Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A SPARSE ESTIMATION TECHNIQUE FOR NEAR FIELD UWB TARGET DETECTION IN MEDICAL IMAGING

Ultra-wideband (UWB) sensing has been proposed as a method for performing medical monitoring and imaging tasks safely and unobtrusively, since signals are non-ionizing and very low power, and no physical contact with the subject is required [1, 2]. For optimal power collection and resolution considerations, it is advantageous for the subject to be in the near field of the UWB elements. In this work, the performance of a number of existing imaging methods is studied and it is found that the resolution is relatively poor for realistic array sizes (10 elements) and excitation bandwidths (3 GHz). Also, the existing methods have difficulty identifying targets when the imaging pixel size is too large and there are too many (5-10) targets. A sparse detection method based on linear programming is proposed that fits the response to a parametric model in an l1-norm sense. The method accurately identifies up to 10 targets with good resolution, suggesting that this robust technique is suitable for such applications.
Natural Resources Management in African Agriculture: Understanding and Improving Current Practices. Edited by C. B. Barrett, F. Place and A. A. Aboud. Wallingford, UK: CABI Publishing (2002) with ICRAF, Nairobi, pp. 335, £60.00. ISBN 0-85199-584-5

Although the final note of this volume may suggest that it contains little that is really ‘new’, by focussing on a fuller understanding of the process of adoption of natural resources management (NRM) practices and the policies needed to support them it does provide useful insight into how to improve the generation and diffusion of improved natural resources management (INRM) practices acceptable to African smallholder farmers. After an interesting stage is set, nineteen ‘case-study’ chapters by different authors and varying in style and quality, follow. This might hinder those who wish to read the volume from beginning to end. The case studies illustrate what can be and has been achieved. It is, understandably, relatively easy to identify additional INRM practices such as the adoption of biological control practices and efforts to introduce integrated pest management (IPM) into Africa. Greater reference could have been made to the need to change African food crop agriculture from a ‘difficult’ way-of-life into an attractive business for the youth of tomorrow. Progress that has been made during the evolution from farming systems to farmer participatory research methods is illustrated, but application of an approach that interactively integrates the different needs and potential benefits of all stakeholders is stressed. The research-to-development continuum and the associated debate of scaling-up and -out are also raised. Perhaps the ‘underlying’ priority that is placed on the generation of ‘international public goods’ or ‘global principles’ is an over preoccupation of international scientists and those who fund international research. Should more resources and innovative minds be used in applying the insights gained from this volume to generating and diffusing more technologies that are ‘locally’ acceptable?
Ciguatera fish poisoning and other seafood intoxication syndromes: A revisit and a review of the existing treatments employed in ciguatera fish poisoning

Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) is acquired through consumption of tropical reef fishes, contaminated with potent neurotoxins, ciguatoxins (CTXs), produced by benthic dinoflagellate of the Gambierdiscus genus. Both spatially and temporally unpredictable, a tainted fish is impossible to differentiate from an untainted one by appearance, taste, texture or odour. Given the predominance of reef fish in the diet of insular countries, the risk of CFP is ever-present. In the Pacific where the incidence of CFP is the highest, the consequences on public health and socio-economy can be extremely severe. Multidisciplinary in nature, the present review revisits the phenomenon of CFP, covering certain of its aspects, notably the etiology, toxicology, ecotoxicology, pharmacology, pathology and the treatments administrated. These aspects of CFP have been reviewed in relation to other poisoning syndromes: tetrodotoxin poisoning and other dinoflagellates- or diatoms-associated intoxications such as paralytic (PSP), diarrhetic (DSP), neurotoxic (NSP), amnesic (ASP) and azaspiracid shellfish poisoning (AZP) and palytoxin poisoning. Based on case reports and bibliographic accounts, a list inventorying the western medicines prescribed to patients suffering from CFP has been established. Within the last two decades, several of the herbal remedies have been evaluated for their efficiencies in in vivo and in a number of in vitro tests, which have also been reviewed herein.
Antiproteases and retinoids for treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common, severe inflammatory condition of the respiratory tract for which there is an enormous worldwide pharmaceutical potential. Despite this, current pharmacotherapy for COPD is suboptimal. Consequently, there are legitimate reasons for seeking alternative therapies for COPD. Proteases may contribute to the pathophysiology of COPD, whilst retinoids may be involved in lung repair. Recent patent applications from a variety of pharmaceutical companies disclose an array of different structural classes of protease inhibitors and retinoid compounds that may be of benefit in COPD. The antiprotease compounds comprise inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases, including hydroxamic and carboxylic acid derivatives, lactams, β-amino acid derivatives and piperidine and piperazine derivatives, inhibitors of serine proteases, including guanidine derivatives, polypeptides and oxadiazole derivatives and inhibitors of cysteine proteases, including amide derivatives and nitrile derivatives. The retinoid compounds comprise retinoid agonists, including retinoic acid isomers and selective retinoic acid receptor (RAR)-γ agonists and RAR antagonists, in particular RAR-α antagonists.
Information Cascade and Individual Characteristics in Adopting Blogging

As new information technology(IT) adoption continues to produce many investment opportunities, imperfectly informed IT managers keep trying to acquire credible external signals to update their knowledge on new technologies. Such learning processes usually help them to reach better IT adoption decisions. In some cases, however, the opposite of the goal is achieved. Most IT managers quickly converge to the same adoption decision independent of their private information. Interestingly, such information cascade is the outcome of each individual decision maker's rational choice. A technology acceptance model(TAM) is adopted that has been widely used to predict the end-user's acceptance of a new technology. A model with individual characteristics and information cascade variables is constructed to explain user's intention in adopting blogging. The model is empirically tested with surveyed data. The results show that individual characteristics and information cascades have significant impacts in the case of blogging.
In Vitro Antioxidant Activities of Polyphenols Purified from Four Plant Species Used in Rice Beer Preparation in Assam India

The purified phenolic extracts of Artocarpus heterophyllus, Oldenlandia corymbosa, Cyclosorus extensa, and Alpinia malaccensis were tested for the presence of various polyphenols and antioxidant activities. The polyphenols were extracted with ethanol and purified by stepwise dialysis and column elution. High-performance liquid chromatography was performed to detect and quantitate the polyphenols and 10 different in vitro methodologies were used to measure antioxidant properties. Quercetin, ferulic acid, and salicylic acid were present in all the species. Chlorogenic and p-coumaric acid in A. heterophyllus; p-coumaric acid, caffeic acid, naringin, catechol, and resorcinol in C. extensa; chlorogenic, caffeic, and quinic acid in O. corymbosa and naringin, quinic acid and catechol in A. malaccensis were detected with varied concentrations. The 2-deoxyribose, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl and 2,2’-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) assays exhibited high radical scavenging activities and they were also able to combat •OH radicals and H2O2 to an extent of 25.53 and 71.23% respectively. Superoxide anions and nitric oxide radicals were scavenged up to 63.85 and 56.24%, respectively, and the extracts exhibited ferric ions chelation and ferrous ions reduction capacity. A reduction in the level of lipid peroxidation was also observed. All four species were found to be potent sources of polyphenols having antioxidative property. The results fully justified the use of these plants in the beer making process of Assam, India.
Complex sex allocation in the laughing kookaburra

In groups of the cooperatively breeding laughing kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae), offspring sex varied with the type of social group and with hatch rank. Groups with female helpers, especially if all helpers were female, had male-biased clutch and fledging sex ratios. Groups without female helpers (unassisted pairs or male-only helpers) had female-biased clutch and fledging sex ratios. Breeding females responded facultatively to increases in the number of female helpers in their group by producing more male eggs. These biases may occur if breeding females try to limit the number of daughters recruited into their group because unlike male helpers, female helpers depress the breeding success of their parents. Across all nests, two-thirds of first-hatched young were male, two-thirds of second-hatched young were female, and the sex ratio of third-hatched young was even. Hatch rank sex ratios also varied dramatically between different types of social groups, from 16.7% for second-hatched nestlings of unassisted pairs to 100% for first-hatched nestlings of groups with only female helpers. A corollary of the relationship between hatch rank and sex was that hatching sex sequences were distributed nonrandomly: all groups avoided hatching a daughter first followed by a son (FM). Sibling competition is aggressive and sometimes fatal. Since females grow to be 15% larger than males the hatching sequence of sexes could affect nestling growth and mortality. However, an exhaustive analysis found little evidence that growth or survival of males was compromised if hatched after a sister. The small number of FM sequences may only have occurred in nests that were able to ameliorate any negative consequences. Alternatively, when clutch size is small and fledging success unpredictable because of brood reduction, the preferred brood sex ratio may be contingent on the number of fledged young, making it advantageous to order the sexes in the brood.
Further postlarvae of tarakihi in New Zealand waters (note)

Abstract Thirteen cheilodactylid postlarvae, 14–68 mm standard length, identified as tarakihi Cheilodaclylus macropterus (Bloch & Schneider), were collected in plankton samples from a number of locations around New Zealand, They provide further evidence of the pelagic nature of this phase of the life history of the tarakihi.
The development of the central cell of Brassica campestris prior to fertilization.

The development of the central cell of Brassica campestris cv. Candle (canola-rapeseed) was examined using techniques of light and electron microscopy and cytochemistry. The mature central cell is devoid of the large central vacuole characteristic of the early cellular stage of megagametophyte development. Prior to anthesis, cell wall projections, of the transfer cell type, develop on the lateral wall of the central cell. These central cell wall projections extend from the midregion of the megagametophyte to the egg apparatus and are immediately adjacent to the starch-containing region of the inner and outer integuments. The cell wall projections are periodic acid – thiocarbohydrazide – silver proteinate positive as are the contents of dictyosome vesicles that appear to contribute to their formation. Mitochondria are associated with the wall projections as is a network of central cell endoplasmic reticulum that extends from the wall projections to the egg apparatus. Microtubules are associated with the mi.
Evaluation of the spot urine sampling technique to assess urinary purine derivative excretion in lactating dairy cows

The potential of the spot urine sampling technique as an alternative to performing a total urine collection was evaluated. Twelve multiparous Holstein-Friesian cows were given two experimental diets in a complete change-over design using two 14-day experimental periods. Experimental diets were either silage offered ad libitum with 7 kg fresh weight concentrate supplement as a single meal (SF), or a complete diet formulated from the same ingredients with a similar foragexoncentrate ratio (CD). Total urine collections were performed every 2 h on days 11 and 14 of each experimental period. Subsamples of urine were stored at 20°C and subsequently analysed by high-performace liquid chromatography. Daily allantoin and purine derivative (PD) excretion were highly correlated (r = 0·995, no. = 48, P P P P
ROLE OF RESPIRATION IN THE ACCUMULATION OF ORGANIC XENOBIOTICS BY THE AMPHIPOD DIPOREIA sp.

Accumulation of hydrophobic organic xenobiotics is thought to occur by passive diffusion across the respiratory membrane of aquatic organisms. This route has been confirmed with fish. However, aquatic invertebrates tend to remove organic xenobiotics from water much more efficiently than oxygen, based on the relative uptake clearances. Uptake clearance is the rate coefficient that describes the volume of water stripped of analyte per g of organism per h. For the amphipod Diporeia sp. , formerly classified as Pontoporeia hoyi, ratios of the contaminant uptake clearances to oxygen clearance were essentially constant at 3.9 f 0.4 (X + SE) for benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), 3.8 f 0.3 for hexachlorobiphenyl (HCBP), and 4.2 + 0.6 for phenanthrene (Phe). Therefore, based on the membrane transport efficiencies of nonpolar xenobiotics (60-80%) and oxygen (approximately 63%) in fish, and the uptake clearance for organic xenobiotics by Diporeia sp. , either xenobiotics are accumulated through routes other than across the respiratory membrane or the accumulation efficiency of oxygen from water is much lower in amphipods than it is in fish. The variability in the uptake clearance for both BaP and HCBP was best described by regressions with the surface area- to-volume ratio, whereas the uptake clearance for the more hydrophilic Phe was best described by a total surface area relationship.
Behavior of Fermentable Sugars in the Traditional Production Process of Cassava Bioethanol

The aim of study is to evaluate the ferment ability of cassava must in the ethanol production process from cassava in Congo. Three traditional methods of ethyl fermentation were tested: spontaneous fermentation, fermentation with yeast inoculation and fermentation led with yeasting and sugaring. Consumption of fermentable sugars was further in the case of directed fermentation with yeast inoculation (3° Brix residual extract from 48 h) compared to spontaneous fermentation without yeast inoculation (3.8° Brixresidual extract from 120 heures). Total sugars have been consumed only partially (66.7% of limit attenuation), while reducing sugars have been almost completely (about 91%). The addition of yeast in the cassava wort have led to a lower assessment of dextrins (2.7% glucose equivalent) compared to spontaneous fermentation (3.6%). It have also assured a better overall ethanol productivity (PTE = 0.83 g ethanol/L.h) than sugaring proceeding (PTE = 0.61 g/L.h) and without yeast additional (PTE = 0.32 g/L.h). Among the fermentable sugars developed in the cassava mash there are reducing sugars, such as glucose and maltose. Non-fermentable sugars represent a significant slice of stock of soluble carbohydrate (on average 3.24% dextrose equivalent) of the must in the three cases of fermentation tested.
Effects of experimental irrigation and drought on the composition and diversity of soil fauna in a coniferous stand

Summary 1 The effects of experimental long-term summer drought and irrigation on soil fauna were studied in a Norway spruce stand in south-western Sweden. The treatments, carried out over 8 and 10 years respectively, were chosen to simulate two scenarios of climate change, involving drier and wetter summers. 2 Different microarthropod communities developed in the different treatments. The abundances of enchytraeids, mesostigmatid mites and macroarthropod predators were all lowest in the drought plots. Drought decreased and irrigation increased the abundance and diversity of Oribatida. Drought decreased the abundance of Collembola. 3 The dominance structure of Oribatida and Collembola also changed, but less markedly. Drought affected community composition of both groups more than irrigation. 4 The study confirms that soil microarthropods can be useful environmental indicators, but their responses did not support the widely held view that deviations from a log-normal dominance structure indicates a stressed community. 5 The results also indicate that a drier climate with summer drought will lead to the local extinction of some soil animal species in this region.
Identification of a Novel Maize Protein Important for Paramutation at the purple plant1 Locus

Paramutation occurs at a specific locus when one epiallele, referred to as paramutagenic, facilitates a heritable change in the regulation of the other epiallele, which is referred to as paramutable (reviewed in [Arteaga-Vazquez and Chandler, 2010][1]). Because these two states have the same DNA
Appraisal of Protocol for the Rapid Screening of Maize Genotypes for Maize Weevil Resistance

A simplified, rapid protocol for screening maize genotypes for grain weevil resistance is required, therefore some modifications to the standard method (Dobie 1974) were appraised. The optimum oviposition period and minimum number of randomly selected weevils (Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky) from a laboratory culture (without the procedure of sexing) to achieve similar progeny emergence to the standard method were determined under laboratory conditions. While results confirmed the effectiveness of the standard method in discriminating genotypes according to resistance, some modifications significantly reducing labour and level of skill required in implementing a rapid screening protocol were identified. Sex ratios in random samples of 10–50 weevils from a large laboratory culture were not significantly different from the 1:1 expected ratio (P >0.05) and therefore sexing of the populations was discarded. Infestation of grain with 32–50 weevils resulted in progeny emergence and kernel damage similar to the standard. Therefore, 32 weevils were recommended to infest grain for 10 days, without prior conditioning of insects to the test grain. Standard control hybrid varieties were also effectively validated. The modified procedure took 45–56 days to complete compared to about 90 days for the standard and did not sacrifice selection efficiency.
Endogenous cytokinin levels during early fruit development of macadamia

Cytokinins play a central role in fruit set and development, with many plants accumulating high concentrations of endogenous cytokinins in developing fruits, and applied cytokinins being used to induce fruit set or parthenocarpic fruit development. Cytokinin application to flowers or immature fruit of macadamia increases initial fruit set and delays fruit abscission, without affecting final fruit set. This study quantified and determined the timing of endogenous cytokinin accumulation in macadamia flowers and immature fruit, to assist in developing a cytokinin treatment to improve fruit set and kernel quality. Flowers and very young fruit contained little cytokinin but levels rose greatly between 3 and 10 weeks after anthesis. Zeatin and zeatin riboside were the predominant cytokinins at 10 weeks postanthesis, with zeatin riboside concentrations being 20 - 230 times higher than concentrations detected immediately after anthesis. Cytokinin accumulation coincides with the period of maximum endosperm volume in macadamia which, along with the predominance of zeatin and zeatin riboside, conforms to the general pattern of accumulation in developing fruits of many other plants. The very high cytokinin concentrations at this stage may explain the inability of pre- or post-anthesis cytokinin applications to increase fruit retention of macadamia beyond 10 weeks post-anthesis.
How does elevated ozone impact soybean? A meta‐analysis of photosynthesis, growth and yield

Surface ozone concentrations ([O 3 ]) during the growing season in much of the northern temperate zone reach mean peak daily concentrations of 60 p.p.b. Concentrations are predicted to continue to rise over much of the globe during the next 50 years. Although these low levels of ozone may not induce visible symptoms on most vegetation, they can result in substantial losses of production and reproductive output. Establishing the vulnerability of vegetation to rising background ozone is complicated by marked differences in findings between individual studies. Ozone effects are influenced by exposure dynamics, nutrient and moisture conditions, and the species and cultivars that are investigated. Meta-analytic techniques provide an objective means to quantitatively summarize treatment responses. Soybean has been the subject of many studies of ozone effects. It is both the most widely planted dicotyledonous crop and a model for other C 3 annual plants. Meta-analytic techniques were used to quantitatively summarize the response of soybean to an average, chronic ozone exposure of 70 p.p.b. , from 53 peer-reviewed studies. At maturity, the average shoot biomass was decreased 34% and seed yield was 24% lower. Even in studies where [O 3 ] was < 60 p.p.b. , there was a significant decrease in biomass and seed production. At low [O 3 ], decreased production corresponded to a decrease in leaf photosynthesis, but in higher [O 3 ] the larger loss in production was associated with decreases in both leaf photosynthesis and leaf area. The impact of ozone increased with developmental stage, with little effect on vegetative growth and the greatest effect evident at completion of seed filling. Other stress treatments, including UV-B and drought, did not alter the ozone response. Elevated carbon dioxide significantly decreased ozone-induced losses, which may be explained by a significant decrease in stomatal conductance.