Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
STOCHASTIC BOUNDS FOR GENERALIZED SYSTEMS IN RELIABILITY THEORY

Practically, it is not feasible to obtain the precise reliability of systems in a reasonable time, when the systems are large and complex. In this paper, we present some stochastic bounds on generalized systems of which state spaces are mathematically partially ordered sets. In the first place we introduce a notion of generalized systems and then present some stochastic bounds on the system reliability by using maximal and minimal elements of the structures of the systems. The bounds are generalization of the well-known max-min bounds on binary-state system reliability. Furthermore, we present the other stochastic bounds when systems are decomposed into several modules and satisfy a condition which is called MC (Maximal Coincidence) condition. We show that these bounds are tighter than the former. For a few simple systems, we give numerical examples and estimations of computational complexity for obtaining these stochastic bounds.
Photometric Variability of T Tauri S as a Probe for Circumstellar Material

The irregular photometric variability of the triple system T Tauri has been puzzling since its discovery. A circumbinary disk around T Tau Sa and Sb can explain the recent brightness fluctuations of T Tau Sb, due to changes in extinction depending on the position of T Tau Sb in its orbit. The photometric variations and orbital motion of T Tau Sb indicate a position angle of the disk of ∼30°. Combined with information from the literature, we estimate its inclination to be ∼60° or more.
Chemical effects on controlling of Rhododendron ponticum L. in western black sea forest region of Turkey

Rhododendrons impair the natural and artificial regeneration and seedling growth in the pure and mixed forest stands in Turkey. To control the rhododendrons by employing the sprout-less herbicide applicator (SLHA) is the main goal of this study. Two studies were conducted in the western black sea region of Turkey. Each study area was selected from natural mixed stands of beech (Fagus orientalis L.) and each one contained 30 sampling plots; roundup ® (glyphosate) and Arsenal ® (imazapyr) herbicides were used in different concentrations. Measurements were performed after the treatment on dead, dying and active stumps; average stump height and diameter, weak/very weak and active resprouts, average sprout’s diameter and height from every stump cut. Recovery or re-growth potential (vigor index) and basal area reduction of every stump were also calculated in every plot. The treatment efficacy was tested by using the vigor index values. Multiple variance analysis showed that SLHA treatment was very effective in reducing basal area of Rhododendron ponticum at the end of the second growing years after treatment. This means that the sprout-less herbicide applicator seems to perform well in reducing the rhododendron competition to the point of enhancing the establishment of commercial forest species. In addition, no mechanical problems were encountered in the study areas during the herbicide application process.
Seed Transmission of Tobamoviruses: Aspects of Global Disease Distribution

Global seed trade contributed to development and improvement of world agriculture. An adverse effect of global seed trade is reflected in disease outbreaks in new grow ing areas, countries, and continents. Among the seed-borne viruses, Tobamovirus species are currently considered a peril for crop production around the world. The unique tobamoviral particles confer stability to the RNA genome and preserve their infectivity for years. High titer of Tobamovirus species accumulates in reproductive organs leading to viral particles adsorbed to seed coat, which potentially establish a primary infectious source. Tobamovirus -contaminated seeds show very low virus transmission in grow-out experiments as detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis. Interestingly, in situ immu nofluorescence analysis of Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV) reveals that the perisperm-endosperm envelope (PEE) is contaminated as well by the Tobamovirus . Indeed, chemical seed disinfection treatments that affect primarily the seed coat surface are efficient for several Tobamovirus species but apparently do not prevent seed transmission of CGMMV to occur. Tobamovirus infection of the seed internal layers, which rarely includes the embryo, may partially follow the direct invasion pathway of Potyviruses such as Pea seed-borne mosaic virus (PSbMV) to pea embryo.
Integrated Multi-Omics Analyses in Oncology: A Review of Machine Learning Methods and Tools

In recent years, high-throughput sequencing technologies provide unprecedented opportunity to depict cancer samples at multiple molecular levels. The integration and analysis of these multi-omics datasets is a crucial and critical step to gain actionable knowledge in a precision medicine framework. This paper explores recent data-driven methodologies that have been developed and applied to respond major challenges of stratified medicine in oncology, including patients' phenotyping, biomarker discovery, and drug repurposing. We systematically retrieved peer-reviewed journals published from 2014 to 2019, select and thoroughly describe the tools presenting the most promising innovations regarding the integration of heterogeneous data, the machine learning methodologies that successfully tackled the complexity of multi-omics data, and the frameworks to deliver actionable results for clinical practice. The review is organized according to the applied methods: Deep learning, Network-based methods, Clustering, Features Extraction, and Transformation, Factorization. We provide an overview of the tools available in each methodological group and underline the relationship among the different categories. Our analysis revealed how multi-omics datasets could be exploited to drive precision oncology, but also current limitations in the development of multi-omics data integration.
Characteristics of Armyworm Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Occurrence and Control on Cotton

In this paper, is examined the incidence of armyworm Spodoptera litura (Fabricius)(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), which is a highly polyphagous pest and inflicts serious damage to a wide spectrum of crops. The ability of S. litura to thrive on diverse host plants is an adaptive advantage for its survival in the ecosystem, which is achieved by its high mobility, fecundity and capacity to develop resistance to wide spectrum of chemical insecticides. Hosts of S. litura include field crops grown for food and fiber, plantation and forestry crops, as well as certain weed species.On most crops, damage arises from extensive feeding by larvae, leading to complete stripping of the plants. On cotton, the leaves are heavily attacked, bolls have large holes in them from which yellowish-green to dark-green larval excrement protrudes and yield of the crop is severely affected. Freshly hatched S. litura scrape the leaves from ventral surface, and full grown larvae feed on the leaves voraciously and present an appearance to the field as if grazed by livestock.Marigold is identified as suitable intercrop/border crop for pest management apart from harboring activity of major parasitoids of S. litura such as Microplitis sp. , Cotesia sp. , Campoletischlorideae and a polyembryonic parasitoid Copidosoma sp. Also grow castor as a border or intercrop or trap crop and set up pheromone trap to monitor, attract and kill the male moths @ 12/ha.Collect egg masses and destroy, also collect the gregarious larvae as well and destroy them as soon as the early symptoms of lace-like leaves appear on crop. Avoid migration of larvae by digging a trench 30 cm deep and 25 cm wide with perpendicular sides around the infested fields.Use of synthetic pyrethroids and endosulfan alternatively is effective against S. litura at 10% visual damage threshold and for managing 1 st to 3 rd instars larvae spray Emamectin benzoate 5 SG @ 11gma.i. /ha or Spinosad 45 SC @ 75gm. For control of the 4 th to 6 th instars larvae, useIndoxacarb 14.5 SC @ 75gm ha -1 ,Flubendiamide 480SC @ 48-60gma.i. ha -1 orChlorantraniliprole 20 SC @30-40gm a.i. ha -1 . It is concluded that a combination of biological control agents, insect growth regulators, antifeedants, a trap crop and insecticides is an ecologically sound procedure for the control of S. litura .
Collisional polarization of molecular ions: a signpost of ambipolar diffusion

Magnetic fields play a role in the dynamics of many astrophysical processes, but they are hard to detect. In a partially ionized plasma, a magnetic field works directly on the ionized medium but not on the neutral medium, which gives rise to a velocity drift between them: ambipolar diffusion. This process is suggested to be important in the process of star formation, but has never been directly observed. We introduce a method that could be used to detect ambipolar diffusion and the magnetic field that gives rise to it, where we exploit the velocity drift between the charged and neutral medium. By using a representative classical model of the collision dynamics, we show that molecular ions partially align themselves when a velocity drift is present between the molecular ion and its main collision partner H2. We demonstrate that ambipolar diffusion potently aligns molecular ions in regions denser than their critical density. We include a model for HCO+ and show that collisional polarization could be detectable for the ambipolar drifts predicted by numerical simulations of the inner protostellar disk regions. The polarization vectors are aligned perpendicular to the magnetic field direction projected on the plane of the sky.
Direct synthesis of slot arrays for 5G communication applications

In this paper, a slot array in 5G communication band is pro- posed. The pattern function is ﬁrst modiﬁed and calculated. Then, the array is constructed using rectangular waveguides. Based on our simulated and measured results, the proposed method has successfully achieved the slot arrays with low side lobes and high gain. The proposed antenna arrays can be applied in modern 5G communication systems.
Which is the better entropy expression for speech processing: -S log S or log S?

In maximum entropy spectral analysis (MESA), one maximizes the integral of \logS(f) , where S(f) is a power spectrum. The resulting spectral estimate, which is equivalent to that obtained by linear prediction and other methods, is popular in speech processing applications. An alternative expression, -S(f)\logS(f) , is used in optical processing and elsewhere. This paper considers whether the alternative expression leads to spectral estimates useful in speech processing. We investigate the question both theoretically and empirically. The theoretical investigation is based on generalizations of file two estimates-the generalizations take into account prior estimates of the unknown power spectrum. It is shown that both estimates result from applying a generalized version of the principle of maximum entropy, but they differ concerning the quantities that are treated as random variables. The empirical investigation is based on speech synthesized using the different spectral estimates. Although both estimates lead to intelligible speech, speech based on the MESA estimate is qualitatively superior.
Scaling laws for electromagnetic pulsed plasma thrusters

The scaling laws of pulsed plasma thrusters operating in the predominantly electromagnetic acceleration mode (EM-PPT) are investigated theoretically and experimentally using gas-fed pulsed plasma thrusters. A fundamental characteristic velocity that depends on the inductance per unit length and the square root of the capacitance to the initial inductance ratio is identified. An analytical model of the discharge current predicts scaling laws in which the propulsive efficiency is proportional to the EM-PPT performance scaling number, defined here as the ratio of the exhaust velocity to the EM-PPT characteristic velocity. The importance of the effective plasma resistance in improving the propulsive performance is shown. To test the validity of the predicted scaling relations, the performance of two gas-fed pulsed plasma thruster designs (one with coaxial electrodes and the other with parallel-plate electrodes), was measured under 70 different operating conditions using an argon plasma. The measurements demonstrate that the impulse bit scales linearly with the integral of the square of the discharge current as expected for an electromagnetic accelerator. The measured performance scaling is shown to be in good agreement with the theoretically predicted scaling. Normalizing the exhaust velocity and the impulse-to-energy ratio by the EM-PPT characteristic velocity collapses almost all the measured data onto single curves that uphold the general validity of these scaling laws. [12pt]This paper is dedicated to the memory of Dr Daniel Birx
The Effect of Local Holdings on Audit Policy and Outcomes

This paper examines whether local block holdings are associated with audit policy and outcomes. For local investors are long-term investors and they tend to invest a larger portion of their total investment in local companies, I posit that local block holders will be dedicated investors and have strong incentives to monitor management. Consistently I find that companies with local block holders are less likely to have unclean/going-concern opinions, and more likely to have long-term relationships with auditors. In addition, although I find weak evidence that the existence of local block investors affects audit fees, I do not observe any significant difference of audit fees between firms with local block holdings and firms with nonlocal block holdings. Overall, this paper shows that information advantage of local investors can have real effects on audit process through monitoring activities.
MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD FEATURES FOR GENERATIVE IMAGE MODELS 1

Most approaches to computer vision can be thought of as lying somewhere on a continuum between generative and discriminative. Although each approach has had its successes, recent advances have favored discriminative methods, most notably the convolutional neural network. Still, there is some doubt about whether this approach will scale to a human-level performance given the numbers of samples that are needed to train state-of-the-art systems. Here, we focus on the generative or Bayesian approach, which is more model based and, in theory, more efficient. Challenges include latent-variable modeling, computationally efficient inference, and data modeling. We restrict ourselves to the problem of data modeling, which is possibly the most daunting, and specifically to the generative modeling of image patches. We formulate a new approach, which can be broadly characterized as an application of “conditional modeling,” designed to sidestep the high-dimensionality and complexity of image data. A series of experiments, learning appearance models for faces and parts of faces, illustrates the flexibility and effectiveness of the approach.
Chapter 11. Exploring the boundaries of gesture-speech integration during language comprehension

Abstract The present review explores the integrated relationship between gesture and speech during language comprehension. Taking a broad view, it presents a conceptual framework that approaches the comprehension of gesture and speech along three different dimensions: (1) components of language (semantics, pragmatics, phonetics and syntax), (2) levels of analysis (social, cognitive, and biological) and (3) timeframes of integration (online, moment-to-moment, developmental). The evidence suggests that some linguistic components (e.g., concrete semantic and pragmatic) are deeply connected to gestures, but others (e.g., abstract semantic, syntactic and phonetic) are less so. In this way, the hands help to delineate what aspects of language function as part of the body and what aspects operate independently of it.
EXPERIENCE OF PERITONEAL DIALYSIS IN RENAL FAILURE IN CHILDREN

Objective: To determine the course and efficacy of peritoneal dialysis in children presenting with renal failure. Study Design: Quasi experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at the Nephrology department of Children’s Hospital and Institute of Child Health Lahore from Feb 2007 to Feb 2008. Material and Methods: Forty children diagnosed with renal failure at the Nephrology department of Children’s Hospital and Institute of Child Health, Lahore were evaluated for the efficacy of PD, duration of PD and the associated complications. Results: There were 55% cases of acute renal failure and 45% cases of chronic renal failure. The mean duration of PD was 3.8 days. About 75% of all the patients improved with PD. The mortality rate was 22.5%. Leading complications were Catheter-related (leakage/blockade) and peritonitis. Conclusion: We concluded that peritoneal dialysis is lifesaving procedure which improves the acute metabolic derangements of renal failure in children. It is associated with certain complications but the benefits outweigh the complications.
The criterion power for identifying symmetric models

The paper contains a theoretical material of research of power of entropy-parametrical criterion of the consent that used simultaneously both informative and statistical properties the samples data. As a result of the study, it was shown that the space of the reduced signs of the competing hypothesis is anisotropic. For this reason, in the entropy coefficient and anty-kurtosis space as the position as and the shape of the decision area depends on the direction and distance between the null and competing hypotheses. For various significance levels of the criterion, the dependences of the power of the entropy-parametric criterion on the modulus of the distance between the null and alternative hypotheses are obtained. These dependences are given for various directions in the space of reduced signs of distributions of the competing hypothesis provided that zero hypotheses is Laplace distributions.
A Novel Indoor Ranging Algorithm Based on a Received Signal Strength Indicator and Channel State Information Using an Extended Kalman Filter

With the increasing demand of location-based services, the indoor ranging method based on Wi-Fi has become an important technique due to its high accuracy and low hardware requirements. The complicated indoor environment makes it difficult for wireless indoor ranging systems to obtain accurate distance measurements. This paper presents an Extended Kalman filter-based approach for indoor ranging by utilizing transmission channel quality metrics, including Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) and Channel State Information (CSI). The proposed ranging algorithm scheme is implemented and validated with experiments in two typical indoor environments. A real indoor experiment demonstrates that the ranging estimation accuracy of our algorithms can be significantly enhanced compared with the typical algorithms. The ranging estimation accuracy is defined as the cumulative distribution function of the distance error.
Effects of Continuous or End-of-Day Far-Red Light on Tomato Plant Growth, Morphology, Light Absorption, and Fruit Production

Shading by sunlit leaves causes a low red (R) to far-red (FR) ratio that results in a low phytochrome stationary state (PSS). A low PSS induces an array of shade avoidance responses that influence plant architecture and development. It has often been suggested that this architectural response is advantageous for plant growth due to its positive effect on light interception. In contrast to sunlight, artificial light sources such as LEDs often lack FR, resulting in a PSS value higher than solar light (∼0.70). The aim of this study was to investigate how PSS values higher than solar radiation influence the growth and development of tomato plants. Additionally, we investigated whether a short period of FR at the end of the day (EOD-FR) could counteract any potentially negative effects caused by a lack of FR during the day. Tomato plants were grown at four PSS levels (0.70, 0.73, 0.80, and 0.88), or with a 15-min end-of-day far-red (EOD-FR) application (PSS 0.10). Photosynthetic Active Radiation (PAR; 150 μmol m-2 s-1) was supplied using red and blue (95/5%) LEDs. In an additional experiment, the same treatments were applied to plants receiving supplementary low-intensity solar light. Increasing PSS above solar PSS resulted in increased plant height. Leaf area and plant dry mass were lower in the treatments completely lacking FR than treatments with FR. EOD-FR-treated plants responded almost similarly to plants grown without FR, except for plant height, which was increased. Simulations with a 3D-model for light absorption revealed that the increase in dry mass was mainly related to an increase in light absorption due to a higher total leaf area. Increased petiole angle and internode length had a negative influence on total light absorption. Additionally, the treatments without FR and the EOD-FR showed strongly reduced fruit production due to reduced fruit growth associated with reduced source strength and delayed flowering. We conclude that growing tomato plants under artificial light without FR during the light period causes a range of inverse shade avoidance responses, which result in reduced plant source strength and reduced fruit production, which cannot be compensated by a simple EOD-FR treatment.
Evaluation of Serum Clusterin Levels in Type 2 Diabetic Men with and without Cardiovascular Disease

Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate serum levels of clusterin (CLU) in type 2 diabetics with and without cardiovascular disease and to explore possible correlations with insulin resistance and related progression of cardiovascular disease in Iraqi men. Methods: Sixty-three T2DM patients, including forty-two with cardiovascular disease (CVD), were divided into three subgroups; twenty-one with myocardial infraction (MI), twenty-one with other CVD, and twenty-one without any cardiac complication. In addition, a group of twenty-one men served as healthy controls (HCs) for comparison purposes. The four groups were analyzed for parameters that included fasting serum glucose (FSG), lipid profile, fasting serum insulin (FSI), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), cardiac Troponin-I (cTn-I), CK-MB, and some other biochemical variables. Results: Our results showed that the serum CLU levels were higher in T2DM with MI than the other groups of patients, while the levels were significantly elevated in the entire T2DM group as compared to the control group. Serum levels of CLU showed significantly positive correlations with cTn-I and CK-MB (r= 0.658 p < 0.01and r = 0.575, p < 0.01 , respectively), whereas the correlation with HDL-C was negative. However, the other parameters exhibited weak correlations with serum CLU levels. Conclusions: CLU participates in the event of cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance in Iraqi males with T2DM and may be used as predictor for CVD development in T2DM patients.