Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
INFLUENCE OF FOLLICLE SIZE ON QUALITY OF CUMULUS OOCYTE-COMPLEXES AND CONCENTRATION OF STEROIDS OF FOLLICULAR FLUID IN BUFFALO

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of follicle size on the buffalo cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) morphology, chromatin configuration, level of apoptosis in cumulus cells, and concentration of progesterone and estradiol-17b in buffalo follicular fluid of different follicle size. Visible follicles were carefully isolated and classified according to their size into 3 categories 5 mm (5-8 mm). A total of 295 COCs were recovered from the previous three follicle categories; COCs were classified according to number and compactness of cumulus layers. Good quality compact COCs which used for IVM, which mostly obtained from follicles <3 and 3-5 (56-7%, 57.1) in comparison to 34.3% from large follicle. The chromatin configuration at the time of recovery in oocytes derived from 3-5 mm follicle respectively. There was a connection of cumulus morphology, chromatin configuration at the time of recovery and the follicle size.On the other hand no significant differences in maturation capacity (metaphase2)of COCs derived from different follicles diameter. Apoptosis of cumulus at time of recovery decreased with incre-asing the follicle size, but this difference was not significant (0.9, 0.6,0.2). After 24 hr. IVM, an increase in apoptosis was observed in cumulus cells from all follicle size with significant (P 5 mm follicles (24.4 Vs 4.7,3.5) Concentration of progesterone (ng/ml)in buffalo follicular fluid was not influenced by follicle size, while concentration of estradiol-17b (ng/ml) was significant higher in follicle 3-5, >5 mm (782 ± 67 and 788 ± 67 respectively) in comparison to follicular fluid from <3 mm follicles (682 ± 67).
Strategic Orientation on Performance: The Resource Based View Theory Approach

This study aims to verify of the relationship between Entrepreneurship Orientation and Market Orientation to Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Performance, using the Resource Based View (RBV) theory approach. The research object used was SME entrepreneurs in DKI Jakarta. This research uses a quantitative research design. The data used in this research consists of primary data and collected through Google Forms, which are distributed online. The amount of data collected was 190 samples. The collected data will be analyzed using SEM-PLS Version 3.3. 2. Statistical analysis test the outer and inner models. The results obtained indicate that Entrepreneurship Orientation plays a role in SME Performance, and Market Orientation does not affect SME Performance. The implication of this research shows that the Resource Based View theory is right to explain the relationship between Entrepreneurial Orientation and SME Performance because SME performance will be better if it has Entrepreneurial Orientation.
Safety and adverse effect profile of colchicine in renal impairment: a systematic review of randomised trials

Introduction: Colchicine is an anti-inflammatory drug prescribed for numerous medical conditions. Side effects are frequently encountered, particularly gastrointestinal symptoms. Caution and dose reduction are advised in patients with renal impairment because of a presumed increased risk of side effects. This systematic review intends to summarise the available literature to define the adverse effect profile of colchicine used in patients with kidney disease. Methods: We conducted a systematic review of randomised clinical trials seeking to evaluate the association between renal impairment and colchicine toxicity. We limited our search to randomised studies in humans in the English language. We allowed colchicine prescribed for any duration, dose or indication. Results: Our literature search identified a total of 7707 records. Only a single randomised trial was ultimately identified as meeting the inclusion criteria and addressing our research question. In patients with renal impairment, colchicine was not associated with an increased risk of dialysis, time until dialysis, or the incidence of liver function test derangement. We found no data for adverse events such as leukopenia, thrombocytopenia or diarrhoea in the kidney disease subgroup. Data was sparse and of poor quality. Conclusion: It is widely recommended that colchicine dose be reduced in patients with renal impairment due to an increased risk of drug accumulation and side effects. In our study, we failed to identify any robust clinical research substantiating this association. This is the first systematic review of randomised trials to investigate this link. Further research is required before the safety and tolerability of colchicine in renal disease can be confirmed.
An Interactive Agent Supporting First Meetings Based on Adaptive Entrainment Control

—This paper describes an agent that can facilitate first meeting communications. In this situation, a communication mediator is important because people can feel stress and an inability to talk comfortably. Our agent reduces this stress using embodied entrainment and promoting communication. In previous research into embodied entrainment, appropriate back-channel feedback has been discussed but communication studies have been limited. We propose an embodied entrainment control system that recognizes a state of communication and is adaptive to each situation with effective nonverbal communication. In this way, our agent mediates a balanced, two-way conversation. Our experiments with the agent confirmed its effectiveness across various social skills levels. We demonstrate that the embodied entrainment of our agent in first meetings benefits people who have low social skills, thereby verifying the efficacy of our agent.
Environmental Conditions Required for Germination of Prickly Sida (Sida spinosa)

Various environmental factors were tested under laboratory conditions to determine their effects on germination of seeds of prickly sida (Sida spinosa L. ♯3 SIDSP). Neither freezing and thawing nor moist chilling at 5 C promoted seed germination. However, increasing the incubation temperature and subjecting seeds to wet-dry cycles enhanced germination; high temperatures were more effective than alternate wetting and drying. Shifting seeds from a lower to a higher temperature regime increased germination. Seeds shifted from 15/6, 20/10, 25/15, or 30/15 C to higher regimes of 20/10, 25/15, 30/15, 35/20, or 40/25 C germinated to greater percentages than did seeds kept continuously at the lower thermoperiods. With an increase in length of time seeds were at a lower temperature, there was an increase in the percentage that germinated after they were moved to a higher regime.
Macroscopic Fundamental Diagrams According to the Different Flood Depths on Probe Vehicle Data in Urban Bangkok

Impact of flood depth on traffic volume in two different zones of the Bangkok road network was investigated using traffic data obtained from probe vehicle trajectories. A Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram (MFD) was utilized to compare traffic flow rates across two road network zones in the city for a variety of flood depths, namely 0-5 cm, 5-10 cm, 10-15 cm, 15-30 cm, and more than 30 cm. Results of empirical analysis over an observation period of one year as 2019 showed that flood depths had a strong correlation with the MFD parameters of free-flow speed, maximum flow, and traffic jam density. In particular, road floods greatly reduced average maximum flow across the inner city road network in Bangkok. Road floods had a significant impact on traffic characteristics of urban road networks.
Standardized definitions and concepts of radicality during minimally invasive thymoma resection

Radical thymectomy is the gold standard treatment for thymoma; in particular, completeness of surgical resection of a well-encapsulated thymoma and adequate margins are considered the most important prognostic factors. According to the International Thymic Malignancy Interest Group instructions, in fact, the thymus should be resected en bloc with its upper cervical poles and the surrounding mediastinal fat and through a no-touch surgical technique. For years, the open approaches have been considered the gold standard treatment for thymic masses, because of technical advantages and proved good oncological results. When applied to properly chosen patients on the basis of the tumor stage, dimension, and histology, minimally invasive approaches could be as effective as open ones in terms of long-term outcomes. To accomplish a minimally invasive thymoma resection, several minimally invasive techniques (transcervical, subxiphoid, thoracoscopic, and robotic) have been described, each presenting advantages and drawbacks. Moreover, when dealing with early stage neoplasms, many authors have proposed to perform the thymomectomy alone, not involving the rest of the thymic gland, but evidence is still imprecise and vague, and some studies have described a higher rate of local recurrence when using this technique. Finally, many studies suggest that surgeons with expertise in minimally invasive lymphadenectomy for lung cancer may easily endorse the idea of nodal dissection, to be performed at least in advanced thymomas involving neighboring structures, large masses, and thymic carcinomas.
A Tri-Band Frequency Reconfigurable Slot Antenna for Wireless Applications

─ With the increase in wireless services, the demand for antennas that can operate at more than one frequency has increased. This work proposes a slot antenna whose frequency of operation can be configured into three bands of 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 3.5 GHz for the Wireless-Area-Network (WLAN) and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) applications. The switching between the three bands is achieved by two PIN diodes properly placed between the two sides of the slot. The antenna consists of a rectangular slot etched on the ground plane, while on the other side of the substrate, there is a microstrip line to feed the slot with an open stub for matching. The tri-band frequency reconfigurable slot antenna has been studied, and its parameters optimized using computer simulation Technology (CST-MWS). Parametric study on the slot dimensions and the microstrip feeding is presented. For verification of the simulation results, the antenna is fabricated and measured. The simulated and measured parameters such as return loss, radiation pattern, and gain show excellent agreement for the three operation bands. Index Terms ─ PIN diode, reconfigurable antenna, slot antenna, WLAN, WiMAX.
Caffeinated Development: Exports, Human Capital, and Structural Transformation in Colombia∗

This paper studies the effect of the first wave of globalization on developing countries’ structural transformation, using data from Colombia’s expansion of coffee cultivation. Counties engaged in coffee cultivation in the 1920s developed a smaller manufacturing sector by 1973 than comparable counties, despite starting at a similar level in 1912. My empirical strategy exploits variation in potential coffee yields, and variations in the probability to grow coffee at different altitudes. This paper argues that coffee cultivation increased the opportunity cost of education, which reduced the supply of skilled workers, and slowed down structural transformation. Using exogenous exposure to coffee price shocks as instrument, I show that reductions in cohorts’ educational attainment led to lower manufacturing activity in the long-run. The effect is driven by both a decrease in demand for education and reductions in public goods. Finally, coffee cultivation during the early 20th Century had negative long-run effects on both individual incomes and poverty rates. JEL: O14, N16, N56, N66.
Real-World Blur Dataset for Learning and Benchmarking Deblurring Algorithms

Numerous learning-based approaches to single image deblurring for camera and object motion blurs have recently been proposed. To generalize such approaches to real-world blurs, large datasets of real blurred images and their ground truth sharp images are essential. However, there are still no such datasets, thus all the existing approaches resort to synthetic ones, which leads to the failure of deblurring real-world images. In this work, we present a large-scale dataset of real-world blurred images and their corresponding sharp images captured in low-light environments for learning and benchmarking single image deblurring methods. To collect our dataset, we build an image acquisition system to simultaneously capture a geometrically aligned pair of blurred and sharp images, and develop a post-processing method to further align images geometrically and photometrically. We analyze the effect of our post-processing step, and the performance of existing learning-based deblurring methods. Our analysis shows that our dataset significantly improves deblurring quality for real-world low-light images.
Accelerated internationalisation:

Recent studies are trying to adapt the explanation of the internationalisation process to new environmental conditions. By using cluster analysis and logit regressions in a sample of 271 Spanish export firms, this paper offers evidence of the existence of a group of firms that use a speed-up internationalisation process. The results obtained support the claim that substantial differences do exist between Fast and Gradual Internationalising firms. The firms included in the more international active group are characterised by: (1) a proactive attitude on the part of managers with regard to internationalisation activities, (b) a strategy based on marketing differentiation advantages and (c) strong relationships with clients and suppliers, which encourage or facilitate their international activities. These results may favour reflection upon what are the most important factors for achieving an active, international strategy and how to respond to these demands. From a politics perspective our research suggests several ways to stimulate the acceleration of the internationalisation process. Politicians must realise the importance of looking for ways of improving the promotion of business networks. The stimulation of relationships between firms will reduce the uncertainty associated with the risks of foreign operations and increase the international competitiveness of firms. Moreover, they should provide incentives for business leaders to adopt an increasingly positive attitude to the international market. Tax benefits and other incentives could be provided to increase the international work experience of managers and employees.
Insights on the seismotectonics of the western part of northern Calabria (southern Italy) by integrated geological and geophysical data_ Coexistence of shallow extensional and deep strike-slip kinematics

We assess the seismotectonics of the western part of the border area between the Southern Apennines and Calabrian Arc, centered on the Mercure extensional basin, by integrating recent seismicity with a reconstruction of the structural frame from surface to deep crust. The analysis of low-magnitude (ML ≤ 3.5) events occurred in the area during 2013–2017, when evaluated in the context of the structural model, has revealed an unexpected complexity of seismotectonics processes. Hypocentral distribution and kinematics allow separating these events into three groups. Focal mechanisms of the shallower (< 9 km) set of events show extensional kinematics. These results are consistent with the last kinematic event recorded on outcropping faults, and with the typical depth and kinematics of normal faulting earthquakes in the axial part of southern Italy. By contrast, intermediate (~9–17 km) and deep (~17–23 km) events have fault plane solutions characterized by striketo reverse-oblique slip, but they differ from each other in the orientation of the principal axes. The intermediate events have P axes with a NE-SW trend, which is at odds with the NW-SE trend recorded by strike-slip earthquakes affecting the Apulia foreland plate in the eastern part of southern Italy. The intermediate events are interpreted to reflect reactivation of faults in the Apulia unit involved in thrust uplift, and appears aligned along an ~WNW-ESE trending deep crustal, possibly lithospheric boundary. Instead, deep events beneath the basin, which have P-axis with a NW-SE trend, hint to the activity of a deep overthrust of the Tyrrhenian back-arc basin crust over the continental crust of the Apulia margin, or alternatively, to a tear fault in the underthrust Apulia plate. Results of this work suggest that extensional faulting, as believed so far, does not solely characterizes the seismotectonics of the axial part of the Southern Apennines.
Urban heat island in the subsurface 3

6 [1] The urban heat island effect has received significant 7 attention in recent years due to the possible effect on long8 term meteorological records. Recent studies of this 9 phenomenon have suggested that this may not be 10 important to estimate of regional climate change once data 11 are properly corrected. However, surface air temperatures 12 within urban environments have significant variation, 13 making correction difficult. In the current study, we 14 examine subsurface temperatures in an urban environment 15 and the surrounding rural area to help characterize the 16 nature of this variability. The results of our study indicate 17 that subsurface temperatures are linked to land-use and 18 supports previous work indicating that the urban heat island 19 effect has significant and complex spatial variability. In 20 most situations, the relationship between subsurface and 21 surface processes cannot be easily determined, indicating that 22 previous studies that relying on such a linkage may require 23 further examination. Citation: Ferguson, G. , and A. D. 24 Woodbury (2007), Urban heat island in the subsurface, Geophys. 25 Res. Lett. , 34, LXXXXX, doi:10.1029/2007GL032324.
A Comparative Study of Microservices-based IoT Platforms

Internet of Things (IoT) is a set of technologies that aim at fitting together smart devices and applications to build an IoT ecosystem. The target of this kind of ecosystem is to enhance interaction between machines and humans through hardware to software binding while reducing cost and resource consumption. On the application level, IoT ecosystems were implemented by various technologies that all seek better interconnection, monitoring, and controlling of IoT smart devices. Among recent technologies, Microservices, which are a variant of the service-oriented architecture, are subject to great excitement. In fact, Microservices are an emerging technology built around Microservice paradigm which goal is to offer services with a small granularity, which exactly meets the distributed nature of IoT devices while maintaining a loosely coupled architecture between IoT components among other advantages. Efforts to build Microservice-based IoT platforms sooner emerged to take advantage of the numerous benefits of the Microservice paradigm to build scalable, interoperable, and dynamic ecosystems. The goal of this paper is to list these approaches, classify them and compare them using a Weighted Scoring Model (WSM) method. This involves, studying these platforms, establishing relevant criteria for comparison, assigning weights for each criterion, and finally calculating scores. The obtained results reveal the weaknesses and strengths of each of the studied platforms.
A CUDA accelerated numerical integration of an elastoplastic problem with the Finite Element Method : Aceleração da integração numérica de um problema elastoplástico pelo Método dos Elementos Finitos com CUDA

Finite Element Method (FEM) is a numerical technique to approximate partial differential equations. It has been widely used to approximate solutions of physical problems in different fields of research. The numerical simulation of challenging engineering problems with small error requires refined meshes and leads to high computational cost. To overcome this difficulty, parallel computing is becoming a mainstream tool. Among the techniques available to improve the performance of this type of computational application is the execution of the algorithm using Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) programming. Although GPU was initially developed for graphics processing, it has been used in the last years as a general-purpose machine with high parallelism power through the availability of platforms such as CUDA or OpenGL. The purpose of this research is to develop an efficient algorithm for the evaluation of the Jacobian matrix and residual vector arising from a FEM analysis. This work aims the particular variational formulation of an elastoplastic problem with associative plasticity, but the adopted approach can be extended to other fields and problems. The presented strategy for the calculation of the Jacobian matrix and residual vector relies on several computational ingredients such as gathering and scattering operations, matrix multiplications, and a parallel coloring scheme for the assembly process. The verification of the nonlinear approximated solution includes a comparison with regular CPU implementation in terms of numerical results and execution efficiency. For the residual vector, the GPU outperforms the CPU and the classical assembly approach by a factor of up to 6 and 24 to cubic polynomial order approximations, respectively. For the Jacobian matrix, GPU’s performance overcomes CPU’s for linear polynomial order, being limited by the amount of shared memory for higher orders. Finally, a Modified Initial Stiffness method is applied to accelerate the convergence of the load step using the linear elasticity stiffness matrix to take advantage of the inexpensive residual numerical integration process to achieve convergence in a very efficient manner.
Spatial niche partitioning of coexisting small mammals in sand dunes

Abstract Resource partitioning may allow species coexistence. Sand dunes in the typical steppe of Inner Mongolia, China, consist of desert, shrub and grass habitats, providing an appropriate system for studies of spatial niche partitioning among small mammals. We collected data to verify the niche separation hypothesis that coexisting small mammals would separate into spatial niches, and the productivity hypothesis that the highest species richness and overlap were to be expected in the most productive and diverse shrub habitat of the north-facing slopes, in contrast with the less productive grass and desert habitats of sand dunes. We trapped small mammals on 44 sand dunes in the summer of 1984 using snap traps. We captured 12 species of small mammals among three types of habitats. Cricetulus barabensis was a habitat generalist, present in all three types of habitats. Spermophilus dauricus was present only in the grass habitat, Allactaga sibirica and Dipus sagitta only in the desert habitat, and Apodemus peninsulae primarily in the shrub habitat. The shrub habitat hosted the largest number of small mammal species among the three types of habitats, supporting the productivity hypothesis. Habitat separation is an important mechanism for structuring small mammal communities in Inner Mongolia grasslands.