Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
POPULATION GENOMIC TESTS OF MODELS OF ADAPTIVE RADIATION IN LAKE VICTORIA REGION CICHLID FISH

Adaptive radiation is usually thought to be associated with speciation, but the evolution of intraspecific polymorphisms without speciation is also possible. The radiation of cichlid fish in Lake Victoria (LV) is perhaps the most impressive example of a recent rapid adaptive radiation, with 600+ very young species. Key questions about its origin remain poorly characterized, such as the importance of speciation versus polymorphism, whether species persist on evolutionary time scales, and if speciation happens more commonly in small isolated or in large connected populations. We used 320 individuals from 105 putative species from Lakes Victoria, Edward, Kivu, Albert, Nabugabo and Saka, in a radiation‐wide amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) genome scan to address some of these questions. We demonstrate pervasive signatures of speciation supporting the classical model of adaptive radiation associated with speciation. A positive relationship between the age of lakes and the average genomic differentiation of their species, and a significant fraction of molecular variance explained by above‐species level taxonomy suggest the persistence of species on evolutionary time scales, with radiation through sequential speciation rather than a single starburst. Finally the large gene diversity retained from colonization to individual species in every radiation suggests large effective population sizes and makes speciation in small geographical isolates unlikely.
Bouclage de sortie et observateur

Cette these est construite autour de deux sujets, proches l'un de l'autre, mais traites separement. Le premier probleme aborde concerne la synthese des bouclages de sortie d'un point de vue general. Le second traite d'une methode particuliere de construction d'observateurs. La litterature actuelle concernant le bouclage de sortie est riche de travaux epars, sans liens apparents, qui permettent de concevoir des bouclages de sortie pour de nombreux systemes. Il est difficile pour le profane ou l'ingenieur de se retrouver dans les meandres de ces resultats. L'objectif de la premiere partie de cette these est donc double, dans un premier temps nous classifions et donnons pour la synthese de bouclage de sortie des principes certes generaux mais qui restent loin de l'application. Dans un second temps, en se restreignant aux systemes triangulaires nous donnons de la matiere a ces regles generales, ce qui nous permet de constater au passage que des contraintes jusque la imposees peuvent etre relâchees. Notre etude concernant la synthese d'observateur est basee sur de recents travaux qui traitent de l'extension des observateurs de Luenberger aux systemes non lineaires. Notre contribution reside dans l'extension de cette methode a une classe plus generale de systemes et par la mise en lumiere des procedes de synthese de cet observateur.
NONLINEAR SYSTEM MODELING USING SINGLE NEURON CASCADED NEURAL NETWORK FOR REAL-TIME APPLICATIONS

Neural Networks (NN) have proved its efficacy for nonlinear system modeling. NN based controllers and estimators for nonlinear systems provide promising alternatives to the conventional counterpart. However, NN models have to meet the stringent requirements on execution time for its effective use in real time applications. This requires the NN model to be structurally compact and computationally less complex. In this paper a parametric method of analysis is adopted to determine the compact and faster NN model among various neural network architectures. This work proves through analysis and examples that the Single Neuron Cascaded (SNC) architecture is distinct in providing compact and simpler models requiring lower execution time. The unique structural growth of SNC architecture enables automation in design. The SNC Network is shown to combine the advantages of both single and multilayer neural network architectures. Extensive analysis on selected architectures and their models for four benchmark nonlinear theoretical plants and a practical application are tested. A performance comparison of the NN models is presented to demonstrate the superiority of the single neuron cascaded architecture for online real time applications.
DETERMINANTS OF COMPLETION OF BUILDING CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN KENYA: A CASE STUDY OF NAIROBI COUNTY

The study was conducted to evaluate the components prompting the completion of building construction projects in Kenya: a case study of Nairobi County. It had four specific objectives which were; to determine how stakeholders, project financing, project planning and how project supervision impact on the completion of building construction projects in Nairobi County. The study assumed a descriptive survey research design in which 68 randomly selected respondents; Architects, Quantity surveyors, Developers; Project managers and Civil/ Structural engineers to which questionnaires were administered. Data was collected, examined and checked for completeness and clarity, coded and logged in the computer and analyzed using SPSS. Regression and correlations tables were used to present the findings. Results went through a critical assessment of each response and examined using thematic interpretation in accordance with the main objectives of the study and thereafter presented in narrative excerpts within the report. The study established that stakeholder involvement played a critical role in determining the completion of building Construction Projects. Most respondents had a reservation about the Project manager considering stakeholders’ interests whereas others disagreeing with the fact that financial disclosure was a common occurrence in projects. It was however recommended that in order to achieve completion of building construction projects, it was important for the project manager to ensure that all stakeholders in the project were involved in the right stages and their views and interests were taken into account. They should be sensitized on the likely delays which could influence the delay and eventually cost of the project. Key words: Stake Holder Involvement, Project Financing, Project Planning, Project Supervision Completion of Building Construction Projects. CITATION: Siati, A. O. , Nzulwa, J., & Kwena, R. (2019). Determinants of completion of building construction projects in Kenya: A case study of Nairobi County. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 6 (2), 702 –716.
Performance evaluation of voice over IP using multiple audio codec schemes

The evolution of Voice over IP (VoIP) has made it one of the most popular applications over the wired/wireless Internet system due to its flexibility in technology integration and low cost of services. Telco and service operators have used the communication resources to optimize the VoIP architecture in order to provide better quality of service (QoS) to end consumers. The VoIP is a delay-sensitive traffic which requires minimum delay for general applications and minimum loss ratio for specific applications as the key QoS performance parameters. This paper compares the end-to-end (e2e) QoS performance parameters of VoIP codec schemes against multiple traffic connections transmitted over the Internet system. Background traffics are included in the simulations to closely match the real-world Internet scenario. Simulations analysis of bidirectional VoIP communications are done from the network layer perspective to compare the QoS performances of G.711, G.729A, G.723. 1 and GSM.AMR codec schemes against the incremental of active connections in the network system. The results show that the G.729A produces at least 2.81% better in term of average accumulative e2e delay. The G.711 produces at least 21.89% better in term of average accumulative e2e jitter but produces the worst e2e packet loss ratio. In addition, GSM.AMR shows the best e2e effective transmission rate ratio ranges between 42.67% and 89.82%. This study has investigated the QoS performance variations of VoIP codecs so that the results could be used as guidelines to estimate the optimal network resources for various traffic requirements as early as in the design stage. As for future works, this study suggests the adaptive priority queue and packet scheduling at Internet getaway to regulate the traffic based on per flow QoS requirements.
Participation of Women in the Conduct of Companies

The structure of the business owners who own firms is an important indicator and gender is treated in terms of business founders, their age group and level of education and professional training for business management. In any economy with market gender structure of owners of firms in business is analyzed and treated with the utmost care, with the aim in this field are performed equal gender rights and to support equal access to opportunities for establishing new businesses Gender structure of the owners of enterprises is an important element in analyzing and monitoring the activities of enterprises. Although in our country women's participation in the leadership of enterprises its small, in recent years has been seen an increase of female participation in the registration of enterprises. The purpose of this research is to produce results relevant to the current situation, structure, problems, difficulties, and to measure the trend of development of micro, small and medium enterprises, to determine the criteria and advanced recommendations for the possibility of supporting the development of them. Analysis of obstacles and difficulties for business development including: a lack of qualified staff, lack of training in various areas, the lack of market, using modern equipment, workspace, physical infrastructure, transportation, finance, legal, economic and fiscal policies, offer the possibility of analysis, creation and research methods and methodologies to support small enterprises and medium enterprises in our country. Key words: Economic, Management, Businesses, Structure of SME, Developmet.
An information theoretic take on closed loop information gathering

Our goal is to propose a framework able to predict fundamental bounds on the performance of open and closed-loop, adaptive information-gathering systems. Such bounds may indicate whether and when closed-loop adaptation is beneficial, and serve as benchmarks for the performance of practical systems. As an example of such a system, we consider a closed-loop radar imaging and/or tracking system in which the transmitted waveforms may be adaptively selected. In order to obtain fundamental bounds on this systems’ possible performance, we propose a mathematical model amenable to an information theoretic analysis, which we term the radar-estimation problem. This formulation amounts to a non-classical joint source-channel coding problem where the scene is viewed as the source and is hence beyond our control, while the noisy radar channel is to some degree controllable through the choice of waveform. The aim is to select the waveforms subject to appropriate physical constraints so as to reconstruct the scene. The information theoretic framework enables the derivation of bounds on the distortion in the source’s reconstruction, under various assumptions (memoryless, memory, Markov) on the source and the channel. We propose the framework and discuss links to existing work.
Domotics control system architecture

This paper proposes a distributed and autonomous domotics control system architecture. The proposed architecture presents a good compromise between acquisition and ownership cost, flexibility, manageability and security. The system is composed by an autonomous and smart console per room which controls the devices in that room. In spite of consoles being completely autonomous they can be controlled remotely. As a result of this the user may control the domotics system, not only in the console, but also using a mobile device with a wi-fi connection.
Business interoperability: a methodology to analyse and re-design interoperable buyer-supplier dyads

Innovative strategies such as Lean, Agile, Resilient and Green emerged as a response to global competition situation, requiring high levels of cooperation and of great complexity. However, the strategic alignment of operations with partners in supply chains is affected by lack of interoperability. The present work provides two decision-models to enhance SC competitiveness and performance by assessing interoperable SCM Practices applied in automotive industry and a methodology to design cooperation using the systematic approach of Axiomatic Design.
BENIGN PREMATURE ADRENARCHE: CLINICAL FEATURES AND SERUM STEROID LEVELS

ABSTRACT. 18 girls with premature adrenarche were evaluated both clinically and by serum steroid measurements. Age at first appearance of the symptoms ranged from 3.0 to 7.8 years. Clinical findings included pubic or axillary hair, acne, accelerated growth, adult‐type perspiration and oily skin or hair. Bone age was 0.3–3.2 years ahead of chronological age. 15 of these 18 girls had accelerated growth and most of these already before the appearance of pubic hair. Five girls had severe acne requiring topical treatment. Serum dehydroepiandrosterone was elevated for age in all patients. Androstenedione and testosterone correlated positively with the dehydroepiandrosterone values. Dihydrotestosterone was also elevated in many girls. Administration of dexamethasone brought about a rapid normalization of the elevated steroid levels.
[Association study on microsatellite polymorphisms of MSX1 gene and nonsyndromic cleft lip and palate].

OBJECTIVE To investigate muscle segment homeobox 1 (MSX1) microsatellite marker distribution and the relationship between MSX1 gene and the genetic susceptibility of nonsyndromic cleft lip and palate (NSCLP) in Hunan Hans. METHODS One microsatellite DNA marker CA repeat in MSX1 intron region was used as genetic markers. The genotypes of 129 patients with NSCLP and 108 controls were analyzed by the techniques of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). Then case-control study was used to conduct association analysis. RESULTS The allele frequencies of the CA repeat microsatellite DNA in Hunan Han normal population were in good agreement with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The polymorphism information content and heterozygosity of CA repeat microsatellite DNA were 0.50 and 0.50 respectively. The allele CA4 frequency in CL/P and CPO group was significantly higher than that of normal controls (P<0.05). The genotype CA4,4 frequency was significantly higher in CL/P and CPO group than that in normal controls (P<0.05). CONCLUSION The microsatellite DNA marker CA repeat in MSX1 is a good genetic marker. MSX1 gene is significantly associated with NSCLP in Hunan Hans.
Work Orientation in Korean CEO’s On-line Greetings

The main aim of the study is to explicate prior orientation to work and priorities in what Korean companies wants from their work. CEO’s on-line greeting texts in big three Korean companies (Hyundai Motors; LG Corp.; Samsung Electronics) are chosen as major data of the study. Eccles and Nohria’s (1992) Strategic Triadic is used as a framework for data analysis. This study exemplifies that communication orientation to stakeholders is different across companies (i.e. Hyundai’s globalization; LG’s customer value; Samsung’s excellence). Furthermore, this finding shows that actual code of conduct emphasized by the CEOs is not going well with official corporate values.
Enhanced performance controller design for stochastic systems by adding extra state estimation onto the existing closed loop control

To enhance the performance of the tracking property, this paper presents a novel control algorithm for a class of linear dynamic stochastic systems with unmeasurable states, where the performance enhancement loop is established based on Kalman filter. Without changing the existing closed loop with the PI controller, the compensative controller is designed to minimize the variances of the tracking errors using the estimated states and the propagation of state variances. Moreover, the stability of the closed-loop systems has been analyzed in the mean-square sense. A simulated example is included to show the effectiveness of the presented control algorithm, where encouraging results have been obtained.
Short- and long-term effects of diving on pulmonary function

The diving environment provides a challenge to the lung, including exposure to high ambient pressure, altered gas characteristics and cardiovascular effects on the pulmonary circulation. Several factors associated with diving affect pulmonary function acutely and can potentially cause prolonged effects that may accumulate gradually with repeated diving exposure. Evidence from experimental deep dives and longitudinal studies suggests long-term adverse effects of diving on the lungs in commercial deep divers, such as the development of small airways disease and accelerated loss of lung function. In addition, there is an accumulating body of evidence that diving with self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (scuba) may not be associated with deleterious effects on pulmonary function. Although changes in pulmonary function after single scuba dives have been found to be associated with immersion, ambient cold temperatures and decompression stress, changes in lung function were small and suggest a low likelihood of clinical significance. Recent evidence points to no accelerated loss of lung function in military or recreational scuba divers over time. Thus, the impact of diving on pulmonary function largely depends on factors associated with the individual diving exposure. However, in susceptible subjects clinically relevant worsening of lung function may occur even after single shallow-water scuba dives. The effects of diving on pulmonary function largely depend on factors associated with the individual diving response http://ow.ly/aIFS3095WNn
What Investors Want: Perceptions and Experiences of Multinational Corporations in Developing Countries

This paper discusses the results of a survey of multinational corporations with affiliates in developing countries. The paper explores corporate perspectives and decision making across the stages of the investment cycle: attraction, entry and establishment, operations and expansion, linkages with the local economy, and, in some cases, divestment and exit. Through interviews with 754 executives, the survey finds that political stability and a business-friendly regulatory environment are the top two factors influencing multinational corporations' investment decisions in developing countries. Investors seek predictable, transparent, and efficient conduct of public agencies. The survey results also show that investors are heterogeneous, and their perceptions vary with motivation and size. Multinational corporations that are involved in efficiency-seeking investment are more selective than investors motivated by other considerations, and that relatively smaller multinational corporations are more sensitive to host country characteristics and investment climate factors than large firms.
Assessment of laryngeal disorders through the global energy of speech

Voice analysis is an important tool in the diagnosis of laryngeal disorders. Among distinct signal processing techniques employed for voice analysis, the spectrogram is commonly used, as it allows for a visualization of the variation of the energy of the signal as a function of both time and frequency. In this context, this study investigates the use of the global energy of the signal, estimated through the spectrogram, as a tool for discrimination between signals obtained from healthy and pathological subjects. This research has also exploited the potential use of the global energy of the voice signal to discriminate distinct laryngeal disorders. In total, 94 subjets were involved in this study, from which 46 were dysphonic and 48 normal. The diagnosis of laryngeal disorders was confirmed by means of a videolaryngoscopic examination. Participants were also subjected to a clinical examination of vocal acoustic through the recording of the sustained vowel /ε/. The global energy allowed for the discrimination between normal and disphonic voice. Furthermore, this technique could discriminate the voice signal of patients suffering from left vocal fold paralysis from those suffering from other investigated disorders. The results suggest the global energy of the signal as an auxiliary and alternative tool for the diagnosis between normal and dysphonic voice.
Ena/VASP Enabled is a highly processive actin polymerase tailored to self-assemble parallel-bundled F-actin networks with Fascin

Significance Enabled/vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (Ena/VASP) proteins are required for the formation and maintenance of filopodia, finger-like projections at the leading edge of migrating cells that are composed of parallel actin filaments bundled by Fascin. We imaged individual fluorescently labeled Drosophila Ena molecules on both single and Fascin-bundled actin filaments in vitro. Ena stimulates actin assembly by remaining continuously associated with the barbed end and increasing the elongation rate by approximately two- to threefold. Remarkably, the frequency and length of Ena’s processive runs are enhanced on filaments within a Fascin bundle, which drives a positive feedback cycle that allows the assembly of uniformly thick filopodia-like F-actin bundles composed of multiple filaments with aligned ends. Filopodia are exploratory finger-like projections composed of multiple long, straight, parallel-bundled actin filaments that protrude from the leading edge of migrating cells. Drosophila melanogaster Enabled (Ena) is a member of the Ena/vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein protein family, which facilitates the assembly of filopodial actin filaments that are bundled by Fascin. However, the mechanism by which Ena and Fascin promote the assembly of uniformly thick F-actin bundles that are capable of producing coordinated protrusive forces without buckling is not well understood. We used multicolor evanescent wave fluorescence microscopy imaging to follow individual Ena molecules on both single and Fascin-bundled F-actin in vitro. Individual Ena tetramers increase the elongation rate approximately two- to threefold and inhibit capping protein by remaining processively associated with the barbed end for an average of ∼10 s in solution, for ∼60 s when immobilized on a surface, and for ∼110 s when multiple Ena tetramers are clustered on a surface. Ena also can gather and simultaneously elongate multiple barbed ends. Collectively, these properties could facilitate the recruitment of Fascin and initiate filopodia formation. Remarkably, we found that Ena’s actin-assembly properties are tunable on Fascin-bundled filaments, facilitating the formation of filopodia-like F-actin networks without tapered barbed ends. Ena-associated trailing barbed ends in Fascin-bundled actin filaments have approximately twofold more frequent and approximately fivefold longer processive runs, allowing them to catch up with leading barbed ends efficiently. Therefore, Fascin and Ena cooperate to extend and maintain robust filopodia of uniform thickness with aligned barbed ends by a unique mechanistic cycle.
Early Events in Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Infection of Target Cells

ABSTRACT Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), the most recently identified member of the herpesvirus family, infects a variety of target cells in vitro and in vivo. This minireview surveys current information on the early events of KSHV infection, including virus-receptor interactions, involved envelope glycoproteins, mode of entry, intracellular trafficking, and initial viral and host gene expression programs. We describe data supporting the hypothesis that KSHV manipulates preexisting host cell signaling pathways to allow successful infection. The various signaling events triggered by infection, and their potential roles in the different stages of infection and disease pathogenesis, are summarized.