Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evidence that reducing mammalian predators is beneficial for threatened and declining New Zealand grasshoppers

ABSTRACT We evaluate evidence that reducing mammalian predators benefits threatened and declining grasshoppers in the Mackenzie Basin, New Zealand. Long-term population trends of Sigaus minutus are investigated under three control regimes: high intensity, indirect control through prey reduction and no control. We then test whether predator control benefits conservation management of Brachaspis robustus by translocating wild-caught individuals to areas of moderate versus no predator control. A significant positive trend in S. minutus counts occurred under high intensity and indirect control, suggesting that mammalian predator control is beneficial. Differences in the decline of translocated B. robustus were observed between moderate and no predator control release sites but could not be unequivocally attributed to predator densities. We recommend replicated predator control studies be undertaken to develop a predator management strategy which will enable grasshopper recovery, and investigate the potential for meso-predator release and prey-switching under regimes that target specific mammals.
Gowardia zebrina sp. nov., a new species in a little-known genus of arctic-alpine lichens (Parmeliaceae)

The fruticose lichen genus Gowardia (Parmeliaceae) was recently segregated from Alectoria based on phylogeny, morphology, secondary chemistry, ecology and distribution. As currently circumscribed, Gowardia comprises two wide-ranging species of arctic-alpine regions. Here we describe a third species, G. zebrina sp. nov., apparently endemic to subalpine regions in mountainous northwestern North America. Gowardia zebrina differs from other species in the genus by its combined subpendent habit, uniformly capillary branches, predominantly isotomic branching, pale-and-dark banding of the terminal branches, and epiphytic ecology. Morphological examination of North American herbarium specimens filed under A. nigricans suggests the existence of several additional undescribed species of Gowardia. A brief overview of morphological diversity in these species is given, shedding new light on the question of whether Gowardia should be subsumed under Alectoria, as some have suggested, or is more appropriately recognized as a distinct genus.
Harmonic Linearization and Investigation of Three-Phase Parallel-Structured Signal Decomposition Algorithms in Grid-Connected Applications

In practice, because of different factors, the supply voltage (especially in the distribution level) almost always has some degrees of imbalance and harmonic pollution. With increasing the level of these power quality issues in recent years, their monitoring and compensation using custom power devices have received much attention. In addition, modern power converter based renewable energy sources are expected to provide some ancillary services to mitigate these power quality issues. These tasks and requirements often involve using a signal processing tool for the online detection of the fundamental sequence components and harmonics of the voltage and/or current signals. The typical choice for this purpose is the discrete Fourier transform as it offers a fast computational speed. It, however, may not be a very attractive solution for applications where the selective extraction of a few frequency components is required as it demands a high computational effort. In such scenarios, using time-domain signal decomposition algorithms is more desirable. Generally speaking, these algorithms are nonlinear feedback control systems, which include two or more dynamically interactive frequency-adaptive filters tuned to concerned frequency components. The complex structure of these algorithms, however, makes them complicated to analyze, especially for those who are not experienced in this field. This article aims to address this difficulty by developing harmonic models for these algorithms and investigating them. To this end, three case studies are considered. Through a harmonic linearization procedure, developing harmonic models for them is shown. The accuracy of these models is then investigated, and performing the harmonic stability analysis using them is demonstrated.
An enhanced-sampling MD-based protocol for molecular docking

Understanding molecular recognition of proteins by small molecules is key for drug design. Despite the number of experimental structures of ligand-protein complexes keeps growing, the number of available targets remains limited compared to the druggable genome, and structural diversity is generally low, which affects the chemical variance of putative lead compounds. From a computational perspective, molecular docking is widely used to mimic ligand-protein association in silico. Ensemble-docking approaches include flexibility through a set of different conformations of the protein obtained either experimentally or from computer simulations, e.g. molecular dynamics. However, structures prone to host (the correct) ligands are generally poorly sampled by standard molecular dynamics simulations of the apo protein. In order to address this limitation, we introduce a computational approach based on metadynamics simulations (EDES - Ensemble-Docking with Enhanced-sampling of pocket Shape) to generate druggable conformations of proteins only exploiting their apo structures. This is achieved by defining a set of collective variables that effectively sample different shapes of the binding site, ultimately mimicking the steric effect due to ligands to generate holo-like binding site geometries. We assessed the method on two challenging proteins undergoing different extents of conformational changes upon ligand binding. In both cases our protocol generated a significant fraction of structures featuring a low RMSD from the experimental holo conformation. Moreover, ensemble docking calculations using those conformations yielded native-like poses among the top ranked ones for both targets. This proof of concept study paves the route towards an automated workflow to generate druggable conformations of proteins, which should become a precious tool for structure-based drug design.
Weed diversity in tomato crops in the mountainous region of South Kivu, DR Congo

Description of the subject. Despite the importance of tomato in Central Africa, little is known about the weed flora occurring in tomato crops in this part of the world. Objectives. We aimed to provide a comprehensive description of the weed flora found in tomato crops in the mountainous region of South Kivu, DR Congo. Method. Floristic inventories were made in four cultivation zones of the Kabare territory, South Kivu. Results. In total, 79 species (belonging to 64 genera and 31 families) were recorded. The most species-rich families were Asteraceae and Poaceae. Therophytes and geophytes were the dominant life forms. Weed diversity was not significantly different between sites but species composition varied considerably, likely in relation to soil type. Based on the frequency and the abundance, the most problematic weeds were Commelina benghalensis, Galinsoga quadriradiata, Commelina diffusa, Galinsoga parviflora, Bidens pilosa, Oxalis debilis and Digitaria velutina. Conclusions. The weed flora in tomato fields of the mountainous regions of DR Congo is diversified, but only a few cosmopolitan species are problematic.
Superpixel-Level CFAR Detector Based on Truncated Gamma Distribution for SAR Images

One open issue of target detection for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images is the capture effect from the clutter edge and the interfering outliers, including surrounding targets in the multitarget environment, sidelobes, and ghosts. To address this issue, a superpixel-level constant false-alarm rate (CFAR) detector is proposed based on the truncated Gamma statistics for the multilook intensity SAR data. Superpixel segmentation serves as a preprocessing procedure to divide the SAR image into meaningful patches. By automatic clutter truncation in the superpixel-level background clutter window, the real clutter samples are preserved. The experimental results with real SAR images demonstrate that the proposed method achieves better goodness-of-fit performance for the real clutter background with outlier exclusion, yielding a higher target detection rate in the multitarget environments.
Aggregated Model of Data Network for the Provision of Demand Response in Generation and Transmission Expansion Planning

A two-stage Internet data center (IDC)-considered framework in generation and transmission expansion planning (GTEP) (referred to as IGTEP) is proposed to make full use of IDCs’ spatial and chronological load regulation potentials for demand response. Stage one aggregates the data network (DN) to match a transmission network structure. First, IDC load is modeled based on the DN configuration. Second, the aggregated DN (ADN) is proposed to model DN with aggregated front-end servers (FSs) and data flows, where an intuitively accurate mathematical relationship among IDCs is developed. Third, the virtual power network (VPN) is proposed to provide a model for ADN with electrical variables, where the coupling of DN and power network (PN) is proposed to develop a linear aggregated IDC load model. Stage two coordinates IDC DR and GTEP, in which the load coupling among multiple IDCs is managed by VPN and the corresponding IDC load model is compatible with the conventional GTEP load. Simulation results verify the efficiency of the proposed VPN and IDC load model. Simulation results also show that IDC DR may reduce the total IGTEP cost significantly, which implies that DN can play a role equivalent to power lines and generators in power system planning and operations.
Vacancies, Employment Outcomes and Firm Growth: Evidence from Denmark

We use a comprehensive dataset from Denmark that combines online job advertisements with a matched employer-employee dataset and a firm-level dataset with value added and revenue information to study the relationship between vacancy-posting and various firm outcomes. We find that posting a vacancy significantly increases a firm's hiring rate, and that two-third of the additional hiring occurs in the same quarter while one-third occurs with one quarter lag. The majority of the effect is accounted for by hiring from employment. Small and slow-growth firms show greater hiring responses and the hiring response of high-productivity firms takes longer to materialize. We find that separations that are likely associated with quits predict vacancy posting, consistent with replacement hiring and vacancy chains. Growth in value added and revenue has a strong positive effect on vacancy posting but only when shocks are permanent - transitory shocks do not affect vacancy posting.
PROBIOTIC-YEAST IMPROVES PERFORMANCE INDICATORS IN BROILER CHICKENS: EVIDENCE FROM META-ANALYSIS

Antibiotics modulate gut microbiomes and enhance broiler chicken productivity. Nevertheless, their use in chicken nutrition has been linked to the spread of resistant strains of bacteria. Studies have shown that probiotic-yeast improves the productivity of broiler chickens. However, agreement has not been reached among investigators as to whether yeast improves the production indices of broiler chickens. The objective of this meta-analysis therefore was to determine the effect of yeast supplementation on feed consumption (FC), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and body weight gain (BWG) in broiler chicken using meta-analysis. The study focused on published primary studies comparing broiler chickens fed diet supplemented with yeast versus without yeast. Sixteen published primary studies were included in the meta-analysis. Results of pooled effects estimate revealed that yeast supplementation improved FCR (p < 0.001), BWG (p < 0.001) and reduced FC (p < 0.001) in broiler chickens. The results of sub-analysis indicated that broiler chickens that received yeast at < 10 g/kg diet had better performance than those that received yeast at 10 g/kg feed and > 10 g/kg feed. The chosen moderators were predictors of study effect observed in the meta-analysis. It is concluded that yeast can be used as a performance enhancer in broiler chickens instead of antibiotics. Keyword: beneficial microbes, meat-typed chickens, productivity, meta-analysis, meta-regression
Analysis, Design and Implementation of a Fully Integrated Analog Front-End for Microwave RFIDs at 5.8 GHz to Be Used With Compact MIMO Readers

In this paper we present the system and circuit level analysis and feasibility study of applying microwave Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems with multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) reader technology for tracking machining tools in multipath fading conditions of production environments. In the proposed system the MIMO reader interrogates single-antenna tags, and a high RFID frequency of 5.8 GHz is chosen to reduce the size of the reader’s antenna array. According to the requirements dictated by the performed system analysis at 5.8 GHz, a low power fully integrated analog front-end (AFE) is designed and fabricated in a standard 65-nm CMOS technology for low power passive transponders. Performance of the Differential Drive Rectifier (DDR) topology as the core of the energy harvesting unit is investigated in detail. A multi-stage DDR power scavenging unit is dimensioned to provide a 1.2 V rectified voltage for 20–30 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\text{k}\Omega $ </tex-math></inline-formula> load range, with a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) for high frequency and low input power level signals. The rectified voltage is then converted to a 1 V regulated voltage for the AFE and the baseband processor with 30 to <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$50~\mu \text{W}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> of estimated power consumption. Transistors with standard threshold voltage (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$V_{T}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) have been used for implementation. Measurements of the fabricated multi-stage configuration of the circuit show a maximum PCE of 68.8% at −12.46 dBm, and an input quality factor (Q-factor) of approximately 10. Amplitude-shift keying (ASK) demodulator and backscattering modulator with 80% modulation index, operating according to EPC-C1G2 protocol are applied for data transfer. The AFE consumes less than <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$1~\mu \text{W}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> in the reading mode. The AFE tag chip is <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.55\times 0.58$ </tex-math></inline-formula> mm<sup>2</sup>.
VR Technology and the Theoretical Model and Method of Road Network Traffic State Information Accident Prediction and Perception under the Environment of Internet of Vehicles

With the rapid increase in the number of private cars and buses in the country, the living standard has gradually improved, and vehicles as a means of transportation commonly used by people have caused more traffic accidents. The present study mainly discusses the theoretical models and methods of VR technology and road network traffic status information accident prediction perception on the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) environment. Use of VR technology to simulate the experimental environment. The main techniques of VR real-time rendering are the visualization and roaming of large-area spatial data and the simulation of things that currently exist in computer vision simulation methods. Use VR technology to simulate ordinary highways, and use VR technology to simulate six sets of virtual cars. Use the real-time positioning function and data transmission function of the IoV technology to systematically collect driving data in the VR environment and advance collisions in advance to perceive and control the speed of the cars. Experimental data shows that when the time level is 2, the brake response sensitivity in the data is 88.9%, and the brake sensitivity value is relatively high. When the distance level is 1, the car safety factor value is 97.5%, and the data value is the highest. The research results show that when the time level is 2, the brake sensitivity value is relatively high, indicating that the VR technology and the traffic network information environment accident prediction effect on the Internet of Vehicles environment are better. When the distance level is 1, the performance of road network traffic status information accident perception based on VR technology and IoV environment is the best. Through the real-time sharing of the image recognition performance of VR technology and the geographic location of the Internet of Vehicles technology, the real-time prediction and perception of road network traffic status information accidents can minimize the chances of accidents.
Attentional Impairments of Aphasic Patients in the Acute and Postacute Phase after Stroke

Attention deficits as well as aphasia are being frequently observed among post-stroke patients. However, studies analysing attentional deficits of aphasic patients in the acute phase after stroke are rare. Therefore, the aim of the study was to investigate attentional deficits in stroke patients with aphasia, the relationship between attentional and linguistic deficits as well as changes in these domains from acute to post-acute phase. Twelve patients with first insult in the left hemisphere, aged between 45 to 88 years were included. Each patient completed a linguistic and a neuropsychological assessment Bielefeld Aphasie Screening (BiAS); attention test of the Aphasie-Check-Liste (ACL); Reduced Symbol-Digit-Test (R-SDT) in the acute as well as in the post-acute phase after stroke. In the acute phase, 91.67% (n=11/12) of the aphasic patients showed attentional deficits. While the percentage of errors in the ACL attention test of the ACL negatively correlated with the necessary number of repetitions of the instructions in the BiAS (p<.01) in the acute phase; the number of necessary repetitions in the BiAS was associated with the processing time of the R-SDT (p<.05) in the post-acute phase. In this study, a significantly positive relationship between language functions and attentional performance was observed in both, the acute and post-acute phase after stroke.
Development of Isatin-based compounds for use in targeted anti-Cancer therapy

A range of N-phenethyl, N-phenacyl, and N-(1and 2-naphthylmethyl) derivatives of 5,7-dibromoisatin 2 were prepared by Nalkylation reactions. Their activity against human monocyte-like histiocytic lymphoma (U937), leukemia (Jurkat), and breast carcinoma (MDA-MB-231) cell lines was assessed. The results allowed further development of structure–activity relationships. The compound 5,7dibromo-N-(1-naphthylmethyl)-1H-indole-2,3-dione 5a was the most potent against U937 cells with an IC50 value of 0.19 lM. 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Nail-bed infarctions as a paradoxical effect of abatacept in rheumatoid arthritis

Objective: Evaluating a group of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients under abatacept therapy regarding the risk of developing vasculitis. Methods: An exploratory study was conducted on RA patients with ongoing combined methotrexate/ abatacept therapy and reporting a case who developed small-vessel vasculitis. Follow-up visits with thorough clinical examination and routine laboratory investigations were done every 3-6 months. Disease activity was assessed by the Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI). Functional assessment was done by Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) score. Results: Sixteen biologic-naive female patients with newly diagnosed moderate-to-severe RA under abatacept therapy (mean age, 44 ± 10.86 years) were enrolled in this study. The mean disease duration was 4.63 ± 2.20, mean duration of methotrexate/abatacept therapy was 22.75 ± 9.40 months. All over the follow-up periods, patients were clinically improved with low disease activity score and within normal laboratory investigations apart from rising titers of Sedimentation Rate (ESR) and C-Reactive Protein (CRP). One patient was presented by nail-bed infarctions after 15 months follow-up of abatacept therapy. Abatacept–induced small-vessel vasculitis was the most likely diagnosis. The remaining 15 patients still clinically free of any manifestations suggesting vasculitis. Conclusion: Abatacept can induce vasculitis in RA patients having risk factors for RV. Combination therapy of methotrexate/abatacept may be a delaying or inhibiting factor in the appearance of RV manifestations. Persistently elevated acute phase reactants despite clinical and laboratory improvement on early aggressive treatment of RA is an alarm for a possibly imminent vasculitis.
A Formal Approach to Verify Connectivity and Optimize VNF Placement in Industrial Networks

The increased flexibility and interconnectivity of modern industrial communication networks, obtained through the use of innovative technologies like network function virtualization and software-defined networking, require a secure and manageable framework to support the new communication and computing needs. To focus on these requirements, this article proposes a framework for reliable placement of services across physically separated locations, which offers both system optimization, in terms of latency and resource utilization, and connectivity policy enforcement to guarantee service reliability, safety, and security. This is achieved by exploiting a new approach to solve the virtual network embedding problem, using optimization modulo theories (MaxSMT), which allows the use of very expressive constraints.
Changing Returns-to-Scale and Deepening of Factor-Endowments-Induced Specialization: Exploring Broader Linkage Between Agricultural Mechanization and Agricultural Transformation in Nepal

Heterogeneity in factor endowments and the degree of specializations induced by comparative advantages are among the crucial factors that affect the overall productivity of the economy. Few studies, however, investigate what strengthens such endowment-related specialization patterns in the agricultural sector in low-income countries, although such evolutions have profound effects on the role of factor endowments in householdsâ€™ behaviors. This is in contrast to well-established international trade theory, such as the Heckscherâ€“Ohlin theorem which describes how heterogeneity in endowment across countries gives rise to comparative advantages for specialization and trade. We partly fill this critical knowledge gap by providing a set of evidence from Nepal, which is a country that has historically been dominated by smallholder farmers and yet has recently been experiencing rapid structural transformation within the agricultural sector. Specifically, we show the following: the agricultural sector in Nepal has experienced a significant increase in returns-to-scale (RTS) in production in recent years during the process of growing adoptions of agricultural mechanization through the custom-hiring market. Such increase in RTS has primarily strengthened the linkages between factor endowment heterogeneity (across farm households) and their specialization behaviors in labor, land, and the agricultural capital market. Both cross-section and panel-data of households in Nepal extracted from Nepal Living Standards Surveys are used to generate this evidence. We find that rising RTS associated primarily with tractor use growth has been inducing greater exploitations of comparative advantages; agricultural households have been increasingly specializing in exchanges of production factors, services, and outputs, in ways consistent with predictions based on their relative factor endowments. Specifically, the rise in RTS has induced households with more labor, land, and capital endowments to rent out their labor, land, and credit, respectively, within the agricultural sector, while increasingly renting-in the other factors with which they are less endowed. The results suggest that understanding factor endowments heterogeneity among agricultural households is becoming increasingly important for effective agricultural policy designs in countries like Nepal, where employment shares in the agricultural sector remain high despite the growth in mechanization.