Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Is the productivity of vegetation plots higher or lower when there are more species? Variable predictions from interaction of the 'sampling effect' and 'competitive dominance effect' on the habitat templet

Using a habitat templet model, we predict that the productivity (total biomass) of plots within a plant community may be positively, negatively or not at all related to variation in the number of species per plot, depending on successional stage (time since major disturbance) and habitat carrying capacity (reflecting the total resource supplying power of the habitat). For plots of a given size, a positive relationship between productivity and species richness is predicted in recently disturbed habitats because local neighbourhoods here will have been assembled largely stochastically, usually from a pool of available species with a right-skewed size frequency distribution. Hence, in the earliest stages of succession, plots will have relatively high total biomass only if they contain at least some of the relatively uncommon larger species which will, in turn, be more likely in those neighbourhoods that contain more species (the sampling effect). Among these will also be some of the more common smaller species; hence, these high biomass, species-rich plots should have relatively low species evenness, in contrast to what is predicted under effects involving species complementarity. In late succession, the plots with high total biomass will still be those that contain relatively large species but these plots will now contain relatively few species owing to increased competitive exclusion over time (the competitive dominance effect). In intermediate stages of succession, no relationship between plot productivity and species richness is predicted because the opposing sampling and competitive dominance effects cancel each other out. We predict that the intensity of both the sampling and competitive dominance effects on the productivity/species richness relationship will decrease with decreasing habitat carrying capacity (e.g. decreasing substrate fertility) owing to the inherently lower variance in between-plot productivity that is predicted for more resource-impoverished habitats.
Title Accuracy improvement of connectivity-based sensor networklocalization

The early results from connectivity-based sensor network localization suffer from disappointing accuracy. The reason is partly due to the limited information of the problem, and also the deficiencies of the algorithms. This paper proposes a two-level range/indication of connectivity between each pair of nodes, which would indicate three levels of connectivity: strong, weak or nil. Theoretically, the two-level connectivity localization problem can be modeled as a non-convex optimization problem in mathematics, which contains the convex constraints and nonconvex constraints. Besides using two-level range to enrich the given information, a two-objective evolutionary algorithm is also used for searching a solution. The simulation is carried out using five different topology networks all containing 100 nodes. Simulation results have shown that better solution can be obtained by using two-level range connectivity when compared with the usual one-level range connectivity-based localization. Index Terms wireless sensor network; localization; allocation; two-range; connectivity.
Isolation and Screening of Ethylene Producing Bacteria

Soil and fruit samples were collected from agricultural fields and local fruit markets near Coimbatore north region. Yeast-potato extract medium was used for isolation of ethylene producing bacterium, 11 bacteria were isolated and purified for further analysis. Ethylene producing ability was considered for screening the isolates using the Gas chromatography system with the porapak-Q column and flame ionization detector. Out of 11, 7 isolates produced ethylene when L-methionine was supplemented as the precursor. These bacterial isolates were characterized morphologically and biochemically and tentatively identified as Bacillus, E-coli and Pseudomonas sp. The microorganisms producing ethylene provide a potential option to replace artificial ripening agents in the future.
The Frequency and Distribution of Female Genital Tract Malignancies in a Multispecialty Hospital,in Delhi

Background: The most common malignancy in women is breast carcinoma worldwide. However cancers of the female genital tract are still an important cause of cancer morbidity and mortality. They are the next commonest malignancy after breast cancer in women. Aim: A hospital based study was conducted to determine the type and frequency of genital tract malignancies in women in multispecialty hospital in Delhi Material and Methods: Data from records of surgical biopsy & resection specimens along with demographic data for 3yrs of all the female patients with malignant lesions were included in the study. The distribution and prevalence of malignancies of female genital tract were analyzed. Results: A total of 118 female patients diagnosed with malignancy were included in this study. Of these 50 cases had breast carcinoma, 48 cases had carcinoma of genital tract and 20cases had others including carcinoma of oral cavity, salivary gland, thyroid, lymphomas, and GIT carcinoma. Cervical carcinoma (83.3%) was the most common gynecological malignancy followed by the ovary (10.4%) & then endometrial carcinoma (6.25%). Most common age group affected by cervical carcinoma was 51-60yrs. Moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma was the most common grade of cervical carcinoma noted. Conclusion: Cervical carcinoma was the most common gynecological malignancy in our study. Efforts should be made to reduce cancer burden by focus on health education of the masses, routine screening programmes for detection of cancers in females & establishing centres for monitoring & evaluation of these programmes.
Committee Design with Endogenous Information

Identical agents gather costly information, and then aggregate it through voting. Because information is a public good, information is underprovided relative to the social optimum. A "good" voting rule must give incentives to acquire information, as well as aggregate information efficiently. A voting rule that requires a large plurality (in the extreme, unanimity) to upset the status quo can be optimal only if the information available to each agent is sufficiently accurate. This result is independent of the preferences of voters and of the cost of information. Copyright 2004, Wiley-Blackwell.
Adaptive black-box optimization got easier: HCT only needs local smoothness

Hierarchical bandits is an approach for global optimization of extremely irregular functions. This paper provides new elements regarding POO, an adaptive meta-algorithm that does not require the knowledge of local smoothness of the target function. We first highlight the fact that the subroutine algorithm used in POO should have a small regret under the assumption of local smoothness with respect to the chosen partitioning, which is unknown if it is satisfied by the standard subroutine HOO. In this work, we establish such regret guarantee for HCT, which is another hierarchical optimistic optimization algorithm that needs to know the smoothness. This confirms the validity of POO. We show that POO can be used with HCT as a subroutine with a regret upper bound that matches the one of best-known algorithms using the knowledge of smoothness up to a √ log n factor.
Competing claims on land use for food and biodiversity

Het verlies van biodiversiteit kan worden gereduceerd en de voedselveiligheid kan worden verbeterd door maatregelen toe te passen om de opbrengst te verhogen en het verlies van voedsel te beperken. De wereldwijde vrag naar landbouwproducten zal toenemen om aan grotere vraag als gevolg van meer welvaart en de bevolkingsgroei te kunnen blijven voldoen. De focus ligt op Brazilie, Indonesie en Midden-Afrika
A Posteriori Error Estimates with Computable Upper Bound for the Nonconforming Rotated Q 1 Finite Element Approximation of the Eigenvalue Problems

This paper discusses the nonconforming rotated finite element computable upper bound a posteriori error estimate of the boundary value problem established by M. Ainsworth and obtains efficient computable upper bound a posteriori error indicators for the eigenvalue problem associated with the boundary value problem. We extend the a posteriori error estimate to the Steklov eigenvalue problem and also derive efficient computable upper bound a posteriori error indicators. Finally, through numerical experiments, we verify the validity of the a posteriori error estimate of the boundary value problem; meanwhile, the numerical results show that the a posteriori error indicators of the eigenvalue problem and the Steklov eigenvalue problem are effective.
Postharvest Propionic Acid and Hot Water Treatment for the Control of Black Spot Disease in Chinese Ya Pears

Black spot disease caused by Alternaria alternata (Fr.) is one of the main postharvest diseases of Chinese Ya pears and causes serious economic loss during storage. The fungi-toxicity of postharvest propionic acid and hot water treatment at different concentrations and temperatures was investigated in vitro and directly on Ya pears. The in vitro results showed that A. alternata was susceptible to propionic acid solutions at all tested temperatures. The toxicity of propionic acid increased linearly and the LC 99 decreased from 13.43 to 4.31 g/L with an increase in temperature from 20 to 45°C. The results in Ya pears showed that propionic acid and hot water treatment dramatically controlled black spot disease and 99% inhibition was achieved upon treatment with 9 g/L propionic acid solution for 30 min at 45°C. Furthermore, the treatment inhibited the respiration of fruits and did not cause any adverse effects on other quality parameters; however, slight surface injury was noted at 9 g/L. The safety of propionic acid treatment was further confirmed by residue analysis. The results of this study suggest that postharvest propionic acid and hot water treatment is an alternative method for the control of black spot disease in Ya pears.
Achievement Goal Structure and Type of Assistance Sought in an Undergraduate Classroom

Despite decades of research, a comprehensive understanding of academic help seeking has remained elusive (Ames & Lau, 1982; Newman, 1994; Karabenick & Newman, 2009; Schworm & Grubber, 2012). At its core, learners seek help to continue learning when confronted with a gap in knowledge or comprehension; it is persistence in the face of adversity. Historically, researchers from western cultures viewed seeking help as an undesirable trait that signified an abnormal dependence on others. Unsurprisingly, past research focused on the personal costs, burdens, and risks of asking for help. However, Nelson-LeGall (1985) identified adaptive/instrumental and executive academic helpseeking as two distinct processes (Nelson-LeGall, 1985). In adaptive help-seeking, the learner is motivated by a desire to master the material and requests hints and assistance. In executive help seeking, the student requests the answer without the desire to build competency or mastery. Researchers now identify adaptive help-seeking as a beneficial strategy for learning as it positively correlates to academic achievement, even when controlling for prior achievement (Ryan & Shin, 2011).
Phylogenetic relationships within the genus Steinernema (Nematoda: Rhabditida) as inferred from analyses of sequences of the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region of rDNA and morphological features

Eighty four new and four published ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 sequences of rDNA obtained from different populations of 24 nominal species and 28 isolates of 16 putative Steinernema species were analysed using the maximum parsimony method. In most of the phylogenetic trees obtained from different ITS alignments and phylogenetic procedures, the 84 isolates formed five main, highly or moderately supported, clades, viz Clade I: 'affine-intermedium'; Clade II: 'carpocapsae-scapterisci-tami'; Clade III: 'feltiae-krausseioregonense'; Clade IV: 'bicornutum-ceratophorum-riobrave'; and Clade V: 'arenarium-glaseri-karii-longicaudum'. The ITS rDNA data were found to be of little utility in resolving relationships between these clades, but were useful in studying relationships between species within certain clades. The level of intra-specific variability was different between clades with sequence divergence of 2.4-2.8% of ITS rDNA for some species. Analysis of a combined data matrix of both molecular and morphological features was performed with six qualitative and three quantitative features.
Spectral Efficiency Performance Analysis of Multi-Band Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing Physical Layer using Channel Division Multiple Access under Ultra Wide BandChannel

This contribution presents an investigation into methods for maximizing the spectral efficiency of Multi Band Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (MBOFDM) system. As part of this an asymptotic analysis of a new waveform based on the integration of Channel Division multiple access technique (ChDMA) in Multi-Band OFDM system over Ultra Wide Band high data rate channel is presented. This system allows to combat frequency selectivity and to solve problems related to the coexistence of many users. In order to serve multiple users simultaneously, this new multiple access system brings an interesting degree of freedom as it is based on the use of the Channel Impulse Responses (CIR) as user signatures. We will discuss the benefits of the multiple access scheme performance, and then we evaluate the spectral efficiency when the number of frequency dimensions and the number of users increases at a constant ratio. Also, we present an analysis of the impact of the power delay profile (PDP) on the spectral efficiency of MBOFDM-ChDMA-UWB system assuming a correlation between the delay and the energy of the paths. As a result we observe that the spectral efficiency performance depends on the system load, the power delay profile and the noise variance.
Australian Stock Exchange and sub-variants of price momentum strategies

The aim of this study is to examine the sub-variants of price momentum strategies. The paper recommends which sub-variants post above average returns for Australian Stock Exchange. It also analyzes the return behavior of short-term momentum effect among sub-variants of price momentum strategies. It has been found that monthly price momentum strategies result in above average abnormal returns, whereas weekly price momentum strategies should be used in combination with monthly price momentum strategies. Trading volume-based momentum investment strategies should not be used at all. Abdullah Ejaz (Pakistan), Petr Polak (Brunei Darussalam) BUSINESS PERSPECTIVES LLC “СPС “Business Perspectives” Hryhorii Skovoroda lane, 10, Sumy, 40022, Ukraine www.businessperspectives. org Australian stock exchange and sub-variants
prediction ) Backpropagation 1 : real ? 0 : fake ? x ' y ' TestingTraining input output Discriminator Network

This paper proposes a novel approach based on conditional Generative Adversarial Networks (cGAN) for breast mass segmentation in mammography. We hypothesized that the cGAN structure is wellsuited to accurately outline the mass area, especially when the training data is limited. The generative network learns intrinsic features of tumors while the adversarial network enforces segmentations to be similar to the ground truth. Experiments performed on dozens of malignant tumors extracted from the public DDSM dataset and from our in-house private dataset confirm our hypothesis with very high Dice coefficient and Jaccard index (> 94% and > 89%, respectively) outperforming the scores obtained by other state-of-the-art approaches. Furthermore, in order to detect portray significant morphological features of the segmented tumor, a specific Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) have also been designed for classifying the segmented tumor areas into four types (irregular, lobular, oval and round), which provides an overall accuracy about 72% with the DDSM dataset.
The Role of Aggregate Preferences for Labor Supply: Evidence from Low-Paid Employment

Labor supply in the market for low-paid jobs in Germany is strongly influenced by tax exemptions - even for individuals to whom these exemptions do not apply. We present compelling evidence that an individual's choice set depends on other workers' preferences because firms cater their job offers to aggregate preferences in the market. We estimate an equilibrium job search model which rationalizes the strong earnings bunching at the tax exemption threshold using German administrative data. We then simulate modifications to the tax schedule that remove the discontinuity and thus the bunching at the threshold. Results highlight the indirect costs of (discontinuous) tax policies which are shown to be reinforced by firm responses: Workers who would work anyway are hurt by subsidies benefiting groups who enter the market as a result of tax incentives.
Reactive epoxides as intermediates in the bacterial metabolism of isoprene and chlorinated ethenes

During the last decades it has become clear that the anthropogenic emission of halogenated compounds often has serious consequences both man and the environment. It is widely accepted that there is a great need for protective measures and legislation in order to reduce the amount halogenated compounds that enter the environment. However, due to improper usage, disposal, or spillage in the past, there remain many sites where soil and groundwater are polluted. Consequently, there is a need for efficient and cheap techniques for the remediation of contaminated sites. Interestingly, many of the halogenated pollutants can be degraded by microorganisms under aerobic or anaerobic conditions and thus bioremediation may be a feasible option for removal of contaminants. Zie: Summary
Cyclic Division Algebras: A Tool for Space-Time Coding

Multiple antennas at both the transmitter and receiver ends of a wireless digital transmission channel may increase both data rate and reliability. Reliable high rate transmission over such channels can only be achieved through Space-Time coding. Rank and determinant code design criteria have been proposed to enhance diversity and coding gain. The special case of full-diversity criterion requires that the difference of any two distinct codewords has full rank. Extensive work has been done on Space–Time coding, aiming at finding fully diverse codes with high rate. Division algebras have been proposed as a new tool for constructing Space–Time codes, since they are non-commutative algebras that naturally yield linear fully diverse codes. Their algebraic properties can thus be further exploited to improve the design of good codes. The aim of this work is to provide a tutorial introduction to the algebraic tools involved in the design of codes based on cyclic division algebras. The different design criteria involved will be illustrated, including the constellation shaping, the information lossless property, the non-vanishing determinant property, and the diversity multiplexing trade-off. The final target is to give the complete mathematical background underlying the construction of the Golden code and the other Perfect Space–Time block codes.
Simulation of a wind turbine with doubly-fed induction generator by FAST and Simulink

In order to fully study the electrical, mechanical and aerodynamic aspects of a wind turbine with a doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG), a detailed model that considers all these aspects must be used. A drawback of many works in the area of wind turbine simulation is that either a very simple mechanical model is used with a detailed electrical model, or vice versa. Hence the effects of interactions between electrical, and mechanical components are not accurately taken into account. In this paper, three simulation programs-TurbSim, FAST, and Simulink- are used to model the wind, mechanical and electrical parts of a wind turbine and its controllers. Simulation results obtained from the model are used to observe the interaction of all three factors affecting the operation of a wind turbine system. For example, it is shown how an electrical disturbance can cause dangerous tower vibrations under high speed and turbulent wind conditions, which may not be feasible using a simple model of the wind and wind turbine.
Spanish Indignados and the evolution of 15M: towards networked para-institutions

The Arab Spring, the Spanish Indignados, the Occupy Movement (#jan25, #egypt, #arabspring, #15M, #29S, #occupywallst, #ows, #15O). In the last months the world has witnessed the emergence of networked citizen politics: besides institutions, but many times mimicking their nature; unlike traditional citizen movements, but very much alike in their essence. Networked citizen politics, characterized by decentralization, swarm-like action and an intensive use of Information and Communication Technologies, have been having a starring role in world-wide protests and movements, most of the times overtaking and circumventing the actions of governments, parliaments, political parties, labour unions, non-governmental organizations, mass media and all kinds of formal democratic institutions. Taking the case of Spanish Indignados, the aim of this paper is to analyse the nature of networked citizen politics as an extra-representational kind of political participation after the usage of Twitter that has been made around the so called 15M movement. Firstly, users will be characterized, including a description on how movements propagate one onto another. Secondly, the paper will see what are the bonds between networked citizen movements and formal democratic institutions, how do they relate one with each other, especially the movements with political parties and mass media. It will also emphasize how networked citizen politics may use similar tools as the so mentioned Politics 2.0, but with very different purposes and, thus, results, and what is the result of the two clashing approaches. Our analysis will show that different movements – i.e. 15M and 25S – act as a continuum for networked citizen politics that use the Internet as the support for new institutionalisms, and despite the lack of traditional organizations, people, practices and ideas are shared and used as foundations for further action. Notwithstanding, there almost is no inter-institutional dialogue with exceptions related with individuals belonging to minor and left-wing parties.
Development of a novel energy-efficient adsorption dryer with zeolite for food product

Abstract: The demand of high quality dry products closing to the fresh condition increases significantly. Current drying technology have shown the significant improvement on product quality, but the breakthrough respecting to energy efficiency is scarce. Air dehumidification with adsorbent such as zeolite is a potential option to enhance the drying effectiveness. With this method, the air as drying medium is contacted with zeolite. Hence, the vapor in air is drastically reduced up to 0.1 ppm or dew point -50oC. Meanwhile the air temperature increases at the same time due to the release of adsorption heat. As a result, the dryer inlet air contains more sensible heat for drying which improves the driving force for drying as well as total energy efficiency. This paper discusses the application of adsorption dryer with zeolite for drying carrageenan and corn. The results showed the positive improvement for product quality as well as shorter drying time. However, the comprehensive feasibility study is still required before commercial application.