Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predicting soybean yield loss in giant foxtail (Setaria faberi) and common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album) communities

Abstract Widespread use of crop yield loss models based on weed density has been limited on account of spatial and temporal variability. Furthermore, research characterizing crop yield loss associated with two or more weed species is lacking for many cropping systems. Therefore, research was conducted to characterize giant foxtail and common lambsquarters leaf area, height, and shoot volume in soybean, to quantify the relative competitive ability of giant foxtail and common lambsquarters in a mixed–weed species environment, and to assess weed density, weed relative leaf area, and weed relative volume as predictors of soybean yield loss. Based on weed density, coefficient estimates of percent soybean yield loss as giant foxtail or common lambsquarters densities approached zero differed between years. In contrast, coefficient estimates of maximum soybean yield loss were similar between years. Based on weed relative leaf area, estimates of giant foxtail or common lambsquarters damage coefficients differed between years. Similarly, estimates of maximum soybean yield loss associated with common lambsquarters leaf area differed between years, whereas estimates of maximum soybean yield loss associated with giant foxtail leaf area did not change over time within a growing season or between years. Based on weed relative volume, estimates of giant foxtail or common lambsquarters damage coefficients differed between years. Similarly, estimates of maximum soybean yield loss associated with common lambsquarters volume differed between years, whereas estimates of maximum soybean yield loss associated with giant foxtail volume did not change over time within a growing season or between years. Based on weed density, weed relative leaf area, or weed relative volume, giant foxtail was more competitive than common lambsquarters in terms of soybean yield loss. Temporal variability of weed density, weed relative leaf area, and weed relative volume indicates that additional parameters may be required to accurately predict weed–crop interactions in a multiple–weed species community. Nomenclature: Giant foxtail, Setaria faberi Herrm. SETFA; common lambsquarters, Chenopodium album L. CHEAL; soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr. ‘Asgrow AG2101’.
Improving the Robustness of Trading Strategy Backtesting with Boltzmann Machines and Generative Adversarial Networks

This article explores the use of machine learning models to build a market generator. The underlying idea is to simulate artificial multi-dimensional financial time series, whose statistical properties are the same as those observed in the financial markets. In particular, these synthetic data must preserve the probability distribution of asset returns, the stochastic dependence between the different assets and the autocorrelation across time. The article proposes then a new approach for estimating the probability distribution of backtest statistics. The final objective is to develop a framework for improving the risk management of quantitative investment strategies, in particular in the space of smart beta, factor investing and alternative risk premia.
Logic of computational semi-effects and categorical gluing for equivariant functors

In this paper, we revisit Moggi's celebrated calculus of computational effects from the perspective of logic of monoidal action (actegory). Our development takes the following steps. Firstly, we perform proof-theoretic reconstruction of Moggi's computational metalanguage and obtain a type theory with a modal type $\rhd$ as a refinement. Through the proposition-as-type paradigm, its logic can be seen as a decomposition of lax logic via Benton's adjoint calculus. This calculus models as a programming language a weaker version of effects, which we call \emph{semi-effects}. Secondly, we give its semantics using actegories and equivariant functors. Compared to previous studies of effects and actegories, our approach is more general in that models are directly given by equivariant functors, which include Freyd categories (hence strong monads) as a special case. Thirdly, we show that categorical gluing along equivariant functors is possible and derive logical predicates for $\rhd$-modality. We also show that this gluing, under a natural assumption, gives rise to logical predicates that coincide with those derived by Katsumata's categorical $\top\top$-lifting for Moggi's metalanguage.
Expressivity of Deep Neural Networks

In this review paper, we give a comprehensive overview of the large variety of approximation results for neural networks. Approximation rates for classical function spaces as well as benefits of deep neural networks over shallow ones for specifically structured function classes are discussed. While the mainbody of existing results is for general feedforward architectures, we also depict approximation results for convolutional, residual and recurrent neural networks.
Elucidating the global distribution of reprocessing gas in NGC 1194

This paper is dedicated to the memory of Ian Michael George (1963-2020). The best colleague and friend we could have ever hoped for. TJT acknowledges support from NASA grant 80NSSC20K0028. Valentina Braito and Paola Severgnini acknowledge financial contribution from the agreements ASI-INAF n.2017-14-H.0. We are grateful to the XMMNewton and NuSTAR operations teams for performing this campaign and providing software and calibration for the data analysis.
Wandering Within a World: Online Contextualized Few-Shot Learning

We aim to bridge the gap between typical human and machine-learning environments by extending the standard framework of few-shot learning to an online, continual setting. In this setting, episodes do not have separate training and testing phases, and instead models are evaluated online while learning novel classes. As in the real world, where the presence of spatiotemporal context helps us retrieve learned skills in the past, our online few-shot learning setting also features an underlying context that changes throughout time. Object classes are correlated within a context and inferring the correct context can lead to better performance. Building upon this setting, we propose a new few-shot learning dataset based on large scale indoor imagery that mimics the visual experience of an agent wandering within a world. Furthermore, we convert popular few-shot learning approaches into online versions and we also propose a new contextual prototypical memory model that can make use of spatiotemporal contextual information from the recent past.
FINE‐TUNED PHENOTYPES: TADPOLE PLASTICITY UNDER 16 COMBINATIONS OF PREDATORS AND COMPETITORS

It is now well appreciated that most organisms can alter their phenotypes when faced with environmental variation. Decades of empirical investigations have doc- umented hundreds of examples of phenotypic plasticity, yet most studies have focused on the presence or absence of a single environmental factor. As a result, we know little about how organisms respond to gradients of environmental factors (i.e., threshold responses vs. continuous responses), nor do we understand how organisms respond to combinations of environmental variables. I examined how larval wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) altered their behavior, morphology, and growth in response to combined gradients of predation and competition. Increased predation risk induced lower activity, deeper tails, and shorter bod- ies, which collectively caused slower growth. Increased competition caused slower growth which induced higher activity, shallower tails, and longer bodies. For both environmental gradients, the responses were frequently continuous rather than threshold responses. More- over, predation and competition had interactive effects. Responses to predators were always larger under low competition than under high competition. Responses to competition were larger under low predation risk when predation and competition induced traits in the same direction, but larger under high predation risk when predation and competition induced traits in opposite directions. The results demonstrate that responses to phenotypically plastic traits can be fine-tuned to a wide variety of environmental combinations.
NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE FUNCTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOLDIER CASTE IN TERMITES

OF DISSERTATION NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE FUNCTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOLDIER CASTE IN TERMITES The evolution of nonreproductive castes is a defining characteristic of eusociality. The function and developmental regulation of the altruistic worker and soldier caste is the central element contributing to major advantages of eusociality over solitary animals. The soldier caste is the first evolved sterile caste in termites. Their primary function is believed to be colony defense. However, the function and development of termite soldiers remains largely unknown. Because of their apparent morphological adaptation for fighting and their limited behavior repertoire, our understanding of colony defense by termite soldiers is limited to their physical defense. In addition, we know little about the molecular mechanisms mediating soldier development. In Chapters 2 and 3 I discuss the role of the soldier caste under competition risk. By exposing the Eastern subterranean termite Reticulitermes flavipes to cues of a competitor termite species, I found that exposure to competitor cues reduced feeding, compromised growth and survival of R. flavipes workers. The presence of R. flavipes soldiers largely ameliorated these negative impacts. At the transcriptional level, R. flavipes soldiers can counteract the effects of competitor cues on worker head gene expression. This counteracting effect seems to be associated with genes in metabolism and immunity. These studies demonstrate that competition can affect a termite colony’s fitness by either competitors physically invading the colony and causing damage or cues from competitors inducing a stress response in termite colony members. More importantly, soldiers can contribute to colony fitness by physically engaging in combat, but also by enhancing colony members’ survival under competitor-cue exposure. In Chapter 4, I describe the molecular mechanism mediating soldier-caste differentiation. I cloned the full length cDNA sequence of the R. flavipes Methoprene-tolerance (Met) gene, a gene encoding a putative receptor for juvenile hormones. Using RNA interference, I studied the function of Met and found that this gene essentially mediates the JH-dependent soldier-caste differentiation in termites. Li Tian Student’s Signature December 9, 2015 Date
Wood density as a screening trait for drought sensitivity in Norway spruce1

We linked hydraulic vulnerability in Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst. ) trunkwood with different cambial age to wood density and applied the findings on annual density variations in healthy and declining trees from southern Norway during 1990 to 2010. We hypothesized that drought stress due to the 2003 or 2006 European heat waves were the triggers for tree decline and focused analyses on the structure of wood that was produced after, as well as before, signs of stress, i.e., when decreases in height or diameter growth were visible. In the data set comprising previously published and new measurements, P50, i.e., the pressure potential necessary to induce a 50% loss in hydraulic conductivity, was negatively related to wood density. Declining trees produced wider annual rings with lower density than vigorous trees before their radial and height increment started to decline in 2003 or 2006. Trees that produced low-density wood under favorable water availability were more stressed by a sudden drought even.
Proteolysis, Lipolysis and Sensory Characteristics of a Tunisian Dry Fermented Poultry Meat Sausage with Oregano and Thyme Essential Oils

The effects of the addition of oregano (0.25% v/v) and thyme (0.25% v/v) essential oils (EOs) on the microbiological, biochemical and sensory characteristics of a Tunisian dry fermented poultry meat sausage were investigated. The antimicrobial activity of oregano and thyme EOs improved the hygienic quality of dry fermented sausages by reducing the Enterobacteriaceae counts, total coliform counts and Staphylococcus aureus counts. Proteolysis was not significantly (P > 0.05) affected by the addition of EOs during ripening of sausages. In fact, the most abundant free amino acids detected in the final product were arginine, glycine, threonine, alanine, tyrosine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid and lysine. Regarding lipolysis and lipid oxidation, it can be deduced that the addition of oregano and thyme EOs decreased significantly the thiobarbituric acid values during the last two weeks of ripening, but lipolysis was not significantly affected. Finally, the addition of EOs did not significantly affect the sensory properties of sausages. Practical Applications Poultry meat products provide a suitable environment for proliferation of meat spoilage microorganisms. The increase in resistance of food spoilage microorganisms to current preservatives, the consumer's demand for safe and minimally processed foods, and the hazards associated with the use of high doses of chemical preservatives have led to the need for finding safer alternatives in food preservation. Consumers have also become more critical about the use of synthetic additives to preserve food or enhance characteristics such as color and flavor. Hence, there is a growing trend toward minimally processed foods. As a consequence, antibacterial and antioxidant activities of essential oils have received considerable attention in food preservation. Nowadays, the need for safe products with standard and desirable technological properties has resulted in the use of essential oils for the production of the dry fermented sausages to inhibit the growth of undesirable microorganisms and extend the shelf life of the product.
Production of a Broad Spectrum Antimicrobial Substance by Lactobacillus reuteri

Lactobacillus reuteri resides in the gastrointestinal tract of humans, swine, poultry and other animals. Resting cells of this species convert glycerol into a potent, broad-spectrum antimicrobial substance termed reuterin. Reuterin is a low molecular weight, neutral, water soluble compound, capable of inhibiting growth of species representing all bacterial genera tested thus far, including: Escherichia, Salmonella, Shigella, Proteus, Pseudomonas, Clostridium and Staphylococcus. Also affected, but to a lesser degree, are lactic acid bacteria belonging to the genera Streptococcus, Pediococcus, Leuconostoc, and Lactobacillus. In this report we describe a method to screen lactobacilli for production of unique antimicrobial substances and the discovery of reuterin.
Idiosyncratic Shocks to Firm Underlying Economics and Abnormal Accruals

ABSTRACT: Economics challenge the specification of discretionary accrual models. Since rent-seeking firms pursue differentiated business strategies, firms in the same industry experience idiosyncratic shocks due to heterogeneous economic fundamentals and hence have different accrual-generating processes. We present evidence that idiosyncratic shocks are widespread, propagate through multiple years of financial statements, and reduce accrual models' goodness of fit. This not only affects abnormal accrual estimates for the firm experiencing shocks, but also affects measurement of abnormal accruals for other firms in the industry. We show that idiosyncratic shocks not only add noise to abnormal accruals, but can also exacerbate bias in both unsigned and signed abnormal accruals. We propose ways to reduce accrual model misspecification. JEL Classifications: G30; M41.
Heavy Metal and Biochemical Content of Sargassum Wightii Occurring in Tuticorin Coast, Tamil Nadu, India

Investigations have been made to study the heavy metal composition of Sargassum wightii occurring in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu. Different parts of S. wightii such as stem, leaf receptacle and air-bladder were subjected to the scrutiny of heavy metals such as Cd, Cr, Cu and Fe present in those parts of brown algae under atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The highest concentration of Cd was observed in leaf and lowest in air-bladder of S. wightii . The maximum level of Cr was observed in air bladder and low in stem. The concentration of copper was higher in stem, low in leaf of S. wightii . The accumulation of iron in receptacle was higher and lower in air bladder of S. wightii . Biochemicals such as total carbohydrate, total protein and total lipid contents were also estimated. The results showed that the protein content of Â Â S. wightii was higher than lipid and carbohydrate.
Rola lidera w budowaniu potencjału zespołu do zmian

Głównym celem artykułu jest wskazanie wpływu lidera na zespół w procesie zarządzania zmianą, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem kluczowych zadań i kompetencji dla sprawnego przebiegu tego procesu. Punkt wyjścia prowadzonych rozważań stanowiły studia literatury krajowej i zagranicznej, umożliwiające zdefiniowanie roli lidera w zespole oraz określenie zadań i kompetencji szczególnie przydatnych w procesie zarządzania zmianą. Przeprowadzone analizy desk research potwierdziły, że lider ma bardzo duży wpływ na budowanie potencjału zespołu do zmian. Szczególnie ważne okazały się działania z zakresu komunikowania, budowania zaufania oraz kształtowania otwartych postaw wobec zmian poprzez rozwijanie kultury współpracy i zaangażowania, co z kolei wymaga rozwijania szczególnie kompetencji interpersonalnych i osobistych. Pozwala to również wskazać pewne implikacje dla praktyki gospodarczej, w głównej mierze dotyczące rozwoju kluczowych kompetencji oraz kształtowania postaw liderów.
varTestnlme: Variance Components Testing in Linear and Nonlinear Mixed-effects Models

The issue of variance components testing arises naturally when building mixed-effects models, to decide which effects should be modeled as fixed or random. While tests for fixed effects are available in R for models fitted with lme4, tools are missing when it comes to random effects. The varTestnlme package for R aims at filling this gap. It allows to test whether any subset of the variances and covariances are equal to zero using likelihood ratio tests. It also offers the possibility to test simultaneously for fixed effects and variance components. It can be used for linear, generalized linear or nonlinear mixed-effects models fitted via lme4, nlme or saemix. Theoretical properties of the used likelihood ratio test are recalled and examples based on different real datasets using different mixed models are provided.
Exquisitely accurate energies for the general quartic oscillator

Recent advances in the asymptotic analysis of energy levels of potentials produce relative errors in eigenvalue sums of order $10^{-34}$, but few non-trivial potentials have been solved numerically to such accuracy. We solve the general quartic potential (arbitrary linear combination of $x^2$ and $x^4$ ) beyond this level of accuracy using a basis of several hundred oscillator states. We list the lowest 20 eigenvalues for 9 such potentials. We confirm the known asymptotic expansion for the levels of the pure quartic oscillator, and extract the next 2 terms in the asymptotic expansion. We give analytic formulas for expansion in up to 3 even basis states. We confirm the virial theorem for the various energy components to similar accuracy. The sextic oscillator levels are also given. These benchmark results should be useful for extreme tests of approximations in several areas of chemical physics and beyond.
Tiny-Tail Flash

Flash storage has become the mainstream destination for storage users. However, SSDs do not always deliver the performance that users expect. The core culprit of flash performance instability is the well-known garbage collection (GC) process, which causes long delays as the SSD cannot serve (blocks) incoming I/Os, which then induces the long tail latency problem. We present ttFlash as a solution to this problem. ttFlash is a “tiny-tail” flash drive (SSD) that eliminates GC-induced tail latencies by circumventing GC-blocked I/Os with four novel strategies: plane-blocking GC, rotating GC, GC-tolerant read, and GC-tolerant flush. These four strategies leverage the timely combination of modern SSD internal technologies such as powerful controllers, parity-based redundancies, and capacitor-backed RAM. Our strategies are dependent on the use of intra-plane copyback operations. Through an extensive evaluation, we show that ttFlash comes significantly close to a “no-GC” scenario. Specifically, between the 99 and 99.99th percentiles, ttFlash is only 1.0 to 2.6× slower than the no-GC case, while a base approach suffers from 5–138× GC-induced slowdowns.
Non equilibrium steady states as resources for quantum heat engines

When a quantum system is subject to a thermal gradient it may sustain a steady non-equilibrium heat current, by entering into a so-called non equilibrium steady state (NESS). Here we show that NESS constitute a thermodynamic resource that can be exploited to fuel a quantum heat engine. This adds to the list of recently reported sources available at the nano-scale, such as coherence, entanglement and quantum measurements. We elucidate this concept by showing analytic and numerical studies of a two-qubits quantum battery that is alternatively charged by a thermal gradient and discharged by application of a properly chosen unitary gate. The presence of a NESS for the charging step guarantees steady operation with positive power output. Decreasing the duration of the charging step results in a time periodic steady state accompanied by increased efficiency and output power. The device is amenable to implementation with different nanotechnology platforms.
Hack.VR: A Programming Game in Virtual Reality

In this article we describe Hack.VR, an object-oriented programming game in virtual reality. Hack.VR uses a VR programming language in which nodes represent functions and node connections represent data flow. Using this programming framework, players reprogram VR objects such as elevators, robots, and switches. Hack.VR has been designed to be highly interactable both physically and semantically.
Is a Low Internal Conductance to CO2 Diffusion a Consequence of Succulence in Plants with Crassulacean Acid Metabolism

Leaf internal conductance to CO2 (gi) from substomatal cavity to the carboxylation sites of Rubisco was measured in the leaf succulent CAM species, Kalanchoe daigremontiana Hamet et Perr. Measurements were made during Rubisco-mediated atmospheric C3 carboxylation in phase IV photosynthesis. Using simultaneous gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence techniques, internal conductance was calculated to be 0.05 mol m-2 s-1 bar-1 , when measured at both saturating and limiting light. This is one of the lowest recorded values for gi as compared to a range of C3 species with comparable Rubisco content and indicates a large diffusion limitation to atmospheric CO2 fixation through the C3 pathway in K. daigremontiana. In ambient air, CO2 partial pressure at the carboxylation sites of Rubisco was 109 µbar. Internal diffusion is limited by a thick leaf consisting of densely packed, succulent mesophyll with a small portion of airspace. We speculate that a low internal conductance to CO2 diffusion results from the compromise between a succulent mesophyll required for C4 acid storage and access for CO2 diffusion to both PEPC in the cytoplasm and Rubisco in the chloroplasts. Restricted diffusion of CO2 within the leaf makes CO2 assimilation less efficient during the transient phases of crassulacean acid metabolism.