Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Historical change in crop distributions in Texas and its potential application for modeling wildlife distributions

Agriculture is an important, growing industry in Texas; as of 1997, Texas ranked second behind Califomia in cash receipts from farm and ranch production (Ramos 1999). The distribution of crops across Texas both currently and historically is of interest because social sustainability in agricultural regions is dependent upon the sustainability of economic processes such as agricultural productivity. Economic sustainability is in tum dependent upon the sustainability of ecological processes such as the cycling of energy and matter (Hobbs and Saunders 1993). Different land parcels have a different likelihoods of being cleared for various purposes according to their inherent and quantifiable biophysical properties. Various climatic, topographic, edaphic, and geographic variables are related to the present and historical distribution of vegetation. Historically, the majority of all crops in Texas were grown in the eastern portion of the state t)ecause that is where the conditions were most conducive to high yields. Cotton, all hay, sorghum and wheat account for the majority of the acreage in cropland across time. These crops were grown in the areas of the North Central Prairie, Cross Timbers, Blackland Prairie, and Gulf Coast Prairies. For the most part, when any given crop is first recorded in the census, the major concentrations of the acreage in production are in the eastern portion of the state, but as time progressed the crops moved from a widespread eastern distribution to a distribution more concentrated in the Panhandle section of the
Best practices for mobiles applications development. Developments carried out by small and medium enterprises in Mexico

Software development for mobile platforms demands adapting and sometimes replacing current or traditional technologies and methodologies. The use of Agile Methods seems to be one of the handiest choices. Thus Prosoft has detected an area of opportunity and is now encouraging software development through various mechanisms, such as the creation of regional clusters focused on information technologies. This article presents an analysis towards identification of best practices in software development oriented to mobile platforms (APPs), which allow Mexican software factories to compete at national and international markets. This research is bound to Mexico's Midwest region defined by CANIETI and is directed to the generation of APPs. Several surveys were conducted, generating revealing results which are presented in depth.
Minimizing interference in ad hoc and sensor networks

Reducing interference is one of the main challenges in wireless communication, and particularly in ad hoc networks. The amount of interference experienced by a node v corresponds to the number of other nodes whose transmission range covers v. At the cost of communication links being dropped, interference can be reduced by decreasing the node's transmission power. In this paper, we study the problem of minimizing the average interference while still maintaining desired network properties, such as connectivity, point-to-point connections, or multicast trees. In particular, we present a greedy algorithm that computes an O(log n) approximation to the interference problem with connectivity requirement, where n is the number of nodes in the network. We then show the algorithm to be asymptotically optimal by proving a corresponding Ω(log n) lower bound that holds even in a more restricted interference model. Finally, we show how the algorithm can be generalized towards solving the interference problem for network properties that can be formulated as a 0-1 proper function.
TESTREX: a Testbed for Repeatable Exploits

Web applications are the target of many known exploits and also a fertile ground for the discovery of security vulnerabilities. Those applications may be exploitable not only because of the vulnerabilities in their source code, but also because of the environments on which they are deployed and run. Execution environments usually consist of application servers, databases and other supporting applications. In order to test whether known exploits can be reproduced in different settings, better understand their effects and facilitate the discovery of new vulnerabilities, we need to have a reliable testbed. In this paper, we present TESTREX, a testbed for repeatable exploits, which has as main features: packing and running applications with their environments; injecting exploits and monitoring their success; and generating security reports. We also provide a corpus of example applications, taken from related works or implemented by us.
Reconciling Traditional Knowledge, Food Security, and Climate Change: Experience From Old Crow, YT, Canada

Background: Because of a lack of transportation infrastructure, Old Crow has the highest food costs and greatest reliance on traditional food species for sustenance of any community in Canada’s Yukon Territory. Environmental, cultural, and economic change are driving increased perception of food insecurity in Old Crow.Objectives: To address community concerns regarding food security and supply in Old Crow and develop adaptation strategies to ameliorate their impact on the community.Methods: A community adaptation workshop was held on October 13, 2009, in which representatives of different stakeholders in the community discussed a variety of food security issues facing Old Crow and how they could be dealt with. Workshop data were analyzed using keyword, subject, and narrative analysis techniques to determine community priorities in food security and adaptation.Results: Community concern is high and favored adaptation options include agriculture, improved food storage, and conservation through increased traditional education. These results were presented to the community for review and revision, after which the Vuntut Gwitchin Government will integrate them into its ongoing adaptation planning measures.
Accuracy of Pulse Oximetry in Children

OBJECTIVE: For children with cyanotic congenital heart disease or acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, providers frequently make decisions based on pulse oximetry, in the absence of an arterial blood gas. The study objective was to measure the accuracy of pulse oximetry in the saturations from pulse oximetry (SpO2) range of 65% to 97%. METHODS: This institutional review board–approved prospective, multicenter observational study in 5 PICUs included 225 mechanically ventilated children with an arterial catheter. With each arterial blood gas sample, SpO2 from pulse oximetry and arterial oxygen saturations from CO-oximetry (SaO2) were simultaneously obtained if the SpO2 was ≤97%. RESULTS: The lowest SpO2 obtained in the study was 65%. In the range of SpO2 65% to 97%, 1980 simultaneous values for SpO2 and SaO2 were obtained. The bias (SpO2 – SaO2) varied through the range of SpO2 values. The bias was greatest in the SpO2 range 81% to 85% (336 samples, median 6%, mean 6.6%, accuracy root mean squared 9.1%). SpO2 measurements were close to SaO2 in the SpO2 range 91% to 97% (901 samples, median 1%, mean 1.5%, accuracy root mean squared 4.2%). CONCLUSIONS: Previous studies on pulse oximeter accuracy in children present a single number for bias. This study identified that the accuracy of pulse oximetry varies significantly as a function of the SpO2 range. Saturations measured by pulse oximetry on average overestimate SaO2 from CO-oximetry in the SpO2 range of 76% to 90%. Better pulse oximetry algorithms are needed for accurate assessment of children with saturations in the hypoxemic range.
Novel dry electrodes for recording electrodermal activity

Novel carbon/salt adhesive (CSA) electrodes have been found suitable for collecting electrodermal activity (EDA) signals. Ag/AgCl electrodes are considered the standard for collecting EDA signals, because it highly avoids electrodes' polarization. Ag is an expensive commodity. Furthermore, a hydrogel layer is needed for the Ag/AgCl electrodes to collect EDA signals. Adding hydrogel to the electrodes is a cumbersome process. Aforementioned circumstances highlight the need for a more accessible media to collect these signals, allowing EDA use to spread. Dry electrodes made with a mixture of carbon, salt and adhesive has shown to be suitable for collecting bioelectric signals. We have implemented a constant DC-source EDA circuit, with the intention of testing how these electrodes perform for collecting EDA signals. Recruited subjects (N=4) underwent a test including electric shocks, watching a disturbing video and performing the Stroop task. Time and frequency domain correlation were computed. For the obtained skin conductance responses (SCRs), amplitude, onset-to-peak time, and onset difference between the CSA and Ag/AgCl electrodes' acquired SCRs were computed. We found no significant differences on SCRs amplitude and onset-to-peak time between CSA and Ag/AgCl. Furthermore, the difference in onset time for simultaneous SCRs obtained using both media was not different to zero. We conclude that CSA electrodes are a suitable surrogate of Ag/AgCl electrodes for collecting EDA signals on healthy subjects using the implemented DC circuit.
2.8 Million Years of Arctic Climate Change from Lake El’gygytgyn, NE Russia

Crater Core The high-northern latitudes of the Arctic have an important influence on climate and constitute a region with a unique array of complex feedbacks that make it difficult to understand the workings of its climate. Melles et al. (p. 315, published online 21 June) developed a 2.8-million-year record of Arctic climate, using a sediment core from a lake in northeastern Russia that was formed more than 3.5 million years ago by a meteorite impact. Pronounced glacial episodes began 2.6 million years ago but did not achieve orbital pacing for another 700,000 years. A sediment core from a Russian lake provides a high-latitude climate record where prior terrestrial records have been sparse. The reliability of Arctic climate predictions is currently hampered by insufficient knowledge of natural climate variability in the past. A sediment core from Lake El’gygytgyn in northeastern (NE) Russia provides a continuous, high-resolution record from the Arctic, spanning the past 2.8 million years. This core reveals numerous “super interglacials” during the Quaternary; for marine benthic isotope stages (MIS) 11c and 31, maximum summer temperatures and annual precipitation values are ~4° to 5°C and ~300 millimeters higher than those of MIS 1 and 5e. Climate simulations show that these extreme warm conditions are difficult to explain with greenhouse gas and astronomical forcing alone, implying the importance of amplifying feedbacks and far field influences. The timing of Arctic warming relative to West Antarctic Ice Sheet retreats implies strong interhemispheric climate connectivity.
Autonomic computing system for self-management of machine-to-machine networks

The internet of things consists of a high amount of heterogeneous objects that are widely distributed and evolve frequently according to their context changes. Management of such a complex environment is costly in terms of time and money. Machine to Machine (M2M) networks will soon become virtually impossible to administer. Designing context aware autonomic system for M2M networks with capability of self-management is a challenge. This paper proposes an autonomic computing system based on standardized M2M architecture and composed of generic and extensible autonomic managers. Autonomic managers communicate with each other to enable self-management of application, service and communication layers based on knowledge models and reasoning rules. A smart metering use case is experimented to illustrate the proposed solution.
Review: Is There a Window of Opportunity for Treatment of Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis?

Among subcategories of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), one stands out as very different from the others. Systemic JIA involves an abrupt onset of fever and in most cases an evanescent erythematous rash, sometimes preceding the appearance of overt synovitis by weeks or months. While some patients continue this so-called systemic phase for years, a more common course is for fevers and rash to fade away, leaving behind a chronic, destructive, and often therapy-resistant arthritis. Recent data have raised the possibility that early cytokine blockage might abrogate this latter phase, reflecting a potential “window of opportunity” in the care of these challenging patients. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the data in support of, and against, this hypothesis, and more broadly to consider how human and murine immunologic studies could help us understand the transition from systemic phase to chronic persistent arthritis in systemic JIA.
VBR video frame size prediction using seasonal ARIMA models

Increasing quality of service (QoS) requirements demand continuous development of new and advanced traffic prediction methods. This is especially true for variable bit rate (VBR) video traffic. This paper provides insights into current approaches and solutions in the area of online frame size prediction methods for MPEG4 video, and proposes a prediction method based on seasonal ARIMA models. Proposed method is effective in frame size prediction and promises up to 30% better results than alternative methods.
Practical Issues and Algorithms for Analyzing Terrorist Networks 1

In social network analysis, graphs are used to model relationships between actors or participants in a social setting. Each node or vertex in the graph represents a participant or actor. Each link or edge represents a connection or relationship between two participants. A variety of graph algorithms have been developed to analyze the structure of social networks and to assess the roles or importance of the individual players. Since the September 11 bombing of the World Trade Center, social network analysis has emerged as a potential vehicle for modeling and analyzing the structure of terrorist networks [10, 15].
Not Just Being Lifted: Infants are Sensitive to Delay During a Pick-Up Routine

In the present study we observed whether infants show online adjustments to the mother’s incipient action by looking at their sensitivity to changes as the pick-up unfolded. Twenty-three 3-month-old infants and their mothers were observed in the lab, where mothers were instructed (1) to pick-up their infants as they usually did (normal pick-up), and then (2) to delay the pick-up for 6 s after placing their hands on the infants’ waist (delayed pick-up). In both Normal and Delayed conditions infant’s body tension, affective displays and gaze shifts were coded during three phases: Approach, Contact, and Lift. Additionally, a measure of infants’ head support in terms of head lag at the beginning and end of Lift was computed. Results showed that during normal pick-up infants tensed up their body during the Approach phase and increased their tension during contact, maintaining it through Lift; their head was also supported and in line with their body during Lift. When the pick-up was delayed, infants also tensed their body during Approach, yet this tension did not increase during the Contact phase and was significantly lower at Lift. Their head support was also lower in the Delayed condition and they shifted their gazes away from their mothers’ face more often than in the Normal condition. These results suggest that infants are sensitive to changes of the timing of the pick-up sequence, which in turn may have affected their contribution to the interaction.
Evoked Electromyography-Based Closed-Loop Torque Control in Functional Electrical Stimulation

This paper proposed a closed-loop torque control strategy of functional electrical stimulation (FES) with the aim of obtaining an accurate, safe, and robust FES system. Generally, FES control systems are faced with the challenge of how to deal with time-variant muscle dynamics due to physiological and biochemical factors (such as fatigue). The degraded muscle force needs to be compensated in order to ensure the accuracy of the motion restored by FES. Another challenge concerns the fact that implantable sensors are unavailable to feedback torque information for FES in humans. As FES-evoked electromyography (EMG) represents the activity of stimulated muscles, and also enables joint torque prediction as presented in our previous studies, here we propose an EMG-feedback predictive controller of FES to control joint torque adaptively. EMG feedback contributes to taking the activated muscle state in the FES torque control system into account. The nature of the predictive controller facilitates prediction of the muscle mechanical response and the system can therefore control joint torque from EMG feedback and also respond to time-variant muscle state changes. The control performance, fatigue compensation and aggressive control suppression capabilities of the proposed controller were evaluated and discussed through experimental and simulation studies.
Diagnosis of Coronary Artery Disease Using Data Mining Based on Lab Data and Echo Features

According to American Heart Association report, cardiovascular diseases are one of the five leading causes of death in the world. Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is the most common fatal heart disease, and is the subject of large body of studies. According to prevalence of CAD, early diagnosis of this disease is very important. The most reliable method for CAD diagnosis is angiography, but it is costly, time-consuming, and hazardous. Therefore in order to predict such diseases, study of non-invasive methods such as analysis and mining of patients' medical information is becoming popular, and has proved to be effective. Unfortunately, majority of approaches in the literature rely on a limited and small set of medical features for disease detection. This paper aims to examine effects of set of features; including lab data and echo information on CAD diagnosis which some of them were not considered in previous studies. The data set consists of the information gathered from 303 random visitors to Tehran's Shaheed Rajaei Cardiovascular, Medical and Research Center which is one of the largest heart hospitals in Asia. The method used in this research was data mining. Several classification algorithms were adopted to analyze the data set, including SMO, Naive Bayes, C4.5 and AdaBoost. According to the comprehensive set of features used, the obtained classification accuracy exceeded 82 percent. Results showed that new added features including Region with RWMA and Ejection Fraction (EF) have a large effect on CAD.
Why do singletons conceived after assisted reproduction technology have adverse perinatal outcome? Systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND Assisted reproduction technology (ART) is used worldwide, at increasing rates, and data show that some adverse outcomes occur more frequently than following spontaneous conception (SC). Possible explanatory factors for the well-known adverse perinatal outcome in ART singletons were evaluated. METHODS PubMed and Cochrane databases from 1982 to 2012 were searched. Studies using donor or frozen oocytes were excluded, as well as those with no control group or including <100 children. The main outcome measure was preterm birth (PTB defined as delivery <37 weeks of gestation), and a random effects model was used for meta-analyses of PTB. Other outcomes were very PTB, low-birthweight (LBW), very LBW, small for gestational age and perinatal mortality. RESULTS The search returned 1255 articles and 65 of these met the inclusion criteria. The following were identified as predictors for PTB in singletons: SC in couples with time to pregnancy (TTP) > 1 year versus SC singletons in couples with TTP ≤ 1 year [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.35, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.22, 1.50]; IVF/ICSI versus SC singletons from subfertile couples (TTP > 1 year; AOR 1.55, 95% CI 1.30, 1.85); conception after ovulation induction and/or intrauterine insemination versus SC singletons where TTP ≤ 1 year (AOR 1.45, 95% CI 1.21, 1.74); IVF/ICSI singletons versus their non-ART singleton siblings (AOR 1.27, 95% CI 1.08, 1.49). The risk of PTB in singletons with a 'vanishing co-twin' versus from a single gestation was AOR of 1.73 (95% CI 1.54, 1.94) in the narrative data. ICSI versus IVF (AOR 0.80, 95% CI 0.69-0.93), and frozen embryo transfer versus fresh embryo transfer (AOR 0.85, 95% CI 0.76, 0.94) were associated with a lower risk of PTB. CONCLUSIONS Subfertility is a major risk factor for adverse perinatal outcome in ART singletons, however, even in the same mother an ART singleton has a poorer outcome than the non-ART sibling; hence, factors related to the hormone stimulation and/or IVF methods per se also may play a part. Further research is required into mechanisms of epigenetic modification in human embryos and the effects of cryopreservation on this, whether milder ovarian stimulation regimens can improve embryo quality and endometrial conditions, and whether longer culture times for embryos has a negative influence on the perinatal outcome.
Siblings, multiple births, and the incidence of allergic disease: a birth cohort study using the West Midlands general practice research database

BACKGROUND The presence of older siblings reduces the risk of developing hay fever, eczema and atopy, but findings for asthma have been inconsistent. Whether twins have a reduced risk of allergic disease is also unclear. We have investigated these questions in a birth cohort analysis of the West Midlands General Practice Research Database (GPRD). METHODS Our birth cohort included 29 238 children. The incidence of allergic disease was examined according to the number of siblings, multiple births, and parental allergic disease and smoking habit using Cox regression. RESULTS There was a dose related decrease in the incidence of eczema and hay fever with increasing number of older siblings (hazard ratio for children with three or more older siblings compared with none 0.70 (95% CI 0.64 to 0.76) for eczema and 0.67 (95% CI 0.52 to 0.86) for hay fever). In contrast, the presence of older siblings increased the incidence of asthma (HR 1.17, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.29), although this effect was strongly dependent on age of diagnosis. For children diagnosed over the age of 2 years the presence of older siblings was protective (HR 0.66, 95% CI 0.52 to 0.82), while below this age the reverse was true (HR 1.38, 95% CI 1.24 to 1.54). Members of a multiple birth had a reduced incidence of all three allergic diseases. Birth order and multiple birth effects were independent of sex, maternal age, consulting behaviour, and parental allergy and smoking habit. CONCLUSIONS The presence of older siblings and being a member of a multiple birth appears to protect against the development of eczema, hay fever, and asthma diagnosed after the age of 2. In contrast, the presence of older siblings increases the incidence of early asthma.