Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Novel Binding Pattern Unique in Two Ligands for One Carbohydrate Recognition Domain in Galectins

Galectins are a protein family with diverse biological functions, which are unique in specifically recognition and binding with 茁-galactosides as the primary structural basis for its functional performance. So far, all structurally characterized galectins display a conservative binding mode for the 茁-galactoside-containing carbohydrate ligands, in which one carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD) binds only one ligand. Here a novel binding pattern unique in two carbohydrate ligands for one CRD was reported, which is observed from the structure of Gal-3 CRD complexed with glycan TFN. In this doublet binding sites, Site 1 and Site 2, two TFN molecules interact with the CRD domain via two hydrogen-bond networks mediated by certain water molecules, respectively. The mutagenesis analysis shows that one of the binding sites, Site 1, is basic and essential for the carbohydrate ligands with a conservative binding mode, which should be commonly existed in galectins. While, the other binding site (Site 2) is easily discarded in a small structural interference from a single-site mutation, which illustrates that it should be conditionally appeared to play an additional and auxiliary role in ligand binding. The stereo-chemical analysis indicates that this doublet binding pattern may be suitable for some glycans with certain rather complicated constitutions, like branched structure. The possible functional role of this doublet binding pattern is also discussed.
CO-DIGESTION OF SEWAGE SLUDGE AND MATURE LANDFILL LEACHATE IN PRE-BIOAUGMENTED SYSTEM

The study examined the effects of co-digestion of sewage sludge and mature landfill leachate at the volumetric ratio of 95:5% in primarily bioaugmented system. Bioaugmentation was carried out with the use of commercial product Arkea ® in the volumetric dose of 5% and lasted three months prior to the co-digestion start-up. Co-digestion was undergone without bioaugmentation. The results indicated that in the first period (of three months) following bioaugmentation, co-digestion led to biogas/methane yields only 5-8% lower as compared to anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge, and the differences were not statistically significant. Moreover, a comparable value of volatile solids removal was obtained. However, the effects became worse over time, i.e. a lower organics removal efficiency of 16% as well as 9.5–13% decreases of biogas/ methane yields were achieved by applying co-digestion for a further period (of the same duration). Co-digestion of sewage sludge and mature landfill leachate could be recognized as quite efficient in the system that was primarily bioaugmented with the use of Arkea ® . However, the beneficial impact of bioaugmentation remained for the limited period of three months after its completion. To sustain the favourable effects a periodical, repeatable bioaugmentation of the co-digestion system is required.
Pollen: ovule ratio and its relationship with other reproductive traits in some Passiflora species (Passifloraceae)

Amela Garcia, M.T. , Miguez, M.B. & Gottsberger, G. 2014. Pollen: ovule ratio and its relationship with other reproductive traits in some Passiflora species (Passifloraceae). Anales Jard. Bot. Madrid 71(2): e009. The pollen/ovule (P/O) ratio has been used as predictor of the reproductive system of angiosperms (lowest P/O values correspond to obligate autogamous species while the highest correlate with obligate xenogamous species) but it does not keep for all the taxa. The relation of P/O index with pollen and stigma size, flower diameter, pollen vitality, stigmatic area/pollen-bearing area of the pollinators ratio (SA/PBA), taxonomy and breeding system was analyzed in four Passiflora species with different degree of compatibility, pollination system and taxonomic placement. P/O of the self-compatible species (with shorter anthesis, scarce pollinator visits or minor longevity) was lower than P/O of the selfincompatible ones. The P/O values of the outcrossers could be related with the highly efficient pollination performed by the frequently visiting Xylocopa species; these bees transport Passiflora pollen in a usually monospecific mass on the thorax, resembling grouped pollen dispersal. All the taxa exhibited pollen with unimodal size and high vitality, except for P. misera, in which pollen size was bimodal, with similar quantities of grains in both classes, the large being more vital than the small ones. Correlations of P/O were positive with flower size, negative with stigma area/pollen-bearing area of the pollinator, null with stigma area and not significant with pollen size. The P/O ratio did not reflect taxonomic affinities; this index and the breeding system were more related with pollinator type, anthesis, flower size and SA/PBA than with pollen grain or stigma size.
Self-adaptive software: development approach and automatic process for adaptation at runtime

The development of Self-adaptive Software (SaS) is a complex task, since this type of software constantly deals with structural and/or behavioral changes at runtime so that the needs of its users or its execution environment are met. Although important initiatives in the area of Software Engineering for SaS (SE4SaS), including approaches, processes, methods, and techniques for the SaS development, can be found in the literature. Approaches with automated support need to be explored, since they are an alternative to maximize the speed of SaS implementation and, at the same time, minimize the involvement of developers. Based on this scenario, this article presents an approach with automated support for the SaS development. It acts on a controlled adaptation modality, i.e., software engineers define the adaptation level supported by SaS in the development stage and the SaS can be automatically adapted without the participation of developers. Case studies were conducted for the evaluation of our approach. The results show that this approach can effectively contribute to the SE4SaS area.
Water and radiation use efficiency of sugarcane for bioethanol production in South Africa, benchmarked against other selected crops

There are indications that high-fibre sugarcane genotypes may produce more biomass and use resources more efficiently than conventional sugarcane cultivars. The objective of this research was to gather quantitative information on resource use for selected conventional and high-fibre sugarcane genotypes and benchmark it against other bioethanol crops. Although conventional sugarcane initially grew slower than sorghum and Napier grass, it produced very high biomass (about 70 t ha−1) and theoretical ethanol (first- and second- generations) yields (about 27 kL ha−1) at 12 months, and used water relatively efficiently (about 5 kg m−3 and 2 kL m−3), out-performing all other crops except sorghum. The contribution of cellulosic ethanol to total ethanol yield varied hugely, from 89% for the high-fibre sugarcane hybrid to about 48% for conventional sugarcane, to as low as 14% for sugar beet. The high-fibre sugarcane hybrid grew faster initially and produced more biomass at eight months (56 t ha−1 vs 45 t ha−1) than the conventional types, but then flowered, reducing its growth rates markedly thereafter. It was also less sensitive to mild drought conditions. The results suggest that cellulosic ethanol production may be a feasible option that could be incorporated into conventional or biomass sugarcane production systems.
Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) Observations of Planetary Nebulae

We present the initial results from the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) imaging survey of planetary nebulae (PNs). The IRAC colors of PNs are red, especially in the 8.0 μm band. Emission in this band is likely due to contributions from two strong H2 lines and a [Ar III] line in that bandpass. IRAC is sensitive to the emission in the halos as well as in the ionized regions that are optically bright. In NGC 246, we have observed an unexpected ring of emission in the 5.8 and 8.0 μm IRAC bands not seen previously at other wavelengths. In NGC 650 and NGC 3132, the 8.0 μm emission is at larger distances from the central star compared to the optical and other IRAC bands, possibly related to the H2 emission in that band and the tendency for the molecular material to exist outside of the ionized zones. In the flocculi of the outer halo of NGC 6543, however, this trend is reversed, with the 8.0 μm emission bright on the inner edges of the structures. This may be related to the emission mechanism, where the H2 is possibly excited in shocks in the NGC 6543 halo, whereas H2 emission is likely fluorescently excited in the UV fields near the central star.
Exposé for Student Research Project : Generator of Synthetic Time Series for Motif Discovery

In colloquial language the motif discovery problem donates the problem of finding interesting patterns in sequences. The application of motif discovery can be found in a variety of domains like the discovery of DNA and protein sequence motifs of Bailey et al., 2009, and the automatic pattern recognition in ECG of Sternickel, 2000. Since the problem of finding interesting patterns or motifs is subjective and domain dependent the motif discovery problem is difficult to model mathematically. In Literature research on motif discovery splits into the time series top motif pair and the time series top motif set discovery problem as mentioned by Grabocka et al., 2015. The time series top motif pair discovery problem donates the problem of finding ”[t]he most significant nearest neighbor [subsequence pair {S1, S2}] in a time series [. ] such that the subsequence [S1] has minimal distance to its non-trivial nearest neighbor [S2]”, according to Dragomir Yankov and et al., 2007. In contrast, the time series top motif set discovery donates the problem of finding ”the subsequence [in a time series] that has the highest count of non-trivial matches” of very similar subsequences, according to Lin et al., 2002a. Figure 1 illustrates a time series top motif pair example and figure 2 illustrate a time series top motif set example. There are different ways to evaluate time series top motif pair and time series top motif set discovery algorithms. In the case of time series top motif pair algorithms the algorithm complexity and runtime is compared to the complexity and runtime of the brute
Identification of Dynamic Treatment Effects by Instrumental Variables

This paper considers the problem of the identification of causal effects using instrumental variables. We are interested in the effects of some treatments on certain outcomes. First, we consider that a participation in a treatment or a program is only possible one time but we have the choice between more than one program. Under a monotonicity condition and an exclusion restriction, pair-wise Local Average Treatment Effects are identifiable. Second, we consider the case where only one program is available but more than one participation is possible, leading to a comparison of sequences of participations (or sequences of programs). In this framework a problem of endogeneity appears: the outcome after one period, affected by the participation in this period, can influence the participation in the next period. Under different versions of the monotonicity condition and the exclusion restriction, identification of the causal effects of sequences of programs are investigated. The introduction of a second period implies a loss of identification for some effects of interest even without any endogeneity problem.
21. 5. ROLE OF MESOSTIGMATID MITES IN INTEGRATED FLY CONTROL

Control of the house fly,Musca domestica L. , in poultry houses, and other confined-animal production facilities, requires integration of cultural, biological and chemical methods (Axtell 1986, Axtell and Arends 1990). In poultry manure, the most common and abundant mites preying on house fly eggs and first-instar larvae are the following mesostigmatids: Macrocheles muscaedomesticae (Scopoli) (Macrochelidae), Fuscuropoda vegetans (DeGeer) (Uropodidae), andPoecilochilus monospinosus Wise, Hennessey et Axtell (Parasitidae). These mite predators exert a considerable suppressive effect on fly populations (Cicolani 1979). However, the reported rates of predation are extremely variable according to the methods used for evaluation. This report is an attempt to relate the predation rates of the three species and to demonstrate the utility of using a computer simulation model (Geden et al. 1990) of the population dynamics and predation of M. muscaedomesticae.
On Quota Violations of OPEC Members

Over the last decades quota violations have become a norm for OPEC countries. However, the academic literature on OPEC focuses more on its production behavior than on analyzing the quota allocation process or characterizing quota violation patterns. This paper offers a theoretical model with empirical evidence to explain OPEC members' incentives for abiding or violating quotas. We first offer a cartel model with a quota allocation rule and an endogenous capacity choice. The model highlights the trade-off between building spare capacity to bargain for a higher legitimate quota versus risking quota violation punishment. Using the quarterly data from 1995 to 2007, we empirically support the main results and intuitions for the model. Our empirical evidence is consistent with a theoretical framing in which capacity constraints work as an enforcement mechanism in good times and OPEC's quota system disciplining its members in bad times.
Using Word Embeddings for Ontology Enrichment

Word embeddings, distributed word representations in a reduced linear space, show a lot of promise for accomplishing Natural Language Processing (NLP) tasks in an unsupervised manner. In this study, we investigate if the success of word2vec, a Neural Networks based word embeddings algorithm, can be replicated in an aggluginative language like Turkish. Turkish is more challenging than languages like English for complex NLP tasks because of her rich morphology. We picked ontology enrichment, again a relatively harder NLP task, as our test application. Firstly, we show how ontological relations can be extracted automaticaly from Turkish Wikipedia to construct a gold standard. Then by running experiments we show that the word vector representations produced by word2vec are useful to detect ontological relations encoded in Wikipedia. We propose a simple but yet effective weakly supervised ontology enrichment algorithm where for a given word a few know ontologically related concepts coupled with similarity scores computed via word2vec models can result in discovery of other related concepts. We argue how our algorithm can be improved and augmented to make it a viable component of an ontoloy learning and population framework.
Performance of a Louvered Screen Fog Gauge as a Proxy for Canopy Throughfall in a Hawaiian Montane Cloud Forest

Wind-driven, horizontal cloud water interception (CWI) by vegetation, also known as fog-drip, has been recognized for its important role in the ecology and hydrology of tropical montane cloud forests (TMCF) and coastal fog deserts around the world. In recent years various passive fog gauge designs have been advanced to characterize site specific CWI potential and evaluate the contribution of this “occult” water source to forest canopy throughfall in fog prone areas. Here we demonstrate the performance of a rain-shielded, louvered screen fog gauge (LSFG) in predicting tree canopy (Araucaria columnaris) throughfall along a trade wind exposed, mountain ridge TMCF (~800-1000 m elevation) on the island of Lāna`i. With an exceptionally high incidence of fog dominated precipitation events along this ridge, and a linear array of planted trees with canopy architecture ideally suited to cloud water interception, the open-site LSFG provided a robust characterization of event scale canopy throughfall compared to concurrent open-site rainfall which showed no significant relationship to throughfall.
Extension of Classical Thermodynamics to Nonequilibrium Polarization

Thermodynamics concerns two kinds of states, the equilibrium ones (classical thermodynamics) and the nonequilibrium ones (nonequilibrium thermodynamics). The classical thermodynamics is an extremely important theory for macroscopic properties of systems in equilibrium, but it can not be fully isolated from nonequilibrium states and irreversible processes. Therefore, within the framework of classical thermodynamics, it is significant to explore a new method to solve the questions in the nonequilibrium state. Furthermore, this treatment should be helpful for getting deep comprehension and new applications of classical thermodynamics. For an irreversible process, thermodynamics often takes the assumption of local equilibrium, which divides the whole system into a number of macroscopic subsystems. If all the subsystems stand at equilibrium or quasi-equilibrium states, the thermodynamic functions for a nonequilibrium system can be obtained by some reasonable treatments. However, the concept of local equilibrium lacks the theoretical basis and the expressions of thermodynamic functions are excessively complicated, so it is hard to be used in practice. Leontovich[1] once introduced a constrained equilibrium approach to treat nonequilibrium states within the framework of classical thermodynamics, which essentially maps a nonequilibrium state to a constrained equilibrium one by imposing an external field. In other words, the definition of thermodynamic functions in classical thermodynamics is firstly used in constrained equilibrium state, and the following step is how to extend this definition to the corresponding nonequilibrium state. This theoretical treatment is feasible in principle, but has not been paid much attention to yet. This situation is possibly resulted from the oversimplified descriptions of the Leontovich’s approach in literature and the lack of practical demands. Hence on the basis of detailed analysis of additional external parameters, we derive a more general thermodynamic formula, and apply it to the case of nonequilibrium polarization. The results show that the nonequilibrium solvation energy in the continuous medium can be obtained by imposing an appropriate external electric field, which drives the nonequilibrium state to a constrained equilibrium one meanwhile keeps the charge distribution and polarization of medium fixed.
Business Models Innovation through New Customer Roles: A Design-Driven Case Study

Business models as relational devices governing transactions with the customers and stakeholders identify new rules of customer engagement and their impact on business model innovations in design-intensive industries. These industries, framed as the locus of "cultural innovation", see the customer as a product 'sense giver'. In this setting, new customer roles are explored through a case study based on a fast-growing company operating in the furniture sector. The case study highlights three main customer roles that impact business models: (i) the customer as a market bridge; (ii) the customer context as a company "showroom,"; (iii) the customer as an external company design lab.
Direct oxygen measurements of Cr-rich spinel : Implications for spinel stoichiometry

The availability of a synthetic multilayer crystal and accurately calibrated oxide and silicate standards make it possible to use the electron microprobe for precise O analysis of spinel. A requirement of the O measurement routine described is the use of repetitive statistical analyses of the O standards and subsequent corrections and recalibration. A representative set of O analyses for each spinel population studied is essential to obtain reliable data, and the danger of using single datum is emphasized. Magnesiochromite spinel grains, having broad compositional similarities but different petrogenetic and cooling histories, were analyzed for O and their stoichiometry was assessed. Diamond-indicator spinel from the Aries kimberlite and Argyle lamproite is stoichiometric. Spinel inclusions in olivine phenocrysts from Ti-poor tholeiite from the Hunter Fraction Zone and Ca-rich boninite from the Tonga Trench show a range of nonstoichiometry. High Fer+/ Fer* values calculated assuming stoichiometry for such spinel are invalid. Spinel samples from metamorphosed volcanics from the Peak Hill-Glengarry Basin and the Heazlewood River Ultramafic complex are also nonstoichiometric, having significant Fe%o. -cr%oo components. Our results demonstrate that nonstoichiometry is a common feature of Crrich spinel. This has important implications for the use of Fe3+ and Fe2+ concentrations to estimate the oxidation state or temperature of formation.
A multivariate descriptor method for change-point detection in nonlinear time series

The purpose of this paper is to present a novel method that is applied to detect dynamic changes in nonlinear time series. The method combines a multivariate control chart that monitors the variation of three normalized descriptors – Hjorth's descriptors of activity, mobility and complexity – and is applied to the change-point detection problem of nonlinear time series. The approach is estimated using six simulated nonlinear time series. In addition, a case study of six time series of short-term electricity load consumption was used to illustrate the power of the method.
DESIGN OF STANDARDIZATION ENGINE FOR SEMANTIC WEB SERVICE SELECTION

Proliferation of web services opens the research arena of ontology based approach for selection of the appropriate web service(s) that satisfies the users’ requirements with high accuracy. Real world ontologies tend to be large as they contain thousands of concepts and several web services are associated with them; further, several services provide similar functionalities. In such a scenario, the discovery and selection of the suitable service(s) among the equivalent services, requires a standardized approach, emphasizing on both functional and non-functional aspects. This paper proposes a Standardized Engine that incorporates a layered approach. The first layer, lexicon search, performs semantic matching using word net; second layer Concepts based refiner, is responsible for comparing the concepts available in the domain ontology; the third layer, QoS (Quality of Service) based refiner, performs a statistical analysis using QoS parameters namely response time, throughput and availability. The evaluation of the standardized engine is performed using the metrics precision, recall and f-measure.
THE EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF FAILURE MECHANISM AND BEARING CAPACITY OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF SHALLOW FOUNDATIONS

The development in analysis and design of shell type foundations have led to the understanding that there are more advantages of shell type foundations compared to their conventional flat counterparts. The bearing capacities of conical and pyramidal shell foundations on dry sand were determined in the present paper by conducting laboratory model tests. The results were compared with those of circular and square flat foundations, respectively. Four foundation models on dry sand were tested in which influence of the shell configuration on the bearing capacity and settlement were investigated. The present experimental study indicated admirable performance of shell type foundations with respect to ultimate and settlement characteristics. Also characteristic of deformations or the failure mechanism of both shell and its flat counterparts were simultaneously investigated by using coloured and non-coloured sand layer by layer in dry sand model.