Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development of bacterial communities in biological soil crusts along a revegetation chronosequence in the Tengger Desert, northwest China

Abstract. Knowledge of structure and function of microbial communities in different successional stages of biological soil crusts (BSCs) is still scarce for desert areas. In this study, Illumina MiSeq sequencing was used to assess the compositional changes of bacterial communities in different ages of BSCs in the revegetation of Shapotou in the Tengger Desert. The most dominant phyla of bacterial communities shifted with the changed types of BSCs in the successional stages, from Firmicutes in mobile sand and physical crusts to Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria in BSCs, and the most dominant genera shifted from Bacillus, Enterococcus and Lactococcus to RB41_norank and JG34-KF-361_norank. Alpha diversity and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis indicated that bacterial richness and abundance reached their highest levels after 15 years of BSC development. Redundancy analysis showed that silt + clay content and total K were the prime determinants of the bacterial communities of BSCs. The results suggested that bacterial communities of BSCs recovered quickly with the improved soil physicochemical properties in the early stages of BSC succession. Changes in the bacterial community structure may be an important indicator in the biogeochemical cycling and nutrient storage in early successional stages of BSCs in desert ecosystems.
Cognitive Assisted Blogger

In this thesis a cognitive application is developed using IBMs cloud platform Bluemix and its Watson services. The goal of the application is to make it easier for bloggers and journalists to publish online during conferences. To reach the goal the application was designed with, among other things, functionalities for speech to text, publish on social media and automatically generated hashtags. The project was initially focused on developing a Bluemix hosted Node.js web application that would work on both iOS and Android devices. After constructing the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for the web application the focus of the project changed and instead APIs were developed for the purpose to aid the development of native iOS and Android applications. The APIs were developed as Node.js applications with the help of API Connect and was afterwards hosted on Bluemix. This consisted of three separate APIs; the first API creates hashtags based on location and also tries to figure out who is speaking, to do this Facebook Graph and Alchemy was used. The second API makes it possible to save and get text from a cloud database and utilizes Cloudant. Lastly, the third API saves audio and also returns transcribed text and hashtags with the help of Object Storage, Watson Speech to Text and Alchemy. (Less)
Meta-analysis of real-world evidence comparing non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants with vitamin K antagonists for the treatment of patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation

ABSTRACT Introduction: Numerous real-world studies have compared non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) with vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). A meta-analysis was performed to synthesize the available evidence. Methods: Systematic searches were performed through 12/2016 to identify non-randomized NVAF studies comparing NOACs with VKAs, and reporting effectiveness, safety, or persistence. Results: Of 562 citations identified, 49, 79, and 18 compared rivaroxaban, dabigatran, and apixaban, respectively, with VKAs and were included. Compared with VKAs, rivaroxaban was associated with a reduced risk of ischemic stroke (IS) (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.75–0.93), intracranial haemorrhage (ICH) (HR = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.52–0.90), and non-persistence (HR = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.60–0.65). Dabigatran was associated with a significantly lower risk of IS (HR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.65–0.98) and ICH (HR = 0.45, 95% CI = 0.36–0.58), but not for non-persistence (HR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.53–1.55), compared with VKAs. Apixaban was associated with a lower risk of ICH than VKAs (HR = 0.41, 95% CI = 0.28–0.60), but was not different to VKAs in terms of IS (HR = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.87–1.17) or non-persistence (HR = 1.08, 95% CI = 0.81–1.45). Conclusion: NOACs appear to be at least as effective and safe as VKAs for stroke prevention in patients with NVAF.
An R implementation of a Recurrent Neural Network Trained by Extended Kalman Filter

Nowadays there are several techniques used for forecasting with different performances and accuracies. One of the most performant techniques for time series prediction is neural networks. The accuracy of the predictions greatly depends on the network architecture and training method. In this paper we describe an R implementation of a recurrent neural network trained by the Extended Kalman Filter. For the implementation of the network we used the Matrix package that allows efficient vector-matrix and matrix-matrix operations. We tested the performance of our R implementation comparing it with a pure C++ implementation and we showed that R can achieve about 75% of the C++ programs. Considering the other advantages of R, our results recommend R as a serious alternative to classical programming languages for high performance implementations of neural networks.
Open Educational Resources: an opportunity for virtual learning institutions

The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC, Open University of Catalonia) is involved in several research projects and educational activities related to the use of Open Educational Resources (OER). Some of the discussed issues in the concept of OER are research issues which are being tackled in two EC projects (OLCOS and SELF). Besides the research part, the UOC aims at developing a virtual centre for analysing and promoting the concept of OER in Europe in the sector of Higher and Further Education. The objectives are to make information and learning services available to provide university management staff, eLearning support centres, faculty and learners with practical information required to create, share and re-use such interoperable digital content, tools and licensing schemes. In the realisation of these objectives, the main activities are the following: to provide organisational and individual e-learning end-users with orientation; to develop perspectives and useful recommendations in the form of a medium-term Roadmap 2010 for OER in Higher and Further Education in Europe; to offer practical information and support services about how to create, share and re-use open educational content by means of tutorials, guidelines, best practices, and specimen of exemplary open e-learning content; to establish a larger group of committed experts throughout Europe and other continents who not only share their expertise but also steer networking, workshops, and clustering efforts; and to foster and support a community of practice in open e-learning content know-how and experiences.
Adaptive Beamforming Algorithms for Smart Antenna System

Abstract.Adaptive beamforming based on specific needs to select the appropriate criteria or algorithms by changing the weight vector of antenna elements, so the signal through the right to receive the value of accumulated output signal corresponding to the optimum. We study the classical adaptive beamforming algorithms LMS and RLS for smart antenna multiple-inputmultiple-output (SA-MIMO) system, considering the different convergence factors and forgetting factors. We verify our analytical results and compare the performance of the adaptive beamforming for the different relevant parameters through Monte Carlo simulations.
First records of two ascomycetes on Phleum pratense in Estonia

Within a study on endophytic fungi of Timothygrass (Phleum pratense), two ascomycetes were recorded for the first time in Estonia. Based on morphological and molecular methods, the species were determined as Alternaria arbusti and A. viburni (teleomorph Lewia viburni), new to P. pratense. Kokkuvote: Kahe uue poldtimuti kottseene esmaleiud Eestis Uurides poldtimuti (Phleum pratense) endofuutseid seeni leiti Eestile kaks uut kottseene liiki. Kasutades puhaskultuuri ja molekulaarseid tunnuseid maarati liigid Alternaria arbusti ja A. viburni (teleomorf Lewia viburni), mis on uued mikroseened poldtimutile.
Study on Dynamic Guidance Obstacle Avoidance for UAV

With the flight environment becoming more and more complex, how to avoid the moving threat for the UAV under the dynamic environment and complete the mission become a key problem. With the idea of guidance, using the method of dimension reduction, the dynamic guidance obstacle avoidance method in three dimensional spaces is given. Considering the collision avoidance completion time and the UAV’s maneuverability, the parameters range of obstacle avoidance navigation law are deduced. Simulation results show the validity of the algorithm.
Bayesian Analysis and Matching Errors in Closed Population Capture Recapture Models

GOSKY, ROSS MATTHEW. Bayesian Analysis and Matching Errors in Closed Population Capture Recapture Models. (Under the direction of Leonard Stefanski and Sujit Ghosh.) Capture-Recapture models are used to estimate the unknown sizes of animal populations. When the population is closed, with constant size, during the study, eight standard models exist for estimating population size. These models allow for variation in animal capture probabilities due to time effects, heterogeneity among animals, and behavioral effects after the first capture. Our research focuses on two areas: 1. Using Bayesian statistical modeling, we present versions of these eight models. We explore the use of Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC), and the Deviance Information Criterion (DIC) as tools for selecting the appropriate model for a given dataset. Through simulation, we show that AIC performs well in model selection. 2. A new, non-invasive method of capturing animals is to substitute captures of DNA profiles, through sources such as hair samples, for live animal captures. However, DNA profiles of close relatives may not be distinguishable from each other, and some animals in the population may not be uniquely identifiable. This problem leads to negative bias in estimating population size. We present a statistical model which accounts for this type of matching error, leading to more accurate estimation of population size. Bayesian Analysis and Matching Errors in Closed Population Capture Recapture Models
Correct System Design Recent Insights And Advances

correct system design recent insights and advances is available in our book collection an online access to it is set as public so you can download it instantly. Our books collection spans in multiple locations, allowing you to get the most less latency time to download any of our books like this one. Merely said, the correct system design recent insights and advances is universally compatible with any devices to read.
Explorando posibles mejoras de protocolo TCP en redes móviles

En este trabajo se intenta realizar una mínima recopilación de los esfuerzos que se han realizado en adaptar al protocolo TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) a redes de datos en donde las tasas de error son mucho mayores que las tasas para el cual fue pensado originalmente este protocolo, debido a la congestión de datos. Así mismo intentaremos analizar que posibles mejoras pueden realizarse en la aplicación del protocolo TCP en redes móviles, en donde un enlace wireless interviene en uno o más de los trayectos de los datos e introduce dos fenómenos típicos de este enlace como son, la perdida de paquetes por diversas caudas o directamente el desacople de uno de los nodos.
A resource reservation mechanism based on window in emulated-optical burst switching networks

To reduce the burst blocking probability and protect the quality of service(QoS) in optical brust switching(OBS) networks,a resource reservation mechanism based on window with continuous-time variable offsets in emulated-OBS(E-OBS) networks is proposed.The mechanism sets a resource reservation window in the control channel of the E-OBS core routers,and it will determine whether control bursts are allowed to reserve the link resource for data bursts.A fixed-point approximation equation based on the blocking probability in this mechanism is also proposed.Simulation results show that increasing the resource reservation window time will effectively reduce the burst blocking probability.Compared with the no-window resource reservation mechanism and the Erlang-B formula situation,the burst blocking probability of the fixed-point approximation equation is the least when the network load ρ0. 1.So the mechanism can improve the performance of OBS networks.
Trends in open and distance learning research: 2005 vs 2015

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the research trends in the field of open and distance learning (ODL) as reflected in journal articles. Design/methodology/approach It compares research articles published in 2005 and 2015. Content analysis was conducted on a total of 288 research articles published in seven peer-reviewed journals on ODL. The study covers research areas and keywords, research methodology and participant types, and author collaboration. Findings The results show that macro-level research on areas such as globalization and cultural aspects of ODL remain relatively scarce, and international collaboration appear uncommon in both 2005 and 2015. However, there was an increasing amount of international collaboration in developing macro-level research. Empirical research studies, especially those using quantitative methods, have become the dominant methodology. The data sources have also been broadened. Several new keywords which did not exist or were rarely used (e.g. massive open online courses) have become common in 2015. Originality/value The analysis offers insights for researchers into how they can develop their research effectively in the field and enhance the chances of their research outputs being accepted. Recommendations are also made for ODL researchers on the types of research that tend to be accepted for publication and will have a high potential impact in the future.
Serbo-croatian second position clitic placement and the phonology-syntax interface

The analysis of Serbo-Croatian (SC) second position clitic placement has been the source of much controversy in generative linguistics. The most important point of disagreement among competing analyses of this phenomenon has been the extent to which the various components of the grammar—syntax, morphology, phonology—are implicated in determining the position of the relevant clitics, and the type of interaction among these components that is required. It will not be the goal of the present paper to make specific detailed proposals concerning all aspects of a comprehensive account of the facts. Rather, my aim is first to clarify the empirical data that must be explained and the theoretical questions on which they bear, and second to argue for a specific class of solutions to the problems raised. In particular, I will show that neither the relative linear positions of clitics within the clitic cluster nor the position of this cluster in a clause can be completely determined by the syntax, although the syntax does have a crucial role to play in at least the latter problem. Rather, I will argue that the relative order of the clitics must be determined by the morphology, and that the position of the clitic cluster is subject to purely
Aplicación Web para la gestión semántica de una memoria de investigación

El conocimiento que existe en una organizacion (memoria) esta materializado en lo que se conoce comunmente como recursos de informacion. Estos son heterogeneos en formato y contenido de ahi que dependen del dominio de la organizacion. El gestionarlos considerando su contenido (significado o semantica) es una tarea importante en la busqueda e integracion de informacion. En este articulo se describe una propuesta para la gestion semantica de una memoria de investigacion, se considera como caso de estudio la memoria del area de Redes y Telecomunicaciones de la UAM-Iztapalapa.
Editorial Impressions: Feelings of Hybridity

The honest man is an athlete who loves to wrestle stark naked; he scorns all those vile trappings, which prevent the exertion of his strength, and were, for the most part, invented only to conceal some deformity. Before art moulded our behavior, and taught our passions to speak an artificial language, our morals were rude but natural; and the different ways in which we behaved proclaimed at the first glance the difference of our dispositions. Human nature was not at bottom better then than now; but men found their security in the ease with which they could see through one another, and this advantage, of which we no longer feel the value, prevented their having many vices. (Rousseau 1997: 6)
Image Encryption Scheme Based on Novel Hyperchaotic System

Proposed a new hyperchaotic system,analyzed the new system,the phase diagram of the chaptic attractor,and the nature of the equilibrium point,Lyapunov exponent,nonlinear dynamics properties and so on,proposed a novel image encryption scheme based on a four dimensional hyperchaotic system.The experimental results and security analysis show that the new scheme has stronger resistance for the exhaustion attack,count attack and known-plaintext attack,and it is of high security.
Distributed indexing and scalable query processing for interactive big data explorations

The past few years have brought a major surge in the volumes of collected data. More and more enterprises and research institutions find tremendous value in data analysis and exploration. Big Data analytics is used for improving customer experience, perform complex weather data integration and model prediction, as well as personalized medicine and many other services. Advances in technology, along with high interest in big data, can only increase the demand on data collection and mining in the years to come. As a result, and in order to keep up with the data volumes, data processing has become increasingly distributed. However, most of the distributed processing for large data is done by batch processing and interactive exploration is hardly an option. To efficiently support queries over large amounts of data, appropriate indexing mechanisms must be in place. This dissertation proposes an indexing and query processing framework that can run on top of a distributed computing engine, to support fast, interactive data explorations in data warehouses. Our data processing layer is built around bit-vector based indices. This type of indexing features fast bit-wise operations and scales up well for high dimensional data. Additionally, compression can be applied to reduce the index size, and thus utilize less memory and network communication. Our work can be divided into two areas: index compression and query pro-
Methodische Grundlegung für eine Strategie zum sukzessiven Ausbau der Ladeinfrastruktur für Elektromobilität in Bonn und dem Rhein-Sieg-Kreis

Aufgrund eines nahezu gleichlautenden Beschlusses des Kreistages im Rhein-Sieg-Kreis (RSK) und des Hauptausschusses der Stadt Bonn im Jahr 2011 wurden die jeweiligen Verwaltungen beauftragt, gemeinsam mit den Energieversorgern der Region ein Starthilfekonzept Elektromobilitat zu entwickeln. In Folge dieses Beschlusses konstituierte sich Ende 2011 ein Arbeitskreis, der aus den Verwaltungen des Rhein-Sieg-Kreises und der Stadt Bonn, den Energieversorgern SWB Energie und Wasser, der Rhenag, den Stadtwerken Troisdorf, der Rheinenergie und den RWE besteht. Die inhaltlichen Schwerpunkte, die inzwischen in drei Arbeitskreisen behandelt werden, umfassen den Ausbau der Ladeinfrastruktur, die Offentlichkeitsarbeit und die Bereitstellung von Strom aus regenerativen Quellen durch den Zubau entsprechender Anlagen in der Region. Wahrend Masnahmen zur Offentlichkeitsarbeit und die Bereitstellung Grunen Stroms aus den Arbeitskreisen direkt bearbeitet und bewegt werden, ist dies aufgrund der Komplexitat des Themas und der zahlreichen Einflussgrosen beim Ausbau der Ladeinfrastruktur nicht moglich. Daraus entstand die Uberlegung einer Kooperation mit der Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg.
Logic Models as a Way to Support Online Students and Their Projects.

As online enrollment continues to grow, students may need additional pedagogical supports to increase their likelihood of success in online environments that don’t offer the same supports as those found in face to face classrooms. Logic models are a way to provide such support to students by helping to model project expectations, allowing students to demonstrate their current and changing understanding of relationships for different projects and instructors to review and comment on those understandings, and as a vehicle for reflecting on the outcomes of a project.
Improving cost-efficiency of faecal genotyping: New tools for elephant species

Despite the critical need for non-invasive tools to improve monitoring of wildlife populations, especially for endangered and elusive species, faecal genetic sampling has not been adopted as regular practice, largely because of the associated technical challenges and cost. Substantial work needs to be undertaken to refine sample collection and preparation methods in order to improve sample set quality and provide cost-efficient tools that can effectively support wildlife management. In this study, we collected an extensive set of forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) faecal samples throughout Gabon, Central Africa, and prepared them for genotyping using 107 single-nucleotide polymorphism assays. We developed a new quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay targeting a 130-bp nuclear DNA fragment and demonstrated its suitability for degraded samples in all three elephant species. Using this assay to compare the efficacy of two sampling methods for faecal DNA recovery, we found that sampling the whole surface of a dung pile with a swab stored in a small tube of lysis buffer was a convenient method producing high extraction success and DNA yield. We modelled the influence of faecal quality and storage time on DNA concentration in order to provide recommendations for optimized collection and storage. The maximum storage time to ensure 75% success was two months for samples collected within 24 hours after defecation and extended to four months for samples collected within one hour. Lastly, the real-time quantitative PCR assay allowed us to predict genotyping success and pre-screen DNA samples, thus further increasing the cost-efficiency of our approach. We recommend combining the validation of an efficient sampling method, the build of in-country DNA extraction capacity for reduced storage time and the development of species-specific quantitative PCR assays in order to increase the cost-efficiency of routine non-invasive DNA analyses and expand the use of next-generation markers to non-invasive samples.
Vulnerability Analysis of Bluetooth Communication based on GNU Radio

In general, automatic access control management system using smart door-lock must be always exposed to security vulnerability during wireless communication based on Bluetooth. In particular, important information such as a secrete key can be exposed to the attacker when the authentication protocol has been operating in the wireless section. Therefore important information exchanged in the radio section needs to be properly encrypted. In order to analyze security vulnerability for automatic access control management system of public facilities such as subway vent, GNU Radio platform and HackRF device will be considered and experimented. Proposed experimental system to perform software based power analysis attack could be very effectively applied. As a result, important information such as packet type, CRC, length of data, and data value can be easily decoded from wireless packet obtained from HackRF device on GNU Radio platform. Constructed experimental system will be applied to avoid some security problems.