Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Geographic distribution and floristic characteristics of threatened plants in the Changbai Mountain

Twenty-six threatened species listed in the China Plant Red Data Book were found in the Changbai Mountain. These species were acquired and analyzed on the area type of species and floristic Characteristics. Major results are as follows: distribution of these species mostly belongs to the temperate zone property and is mainly composed of north temperate nature; and threatened plants were distributed among a wider vertical range with stronger adaptation. Above circumstances are quite benefit to rescue and protect these plants and conservation strategies are suggested.
A framework to compare software process assessment methods dedicated to small and very small organizations

It is a challenge for small and very small organizations to adopt software process improvement models and the associated assessment methods to improve their software process. A number of customized assessment methods based on SPI models, such as CMM/CMMI and ISO 15504, have been proposed to fit the needs of such organizations. To help them select an assessment method relevant to their needs, this paper presents a framework to compare SPI methods dedicated to small and very small organizations?
Parent-Offspring Coadaptation and the Dual Genetic Control of Maternal Care

In many animal species, the amount of care provided by parents is determined through a complex interaction of offspring signals and responses by parents to those signals. As predicted by honest signaling theory, we show that in the burrower bug,Sehirus cinctus, maternal provisioning responds to experimental manipulations of offspring condition. Despite this predicted environmental influence, we find evidence from two cross-foster experiments that variation in maternal care also stems from two distinct genetic sources: variation among offspring in their ability to elicit care and variation among parents in their response to offspring signals. Furthermore, as predicted by maternal-offspring coadaptation theory, offspring signaling is negatively genetically correlated with maternal provisioning.
Interference analysis and visualization for multiple radio equipment coexistence

Due to the diverse and complex tasks for the formation, many different radio communication equipment are densely deployed on board, leading to the coexistence among different equipment a big problem. Therefore, this paper has proposed an interference analysis algorithm for communication and radar systems and developed a link level simulation system to solve the coexistence problem between radar and communication systems. Both frequency and distance isolation boundaries are achieved by theoretical analysis to guarantee the coexistence constraints of different equipment in the ship formation. Simulation results verify the effectiveness and accuracy of proposed interference coexistence methods with frequency and distance isolation boundaries. Finally, the electromagnetic situation map is also designed and developed to identify the source of potential interference among fleet and facilitate the interference analysis.
African Flora Has the Potential to Fight Multidrug Resistance of Cancer

Background. Continuous efforts from scientists of diverse fields are necessary not only to better understand the mechanism by which multidrug-resistant (MDR) cancer cells occur, but also to boost the discovery of new cytotoxic compounds to fight MDR phenotypes. Objectives. The present review reports on the contribution of African flora in the discovery of potential cytotoxic phytochemicals against MDR cancer cells. Methodology. Scientific databases such as PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Web of Knowledge were used to retrieve publications related to African plants, isolated compounds, and drug resistant cancer cells. The data were analyzed to highlight cytotoxicity and the modes of actions of extracts and compounds of the most prominent African plants. Also, thresholds and cutoff points for the cytotoxicity and modes of action of phytochemicals have been provided. Results. Most published data related to the antiproliferative potential of African medicinal plants were from Cameroon, Egypt, Nigeria, or Madagascar. The cytotoxicity of phenolic compounds isolated in African plants was generally much better documented than that of terpenoids and alkaloids. Conclusion. African flora represents an enormous resource for novel cytotoxic compounds. To unravel the full potential, efforts should be strengthened throughout the continent, to meet the challenge of a successful fight against MDR cancers.
Face Recognition using Symbolic KDA in the Framework of Symbolic Data Analysis

In this paper we present one of the symbolic factor analysis method called as symbolic kernel discriminant analysis (symbolic KDA) for face recognition in the framework of symbolic data analysis. Classical factor analysis methods (specifically classical KDA) extract features, which are single valued in nature to represent face images. These single valued variables may not be able to capture variation of each feature in all the images of same subject; this leads to loss of information. The symbolic KDA Algorithm extracts most discriminating non-linear interval type features; they optimally discriminate among the classes represented in the training set. The proposed method has been successfully tested for face recognition using two databases, ORL and Yale Face database. The effectiveness of the proposed method is shown in terms of comparative performance against popular classical factor analysis methods such as eigenface method and fisherface method. Experimental results show that symbolic KDA outperforms the classical factor analysis methods.
Speech enhancement based on nonnegative matrix factorization with mixed group sparsity constraint

This paper addresses a challenging single-channel speech enhancement problem in real-world environment where speech signal is corrupted by high level background noise. While most state-of-the-art algorithms tries to estimate noise spectral power and filter it from the observed one to obtain enhanced speech, the paper discloses another approach inspired from audio source separation technique. In the considered method, generic spectral characteristics of speech and noise are first learned from various training signals by non-negative matrix factorization (NMF). They are then used to guide the similar factorization of the observed power spectrogram into speech part and noise part. Additionally, we propose to combine two existing group sparsity-inducing penalties in the optimization process and adapt the corresponding algorithm for parameter estimation based on multiplicative update (MU) rule. Experiment results over different settings confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Personalized recommendation based on collaborative filtering in social network

The platform and community of social network have become a major trend of people's work and life, and collaborative filtering is the most popular method currently. This paper analyzed the disadvantages of the traditional collaborative filtering, and proposed an improved algorithm of personalized recommendation based on collaborative filtering in SNS, which increase the efficiency of the recommendation. The experimental results prove the validity and superiority of the proposed model at last.
Robust Solutions to Markov Decision Problems with Uncertain Transition Matrices

A mechanical nodule collector is lowered to the ocean floor and towed along by a floating towing vessel. The towing means may be either a hoisting rope or a pipe through which collected nodules may be continuously pumped to a floating transport vessel. If the towing means is a pipe, the pipe is connected directly to a buoyant vessel, or pod, which is connected to the floating towing vessel and the floating transport vessel. The collector can be readily raised or lowered by varying the buoyancy.
A temporal fixpoint calculus

Two distinct extensions of temporal logic has been recently advocated in the literature. The first extension is the addition of <italic>fixpoint</italic> operators that enable the logic to make assertions about arbitrary regular events. The second extension is the addition of <italic>past</italic> temporal connectives that enables the logic to refer directly to the history of the computation. Both extensions are motivated by the desire to adapt temporal logic to <italic>modular</italic>, i.e., compositional, verification (as opposed to global verification). We introduce and study here the logic <italic>μTL</italic>, which is the extension of temporal logic by fixpoint operators and past temporal connectives. We extend the automata-theoretic paradigm to <italic>μTL</italic>. That is, we show how, given an <italic>μTL</italic> formula @@@@, we can produce a finite-state Büchi automaton <italic>A</italic>@@@@, whose size is at most exponentially bigger than the size of @@@@, such that <italic>A</italic>@@@@ accepts precisely the computations that satisfy @@@@. The result has immediate applications, e.g., an optimal decision procedure and a model-checking algorithm for <italic>μTL</italic>.
Auto-calibrating threshold compensation technique for RF energy harvesters

This paper presents the design of a new threshold compensation technique for UHF Dickson rectifiers. The proposed solution addresses the efficiency reduction of previous architectures especially under large input powers. The measurements show that the proposed technique achieves very good efficiency within 10 dBm variation of the input power. Therefore, the technique is suitable for applications where the incident power is not constant. Thanks to the reduction in the reverse leakage current, a peak efficiency of 34% at 433 MHz was measured.
Retinoic Acid Induced-Autophagic Flux Inhibits ER-Stress Dependent Apoptosis and Prevents Disruption of Blood-Spinal Cord Barrier after Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) induces the disruption of the blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB) which leads to infiltration of blood cells, an inflammatory response, and neuronal cell death, resulting spinal cord secondary damage. Retinoic acid (RA) has a neuroprotective effect in both ischemic brain injury and SCI, however the relationship between BSCB disruption and RA in SCI is still unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that autophagy and ER stress are involved in the protective effect of RA on the BSCB. RA attenuated BSCB permeability and decreased the loss of tight junction (TJ) molecules such as P120, β-catenin, Occludin and Claudin5 after injury in vivo as well as in Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells (BMECs). Moreover, RA administration improved functional recovery in the rat model of SCI. RA inhibited the expression of CHOP and caspase-12 by induction of autophagic flux. However, RA had no significant effect on protein expression of GRP78 and PDI. Furthermore, combining RA with the autophagy inhibitor chloroquine (CQ) partially abolished its protective effect on the BSCB via exacerbated ER stress and subsequent loss of tight junctions. Taken together, the neuroprotective role of RA in recovery from SCI is related to prevention of of BSCB disruption via the activation of autophagic flux and the inhibition of ER stress-induced cell apoptosis. These findings lay the groundwork for future translational studies of RA for CNS diseases, especially those related to BSCB disruption.
Prevalence of Common Mental Disorders and Associated Factors among Residents of Jimma Town, Southwest Ethiopia

Background: Common mental disorders such as anxiety, depression and unexplained somatic symptoms and substance use disorders such as alcohol, khat and cigarette contributes to disability and distress to the population impeding productivity and affecting societal wellbeing. Recognizing this, the current study was conducted to be one input for policy maker’s efforts in reforming mental health care among the community in our country. Objective: This study assessed prevalence of common mental disorders and its associated factors among residents of Jimma town, March, 2015. Methodology: Community based cross sectional study was conducted in March, 2015 in Jimma town using interviewer administered structured questionnaire. A total of 745 residents were selected using multi stage probability sampling technique. Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ) was used to determine the prevalence of common mental disorders. Data was analyzed with SPSS version 20. Binary logistic regression analysis was used for both bivariate and multivariate analysis. Strength of association of the variables was determined using odds ratio and 95% confidence interval. Results: From a total of 745 respondents, 729 completed the study from which 380 (52.1%) were females. The prevalence of common mental disorders was 33.6%. Variables such as older age, being female, housewife, unable to read and write, chewing khat and having chronic physical illness were significantly associated with higher prevalence of common mental disorders. While being married in marital status was found to be a protective factor from common mental disorders. Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of common mental disorders among residents of Jimma town. The risk of common mental disorders was higher in females, housewives, in those who were unable to read and write, in current khat users and in respondents who reported to have chronic physical illness. To improve the mental health status of the community, mental health training has to be given to general health care workers in the country. By doing so, appropriate intervention will be taken on factors contributing to common mental disorders.
Regorafenib in combination with FOLFOX or FOLFIRI as first- or second-line treatment of colorectal cancer: results of a multicenter, phase Ib study

Background Metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) is commonly treated with 5-fluorouracil, folinic acid, and oxaliplatin or irinotecan. The multitargeted kinase inhibitor, regorafenib, was combined with chemotherapy as first- or second-line treatment of mCRC to assess safety and pharmacokinetics (primary objectives) and tumor response (secondary objective). Patients and methods Forty-five patients were treated every 2 weeks with 5-fluorouracil 400 mg/m2 bolus then 2400 mg/m2 over 46 h, folinic acid 400 mg/m2, and either oxaliplatin 85 mg/m2 or irinotecan 180 mg/m2. On days 4–10, patients received regorafenib 160 mg orally once daily. Results The median duration of treatment was 108 (range 2–345 days). Treatment was stopped for adverse events or death (17 patients), disease progression (11 patients), and consent withdrawal or investigator decision (11 patients). Six patients remained on regorafenib at data cutoff (two without chemotherapy). Drug-related adverse events occurred in 44 patients [grade ≥3 in 32 patients: mostly neutropenia (17 patients) and leukopenia, hand–foot skin reaction, and hypophosphatemia (four patients each)]. Thirty-three patients achieved disease control (partial response or stable disease) for a median of 126 (range 42–281 days). Conclusion Regorafenib had acceptable tolerability in combination with chemotherapy, with increased exposure of irinotecan and SN-38 but no significant effect on 5-fluorouracil or oxaliplatin pharmacokinetics.
Pengembangan Perangkat Pembelajaran Matematika Kelas X SMK Dengan Model Problem Solving Heuristic Berprinsip Pengelolaan Laboratorium Teenzania

Abstrak Belajar matematika khususnya materi program linier dirasa masih sulit bagi siswa. Adapun tujuan penelitian ini adalah : menghasilkan perangkat pembelajaran yang valid, praktis dan efektif pada ujicoba dengan model problem solving heuristic berprinsip pengelolaan laboratorium teenzania. Penelitian menggunakan model pengembangan 4-D Thiagarajan (1974). Dalam penelitian ini hanya sampai tahap develop. Subjek penelitian adalah siswa SMK Dinamika Tegal kelas X O2 sebagai kelas eksperimen dan kelas X O1 sebagai kelas kontrol. Uji validitas dan uji kepraktisan diolah dengan analisis uji proporsi, sedang uji keefektifan diolah dengan uji t, uji z, regresi linier ganda, dan uji banding. Hasil penelitian menunjukan: (1) perangkat pembelajaran yang dikembangkan dinyatakan valid oleh validator; (2) perangkat yang dikembangkan praktis. (3) Hasil uji t dan z menunjukkan ketuntasan belajar tercapai. Motivasi belajar dan keterampilan proses berpengaruh terhadap kemampuan pemecahan masalah siswa sebesar 83,4 %. Rata-rata kelas eksperimen lebih baik dari pada kelas kontrol. Hal ini berarti perangkat yang dikembangkan efektif. Berdasarkan penjelasan di atas, disimpulkan bahwa perangkat pembelajaran yang dikembangkan memenuhi valid perangkat, praktis penggunaan dan efektif pembelajaran. Kata Kunci : Pengembangan Perangkat Pembelajaran, Problem Solving Heuristic, Laboratorium Teenzania.
Crystal structure of HIV‐1 reverse transcriptase in complex with a polypurine tract RNA:DNA

We have determined the 3.0 Å resolution structure of wild‐type HIV‐1 reverse transcriptase in complex with an RNA:DNA oligonucleotide whose sequence includes a purine‐rich segment from the HIV‐1 genome called the polypurine tract (PPT). The PPT is resistant to ribonuclease H (RNase H) cleavage and is used as a primer for second DNA strand synthesis. The ‘RNase H primer grip’, consisting of amino acids that interact with the DNA primer strand, may contribute to RNase H catalysis and cleavage specificity. Cleavage specificity is also controlled by the width of the minor groove and the trajectory of the RNA:DNA, both of which are sequence dependent. An unusual ‘unzipping’ of 7 bp occurs in the adenine stretch of the PPT: an unpaired base on the template strand takes the base pairing out of register and then, following two offset base pairs, an unpaired base on the primer strand re‐establishes the normal register. The structural aberration extends to the RNase H active site and may play a role in the resistance of PPT to RNase H cleavage.
Generation of the Symmetric Field by Newton Polynomials in prime Characteristic

Let $N_m = x^m + y^m$ be the $m$-th Newton polynomial in two variables, for $m \geq 1$. Dvornicich and Zannier proved that in characteristic zero three Newton polynomials $N_a, N_b, N_c$ are always sufficient to generate the symmetric field in $x$ and $y$, provided that $a,b,c$ are distinct positive integers such that $(a,b,c)=1$. In the present paper we prove that in case of prime characteristic $p$ the result still holds, if we assume additionally that $a,b,c,a-b,a-c,b-c$ are prime with $p$. We also provide a counterexample in the case where one of the hypotheses is missing. The result follows from the study of the factorization of a generalized Vandermonde determinant in three variables, that under general hypotheses factors as the product of a trivial Vandermonde factor and an irreducible factor. On the other side, the counterexample is connected to certain cases where the Schur polynomials factor as a product of linear factors.
2 D Visualization of High-Dimensional Molecular Data from Single-Cell Mass Cytometry

Emerging single cell technologies have provided rich, high dimensional datasets. Analysis of single cell data has shed light on various different cellular processes. [1] These data have proved to be particularly useful in many important medical applications. One of the most prominent applications is to detect cancer tumors. These datasets from single-cell mass cytometry often come in the form of large matrices, where each column represents measurements of some parameter of interest, such as the expression level of certain protein. We can treat these measurements as realization of some random variables (up to 40 variables). Therefore, these matrices represent data from some very high dimensional space. While these datasets are of great interest to the cancer community, the challenge comes to developing efficient tools/algorithms that can represent these high dimensional data into lower dimensional subspace (2 or 3 dimensions) where human can digest and visualize effectively. Traditionally, these single-cell datasets have been examined in two dimensions at a time in the form of a scatter plot and inspected/gated by human expert. However, as the number of parameters increases, the number of pairs becomes overwhelming. In addition, a pairwise viewpoint often misses the biological meaningful high dimensional relationships among these datasets. [1] Various algorithms have been proposed to address this problem. Examples of such algorithms include t-distributed stochastic neighboring embedding (t-SNE) [1] [5], spanningtree progression analysis of density-normalized events (SPADE) [3] [4], elastic embedding (EE), etc. These stochastic neighbor embedding (SNE) and many other related non-linear manifold learning algorithms have achieved reasonable quality lowdimensional representations of these data by optimally preserving the pairwise Euclidean distance in their original highdimensional space. [2] In this project, we will examine these algorithms and compare them with the dimensionality reduction algorithm we learned in class PCA. Furthermore, we explore several meaningful extensions base on the rich single-cell data we have at hand.
An ISOCAM survey through gravitationally lensing galaxy clusters. I. Source lists and source counts

PCT No. PCT/DE89/00650 Sec. 371 Date Mar. 6, 1991 Sec. 102(e) Date Mar. 6, 1991 PCT Filed Oct. 12, 1989 PCT Pub. No. WO90/04702 PCT Pub. Date May 3, 1990.A partial flue gas stream is used for the production of electrical energy and/or heating and operational heat by utilizing combustion heat from fossil fuels, prior to combustion dried in an indirectly heated fluidized bed dryer, with combustion flue gas used as a carrier medium for the fluidized bed dryer. The mixture of flue gases and steam, deriving from the drying process, is after an intermediate treatment, if necessary, discharged with the main flue gas stream.
Activity Theory for OSS Ecosystems

The digital business ecosystem is an innovative approach to support the adoption and development of information and communication technologies (ICT). A natural life ecosystem is a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environments. Conversely, a business ecosystem is a network of buyers, suppliers and makers of related products or services, plus the socio-economic environment that includes the institutional and regulatory framework. The development process of an OSS environment can be modelled as an information ecosystem. This paper describes how activity theory can be used to inform the development of OSS projects.