Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The evolutionary history of the goby Elacatinus puncticulatus in the tropical eastern paci fi c : E ff ects of habitat discontinuities and local environmental variability

Habitat discontinuities, temperature gradients, upwelling systems, and ocean currents, gyres and fronts, can affect distributions of species with narrow environmental tolerance or motility and influence the dispersal of pelagic larvae, with effects ranging from the isolation of adjacent populations to connections between them. The coast of the Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) is a highly dynamic environment, with various large gyres and upwelling systems, alternating currents and large rocky-habitat discontinuities, which may greatly influence the genetic connectivity of populations in different parts of the coast. Elacatinus puncticulatus is a cryptic, shallowliving goby that is distributed along the continental shore of virtually the entire TEP, which makes it a good model for testing the influence of these environmental characteristics in the molecular evolution of widespread species in this region. A multilocus phylogeny was used to evaluate the influence of habitat gaps, and oceanographic processes in the evolutionary history of E. puncticulatus throughout its geographical range in the TEP. Two well-supported allopatric clades (one with two allopatric subclades) were recovered, the geographic distribution of which does not correspond to any previously proposed major biogeographic provinces. These populations show strong genetic structure and substantial genetic distances between clades and sub-clades (cytb 0.8–7.3%), with divergence times between them ranging from 0.53 to 4.88 Mya, and recent population expansions dated at 170–130 Kya. The ancestral area of all populations appears to be the Gulf of Panama, while several isolation events have formed the phylogeographic patterns evident in this species. Local and regional oceanographic processes as well as habitat discontinuities have shaped the distribution patterns of the genetic lineages along the continental TEP. Large genetic distances, high genetic differentiation, and the results of species-tree and phylogenetic analyses indicate that E. puncticulatus comprises a complex of three allopatric species with an unusual geographic arrangement. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev. 2018.10. 020 Received 10 May 2018; Received in revised form 5 September 2018; Accepted 15 October 2018 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: rosa.beltran@uaem.mx (R.G. Beltrán-López), drr@stri.org (D.R. Robertson), eespinoza@galapagos.gob. ec (E. Espinoza), odoming@umich.mx (O. Domínguez-Domínguez). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 130 (2019) 269–285 Available online 23 October 2018 1055-7903/ © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. T
Teaching Effectiveness in Elements of Special Education in NCE-Awarding Institutions in Nigerian :-Influence of Teacher Qualification and Experience

Teacher preparation in Nigeria has been changing in response to the emphasis on educating learners with special needs in ways that support their diverse needs. This study attempted to assess teaching effectiveness as it relates to the teaching of Elements of Special Education Curriculum in NCE-awarding Institutions in Nigeria. It also investigated the extent to which teacher qualification and experience influence teaching effectiveness. Descriptive research method of expost facto was employed . The study is also qualitative as it used the observational method to collect data on teaching effectiveness. The population for this study comprised all the 217 lecturers teaching Elements of Special Education Curriculum in these institutions. One instrument was used in this study i.e the Observational Schedule for Classroom Teaching of Elements of Special Education (OCTESE) with inter-rater reliability of 0.82. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics i.e. frequency count, mean and standard deviation as well as one-way analysis of variance [ANOVA] at 0.05 alpha levels. The result revealed that each of the institutions had an average of four experienced lecturers who were academically but not professionally qualified to teach elements of special education. Findings also showed that various aspects of classroom teaching were ineffective (means range from 2.08 to 2.63). Lecturers’ qualification and experience did not significantly affect their teaching effectiveness. Towards effective special education teacher preparation in Nigeria, government should employ professionally qualified personnel and put in place a better classroom design and organization towards achievement of the objectives of the curriculum.
Deflection Analysis of an Elastic Single Link Robotic Manipulator

الخلاصة ان اطراف الروبواتات الصناعية ذات الهيكلية المرنه هي بديل اكثر فائدة مقارنة بأطراف الروبوتات الصناعية ذات الهيكلية الصلبة وان للعديد من التطبيقات الجديدة والمتطورة في مجال الروبوتات. في بعض التطبيقات استخدام الاطراف المرنه امر لا مفر منه و يقابل هذا زيادة في تعقيد التصميم والتحكم بهذه الاطراف لزيادة تحسين ادائها . في هذا البحث نقوم بتصميم وتنفيذ ذراع مرن واحد لروبوت صناعي وهذا الذراع مصنوع من مادة البايرسبكس بطول 0.5 متر , عرض 0.02 متر وسمك 0.004 متر مع وجود كتلة مثبته في نهاية الذراع, هناك اربعة انظمة ثانويه هي: منظومة الحركة الثانويه و منظومة السيطرة الثانويه و منظومة الكمبيوتر وبرامجه الثانوية. ان مبدأ عمل ذراع الروبوت الصناعي المرن هو تدوير محرك السيرفو للقاعدة وهو يقوم بتدوير القاعدة ومعها الذراع المرن ونقيس الانحراف الذي يحصل في طرف الذراع ويقاس الانحراف في ثلاث حالات عند عدم وجود وزن في الطرف وعند وجود 27.4 و 59.5 غرام في طرف الذراع المرن وعند كل حالة من هذه الحالات نقوم بتحريك محرك السيرفو للقاعدة عند سرعة دورانية بمقدار 90 درجه/ ثانيه بوساطة استخدام بطاقة تحكم بمحركات السيرفو التي تعمل على اساس متحكم (ATMEGA640) ونقيس الانحراف في طرف الذراع عند كل حالة من هذه الحالات بواسطة حساس للسرعه والدوران (MMA7631) وتتم السيطرة عليه بأستخدام لوحة اردينو (Mega2560) ثم نقوم بجمع البينات من حساس السرعه والدوران ورسمها ببرنامج الماتلاب والمقارنه بين النتائج النظرية التي حصلنا عليها من بناء برنامج بالماتلاب مبني على اساس معادلات لاكرانج للحركة والنتائج العملية التي حصلنا عليها .
Energy dispersive x-ray analysis of apical extruded material using different ırrigants and reciprocating systems

Purpose: To evaluate mineral content of the apical extruded material during irrigation with distile water, Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), QMix 2-in-1 solution, and preparation with Reciproc systems. Methodology: Single rooted eighty eight teeth were randomly assigned to eight groups (n=11). Irrigation process was performed with distile water, NaOCl, EDTA, QMix 2-in-1 solutions during instrumentation with Reciproc and Reciproc blue systems. Apical extruded material was collected into the Eppendorf tubes, then maintained to Vortex for homojenization. The tubes were stored in an incubator for evaporation. The amount of apical extruded material was calculated by substracting pre-instrumentation and post-instrumentation weight of the tubes. An amount of homojenized debris was spreaded to the analysis platform and analysed for determining the relative amounts of elements. The Friedman test was used for the repeated measures of multiple groups (mean, standard deviation), Kruskal Wallis test for subgroup comparison Results: In distile water group Reciproc Blue instrumentation associated with significantly high extruded debris than Reciproc instrumentation (p = 0.001), where as no significant difference was found between the Reciproc and Reciproc Blue instrumentation in the NaOCl, EDTA, Qmix groups. In the Reciproc and Reciproc Blue subgroup, the percentage weight of Ca and P, in the Distilled water group was statistically significantly higher than those of the NaOCl, EDTA and QMIX groups (p = 0.0001) Conclusions: Reciproc systems and the irrigating solutions caused extrusion of material. EDTA irrigation produced higher extruded material than the other irrigants however it extruded lower Ca and P levels.
MICROFLUIDIC THERMAL DIGESTION OF AQUEOUS SAMPLE AT TEMPERATURE HIGHER THAN 100

This work reported a microfluidic solution for aqueous sample pretreatment at temperature up to 150 C without boiling. The preliminary experimental results showed that temperature over 145 C along with pressure higher than 1000 kPa was successfully realized in this continuous-flow chip. The absorbance of the samples after chip digestion at 700 nm had a linear correlation coefficient of 0.996 with total phosphorus concentrations varied from 1 mg/L to 5 mg/L.
Driving Style Recognition : Literature Review and Application of Machine Learning

Intelligent assistance systems for drivers is a wide topic of research nowadays. The human component, driving behavior, is the main source of accidents on the road. These assistance systems aim at reducing the driving workload to increase safety and increase the quality of the driving experience. To develop such intelligent systems which will adjust to the driver, it is crucial to investigate the driver's behavior and habitual driving patterns, also referred to as driving style. A lot of research, therefore, focuses on determining the existing driver styles. It is crucial to keep in mind, that in order to use the term driving style, the observed traits must be independent of the tra c situation. One of the main methods to determine driving styles is the use of machine learning, especially clustering. This thesis provides a review of the approaches and makes use of the ndings to cluster drivers from a provided dataset, according to their driving style. The investigation focuses on the bahavior of drivers at intersections. The results are validated against results of driving behavior investigation.
Análise em Regime Permanente de um Algoritmo NLMS de Passo Variável

This paper focuses on the steady-state analysis of a variable step-size normalized least-mean-square (VSS-NLMS) algorithm from the literature, which uses a step-size adjustment rule with high immunity against the measurement noise. Specifically, model expressions are derived aiming to predict the excess mean-square error (EMSE) as well as the mean and mean squared step-size values in steady state. Based on the model expressions, some important characteristics of the algorithm are discussed. Simulation results are presented confirming the accuracy of the obtained model expressions. Keywords—Variable step-size NLMS algorithm, adaptive filtering, stochastic modeling.
Poster : Optimization based Data De-anonymization

In this poster, we study optimization based structural data De-Anonymization (DA), including social data, mobility traces, etc. We make a DA practice by presenting a novel single-phase cold start Optimization based DA (ODA) algorithm followed by theoretical and experimental analysis. Experimental resutls of ODA show that about 77.7%− 83.3% of the users in Gowalla (0.2M users and 1M edges) [5] are de-anonymizable, which implies optimization based DA is implementable and powerful in practice. Furthermore, We discuss the future research directions of this project.
Some algorithms of image processing and their reflection onto multiprocessor systems

Problems related to reflection of some algorithms of image processing onto multiprocessor systems are investigated. In particular, algorithms of allocation of contours, such as the gradient method and the combinatorial method (the method of the threshold gradient), are considered. In view of complexity of the algorithm of searching objects on an image, we focus our attention on the parallel variant of only one stage of this algorithm. Namely, we investigate the stage of working with a search tree. Thereby we suppose that architecture containing a switchboard or the multiprocessor Cell developed by IBM Corporation is used in all cases. Data allocation, all data transfers, etc. are described. The formulas for acceleration coefficients are obtained.
Devonian sharks and the origin of Xenacanthiformes Michal GINTER

Interrelationships between major groups of Devonian chondrichthyans and the origin of Late Palaeozoic xenacanthiform sharks are considered on the grounds of tooth morphology and biostratigraphy. Suggestion that cladodont-toothed sharks appeared later in the evolution than the diplodont ones is combined with the idea of a phoebodontiform ancestry of xenacanthiforms. Such a phylogenetical model requires the shortest unexplained breaks in stratigraphic record and the lowest morphological barriers between closely related taxa, as far as dentition characters are concerned.
BEHAVIOUR OF STEEL PLATE SHEAR WALLS WITH BUCKLING-RESTRAINED WEB PANELS

A scaled specimen representing single-storey partially-composite steel plate shear wall was tested under cyclic loading. The slender steel web panel had a single-sided reinforced concrete encasement attached with headed shear studs in order to prevent the shear buckling and tension-field action of the slender web when subjected to lateral seismic forces. A specific feature of the tested specimen was the use of semi-rigid beam-to-column connections and purposely made gaps between the boundary steel frame members and the concrete encasement. The testing was conducted using the recommended testing procedure of ECCS and showed that the specimen has stable hysteretic behaviour and dissipative capacity superior to that of its pure steel counterpart tested under the same conditions. Parallel numerical simulations based on simplified and more refined nonlinear models were carried out in order to provide insight into the complex interaction between the shear wall components. Both experimental testing and numerical simulation revealed that the cyclic response of the specimen was affected by the formation of local tension-field action in-between the shear stud rows, which is an indication that the seismic codes shall improve their provisions for the design of reinforced-concrete encasement and its shear stud connection to the slender steel web panel.
Optimizing Economizer Operation by Virtual Commissioning through Remote Co-Simulation

The authors modeled an existing building in EnergyPlus and connected the computer model to a clone of the building’s air handler controller. The energy model was based on a three-story structure comprising a mix of offices and classrooms. The energy model simulated the inputs normally provided to the controller hardware by physical sensors within the building. The controller response was then fed back into the energy model for a ping-pong style co-simulation. The authors used this approach to identify and correct areas where the economizer control settings were not optimal, potentially saving the building 4% (56,000 kWh) of energy each year. This approach could be replicated on other systems and buildings as a way of performing pre-commissioning or advanced retro-commissioning of a building’s energy management control system (EMS).
Two approaches for HRTF interpolation

This paper deals with the problem of interpolating HRTF filters for the binaural simulation of continuously moving sound sources. Two novel approaches are presented, one based on interpolating impulse responses in timedomain, and another based on interpolating poles and zeros of low-order IIR approximations of measured HRTF filters. Computational tests show that the proposed interpolation schemes are feasible for processing anechoic signals with varying directional information without audible discontinuities (clicks). We present an objective comparison of relative errors of interpolated HRTFs with respect to measured ones, and discuss some of the difficulties of evaluating the quality of the results from both objective and subjective points-of-view. Resumo. Este artigo lida com o problema de interpolar filtros HRTF para a simulação binaural de fontes sonoras em movimento. Duas abordagens inovadoras são apresentadas, uma baseada na interpolação de respostas impulsivas no domı́nio do tempo, e outra baseada na interpolação de pólos e zeros de aproximações IIR de baixa ordem dos filtros HRTF. Testes computacionais mostram que os esquemas de interpolação propostos são viáveis para o processamento de sinais de áudio anecóicos com informação direcional variável sem introduzir descontinuidades audı́veis (clicks). É apresentada uma comparação objetiva dos erros relativos das HRTFs interpoladas com respeito àquelas medidas, e são discutidas algumas das dificuldades em avaliar a qualidade dos resultados dos pontos de vista objetivo e subjetivo.
The Antimicrobial Activity of Some Medical Plants Extracts Used Against Some Types of Bacteria that Causes Urinary Tract Infection

Accepted 17 Oct. 2017 This study was done to evaluated the antibacterial activity of hot ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Syzygium aromatic (S.aromatic ) and Quercus infectoria infectoria (gall) against pathogenic bacteria that causing urinary tract infection (UTI). Such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Qualitative detection of active compounds was done with chemical reagents. The result showed that the extracts of Q.infectoria infectoria was composed of the saponin, tannins, flavonoids, terpenes, Resins, coumarin, glycosides, alkaloids and volatile oils. Also the Qualitative detection of the active groups was further verified with Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The sensitivity of bacteria was examined against 12 different antibiotics. The results show that E.coli was the most resistant bacteria, resisting 8 antibiotics; P.aeruginosa resisted 5 antibiotics; while S.aureus resistance to 4 only. The antibacterial activity of the plant extracts was investigated for each extracts against bacteria mention above, the plant extracts showed different effects on the growth of all bacterial strains. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and the Minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the extracts were determined. The killtime was determined for each extract.The antioxidant activity of the plants in the study was investigated. Compiled results show that all plant extracts have antioxidant effect but that varied depending on the type of the plant and extract. The toxicity of the plant extracts was examined on human red blood cells. It was concluded that the plants do not exhibit any toxicity except for the extracts of Q.infectoria which caused the agglomeration and precipitation of the red blood cell.
A NUMERICAL METHOD COMBINING THE IADI METHOD WITH THE MODIFIED PICARD ITERATION METHOD FOR SOLVING MULTI-DIMENSIONAL SATURATED-UNSATURATED FLOW EQUATION

Numerical models for simulation of saturated-unsaturated flow are increasingly being used in water resources evaluation and environmental management. Because of a superior mass balance, the modified Picard iteration method is widely used for solving saturatedunsaturated flow equation. However, the computational cost becomes considerably large when calculating multi-dimensional flow properties in wide region with finer grid resolution as it is necessary to make a large matrix calculation to get solution. To reduce this computational cost, in this study, we proposed a numerical method combining the iterative alternating direction implicit (IADI) method with the modified Picard iteration method for solving multi-dimensional saturated-unsaturated flow. There is no requirement to make a large matrix calculation in the process of the proposed method. Two and three dimensional slope simulations under rainfall conditions are conducted by the proposed method and the modified Picard iteration method. It is found that the proposed method is faster than the conventional modified Picard method while the difference of the simulation results is not significant. Further it is observed that the new method is more efficient for simulating large regions with finer resolution.
In vivo suppression of NK cell cytotoxicity by stress and surgery in F 344 rats : Glucocorticoids have a minor role compared to catecholamines and prostaglandins

Most in vitro and ex-vivo studies indicate a profound suppression of NK cell cytotoxicity (NKCC) by glucocorticoids; while catecholamines and prostaglandins were reported both to suppress and to enhance NKCC. However, methodological considerations hinder our ability to deduce from these findings to the impact of endogenous release of these factors on in vivo levels of NKCC and their implications to NK-dependent resistance to pathologies in living humans or animals. Here we used an in vivo approach that sensitively and specifically reflects NKCC in living F344 rats, based on lung clearance of NK-sensitive tumor cells (MADB106), and based on comparing effects between NK-intact and NK-depleted rats. To study the role of corticosterone, epinephrine, and prostaglandins, we administered these factors to rats, or antagonized their endogenous release following different stress paradigms or surgery. The results indicated that endogenous or exogenous elevated corticosterone levels can suppress in vivo NKCC levels, but only under some conditions, and mostly secondarily to the NK-suppressing impact of epinephrine. Specifically, corticosterone-induced NKCC suppression occurred (i) only under prolonged, but not short exposure to stress, and mainly in males; (ii) was smaller than the prominent impact of epinephrine; (iii) was mostly ascribed to corticosterone-induced potentiation of the effects of epinephrine or/and prostaglandins; and (iv) was completely abolished through antagonizing epinephrine or/and prostaglandins. Overall, these findings markedly limit the significance of stress/surgery-induced corticosterone release in the in vivo suppression of NKCC, and highlight the blockade of epinephrine or/and prostaglandins as effective and clinically feasible approaches to overcome such immuno-suppressive effects.
Porodaedalea chinensis ( Hymenochaetaceae , Basidiomycota ) – a new polypore from China

Porodaedalea chinensis is described and illustrated as a new species occurring on Pinus yunnanensis from southwestern China based on morphological and molecular characters. Phylogenetic analyses of the combined internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of ribosomal RNA gene and translation elongation factor 1-alpha (tef1-α) sequences show that the new species forms a distinct lineage separating it from other Porodaedalea species. P. chinensis is characterized by perennial, pileate basidiocarps, relatively small pores (2–3 per mm), a dimitic hyphal system with generative hyphae bearing simple septa which are frequent in trama and skeletal hyphae dominant in context and trama, broadly ellipsoid, hyaline, thin-to slightly thick-walled, smooth, moderately cyanophilous basidiospores measured as 4–6 × 3–4.8 μm, and having a distribution in southwestern China.
Folate Deficiency and Probiotics

Folate is very important for people to continue the activities of vitality. The main reason for this participate the one carbon reactions of the organism. When these reactions are to catalysis the vital activity, folate deficiency is a serious risk to the organism. Even occur in many diseases associated with folate deficiency in people. Hence people cannot synthesize folate, folate-rich foods and folic acid supplements with the outside must be obtained. Therefore its importance gaining from folate-rich foods frequently consumed in the diet. For this purpose, increasing factors the amount of folate in foods can be identified, increasing the amount of folate in foods can be provided. Folate agent such as probiotic lactic acid bacteria in fermented foods (especially yogurt) are thought to serve this purpose. Fermented foods which are produced by probiotic high folate producing strains will reduce the prevalence of folate deficiency in people.