates increased approximately logarithmically with temperature. Rates also depended on the duration of chilling, with temperature coefficients (Q10) increasing from 2.7 after 11 days of chilling to 3.5 after 77 days. The annual temperature cycle, moisture relation, latitude, elevation, and distance from the ocean of the site of origin of a population also influenced the rate of bud burst in the population under controlled conditions. The adaptive significance of these responses is discussed in terms of Levins's dormancy strategy hypothesis.
Investigating computational thinking skills based on different variables and determining the predictor variables

This study aimed to determine how secondary school students’ computational thinking skills changed according to gender, technology use i.e. mobile device ownership, technology competence, daily technology use periods, attitude towards science and attitude towards math. In addition, the relationships between these variables was determined in this study. The research, which was carried out with the participation of 722 secondary school students, was conducted with relational survey model. Convenience sampling method was used to determine the participants. Computational thinking scale, attitudes towards science scale and attitudes towards mathematics scale were used in the study as data collection tools. Descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, single factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple regression analysis tests were used in this study. According to results, while computational thinking skills did not significantly differ according to gender; there was a significant difference in computational thinking skills according to mobile device ownership, technology competence, daily technology use periods, attitudes towards science and attitudes towards math. Three of the four models developed as a result of hierarchical regression analysis were found to be statistically significant. Accordingly, it can be argued that attitudes towards science, attitudes towards math and mobile device ownership are important predictors of computational thinking.
Comparison of Camera and Road Survey Estimates for White-Tailed Deer

Abstract Wildlife managers require reliable, cost-effective, and accurate methods for conducting population surveys in making wildlife management decisions. Traditional methods such as spotlight counts, drive counts, strip counts (aerial, thermal, infrared) and mark–recapture techniques can be expensive, labor-intensive, or limited to habitats with high visibility. Convenience sampling designs are often used to circumvent these problems, creating the potential for unknown bias in survey results. Infrared-triggered cameras (ITCs) are a rapidly developing technology that may provide a viable alternative to wildlife managers because they can be economically used with alternative sampling designs. We evaluated population-density estimates from unbaited ITCs and road surveys for the endangered Florida Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium) on No Name Key, Florida, USA (461-ha island). Road surveys (n = 253) were conducted along a standardized 4-km route each week at sunrise (n = 90), sunset (n = 93), and nighttime (n = 70) between January 1998 and December 2000 (total deer observed = 4,078). During this same period, 11 ITC stations (1 camera/42 ha) collected 8,625 exposures, of which 5,511 registered deer (64% of photographs). Study results found a difference ( P < 0.001) between methods with road-survey population estimates lower (76 deer) than ITC estimates (166 deer). In comparing the proportion of marked deer between the 2 methods, we observed a higher ( P < 0.001) proportion from road surveys (0.266) than from ITC estimates (0.146). Spatial analysis of deer observations also revealed the sample area coverage to be incongruent between the 2 methods; approximately 79% of all deer observations were on urban roads comprising 63% of the survey route. Lower road-survey estimates are attributed to 1) urban deer behavior resulting in a high proportion of marked deer observations, and 2) inadequate sample area coverage. We suggest that ITC estimates may provide an alternative to road surveys for estimating white-tailed deer densities, and may alleviate sample bias generated by convenience sampling, particularly on small, outer islands where habitat and/or lack of infrastructure (i.e., roads) precludes the use of other methods.
Trophic specialization at the individual level in a terrestrial generalist salamander

Information on individual trophic specialization may be relevant to better understand the ecological adaptation of populations to their environment and the evolution of their realized trophic niche. In this study, we analysed the trophic specialization at the individual level in a population of the plethodontid Northwest Italian Cave Salamander (Speleomantes strinatii (Aellen, 1958)), a terrestrial generalist predator. Salamanders were sampled in northwestern Italy on the forest floor in autumn (n = 49) and spring (n = 47) along with their available prey. In autumn, when trophic resources showed a twofold reduction in abundance, the population trophic niche width (TNW = 2.58) was significantly broader than during spring (TNW = 2.25), and in both seasons, individual specialization (IS) was significantly higher than expected by chance (P = 0.001). There were no sexual or ontogenetic differences in IS within each season, but IS in autumn was significantly higher than in spring (IS = 0.34 and IS = 0.41, respe.
POPULATION VIABILITY ANALYSES OF CHAMAECRISTA KEYENSIS: EFFECTS OF FIRE SEASON AND FREQUENCY

Conservation of species of concern in fire-dependent ecosystems requires restoring the historical fire regime that has shaped the species' life history. The historical fire regime of the endangered pine rockland ecosystem is controversial. In this study, we attempted to infer the historical fire regime of this ecosystem by studying the effects of contrasting experimental fire regimes on Chamaecrista keyensis, a narrowly endemic species of the pine rocklands of the Lower Florida Keys, USA. We constructed multiple matrix population models for C. keyensis using demographic data from replicated wet- and dry-season burns, 1–30 years since fire, and seed bank dynamics derived from extensive field seed bank experiments. We then carried out deterministic analyses and stochastic simulations. Recently burned sites (1–2 years postfire) had the highest finite population growth rates of all sites. Differences in finite population growth rate between winter and summer fires were more pronounced during the year of burn .
Central planning, market and subsistence from a tundra perspective: Field experience with reindeer herders in the Kola Peninsula

This paper is based on field experience in the tundra camp of a reindeer-herding brigade with mixed ethnic background (Komi, Sami, Nenets, Russians) belonging to the ex-Sovkhoz of Krasnoschelie. Its purpose is to situate the new critical issues facing the reindeer-herding collectives after the economic collapse in Russia in 1998. My main argument is that the increasing economic isolation of the tundra periphery forces the herders to redefine their relationship with both the centre(s) and the other tundra actors. Reindeer herding on the Kola Peninsula is analysed in relation to its heterogeneous economic system defined by the old Sovkhoz-like management and the new Western buyer of reindeer meat. Furthermore, the social environment in the herding territories has changed since the deterioration of the central planning economy, implying new renewable resources' users. After massive loss of jobs, militaries, miners and geologists came into the tundra for substantial hunting and fishing and so became actors in the local informal economy. Finally, tundra-located herders and hunters seem to be somewhere unified by a discourse against the town-based administrative power and economic actors such as mining industry. Therefore herders have to deal with both an old administrative system in the agrocentre and new realities in the tundra. Based on a case study of herding/hunting activities in a tundra camp, the paper analyses the social relationships between the different actors in the post-Soviet Kola tundra and express their quest for solutions.
Jensen’s Type Inequalities Involving Tracy-Singh Products, Khatri-Rao Products, Tracy-Singh Sums and Khatri-Rao Sums

In this paper, we establish a number of Jensen’s type inequalities for Hilbert space operators involving convex/concave functions, unital positive linear maps, and certain operator products and sums. The products and sums considered here include the Tracy-Singh product, the Khatri-Rao products, the Tracy-Singh sum, and the Khatri-Rao sum. Moreover, we generalize Jensen’s type inequalities in term of functional calculus of two-variable functions. In particular, we obtain Kantorovich-type operator inequalities involving the products and sums.
Comparative Analysis of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Biological Properties

The stromal progenitors of mesodermal cells, mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), are a heterogeneous population of plastic adherent fibroblast-like cells with extensive proliferative capacity and differentiation potential. Human MSCs have now been isolated from various tissues including bone marrow, muscle, skin, and adipose tissue, the latter being one of the most suitable cell sources for cell therapy, because of its easy accessibility, minimal morbidity, and abundance of cells. Bone marrow and subcutaneous or visceral adipose tissue samples were collected, digested with collagenase if needed, and seeded in Iscove's medium containing 5% human platelet lysate. Nonadherent cells were removed after 2-3 days and the medium was replaced twice a week. Confluent adherent cells were detached, expanded, and analyzed for several biological properties such as morphology, immunophenotype, growth rate, senescence, clonogenicity, differentiation capacity, immunosuppression, and secretion of angiogenic factors. The results show significant differences between lines derived from subcutaneous fat compared to those derived from visceral fat, such as the higher proliferation rate of the first and the strong induction of angiogenesis of the latter. We are convinced that the identification of the peculiarities of MSCs isolated from different tissues will lead to their more accurate use in cell therapy.
Systematics of New Zealand Inuleae (Compositae-Asteraceae)—3 Numerical phenetic analysis of leaf anatomy and flavonoids

Abstract Forty-five species of Inuleae (Compositae), predominantly from New Zealand and Tasmania, were subjected to numerical phenetic analysis using 49 leaf anatomy and 38 leaf flavonoid characters. Results indicate that on the basis of overall similarity in this suite of characters: (1) Leucogenes is a good genus; (2) an undescribed taxon of Inuleae is a distinct monotypic genus; (3) New Zealand species currently placed in Anaphalis, Cassinia, and Ewartia are generically distinct but are referred to the wrong genera; (4) similarity between species of Ewartia and Gnaphalium indicates that the boundary between these genera needs to be reassessed; (5) both Helichrysum and Raoulia are heterogeneous and need revision; (6) in New Zealand, Pseudognaphalium is distinct from other gnaphalioid genera.
Selecting Rhizobium meliloti for inoculation of alfalfa planted in acid soils

The study was conducted to obtain Rhizobium meliloti strains suitable for use with alfalfa grown in acid soils. Thirteen strains of R. meliloti were examined for their ability to grow in acidified culture media and seven of these were characterized for the ability to surive in acid and limed nonsterile soils or grow in the presence of the host legume, Medicago sativa L. The pH values of the most acid, defined medium that permitted growth of the bacteria from a small inoculum ranged from pH 5.3 to 6.0. For R. meliloti 411SE1 and GH1-1SE1, the minimum pH that allowed for growth, the critical pH, was not a dependable indicator of survival in a more acid medium. Strains of R. meliloti with relatively low critical pH values survived better in a limed soil but not in acid soils than strains with higher critical pH values. Three strains of R. meliloti previously identified as good inoculants for alfalfa in acid soils did not consistently survive beter than other strains in a planted or unplanted acid soil of pH 5.3. However, the plants increase the population densities of these three strains more than other strains. These results suggest that R. meliloti strains suitablemore » for inoculation of alfalfa in acid soils may be selected not by simple saprophytic properties but by their stimulation by the host legume in acid soils. « less
Sea‐Ice Induced Southern Ocean Subsurface Warming and Surface Cooling in a Warming Climate

Much of the Southern Ocean surface south of 55° S cooled and freshened between at least the early 1980s and the early 2010s. Many processes have been proposed to explain the unexpected cooling, including increased winds or freshwater fluxes. However, these mechanisms so far failed to fully explain the surface trends and the concurrent subsurface warming (100 to 500 m). Here, we argue that these trends are predominantly caused by an increased wind‐driven northward sea‐ice transport, enhancing the extraction of freshwater near Antarctica and releasing it in the open ocean. This conclusion is based on factorial experiments with a regional ocean model. In all experiments with an enhanced northward sea‐ice transport, a strengthened salinity‐dominated stratification cools the open‐ocean surface waters between the Subantarctic Front and the sea‐ice edge. The strengthened stratification reduces the downward mixing of cold surface water and the upward heat loss of the warmer waters below, thus warming the subsurface. This sea‐ice induced subsurface warming mostly occurs around West Antarctica, where it likely enhances ice‐shelf melting. Moreover, the subsurface warming could account for about 8 ± 2% of the global ocean heat content increase between 1982 and 2011. Antarctic sea‐ice changes thereby may have contributed to the slowdown of global surface warming over this period. Our conclusions are robust across all considered sensitivity cases, although the trend magnitude is sensitive to forcing uncertainties and the model's mean state. It remains unclear whether these sea‐ice induced changes are associated with natural variability or reflect a response to anthropogenic forcing.